Koryaks

Koryaks

Koryak ceremony of starting the New Fire
Total population
(8,812 (2002 Census))
Regions with significant populations
Russia	7,953
Ukraine	69
Languages
Russian, Koryak
Religion
Predominantly Russian Orthodox Christianity also Shamanism
Related ethnic groups
other Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples

Koryaks (or Koriak) are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the south and the Anadyr basin in the north.

The Koryaks are culturally similar to the Chukchis of extreme north-east Siberia. Both peoples refer to themselves by the endonym Luorawetlan ([ɬəɣʔorawetɬʔat]; singular [ɬəɣʔorawetɬʔan]), meaning "the real people". The Koryak language and Alutor (which is often regarded as a dialect of Koryak), are linguistically close to the Chukchi language. All of these languages are members of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family. They are more distantly related to the Itelmens on the Kamchatka Peninsula. All of these peoples and other, unrelated minorities in and around Kamchatka are known collectively as Kamchadals.

Neighbors of the Koryaks include the Evens to the west, the Alutor to the south (on the isthmus of Kamchatka Peninsula), the Kerek to the east, and the Chukchi to the northeast.

The Koryak are typically split into two groups: the coastal people Nemelan (or Nymylan) meaning 'village dwellers,' due to their living in villages. Their lifestyle is based on local fishing and marine mammal hunting. The inland Koryak, reindeer herders, are called Chaucu (or Chauchuven), meaning 'rich in reindeer.' They are more nomadic, following the herds as they graze with the seasons.