CONTENTS

The Peoples
of the Red Book

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THE OROKS

Habitat. The Oroks live in the northern part of Sakhalin Island in the
Sea of Okhotsk, and in the Poronai District in the south of the island.
They live alongside the Nivkhs.

Population. There is little information concerning the population for not
all censuses have registered the Oroks as a separate people:

Anthropologically, the Oroks are pure Mongoloids belonging to the Baikal
or Paleo-Siberian group like the Nanai, the Even and the Evenk people.

The language belongs to the Southern Group of the Manchu-Tungus languages.
It is most closely related to the Nanai and Ulchi and shares features common
with the Evenki and Negidal languages of the Northern Group.

History. The Orok oral tradition has references to a continental origin,
re-settlement on the island, and reindeer-breeding in the past. Probably
the migration took place in the 17th century at the latest, from the area
of the River Amgun. In Russia they were first studied by N. Boshnyak in
1852.

Ethnographically, the Oroks are close to the Orochi and the Ulchi, yet
differing from them sharply in regard of their economy based on reindeer-breeding.
Their attachment to the reindeer has even given occasion to regard them
as an Evenki subgroup. Fishing has also shaped the Orok mode of life --
to adjust themselves to this occupation they had to modify their nomadic
habits to an extent compliant with its more stationary demands. Hunting
wild and sea animals was also practised. The relatively restricted mobility
of the Oroks resulted from the need to stay close to the fishing grounds
in summer. In spring the reindeer and winter tents were left behind in
the taiga and the people settled on the coast or near an estuary. From
there they moved upriver in autumn to catch more fish and gather the reindeer.
In the 1920s the North-Sakhalin Oroks were divided into five groups, each
with their more-or-less established migratory zone. A peculiar habit of
the Oroks was their regular visits to the continent to attend the Puli
fair by the River Amur. By the Amur they used to meet the linguistically-related
Ulchi who were the only people to call the Oroks ul'cha or ol'cha, that
is, by their own name. On Sakhalin the Oroks were in close proximity to
the Ainu, the Nivkhs and the Evenks, who had settled there in the 19th
century and were also breeding reindeer.

The North-Sakhalin Oroks joined the collective farm Val, established in
1932 and specialized in reindeer-breeding. The farm also contains Nivkhs,
Evenks and Russians. Russian-type log cabins are the main form of dwelling.
Only the herdsmen lead a nomadic life. Vegetable-farming and cattle-breeding
are the new occupations gaining ground. Hunting sea animals and fishing
are of relatively modest importance.

The South-Sakhalin Oroks live in the villages of Rechnoye (formerly Naiputu)
and Ustye near the town of Poronaisk. Formerly, they lived in the taiga
but having liquidated their herds for economic reasons, they settled on
the coast and took to fishing at the turn of the century. Until 1945 this
part of the island belonged to Japan. According to estimates, there were
about 160--170 Oroks living there in 1960. The Oroks inhabit villages of
standardized dwellings, shared together with Nanais, Nivkhs and Russians.
The main occupation is fishing but there are also people employed in industry.
Only a few items, mainly clothing and fishing gear as well as some commodities
made of birch bark, have been preserved from the old ethnic culture. The
Oroks have no written language. Children are educated in Russian, usually
they study at boarding schools together with Nivkh, Nanai and Evenk children.
There is no organised cultural activity though to some extent amateur art
is practised in the local clubs together with the Nanais and Nivkhs. No
precise data exists concerning the standing of the native language. Knowledge
of Russian is universal, nurtured by school and by living in close communion
with other peoples. In the 1959 and 1979 censuses the Oroks were not registered.
The ethnographer Z. Sokolova mentions in the journal Soviet Ethnography
(6, 1990) the fact that the population of the Oroks and Orochi has decreased
by 7.7% in the ten years between 1979 and 1989. Despite a lack of any nationalist
organisations, N. Solovyov participated in the work of the Congress of
Northern Ethnic Minorities, held 30--31 March 1990 in Moscow, as the representative
of the Orok people.

REFERENCES

1. Ороки. -- Народы Сибири, Москва -- Ленинград 1956
   


2. Т. Петрова, Язык ороков (ульта), Москва 1967
   


3. А. В. Смоляк, Южные ороки. -- Советская этнография 1, 1965
   


4. А. В. Смоляк, Этнические процессы у народов Нижнего Амура и Сахалина, Москва 1975
   

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