 A Dongxiang student in school | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~774,947 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| ~774,947, according to China Statistical Yearbook 2021 | |
| Languages | |
| Santa,Hezhou,Tangwang,Mandarin | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mongolic peoples,Hui,Bonan,Salar |
| Dongxiang people | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 东乡族 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 東鄉族 | ||||||||||
| Xiao'erjing | دْوثِيَانْزُو | ||||||||||
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| Sarta / Santa | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 撒尔塔 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 撒爾塔 | ||||||||||
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| Part of aseries on Islam in China | ||||||
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 Islam portal • China portal | ||||||
TheDongxiang (autonym:Sarta orSanta) are aMongolic people and one of 56ethnic groups officially recognized by thePeople's Republic of China. Half of the population live inDongxiang Autonomous County,Linxia Prefecture,Gansu Province, China. The rest are divided overHezheng County,Linxia City,Lanzhou,Dingxi andNingxia.[1] According to the China Statistical Yearbook 2021, their population numbers 774,947, although research has found that the number is inflated due toHui identifying themselves as Dongxiang for the census, in order to benefit from minority policies.[2][3]
Chinese historians generally agreed that Dongxiang are the descendants ofCentral Asians who had migrated during the Yuan dynasty.[2] They wereconverted to Islam in the 1340s by a missionary named Hamzeh (哈木則,Hāmùzé).[2] They spoke a different Central Asian language beforeshifting to their current mother tongue,Dongxiang language, a member of theMongolic languages.[2]
The name Dongxiang is derived from them living in what was called the eastern (Dong) part of Hezhou prefecture, present day Linxia.[4]
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Haplogroup analysis by Wen et. al. (2013) shows that the closest relative of Dongxiang people are the common ancestors of theKyrgyz of Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang, theTajiks ofKhujand, Tajikistan, and theIshkashimis of Tajikistan. The second closest relative is theSalars ofXinhua, Qinghai. The third closest relative are the commons ancestors of the Uyghurs and Tajiks of Xinjiang, theShughnis of Tajikistan, theBartangi of Tajikistan and variousUzbeks of different Central Asian countries.[5]
STR analysis excluding Kyrgyz, Tajiks and other Central Asians might conclude Dongxiang is close to East Asians as a whole.[6]
Physical anthropological analysis by Li et. al. (2011) shows that the closest relative of Dongxiang men among the Chinese populations are theTajiks inTashkurgan, Xinjiang. The next closest relative is the common ancestor of theMongols inBayingolin, Xinjiang, theSalars inXinhua, Qinghai and the Mongols inTongliao, Inner Mongolia. The physical anthropology of Dongxiang women show her closest relative are the common ancestor of theBonans inJishishan, Gansu and theOroqens inOroqen Banner, Inner Mongolia. Her next closest relative is the common ancestors of theMonguors inHuzhu, Qinghai, theSalars inXinhua, Qinghai and theTajiks inTashkurgan, Xinjiang.[7]
Distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroups in Dongxiang:[8]
O=24.29(O2=18.69,O1a=1.87,O1b=3.73)
J=16.82
R2=9.35
C=6.54
G=5.61
N=5.6
D=4.67
E=3.74
Others=6.56
In another study in 2010 found that the majority of the Dongxiang belonged toHaplogroup R1a (R1a : 54%).[9]
The Dongxiang haveMongol,Han Chinese,Hui andTibetan surnames.[10] Dongxiang with Han Chinese surnames such as Wang, Kang, Zhang, Gao and Huang claim descent from Han Chinese. Surnames such as Ma and Mu are of Hui origin.[11][12]
Some Dongxiang have said that, in the rare instances that they domarry with other people, it is only with Han and Hui, but not Tibetans.[13]
In 1900, GeneralsMa Fulu andMa Fuxiang brought a Chinese Muslim troop comprising Dongxiang, Hui and Bonan to fight the foreign troops in theBoxer Rebellion. They were killed while defending theZhengyang Gate in Beijing. In 1937–1945, GeneralMa Biao brought a multiethnic troop, including Dongxiang, to fight theSecond Sino-Japanese War. Some claimed Ma Fuxiang himself was of a Dongxiang assimilated into the Hui Chinese.[14]
The base of the economy of Dongxiang is agriculture. The main products are potatoes, corn, barley, millet and wheat.[15] They are also recognized craftsmen, specializing in the elaboration of traditional carpets.
An early ethnography of Dongxiang was documented in 1940 by the American Asiatic Association. The author interviewed Ma Chuanyuan, a Muslim Mongol who was the magistrate of five districts, on the origins of his people. The account described them as a community of one hundred thousand, Mongol by race, Islam by religion and Chinese by culture.[16][17]
Common Dongxiang cuisine includes the use of a potato mash that is used for noodles, snacks, alcoholic drinks and more.[15]
Traditional Dongxiang dress for men includes buttoned robes and a broad waistband. These waistbands are sometimes used to hang knives, snuff bottles, or small bags on them. A vest over a white shirt, trousers and a beret like cap makes up the rest of the traditional outfit. Seasonal clothing like sheepskin coats are also worn during the winter. Dongxiang women wear embroidered outfits which include wide sleeved shirts and trousers. Older women wear kerchiefs and younger women tend to wear bright decorated cotton caps and silk veils. On special occasions, women wear embroidered shoes with a medium heel.[15]
The Dongxiang speak theDongxiang language, a member of theMongolic family.[18] The language has distinct features resemblingMiddle Mongolian and has up to 35% loan words borrowed fromMandarin Chinese. The negligible words of Persian, Turkic and Arabic origin are probably remnants of their original languages beforelanguage shift to Dongxiang.[2] The Dongxiang people also have a rich tradition of oral literature and use the Arabic alphabet.
As a result of thelanguage shift, some 20,000 people in several villages in the NortheasternDongxiang County now speak the so-called "Tangwang language": acreolized version ofMandarin Chinese with a strong Dongxiang influence, in particular in its grammar.[19]
Government statistics show that the Dongxiang are among the poorest and least literate of China's minorities, with most Dongxiang having completed only an average of 1.1 years of schooling, a problem aggravated by the lack of a written language.
In 2004, theFord Foundation provided US$30,000 in grant money for a pilot project to promote bilingual education in Mandarin and Dongxiang, in an effort to reduce school drop-out rates. The project is credited with the publication of a Dongxiang–Chinesebilingual dictionary as well as recent rises in test scores.
dongxiang han hui marriages.
This article incorporates text fromThe Moslem World, Volume 10, by Christian Literature Society for India, Hartford Seminary Foundation, a publication from 1920, now in thepublic domain in the United States.
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| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||
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| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||
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| Related | |||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||
