Gurans (nationality): history and modernity

Have you heard about the people called "gurans"? "Nationality? What kind of nation? "- surely you will think. This word is borrowed from the Buryat language. So they call the male roe deer. The Mongols, Evenki, Kalmyks and other Altai peoples called these graceful animals a similar word "guru". So what kind of people are these people rarely known about?

History

For sure, no one can say for sure when the first Russian pioneers appeared in Transbaikalia, in the Altai Territory. But one thing is certain: it was a long time ago, and then there was no people called "gurans". This nationality appeared as a result of various incestations. After the first Russians settled in these parts at the beginning of the seventeenth century and began to live among the indigenous population, ie the Evenks and Buryats, they gradually assimilated with them, tried to follow their customs and traditions-in short, they adopted elements of the culture and life of the Altaians. Together with this they did not forget their language and did not lose their Slavic identity. This means that their culture and way of life eventually began to be worn by both Russian and Even-Buryat lines.

On the other hand, the Russian immigrants brought to life the inhabitants of Transbaikalia new features inherent in the Slavic way of life and culture, for example, agriculture, the construction of cities, etc. Thus, in the local parts a new type of people of mixed blood - the gurans, whose nationality was It is difficult to determine. They were a mix of two races - mongoloid and European, and in the fourth generation.

Origin

According to the chronicles, already in the 18th century gurus lived here. Nationality (history testifies to this) has never been formally adopted. It's more like an ethnic group. Sometimes the word "guran" was considered as a nickname for people whose ancestors belonged to different races and peoples, among them were Buryats, Mongols, Evenks, Manchus and, of course, Russians. But why did this ethnic group come to be called this way, and not otherwise?

The Cossacks of the Transbaikal made winter hats from the fur of the roe deer, which the indigenous people called gurans. At the same time they left horns, in order to hunt misleading the persecuted animals. As you know, in these parts of the winter are long, so the Cossacks wore these caps for quite a long time. And they began to identify with roe deer.

Who are gurans - a nationality or an ethnic group?

In occasion of this question disputes till now go. According to one theory, as a result of hybridization or interpenetration of several ethnic groups, not only the disappearance of the old, but also the emergence of a new ethnos can occur. Of course, not everywhere it is possible, but Transbaikalia is ideal for this process. So, as a result of the merger of such nationalities as the Buryats, Evenks and Russians, a new type of local population has appeared that does not resemble either the first, the second, or the third. And is this not proof that the gurans are a nationality (see the photo in the article)? Nevertheless, in the "Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia" there is no information about such a people. Guran (nationality) is designated as a type of local population, based on three ethnic groups: Buryat, Evenk and Russian. By the way, this term sometimes replaces the word Transbaikalian.

The story that happened with Khabarov

There is another legend of the origin of this nationality. One late winter Russian traveler and explorer Yerofei Khabarov drove through Transbaikalia. He was riding a sleigh with a guide in front of the train. And suddenly they were cut by a short-legged roe deer, and behind it a certain peasant in strange fur clothes was chasing. Khabarov asked the coachman: who is it? And he, having thought that the master was referring to the animal that had run ahead, said that it was a guranium.

Description

In the folklore of local residents, you can find a detailed description of the representatives of the ethnos of gurana. Their nationality does not appear in passports, however, the characteristic features speak for belonging to the ethnos. First, they can be recognized by nature. They are not vain, affectionate, possess a mighty Cossack spirit. As for purely external characteristics, their eyes are half-braced, cheekbones have got from the Mongols, and the color of the eyes can be light, even blue. Their skin is dark and their hair is mostly black. By the way, people of this mixed race are like the American Indians. In a word, their appearance is very exotic, with the predominance of signs of the Mongoloid race. In addition, the musculature is well developed in the gurans, they are flexible and perfectly master the methods of oriental martial arts. At one time, representatives of this ethnic group defended the borders of Siberia from the raids of neighboring peoples - the Chinese and the Mongols.

Gurans: nationality, modernity

According to the representatives of this nationality, today they practically did not preserve the traditions of their distant ancestors who inhabited Transbaikalia. They consider themselves more Russian, but do not forget that the blood of the gurans is flowing in them. Representatives of this nation have many legends, legends and stories about the life of their ancestors. Studying them, you understand that it is difficult to attribute them to Russian culture. Buryat or Evenk (Tungus) here is also practically nonexistent. Proceeding from this, you understand that this is certainly a separate people, with its inherent characteristics. But the Russian ethnographer Nikolai Yadrintsev believed that the gurans are not an ethnos, but a special "regional type" with characteristic traits characteristic of him.

A mixture of white and yellow blood

Of course, we are talking about mixing races. Mongoloid, as a rule, is called yellow, and the European, in spite of different shades of skin, is considered white. Some scientists believe that originally the gurans called those people that came from the mixture of Cossacks and Russian peasants with the Tungus. Later this name attached to all who have the signs of both Caucasoid (white) and Mongoloid (Mongoloid) races. However, these are not ordinary mestizos, but those who bear the mark of generations.

Holes are the conscience of Transbaikalia!

As already mentioned, the gurans themselves consider themselves to be more Russians than Buryats or Tungus, but it is interesting to know what kind of faith they regard themselves, what or who they believe. In the Transbaikal over the past several centuries, there are many Christian faiths. At the same time they were not created by theologians, but arose spontaneously. However, some of them may seem to us wild. So, for example, many gurans are holes. They worship not icons, but holes, believing that by contemplating the cosmos through these holes, they receive energy. These believers live apart from others, make marriages exclusively among themselves, lead a strict, ascetic way of life. They were able to preserve their blood, traditions and customs.