Russia is |
Peoples of Russia
Nanai people
Nanai people are a native small-numbered people of the Far East. The name Nanai means “human of the Earth” (na – Earth, nai – human). In the past the Nanai people named themselves after the localities where they lived (Bolankan – the inhabitants of the Bolon lake, Naikhinkan – from the Naikhin village). Their obsolete name is Goldi.
Language
The Nanai language belongs to the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altai language family. The writing system is based on the Cyrillic alphabet.
Dispersion
The majority of the Nanai people in Russia live in the Khabarovsk territory (11 thousand people); 0.4 thousand live in the Primorsky territory. Also, 4.6 thousand Nanai people live in China (2000). In 2000, by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation they were given the status of native small-numbered people.
Society
By the end of the 19th century, the nuclear family was prevalent. Polygamous families could be found until the 1950s-1960s. A Nanai settlement was a neighborhood community. The division into kinship groups existed, but a settlement included representatives of different kinship groups. And the families from one kinship group could live hundreds of kilometers from each other. Small kinship groups joined to form kinship unions, sometimes including Udeghe and Orochi kinship groups.
Traditional occupations
The main occupations of the Nanai people from ancient times were fishing, hunting and collecting wild plants. The particular occupation prevailed depending on the season (in winter people were more busy with hunting, and in summer with fishing) and specific place of inhabitation. The Nanai people that lived near Amur were mostly fishermen. Fish was used as food (cooked, fried, raw), fish skin was used to sew clothes. The Chinese chronicles were already calling the forefathers of the Nanai people “Yupi Dazi” (“fishskins”). They used nets, fishing rods, harpoons, or blocked parts of the streamway with wickerwork fences. The inhabitants of the tributaries gave less attention to fishing and more to hunting in the forest. They procured hoofed and fur-bearing animals and bears. Fur was used for barter with other peoples. Women’s occupations were sewing and gathering wild plants.
Dwellings
The winter dwelling of the Nanai people was a four-cornered house with a frame based on vertically placed logs, the intervals between which were filled with wickerwork covered with clay; the roof was covered with grass, the floor was made from clay. The house was heated by several hearths. The funnels were routed under the plank beds to heat them. In spring and summer, the Nanai people lived near water or forest in reduced-weight houses that had a slimmer framework which was then covered with mats, birch bark and hay.
