Ket

/ket/, n., pl. Kets, (esp. collectively) Ket for 1.

1. a member of an indigenous people of central Siberia, living in widely dispersed communities on tributaries of the Yenisei River, between 60° and 67° N latitude.

2. the Yeniseian language of the Ket, related only to several now extinct languages of the upper Yenisei. Also called Yenisei Ostyak.

[ < Russ < Ket: Ket, man, human being]

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▪ people

      indigenous people of central Siberia who live in the Yenisey River basin; in the late 20th century they numbered about 500. Certain traits of the Ket (Ket language) suggest a southerly origin. Their language, Ket, is the last true survivor of the Yeniseian group spoken in the area. Usually classed as Paleo-Siberian, this collection of unrelated language groups has no firmly established relation with other language families.

      The traditional economy of the Ket, like that of other taiga dwellers, was based on hunting squirrel, sable, fox, deer, elk, bear, and hare and selling the furs, mostly to Russian merchants. Traditionally, reindeer breeding and fishing have been of great importance. Ket transport depends chiefly on domesticated reindeer for hauling sledges; they also use skis and boats as the weather dictates. They dwell in conical tents in summer and in semisubterranean houses in winter.

      The Ket were divided into two exogamous kinship groups, or phratries, of ceremonial and cultic importance; these were subdivided into clans that were territorial and economic units as well as mutual-aid groups. Shamans acted as healers and as intermediaries with the spirit world. In the 20th century, the Ket have come under strong influence from Russians as well as neighbouring indigenous peoples, the degree of acculturation being reflected by the fact that nearly all Ket speak Russian; some also speak Selkup. During the Soviet period the Ket were collectivized.

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