Buriats
a nomadic Tartar people allied to the Kalmucks, inhabiting the S. part of the government of Irkutsk and Transbaikalia. Their number is about 300,000. They live in huts called yurts, which in summer are covered with leather, in winter with felt. They support themselves by their flocks, by hunting, and the mechanical arts, particularly the forging of iron. The religion of the majority is Lamaism, though some have become converted to the Orthodox Greek Church.