The Buryats
The largest national minority in Siberia are the Buryats, numbering about 400,000. In appearance they resemble the Mongols and their language is closely related to Mongolian, but the Buryats are a distinctive people. They use a literary language based on one of the local dialects (Khora) with a Cyrillic script. 90% of the Buryats speak it as their mother tongue.

For centuries the Buryats lived in nomadic tribes in the region around Lake Baikal (which means "the rich lake" in the Buryat tongue). Collectivization brought an end to their nomadic lifestyle, but they still live in the same region: the Buryat ASSR and adjacent areas.

Traditionally they work as herdsmen. They keep cattle, sheep, goats and a few camels, but value horses above all. They also hunt squirrels, sables, ermine, stags, bears and wolves for both their meat and furs. Many Buryats are expert blacksmiths, others are skilled tanners and saddlemakers. Some have acquired more industrialized employment in the towns along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Shamanism was the ancient Buryat religion. Buryats believed that the mountains, forests, rocks, sky and fire possessed their own "master" spirits. Shamans, who were revered as healers and religious leaders, have dictated much of the life of the Buryat people from ancient times. When many Buryats later embraced Buddhism shamanist practices were incorporated into their understanding of the religion. In some cases the Buddhist lamas were also shamans. From the lamas many Buryats gained a love of learning which has remained with them to this day.

In times past many Buryats also embraced Christianity, brought to them by the Russian Orthodox missionaries who worked among them from the beginning of the eighteenth century until the revolution in 1917. Under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Missionary Society a number of texts were translated into the Buryat-Tungus language towards the end of the 19th century. These consisted of Scripture portions and educational aids. Further portions of the Bible were published between 1909 and 1912. These have recently been reprinted. Although a translation of the whole Bible is needed, work on this has not yet begun.

* PRAY
-for the 400,000 Buryats that they will begin to hunger for God's Word in the manner once exhibited by their ancestors.

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