Udege are a people who live in the Primorsky Krai

Primorsky Krai

Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...

 and Khabarovsk Krai

Khabarovsk Krai

Khabarovsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Russian Far East. It lies mostly in the basin of the lower Amur River, but also occupies a vast mountainous area along the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of the krai is the...

 regions in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. They live along the tributaries of the Ussuri

Ussuri River

The Usuri ula is a river in the south of the Outer Manchuria and east of Inner Manchuria . It rises in the Sikhote-Alin range, flowing north, forming part of the Sino-Russian border based on the Sino-Russian Convention of Peking in 1860, until it joins the Amur River at Khabarovsk . It is...

, Amur, Kungari and Anyuy

Anyuy River (Khabarovsk Krai)

Anyuy River , also known as Onyuy River or Dondon River is a river in the Khabarovsk Krai in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Amur River. It originates on slope of Tordoki Yani in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, and falls into the Amur between Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.The length...

 Rivers. The Udege speak the Udege language

Udege language

The Udege language is the language of the Udege people. It is a member of the Tungusic family.-Vocabulary:...

, which belongs to the Tungusic language family

Tungusic languages

The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...

. Their religious beliefs include animism

Animism

Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....

, animal worship

Animal worship

Animal worship refers to religious rituals involving animals, especially in pre-modern societies, such as the glorification of animal deities, or animal sacrifice....

 and shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...

. The Udege are mainly engaged in hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and ginseng

Ginseng

Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....

 picking. According to the 2002 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, there were 1,657 Udege in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, a slight increase from 1,500 in 1970).

Udege biggest settlements are in :

- Khabarovsk krai : Gvasiugidi and Arsenievo

- Primorsky krai : Agzu

Agzu

Agzu is a village in Terneysky District of Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Samarga River. Population: 169 , 140 of which are Udege....

, Krasny Yar

Krasny Yar

Krasny Yar may refer to:*Krasny Yar , name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Krasny Yar Krasnoyarsk, a Russian rugby union club based in Krasnoyarsk...

 and Olon