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Peoples of Russia
Chulyms
The Chulyms are a Turkic people, one of the native small-numbered people of the North, Siberia and Far East. The majority calls themselves Chulyms, sometimes the name Tomsk Karagas is also used, more rarely Chulym Turks or Chulym Tatars. The name originates from the river Chulym (a tributary of Ob) on which, in its middle and lower reaches, the Chulyms live. In 2000, by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation they were given the status of native small-numbered people.
Language
The Chulym language belongs to the Uyghur group of the Turkic branch of the Altai language family. The dialects are Lower Chulym (the Ketsik, Kuerik, Yachinsky, Chibinsky, Yezhinsky subdialects) and Middle Chulym (the Tugal and Melet subdialects). There is no writing system.
Dispersion
Currently the Chulyms are settled in the Teguldet district of the Tomsk region as well as in the Tyukhtet and Birilyus districts of the Krasnoyarsk territory.
Traditional occupations
The main occupation of the Chulyms was fishing. Procuring valuable species of fish was of a commercial nature. Hunting for fur was an important part of the Chulym economy. At first it served as a source of yasak tribute; by the end of the 19th - early 20th century it became oriented towards the market. Breaking cedar nuts was a very significant part of the sustenance system. To produce home utensils and clothes, the Chulyms procured bast, birch bark, nettle and hemp (kendyr). The means of transportation corresponded to the particular needs of the occupations in taiga: in winter the Chulyms used kamus skis in taiga, and to move provisions and products they used manually drawn sleds. In summer the most popular transport was dugout boats, more rarely plank boats. Even before the Russians came, the Chulyms knew hoe agriculture and grew crops of barley. Kitchen gardening emerged fairly late. The Chulyms kept a large number of cows, sheep and horses. Cattle breeding was accompanied by industries of wool and leather processing.
Dwellings
The Chulym settlements were located along the shores of water reservoirs, mostly along the Chulym river. In old times, semi-dugouts with open hearths were used as dwellings. Later log izbas have appeared.
Clothes
The national dress of the Chulyms consisted of a shirt and trousers. Men wore woolen and daba (from a Chinese cotton fabric) shirts; they also wore caftans with a standing collar and robes made from Russian or Central Asian cotton fabrics or Chinese daba. For women, shirts were made from cloth and for holidays they wore chintz or silk dresses cut like tunics. The trousers were originally made from burbot skins, later men’s trousers were made from woolen cloth and women’s, from sackcloth. Both men and women wore jackets edged with fur. In winter, women wore squirrel and fox fur coats (ton) with silk cover, men wore sheepskin coats or fur coats from goat, reindeer or moose pelts. In winter men and women used fur-trimmed hats for headgear, and in summer women wore white or scarlet caps, veils (tastar) and hemispherical hats from red velvet with long silk red tassels. For footwear the Chulyms used soft unt boots from goat skin or leather boots; in summer they often went barefoot.
Food
The traditional food was based on fish, game and wild plants, bread, flour and dairy products, meat (especially horse meat), mushrooms. Fish was cured, dried and smoked. Dried barley and daylight lily were fermented for winter in a pit. Dairy dishes (curd, cheese, etc.), soups (shchi, borshch, etc.), drinks (kvass, home brew, beer, wine) were borrowed from the Russians. Of the national dishes, ukha fish soup, burak-porsa (ground cured or dried fish), porridge made from kurmach (cleaned and dried barley) and talkan (batter from ground grain or flour) have survived.
