OSTIAKS or OSTYAKS, a tribe who inhabit the basin of the Ob in western Siberia. The so-called Ostyaks of the Yenisei speak an entirely different language. The trans-Uralian Ostiaks and Samoyedes are probably identical with the Yugra of the Russian annals. During the Russian conquest their abodes ex tended much farther south than now, 41 of their fortified places having been destroyed by the Cossacks in i5o1, in the region of Obdorsk alone. Remains of these "towns" are still to be seen at the Kunovat river, on the Ob 20 m. below Obdorsk and elsewhere. Those on the Irtysh are mostly settled, and have adopted the manner of life of Russians and Tatars. Those on the Ob are mostly nomads, and own large herds of reindeer. The Ob Ostiaks are russified to a great extent. They live almost exclusively by fishing, buying from Russian merchants corn for bread.
The Ostiaks call themselves As-yakh (people of the Ob), and it is supposed that their present designation is a corruption of this name. By language they belong with the Voguls to the East Ugrian branch of the Ugrian division of the Ugro-Finnish section of the Ural-Altaic languages. Three or four leading dialects can be distinguished.
The Ostiaks are middle-sized, or short. The skull is roundish, mostly of moderate size and height. The hair is dark and soft for
the most part, fair and reddish individuals being rare; the eyes are dark, generally narrow; the nose is flat and broad; the mouth is large and with thick lips; the beard is scanty. Mongoloid traits are more strongly pronounced in the women than in the men. The purest type is found among the fishers on the Ob, the reindeer breeders of the tundra being largely intermixed with Samoyedes. They are very skilful in carving wood and bone, tanning (with egg-yolk and brains), preparation of implements from birch-bark, etc. Some of their carved or decorated bark implements show con siderable artistic skill. Christianity has made some progress among them, but their ancient pagan observances are still retained.