Mysteries of the Ethnic Identification of Nelyud Clan and Gantimir

Purpose . This article, based on the analysis of authentic documentary and narrative sources, examines the variants of ethnic identification of Nelyuds, who lived in the south of Eastern Transbaikalia, and their leader Gantimur, who played a significant role in Russian-Manchu relations and in strengthening Russian power in this region in the second half of the 17th century. Results . The outcomes of the research demonstrate that 1) hypotheses of the ethnic identification of Nelyud clan and Gantimur existing in the historical and ethnographic literature are the result of an uncritical interpretation by researchers of the surviving information; 2) the available information does not allow us to accurately determine the ethnicity of Nelyuds and Gantimur during their initial contacts with Russians; 3) only in the last third of the 17th century Russians began to unambiguously identify Nelyuds, Gantimur and his descendants as the Tungus of the Dulikagir clan. Conclusion . It is established that in the middle of the 17th century Russians, who came to Transbaikalia, consider the “Nelyud clan” mainly as a special ethno-territorial union, different from other peoples of this region – the Tungus, Daurs, Mongols and others. Only from the second half of the 1660s Nelyuds, Gantimur and his closest relatives are defined in Russian documents and descriptions as Tungus.