The original of the Tozhu (the Tozhu Tuvan people) is tozhu or tozhu-kizhi. The pre-revolutionary sources often identify this group as Soyots or Soyons. Their traditional activities are reindeer herding, hunting, and gathering. Their total number according to the All-Russian Population Census of 2010 is 1856 persons, of which 82 reside in the Tozhinsky district of the Republic of Tyva, and 1774 – in the Tere-Kholsky district.
The Tozhu kozhuun occupies the northeastern part of the Republic of Tyva and borders on the Kyzyl, Piy-Khem and Kaa-Khem kozhuuns, the Republic of Buryatia, the Irkutsk region, and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The regional administrative center (sumon) is Toora-Khem.
Researchers recorded that at the beginning of the 20th century, the Tozhu Tuvans still retained animistic beliefs and associated taboos and rituals. Fire was considered a spirit that could harm if angered, so it should not be scolded.