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Chuvash people

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Chuvash
Чăвашсем
File:Famous Chuvash 0.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 1.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 2.png
File:Famous Chuvash 3.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 4.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 5.png
File:Famous Chuvash 6.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 7.pngFile:Famous Chuvash 8.png
Row 1: P. Yegorov  • N. Bichurin  • I. Yakovlev

Row 2: N. Nikolsky  • K. Ivanov  • Şeşpĕl Mišši

Row 3: A. Nikolayev  • G. Aygi  • N. Pavlova
Regions with significant populations
 Russia1,637,094[1]
 Kazakhstan22,305[2]
 Ukraine10,593[3]
 Uzbekistan10,074[4]
 Turkmenistan2,281[5]
 Belarus2,242[6]
 Moldova1,204[7]
 Kyrgyzstan848[8]
 Georgia542[9]
 Latvia534[10]
 Estonia495[11]
 Azerbaijan489[12]
889,268 /
[13]
Languages
Chuvash
Religion
† Orthodox Christianity
Minority Vattisen Yaly
Related ethnic groups
Suvars
Volga Tatars, Volga Bulgars
Chuvash diaspora in Volga Federal District

The Chuvash people (Template:Lang-cv; Template:Lang-ru) are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.

Etymology

There is no universally accepted etymology of the word Chuvash. However, there are two main theories that try to explain it.

Suvar

According to one theory, "Chuvash" is a Shaz-Turkic adaptation of Lir-Turkic Suvar, an ethnonym of people that are widely considered to be the ancestors of modern Chuvashes. Compare Lir-Turkic Template:Lang-cv to Shaz-Turkic Template:Lang-tt (cauldron).

Jăvaš

Another theory suggests that the word "Chuvash" may be derived from Common Turkic jăvaš ("friendly", "peaceful") as opposed to şarmăs ("warlike").

Origin

There are rival schools of thought on the origin of Chuvash people. One is that they originated from a mixing between the Turkic Suar and Sabir tribes of Volga Bulgaria with local Mari tribes and also the Finno-Ugrian[14] population of the Volga Basin. Another is that the Chuvash are a remainder of the pre-Volga Bulgar population of the Volga region, merged with Scythians, Volga Bulgars and Mari.

Subgroups

Chuvash people are divided into two main groups: Virjal or Turi (Template:Lang-cv; upper) and Anatri (Template:Lang-cv; lower). The latter also have their own subgroups: Anat jenci (Template:Lang-cv; mid-lower) and Hirti (Template:Lang-cv; steppe).

History

The Turkic ancestors of the Chuvash people are believed to have come from central Siberia, where they lived in the Irtysh basin (between the Tian Shan and Altay) from at least the end of the third millennium BC.[15] In the beginning of the first century AD, the Bulgars started moving west through Zhetysu and the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan, reaching the North Caucasus in 2nd-3rd centuries AD. There they established several states (Old Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast and the Suvar Duchy in modern-day Daghestan) and came into contact with various Iranic peoples. There is also reason to believe that they were the central element of the Hun Empire under Attila.

Old Bulgaria broke up in the second half of the 7th century after a series of successful Khazar invasions. Some of its population fled north, to the Volga-Kama region, where they established Volga Bulgaria, which eventually became extremely wealthy; its capital being the 4th largest city in the world. Shortly after that, the Suvar Duchy was forced to become a vassal state of Khazaria. About half a century later, the Suvars took part in the Khazar-Arab Wars of 732-737.

Culture

They speak the Chuvash language and have some pre-Christian traditions. In addition to the Chuvash language,[16] many Chuvash people also use the Russian and Tatar languages.

Religion

Chuvash people took great care of preserving their beliefs, their God being Tura. To prevent an onslaught of Orthodox Christianity and Islam, they separated themselves from other surrounding ethnic groups, which brought on several centuries of inbreeding. Today Chuvash people are partially Orthodox Christians and belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. They retain some pre-Christian ( or pagan) traditions in their cultural activities.

See also

References

  1. ^ 2002 Russian Census Template:Ru icon
  2. ^ 1989 Soviet Census in Kazakh SSR Template:Ru icon
  3. ^ 2001 Ukrainian Census Template:Ru icon
  4. ^ Atlas of Uzbekistan's Ethnic Minorities Template:Ru icon
  5. ^ 1989 Soviet Census in Turkmen SSR Template:Ru icon
  6. ^ 1999 Belarusian Census Template:Ru icon
  7. ^ 1989 Soviet Census in Moldavian SSR Template:Ru icon
  8. ^ 1999 Kyrgyzstani Census Template:Ru icon
  9. ^ 1989 Soviet Census in Georgian SSR Template:Ru icon
  10. ^ [1] Template:Lv icon
  11. ^ 2000 Estonian Census Template:En icon
  12. ^ 1989 Soviet Census in Azerbaijan SSR Template:Ru icon
  13. ^ The Chuvash people in Siberia: Krasnoyarsk National and Cultural Autonomy of the Chuvash People Template:En icon
  14. ^ "Analysis of Chuvash mtDNA points to Finno-Ugric origin". 2012. Earlier genetic research using autosomal DNA markers indicated a Finno-Ugric origin for the Chuvash. This study examines uniparental mitochondrial DNA markers to better elucidate their origins. Results from this study maintain that the Chuvash are not related to Altaic or Mongolian populations along their maternal line, thus supporting the "Elite" hypothesis that their language was imposed by a conquering group —leaving Chuvash mtDNA largely of Eurasian origin. Their maternal markers appear to most closely resemble Finno-Ugric speakers rather than Turkic speakers. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  15. ^ History of Chuvash people Template:En icon
  16. ^ http://www.cv-haval.org/ru/node/54 Эктор Алос-и-Фонт. Оценка языковой политики в Чувашии
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