The Taz (their endonym is the Ta-dzy) is one of Russia’s smallest peoples. Ethnographers categorize them as part of the Amur Sakhalin historical and cultural area, specifically, its Primorye district.
The Primorye territory accounts for about 6% of the Far East area and constitutes its most densely populated and industrialized part. It has several large and unique deposits of various natural resources that serve as a foundation for the most powerful mining industry in the Far East. Up to 80% of the territory is covered with highly diverse forests with their area totaling 12.3 million hectares. The territory is also actively developing tourism. The Taz live in the Olga and Lazo municipal districts with most of them living in the Olga district. Demographically, these districts are populated by Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, the Taz, the Udege, the Nanai, the Itelmen, the Nenets, Tajiks, etc.
The Taz’s concepts of soul and nature are based on animism. They understand nature as everything that surrounds a human being: the sky, mountains, rivers, the taiga, the elements, the earth, including spirits and deities. Everything is governed by good and evil spirits. Their hosts inhabit the world around people and, taking advantage of their invisibility, they watch over human beings. The Taz believe that every animal species has their master equal to a forest deity.