Evenki people

The Evenki (Tungusy), Tungusic people of the North Asian taiga, number 38,000 in Russia's North, 34,000 among China's 56 nationalities, and 537 Khamnigan in Mongolia: one nation in three states. Reindeer riders and hunters of elk and sable, they move conical chums across a forest empire wider than India, reading smoke, moss and sable tracks. Shaman drums order the hunt, the birth, the burial; the bear festival honours the killed brother. Russian yasak tribute, Soviet boarding schools and Chinese logging pressed the camps; oil derricks now rise over the reindeer paths. Evenki reindeer brigades, Oroqen cousins, shaman festivals and the slick-fur boots of the taiga keep the forest walkers walking. Russia's 38,000 Evenki keep the northern dialects. China counts its Evenki among 56 nationalities. Mongolia's 537 Khamnigan herd the eastern steppe. Moscow's northern laws still list the Evenki first. 56-nationality posters still show Evenki hunters. North Asia's forests still shelter every Evenki camp.