Russia is
my homeland

Peoples of Russia

Teleuts

Teleuts are a native small-numbered people originating from the Turkic-language nomadic population of the south of the Western Siberia. Their self-designation is Telenget, Teleuts as well as Payattar (from the name of the rivers Big Bachat and Small Bachat), Tadar-Kijileri (Tatar people) or Tadarlar (Tatars, that is, Turkic people). In 2000, by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation they were given the status of native small-numbered people.

Language

They speak the Teleut language, which the linguists have for a long time considered to be one of the southern dialects of the Altai language of the Turkic branch of the Altai language family.

Dispersion

Currently Teleuts live in the Belovsky, Guryevsky, and Novokuznetsky districts of the Kemerovo region; a small number of them also live in the Republic of Altai (Gorno-Altaysk and the Shebalinsky district).

Traditional occupations

By early 20^th century, the Teleuts have formed a complex home economy system which permitted to combine cattle breeding, farming, hunting and taiga work, first of all, picking cedar nuts.

Dwellings

By early 20^th century Teleuts settled in villages. Their dwellings were frame and log semi-dugouts.

Clothes

By the end of the 19^th century, the basis of male costume consisted of shirts and trousers, and of the female costume, tunic-style long dresses with vivid attachable plastrons embroidered with gold lace. The wedding costume consisted of a loose robe decorated with tassels and a highcrowned foxfur hat. The traditional costume included robes, fur hats, leather boots and chirki shoes. Colorful belts were an obligatory element of the costume; the tradition of making them still exists. The clothes were supplemented by decorations: brass buttons and filigree buttons. The set of decorations of a married woman included decorations for braids made from mother-of-pearl discs or silver ruble coins, which were taken off after the husband’s death, as well as rings and earrings. As for rings, women tried to never take them off so that “children would hold and cattle would milk”. The earrings with noise-making pendants, popular in Moscow in the 16^th century, were very valued. Teleuts had mastered jewelry from ancient times.

Food

The Teleut cuisine combined the elements of the nomadic and peasant culture; dishes from mutton and horse meat were popular, for example, the tutmash broth with dumplings and onions, as well as “pelmen” dumplings with various fillings.