The
Nanai people (self-designation нани
Nani means 'natives, locals, people of the land/earth'; self-designation
Hezhen means 'people of the Orient';
Russian: нанайцы,
nanaitsy;
Chinese: 赫哲族,
Hèzhézú; formerly also known as
Golds,
Goldes,
Goldi and
Samagir) are a
Tungusic people of the
Far East, who have traditionally lived along Heilongjiang (
Amur),
Songhuajiang (Sunggari) and
Ussuri rivers on the Middle Amur
Basin. The ancestors of the Nanais were the
Jurchens of northernmost
Manchuria.