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| Mohe people | |||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 靺鞨 or靺羯 | ||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||
| Hangul | 말갈 | ||||||||||||
| Hanja | 靺鞨 | ||||||||||||
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TheMohe,Malgal,Mogher, orMojie[1] were historical groups of people that once occupied parts of what is nowNortheast Asia during late antiquity. The two most well known Mohe groups were known as theHeishui Mohe, located along theAmur River, and the Sumo Mohe, named after theSonghua River.[2] They have been traditionally defined by the approximate use of what would have beenTungusic languages. The Heishui Mohe are commonly thought as being direct ancestors to the 12th centuryJurchens. TheTang documented the Mohe as inhabiting the land ofSushen, to the northeast of the Tang, east of the Turks, and north ofGoguryeo.[3]
The Mohe constituted a major part of the population in the kingdom ofBalhae in northeast Asia, which lasted from the late 7th century to early 10th century. After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the primary ethnic group from whom theJurchen people descended. The Heishui Mohe in particular are considered to be the direct ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom the 17th centuryManchu people andQing dynasty founders originated.[4] The Mohe practiced a sedentary agrarian lifestyle and were predominantly farmers who grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, supplemented by pig raising and hunting for meat.[5][6] The Mohe were also known to have worn pig and dog skin coats.[7]
The ChineseexonymMohe (靺鞨) is agraphic pejorative written withmo 靺 "socks; stockings" andhe 鞨 "shoes".Mo (靺) (Middle Chinese:/muɑt̚/) is an adjective, a customary expression meaning "barbarian" orXiongnu[citation needed]. Before theFive dynasties period, it was recorded as "靺羯", such as on theHonglujing Stele.
He 鞨 isgal (Middle Chinesegat[citation needed] or/ɦɑt̚/), meaning "stone" by Mohe/Malgal,Jie/Gal language.[citation needed] TheJie rulerShi Le (石勒) takes the surnameshi (石 "stone") fromgal. According to theHistory of Jin (Jin Shi), Shi Tumen (石土門) is the prince of theJurchen people, whose surnameshi hints to a connection with the Mohe andJie.
The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested*Motgit inMiddle Chinese (Chinese:勿吉;pinyin:mò jí;Jyutping:mat6 gat1;Korean: 물길 [Mulgil];Japanese: もつきつ [Motsukitsu]).
The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" (Japanese 新靺鞨, しんまか) or "New Mohe," which is the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it; the dance and song were introduced to theJapanese court during theNara period or around the beginning of theHeian period from theBalhae kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "kana" reading Makkatsu (まっかつ), which is probably a transliteration based on the standardSino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.
According to some records, there were seven or maybe eight Mohe tribes :
| Moji/Merjie/Wuji/Matgat (勿吉) | Mohe/Mogher/Malgal/Muthot (靺鞨) | Modern location | Settlements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumo tribe 粟末部 (Sùmò Bù) 속말부 (Sogmalbu) | Sumo tribe 粟末部 (Sùmò Bù) 속말부 (Sogmalbu) | nearSonghua River | |
| Baishan tribe 白山部 (Báishān Bù) 백산부 (Baeksanbu) | Baishan tribe 白山部 (Báishān Bù) 백산부 (Baeksanbu) | nearPaektu Mountain | |
| Yulou tribe 虞婁 (Yúlóu) 우루 (Uru) | Yulou tribe 虞婁 (Yúlóu) 우루 (Uru) | on theSuifun River Basin | |
| Boduo tribe 伯咄部 (Bóduō Bù) 백돌부 (Baekdolbu) | Boduo tribe 伯咄部 (Bóduō Bù) 백돌부 (Baekdolbu) | near theLalin River | |
| Funie tribe 拂涅部 (Fúniè Bù) 불열 (Buryeol) | Funie tribe 拂涅部 (Fúniè Bù) 불열 (Buryeol) | near theMudan River on theKhanka Basin | dwelled inJixi andMudanjiang |
| Anchegu tribe 安車骨部/安车骨部 (Ānchēgǔ Bù) 안차골부 (Anchagolbu) | Tieli tribe 鐵利 (Tiělì) 철리 (Cheolli) | near theSonghwa River | dwelled inHarbin |
| Haoshi tribe 號室部/号室部 (Hàoshì Bù) 호실부 (Hosilbu) | Yuexi tribe 越喜 (Yuèxǐ) 월희 (Wolhui) | dwelled inDalnerechensk | |
| Heishui tribe 黑水部 (Hēishuǐ Bù) 흑수부 (Heuksubu) | Heishui tribe 黑水部 (Hēishuǐ Bù) 흑수부 (Heuksubu) | low banks ofAmur River | dwelled inHegang,Jiamusi,Shuangyashan,Khabarovsk,Birobidzhan,Yichun |
Historical non-Han peoples in China | ||||||||||
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