Problems of the Former Homeland and Ethnic Roots
of the Buryat group of Segenuts

S. B. Bolkhosoev; E. B. Bolkhosoeva

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2023. Vol 44

Problems of the Former Homeland and Ethnic Roots of the Buryat group of Segenuts

Full text (russian)

Author(s)

S. B. Bolkhosoev, E. B. Bolkhosoeva

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the origin of one of the main components of the tribal composition of the Western Buryats, known as “Segenut”. The relevance of this study is due to the insufficient study of the ethnic origins of the ancestral group, the territory, and the time of the formation of the West Buryat group. The study is based on general scientific research methods. Comparative historical and textual methods are also used. Analysis of ancestral traditions and texts of shamanic invocations of Buryats shows that the origin of the Buryat group of Segenuts was associated with the territory of northwestern Mongolia and adjacent areas of southeastern Tuva. These territories are located within the boundaries of the biosphere reserve, called the Ubsunur basin. This is indicated by the analysis of toponymic names found in folklore and texts of the sacred tradition of the Segenuts. This is also evidenced by the ethnonymy reflected in the legends of the Buryats. This made it possible to identify the ethnic origins of the Segenuts, going back to the Uriankhai/Turkic basis. This basis makes up a significant layer of the original population of the Ubsunur basin. A significant argument in favor of this is the reference to the Uighur language of the ancestors of the Segenuts. This language is captured by the shamanic folklore of the Buryats. It is known that language is one of the basic elements in ethnic identification. Language stands out as a key factor in the definition of an ethnic group in various scientific concepts. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the marking of the Segenuts as Uriankhais in folklore, representations and traditions of the Buryats. This also gave reason to believe that the Segenuts are not autochthons of the Cis-Baikal region, but a migrated part of the Turkic-speaking society, close in origin to the Tuvan groups Soyan and choodu. That is, the Segenuts are the descendants of the Turkic-speaking ethnic group who became Buryats. In this regard, a version has been put forward about the time of their migration. It was provoked by the unstable situation in Western Mongolia and Southern Siberia in the 15th–16th centuries. Perhaps the situation was connected with the desire of the Oirats as a leading ethno-political association, who tried to expand their zone of influence to neighboring territories. This led to civil strife, military actions and the outflow of the population to other regions.

About the Authors

Bolkhosoev Stanislav Borisovich, Candidate of Sciences (History), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Ethnology and Folk art Culture, East-Siberian State Institute of Culture; 1, Tereshkova st., Ulan-Ude, 670031, Russian Federation, e-mail: stanislav_bolhos@mail.ru

Bolkhosoeva Elena Borisovna, Candidate of Sciences (Geography), Associate Professor of the Department of Geography and Geoecology, Dorzhi Banzarov Buryat State University; 24а, Smolin st., Ulan-Ude, 670000, Russian Federation, e-mail: uman5@mail.ru

For citation

Bolkhosoev S. B., Bolkhosoeva E. B. Problems of the Former Homeland and Ethnic Roots of the Buryat group of Segenuts. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2023, Vol. 44, pp. 99–119. https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2023.44.99 (in Russ.)

Keywords

Buryats, Segenuts, Oirats, Uriankhais, tribe, toponym, ethnogenesis, migrants.

UDC

39(=512.31)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2023.44.99

References

Aiyzhy E. V., Kongu A. A. Rodoplemennye gruppy tuvintsev Tozhdinskogo raiona Respubliki Tuva na sovremennom etape (po materialam polevykh issledovanii) [Today’s tuvan tribal groups of the Todzha Region of the Republic of Tuva (based on field studies)]. Vestnik Chuvashskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. I. Ya. Yakovleva [I. Ya. Yakovlev Chuvash State Pedagogical University Bulletin]. 2013, Vol. 4 (80), Part 1, pp. 3–10. (In Russ.)

Baldaev S. P. Izbrannoe [Favourites]. Ulan-Ude, Buryat Book Publ., 1961, 178 p. (In Russ.)

Baldaev S. P. Rodoslovnye predaniya i legendy buryat [Genealogies and legends of Buryats]. Ulan-Ude, NovaPrint Publ., 2019, 720 р. (In Russ.)

Baskakov N. A., Toshchakova T. M. (eds.). Oirotskorusskii slovar [Oirot-Russian dictionary]. Moscow, OGIZ Publ., 1947, 312 p.

Bayarsaikhan B., Bavuu-Syuryun M. V. Mongolizmy v tuvinskikh toponimakh: sopostavitelnyi analiz geograficheskikh nazvanii sumona Tsengel BayanUlegeiskogo aimaka Mongolii i Tuvy [Mongolisms in Tuvan Toponyms: A Comparative Analysis of Placenames in Tsengel sum of Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Mongolia with those of Tuva]. Novye issledovaniya Tuvy [The New Research of Tuva]. 2018, Is. 3, pp. 215–225.https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2018.3.14 (In Russ.)

Bobrov L. A., Khudyakov Yu. S. Vooruzhenie i taktika kochevnikov Tsentralnoi Azii i Yuzhnoi Sibiri v epokhu pozdnego Srednevekoviya i rannego Novogo vremeni (XV — pervaya polovina XVIII v.) [Armament and Tactics of the Nomads of Central Asia and Southern Siberia during the Late Medieval and Early Modern Ages (15th — first half of the 18th century A.D.)]. St. Petersburg, Faculty of Philology of the St. Petersburg State University Publ., 2008, 776 p. (In Russ.)

Bolkhosoev S. B. Izbrannichestvo: fenomen shamanskoi nasledstvennosti udkha u predbaikalskikh buryat [The chosen one: the phenomenon of shamanic inheritance of udkha from the cis-baikal buryat]. Ulan-Ude, ESSIC Publ., 2016, 247 p. (In Russ.)

Bolkhosoev S. B. Semantika nazvaniya mongolskogo muzykalnogo instrumenta "morin khur" [Semantics of the name of the Mongolian musical instrument "Morin Khur"]. Izvestiya Laboratorii drevnikh tekhnologii [Reports of the Laboratory of Ancient Technologies]. 2020, Vol. 16, Is. 2, pp. 81–89.https://doi.org/10.21285/2415-8739-2020-2-81-89 (In Russ.)

Buraev A. I. Etnoarkheologiya Baikalskogo regiona (voprosy kompleksnosti i integratsii issledovanii) [Ethnoarchaeology of the Baikal region (issues of complexity and integration of research)]. Vestnik Vostochno-Sibirskogo gosudarstvennogo instituta kultury [Bulletin of the East Siberian State Institute of Culture]. 2017, Vol. 4 (4), pp. 5–10. (In Russ.)

Dampilova L. S. Semantika etnomentalnykh oronimov v epose mongolskikh narodov [Semantics of Ethnomental Oronyms in Epos of the Mongolian People]. Gumanitarnyi vektor [Humanitarian Vector]. 2018, Vol. 13, Is. 1, pp. 175–180.https://doi.org/10.21209/1996-7853-2018-13-1-175-180 (In Russ.)

Dashibalov B. B. Arkheologicheskie pamyatniki kurykan i khori [Archaeological sites of Kurykan and Hori]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 1995, 191 p. (In Russ.)

Dolgikh B. O. Nekotorye dannye k istorii obrazovaniya buryatskogo naroda [Some data on the history of the Buryat people]. Sovetskaya etnografiya [Soviet Ethnography]. 1953, Vol. 1, pp. 38–63. (In Russ.)

Dongak A. S. Toponimicheskie predaniya i legendy Yugo-Vostochnoi Tuvy: lokalnoe svoeobrazie v rusle mezhkulturnykh kontaktov [Toponymic legends and legends of South-Eastern Tuva: local identity in line with cross-cultural contacts]. 1 Sibirskii forum folkloristov: tezisy dokladov [1-st Siberian Forum of Folklorists. Abstracts of reports.]. Novosibirsk, 2016, pp. 54‒56. (In Russ.)

Dongak A. S. Toponimicheskie predaniya i legendy Yugo-Vostochnoi Tuvy [Toponymic legends and legends of Southeastern Tuva]. Novye issledovaniya Tuvy [The New Research of Tuva]. 2018, Vol. 3, pp. 126–147.https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2018.3.9 (In Russ.)

Erdenebold L. Traditsionnye verovaniya oirat-mongolov (konets XIX ‒ nachalo XX v.) [Traditional beliefs of Oirat-Mongols (late XIX – early XX centuries)]. UlanUde, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2012, 196 p. (In Russ.)

Grumm-Grzhimailo G. E. Zapadnaya Mongoliya i Uryankhaiskii krai. Opisanie prirody etikh stran [Western Mongolia and the Urianhai Region. Description of the nature of these countries]. St. Petersburg, 1914, 569 p. (In Russ.)

Khangalov M. N. Sobranie sochinenii [Collected works]. Ulan-Ude, Republican printing house Publ., 2004a, Vol. 1, 508 p. (In Russ.)

Khangalov M. N. Sobranie sochinenii [Collected works]. Ulan-Ude, Republican printing house Publ., 2004b, Vol. 2, 312 p. (In Russ.)

Khangalov M. N. Sobranie sochinenii [Collected works]. Ulan-Ude, Republican printing house Publ., 2004c, Vol. 3, 311 p. (In Russ.)

Khetagurov L. A. (transl. from Mongol.), Semenov A. A. (ed., notes). Rashid-ad-din. Sbornik letopisei [A collection of Chronicles]. Moscow, Leningrad, AN USSR Publ., 1952, Vol. 1, Book 1, 221 p. (In Russ.)

Kilunovskaya M. E. Arkheologicheskie pamyatniki na granitse Tuvy i Mongoliii (problemy kulturnoi prinadlezhnosti i khronologii) [Archaeological sites on the border of Tuva and Mongolia (problems of cultural affiliation and chronology)]. Nauchnoe obozrenie Sayano-Altaya [Sayan-Altai scientific review]. 2018, Vol. 1 (21), pp. 35–54. (In Russ.)

Konovalov P. B., Tsibikdorzhiev D. V. Istoricheskii Bargudzhin-Tokum ‒ iskonnaya rodina buryatskogo naroda [Historical Bargudzhin-Tocum as the Indigenous Homeland of the Buryat People]. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2017, Vol. 19, pp. 129–150. (In Russ.)

Lkhagvasuren I. Altaiskie uryankhaitsy. Istorikoetnograficheskie ocherki (konets XIX – nachalo XX v.) / per. s mong. M. V. Mongush [Altai Uriankhais. Historical and ethnographic essays (late XIX – early XX century). Translated from the Mongolian M. V. Mongush.]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2013, 178 p. (In Russ.).

Manzhigeev I. A. Buryatskie shamanisticheskie i doshamanisticheskie terminy [Buryat shamanistic and pre-shamanistic terms]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1978, 127 р. (In Russ.)

Mikhailov T. M. Iz istorii buryatskogo shamanizma (s drevneishikh vremen po XVIII v.) [History of Buryat shamanism (from ancient times to the 18th century)]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1980, 320 р. (In Russ.)

Mir Ubsunurskoi kotloviny [The world of Ubsunur Hollow]: album. Novosibirsk, SB RAS Publ., 1994, 155 p. (In Russ.)

Mitroshkina A. G. Slovar buryatskikh lichnykh imen [Dictionary of Buryat personal names]. Ulan-Ude, Buryat State University Publ., 2013, 200 p. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Etnogenez zapadnykh buryat (VI–XIX vv.) [Ethnogenesis of Western Buryats (VI–XIX centuries)]. Irkutsk, Radian Publ., 2005, 159 p. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Etnicheskii sostav i rasselenie narodov Mongolskogo Altaya i Prikhubsuguliya v nachale XX veka [Ethnic Groups and Peoples Resettlement in Mongolian Altai and Khubsugul Region in the Beginning of XX Century]. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2013, Vol. 2, pp. 138–151. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Irkutskie buryaty v XIX veke: etnicheskii sostav i rasselenie [Irkutsk Buryats in the XIX century: ethnic composition and settlement]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2018, 224 p. (In Russ.).

Nanzatov B. Z. Potomki Elyudeya: problema oiratskoburyatskikh etnicheskikh svyazei [Descendants of Eleudei: The Problem of Oirat-Buryat Ethnic Contacts]. Arkheologiya, etnografiya i antropologiya Evrazii [Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of Eurasia]. 2020, Vol. 48, Is. 4, pp. 116–124.https://doi.org/10.17746/1563-0102.2020.48.3.116-124 (In Russ.)

Nyamkhu M. Relief Darkhatskoi kotloviny [Relief of the Darkhat Depression]. Vectnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Tomsk State University Journal]. 2012, Vol. 356, pp. 179‒182. (In Russ.)

Ochir A. Mongolskie etnonimy: voprosy proiskhozhdeniya i etnicheskogo sostava mongolskikh narodov [Mongolian ethnonyms: questions of the origin and ethnic composition of the Mongolian peoples]. Elista, KIHR RAS Publ., 2016, 286 p. (In Russ.)

Ochirov U. B. Oiraty zapadnoi Mongolii i severozapadnogo Kitaya: voprosy etnicheskoi istorii, demografii i geografii rasseleniya vo vtoroi polovine XVIII v. [Oirats of western Mongolia and northwestern China: issues of ethnic history, demography and geography of settlement in the second half of the 18th century]. Vestnik Kalmytskogo instituta gumanitarnykh issledovanii RAN [Bulletin of the Kalmyk Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 2010, Vol. 3 (2), рр. 9–15. (In Russ.)

Okladnikov A. P. Ocherki iz istorii zapadnykh buryat-mongolov [Essays from the history of the Western Buryats-Mongols]. Leningrad, OGIZ Publ., 1937, 427 p. (In Russ.).

Ovchinnikov M. P. Otchet o komandirovke v g. Kirensk dlya osmotra arkhivov, ot Irkutska do Kirenska [Report on a business trip to Kirensk to inspect archives, from Irkutsk to Kirensk]. Trudy Irkutskoi arkhivnoi komissii [Proceedings of the Irkutsk Archival Commission]. Irkutsk, 1916, Vol. 3, pp. 333–389. (In Russ.)

Pavlov E. V. Segenuty-olety v etnicheskoi istorii predbaikalskikh buryat [Segenuts-olets in the ethnic history of Cis-Baikal Buryats]. Problemy etnogeneza i etnicheskoi kultury tyurko-mongolskikh narodov [Problems of ethnogenesis and ethnic culture of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples]. Elista, 2007, pp. 13–21. (In Russ.)

Pevtsov M. V. Puteshestvie po Kitayu i Mongolii [Travel to China and Mongolia]. Moscow, Geografgiz Publ., 1951, 284 p. (In Russ.)

Potanin G. N. Ocherki Severo-Zapadnoi Mongolii. Materialy etnograficheskie: 1867‒1877 [Essays on Northwestern Mongolia. Ethnographic materials: 1867– 1877]. St. Petersburg, 1881, Vol. 3, 286 p. (In Russ.)

Potanin G. N. Ocherki Severo-Zapadnoi Mongolii. Rezultaty puteshestviya, ispolnennogo v 1879–1880 gg. po porucheniyu Imperatorskogo Velichestva Geograficheskogo obshchestva [Essays on Northwestern Mongolia. The results of a journey carried out in 1879–1880 on behalf of the Imperial Majesty of the Geographical Society]. St. Petersburg, Tipografiya Bezobrazova i K Publ., 1883, 372 p. (In Russ.)

Potapov L. P. Etnicheskii sostav i proiskhozhdenie altaitsev: istoriko-etnograficheskii ocherk [Ethnic composition and origin of Altaians. Historical and ethnographic essay]. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1969, 196 p. (In Russ.)

Rassadin V. I. Slovar tofalarsko-russkii i russkotofalarskii. Uchebnoe posobie dlya uchyashchikhsya srednei shkoly [Russian Russian-Tofalar Dictionary and Russian-Tofalar Dictionary. A textbook for secondary school students]. St. Petersburg, Drofa Publ., 2005a, 295 p. (In Russ.)

Rassadin V. I. Khozyaistvo, byt i kultury tofalarov [Economy, life and culture of Tofalars]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2005b, 191 p. (In Russ.)

Sanchirov V. P. K voprosu o durben-oiratskom soyuze [On the Question of the Durben-Oirat Alliance]. Vestnik Kalmytskogo instituta gumanitarnykh issledovanii RAN [Bulletin of the Kalmyk Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 2013, Vol. 6, Is. 2, рр. 7–13. (In Russ.)

Sanzheev G. D. Darkhaty: etnograficheskii otchet o poezdke v Mongoliyu v 1927 godu [Darkhats: An ethnographic account of a trip to Mongolia in 1927]. Leningrad, AN USSR Publ., 1930, 69 p. (In Russ.)

Semenova V. I. Lichnye imena ekhiritskikh buryat [Personal names of ekhirit Buryats]. Irkutsk, Irkutsk University Publ., 2005, 190 p. (In Russ.)

Seren P. S. Tuvintsy ‒ olenevody Mongolii. (Materialy po yazyku i culture) [Tuvans ‒ reindeer herders of Mongolia. Materials on language and culture]. Kyzyl, Tyvapoligraf Publ., 2016, 160 p. (In Russ.)

Shagdarov L. D., Cheremisov K. M. Buryaad-orod toli. Buryatsko-russkii slovar [Buryaad-orod toli. Buryat-Russian dictionary]. Ulan-Ude, Republican printing house, 2010a, Vol. 1: A–N, 636 p. (In Buryat; in Russ.)

Shagdarov L. D., Cheremisov K. M. Buryaad-orod toli. Buryatsko-russkii slovar [Buryaad-orod toli. Buryat-Russian dictionary]. Ulan-Ude, Republican printing house, 2010b, Vol. 2: O‒I, 708 p. (In Buryat; in Russ.)

Sundueva E. V. Toponimika Olkhona i Priolkhoniya (semantika onimicheskikh osnov) [Toponymy of Olkhon Island and Olkhon region (semantics of onymic bases)]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2010, 128 p. (In Russ.)

Tenisheva E. R. (ed.). Tuvinsko-russkii slovar [Tuvan-Russian dictionary]. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 1968, 648 p. (In Russ.)

Tsydendambayev Ts. B. Buryatskie istoricheskie khroniki i rodoslovnye [Buryat Historical Chronicles and Pedigrees]. Ulan-Ude, Buryat book publishing house, 1972, 662 p. (In Russ.)

Tulokhonov M. I. Genealogicheskie legendy i predaniya kak istochnik po etnicheskoi istorii buryat [Genealogical legends and traditions as a source for the ethnic history of the Buryats]. Etnokulturnye protsessy v Yugo-Vostochnoi Sibiri v srednie veka [Ethnocultural processes in Southeastern Siberia in the Middle Ages]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1989, pp. 164–172 (In Russ.)

Ushnitskii V. V. Etnonim Uguleet sredi vilyuiskikh evenkov [The ethnonym Uguleet among the Vilyui Evenks]. Problemy etnogeneza i etnicheskoi kultury tyurko-mongolskikh narodov [Problems of ethnogenesis and ethnic culture of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples]. Elista, 2007, pp. 22–25. (In Russ.)

Ushnitskii V. V. Nekotorye aspekty izucheniya etnogeneza tuvinskogo naroda [Some Aspects of the Study of the Ethnogenesis of the Tuvan People]. Vestnik NGU. Seriya: Istoriya i filologiya [Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology]. 2020, Vol. 19, Is. (5): Arkheologiya i etnografiya [Archaeology and Ethnography], pp. 146–155. https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2020-19-5-146-155 (In Russ.)

Vainshtein S. I. Ocherk etnogeneza tuvintsev [Essay on the ethnogenesis of the Tuvans]. Uchenye zapiski TNIIYaLI [Scientific notes of the Tuvan Research Institute of Language, Literature and History]. Kyzyl, 1957, Vol. 5, pp. 178–214. (In Russ.)

Zlatkin I. Ya. Istoriya Dzhungarskogo khanstva 1635‒1758 [History of the Dzungarian Khanate 1635‒1758]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1983, 333 p. (In Russ.)

Zvonov B. M., Bukreev S. A., Boldbaatar Sh. Ptitsy Mongolii. Chast I. Nevorobinye [Birds of Mongolia. Part I. Non-Passeriformes]. Moscow, Selskokhozyaistvennye tekhnologii Publ., 2016, 396 p. https://doi.org/10.7868/S0044513418060090 (In Russ.)