Finno-Ugric peoples

The term Finno-Ugric peoples is used to describe peoples speaking a Finno-Ugric language.

Location

The four largest Finno-Ugric peoples are Hungarians (14,800,000), Finns (6,000,000-7,000,000), Mordvins (1,200,000), and Estonians (1,100,000). Three of them (Hungarians, Finns, and Estonians) have their independent states - Hungary, Finland, and Estonia. The traditional area of the indigenous Sámi people is in Northern Fenno-Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula in Northwest Russia and is known as Sápmi. Some other Finno-Ugric peoples have autonomous republics in Russia: Karelians (Republic of Karelia), Komi (Komi Republic), Udmurts (Udmurt Republic), Mari (Mari El Republic), and Mordvins (Republic of Mordovia). Khanty and Mansi peoples live in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug of Russia, while Komi-Permyaks live in Komi-Permyak Okrug, which formerly was an autonomous okrug of Russia, but today is a territory with special status within Perm Krai.

Cultural Contacts

Finno-Ugric intercultural festivals, conferences, museums, and artistic, scholarly, and charity collaborations are present and active amongst many populations of speakers of Finno-Ugric or Uralic languages. In addition, artists and scholars from many Finno-Ugric peoples, such as Estonians, Finns, Udmurts, Mordvins (Erzya and Moksha), Maris, and others, are active in the Finno-Ugric peoples related Ethnofuturist art-based cultural and philosophical movement. (See external links section.)

Genetics

Some theories^[1]^[2]^[3] posit that contemporary speakers of Finno-Ugric languages originated from a single ancient people. Such theories have not been fully accepted by the scientific community, as it has not been shown that any contemporary group originated from one single ancient people, barring the earliest humans. Like perhaps all populations, individual groups of Finno-Ugric speakers have a diverse array of cultural, environmental, and genetic influences. However, modern genetic studies have shown that the Y-chromosome haplotype N3, and sometimes N2, having branched from haplogroup N, which, itself, probably spread north, then west and east from Northern China or Central Asia about 12 -14,000 years before present from father haplogroup NO (haplogroup O being the most common y-chromosome haplogroup in Southeast Asia) is almost specific, though certainly not restricted, to Uralic or Finno-Ugric speaking populations, especially as high frequency or primary paternal haplogroup.^[4]^[5]