Japanese Ainu & Global Indigenous Groups: What Aborginal Religions are your favorite?

[Zoness]

Do you know anyone from Russia who is ethnically related?

As an aside, I came across this recently and I was SO thankful

Beautiful seeing people in Hidden Places you would never have expected before, as Siberia is such a vast world (and I am forever thankful for one of my friends I was able to interview from Siberia for a graduate school project, as he noted how vast that part of the globe is). As said there (for a brief reference):

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Wow thanks for sharing, that was an amazing look at peoples who are largely unknown to the western world. Mostly my Russian friends are from what Europeans and Americans traditionally think of as "Russia". That is, the Western half composed principally of the western Oblasts. I have friends from the arctic circle (Murmansk) and friends in Omsk much closer to Kazakhstan and one friend in the city of Ufa in the Republic of Bashkortostan which is a Russian autonomous republic where the majority of ethnic Bashkirs, a Turkic people, live. Though several of these places have largely non-Slavic populations, those that I know are of Slavic origin for a variety of historical and political reasons dating back to the 18th century.

Russia is a fascinating complex place that is beyond the grip of most western understanding. Politics aside, people have a stereotype of Russians as pasty-white vodka drinkers who live in forests, ride bears and go to Orthodox churches. But really since the time of the Russian Empire, Russia has controlled so much land that so many nations are a part of them. Rather than taking what Americans and Canadians might refer to as the "melting pot" or "mosaic" (in Canada) approach to ethnic integration, Russia operates as a federation with Oblasts as ostensibly Russian provinces and a series of semi-autonomous federal subjects that have their own names, flags, official languages and laws as long as they don't contract the Duma (federal government).

Republics of Russia - Wikipedia

Unfortunately, there are a great many tensions between slavic Russians and other ethnic minorities. Russian Ultranationalists have taken advantage of tensions in the Caucasus to do violence against peoples from that region or central Asia. Similar to reservations in the United States, some republics have abominable living conditions relative to Oblasts/Krais which are more ethnically Russian. The soviet's relocation campaign did tremendous harm to the various groups over the decades from which they have barely recovered.

Their problems notwithstanding, I find Russia to be a fascinating place. There are many ethnicities, languages and religions; the numbers and names would astound people who think of Russia as all the same. It resembles China that you mention in your other post.

Great stuff!

 

[Zoness]

As an aside @Zoness , I forgot to mention earlier that It'd would be awesome to see them starting to make maps there for all the Indigenous groups in China, as I've had several friends bring this up. One of them (Hmong) shared with me how others forget China is not monolithic and has done the same things the U.S. has done to Natives - it is horrendous. The experiences of what occurred with the Hmong (of Laos, who were scattered all over the world after being abandoned by the U.S to the Communists ) that alone is a problem.​

Reading on this group back in 2012 for a project on Intercultural perspectives, I was reminded of one of my friends from China who knew Hmong and shared his experiences with ethnic groups in China who experienced a Diaspora abroad because of covert wars. One of the books I had to read on them was called "The Latehomecomer" (on the experience of Kao Kalia Yang as a refugee from Laos with her parents) and it was powerful seeing the stories of individuals who've been largely hidden in American history.

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So glad the Hmong are being remembered for their sacrifices when the U.S fought a war by proxy ...then bailed out when they lost, with many Hmong not acknowledged for their work until recently while others moved out West to find refuge without being taken seriously. This is not a new reality and one I pray more come to be aware of when seeing what life is like for others in America.

Many are still without benefits ...

But that's simply the experience in the U.S. Their Indigenous struggle has not been seen fully still in China with the Hmong who came there...

Oddly enough, the Chinese (PRC) government does not recognize the term “indigenous peoples”, ...But certain groups like Tibetans and the Uighurs still suffer terrible human rights abuses.​

But yes, there are so many varied ethnic groups in China and it really makes a difference seeing them all:

• -"Family Portraits of all 56 ethnic groups in China" ( Family Portraits of all 56 ethnic groups in China | ChinaHush )
• -"The People who make up China" ( The People that make up China )
• -"Taiwan's president expresses 'deepest apologies' for government's decades of abuse against indigenous people" ( Taiwan's president expresses 'deepest apologies' for government's decades of abuse against indigenous people )
• -"THE QUESTION OF MINORITY IDENTITY AND INDIGENEITY IN POST-COLONIAL CHINA" ( https://www.culturalsurvival.org/pu...nority-identity-and-indigeneity-post-colonial )
• -"The Ethnic Roots of China's Uighur Crisis | Al Jazeera America" ( OPINION: The ethnic roots of China’s Uighur crisis )
• -"SAVING OUR IDENTITY: AN UPHILL BATTLE FOR THE TUVA OF CHINA" ( https://www.culturalsurvival.org/pu.../saving-our-identity-uphill-battle-tuva-china) / (https://www.culturalsurvival.org/search/node?keys=China+tribes )

The People who make up China​

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Thanks for sharing about the Hmong. I knew a little bit about them but you've broadened my horizons on this. I know that apparently a large settlement of Hmong were relocated to Minnesota and Wisconsin following the Vietnam war. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but I've known folks who knew all about them; though I have never met one myself. My understanding is that their living conditions are not great in the United States which is quite a shame.

A detailed map of ethnicities in China would be amazing but I suspect they have quite a bit of political motivation to not only hide that information but to use it for the continued oppression of non-Han members of their society. It's unfortunate but it appears that China's method of cultural genocide seems to be very effective in such an authoritarian framework. By forcing Mandarin, Han culture, and centralized political and religious beliefs while aggressively penalizing "minority" beliefs, the central government is chipping away at peoples with a long and storied history. Like so many large nations in the world, your map shows just how complicated the political relationships were in China.

Though China had many great dynasties, its a major misconception to think of China as a unified place until really the last century.

On a bit of a different topic, China has a fascinating idea with syncreticism of religions and philosophy that you generally don't see in the west, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. I think it resembles the mingling of Japanese Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity in modern Japan. Of course, the government would prefer that all people were not religious even they realize they have to have some "state sanctioned" alternatives....

 

[Gxg (G²)]

Thanks for sharing about the Hmong. I knew a little bit about them but you've broadened my horizons on this. I know that apparently a large settlement of Hmong were relocated to Minnesota and Wisconsin following the Vietnam war. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but I've known folks who knew all about them; though I have never met one myself. My understanding is that their living conditions are not great in the United States which is quite a shame.

A detailed map of ethnicities in China would be amazing but I suspect they have quite a bit of political motivation to not only hide that information but to use it for the continued oppression of non-Han members of their society. It's unfortunate but it appears that China's method of cultural genocide seems to be very effective in such an authoritarian framework. By forcing Mandarin, Han culture, and centralized political and religious beliefs while aggressively penalizing "minority" beliefs, the central government is chipping away at peoples with a long and storied history. Like so many large nations in the world, your map shows just how complicated the political relationships were in China.

Though China had many great dynasties, its a major misconception to think of China as a unified place until really the last century.

On a bit of a different topic, China has a fascinating idea with syncreticism of religions and philosophy that you generally don't see in the west, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. I think it resembles the mingling of Japanese Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity in modern Japan. Of course, the government would prefer that all people were not religious even they realize they have to have some "state sanctioned" alternatives....

Excellent points!

 

[Sammy-San]

Again, do you or don't have a link? And as they are Japanese and Japanese don't say they don't look Japanese, what is your source?

My uncle said Ainu are Eurasian.

They do look European and it would be interesting to know if their genealogy is a mystery or not.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

A detailed map of ethnicities in China would be amazing but I suspect they have quite a bit of political motivation to not only hide that information but to use it for the continued oppression of non-Han members of their society. It's unfortunate but it appears that China's method of cultural genocide seems to be very effective in such an authoritarian framework. By forcing Mandarin, Han culture, and centralized political and religious beliefs while aggressively penalizing "minority" beliefs, the central government is chipping away at peoples with a long and storied history. Like so many large nations in the world, your map shows just how complicated the political relationships were in China.

Though China had many great dynasties, its a major misconception to think of China as a unified place until really the last century.

Part of this false ideology of a unified image is what we have to do better in when understanding that folks in the same regions can be radically different ...