The Tuvans are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation. The Tuvans' recent ethnic history is rooted in Mongol, Turkic, and Samoyedic groups of peoples. They have been cattle-herding nomads, tending to their herds of goats, sheep, camels, reindeer, cattle and yaks for the past thousands of years. In spite the fact that Tuva was ruled by different empires and influenced by their cultures, the tuvans managed to preserve its unique peculiarities, traditions and customs till present days.
