The Kumandins, an indigenous small-numbered people, live in South Siberia, one of Russia’s most multi-ethnic regions.
The Kumandins, an indigenous small-numbered people, live in South Siberia, one of Russia’s most multi-ethnic regions. They use several endonyms to identify themselves, for instance: Tatar-Kizhi, Tadarlar, Kumandy Kizhi. Recently, they have used the Kumandins endonym. Since the 18th century, Kumandins have traditionally lived on both shores of the middle reaches of the river Biya including all of its tributaries, and along the shores of the river Isha.
Most Kumandins live in the Altai territory that today is a large agrarian and industrial region with a clear agricultural specialization evidenced both in developing agriculture as such and in the specific features of its processing industry sectors. About 20% of the region’s employed population work in the agrarian sector. The Altai territory is rightfully called “the granary of Siberia”; the region not only fully meets its own population’s food demands, but also sells its food products in other Russian regions.
Kumandins’ traditional religious beliefs are based on their belief in spirits that inhabited the three realms: the heavenly realm, the earthly realms, and the underworld. All spirits were divided into two categories: clean spirits (aryg tos) and unclean spirits (kara tos).