The Bonan people ( zh, s=保安族, p=Bǎo'ānzú) are a distinct ethno-linguistic group from all other
Mongolic peoples
The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian originated ethnic groups in East, North, South Asia and Eastern Europe, who speak Mongolic languages. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contemporary Mongolic et ...
, living in
Gansu and
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
provinces in Northwestern
China. They are one of the "
titular nationalities" of Gansu's
Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County
Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County () is an autonomous county in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province of the People's Republic of China.
The county is located in the mostly mountainous area to the south of the ...
, which is located south of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
, near Gansu's border with Qinghai.
Bonan are the 10th-smallest (ranked in 47th-position, out) of the 56
ethnic groups
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
officially recognized by the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. 95% of Bonan live in Jishishan County, numbering 21,400 of the county's population.
History
The Bonan people are believed to be descended from
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
and Central Asian soldiers stationed in Qinghai during the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
.
They are agriculturalists and also knife makers. They are mixed between Mongols, Hui, Han Chinese and Tibetans and wear Hui attire.
The ancestors of today's Bonan people were
Lamaist and it is known that around 1585 they lived in
Tongren County
Tongren (; ), known to Tibetans as Rebgong () in the historic region of Amdo, is the capital and second smallest administrative subdivision by area within Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai, China. The city has an area of 3465 squar ...
(in
Amdo
Amdo ( am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the ...
Region; presently, in
Qinghai Province
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
), north of the Tibetan Rebgong Monastery. It was in that year that the town of Bao'an was founded in that area.
Later on, some of the members of the
Bonan-speaking community converted to Islam and moved north, to
Xunhua County. It is said that they have been converted to Islam by the
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
Sufi master
Ma Laichi (1681? – 1766). Later, in the aftermath of the
Dungan Rebellion (1862–1874) the Muslim Bonans moved farther east, into what's today
Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County
Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County () is an autonomous county in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province of the People's Republic of China.
The county is located in the mostly mountainous area to the south of the ...
of Gansu Province.
[
It were the members of this Muslim part of the original Bonan community who are officially recognized as the separate "Bonan" ethnic group in today's PRC. Their brethren who have remained Lamaists and stayed in Tongren, are now officially classified as part of the ]Monguor Mongour, formerly also known by various names including Tu and Dchiahour, may refer to:
* Monguor people
* Monguor language
The Monguor language (; also written Mongour and Mongor) is a Mongolic language of its Shirongolic branch and is part of ...
(Tu) ethnic group, even though they speak essentially the same Bonan language. The official concept of the "Bonan ethnic group" still remains somewhat artificial for the Bonans themselves.[
Hui, Baoan and Dongxiang troops served under Generals ]Ma Fulu
Ma Fulu ( Chinese: 马福禄, Pinyin: Mǎ Fúlù, Xiao'erjing: ; 1854 – 1900), a Chinese Muslim, was the son of General Ma Qianling and the brother of Ma Fucai, Ma Fushou and Ma Fuxiang. He was a middle born son.
In 1880, Ma Fulu went to Be ...
and Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang (, Xiao'erjing: , French romanization: Ma-Fou-hiang or Ma Fou-siang; 4 February 1876 – 19 August 1932) was a Chinese military and political leader spanning the Qing Dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the po ...
in the Boxer Rebellion, defeating the invading Eight Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...
at the Battle of Langfang
The Battle of Langfang was a battle in the Seymour Expedition during the Boxer Rebellion, in June 1900, involving Chinese imperial troops, the Chinese Muslim Kansu Braves and Boxers ambushing and defeating the Eight-Nation Alliance expeditionary ...
.
Hui, Baoan, Dongxiang, Salar and Tibetan troops served under Ma Biao in the Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
against the Japanese.
Language
Both the Muslim Bonans in Gansu and their Buddhist cousins in Qinghai (officially classified as Monguor) have historically spoken the Bonan language, a Mongolic language
The Mongolic languages are a language family spoken by the Mongolic peoples in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Asia and East Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas and in Kalmykia and Buryatia. The best-known member of this language ...
. The Buddhist Bonan of Qinghai speak a slightly different dialect than the Muslim Bonan of Gansu. Whereas the Bonan language of Gansu has undergone Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
influences, the Bonan language of Qinghai has been influenced by Tibetan.[ The language is also closely related to archaic versions of Mongolian.]
There are 11 vowels in the Bonan language, as well as many compound vowels and there are 26 consonants, 5 of which are unstable.
They have no script for their language.
The Muslim Gansu Bonans are more numerous than their Buddhist Qinghai cousins (the estimates for the two groups were around 12,200 (in 1990) and around 3,500 (in 1980), respectively). However, it has been observed that in Gansu the use of Bonan language is declining (in favor of the local version – the "Hezhou dialect" – of Mandarin Chinese), while in Qinghai the language keeps being transmitted to younger generations.[
]
Genetics
Distribution of Y-chromosome haplogroups in Bonan:
* O=23.43( O2=20.31, O1a=1.56, O1b=1.56)
* J=18.75
* R1=14.07( R1a=10.94, R1b=3.13)
* C=9.37
* N=9.17
* R2=6.25
* D=6.25
* I=4.69
*Others=8.02
In another study in 2010 found:
* K*=22.2
* O1b=18.5
* D*=14.8
* O2=14.8
* O*=7.4
* R1a=7.4
* R2=7.4
* N=3.7
* R1b=3.7
Culture
The Bonan share many traditions with the Dongxiang and Hui. Their traditional dress includes elements of Tibetan, Hui and Dongxiang clothing. Married Bonan women wear black veils, while unmarried women wear green veils. Women wear more colorful dress, including trousers with colored cuffs. Bonan men typically wear black or white skullcaps and white or dark blue jackets. Fur-lined jackets are used during the winter.
The economy of the Bonan consists of farming (mainly wheat and rye), raising livestock, selling local handicrafts and working in the lumber industry. Bonan knives are renowned for their beauty and hardness and their manufacture and sale also form an important part of the local economy.
Popular pastimes for the Bonan include horse-riding, wrestling, and archery. The Bonan also enjoy poetry, singing, dancing and playing traditional Chinese instruments.
The Bonan in Jishishan county follow a halal diet consisting mainly of beef and mutton, combined with carrots, potatoes and glass noodles
Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan ...
. They also enjoy drinking tea.
Bonan traditional villages have the roofs of the houses connected, in a way allowing the villagers to walk between houses over the roofs. However these traditional houses are rare nowadays.
References
External links
*http://www.china.org.cn/e-groups/shaoshu/shao-2-bonan.htm
*https://web.archive.org/web/20040206081402/http://www.orientaltravel.com.hk/people/Bonan.htm
*http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/nationality/baoan/
{{authority control
Muslim communities of China
Ethnic groups officially recognized by China
Bonans