The origins of the Kalmaks trace back to the 17th century, when a group of Teleuts from the central parts of Kemerovo Oblast migrated to the north. Kalmaks adopted Islam in the 18th century due to Tatar and other Muslim influences. These factors created an endogamous barrier between Kalmaks and Russians, which helped Kalmaks to preserve their identity.[3]
The Kalmaks are considered to be mostly assimilated but retain their Teleut roots. They speak a local dialect of the Tatar language.[4][5][6] However some sources consider the language of the Kalmaks to be a separate variety of Tatar, or even a dialect of the Teleut language, as it differs greatly from other Siberian Tatar varieties.[7][8][9]
The Kalmaks are Sunni Muslims. They converted to Islam around the late 18th century under the influence of Volga Tatars and Siberian Bukharans.[3]
Genetics
The majority of Kalmak Tatars belong to Y-DNA haplogroup N1c1-Y16311[10] which originates from N1c1-F4205, like Mongols and Kalmyks. This differentiates them from Teleuts, from whom some scholars believe the Kalmak Tatars descent.
^Nevskaya, Irina (2007), "Ethno-Linguistic Processes in Post-Soviet South Siberia", Cultural Changes in the Turkic World, Ergon Verlag, pp. 107–122, doi:10.5771/9783956506925-107, ISBN9783956506925
