Russia is |
Peoples of Russia
Orochs
The Orochs are a Tungus-Manchu people. Previously they called themselves Nani (local people). Today their most widespread self-designation is Orochs, Oroch, rarely Orochyon or Nani. In 2000, by the decree of the Government they were given the status of native small-numbered people.
Language
They speak the Oroch language of the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altai language family. The writing system for the Oroch language was created in 1994 on the basis of the Cyrillic script. All the Orochs speak Russian. Only the old people can speak the Oroch language.
Dispersion
The majority of the Orochs today live in the Vanino district of the Khabarovsk territory (the Vanino, Orochi, Data and other villages). A small group also lives in the Magadan region.
Society
The main social unit of the Orochs was the family. The families were mostly nuclear. Polygamous families sometimes emerged as the result of the custom according to which a widow had to marry her late husband’s relative even if he was already married. An exchange of sisters was a widespread type of marriage. The division into kinship groups was traditionally significant for the Orochs only in what related to the regulation of marriage relationships. In the villages, families from different kinship groups usually lived together. They joined together into territorial neighbor unions (dokha).
Traditional occupations
The basis for the traditional life sustenance of the Orochs was the combination of hunting, fishing, foraging as well as the seasonal sea hunting. They hunted the musk deer, the moose, the sable, the squirrel and other animals. Until the emergence of firearms, bows and arrows, loops, snares, crossbows and lances were used. When hunting, they widely used sound imitation to attract birds and animals. They used a wooden conical pipe to reproduce the voice of a moose, and the sounds of the musk deer were imitated through blowing a puff of air between birch bark valves. In summer, they used various boats for transportation, big and small, plank and dugout, in winter, skis both without lining and covered with kamus (reindeer leg skin). Dog breeding was developed. Dogs were used to draw cargo and riding sleds, on which people sat astride with short skis on their feet.
Dwellings
In the late 19th century, the Orochs lived in small camps along the river banks. Winter settlements were permanent, and the placement of the summer ones in many ways depended on specific conditions (the level of the water, the amount of fish, etc.). The winter dwelling of the Orochs at the end of the 19th century was the log semi-dugout, the summer one was a bark house with a gabled roof. The hunting dwelling was a hut with two sloping surfaces or a chum.
Food
The Orochs mostly ate fresh fish and meat. They got their vitamins mostly from wild berries and herbs.
