Names of Tuvan Clan / Tribal Groups Analyzed

Abstract

Introduction. In recent decades, Tuvans have shown an increasing interest in their clan/tribal histories contained in state archival documents or memoirs of their ancestors preserved in family files. Goals. The article seeks to explore features of names adopted by Tuvan clan/tribal (subethnic) groups. To facilitate this, the paper shall systematize clan/tribal names in the Tuvan language, investigate clan/tribal identities from ancient times, identify habitats of Tuvan subethnic groups as of the early 20th century, explore peculiarities of subethnic structures, and single out communities closely related to Tuvan ones to be found beyond Tuva’s borders. Materials. The work analyzes Tuvan ethnonyms from publications on the topic of research and field data collected during dialectological and comprehensive research expeditions. Results. Tuvan self-identity is closely associated with subethnic (clan/tribal) origin. The Tuvan language contains names for a total of over forty tribal associations, the latter be further divided into intra-tribal units (clans). Another important self-identity factor is the administrative/territorial one established in the mid-18th century by the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty of China. Our analysis shows the Tuvan ethnogenesis was based mainly on Turkic-speaking components, however, one can still trace Mongolic, Samoyed, Ket, and Tungus elements therein. Quite a number of clan/tribal names are distributed not only in the territory of Tuva, but also beyond its borders, which attests to common origins of many Turkic-speaking communities. A significant part of Tuvan ethnonyms remain virtually unexplored to date, therefore, those require deeper insights.

Keywords

• tuvans
• ethnonym
• tribal groups
• identification
• administrative attribute
• turkic-speaking ethnos
• mongolic-speaking elements