Nivkh, formerly called Gilyak, east Siberian people who live in the region of the Amur River estuary and on nearby Sakhalin Island. They numbered about 4,600 in the late 20th century. Most speak Russian, though about 10 percent still speak Nivkh, a Paleo-Siberian language unaffiliated apparently with any other language. Their name for themselves, Nivkh, means “human.”
The Nivkh economy was traditionally based on fishing (especially for salmon) and the hunting of sea lions and seals. Agriculture (the cultivation of potatoes) was started in the mid-19th century. Men’s occupations included fishing, hunting, and making tools and means of transportation. Women processed animal skins, prepared birch bark for various uses, made clothing and utensils, gathered plants, did housework, and cared for the dogs. Until recently, when contact with the Evenk introduced the reindeer as a draft animal, dogs were the only domestic animals; they were used for pulling sleds and as a source of fur and meat. They were also a medium of exchange, an index of wealth, and an important part of religious rituals.
Villages generally included some 20 houses that were situated along the coast or near the mouths of rivers used by spawning salmon. The Nivkh were divided into exogamous clans. Clan members had mutual duties in payment of blood money, bride-price, and burial expenses; they observed a common cult that included the organization of a clan bear festival, usually held in honour of a dead clan kinsman.
Under Soviet administration economic activities were collectivized and small, scattered villages unified. Tillage, gardening, and cattle breeding were developed, and agriculture was introduced among the Sakhalin Nivkh.