Tofalars today: an attempt at repeat interval study

Abstract

living in the south-west of Irkutsk oblast, in the northern branches of the Eastern Sayans. Our study was held repeatedly with a 10-year interval in 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2015 during ethnographic expeditions. Each of the instances included a mass survey which covered 100% of Tofalar population.

A special focus was made on the Tofalar demographics, linguistic developments, the fall of endogamy and the rise of miscegenation. At present, the number of the Tofalars and the ethnic composition of the areas of their residence have stabilized. Indigenous population now accounts for over 50% of total population in the three Tofalar settlements of Alygdzher, Nerkha and Verkhnyaya Gutara. The natural increase of the population is falling, with a part of the population moving to cities, The use of Tofalar language has plummeted, the number of active users fell to slightly over 20, all of whom are old. Russian now prevails in every aspect of communication. Mixed marriages are at an all-time high, which indicates the fall of endogamy; however, in the last 20 or 30 years the number and share of mixed marriages have been decreasing. Mixed-blood individuals have long outnumbered pure-blood Tofalars, almost all Tofalar children are now multiracial. However, the overwhelming majority of mixed-blood people identify themselves as Tofalars, which is probably motivated by state benefits for small indigenous ethnicities and/or by Tofalar men’s commitment to traditional lifestyle. However, of all traditional occupations only hunting has been preserved, with reindeer herding down at an all-time low.

We conclude that Tofalars are undergoing a fast transformation into a mixed-blood group of Russian speakers who nevertheless have preserved a stable ethnic identity and some of the traditional male occupations.