Oroks
Encyclopedia
Oroks are a people in the Sakhalin Oblast
(mainly the eastern part of the island
) in Russia
. The Orok language
belongs to the Southern group of the Tungusic language family
and is unwritten. According to the 2002 Russian census
, there were 346 Oroks living in Northern Sakhalin
by the Okhotsk Sea and Southern Sakhalin in the district by the city of Poronaysk
.
Oro given by a Tungusic
group meaning "a domestic reindeer". The Orok self-designation endonym
is Ul'ta, probably from the root Ula (meaning "domestic reindeer" in Orok). Another self-designation is Nani. Occasionally, the Oroks, as well as the Orochs and Udege, are erroneously called Orochons.
gained complete control over Orok lands after the 1858 Treaty of Aigun
and 1860 Convention of Peking
. A penal colony was established on Sakhalin between 1857 and 1906, bringing large numbers of Russian criminals and political exiles, including Lev Sternberg, an important early ethnographer on Oroks and the island's other indigenous people, the Nivkhs and Ainu
. Russia underwent the Bolshevik Revolution forming the Soviet Union
in 1922; the new government altered prior imperial polices towards the Oroks to bring them into line with communist ideology
. Before Soviet collectivization in the 1920s, the Orok were divided into five groups, each with their own migratory zone.
Following the Russo-Japanese War
, southern Sakhalin came under the control of the Empire of Japan
, which administered it as Karafuto Prefecture
. The Uilta were classified as "Karafuto natives" (樺太土人), and were not entered into Japanese-style family registers, in contrast to the Ainu, who had "mainland Japan
" family registers. Like the Karafuto Koreans
and the Nivkh, but unlike the Ainu, the Uilta were thus not included in the evacuation of Japanese nationals
after the Soviet invasion in 1945. Some Nivkhs and Uilta who served in the Imperial Japanese Army
were held in Soviet work camps
; after court cases in the late 1950s and 1960s, they were recognised as Japanese nationals and thus permitted to migrate to Japan. Most settled around Abashiri, Hokkaidō
. The Uilta Kyokai of Japan was founded to fight for Uilta rights and the preservation of Uilta traditions in 1975 by Dahinien Gendanu
.
Sakhalin Oblast
Sakhalin Oblast is a federal subject of Russia comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.The oblast has an area of 87,100 km² and a population of 546,695...
(mainly the eastern part of the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
) in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The Orok language
Orok language
Orok is the Russian name for the language known by its speakers as Ulta or Ujlta. Similarly, the people are called Oroks or Ulta. It is counted among the Tungusic languages...
belongs to the Southern group of the Tungusic language family
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
and is unwritten. According to the 2002 Russian census
Russian Census (2002)
Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
, there were 346 Oroks living in Northern Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
by the Okhotsk Sea and Southern Sakhalin in the district by the city of Poronaysk
Poronaysk
Poronaysk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the Poronay River some 288 km north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It is the administrative center of Poronaysky District. Population: 17,400 ; 17,954 ; 25,971 ....
.
Etymology
The name Orok is believed to derive from the exonymExonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
Oro given by a Tungusic
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
group meaning "a domestic reindeer". The Orok self-designation endonym
Exonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
is Ul'ta, probably from the root Ula (meaning "domestic reindeer" in Orok). Another self-designation is Nani. Occasionally, the Oroks, as well as the Orochs and Udege, are erroneously called Orochons.
History
The Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
gained complete control over Orok lands after the 1858 Treaty of Aigun
Treaty of Aigun
The Treaty of Aigun was a 1858 treaty between the Russian Empire, and the empire of the Qing Dynasty, the sinicized-Manchu rulers of China, that established much of the modern border between the Russian Far East and Manchuria , which is now known as Northeast China...
and 1860 Convention of Peking
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or the First Convention of Peking is the name used for three different unequal treaties, which were concluded between Qing China and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia.-Background:...
. A penal colony was established on Sakhalin between 1857 and 1906, bringing large numbers of Russian criminals and political exiles, including Lev Sternberg, an important early ethnographer on Oroks and the island's other indigenous people, the Nivkhs and Ainu
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
. Russia underwent the Bolshevik Revolution forming the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1922; the new government altered prior imperial polices towards the Oroks to bring them into line with communist ideology
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Before Soviet collectivization in the 1920s, the Orok were divided into five groups, each with their own migratory zone.
Following the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, southern Sakhalin came under the control of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, which administered it as Karafuto Prefecture
Karafuto Prefecture
, commonly called South Sakhalin, was the Japanese administrative division corresponding to Japanese territory on Sakhalin from 1905 to 1945. Through the Treaty of Portsmouth, the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N became a colony of Japan in 1905...
. The Uilta were classified as "Karafuto natives" (樺太土人), and were not entered into Japanese-style family registers, in contrast to the Ainu, who had "mainland Japan
Mainland Japan
is a term to distinguish the area of Japan from its outlying territories. It was an official term in the pre-war period, distinguishing Japan and the colonies in East Asia...
" family registers. Like the Karafuto Koreans
Sakhalin Koreans
Sakhalin Koreans are Russian citizens and residents of Korean descent living on Sakhalin Island, who trace their roots to the immigrants from the Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces of Korea during the late 1930s and early 1940s, the latter half of the Japanese colonial era...
and the Nivkh, but unlike the Ainu, the Uilta were thus not included in the evacuation of Japanese nationals
Evacuation of Karafuto and Kuriles
The evacuation of Karafuto and the Kuriles refers to the events that took place during the Pacific theater of World War II as the Japanese population left these areas, to August 1945 in the northwest of the main islands of Japan....
after the Soviet invasion in 1945. Some Nivkhs and Uilta who served in the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
were held in Soviet work camps
Japanese prisoners of war in the Soviet Union
By the end of :World War II there were from 560,000 to 760,000 Japanese POWs in the Soviet Union and Mongolia interned to work in labor camps. Of them, about 10% died , mostly during the winter of 1945–1946....
; after court cases in the late 1950s and 1960s, they were recognised as Japanese nationals and thus permitted to migrate to Japan. Most settled around Abashiri, Hokkaidō
Abashiri, Hokkaido
is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners...
. The Uilta Kyokai of Japan was founded to fight for Uilta rights and the preservation of Uilta traditions in 1975 by Dahinien Gendanu
Dahinien Gendānu
Dahinien Gendānu, also Daxinnieni Geldanu was an Uilta activist from Sakhalin.-Life:Gendānu was the adopted son of Dahinien Gorgolo, an Uilta shaman. Like most members of his people at the time, he was unclear on his exact year of birth. In his childhood, his home village of Otasu was ruled as...
.
Further reading
- Missonova, Lyudmila I. (2009). The Main Spheres of Activities of Sakhalin Uilta: Survival Experience in the Present-Day Context. Sibirica: Interdisciplinary Journal of Siberian Studies, 8:2, 71–87. Abstract available here (retrieved November 9, 2009).
- Ороки. -- Народы Сибири, Москва -- Ленинград 1956.
- Т. Петрова, Язык ороков (ульта), Москва 1967.
- А. В. Смоляк, Южные ороки. -- Советская этнография 1, 1965.
- А. В. Смоляк, Этнические процессы у народов Нижнего Амура и Сахалина, Москва 1975.
External links
- Oroks in the Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire