Mongols: Difference between revisions
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|image= [[Image:Enfant_de_Mongolie.jpg|62px|Child]][[Image:Genghis Khan.jpg|62px|Genghis Khan]][[Image:Börte-Ujin.jpg|72px|Börte]]<br /> |
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[[Image:Sorghaghtani Beki.jpg|45px|Khalkha woman, ca. 19th century]][[Image:Sharav bogd khan.jpg|69px|Bogd Khan]] |
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Revision as of 09:10, 15 April 2008
  BörteKhalkha woman, ca. 19th century  | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 China (5.8 million) Mongolia (2.4 million) Russia (0.5 million) | |
| Languages | |
| Mongolic languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism with minorities of Islam, Christianity, Atheism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Khalkha, Daur, Buryats, Hazara, Dörbed, Kalmyks, Oirats, Chahar, Tümed, Ordos, Bayad, Dariganga, Uriankhai, Üzemchin, Zakhchin |
The name Mongols (Mongolian: 
Mongɣul; cyrillic script: Монгол Mongol) specifies one or several ethnic groups, now mainly located in Mongolia, China, and Russia.
Definition
A narrow definition includes the Mongols proper, which can be roughly divided into eastern and western Mongols. In a wider sense, the Mongol peoples includes all people who speak a Mongolic language, such as the Kalmyks of eastern Europe.
The name "Mongol" appeared first in 8th century records of the Chinese Tang dynasty, but then only resurfaced in the 11th century during the rule of the Khitan. At first it was applied to some small and still insignificant tribes in the area of the Onon River. In the 13th century, it grew into an umbrella term for a large group of Mongolic and Turkic tribes united under the rule of Genghis Khan.[1]
The specific origin of the Mongolic languages and associated tribes is unclear. Some researchers have proposed a link to languages like Tungusic and Turkic, which are often included alongside Mongolic in a hypothetical group called Altaic languages, but evidence for this line of argumentation is rather weak.[2]
Geographic distribution
Today, people of Mongol origin live in Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia), Russia, and a few other central Asian countries.
The differentiation between tribes and peoples (nationalities) is handled differently depending on the country. The Tumed, Chahar, Ordos, Bargut (or Barga), Buryats, Dörböd (Dörvöd, Dörbed), Torguud, Dariganga, Üzemchin (or Üzümchin), Bayid, Khoton, Myangad (Mingad), Zakhchin(Zakchin), Darkhad, and Oirats (or Öölds or Ölöts) are all counted as tribes of the Mongols.
Other geographically dispersed Mongol peoples include the Moghol, Hazara, and Aimak in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
Mongolia
The population of Mongolia consists of 85% Mongols, numbering approximately 2.7 million. Among those, the Khalkha, Uriankhai and Buryats are counted as eastern Mongols. The Oirats, living mainly in the Altay region, belong to the western Mongols.
China
The Chinese census of 2000 counted 5.8 million Mongols (according to the narrow definition above). Most of them live in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, followed by Liaoning province. Small numbers can also be found in provinces near those two.
Other peoples speaking Mongolic languages are the Daur, Monguor, Dongxiang, Bonan, and parts of the Yugur. Those do not officially count as part of the Mongol nationality, but are recognized as nationalities of their own.
Russia
In Russia, the Buryats belong to the eastern Mongols. The western Mongols include the Oirats in the Russian Altay and the Kalmyks at the northern side of the Caspian Sea. Together they amount to roughly half a million people.
See also
References
- ^ "Mongolia: Ethnography of Mongolia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
- ^ see Vovin, Alexander (2005): The End of the Altaic Controversy. Central Asiatic Journal 49.1: 71–132.
