Oroks

Not to be confused with the Oroch of Khabarovsk Krai and Oroqen of China

Oroks (Ороки in Russian; self designation: ульта, ulta, ulcha) are a people in the Sakhalin Oblast (mainly, eastern part of the island) in Russia.

Occasionally, the Oroks, as well as the Orochs and Udeges, are erroneously called Orochons. The root "oro" in Tungusic languages refers to reindeer, and it is reasonably to assume that several peoples of similar cultures calles themselves (or each others) as "reindeer people".

It is believed that the Oroks originate from interbreeding between the Lamuts, Ulchs, and Nivkhs. According to the 2002 census, there were 346 Oroks in Russia. Oroks' habitat is in Northern Sakhalin by the Okhotsk Sea and in Southern Sakhalin in the district by the city of Poronaisk.

The Oroks have no written language. The Orok language belongs to the southern group of the Tungusic language family.

References

Ороки. -- Народы Сибири, Москва -- Ленинград 1956
Т. Петрова, Язык ороков (ульта), Москва 1967
А. В. Смоляк, Южные ороки. -- Советская этнография 1, 1965
А. В. Смоляк, Этнические процессы у народов Нижнего Амура и Сахалина, Москва 1975

External link

[Oroks] in the Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire

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