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Peoples of Russia
Todzhinians (Tozhu Tuvans)
The Todzhinians (Tozhu Tuvans) are a special ethnic group of the Tuvans that have settled compactly in the Todzhin kozhuun. The majority call themselves Tuvinians or Tyva. Other names are Tyva-Kizhi, Soyot, Uriankhai, Tuga.
Language
The Tuvinian language (except for the Todzhin dialect) is a part of the steppe range of the Sayan subgroup of the Eastern Turkic (Siberian) group of the Turkic branch of the Altai language family. The Tuva Todzhinian dialect belongs to the taiga range of the Sayan subgroup. Before 1930, the Mongolian writing system was used, then Janalif, and since 1940 the writing system is based on the Cyrillic script.
Dispersion
The majority of the Tuvinians lives on the territory of the Republic of Tyva.
Traditional occupations
Traditionally the main occupations of the Tuvinian Todzhins were hunting, reindeer breeding and foraging.
Dwellings
The Western Tuvinians, like the majority of the Turkic-Mongolian nomadic cattle breeders, lived in yurts, more rarely in chums covered with felt. The Tuva Todzhins, at the contrary, usually lived in chum tents covered with birch bark (in summer) and reindeer or moose pelts (in winter). In rarer cases the Tuva Todzhinians used a construction based on four vertical stands dug into the ground. The walls of such a construction could consist of poles, of skins, the roof (horizontal or with four slopes) was covered with larch bark.
Food
The traditional diet of the Western Tuvinians is based on the products of nomadic cattle breeding. These are mostly sour milk dishes, more rarely meat dishes (from mutton and horse meat). Milk was used to make a strong alcoholic drink called araka. The diet of the Eastern Tuvinians was based on the products of hunting and reindeer breeding. They ate meat and reindeer milk with salted tea. Instead of bread, flour from roasted grains was used.
