Yugur

The Yugurs (Şablon:Zh), or Yellow Uyghurs,<ref name="RudelsonRudelson1997">Şablon:Cite book</ref> as they are traditionally known, are one of China's 56 officially recognized nationalities, consisting of 13,719 persons according to the 2000 census.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref> The Yugur live primarily in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County in Gansu, China. They are Tibetan Buddhists.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref><ref>Şablon:Cite news</ref>

Name

The nationality's current, official name, Yugur, derived from its autonym: the Turkic-speaking Yugur designate themselves as Yogïr "Yugur" or Sarïg Yogïr "Yellow Yugur", and the Mongolic-speaking Yugur likewise use either Yogor or Šera Yogor "Yellow Yugur". Chinese historical documents have recorded these ethnonyms as Sālǐ Wèiwùr or Xīlǎgǔr. During the Qing dynasty, the Yugur were also called by a term that included "fān", the Classical Chinese term for Tibetic ethnic groups (Şablon:Zh. In order to distinguish both groups and their languages, Chinese linguists coined the terms Xībù Yùgùr "Western Yugur" and Dōngbù Yùgùr "Eastern Yugur" based on their geographical distribution.

History

The Turkic-speaking Yugurs are considered to be the descendants of a group of Uyghurs who fled from Mongolia southwards to Gansu after the collapse of the Uyghur Khaganate in 840, where they established the prosperous Gansu Uyghur Kingdom (Ganzhou Uyghur Khanate) (870-1036) with capital near present Zhangye at the base of the Qilian Mountains in the valley of the Ruo Shui.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref> The population of this kingdom, estimated at 300,000 in Song chronicles, practised Manichaeism and Buddhism in numerous temples throughout the country.

In 1037 the Yugur came under Tangut domination.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref> The Gansu Uyghur Kingdom was forcibly incorporated into the Western Xia after a bloody war that raged from 1028–1036. Mahmud al-Kashgari, who lived at the time in Kashgar, stated that "Uyghur blood was pouring like a murmuring stream" during this war.

The Mongolic-speaking Yugurs are probably the descendants of one of the Mongolic-speaking groups that invaded North China during the Mongol conquests of the thirteenth century. The Yugurs were eventually incorporated into Qing China in 1696 during the reign of the second Qing ruler, the Kangxi Emperor (1662–1723).

In 1893, Russian explorer Grigory Potanin, the first Western scientist to study the Yugur, published a small glossary of Yugur words, along with notes on their administration and geographical situation.<ref>Eric Enno Tamm. (2010) "The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China." Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, p.218. ISBN 978-1-55365-269-4. http://horsethatleaps.com/chapter-11</ref> Then, in 1907, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim visited the Western Yugur village of Lianhua (Mazhuangzi) and the Kangle Temple of the Eastern Yugur. Mannerheim was the first to conduct a detailed ethnographic investigation of the Yugur. In 1911, he published his findings in an article for the Finno-Ugrian Society.

Language

About 4,600 of the Yugurs speak Western Yugur (a Turkic language) and about 2,800 Eastern Yugur (a Mongolic language). Western Yugur has preserved many archaisms of Old Uyghur.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref><ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref> The remaining Yugurs of the Autonomous County lost their respective Yugur language and speak Chinese. A very small number of the Yugur reportedly speak Tibetan. They use Chinese for intercommunication.

Both Yugur languages are now unwritten, although the Old Uyghur alphabet was in use in some Yugur communities until end of 19th century.<ref>Şablon:Cite book</ref>

People

The Turkic speaking Yugur mainly live in the western part of the County in Mínghuā District, in the Townships of Liánhuā and Mínghǎi, and in Dàhé District, in the centre of the County. The Mongolic speaking Yugur mainly live in the County's eastern part, in Huángchéng District, and in Dàhé and Kānglè Districts, in the centre of the County.

The Yugur people are predominantly employed in animal husbandry.

Religion

The traditional religion of the Yugur is Tibetan Buddhism, which used to be practised alongside shamanism.

Popular Culture

The historical country of Sarig Yogir is a playable nation in the Paradox Interactive grand strategy video game Europa Universalis IV.

External links

• Slide shows, maps and other material on the Yugur from author Eric Enno Tamm
• Original Western Yugur texts with English translation plus PDF grammar of Sarig Yugur [1]