The Dörbet ( xal-RU, Дөрвд, ''Dörwyd''; mn, Дөрвөд, ''Dörvöd'', lit. ''"the Fours"''; ; also known in English as the ''Derbet'') is the second largest subgroup of
Mongol people
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 of ...
in modern
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
and was formerly one of the major tribes of the
Four Oirat
The Four Oirat ( Mongolian: Дөрвөн Ойрад, ''Dorben Oirad''; ); also Oirads and formerly Eleuths, alternatively known as the Alliance of the Four Oirat Tribes or the Oirat Confederation, was the confederation of the Oirat tribes which ...
confederation in the 15th-18th centuries. In early times, the Dörbets and the
Öold were ruled by collateral branches of the
Choros Choros may refer to:
* Choros (Oirats), a Mongolic people and historical clan
* Chôros, a series of compositions by Heitor Villa-Lobos
* Choros (dance), Greek dances
* Choros (Greek drama), an ancient Greek group of performers
* Choros District, ...
lineage. The Dörbets are distributed among the western provinces of Mongolia,
Kalmykia
he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref>
, official_lang_list= Kalmyk
, official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...
and in a small portion in
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
,
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 ...
. In modern-day Mongolia, the Dörbets are centered in
Uvs Province
Uvs (; mn, Увс аймаг, Uws aimag, ; xal, Увс әәмг, Uws äämg, ), is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the west of the country, away from the national capital Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Ulaangom whi ...
.
History
A
Dörben clan existed within the
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 of ...
tribe in the 12th–13th centuries, but the Dörböds appear as an
Oirat tribe only in the latter half of the 16th century. What their relation, if any, is to the Dörben clan of the 12th–13th centuries is unclear. The name probably means "döröv"; "four" (
Middle Mongolian
Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian, was a Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the collapse of the empire ...
: dörbe).
In the 17th century, the leader of Dörbets was
Dalai Taishi (d.1637). In order to unite the
Oirats, Dalai Taishi used the method of
marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...
; Dalai Taishi and
Khoshut
The Khoshut ( Mongolian: Хошууд,, qoşūd, ; literally "bannermen," from Middle Mongolian ''qosighu'' "flag, banner") are one of the four major tribes of the Oirat people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeaste ...
leader
Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan (1582 – 14 January 1655; ) was a Khoshut prince and founder of the Khoshut Khanate, who supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan as the main benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1637, Güsh ...
married the
Torghut
The Torghut ( Mongolian: Торгууд, , Torguud), , "Guardsman" are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut nobles traced its descent to the Keraite ruler Tooril; also many Torghuts descended from the Keraites.
Hist ...
leader
Kho Orluk sisters.
[
] During the Dalai Taishi period (circa 1625), the Oirat tribes lived in harmony.
In 1616, Dalai Taishi established
diplomatic relations with the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
. The next year Dalai Taishi's son Solom Tseren joined the
Kalmyks
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, w ...
on the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
with 4,000 households. In 1699 a body of the Dörbets joined the
Don Cossacks, eventually becoming the
Buzava Kalmyks. Trapped west of the Volga, the Do'rbets could not join the 1771 flight of the Torguds, and hence dominated the remaining Kalmyks. In the early 19th century, they had split into the Lesser Dörbets, living in northern
Kalmykia
he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref>
, official_lang_list= Kalmyk
, official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...
and the Greater Dörbets, living around
Lake Manych-Gudilo
Lake Manych-Gudilo (russian: Ма́ныч-Гуди́ло) is a large saltwater reservoir lake in Kalmykia, Russia. Part of the lake lies also in Rostov Oblast and Stavropol Krai. It has an area of about 344 km² and average depth of only abo ...
.
Meanwhile, the Dörbets in the Oirat homeland remained a major sub-group of the
Dzungars
The Dzungar people (also written as Zunghar; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') were the many Mongol Oirat tribes who formed and maintained the Dzungar Khanate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Historically they were one of major tr ...
. In 1753 during a worsening civil war amongst the Oirat, three Dörbet leaders submitted to the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. They were resettled first in
Bayankhongor Province
The Bayankhongor Province or Bayanhongor Aimag, , "Rich Darling Province" is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the southwest of the country and, at 116,000 square kilometers, it is one of the largest aimags. The cap ...
, and then in
Uvs Province
Uvs (; mn, Увс аймаг, Uws aimag, ; xal, Увс әәмг, Uws äämg, ), is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. It is located in the west of the country, away from the national capital Ulaanbaatar. Its capital is Ulaangom whi ...
in 1759. They formed into 16 banners of the Sain Zayaatu Leagues. The Dörbets nobility's 15,000 subjects included
Bayid
The Bayad (Mongol: Баяд/Bayad, ''lit. "the Riches"'') is the fourth largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and they are a tribe in Four Oirats. Baya'ud were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Baya'ud can be found in ...
s and a small number of Khotongs.
From the 1880s, the
Khalkha
The Khalkha (Mongolian script, Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongols, Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos Mongols, Ordos and Tum ...
influenced Dörbet socio-economic trends. The Kalmyk
Dambijantsan headed the anti-communist disturbances; and separatist feeling remained strong until the 1930s.
Number
The Dörbets in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
numbered 55,200 in 1989. In 2000 - 66,706.
Хойт С.К. Последние данные по локализации и численности ойрат // Проблемы этногенеза и этнической культуры тюрко-монгольских народов. Вып. 2. Элиста: Изд-во КГУ, 2008. с. 136-157. - in russian
Notable people
* Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal ( mn, Юмжаагийн Цэдэнбал, ''Yumzhaagiin Tsedenbal'' ; russian: Юмжагийн Цэдэнбал, translit=Yumzhagyn Tsedenbal ; 17 September 1916 – 20 April 1991) was the leader of the Mongolian Peop ...
- former Prime Minister of People's Republic of Mongolia
The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It ...
and general secretary of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party
* Begziin Givaan - the Hero of the People's Republic of Mongolia
* Nasanjargaliin Darjaa - Former minister of Food and Agriculture
* Puntsagiin Ulaankhuu - former vice minister of Agriculture
* Zodoviin Omboo - Mongolian notable physicist
References
* ''Хойт С.К.'' Белые пятна в этногенезе дэрбэт // Молодежь и наука: третье тысячелетие. Материалы II республиканской научно-практической конференции (Элиста, 30 ноября 2005 г.). Элиста: АОр «НПП «Джангар», 2006. стр. 104-122. - in Russian
''Ovtchinnikova O., Druzina E., Galushkin S., Spitsyn V., Ovtchinnikov I.'' An Azian-specific 9-bp deletion in region V of mitochondrial DNA is found in Europe // Medizinische Genetic. 9 Tahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Humangenetik, 1997, p. 85.
''Galushkin S.K., Spitsyn V.A., Crawford M.H.'' Genetic Structure of Mongolic-speaking Kalmyks // Human Biology, December 2001, v.73, no. 6, pp. 823–834.
''Хойт С.К.'' Генетическая структура европейских ойратских групп по локусам ABO, RH, HP, TF, GC, ACP1, PGM1, ESD, GLO1, SOD-A // Проблемы этнической истории и культуры тюрко-монгольских народов. Сборник научных трудов. Вып. I. Элиста: КИГИ РАН, 2009. с. 146-183. - in Russian
* [hamagmongol.narod.ru/library/khoyt_2008_r.htm ''Хойт С.К.'' Антропологические характеристики калмыков по данным исследователей XVIII-XIX вв. // Вестник Прикаспия: археология, история, этнография. № 1. Элиста: Изд-во КГУ, 2008. с. 220-243.]
* [hamagmongol.narod.ru/library/khoyt_2012_r.htm ''Хойт С.К.'' Калмыки в работах антропологов первой половины XX вв. // Вестник Прикаспия: археология, история, этнография. № 3, 2012. с. 215-245.]
''Boris Malyarchuk, Miroslava Derenko, Galina Denisova, Sanj Khoyt, Marcin Wozniak, Tomasz Grzybowski and Ilya Zakharov'' Y-chromosome diversity in the Kalmyks at theethnical and tribal levels // Journal of Human Genetics (2013), 1–8.
External links
* ELAR archive o
Durvud Oirat language documentation materials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorbet
Mongol peoples
Ethnic groups in Mongolia
Kalmykia
Kalmyk people
Oirats
Nirun Mongols