Tofalar

Tofalars
Тоъфа

Total population
(800 (2010))
Regions with significant populations
Irkutsk Oblast (Siberia, Russia)
Russia	761 (2010)
Ukraine	18 (2001)
Languages
Tofalar, Russian
Religion
Shamanism, † Orthodox Christianity (Russian Orthodox Church), Animism
Related ethnic groups
other Turkic peoples, Sayan people

Tofalars (Тофалары, тофа (tofa) in Russian; formerly known as карагасы, or karagas), or the "Tofa people", are a Turkic people in the Irkutsk Oblast in Russia. Their origins, Tofa language, and culture are close to those of the eastern Tuvans-Todzhins. Before the 1917 October Coup, the Tofalars used to be engaged in nomadic, living in the taiga; they engaged in reindeer husbandry and hunting. The Tofalars were resettled by the Soviet government by 1932. Young Tofalars learned Russian at new Soviet-built schools, while cultural traditions such as hunting and shamanism were discouraged or prohibited. According to the 2002 census, there were 837 Tofalars in Russia (2,828 in 1926, 476 in 1959, 570 in 1970, 576 in 1979 and 722 in 1989).

External links

• The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire
• The Tof People, the Smallest Ethnic Group in the World