Historical Landscape of the Origin of Yukaghirs in the Light of the "Migration" Theory
The article considers the origin of the Yukaghirs in the framework of “migration” theory. At the beginning the authors deal with the historiography of the Yukaghirs's origin issue. The authors also make an emphasis on the similarity of ethnicons “Yakut” and “Yukaghir” having the same Tungus root “Yoko”. On the basis of legends about the Yukaghirs' “great ancestors” - migrants from the far South, the authors conclude that this ethnic group is supposed to originated from people lived in the South. First of all, this version is proved with the similarity of the Yukaghir language and the South Samoyed languages. One of self-names of the Yukaghirs - “Vakarai” - correlates with the name of the Tunguska family - Vokaray. The article presents the parallels between the Yukaghirs and Merkits (mekritams) - descendants of Mohe. The presence of Yukaghir names in the toponymy of the Transbaikal region lets us suggest that the Transbaikal territory is the ancestral homeland for the Yukaghirs. Researchers have already noted the existence in the folklore of the plot about the “great ancestors” of the Yukaghir people. The problem of the connection of this story with a single clan, for example, the vokarai, who became part of the Yukaghirs afterwards, is quite problematic. Apparently these legends are connected with the migration of the Yukaghir ancestors from the south in the Iron Age. The loss of cultural values in difficult living conditions is a controversial issue.