A
chum (pronounced "choom") is a temporary dwelling used by the
nomadic Uralic (
Nenets,
Nganasans,
Enets,
Khanty,
Mansi,
Komi)
reindeer herders of northwestern
Siberia of
Russia. The
Evenks,
Tungusic peoples, tribes, in Russia, Mongolia and
China also use chums. They are also used by the southernmost reindeer herders, of the Todzha region of the
Republic of Tyva and their cross-border relatives in northern Mongolia. It has a design similar to a
Native American tipi but some versions are less vertical. It is very closely related to the
Sami lavvu in construction, but is somewhat larger in size. Some chums can be up to thirty feet (ten meters) in diameter.