Disappeared Tribe of the Merkits: to the Problem of Their Origin and Descendants

In history of the Central Asia there were a number of nomadic peoples whese ethnic origins is a subject of scientific dispute in the Turkic - Mongol republics. The Gurvan-Merkits are allocated among them; on them there is no serious publication; except A.V.Tivanenko's popular scientific book (Tivanenko, 1992). Meanwhile, as Tivanenko notices, the Merkits deserve the serious attitude, as the ethnos, shown the strongest resistance to Chingiskhan, the conqueror of the World, and people owing to which some Mongol khans Yuchi, Turakin, Gu-yuk-khan originated from. Ethnonym Merkit generates from totem designations of verkut (an eagle-golden eagle). So far as in Turkic languages process of transition is widespread, proceeding from it it is possible to receive berkut (a golden eagle) burgud, merkut, murgud. Thus, the origin of the ethnonym merkit from totem word merkit is represented inconvenient. However on the Altay material, teleut stock of Merkits, also called Merkit, considered itself as came from a white-headed eagle, the eagle was considered as a bird of the owner of the Sky, the constant assistant of the shaman (Zuev, 1970 : 85). Let's make up conclusions. Merkits can belong to descendants of Mokhe-Mukrins, who was under powerful influence of Turks, then of Mongol-speaking ethnoses. As for a language accessory of all described groups, it is represented that languages of the Tungus, Mongols, Yakuts, Manchurians were in constant contact, interacted each other, assimilating the bearers of ancient Paleoasian languages, therefore now it is impossible to determine to what language group those or other medieval ethnoses could belong.

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