Samoyedic peoples

Geographical distribution of Samoyedic-speaking peoples in the 17th and 20th centuries

The Samoyedic peoples (also Samodeic peoples)^[1] are those peoples that speak Samoyedic languages, which are part of the Uralic family. They are a linguistic grouping, not an ethnic or cultural one. The name derives from the obsolete term Samoyed used in Russia for some indigenous peoples of Siberia.^[2][3]

Peoples

Existing Peoples

People	Group	Language	Numbers[4]	Most important territory	Other traditional territories
Nenets	Northern Samoyeds	Nenets language	45,000	Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Enets	Northern Samoyeds	Enets language	200	Krasnoyarsk Krai
Nganasans	Northern Samoyeds	Nganasan language	900	Krasnoyarsk Krai
Selkups	Southern Samoyeds	Selkup language	3,600	Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug	Tomsk Oblast

Extinct Peoples^[5]

• Yurats (Northern Samoyeds) - assimilated into Nenets people
• Kamasins or Kamas (Southern or Sayan Mountains Samoyeds) - subgroups Kamas proper and Koibal; assimilated into Russians and Turkic Khakas people
• Mators or Motors (Southern or Sayan Mountains Samoyeds) - subgroups Mator proper, Karagas and Taygi; assimilated into Russians and Turkic peoples

The largest of the Samoyedic peoples are the Nenets, who mainly live in two autonomous districts of Russia: Yamalo-Nenetsia and Nenetsia. Part of the Nenets and most of the Enets and Nganasans used to live in Taymyria autonomous district (formerly known as Dolgano-Nenetsia), but today this area is a territory with special status within Krasnoyarsk Krai. Most of the Selkups live in Yamalo-Nenetsia, but there is also significant population in Tomsk Oblast.

Gallery

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  A group of Samoyeds around a campfire, 1914

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  Samoyed in winterdress (before 1906)

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  Nenets child

• 

  Nenets inside a tent

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  A reindeer herd in Kolguyev Island in 1895.

References and notes

1. Some ethnologists use the term 'Samodeic people' instead 'Samoyedic', see Balzer, Marjorie (1999). The Tenacity of Ethnicity. Princeton University Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-691-00673-4.
2. [T]he term Samoyedic is sometimes considered derogatory in Balzer, Marjorie (1999). The Tenacity of Ethnicity. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00673-4.
3. "Samoyeds" had no derogatory meaning and represents a modification of the expression same-edne in Arctic Institute of North America (1961). Anthropology of the North: Translations from Russian Sources. University of Toronto Press. p. 219.
4. Demoskop Weekly No 543-544
5. Unesco Red Book on Endangered Languages