Oroch (Asian people)

Orochs (Russian О́рочи), Orochons, or Orochis (self-designation: Nani) are a people of Russia that speak the Oroch (Orochon) language of the Southern group of Tungusic languages. According to the 2002 census there were 686 Orochs in Russia. According to the 2010 census there were 596 Orochs in Russia. Orochs traditionally settled in the southern part of the Khabarovsk Krai, Russia and on the Amur and Kopp rivers. In the 19th century, some of them migrated to Sakhalin. In the early 1930s, the Orochi National District was created, but was cancelled shortly thereafter "due to lack of native population". Because the people never had a written language, they were educated in Russian. Their language, Oroch, is on the verge of extinction; According to the 2021 census there are only about 43 native speakers of the language. They follow Shamanism and Russian Orthodox Church. There are around 800 Orochs in Ukraine, which moved into Ukraine during the 1930s. Their religion is mostly ethnic religions, and they currently speak Oroch.