Mythologies of the Orok Tribe

Oroks (Ороки in Russian; self-designation: Ulta, Ulcha), sometimes called Uilta, are a people in the Sakhalin Oblast (mainly the eastern part of the island) in Russia. The Orok language belongs to the Southern group of the Tungusic language family. According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 346 Oroks living in Northern Sakhalin by the Okhotsk Sea and Southern Sakhalin in the district by the city of Poronaysk. According to the 2010 census there were 295 Oroks in Russia. The name Orok is believed to derive from the exonym Oro given by a Tungusic group meaning "a domestic reindeer". The Orok self-designation endonym is Ul'ta, probably from the root Ula (meaning "domestic reindeer" in Orok). Another self-designation is Nani. Occasionally, the Oroks, as well as the Orochs and Udege, are erroneously called Orochons. The Uilta Association in Japan claims that the term Orok has a derogatory connotation. The total number of Oroks in Russia, according to the 2002 Russian Census, is 346 people.^[5] They live mostly in Sakhalin Oblast. Most of the Oroks are concentrated in three settlements – Poronaysk, Nogliki and the village of Val, Nogliksky District. A total of 144 Oroks live in Val. Other places in which the Orok people live include: the villages of Gastello and Vakhrushev in Poronaysky District; the village of Viakhtu in Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky District; the village of Smirnykh, Smirnykhovsky District; Okhinsky District; and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast. Furthermore, Orok people live on the island of Hokkaido, Japan – in 1989, there was a community of about 20 people near the city of Abashiri. Their number is currently unknown.

The Orok are one of the indigenous peoples of Sakhalin Island. They are divided into two groups: the Southern Orok live near the Bay of Patience and the Northern Orok on the Val River. The Russians on Sakhalin have erroneously called them "Orochi" or "Orochoni" In the census of 1897, 446 Northern and 334 Southern Orok were counted. In later censuses, they were not distinguished as a separate People of the North. According to the data of ethnographic researchers during the 1970s, the Orok population stood at about 450 to 500. They continue to speak their native language, which is a member of the Manchu-Tungusic Branch of the Altaic Family. Despite the linguistic similarity of the two peoples, the Orok almost never came into contact with those Evenki who had moved over to Sakhalin in the 1860s. Soviet linguists maintained that there are ancient Altaic residues in the languages of the Orok, the mainland Ul'cha, and the Nanai, which would point to the great antiquity of the settlement by these three peoples in this territory. It has also been maintained that in both Orok culture and language, there are many ancient autochthonous (non-Nivkh and non-Tungusic) traces. All this new information refutes earlier claims that the Orok were later settlers on the island. The clan makeup of the Orok was special: only one of the twelve clans was related to the Ul'cha; the remainder were autochthonous and not close to any other group. The Orok are divided into several communities, each one uniting a number of small families. Each of the Northern groups nomadized during the winter along several closely spaced mountain rivers and engaged in forest hunting; during the summer (three to four months), all the Orok frequented one and the same bay, year after year, while nearby, members of the community pastured the reindeer and simultaneously worked the rivers and sea. In each such group there were related and unrelated families; mutual aid was characteristic among both, and intermarriage was allowed if the rule of exogamy were observed. As among the peoples of the Amur related to them, the custom existed of forming conjugal unions between different clans, including between Nivkh and Ul'cha and between Southern Orok and Ainu. Reindeer entered into the bride-price of the Northern Orok, whereas clothing and equipment constituted the dowry. The bride was brought on a reindeer sled. As a whole, the Northern Orok were poor. In 1925 there were 1,011 reindeer among forty-six families; some families were reindeerless, and many had fewer than five head. The wealthiest possessors of reindeer exercised strong influence over the community. The power of elders was great in resolving conflicts, regardless of their material standing.

The self-designation is ul'ta = ulcha = uil'ta, probably deriving from the word ula -- 'a domestic reindeer', hence ul'ta -- 'reindeer (people)'. Another self-designation is nani. The Ainu called the Oroks orohko and the Russians orochen. The origin for this is probably in the Manchu-Tungus word oro -- 'a domestic reindeer' the name of the people thus being 'reindeer people', 'reindeer-breeders'. The Oroks live in the northern part of Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk, and in the Poronai District in the south of the island. They live alongside the Nivkhs. Ethnographically, the Oroks are close to the Orochi and the Ulchi, yet differing from them sharply in regard of their economy based on reindeer-breeding. Their attachment to the reindeer has even given occasion to regard them as an Evenki subgroup. Fishing has also shaped the Orok mode of life -- to adjust themselves to this occupation they had to modify their nomadic habits to an extent compliant with its more stationary demands. Hunting wild and sea animals was also practised. The relatively restricted mobility of the Oroks resulted from the need to stay close to the fishing grounds in summer. In spring the reindeer and winter tents were left behind in the taiga and the people settled on the coast or near an estuary. From there they moved upriver in autumn to catch more fish and gather the reindeer. In the 1920s the North-Sakhalin Oroks were divided into five groups, each with their more-or-less established migratory zone. A peculiar habit of the Oroks was their regular visits to the continent to attend the Puli fair by the River Amur. By the Amur they used to meet the linguistically-related Ulchi who were the only people to call the Oroks ul'cha or ol'cha, that is, by their own name. On Sakhalin the Oroks were in close proximity to the Ainu, the Nivkhs and the Evenks, who had settled there in the 19th century and were also breeding reindeer. The North-Sakhalin Oroks joined the collective farm Val, established in 1932 and specialized in reindeer-breeding. The farm also contains Nivkhs, Evenks and Russians. Russian-type log cabins are the main form of dwelling. Only the herdsmen lead a nomadic life. Vegetable-farming and cattle-breeding are the new occupations gaining ground. Hunting sea animals and fishing are of relatively modest importance.

The clan makeup of the Orok was special: only one of the twelve clans was related to the Ul'cha; the remainder were autochthonous and not close to any other group. The Orok are divided into several communities, each one uniting a number of small families. Each of the Northern groups nomadized during the winter along several closely spaced mountain rivers and engaged in forest hunting; during the summer (three to four months), all the Orok frequented one and the same bay, year after year, while nearby, members of the community pastured the reindeer and simultaneously worked the rivers and sea. In each such group there were related and unrelated families; mutual aid was characteristic among both, and intermarriage was allowed if the rule of exogamy were observed. As among the peoples of the Amur related to them, the custom existed of forming conjugal unions between different clans, including between Nivkh and Ul'cha and between Southern Orok and Ainu. Reindeer entered into the bride-price of the Northern Orok, whereas clothing and equipment constituted the dowry. The bride was brought on a reindeer sled. As a whole, the Northern Orok were poor. In 1925 there were 1,011 reindeer among forty-six families; some families were reindeerless, and many had fewer than five head. The wealthiest possessors of reindeer exercised strong influence over the community. The power of elders was great in resolving conflicts, regardless of their material standing.