Who are the Evenks?

These Tingusic people are called the Ewenki, Evenk or Evenki. They dwell in the Russian North and other parts of the Northern Asia. They are considered the Indigenous people of the Russian northern territories. Approximately 40 thousand Evenks live in Russia nowadays, with another 30 thosand dwelling in China and about 5 hundred of them in Mongolia. By the way, in Mongolia the Evenki are referred to as Khamnigan.

Many historians believe this ethnic group has appeared in the Baikal region in the Neolitic era. Since ancient times they have been hunting and gathering, keeping reindeer as their domestic animals, which provided them with milk and a good means of transportation.

They lived in areas of the taiga, or boreal forest, in conical tents made from birch bark or reindeer skin tied to birch poles. When they moved camp, the Evenks left the dwelling’s framework and carried only the more portable coverings. During winter, the hunting season, camps consisted of one or two tents while the spring encampments encompassed up to 10 households.

They were and continue to be master breeders and herders of reindeer.