Monguor

By Ian Skoggard

Mongor, Mongour, Manggheur, Tu, T'u-jen, T'ou-jen, Turen, Huzhu, Guanting, Mongols, White Mongols.

The Monguor are one of China's 56 official ethnic groups. They live in the Qilian Mountains and on the banks of the Huang and Datong rivers in Qinghai and Gansu provinces in northwestern China. This area of the Inner Asian plateau rises to a level of 3000 meters, with surrounding mountains twice that height. The Monguor are believed to be the descendents of Jenghiz Khan's (1167-1227) invading force of the early 13th century. Their way of life has been heavily influenced by neighboring Chinese and Tibetan cultures. The four major Monguor areas in Qinghai Province are Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Minhe Hui and Tu Autonomous County, Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, and Tongren County in Huangnan Prefecture. A fifth Monguor area is found in Tianzhu County of Gansu Province. Louis Schram and other Catholic missionaries who worked in the area call them both "Monguor" and "Tu" in their writings. The Monguor also call themselves "White Mongols."

Based on the "Annals of Kansu" printed in 1909, Schram estimated a population of 55,000 Monguor. In 1982 their numbers were 159,426 and in 1990, the Monguor population was 191,624. More recent estimates (2000) put the figure at 220,000. According to various population figures from the 1980s, the Monguor population was distributed as follows: 47,208 living in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County (1982), 31,735 in Hui and Tu Autonomous County (1985), 29,429 in Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County (1985), 6,200 in Tongren County of Huangnan Prefecture (1982), and 12,567 in Gansu Province (1988).

The Monguor language, also called Tu, is a member of the Eastern Mongolian Branch of the Altaic Family. Monguor is the most divergent of the Mongolian languages and shares 60 percent of its vocabulary with Mongolian. It has a large number of Han, a smaller number of Tibetan loanwords, and even some Turkish. Each of the five Monguor areas has its own dialect with the greatest dialectical differences found between the Huangnan and the Huzhu/Minhe areas. Some Huangnan Monguor speak Bonan, a closely related language. The Monguor in Datong County speak Chinese exclusively. Han characters are used in written communication. In 1979, a Tu script based on the Roman alphabet was devised and in 1988, a massive 70,000-entry Tu-Chinese dictionary was published.

The Monguor national minority designation is of relatively recent origin. Their ethnogenesis over the centuries is a result of the Mongolian invasion of the region in 1227. The local population was comprised of Tibetans, Uigur, and Shat'o Turks with whom the Mongolians intermarried. With the fall of the Yuan Dynasty (1277-1368), these Mongolians stayed on, switching their allegiance to the new Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). They served a role as defenders of the frontier, a service they continued to provide the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As part of their policy to protect the border region, the Ming and Qing governments gave the clan chiefs (TUSI) designated territories and the powers to collect taxes and extract corvée labor, essentially turning them into Chinese administrators. The Mongolian way of life gradually changed from pastoralism to farming. Farming villages were obligated to provide soldiers for the Monguor army, which time and time again was called up to fight invaders and help put down rebellion s in the region. The Chinese communists abolished the institution of the TUSI.

The Monguor live in dispersed farmsteads along the river valleys and plains, and in the surrounding mountains. An extended family lived together in an enclosure of packed earth walls, with separate buildings for storage, living, cooking and livestock. These buildings have mud walls, wood rafters and beams, and thatched roofs.

The Monguor have traditionally been goat and sheepherders. Beginning as early as the Ming dynasty and fully established by the early 18th century, the Monguor adopted a mixed economy of farming and cattle breeding. The major cultigens are wheat, highland barley, and potatoes. Traditional handicrafts include weaving, felt making, preparation of fur, and silver smithery. After 1949 modern industry made its way into the region with the production of farm machinery, chemical fertilizers, wine, ores, and coal.

Although at one time the Monguor may have shared the exogamous patri-clan organization of their cousins on the steppes, the institution of the TUSI had the effect of changing it to sibs (IMAG), the difference being that although members share a common name (patronym), all may not be genealogically related. There are 17 Monguor sibs. Apparently, two are descendents of the Imperial family of the Yuan Dynasty. Sibs are further divided into property-owning branches called "Houses." The number of houses per sib averages from three to thirteen.

The Monguor kinship terminology borrows greatly from the Chinese and less so from the Tibetans and Turks. The kinship system is of the bifurcate collateral type, which differentiates between father, father's brother and mother's brother; and also between mother, mother's sister and father's sister. Seniority is also recognized by different terms, for example, father's brothers are referred to as "big father" and "little father" depending on their age relative to the father. The terminology for maternal kinsmen is not as rich as that for paternal.

One must marry outside one's sib and within one's own generation. The preferred marriage is between a mother's brother's son and a father's sister's daughter. Betrothal can be set when the future spouses are still infants and marked by exchange of part of the bride-wealth (KALYM). In the most common form of marriage, the bride went to live with her husband's family (HERUOJIAN). Alternatively, in some cases, the groom, usually from a poor family, moves in with the bride's family (ZHAOLAJIANG), where he provides a bride-service for a fixed number of years, or until the death of the wife's parents. The husband may be adopted, take on the name of his wife's family, and reside with them permanently. Polygyny was practiced by those who could afford it, the number of wives usually not more than three. Divorce was possible if the wife was severely mistreated. Another form of marriage called "marriage with the pole" allowed a woman to live with her natal family and take lovers. Her children take on her name and are me mbers of her patrilineal family. She herself is regarded as married to Heaven and her offspring are referred to as "children of heaven."

Monguor family is a patrilineal extended family headed by a grandfather or great-grandfather. Herds and land are collectively owned. The patriarch has final say over all property and family matters. All earnings are pooled and controlled by him as well.

Property, such as land and livestock, is usually divided when the grandfather dies and is transmitted from father to son, with the eldest son receiving a larger share. If the father dies young, the widow holds the estate in trust to give to her sons when they come of age, even if she should marry again. Sons who become lamas do not inherit. To insure as fair a settlement as possible family and village elders discuss the proceedings in front of the whole village. Daughters may inherit a small portion of the family property, either real property or herds, as part of their dowry. If levirate is practiced then the property of the widow and surviving brother is combined and inherited equally by the children of both marriages.

Socialization and education occur mainly within the extended family, where children are brought up by their grandparents as much as their parents. Boys and girls are treated with equal affection. As children grow up, boys help out with farming and herding, and girls help their mothers in the kitchen, gathering fuel, tending animals in the stables, and sewing. Much is learned from living in the village and observing village life, including religious rites and public assemblies. Four missionary-run primary schools were set up in the early 20th century. By 1981, over 500 state-run schools had been set up in the Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, alone. Such recent educational opportunities have helped to create a new Monguor professional class of engineers, artists, journalists, teachers, and doctors.

Monguor society was comprised of nobles and commoners. The nobles were the descendents of the original entitled TUSI appointed by the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors. The commoners were subject peoples of the region and included Tibetan and Chinese families, who took on the sib name, in some cases, to protect themselves from tax exactions. Poor and rich lived in the same hamlet and worked together in the fields. Over time the line between nobles and commoners blurred as members of the former fell into poverty and those of the latter rose in wealth and prominence.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, entitled native officials (TUSI) were appointed by the central government and given a diploma and seal. These officials were responsible to the Chinese state for collecting taxes and keeping order. The TUSI became an inherited office. At the village level, a village headman was selected from among commoners and nobles, based on a person's reputation and administrative abilities. Village affairs were conducted at public meetings in the village assembly area, usually the village threshing floor.

Flogging was a commonly used sanction for a variety of transgressions, including fighting, theft, adultery, and abandonment. Gamblers were fined. Village elders led public discussion of all cases in an open-air forum. In the past, feuds were not uncommon, although held in check by the special authority conferred to the mother's brother.

The TUSI settled intervillage disputes mostly concerning access to water, repair of irrigation canals, theft of animals, and property damaged by wandering animals. Village elders adjudicated disputes between families, over such issues as inheritance, fighting, theft, and adultery. Only in extreme cases would elders involve themselves with altercations among family members.

Almost all Monguor practice Tibetan Buddhism. There are four large monasteries in the area, associated with the Yellow Sect. During the Yuan dynasty they converted to the Vajrayana (Mahayana) Buddhism of Tibet. Tibetan was the religious language of the Monguors. Families with more than one son were expected to send one to become a monk. The monasteries became wealthy by lending money, by taxing the people, by renting land, and by leasing grain mills. At the same time, much of the income went to support the large number of monks. Under the Communists and especially during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Buddhist establishment was for the most part extinguished.

Various kinds of religious practitioners are found among the Monguor, including Tibetan Buddhist lamas, Daoist priests (YINYANG or KURTAIN), and shamans. There were shamans who cured and sorcerers who were employed to exact revenge. In contrast to the lama, a shaman had to work as a farmer to support himself. The Daoist KURTAIN could be any youth who became possessed of a Daoist spirit and then passed a rigorous examination.

Ancestors are venerated at the Qing Ming festival falling on April 5. The whole sib, both nobles and commoners, go to the grave of the first ancestor with much pomp and circumstance, prostrate themselves, and eat a sacrificial meal. Ritual distinguishes between nobles and commoners and between the different lines of direct descendents. On the 19th day of the 11th month, some Monguor villages make sacrifices to the local mountain deity who is thought to help childless couples have babies. The following day is the tiger dance (WUTU) performed by selected group of young men who in an athletic display jump across rooftops and over piles of burning straw. NADUN is a village-level harvest festival held in the late summer between mid seventh and ninth lunar months. Some villages host the ceremony for one to two neighboring villages. Flour and bread are offered to the sky god, Tiangere. Some villages make offerings to the Chinese river god Erlang. The ceremony involves a special collective ritual called HUISHOU, whi ch is followed by dancing and singing.

Monguor have a rich oral culture that includes wedding songs, funeral lamentation, folktales, jokes and riddles. There is also a tradition of THANKHA painting.

A trance medium (FALA) was consulted in the case of illness and was able to identify the cause of illness while in trance.

The dead are now cremated, following Han practice, but in the past bodies were interred. Both forms are practiced today. Until the 1950s, children were given "sky burials" (their remains were placed on a platform in a tree).

Documents referred to in this section are included in the eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.

The eHRAF Monguor file consists of five sources, two of which are translations, one from French and the other, German. All the sources are written by two Roman Catholic missionaries, Father Louis Schram, who was in the area from 1911-1922, and Father Dominik Schröder, from 1946-1949. The basic work, by Schram, was published in three parts. The first part (Schram 1954, no. 1) describes Monguor origins, history and social organization; part 2 (Schram 1957, no. 4), religious life (particularly the origin and historical development of the lamaseries); and part 3 relates clan histories. An earlier work by Schram is an article on marriage practices (Schram 1932, no. 2). Schröder's work (Schröder 1952-1953, no. 3) is another study of religious practices and beliefs.

For more detailed information on the content of the individual works in the file, see the abstracts in the citations preceding each document.

Ian Skoggard wrote the culture summary, file evaluation, and indexing notes in January 2005.

• AYIR-village-category 621

• FALA-healer-category 756

• HUISHOU-religious ceremony-796

• IMAG-sib-category 614

• KUDU-family-category 592 and 596

• KURTAIN-diviner-category 791

• NADUN-harvest festival-categories 527 and 796

• TUSI-chief and administrator-categories 631 and 614

Jun, Hu and Kevin Stuart. The Guangting Tu (Monguor) Wedding Ceremonies and Songs. Anthropos 87. 1992: 109-132.

Jun, Hu and Kevin Stuart. That All May Prosper: The Monguor(Tu) NADUN of the Guanting/Sanchuan Region, Qinghai, China. Anthropos 88.1993: 15-27.

Krader, Lawrence. Kinship Systems of the Altaic-Speaking Peoples of the Asiatic Steppe. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University. 1953.

Ma Yin, ed. China's Minority Nationalities. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. 1989. pp. 113-118.

National Minorities Questions Editorial Panel. Questions and Answers about China's Minority Nationalities. Beijing: New World Press. 1985.

Schwarz, Henry G. The Minorities of Northern China: A Survey. Bellingham: Western Washington University Press. 1984. pp. 107-118.

Schram, Louis M. J. The Monguors of the Kansu-Tibetan Frontier. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society. 1954/

Xie Jun. "Visit to a Monguor Nationality Village." China Today 39(8): 34-39. 1990.

Xie Shengcai. "The Monguor People of the Qinghai Plateau." China Reconstructs, 30(1): 29-31. 1981.