orang Evenk

The Evenki, or Tungusy, are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Evenki are recognised as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 38,396 (2010 census). In China, the Evenki form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the government, with a population of 34,617 (2020 census). There are 537 Evenki in Mongolia (2015 census), called Khamnigan in the Mongolian language.

The Evenki are sometimes conjectured to be connected to the Shiwei people who inhabited the Greater Khingan Range in the 5th to 9th centuries, although the native land of the majority of Evenki people is in the vast regions of Siberia between Lake Baikal and the Amur River. The Evenki language forms the northern branch of the Manchu-Tungusic language group and is closely related to Even and Negidal in Siberia. By 1600 the Evenki or Ewenki of the Lena and Yenisey river valleys were successful reindeer herders. By contrast the Solons (ancestors of the Evenkis in China) and the Khamnigans (Ewenkis of Transbaikalia) had picked up horse breeding and the Mongolian deel from the Mongols. The Solons nomadized along the Amur River. They were closely related to the Daur people. To the west the Khamnigan were another group of horse-breeding Evenki in the Transbaikalia area.

Considering the north-western Evenki, Vasilevich claims: "The origin of the Evenki is the result of complex processes, different in time, involving the mixing of different ancient aboriginal tribes from the north of Siberia with tribes related in language to the Turks and Mongols. The language of these tribes took precedence over the languages of the aboriginal population". Elements of more modern Evenki culture, including conical tent dwellings, bone fish-lures, and birch-bark boats, were all present in sites that are believed to be Neolithic. From Lake Baikal, "they spread to the Amur and Okhotsk Sea... the Lena Basin... and the Yenisey Basin".

In the 17th century, the Russian Empire made contact with the Evenki. Cossacks, who served as a kind of "border-guard" for the tsarist government, imposed a fur tax on the Siberian tribes. The Cossacks exploited the Evenki clan hierarchy, taking hostages from the highest members to ensure payment of the tax. Although there was some rebellion against local officials, the Evenki generally recognized the need for peaceful cultural relations with the Russians. The Russians and their constant demands for fur taxes pushed the Evenki east all the way to Sakhalin island, where some still live today. In the 19th century, some groups migrated south and east into Mongolia and Manchuria. Today, there are still Evenki populations in Sakhalin, Mongolia, and Manchuria, and to a lesser extent, their traditional Baikal region. Russian invasion of the Evenki caused them (and other Indigenous peoples) language erosion, a decline in traditions, and identity loss, among others.