Each country has periods of prosperity and decline. The once huge empire, stretching from sea to sea, has now shrunk to a small state that has no access to any. The Mongolian people now live in three countries - actually in Mongolia, Russia and China. Moreover, most of the Mongols live in several regions of the PRC.
general information
Mongolian peoples are a group of related peoples who speak or spoke earlier in languages that belong to the Mongolian, and are closely interconnected by a common centuries-old history, culture, kindred traditions and customs.
In general, many Mongolian nations belonging to this group already speak the languages of the locality where they live. Some of the peoples are now Iranian-speaking, there are representatives of the group who speak Tibetan languages, and in India in Hindi and Bengali. Perhaps that is why it will be more correct to identify those who belong to the Mongols on the basis of the achievements of science. According to 2014 data, among the representatives of these peoples, the most common Y-chromosome haplogroups are: C -56.7%, O - 19.3%, N - 11.9%
The main religion was Tibetan Buddhism, with some special national characteristics. After the persecution during the years of Soviet power, it is now reborn again, for example, 53% of the population of Mongolia considers themselves Buddhists. In addition, various types of shamanism, Christianity and Islam are widespread.
Regions of residence
Most of the Mongols live in northern China, in Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Some Mongolian peoples live in the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan.
In total, there are over 10 million people belonging to the Mongolian peoples. In fact, about 3 million people live in Mongolia; in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, about 4 million live, accounting for about 17% of the population. The rest, approximately 1.8 million, live in Liaoning, Gansu, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Mongolian peoples of Russia (Kalmyks and Buryats) live in the republics of Kalmykia and Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Irkutsk Region. The total number is about 650 thousand.
What people belong to the Mongolian group?
Traditionally, the Mongols are divided into several groups in accordance with the location of the region of residence:
- Several dozens of ethnic (for example, Atagans, Barguts and Horch-Buryats) and ethno-territorial (for example, Agin, Barguzin and Shenekhen) groups belong to the north.
- South (Uver - Mongols) lives mainly in the territory of Chinese Inner Mongolia. There are also dozens of them, including, for example, the following: ethnic groups of the Avga, Asuts, Baarins, throats and chahars. Also included in this group are the peoples who live in Afghanistan and the Hindustan Peninsula.
- Eastern Mongols (including the Khalkha-Mongols, Sartuls and Hotogs) live on the territory of Mongolia.
- Western Mongols, who are also called Oirats (Dzungars), live in Russia (Kalmyks), China (for example, Khoshuts) and Mongolia (Torguts).
Etymology
The origin of the name of the Mongolian people is not reliably established, experts adhere to different versions. Each of them has a very solid justification. One of the most popular theories is that the word "Mongol" is supposedly derived from the Mongolian "Mong, " which can be translated as brave. In ancient China, the word could also be derived from the Chinese word manglu, which translates as demons.
Another popular version produces the name from the hydronym Mang (Mang-kol) or toponymoma Mang-gan (the name of the rock), which are located in the original habitat of the tribes. Nomads often chose clan and clan names in this way. There is also a suggestion of the origin of the word mengu shivei, the tribes that lived in antiquity on the territory of modern eastern Mongolia. They were named after Mang-qoljin-qo, the legendary ancestor of the Borzhigin clan, from whom Chigiskhan came. According to another version, the word "Mongol" is a word formed from two Turkic words "mangu", which translates as innumerable, eternal and "count" - the army.
First mention
Some researchers believe that the ethnonym "Mongol" may first be found in Chinese written sources:
- in the form of "men u shi wei", then the name of the Shiwei Mongols in "Tszyu Tang shu" (the book "The Old History of the Tang Dynasty"), compiled presumably in 945);
- in the form of "men va bu", the tribe men-va is mentioned in the book "The New History of the Tang", compiled in about 1045-1060.
In other Chinese and Khitan written sources of the XII century, various words were used to name the Mongolian peoples, which were transmitted in hieroglyphs as mangu go, manga, manguli, mang ku, mangutsi.
Russian Mongolian B.Ya. Vladimirtsov put forward the version that the name was given to the Mongolian people in honor of some ancient and mighty clan or people. In the 12th century, the ancient aristocratic clan Borjigin, led by Khabul Khan, managed to subjugate several neighboring tribes and clans. After combining them in 1130 into a single political entity, having created almost one ulus, he adopted the name Mongol.
Ancient history
The first state formation of the Mongols of the Three Rivers was called the ulus Hamag Mongol. According to some experts, the Turkic-Mongolian peoples lived in this proto-state. The local Mongol tribes gradually mixed with the Turkic tribes who came from the west.
The heyday of statehood in the history of the Mongolian people came in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan (and his sons and grandsons) created the Mongol Empire. During its heyday, it occupied the territory from China and Tibet to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. At the end of the 13th century, the grandson of the “Shock of the Universe” Khubilai founded the Yuan Dynasty with capitals in Beijing and Shandu. Now in South China live the descendants of the Yuan warriors, making up the ethnic group of the Mongols of Yunnan.
Modern history
In the period from the 14th to the 16th centuries, the territory of Mongolia was divided by the descendants of Genghis Khan and Oirat. This tribe eventually formed a strong Dzungarian Khanate. After the defeat by the Qing empire, part of the Oirats left for the Kalmyk Khanate in the Volga region. It was founded by one of the peoples of the Western Mongols (Torguuds), having established itself in the Great Steppe in the 17th century. It existed until the 18th century, the khanate was always in vassal dependence on the Russian states.
Once again, the independent Mongolian state was created only in 1911, led by Bogdo-khan. In 1924, the Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed, in 1992 it was renamed to Mongolia. In subsequent years, the Kalmyks and Buryats, as well as the Mongols in the Inner Mongolia region of China, received their national autonomies in the Soviet Union.
Accommodation and hospitality
The culture and life of various Mongolian peoples, who have lived in different countries for hundreds of years, varies greatly. However, many common features and traditions of the Mongolian people have been preserved. In folk art, traditional values, such as love for parents, for the steppe expanses, love of freedom and independence, have been preserved. In many works, praise for homesickness and homeland.
Once all Mongolian peoples lived in the traditional dwelling of many nomads - a yurt, which is part of the national culture. Even in the ancient written monument "The Secret History of the Mongols" it is said that all the Mongols lived in felt dwellings. Until now, a significant part of the population lives in yurts in Mongolia, not only cattle breeders, but also residents of the country's capital. And some have shops, restaurants and museums. In Russia, herders mainly live in yurts, and traditional housing is also used for holidays and festivities.
Hospitality is an important part of the folk tradition of all nomadic peoples and is still taken for granted. As many travelers note, if you approach the yurt, where someone is inside, you will always be invited to visit. And be sure to treat at least tea or koumiss.
