The Naimans -- a Turkic or Mongol tribe?

[mirzaagysh]

So does anyone have any kind of comprehensive data or information as to what background the Naimans came from? Some sources depict them as an exclusively Turkic-speaking, Nestorian Christian nomadic tribe, whilst others link them with the Khitans (through their alliance to them) and pre-Chingisid Mongols. And some describe them as either a mixture of both Turkic and Mongol elements, or a completely separate ethnic grouping in their own right.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

The ethnic composition of Naimans and Kereits is a problematic issue. They have left no written documents as far as I know and what we have of their languages is found only as personal names recorded in various historical sources. Both peoples used primarily Turkic names and titles, but their ethnonyms are Mongolian. Their origins are also obscure, unfortunately; Chinese sources don't tell much about their ancestors. Perhaps these peoples were Turkic, or they might have belonged to the bilingual peoples described by Mahmud of Kashghar in the 11th century.

[snafu]

There definitely seems to have been a strong connection with the Khitans. The Russian historian Gumilev theorized that the ruling faction of the Naimans was actually made up of Khitans who had left Khara Khitai to live a traditional nomadic lifestyle. That would certainly explain how the Naiman leader Guchlug was able to usurp power and become the Gurkhan of Khara Khitai so easily. And there is no mention in any records of a Naiman tribe until after Khara Khitai was established. They just kind of appeared out of nowhere. On the other hand they also used Turkic names and titles. Why would Khitans do that? Unless the original Khitan aristocracy became "Turkified", which is possible since the local tribes of western Mongolia were still mostly Turkic at that time.

It's also possible that the Naimans came from all the steppe clans that joined up with Yelu Taishi, the founder of Khara Khitai, while he was in Mongolia. Supposedly he got many nomads to join his army. Once Khara Khitai was founded, those nomad allies might've settled down on the steppes nearby and created the Naiman nation.

It's odd that more isn't written about them, since they lived in close proximity to literate people. I believe some Naimans were literate themselves.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Interesting theory, the Qara Khitan connection is. There is also another theory linking the Naimans with the Säkiz Oghuz ("Eight Arrows [Tribes]") mentioned in the 8th century Uyghur inscription of Shine Us in Mongolia. However the time gap between the Säkiz Oghuz and the Naimans is too big to make a real proper connection, in my opinion.

Some of the Naimans, or people serving them, were certainly literate. The famous Uyghur scholar Tata Tongha, who adopted the Uyghur script to the Mongolian language and became the personal teacher of Genghis Khan's children, was initially serving the Naimans and he was taken into Mongol service after the Naimans were conquered by the Mongols. I wonder if any Naiman inscriptions have ever been found in the western parts of modern Mongolia, but I haven't heard of any yet.

[snafu]

I don't think I've ever even seen a list of the eight clans that made up the Naimans. I've read that the ruling clan was called Betekin, but that's all.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

That is right indeed. Naiman means "Eight" in Mongolian and that's why the Naimans are thought to be made up of eight tribes (or clans). Unfortunately we don't have any complete list of their tribes or clans.

[damir]

I am from the Naiman tribe, we are Turks

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Modern Naimans among the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Qaraqalpaqs, Noghais, Kazan Tatars, Crimean Tatars and other such peoples are indeed Turkic because they currently speak Turkic dialects. But our information about the historical Naimans of the 12th-13th centuries is very few so it is difficult to make a concrete assumption.