Other Definitions
chuvash (dict)
|
Chuvash The Chuvash (Russian: Чуваши čăwaş) are the people of Chuvashia. The population was 1,843,300 in the Soviet Union, according to the census of 1989; 907,000 of these lived in Chuvashia. The remainder live in Tatarstan's Aqsubay, Bua, Nurlat, Tteş, irmeşn, prle rayons, Bashkortostan, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Tyumen, Kemerovo, Orenburg, Moscow oblasts of Russia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. They are divided into three groups: Hill Chuvashs (вирьял, тури; viryal, turi) in northern and northeastern Chuvashia; Meadow Chuvashs (анат енчи; anat yenči) in central and southwestern Chuvashia; and Downer Chuvashs (анатри; anatri) in southern Chuvashia and outside of Chuvashia). They speak the Chuvash language and are Orthodox Christians, with some traditions of pre-Christianity. Knowledge of the Russian and Tatar languages is also high. Some scholars believe a part of the Chuvash people converted to Islam in Middle Ages and merged with the Tatars. They originate from the Volga Bolgars' Suar or Sabir tribe, mixed with local Mari tribes. In the 15th-16th centuries their lands were incorporated into the Khanate of Kazan, and then in 1550 annexed by Russia. From 1708 to 1920, the Chuvash lands were part of the Kazan governorate. Chuvashs are the third nation in the city of Kazan (1.2%).
|
 |