Presenting the Elunchun

The Elunchun are the last people of nomadic hunters that stays in the north of China, and given the politics of the Chinese government of reasentarlos, possibly in a few years few dozens of persons who still realize his traditional activities, they will have left them.

In China they were 4.000 persons in 1982. His population reached 8.000 inhabitants in the year 2.000. In Russia they live through several thousands of Elunchun. A big population decrease, since at the end of the XIXth century it was believed that there was approximately 20.000 elunchun.

They live in the oriental part of Interior Mongolia and the western one of Heilongjiang. In the margins of the river Wusuli and the mountain Xingan.

His language belongs to the Altaian family, branch manchú-Tungus, branch Tungus.

The name Elunchun, translated sometimes like Orochen, Olochen, is the form in which they are named themselves. In his language it means: "Those who live on top of the mountains" (I pray = mountain and qen = person) Other authors translate it like "those who tame the deer" making sure that I pray also it means deer. (1)

The mountains in which they live abound in wild animals, which hunting is one of his principal economic activities. They are watered by numerous rivers rich in fishing, being provided also with a big vegetable variety.

It is possible that the Elunchun are the progeny of a people llamdo Boshiwei, who lived in this region during the IVth and Vth centuries of our age. The Elunchun were living until the beginning of the dynasty Qing (XVIIth century) to the north of the river Heilongjiang. The arrival of the first Russian colonists to those in 1640 provoked that the Elunchun were emigrating on the south, remaining most of them in Chinese grounds since then.

Inhabitants of remote regions, his stock were depending till not long ago on the resources that the forest was offering them: the wood to construct his shops and huts, the skins of the deer and other animals to dress itself and to wrap itself up, the meat of the animals and the fishing. His houses were conical, with a wooden structure and leather walls of deer.

For centuries they have had contact with Manchúes, Tartar, Ewenkis and Hezhe, sharing with each of these peoples a series of cultural features: especially his religion chamanista.

(1) Du Roufu and Vincent Yip. - Ethnic Groups of China. Science Press. Beijing. 1993

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