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How did the Tatar nation appear? Tatars. Origin of the nation

The Tatars are the second largest nation in Russia after the Russians. According to the 2010 census, they constitute 3.72% of the population of the entire country. This people, who joined in the second half of the 16th century, over the centuries managed to preserve their cultural identity, carefully treating historical traditions and religion.

Any nation searches for its origins. The Tatars are no exception. The origins of this nation began to be seriously studied in the 19th century, when the development of bourgeois relations accelerated. The people were subjected to special study, highlighting their main features and characteristics, and creating a unified ideology. The origin of the Tatars throughout this time remained an important topic of study by both Russian and Tatar historians. The results of this long-term work can be roughly presented in three theories.

The first theory is associated with the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria. It is believed that the history of the Tatars begins with the Turkic-Bulgar ethnic group, which emerged from the Asian steppes and settled in the Middle Volga region. In the 10th-13th centuries they managed to create their own statehood. The period of the Golden Horde and the Moscow State made some adjustments to the formation of the ethnic group, but did not change the essence of Islamic culture. In this case, we are mainly talking about the Volga-Ural group, while other Tatars are considered as independent ethnic communities, united only by the name and history of joining the Golden Horde.

Other researchers believe that the Tatars originate from Central Asians who moved to the west during the Mongol-Tatar campaigns. It was the entry into the Ulus of Jochi and the adoption of Islam that played the main role in the unification of disparate tribes and the formation of a single nation. At the same time, the autochthonous population of Volga Bulgaria was partially exterminated and partially forced out. The newcomer tribes created their own special culture and brought the Kipchak language.

The Turkic-Tatar origins in the genesis of the people are emphasized by the following theory. According to it, the Tatars trace their origins back to the great, largest Asian state of the Middle Ages of the 6th century AD. The theory recognizes a certain role in the formation of the Tatar ethnic group of both the Volga Bulgaria and the Kipchak-Kimak and Tatar-Mongol ethnic groups of the Asian steppes. The special role of the Golden Horde, which united all the tribes, is emphasized.

All of the listed theories of the formation of the Tatar nation highlight the special role of Islam, as well as the period of the Golden Horde. Based on historical data, researchers see the origins of the people differently. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that the Tatars trace their origins back to the ancient Turkic tribes, and historical ties with other tribes and peoples, of course, influenced the current appearance of the nation. Carefully preserving their culture and language, they managed not to lose their national identity in the face of global integration.

Tribes XI - XII centuries. They spoke Mongolian (Mongolian language group of the Altai language family). The term “Tatars” first appears in Chinese chronicles specifically to designate their northern nomadic neighbors. Later becomes a self-name numerous nationalities speaking Tyuk languages language group Altai language family.

2. Tatars (self-name - Tatars), an ethnic group that makes up the main population of Tatarstan (Tatarstan) (1,765 thousand people, 1992). They also live in Bashkiria, the Mari Republic, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Penza and other regions of the Russian Federation. Tatars are also called Turkic-speaking communities of Siberia (Siberian Tatars), Crimea (Crimean Tatars), etc. The total number in the Russian Federation (excluding Crimean Tatars) is 5.52 million people (1992). The total number is 6.71 million people. The language is Tatar. Believing Tatars are Sunni Muslims.

Basic information

Autoethnonym (self-name)

Tatar: Tatar is the self-name of the Volga Tatars.

Main area of ​​settlement

The main ethnic territory of the Volga Tatars is the Republic of Tatarstan, where, according to the 1989 USSR census, 1,765 thousand people lived. (53% of the republic's population). A significant part of the Tatars live outside of Tatarstan: in Bashkiria - 1121 thousand people, Udmurtia - 111 thousand people, Mordovia - 47 thousand people, as well as in other national-state entities and regions of the Russian Federation. Many Tatars live within the so-called. “near abroad”: in Uzbekistan – 468 thousand people, Kazakhstan – 328 thousand people, in Ukraine – 87 thousand people. etc.

Number

The dynamics of the population of the Tatar ethnic group according to the country's censuses is as follows: 1897 – 2228 thousand (total number of Tatars), 1926 – 2914 thousand Tatars and 102 thousand Kryashens, 1937 – 3793 thousand, 1939 – 4314 thousand ., 1959 - 4968 thousand, 1970 - 5931 thousand, 1979 - 6318 thousand people. The total number of Tatars according to the 1989 census was 6649 thousand people, of which 5522 thousand were in the Russian Federation.

Ethnic and ethnographic groups

There are several quite distinct ethno-territorial groups of Tatars; they are sometimes considered separate ethnic groups. The largest of them is the Volga-Urals, which in turn consists of the Kazan, Kasimov, Mishar and Kryashen Tatars). Some researchers, as part of the Volga-Ural Tatars, especially highlight the Astrakhan Tatars, which in turn consist of such groups as the Yurt, Kundrovskaya, etc.). Each group had its own tribal divisions, for example, the Volga-Ural group - Meselman, Kazanly, Bolgar, Misher, Tipter, Kereshen, Nogaybak, etc. Astrakhan - Nugai, Karagash, Yurt Tatarlars.
Other ethno-territorial groups of Tatars are Siberian and Crimean Tatars.

Language

Tatar: The Tatar language has three dialects - western (Mishar), middle (Kazan-Tatar) and eastern (Siberian-Tatar). The earliest known literary monument in the Tatar language dates back to the 13th century; the formation of the modern Tatar national language was completed at the beginning of the 20th century.

Writing

Until 1928, Tatar writing was based on Arabic script; in the period 1928-1939. - in Latin, and then based on Cyrillic.

Religion

Islam

Orthodoxy: Believers of the Tatars are mainly Sunni Muslims, the group of Kryashens are Orthodox.

Ethnogenesis and ethnic history

The ethnonym “Tatar” began to spread among the Mongolian and Turkic tribes of Central Asia and southern Siberia from the 6th century. In the 13th century during the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan and then Batu, Tatars appear in Eastern Europe and make up a significant part of the population of the Golden Horde. As a result of complex ethnogenetic processes occurring in the 13th-14th centuries, the Turkic and Mongolian tribes of the Golden Horde consolidated, including both the earlier Turkic newcomers and the local Finnish-speaking population. In the khanates formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde, it was primarily the elite of society who called themselves Tatars; after these khanates became part of Russia, the ethnonym “Tatars” began to be adopted by the common people. The Tatar ethnic group was finally formed only at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1920, the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the RSFSR, and since 1991 it has been called the Republic of Tatarstan.

Farm

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the basis of the traditional economy of the Volga-Ural Tatars was arable farming with three fields in forest and forest-steppe regions and a fallow-fallow system in the steppe. The land was cultivated with a two-toothed plow and a heavy Saban plow in the 19th century. they began to be replaced by more improved plows. The main crops were winter rye and spring wheat, oats, barley, peas, lentils, etc. Livestock farming in the northern regions of the Tatars played a subordinate role; here it was of a stall-pasture nature. They raised small cattle, chickens, and horses, the meat of which was used for food; the Kryashens raised pigs. In the south, in the steppe zone, livestock farming was not inferior in importance to agriculture, and in some places it had an intensive semi-nomadic character - horses and sheep were grazed all year round. Poultry was also bred here. Vegetable gardening played a role among the Tatars minor role, the main crop was potatoes. Beekeeping was developed, and melon growing was developed in the steppe zone. Hunting as a trade was important only for the Ural Mishars; fishing was of an amateur nature and only commercial on the Ural and Volga rivers. Among the crafts of the Tatars, woodworking played a significant role, high level craftsmanship was distinguished by leather processing, gold embroidery, weaving, felting, blacksmithing, jewelry and other crafts were developed.

Traditional clothing

Traditional clothing Tatars were sewn from home-made or purchased fabrics. The underwear of men and women was a tunic-shaped shirt, men's length almost to the knees, and women's almost to the floor with a wide gather at the hem and a bib decorated with embroidery, and trousers with wide steps. The women's shirt was more decorated. The outerwear was swinging with a continuous fitted back. This included a camisole, sleeveless or with short sleeves; the women's was richly decorated; over the camisole, men wore a long, spacious robe, plain or striped, belted with a sash. In cold weather they wore quilted or fur beshmets and fur coats. On the road they wore a straight-back fur sheepskin coat with a sash or a checkmen of the same cut, but made of cloth. The headdress of men was the skull cap different forms, a fur or quilted hat was worn over it in cold weather, and a felt hat in the summer. Women's headdresses were distinguished by a great variety - various types of richly decorated hats, bedspreads, towel-shaped headdresses. Women wore a lot of jewelry - earrings, braid pendants, breast jewelry, baldrics, bracelets; silver coins were widely used in making jewelry. Traditional types of shoes were leather ichigs and shoes with soft and hard soles, often made of colored leather. Work shoes were Tatar-style bast shoes, which were worn with white cloth stockings, and mishars with onuchas.

Traditional settlements and dwellings

Traditional Tatar villages (auls) were located along the river network and transport communications. In the forest zone, their layout was different - cumulus, nesting, chaotic; the villages were characterized by crowded buildings, uneven and confusing streets, and the presence of numerous dead ends. The buildings were located inside the estate, and the street was formed by a continuous line of blank fences. The settlements of the forest-steppe and steppe zones were distinguished by the orderliness of their development. In the center of the settlement there were mosques, shops, public grain barns, fire sheds, administrative buildings, families of wealthy peasants, clergy, and merchants also lived here.
The estates were divided into two parts - the front yard with housing, storage and premises for livestock, and the back yard, where there was a vegetable garden, a threshing floor with a current, a barn, a chaff barn, and a bathhouse. The buildings of the estate were located either randomly or grouped in a U-, L-shape, in two rows, etc. The buildings were erected from wood with a predominance of timber frame technology, but there were also buildings made from clay, brick, stone, adobe, and wattle structures. The dwelling was three-partitioned - izba-seni-izba or two-partitioned - izba-seni; among the wealthy Tatars there were five-walled, cross-shaped, two- and three-story houses with storage rooms and shops on the lower floor. The roofs were two- or four-slope; they were covered with planks, shingles, straw, reeds, and sometimes coated with clay. The internal layout of the Northern Central Russian type predominated. The stove was located at the entrance, bunks were laid along the front wall with a “tour” place of honor in the middle, along the line of the stove the dwelling was divided by a partition or curtain into two parts: the women’s – kitchen and the men’s – guest. The stove was of the Russian type, sometimes with a boiler, mounted or suspended. They rested, ate, worked, slept on bunks; in the northern regions they were shortened and supplemented with benches and tables. The sleeping places were enclosed by a curtain or canopy. Embroidered fabric products played an important role in interior design. In some areas, the exterior decoration of dwellings was abundant - carvings and polychrome painting.

Food

The basis of the diet was meat, dairy and plant foods - soups seasoned with pieces of dough, sour bread, flat cakes, pancakes. Wheat flour was used as a dressing for various dishes. Noodles were popular homemade, it was cooked in meat broth with the addition of butter, lard, sour milk. Delicious dishes included baursak - dough balls boiled in lard or oil. There was a variety of porridges made from lentils, peas, barley, millet, etc. Various meats were consumed - lamb, beef, poultry; horse meat was popular among the Mishars. They prepared tutyrma for future use - sausage with meat, blood and cereals. From dough with meat filling made beleshi. There were a variety of dairy products: katyk - special kind sour milk, sour cream, kort cheese, etc. They ate little vegetables, but from the end of the 19th century. Potatoes began to play a significant role in the diet of the Tatars. The drinks were tea, ayran - a mixture of katyk and water, the festive drink was shirbet - made from fruit and honey dissolved in water. Islam stipulated dietary prohibitions on pork and alcoholic beverages.

Social organization

Until the beginning of the 20th century. For public relations Some groups of Tatars were characterized by tribal division. In area family relations there was a predominance of small families with a small percentage large families, which included 3-4 generations of relatives. There was avoidance of men by women, female seclusion. The isolation of male and female youth was strictly observed; the status of men was much higher than that of women. In accordance with the norms of Islam, there was a custom of polygamy, more typical for the wealthy elite.

Spiritual culture and traditional beliefs

It was typical for the wedding rituals of the Tatars that the parents of the boy and girl agreed on the marriage; the consent of the young people was considered optional. During preparations for the wedding, the relatives of the bride and groom discussed the size of the bride price, which was paid by the groom's side. There was a custom of kidnapping the bride, which eliminated the payment of bride price and expensive wedding expenses. The main wedding rituals, including the festive feast, were held in the bride’s house without the participation of the newlyweds. The young woman remained with her parents until the bride price was paid, and her move to her husband’s house was sometimes delayed until the birth of the first child, which was also accompanied by many rituals.
The festive culture of the Tatars was closely connected with the Muslim religion. The most significant of the holidays were Korban Gaete - sacrifice, Uraza Gaete - the end of the 30-day fast, Maulid - the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. At the same time, many holidays and rituals were of a pre-Islamic nature, for example, related to the cycle of agricultural work. Among the Kazan Tatars, the most significant of them was Sabantuy (saban - “plow”, tui - “wedding”, “holiday”), celebrated in the spring before sowing. During it, competitions were held in running and jumping, national wrestling keresh and horse racing, and a collective meal of porridge was held. Among the baptized Tatars, traditional holidays were dedicated to the Christian calendar, but also contained many archaic elements.
There was a belief in various master spirits: water - suanasy, forests - shurale, earth - fat anasy, brownie oy iyase, barn - abzar iyase, ideas about werewolves - ubyr. Prayers were held in groves called keremet; it was believed that an evil spirit with the same name lived in them. There were also ideas about other evil spirits - gins and peri. For ritual help they turned to the yemchi - that’s what healers and healers were called.
Folklore, song and dance art associated with the use of musical instruments - kurai (like a flute), kubyz (jaw's harp), and over time the accordion became widespread in the spiritual culture of the Tatars.

Bibliography and sources

Bibliographies

  • Material culture Kazan Tatars (extensive bibliography). Kazan, 1930./Vorobiev N.I.

General work

  • Kazan Tatars. Kazan, 1953./Vorobiev N.I.
  • Tatars. Naberezhnye Chelny, 1993./Iskhakov D.M.
  • Peoples of the European part of the USSR. T.II / Peoples of the world: Ethnographic essays. M., 1964. P.634-681.
  • Peoples of the Volga and Urals regions. Historical and ethnographic essays. M., 1985.
  • Tatars and Tatarstan: Directory. Kazan, 1993.
  • Tatars of the Middle Volga and Urals. M., 1967.
  • Tatars // Peoples of Russia: Encyclopedia. M., 1994. pp. 320-331.

Selected aspects

  • Agriculture of the Tatars of the Middle Volga and Urals 19th-early 20th centuries. M., 1981./Khalikov N.A.
  • Origin Tatar people. Kazan, 1978./Khalikov A.Kh.
  • Tatar people and their ancestors. Kazan, 1989./Khalikov A.Kh.
  • Mongols, Tatars, Golden Horde and Bulgaria. Kazan, 1994./Khalikov A.Kh.
  • Ethnocultural zoning of the Tatars of the Middle Volga region. Kazan, 1991.
  • Modern rituals of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1984./Urazmanova R.K.
  • Ethnogenesis and main milestones in the development of the Tatar-Bulgars // Problems of linguoethnohistory of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1995./Zakiev M.Z.
  • History of the Tatar ASSR (from ancient times to the present day). Kazan, 1968.
  • Settlement and number of Tatars in the Volga-Ural historical and ethnographic region in the 18th-19th centuries. // Soviet ethnography, 1980, No. 4./Iskhakov D.M.
  • Tatars: ethnos and ethnonym. Kazan, 1989./Karimullin A.G.
  • Handicrafts of the Kazan province. Vol. 1-2, 8-9. Kazan, 1901-1905./Kosolapov V.N.
  • Peoples of the Middle Volga region and Southern Urals. Ethnogenetic view of history. M., 1992./Kuzeev R.G.
  • Terminology of kinship and properties among the Mishar Tatars in the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic // Materials on Tatar dialectology. 2. Kazan, 1962./Mukhamedova R.G.
  • Beliefs and rituals of the Kazan Tatars, formed due to the influence on the life of their Sunni Mohammedanism // Western Russian Geographical Society. T. 6. 1880./Nasyrov A.K.
  • Origin of the Kazan Tatars. Kazan, 1948.
  • Tatarstan: national interests (Political essay). Kazan, 1995./Tagirov E.R.
  • Ethnogenesis of the Volga Tatars in the light of anthropological data // Proceedings of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. New gray T.7 .M.-L., 1949./Trofimova T.A.
  • Tatars: problems of history and language (Collected articles on problems of linguistic history, revival and development of the Tatar nation). Kazan, 1995./Zakiev M.Z.
  • Islam and the national ideology of the Tatar people // Islamic-Christian borderland: results and prospects of study. Kazan, 1994./Amirkhanov R.M.
  • Rural housing of the Tatar ASSR. Kazan, 1957./Bikchentaev A.G.
  • Artistic crafts of Tatarstan in the past and present. Kazan, 1957./Vorobiev N.I., Busygin E.P.
  • History of the Tatars. M., 1994./Gaziz G.

Selected regional groups

  • Geography and culture of ethnographic groups of Tatars in the USSR. M., 1983.
  • Teptyari. Experience of ethnostatistical study // Soviet ethnography, 1979, No. 4./Iskhakov D.M.
  • Mishar Tatars. Historical and ethnographic research. M., 1972./Mukhamedova R.G.
  • Chepetsk Tatars (Brief historical sketch) // New in ethnographic studies of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1978./Mukhamedova R.G.
  • Kryashen Tatars. Historical and ethnographic study of material culture (mid-19th-early 20th centuries). M., 1977./Mukhametshin Yu.G.
  • On the history of the Tatar population of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (about the Mishars) // Tr.NII YALIE. Issue 24 (serial source). Saransk, 1963./Safrgalieva M.G.
  • Bashkirs, Meshcheryaks and Teptyars // Izv. Russian Geographical Society.T.13, Issue. 2. 1877./Uyfalvi K.
  • Kasimov Tatars. Kazan, 1991./Sharifullina F.M.

Publication of sources

  • Sources on the history of Tatarstan (16-18 centuries). Book 1. Kazan, 1993.
  • Materials on the history of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1995.
  • Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars on the formation of the Autonomous Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic // Collection. legalizations and orders of the workers' and peasants' government. No. 51. 1920.

Read further:

Karin Tatars- an ethnic group living in the village of Karino, Slobodsky district, Kirov region. and nearby settlements. Believers are Muslims. Perhaps they have common roots with the Besermyans (V.K. Semibratov), ​​living in the territory of Udmurtia, but, unlike them (who speak Udmurt), they speak a dialect of the Tatar language.

Ivkinsky Tatars- a mythical ethnic group, mentioned by D. M. Zakharov based on folklore data.

Tatars(self-name - Tat. Tatar, tatar, plural Tatarlar, tatarlar) - Turkic people, living in the central regions of the European part of Russia, in the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Xinjiang, Afghanistan and the Far East.

Tatars are the second largest ethnic group ( ethnoc- ethnic community) after the Russians and the most numerous people Muslim culture in the Russian Federation, where the main area of ​​their settlement is the Volga-Ural region. Within this region, the largest groups of Tatars are concentrated in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Language, writing

According to many historians, the Tatar people with a single literary and practically common spoken language emerged during the existence of the huge Turkic state - the Golden Horde. The literary language in this state was the so-called “idel terkise” or Old Tatar, based on the Kipchak-Bulgar (Polovtsian) language and incorporating elements of Central Asian literary languages. The modern literary language based on the middle dialect arose in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In ancient times, the Turkic ancestors of the Tatars used runic writing, as evidenced by archaeological finds in the Urals and Middle Volga region. Since the voluntary adoption of Islam by one of the ancestors of the Tatars, the Volga-Kama Bulgars, the Tatars used Arabic writing, from 1929 to 1939 - Latin script, and since 1939 they have used the Cyrillic alphabet with additional characters.

The earliest surviving literary monument in the old Tatar literary language (Kul Gali’s poem “Kyisa-i Yosyf”) was written in the 13th century. From the second half of the 19th century. The modern Tatar literary language begins to take shape, which by the 1910s had completely replaced the old Tatar language.

The modern Tatar language, belonging to the Kipchak-Bulgar subgroup of the Kipchak group of the Turkic language family, is divided into four dialects: middle (Kazan Tatar), western (Mishar), eastern (language of the Siberian Tatars) and Crimean (language of the Crimean Tatars). Despite dialectal and territorial differences, Tatars are one nation with a single literary language, a single culture - folklore, literature, music, religion, national spirit, traditions and rituals.

Even before the 1917 coup, the Tatar nation occupied one of the leading places in the world in terms of literacy level (the ability to write and read in its own language). Russian Empire. The traditional thirst for knowledge has survived in the current generation.

Tatars, like everyone else large ethnic group, have a rather complex internal structure and consist of three ethno-territorial groups: Volga-Ural, Siberian, Astrakhan Tatars and the sub-confessional community of baptized Tatars. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Tatars went through a process of ethnic consolidation ( ConsolidAtion[lat. consolidatio, from con (cum) - together, at the same time and solido - compacting, strengthening, merging], strengthening, strengthening something; unification, rallying of individuals, groups, organizations to strengthen the struggle for common goals).

The folk culture of the Tatars, despite its regional variability (it varies among all ethnic groups), is fundamentally the same. The vernacular Tatar language (consisting of several dialects) is fundamentally unified. From the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. A national (so-called “high”) culture with a developed literary language emerged.

The consolidation of the Tatar nation was influenced by strong impact high migration activity of Tatars from the Volga-Ural region. So, by the beginning of the 20th century. 1/3 of the Astrakhan Tatars consisted of immigrants, and many of them were mixed (through marriages) with local Tatars. The same situation was observed in Western Siberia, where already by end of the 19th century V. about 1/5 of the Tatars came from the Volga and Urals regions, who also intensively mixed with the indigenous Siberian Tatars. Therefore, today it is almost impossible to identify “pure” Siberian or Astrakhan Tatars.

The Kryashens are distinguished by their religious affiliation - they are Orthodox. But all other ethnic parameters unite them with other Tatars. In general, religion is not an ethnic-forming factor. Basic elements traditional culture baptized Tatars are the same as those of other neighboring groups of Tatars.

Thus, the unity of the Tatar nation has deep cultural roots, and today the presence of Astrakhan, Siberian Tatars, Kryashens, Mishars, Nagaibaks has a purely historical and ethnographic significance and cannot serve as a basis for identifying independent peoples.

The Tatar ethnic group has an ancient and bright story, closely connected with the history of all the peoples of the Ural-Volga region and Russia as a whole.

The original culture of the Tatars has worthily entered the treasury of world culture and civilization.

We find traces of it in the traditions and language of the Russians, Mordvins, Mari, Udmurts, Bashkirs, and Chuvashs. At the same time, the national Tatar culture synthesizes the achievements of the Turkic, Finno-Ugric, Indo-Iranian peoples (Arabs, Slavs and others).

Tatars are one of the most mobile peoples. Due to landlessness, frequent crop failures in their homeland and the traditional desire for trade, even before 1917 they began to move to various regions of the Russian Empire, including the provinces of Central Russia, the Donbass, Eastern Siberia And Far East, North Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. This migration process intensified during the years of Soviet rule, especially during the “great construction projects of socialism.” Therefore, at present there is practically no federal subject in the Russian Federation where Tatars live. Even in the pre-revolutionary period, Tatar national communities were formed in Finland, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and China. As a result of the collapse of the USSR, Tatars who lived in the former Soviet republics - Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries - ended up in the near abroad. Already due to re-emigrants from China. In Turkey and Finland, since the mid-20th century, Tatar national diasporas have been formed in the USA, Japan, Australia, and Sweden.

Culture and life of the people

The Tatars are one of the most urbanized peoples of the Russian Federation. The social groups of the Tatars, living both in cities and in villages, are almost no different from those that exist among other peoples, especially Russians.

In their way of life, the Tatars do not differ from other surrounding peoples. The modern Tatar ethnic group arose in parallel with the Russian one. Modern Tatars are the Turkic-speaking part of the indigenous population of Russia, which, due to their greater territorial proximity to the East, chose Islam rather than Orthodoxy.

The traditional dwelling of the Tatars of the Middle Volga and Urals was a log hut, separated from the street by a fence. The external façade was decorated with multicolor paintings. The Astrakhan Tatars, who retained some of their steppe cattle-breeding traditions, used a yurt as a summer home.

Like many other peoples, the rituals and holidays of the Tatar people largely depended on the agricultural cycle. Even the names of the seasons were designated by a concept associated with a particular work.

Many ethnologists note the unique phenomenon of Tatar tolerance, which consists in the fact that in the entire history of the existence of the Tatars, they have not initiated a single conflict on ethnic and religious grounds. The most famous ethnologists and researchers are sure that tolerance is an invariable part of the Tatar national character.

Tatars

TATARS-tar; pl.

1. Nation, the main population of Tatarstan; representatives of this nation.

2. The name of various Turkic, Mongolian and some other tribes that formed in the 13th - 15th centuries. independent state - the Golden Horde.

◁ Tatarin, -a; m. Tatarka, -i; pl. genus.-rock, date-rkam; and. Tatarsky (see).

Tatars

(self-name - Tatars), people, the main population of Tatarstan (1765 thousand people). They also live in Bashkiria, the Mari Republic, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Penza and other regions of Russia. Tatars are also called Turkic-speaking communities of Siberia (Siberian Tatars), Crimea (Crimean Tatars), etc. The total number in Russia (excluding Crimean Tatars) is 5.52 million people (1995). The total number is 6.71 million people. The language is Tatar. Believing Tatars are Sunni Muslims.

TATARS

TATARS, people in the Russian Federation, the main population of Tatarstan (2 million people, 2002), also live in Bashkiria (990.7 thousand people), Udmurtia (109.2 thousand people), Orenburg (165.9 thousand people), Perm (136.5 thousand people), Samara (127.9 thousand people), Ulyanovsk (168.7 thousand people), Sverdlovsk (168.1 thousand people), Tyumen (242.3 thousand people), Chelyabinsk (205 thousand people) regions, in the city of Moscow (166 thousand people), in the Southern (173.5 thousand people), Siberian (252.5 thousand people) . people) federal districts.
Tatars are divided into three ethno-territorial groups: Volga-Ural Tatars, Siberian Tatars and Astrakhan Tatars. Crimean Tatars are considered an independent people. The Volga-Ural Tatars include the subethnic groups of the Kazan Tatars, Kasimov Tatars, Mishars and the sub-confessional community of the Kryashens (24.6 thousand people, 2002). The total number in the Russian Federation is 5.554 million people (2002). A significant number of Tatars live in Kazakhstan - 248.9 thousand people. (1999), Uzbekistan 467.8 thousand people. The Tatar population in non-CIS countries ranges from 100 to 200 thousand people. The total number of Tatars around the world is about 6.8 million people. The Tatar language belongs to the Turkic group of the Altai language family. Believing Tatars are Sunni Muslims. The exception is the Kryashens who profess Orthodoxy.
For the first time, the ethnonym “Tatars” appeared among the Mongolian tribes that wandered in the 6th-9th centuries to the southeast of Lake Baikal. In the 13th century, with the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the name “Tatars” became known in Europe. In the 13th-14th centuries it was extended to some nomadic peoples that were part of the Golden Horde. In the 16th-19th centuries, in Russian sources, many Turkic-speaking peoples were called Tatars (Azerbaijanis, peoples of the North Caucasus, Crimea, Central Asia, the Volga region, Siberia, including Kazan, Crimean, Siberian, Astrakhan Tatars). In the 20th century, the ethnonym “Tatars” was assigned mainly to the Volga-Ural Tatars. In other cases, they resort to clarifying definitions (Crimean Tatars, Siberian Tatars, Kasimov Tatars).
The beginning of the penetration of Turkic-speaking tribes into the Urals and Volga region dates back to the 3rd-4th centuries and is associated with the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. Settled in the Urals and Volga region, they perceived elements of the culture of the local Finno-Ugric peoples, and partially mixed with them. In the 5th-7th centuries, there was a second wave of advancement of Turkic-speaking tribes into the forest and forest-steppe regions of Western Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region, associated with the expansion of the Turkic Kaganate. In the 7th-8th centuries, Turkic-speaking Bulgarian tribes came to the Volga region from the Azov region, who in the 10th century created the state - Volga-Kama Bulgaria. In the 13-15 centuries, when the majority of Turkic-speaking tribes were part of the Golden Horde, their language and culture were leveled. In the 15-16 centuries, during the existence of the Kazan, Astrakhan, Crimean, Siberian khanates, the formation of separate Tatar ethnic groups- Kazan Tatars, Mishars, Astrakhan Tatars, Siberian Tatars, Crimean Tatars.
Until the 20th century, the majority of Tatars were engaged in agriculture; Cattle breeding and fishing played a major role in the economy of the Astrakhan Tatars. A significant part of the Tatars were employed in various handicraft industries (manufacturing of patterned shoes and other leather goods, weaving, embroidery, jewelry). The material culture of the Tatars was influenced by the cultures of the peoples of Central Asia, and from the end of the 16th century - by Russian culture. The traditional dwelling of the Volga-Ural Tatars was a log hut, separated from the street by a fence. The external façade was decorated with multicolor paintings. The Astrakhan Tatars, who preserved steppe cattle-breeding traditions, used a yurt as a summer home. The clothing of men and women consisted of trousers with a wide step and a shirt (for women it was complemented by an embroidered bib), on which a sleeveless camisole was worn. The outerwear was a Cossack coat, and in winter a quilted beshmet or fur coat. The men's headdress is a skullcap, and on top of it is a hemispherical hat with fur or a felt hat; for women - an embroidered velvet cap and scarf. Traditional shoes were leather ichigi with soft soles; outside the home they wore leather galoshes. The costume of rich women was characterized by an abundance of metal decorations.


encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what “Tatars” are in other dictionaries:

    - (self-name of Tatars) people, the main population of Tatarstan (Tatarstan) (1,765 thousand people, 1992). They also live in Bashkiria, the Mari Republic, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Penza and other regions of the Russian Federation.… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    TATARS, Tatars, units. Tatar, Tatarina, husband. 1. The name of the Turkic peoples inhabiting the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, living in the Volga region and in some areas of Siberia. 2. Turkic people living in the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. 3. Inaccurate... ... Dictionary Ushakova

    TATARS, ar, units. Arin, a husband. 1. The people who make up the main population of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), and also live in the Volga region, Siberia and certain other areas. Kazan Tatars. Crimean Tatars. 2. The names of the various tribes that formed the state ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

    - (self-name of Tatars), people in the Russian Federation (5.52 million people; without Crimean Tatars). The main population of Tatarstan (1765 thousand people). They also live in Bashkiria, the Republic of Mari El, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, ... ... Russian history

    Modern encyclopedia

    Tatars- TATARS, Tatars, many. Noisy company. They swooped in like Tatars, eating with their hands, drinking without containers... Dictionary of Russian argot

    Tatars- (self-names of Tatars, Tartars; Kazan Tatars, Mishars, Nagaibaks, Kryashens) people with a total number of 6,710 thousand people. Main countries of settlement: Russian Federation 5522 thousand people, incl. Tatarstan 1765 thousand people Other countries of settlement:… … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    Noun, number of synonyms: 4 Basurman (1) Tatarva (1) Tatar’s (1) ... Synonym dictionary

    Tatars- (Tartars), name. certain peoples Center, and Wed. Asia, descended from nomads, for example, Mongols, Turks, Kipchaks. They spoke in different languages. related to Turkic and Mongolian. languages. For centuries, T. have posed a threat to many. state v. Tatar... ... The World History

    Tatars- Tatars, gen. Tatars (incorrect Tatars) and obsolete Tatar... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

    This term has other meanings, see Tatars (meanings). Tatars Tatarlar ... Wikipedia

Feature Tatar nationality there is a lack of clearly defined appearance features that would make it possible to unmistakably distinguish its representatives from other peoples. Their appearance varies depending on the ethnic group to which they belong. However, anthropology still identifies signs of what Tatars look like, taking into account their characteristic features.

How to identify a Tatar: typical features of nationality

Tatars (self-name “Tatarlar”) belong to the Turkic group, the white race. Since ancient times, the populous ethnic group has influenced the development of Eurasia. The history of the Middle Ages tells how the nation held in suspense a vast territory from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast.

The variety of appearance types of the people is due to their origin, since among the ancestors of the Tatars there were representatives of both the Mongoloid and European races. This also explains the prevalence and population of the nation.

The mixed race, which the Tatars belong to, allows us to see among its representatives dark-haired and fair-haired, red-haired, brown-eyed, gray-eyed, and so on.

Depending on where they came from and where they live, many types of a given nationality are distinguished.

These include:

  • Kazan;
  • Kasimovsky;
  • Siberian;
  • Astrakhan;
  • Permian;
  • Crimean Tatars;
  • mishari;
  • Teptyari;
  • Kryashens;
  • Nagaibaks and others.

The size of the nation in Russia in 2010, according to Wikipedia, is 5.3 million people. As a percentage, the indicator is how many Tatars are from total number population is 3.87%. In terms of prevalence in the Russian Federation, the nationality is recognized as the second after Russian. There are about a million Tatars in the world, they make up more than half of the population of the Republic of Tatarstan (53%), and in the USA, according to statistics, only 2-7 thousand people live.

Representatives of the nation speak the Tatar language, which includes Western and Kazan dialects. In the religion of the people there are Muslims, Orthodox Christians (Kryashens) or atheists (no faith in God). Predominantly in their religion, Tatars belong to Sunnis, not Shiites.

The characteristics of anthropological types help determine nationality by facial features.

Among the Tatars there are 4 of them:


Each of them is characterized by the features shown in the photo.

Head shape

Tatars are characterized by mesocephaly or subbrachycephaly (cranial index 76-80), that is, they are predominantly medium-headed, moderately long and wide skull and oval face.

The Mongoloid type is characterized by brachycephaly, that is, short-headedness. At the same time, the face is wide and flattened.

The photo shows TV presenter Almaz Garayev and actor and TV presenter Timur Batrutdinov.

Almaz Garayev

Timur Batrutdinov

Eyes

It is believed that Tatars are characterized by a Mongolian eye shape and narrow shape. However, this is not necessary; the epicanthus is found predominantly in the Mongoloid type and is poorly developed in the sublaponoid type.

Other anthropological types do not have such characteristics.

The color varies: Tatars are found with blue eyes and with brown eyes. But the most common are green ones.

The photo shows singer, actor and director Dmitry Bikbaev.

It is difficult to identify a Tatar by his appearance.

A more typical type is presented below - singer, actor, composer, producer, film director Renat Ibragimov.

Nose

The shape of the olfactory organ among Tatars is varied. Usually the nose is wide, with a straight back or a slight hump. The Pontic type is characterized by a drooping tip, while the Mongoloid and sublaponoid types are characterized by a low nose bridge.

The photo shows singer, actor, entrepreneur, composer, producer Timati (Timur Yunusov) and successful tennis player Marat Safin.

Marat Safin

Hair

Tatars are predominantly characterized by black hair color. But unlike the Uzbeks, Mongols, and Tajiks, there are also fair-haired representatives of the nationality. Tatars can have light brown or red color.

The photographs show Russian football player Ruslan Nigmatullin and actor Marat Basharov.

Ruslan Nigmatullin

Marat Basharov

Appearance of the Tatars

The generalized image of what Tatars are like is a person of average height with mixed pigmentation of eyes and hair, a moderately wide oval face, a straight or hump nose. Men are distinguished by their strongly built bodies and stockiness; women, on the contrary, are frail.

The appearance of Tatars sometimes differs significantly, depending on their belonging to a particular ethnic group.

Kazansky

Among the Tatars of this ethnic group, European appearance features are often observed: light brown hair, sometimes red, light eyes, a narrow nose, straight or with a hump. This type is similar to the Slavs.

Mongols may have a wide oval face and narrowed eyes.

Men are characterized by average height, strong build, and short neck. This is due to mixing of blood with Finnish peoples.

The picture shows Kazan Tatar celebrities.

Crimean

The Tatars of this group appeared in the 15th century. Its representatives live in the south of Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Turkey, and Uzbekistan (where they were deported from Crimea in the mid-20th century).

Pure-blooded Crimean Tatars have an appearance close to Slavic. The real representatives of the nation were tall, had light brown or red hair, light eyes and skin.

However, the proximity to Asians brought character traits into the image of nationality. Many Tatars acquired the appropriate type of face, dark hair and eyes, and dark complexion.

After returning to Crimea, the people are reviving lost original customs and traditions.

The photo shows the Crimean and Kazan Tatars, where the features can be traced, how the ethnic groups differ from each other.

Ural

History of the Tatars on Southern Urals little studied, today the Chelyabinsk region has great amount communities

The anthropological type of a representative of a nationality is presented in the figure.

Often there are dark hair and eyes, possibly narrowed, a wide oval face and nose, prominent cheekbones, and large ears.

Volga region

The Tatars of this group are characterized by signs of the Mongoloid race. This is manifested by dark hair, gray or brown eyes with a crease in the upper eyelid, a wide nose, sometimes with a hump, and usually fair skin.

Men are distinguished by a strong physique and above average height.

Siberian

It is characterized by an oriental appearance, which is visually easy to distinguish from Russian. Characterized by a mixture of Caucasoid and Mongoloid types. Sometimes the appearance of Siberian Tatars is comparable to that of Uzbekistan.

Representatives of the nationality have dark hair and eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a wide oriental nose. The physique is correct, men are characterized by strength and endurance.

Gorkovsky (Nizhny Novgorod)

They act as a subethnic group of Tatar-Mishars. Their characteristic feature is the clicking Nizhny Novgorod dialect. They live in Nizhny Novgorod, Dzerzhinsk and Tatar villages.

The Pontic anthropological type of appearance predominates, manifested by dark or mixed pigmentation of the eyes and hair, a nose with a hump and a drooping tip, and average height. Caucasian features are possible, differing from the previous ones in light hair and eye color. The Mongoloid type of appearance is not numerous.

Astrakhan

A group of Tatars formed on the territory of the modern Astrakhan region. They are considered descendants of the Turkic-speaking population of the Golden Horde and have their own dialect.

In the course of historical development, the people experienced the influence of the Nogais.

The appearance of the Astrakhan Tatars is more characterized by Mongoloid features than Caucasoid ones. Noted dark color hair and eyes, some of their narrowness, wide oval face and nose.

What do Tatar women look like?

The appearance features of the fairer sex of Tatar nationality are similar to those of men. Most of them are of European ethnicity, however, the Mongoloid type is also common.

The photo shows various types of Tatar appearance: the famous journalist and TV presenter Liliya Gildeeva and the beautiful Miss “Youth of Tatarstan 2012” Albina Zamaleeva.

Liliya Gildeeva

Albina Zamaleeva

Face

Tatar girls are characterized by a rounded oval face, unexpressed squinting of the eyes, and possibly the presence of epicanthus. Their color varies from blue to black. Green eyes are more common.

The photo shows the singer AsylYar (Alsu Zainutdinova).

Her biography notes that she is the very first in history to sing a song in the Tatar language in International competition"Eurovision".

Hair color is also varied; among Tatar women there are blondes, brunettes, brown-haired, and redheads.

The photo shows the Olympic champion of Europe and Russia in rhythmic gymnastics, State Duma deputy Alina Kabaeva and model Diana Farkhullina.

Alina Kabaeva

Diana Farhullina

Depending on the type of appearance, the skin is dark or light. It is often whiter than that of representatives of Slavic nationality.

Figure

Most Tatar women are characterized by slender figures, fragility and grace. An example of this is theater and film actress Chulpan Khamatova.

Tatar women are of average height, about 165 centimeters, long legs are uncharacteristic. Some representatives of the nation are characterized by a square figure: broad shoulders along with the same hips. A narrow waist emphasizes the beauty of Tatar women.

The photograph shows the famous fashion model Irina Shayk (Shaykhlislamova), a Tatar on her father’s side.

Features of character and mentality

To understand who the Tatars are, it is important to know who they came from. Their origin left an imprint on their appearance and lifestyle.

Briefly, the theory of where the Tatars came from calls the place where the roots of the nation were formed ancient state Volga Bulgaria. Their ancestors are the Bulgars. The Turkic-Bulgar ethnos came from the Asian steppes and settled in the Middle Volga region. In the X-XIII centuries, the nationality created its own statehood. We are mainly talking about the Volga-Ural group, other varieties are considered as separate communities. For example, the theory of Tatar-Mongol origin reduces or even denies the participation of Volga Bulgaria in the history of the Kazan Tatars.

There is often a dispute about whether Tatars are Asians or Europeans. It is due to racial mixing. Geneticists claim that the nation is mostly Caucasian, with a minority of Mongoloids.

The photo shows Tatar boys and girls in national costumes.

The mentality and culture of the people are influenced by their religion - they profess Islam, which they adopted on May 21, 922.

The character of a Tatar man is characterized by stubbornness and indifference. However, at the same time, he is hardworking, hospitable, and has a sense of self-esteem, which is sometimes perceived as pride and arrogance. Crimean Tatars are distinguished by their calmness and enterprise in stressful situations. They are careerists, striving for knowledge and new opportunities.

What kind of Tatar men are in relationships is determined by their character: they are reliable, reasonable, law-abiding, purposeful. Religion allows polygamy, but it is extremely rare. Usually a second wife, a younger one, is brought into the house to help with everyday life when the first one gets old.

A Tatar wife is obedient and submissive to her husband, devoted in love; from childhood, girls are prepared for a long-lasting and only marriage. Women are inquisitive, clean, hospitable, attentive to people, love to cook and raise children. Among the dishes that Tatars eat are kazylyk (dried horse meat), gubadia (layer cake), talkysh kaleve (dessert), and chak-chak. The basis of culinary masterpieces is dough and a thick layer of fat.

Tatar women follow fashion, are interested in new products and love beautiful clothes: despite being submissive to their husbands and being faithful to customs and traditions, you won’t find her in a black burqa.

The photo shows singer Alsou (Safina/Abramova).

It is believed that Tatar women are passionate in bed, and men are skilled lovers.

Religion does not prohibit marriages with people of other faiths, so a Tatar wife and a Russian husband meet, and vice versa. Such families are quite happy, each member adheres to his own religious beliefs. From a mixture of Russians and Tatars, mestizos are born. Children of mixed blood are often outwardly attractive, combining the features of 2 nationalities.

An interesting fact is the appearance in some infants of a sign of belonging to the Mongoloid race - a specific spot (Mongolian). This Tatar mark in a child is a bluish patch of skin on the buttocks, sacrum, and thighs.

Sometimes it is mistaken for a bruise, although this is considered a sign of oriental blood. With age, the spot disappears.

Tatarov emphasizes worship and respect for elders.

The marriage ceremony is interesting. After the wedding, the guy and the girl do not live together for another year. It is considered correct that at this time the young woman remains with her parents, and the husband (in Tatar the word sounds “ir”) comes as a guest.

Differences from other nations

By comparing the appearances of the Tatars and similar peoples, identical and distinctive features are identified.

For example, the Bashkirs also belong to the Turkic family, have a similar language and adhere to the same religion. However, there are differences in appearance. Tatars are predominantly characterized by Caucasian features, while Bashkirs are characterized by Mongoloid features.

Bashkirka

There is a theory that Jews are similar to Tatars. This is due to the similar structure of DNA. Proponents of the hypothesis believe that the majority of Ashkenazi Jews did not belong to Israel and are Turks.

There is a commonality between the Tatars and the Turks. This is their belonging to the Turkic peoples.

The Tatars also have a close connection with the Kazakhs. Previously, they were classified as one people, connected by the Turkic community. However, it is not difficult to distinguish nationality by appearance.

For visual comparison, the picture shows anthropological types various peoples.

Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes about the Tatar people, right and wrong, which have become obsolete or to this day are their distinctive features.

  • An uninvited guest is worse than a Tatar!- phraseological unit refers to the time when the Russians were under the yoke. The Tatars were cruel invaders, they showed violence and ferocity. The Russians accordingly considered them a nasty people and hated them with all their hearts. Therefore, the uninvited guest in the proverb appears as an unexpected invader, like the Tatarva, as they were disparagingly called in Rus'.
  • The Tatars are cunning and stingy. The people are characterized by frugality; they do not like to waste money. The Tatar is thrifty and prosperous, creates comfortable living conditions for himself, managing his finances wisely.
  • Self-love and arrogance. Sometimes Tatars call themselves special, arguing that great people have their roots. This is the reason why representatives of the nation are not liked. However, it is also common for other nationalities to extol their people and consider them better than others.
  • Tea lovers. Not a single event or meeting takes place without a drink.
  • Hospitality. Tatars are friendly and inquisitive. They are happy to receive guests in the house. The hosts will put exquisite Tatar delicacies on the table and maintain a pleasant conversation