Russia is |
Peoples of Russia
Udege
Udege are one of the native small-numbered peoples of the Far East. Their self-designations are Ude, Udehe. In 2000, Udege were given the status of native small-numbered people.
Language
They speak the Udege language which belongs to the Amur group of the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altai language family. Until mid-20th century, the Orochi language was considered to be an isolated Udege dialect. In the 1930s, a writing system was being developed for the Udege language on the basis of the Latin alphabet, dictionaries were being published. By the late 1930s, the Udege writing system passed out of use. All the Udege know some Russian, some also know the Orochi or Nanay languages. The Taz people used to speak a dialect of Chinese using a lot of borrowing from the Udege and Nanay languages. Today the Taz people on the territory of Russia consider Russian to be their native language.
Dispersion
The majority of the Udege presently live in villages near the rivers Khor (the Lazo district of the Khabarovsk territory) and Bikin (the Pozharsky district of the Primorsky territory). Small groups can be found in multinational villages near the rivers Iman, Anyuy, Khungari, Kur, in the cities of the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories. The Udege living in cities have been practically assimilated by the Russian population.
Traditional occupations
The annual economy cycle of the Udege and Taz peoples combined hunting with fishing and foraging. They hunted for fur and meat; the Udege also procured panty, the young unossified antlers of the Far Eastern red deer. In the 19th century, hunting for ginseng was one of the important sources of income of this forest people. Only men practiced that.
Dwellings
The traditional dwellings of the Udege were very diverse: wooden huts with two sloping surfaces, chums, semi-dugouts of various shapes, pile-supported loghouses.
