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TURKIC-SPEAKING PEOPLES 803
main language of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. One and one-half million
Uzbek reside in the other Turkic republics of the Soviet Union (see Uzbek).
More than 6 million Uygur live in the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of
China (see Uygur).
The eastern branch of Turkic includes far fewer languages and speakers than
does the western branch. Most of the eastern Turks are non-Muslim, whereas
the overwhelming majority of the western Turks observe one or another form
of Islam. The two language groups in the east are the Kirghiz-Kipchak and the
Khakas-Yakut.
The Kirghiz-Kipchak group consists of two modern languages, Kirghiz and
Altai. There are 2 million Kirghiz in the Soviet Union, mainly in the Kirghiz
Soviet Socialist Republic (see Kirghiz). The Altai, known earlier by a plethora
of names, live in the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast' in the Soviet Union.
Many elements from Kipchak Turkic have been superimposed on the Kirghiz
and Altai languages. The Kirghiz, alone among the eastern Turks, practice Islam,
albeit with a strong shamanistic substratum.
The Khakas subgroup of eastern Tukic consists of the Khakas, who are located
in southern Siberia around the city of Abakan, the Kamasin, who live in the
valleys of the Mana and Kan rivers in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, and
the Shors, located in the northern Altai Mountains. Related peoples are the
Tofalari (also called Karagas) of the Krasnoyarsk region and the Tuvinians, who
occupy the Tuvinian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, an area annexed to
the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. The Yakut, who form the main
population of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, are isolated from
the mainstream of Turks, being surrounded by Paleo-Siberians and Tungus in
northeastern Siberia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Dabbs, J. A. History of the Discovery and Exploration of Chinese Turkestan. The Hague:
Mouton, 1963.
Menges, Karl H. The Turkic Languages and Peoples, An Introduction to Turkic Studies.
Wiesbaden, Germany: Harassowitz, 1968.
Poppe, Nicholas H. Introduction to Altaic Linguistics. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harassowitz,
1965.
Articles
Halasi-Kun, T. "The Caucasus, An Ethno-Historical Survey." Studia Caucasica 1 (1963):
1-47.