Shoksha (Erzya: шокшот, romanized:šokšot, Russian: шокша, romanized:shoksha) is an ethnographic group of Erzya people. It is named after the village of Shoksha[ru] in Tengushevsky District, Mordovia. They live mostly in Mordovia, Tengushevsky District and Torbeyevsky District. The ethnonym is relatively recent.

Shoksha live (or lived) in following settlements:

  • Tengushevsky District: Баево, Березняк, Вяжга, Дудниково, Коляево, Кураево, Малая Шокша, Мельсетьево, Мокшанка, Нароватово, Сакаево, Стандрово, Шелубей, Широмасово, Shoksha
  • Torbeyevsky District: Drakino, Кажлодка, Майский, Фёдоровка (depopulated), Якстере Теште (depopulated)

Language

The Shoksha speak the Shoksha dialect[de; ru], a dialect of the Erzya language formed under the influence of the Moksha language, as for a long time Shokshas have been living with and surrounded by Mokshas. The language is unwritten and has a status of critically endangered.

Genetics

Based on 65 samples from Tengushevsky, 44.6 percent of Shoksha men have the haplogroup R1a (mostly R1a-CTS1211), and 43.1 percent carry the halpogroup N1c. Some other haplogroups are found with lower frequencies.

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