The Yugur call themselves "Yaohuer" and "Xilayugur".
In history, they were called "Huangfan", "Huangtou Uighur", "Sali Weiwu", "Sali Weiwuer", etc.
In 1953, with the consensus of the masses, "Yugu" (also meaning rich and consolidated in Chinese), which sounds similar to "Yaohuer", was taken as the ethnic name [1] 。
The Yugur originated from the Uighurs who nomadized in the Orhun River basin in the Tang Dynasty. In the middle of the 9th century, the Uighur khanate collapsed due to the snow disaster at home and the internal strife of the ruling class, and was attacked by the Kakas outside, and the people moved westward. One of them moved to Shazhou (today's Dunhuang), Ganzhou (today's Zhangye) and Liangzhou (today's Wuwei) in the Hexi Corridor, which was ruled by the Tubo regime and was known as the Hexi Uighur in history. In 851, Zhang Dachao, a Han in Shazhou, took the opportunity of the Tubo civil strife to lead the people of all ethnic groups in Shazhou to revolt and expel the Tibetan garrison generals in Hexi. He took possession of 11 states, including melon, sand, Iraq, Su, and Gansu, and attached them to the Tang Dynasty. The Uighurs in Hexi then attached themselves to Zhang Yuechao. In 872, Zhang Chaochao died. Later, the Hexi Uighurs captured Ganzhou City and established a khan, so the Hexi Uighurs were also called Ganzhou Uighurs. In 875, the Uighurs sent envoys from Helochuan (now Ejina River, northwest of Zhangye) to pay tribute, and the Tang Dynasty presented 10000 pieces of silk. At that time, the Tang Dynasty itself was already very poor, and it was also able to present silk horses at the request of tribute envoys, which fully demonstrated the friendly relationship between the two sides.
In the 10th century, the Tubo power weakened, and the Ganzhou Uighurs gradually became strong, further controlling Lanzhou and Hezhou, and controlling the traffic channels of the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions. Later, he defeated the Han rulers of Gua and Sha and made Gua and Sha become its vassals.
After the establishment of Ganzhou Uighur regime, they led all the Uighur tribes in Hexi. The supreme ruler is the khan. At the same time, the official system of the Han nationality is also adopted. There are prime minister, privy envoy and other posts. The tribes under the leadership of the Khan have leaders who "divide the clan accounts". According to the Song History, there were Gua, Shazhou, Liangzhou, Helan Mountain, Qinzhou, Helochuan and Suzhou Uighurs at that time.
Yugur - Etiquette In the middle of the 11th century, a war broke out between the Western Xia Dynasty and the Hexi Uighurs, and the Ganzhou Uighur regime collapsed. Since then, the Hexi Uighurs have become vassals of the Western Xia Dynasty, and various tribes have moved to the Jiayuguan Pass for grazing, but they are still connected with the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Xining (1068), the Song Shenzong, the Uighur envoys came again to pay tribute, asking for the gold characters "Dabanruo Sutra". In 1073, the envoy said that the Uighur population was more than 300000 and Ding Zhuang 200000. This group of people gradually multiplied and became an important indigenous people in the Hexi area. In 1227, after the Mongolian army attacked and destroyed the Western Xia Dynasty, the Uighurs in Hexi were directly ruled by the Mongols.
From the middle of the 11th century to the 16th century, it was an important period for the Yugur nationality to gradually form. In the long history, a part of the Uighurs in Hexi have long lived with the surrounding Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Han and other ethnic groups, merged with each other, and gradually developed into a community. In the Compendium of Song Hui, it is called Huangtou Uighur, in the Yuan History, it is called Saribaowu, and in the Ming History, it is called Saribaowur, which is today's Yugur. Today's border areas of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang are the common areas where they live. During this period, many Uighurs in Hexi also merged into other ethnic communities.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the local feudal groups outside Jiayuguan, such as Turpan, Hami, and Wala, competed for power and land with each other, and wars continued. The Ming Dynasty successively set up several "Wei" with military nature outside the Shanhaiguan Pass, such as Anding, Arduan, Quxian, Shazhou, Handong, Chijin, Hami, to rule the people of all ethnic groups, and the Yugur were also under the rule of "Wei". However, soon, due to the mutual attack between the rulers, the guards were attacked by the Turpan regime and the Mongolian right-wing feudal lords, and collapsed one after another. In order to facilitate the rule of the Ming Dynasty, the guards outside the Shanhaiguan Pass were moved into the Shanhaiguan Pass for resettlement. At this time, the Yugur also moved eastward to settle down near Suzhou and in the Nanshan area of Ganzhou.
The eastward migration into the customs was a major event in the history of the Yugur nationality. Up to now, there is still a legend about the eastward migration among the Yugur people. It is said that hundreds of years ago, the hometown of the Yugur nationality suffered great wind disasters. The wind swept away livestock, and the sand mountain engulfed the tent. Even the gold scripture hall was submerged under the sand mountain. They also said that they were oppressed by other religions and could not stand in their hometown and began to move eastward. "After walking through the Thousand Buddha Cave and the Ten Thousand Buddha Gorge, we set up camp under Jiuquan City. Walking up the high Qilian Mountain along the ridge, we saw the vast pastures of Bazidun. The grass green and flower scented Bazidun grassland has become the lovely home of the Yugur people.". This historical folk song roughly reflects the route and process of Yugur's eastward migration.
Yugur people used to focus on animal husbandry. According to historical records, the war horses needed by the governments of the five dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty were mainly purchased from the Uighurs. The Uighurs in Ganzhou and Xizhou sent horses to Kaifeng in the name of tribute more than once a year, and the government of the Five Dynasties or the Northern Song Dynasty "gave back the valuation" and paid the price. At the beginning of the third year of Emperor Taizong's Qiande's reign in the Song Dynasty (965), Ganzhou Uighurs paid 1000 "famous horses" to the government of the Northern Song Dynasty, and another 500 Ligularia camels. After the eastward migration, the Yugur's economic production mode gradually changed. Under the interaction and influence of the Han people and the Yugu people in Huangnibao area, they learned agricultural production techniques and gradually replaced animal husbandry. Sunan is still engaged in animal husbandry and hunting. Due to the import of iron tools and weapons in Han areas, the technology of Yugur agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting has been improved, and the productivity has been developed.
In the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1628), Liyuanbao was set up in the southwest of today's Zhangye, and troops were sent to garrison it as a stronghold to rule the Yugur people, and a license was issued to the Yugur leader to govern the grasslands.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Erut Mongolian Junggar tribe occupied the southern Xinjiang and deterred the western Gansu and Qinghai provinces, forcing the Yugur people in the Qilian Mountains (called "Silaguer Huangfan" in the Qing Dynasty) to pay taxes to them. The Junggar Ministry has special tax collection officials stationed in Yugur areas. In 1696 (the 35th year of Kangxi's reign), the Qing Dynasty eliminated the main force of Junggar Mongols, and the Yugur people were attached to the Qing Dynasty.
In the early years of the Republic of China, the Yugur nationality areas were under the jurisdiction of the garrison envoys of Ganzhou and Suzhou respectively. After 1931, Ma Bufang's Qinghai army controlled the central and western parts of the Hexi Corridor. Since then, the Yugur nationality has been under the rule of the Majia warlords for ten years. After 1942, the governments of Hexi counties of the Kuomintang began to check the household registration in Yugur areas and set up Baojia, aiming at putting Yugur under the direct jurisdiction of the counties. Under the Kuomintang's "divide and rule" policy, the Yugur inhabited areas were divided into four parts, which were under the jurisdiction of Zhangye, Jiuquan, Gaotai and other counties. As a result, the Yugur region fell into a long period of dispute.
According to the license granted to the "seven nationality Huangfan chief" during the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, the whole Bazidun grassland in the upper reaches of the Heihe River is the grazing land of the Yugur nationality. In 1959, Gansu and Qinghai provinces made a major adjustment to the provincial boundary of the Qilian Mountain area. Bazidun and Youai were transferred from Gansu to Qilian County, Qinghai Province. The Yugur people here "moved thousands of miles" and moved to Huangchengtan (today's Huangcheng Town), which was transferred from Qinghai to Gansu Province. "Moving thousands of miles" is a major change in the distribution pattern of the Yugur nationality since the Qing Dynasty, and the traditional residential areas of various tribes have been disrupted [2] 。
According to 2010 sixth nationwide population census According to statistics, the total population of the Yugur nationality is 14378. According to《 China Statistical Yearbook-2021 》The Yugur population in China is 14706. [5] Before the founding of New China, the feudal tribal system was long practiced in the Yugur areas. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there were seven tribes of the Yugur nationality. By the time of the Republic of China, the Yugur nationality had divided into ten tribes (also called "families"), namely, Big Toumu Family, Eight East Families, Yangge Family, Luoer Family, Four Ma Family, Five Families, Mantai Tribe, Eight West Families, Yalage Family and Helange Family. The first seven tribes live in the east and speak Engel language; The latter two tribes live in the west and speak Yaohur language. Each tribe has its own grazing area. In today's Kangle Township, there are Big Toumu Family, East Eight Family, Yang Ge Family, Luo Er Family and Four Ma Family; In today's Dahe Township, there are Arag's family, Helang's family, eight families and five families. Dongxihaizi, Minghua Township, also belongs to the pasture of the Arag family and the Holangg family. The pastoral area of Mantai tribe is in the corner of Heihe River and Babao River. After the founding of New China, You'ai Township was established here, which is often called You'ai Area (now Qilian County, Qinghai Province).
The traditional Yugur society has a hereditary leader who governs all tribes. Big Head is not only the leader of the "seven tribes", but also the tribal leader of the "Big Head Family". He has dual duties. Its power and jurisdiction area were granted a license by the Ming and Qing dynasties. The big leader used to be powerful and in charge of all tribes. In the later period of the Republic of China, the power was reduced, and only a few Engel speaking tribes could be ruled. The Yaohur speaking tribes are controlled by the leaders of the Arag family.
Each tribe has a leader, deputy leader, general leader (or assistant leader) and small leader. The tribal leaders are also hereditary. All the tribal leaders are surnamed An, so there is a saying that "all the leaders in the world are surnamed An". Most of the heads and deputy heads of the tribe jointly manage the same place, and a few manage the same place separately. In fact, the head of the Arag family and the Helang family has their own jurisdiction in Dahe Township today, and the deputy head of the Arag family has his own jurisdiction in the east and west of Minghua. The head of the Mantai tribe is the deputy head of the big head tribe.
The general leader and assistant assistant are the general managers who help the leader deal with daily administrative affairs, and almost all of them are large households. The general term of office is one or three years and can be renewed. The leader and general leader hold the power of the tribe, interrogate the theft, fighting, grassland disputes and other cases within the tribe, and have the power to punish and impose punishment. During the trial, both the plaintiff and the defendant have to present gifts, treat guests and pay court money to the leader and the chief officer, and bear the tea and food and livestock feed for all the trial personnel. Fines after treatment often fall into the pockets of leaders. Therefore, the lawsuit can only bring new disasters to the poor herdsmen, and Xiao Quantou is an errand for the leader. It is appointed by the tribal leader. Some tribes are held by poor herdsmen who cannot afford tea and horses in turn. The term of office is usually one to three years, but some are appointed by the leader for six or seven years.
The tribe holds several meetings every year, mainly to apportion miscellaneous funds and deal with civil and criminal disputes. The tribal meeting is called by the leader, and generally every family should send people to participate. In name, it is democratic discussion. In fact, all issues are decided by leaders and general leaders. Under the rule of feudal tribes, the vast number of poor herdsmen had no social status to speak of. When you meet the leader, you must bow down and kneel down and call him "master". If you meet him on horseback, you must dismount and stand to greet him. When the herdsmen go to see the leader, they cannot wear short clothes, smoke and speak loudly, or they will be punished. In case of marriage and funeral of the leader's family, the herdsmen must give property. The general leader and auxiliary gang also accumulated momentum. When the women from eight families in East China coaxed their children, they dared not cry as soon as they said "the head of the circle is coming".
During the period of the Republic of China, there were also two people from one thousand households and several "old people" in the Yugur nationality area. One of the Qianhu is Ailuo, the big family of the eight families in the east, and the other is An Jinchao, the leader of the Arag family (called "An Qianhu"). They were enfeoffed by Xialuowa Hutuktu of Guanghui Temple in Qinghai and Hutuktu of Tuguan of Youning Temple in Qinghai respectively, and were both appointed by Han Qigong, the division chief of Majiajun in Hexi, with great power. Ailuo once acted as the authority of the big head, raiding "official sheep" and "official horses" in the big head's home, eight east homes, brother Yang's home, four Ma's home and other places. The important affairs of the Arag family, the Holange family and the five families, such as the replacement of the head of the general circle, should be discussed with "Anqian Family". The "old man" is equivalent to the head of each family under the tribe. Appointed by the leader in Minghua and Dahe, responsible for collecting various funds from the tribe and assisting the leader in handling disputes; In recreation, the retired head of the general circle and the assistant gang will take the post, and will not undertake specific tasks for the consultation of the leader.
Before the founding of New China, most of the Yugur grassland and livestock were in the hands of tribal leaders, the upper class of temples and herdsmen. They own more than 45% of livestock and more than 42% of the total grassland. Most of these grasslands are in winter and spring. Tribal public grassland accounts for about 30%, mainly summer and autumn grassland. Nominally, all tribe members can graze on the public grassland. In fact, the poor herdsmen have few livestock and no pack animals. When they move into the public grassland, the fat grass has been eaten up by the herdsmen's livestock. Generally, herdsmen only occupy about 18% of the total grassland. The Yugur people have a glorious revolutionary tradition. In 1937, the Red Army entered the Yugur area of Qilian Mountains during the Long March, which was strongly supported by the Yugur people and jointly launched the struggle against the Kuomintang army. The herdsmen of the Yugur nationality braved hardships and dangers to deliver food, firewood and medical aid to the Red Army. Ke Adai, a young Yugur, led the way for the Red Army. Unfortunately, he was captured and killed rather than surrender. Jiaosi Baleng, the old lady of the Yugur nationality, took in more than ten scattered and wounded Red Army soldiers in the battle of Hongshiwo, later sent them back to the team, and recruited a Red Army soldier to stay as her son-in-law, known as the "Red Old Man" of the Yugur nationality [2] 。
In September 1949, the Hexi region was liberated and the Yugur people were reborn. After the founding of New China, the Party and the government, in the basic spirit of regional national autonomy, first seriously treated and solved the problem of administrative organization in Yugur areas. In 1950, according to the opinions of the Yugur people and the actual situation, it was decided to take the Liyuan River and Dongliugou as the boundary, and the Otumu Family, Luo'er Family, four Ma Family, and eight East Families to the east were included in Zhangye County, and the 11th District was set up. Gaotai County of eight families, five families, Arag family and Horange family in the west has a sixth district. Dongxihaizi belongs to Qiming District of Jiuquan County.
In July 1953, a symposium of people from all walks of life of all ethnic groups at the northern foot of the Qilian Mountains was held in Jiuquan. After repeated discussions, it was unanimously agreed to establish Sunan Yugur Autonomous Region (county level). On February 20, 1954, the People's Government of Sunan Yugur Autonomous Region was established, and in April 1954, Huangnibao Ethnic Township of Jiuquan County was established. In 1957, You'ai Township (formerly Minle County) where Mantai Tribe was located was incorporated into Sunan. So far, all Yugur tribes except Huangni Castle have been reunited under the unified jurisdiction of the autonomous county.
In terms of political power construction, due to the large east-west span and regional discontinuity of the autonomous county, the three-level jurisdiction system of county, district and township has been implemented for a long time. At the beginning of the establishment of the autonomous county, four districts of Jinquan, Kangle and Minghua were set up in the Yugur distribution area, governing 10 townships. In 1958, the district was removed and the township was merged, and the People's Commune Management Committee was established. In 1962, after system adjustment, the district level construction was restored. In 1983, the whole county implemented the reform from community to township, governing 6 districts, 1 town and 13 townships, among which the Yugur people live in 13 townships of Minghua, Dahe, Kangle and Huangcheng. This system lasted for 21 years. At the end of 2004, Sunan County, in order to streamline its institutions and rationalize its administrative jurisdiction system, was once again removed from the district and merged into the township. Minghua, Dahe and Kangle were all changed from district to township, and Huangcheng District to town [3] 。
From 1955 to 1956, the Yugur nationality region carried out democratic reform and socialist transformation. In Huangnibao, land reform was carried out together with the Han nationality area; In Sunan, the reform was carried out through peaceful consultation. Feudal ownership of grasslands owned by tribes, temples and private individuals has been abolished, and grassland management committees have been established to implement unified management, comprehensive planning and rational utilization of grasslands. In 1958, people's commune was realized on the basis of cooperation. At the beginning of reform and opening up, Sunan County changed the original "one big, two public" system, implemented the production responsibility system, and re established the policy of focusing on animal husbandry, which greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of farmers and herdsmen. After 1979, the production responsibility system was widely implemented in agricultural and pastoral areas.
At the end of 1984, all 95 production teams in the county implemented the responsibility system of "double guarantee" (household responsibility system and household responsibility system). The price of livestock belongs to households, the winter and spring pastures are all contracted to households, and the summer and autumn pastures are used by households separately. In June 2002, the autonomous county fully implemented the paid grassland contracting, which determined livestock by grass and paid taxes by livestock, so as to adjust the balance between grass and livestock, change the extensive practice of unilateral expansion of quantity and overload overgrazing, and guide the animal husbandry to take a new path of intensive, efficient and sustainable development.
After the founding of New China, especially since the reform and opening up, the economic and social development of the Yugur people has made great progress, and their life has undergone historic changes. In 1998, Sunan Yugu Autonomous County became one of the first minority autonomous counties in Gansu Province to step into the ranks of well-off people. In 2005, the gross domestic product of the county reached 481 million yuan, and the per capita net income of farmers and herdsmen reached 4553 yuan, an increase of 70.42 times and 16.67 times over 1978, respectively.
In terms of animal husbandry production, before the founding of New China, the production technology of Yugur animal husbandry was very backward. The production tools are very simple, mainly including whip, "Haoerwei" (commonly known as "Duipizi", which is a 2-meter long strip stone throwing tool made of wool, used for killing animals and herding sheep), lasso, "Tubula" (a leather pocket for lambs), milk horn (a breast feeding device made of ox horn and sheep horn), scissors, sickle, etc. Cattle and sheep are herded in mixed flocks. The livestock pen is usually surrounded by a simple fence with wooden poles. Poor herdsmen don't even have such facilities. Livestock are often attacked by wild animals and wind and snow, and the survival rate of livestock is generally only 50-60%. After more than 50 years of hard work, today's Yugur animal husbandry has achieved a historic leap.
After the commune in 1958, as the herdsmen settled down, that is, they changed from four seasons nomadism to settlement and rotational grazing, and the original herding of various livestock in groups was also changed to herding in groups. With the help of the state, since 1984, the autonomous county has comprehensively launched the construction of new grassland fences. By the end of 2003, a total of 2.8593 million mu of fenced grassland mainly for small families had been built, and 5.9 mu of fenced grassland was occupied by livestock. The grassland ecology has been effectively improved, the forage yield has doubled, and the ability to resist disasters and protect livestock has been greatly enhanced through comprehensive management, such as fencing, planting forage, removing poisonous weeds, and preventing locusts and rodents. With the support of national investment, we have vigorously carried out grassland water conservancy construction, built reservoirs and dams, dug wells, dug springs and dug snow cellars according to local conditions. By the end of 2003, 80 human and livestock water diversion pipelines with a total length of 500.87 km and 175 water diversion channels with a total length of 277.8 km have been built, which has solved the problem of drinking water for more than 20000 people and 400000 livestock. It has fundamentally changed the backward state of "worrying about sheep without water and forcing people to travel everywhere due to drought" in the past.
In 1980, Sunan County successfully bred a new breed of "Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep", with an average wool yield of 2.6 kg more than that of native Tibetan sheep, which was identified by the Ministry of Agriculture as the production base county of "Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep". Since 1990, the introduction of Australian blood has been improved, so that the average amount of hair cut reaches 3.59 kg. In terms of feeding management, following the shed style, in recent years, we have vigorously promoted the technology of warm shed livestock raising. By the end of 2003, 3243 sheep sheds had been built in the county, including 400 high standard steel framed glass sheds, which enabled more than 80% of small livestock to survive the winter. At the same time, it also advocates "breeding on the mountain and fattening at the foot of the mountain", which effectively curbs the vicious circle of livestock being full in summer, fat in autumn, thin in winter and dead in spring, and improves the survival rate of livestock.
By the end of June 2005, the total number of livestock in the county had reached 8201000, including 596600 sheep, accounting for 72.74%. Improved fine wool sheep account for more than 50% of the total number of sheep, which has become the main source of income increase and wealth for herdsmen. In order to improve the economic benefits of fine wool sheep industry, the autonomous county proposed to take the standardized production track. The county has established high-quality wool production bases such as Huangcheng, Kangle, Dahe and more than 20 high-quality wool science and technology demonstration villages, vigorously promoted mechanized shearing, and improved the grade and value of fine wool. In 2004, two brands of Gansu alpine fine wool sheep, "Saimeinu" and "Jiupaisong", were successfully registered in Sunan County. Nearly 70 tons of fine wool that was organized and produced in that year was auctioned successfully in the Nanjing wool market, reaching 19 yuan per kilogram, 1.5~2 yuan higher than the market price, and the average household income increased by 1150 yuan.
In order to divert the population of pastoral areas and relieve the pressure on grassland, the autonomous county proposed a new idea of shifting from animal husbandry to agriculture and house feeding. The former Lianhua Township, where Yugur people live, is a poor township with a per capita net income of less than 1000 yuan. In 1999, the county decided to move nearly 50% of the people in the township to Danshawo in Xusanwan, and all of them were converted from animal husbandry to agriculture to form a new Shuanghaizi village. After more than five years of exploration and struggle, most of the former Yugu herdsmen have become experts in growing crops, and have become rich on 1500 mu of arable land. In 2006, the per capita net income of the whole village reached 3400 yuan, more than three times that before the relocation. An Lijun's family planted 15 mu of seed corn, rented 8 mu of land for alfalfa at the price of 100 yuan per mu, and fed more than 20 sheep with crop straw. Over the past year, the total income was more than 15000 yuan, and the average family of three people was more than 5000 yuan per person.
Industry is advancing rapidly. In the past, every iron nail had to be transported from other places. After the founding of New China, industries such as fur processing, agricultural and animal husbandry machinery, power generation, coal, carpet, flour and non-staple food processing have been gradually established. By the end of 2005, 13 hydropower stations had been built and 8 were under construction, with an installed capacity of more than 200000 kilowatts; There are 126 mining enterprises and 8 mineral products processing enterprises, with an annual mining and processing capacity of more than 1 million tons of metal ore, 480000 tons of raw coal and 660000 tons of limestone. The industrial added value reached 129 million yuan. The contribution rate of industry to county finance has reached more than 60%, initially forming a resource-based industrial development system [3] 。
Before moving eastward, the Yugur believed in Shamanism and Manichaeism. After moving eastward, the Yugur converted to Gelug Sect (Yellow Sect) of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Yugur nationality established the earliest Huangjiao temple of their own nation, the ancient Buddhist temple. In the Qing Dynasty, Huangjiao reached its peak in the Yugur nationality area. Nine temples, including Jingyao, Kanglong, Runner, Lianhua, Minghai, Changgou, Hongwan, Shuiguan and Jiadao (migrated from ancient Buddhist temples), have been built and distributed in various tribes, so there is a saying that "what temple belongs to what family". Among these temples, Kanglong Temple and Hongwan Temple are under the jurisdiction of Xialuowa Hutuktu, Guanghui Temple, Qinghai, and the rest are under the jurisdiction of Hutuktu, Tuguan, Youning Temple, Huzhu County, Qinghai.
The scale of Yugur monasteries is relatively small. Kanglong Temple, the largest one, has more than 500 monks at most. Most of the other temples have twenty or thirty monks, and the least number is only seven or eight. The internal organization of the monastery is not very strict. Some monasteries have living Buddhas, Khenpo, Dharma Platform, and some have only monk officials or scriptures. Except for religious festivals and going to the temple to chant scriptures during the recess, most of them participate in animal husbandry work at home on weekdays. For the larger monasteries, there are regular first month meetings, April meetings, June meetings, October meetings, and a small meeting on the 15th of each month.
Before the founding of New China, the monastery was the religious activity center of all tribes, as well as the political and economic center of all tribes. The upper level of the temple has a close relationship with the tribal leaders. In some important tribal affairs, the leaders often consult with the upper level of the temple. The main temple in Qinghai controls the inheritance approval right of Yugur tribal leaders through religious authority. For example, the Yugur "seven ethnic Huang Fan chief" must first be approved by the head of Guanghui Temple in Qinghai, and then appointed by the local garrison yamen.
After the Yugur converted to Tibetan Buddhism, they still retained the ancient belief, that is, the worship of "Khan Denggar". From the perspective of the tradition that the two language speaking Yugur people use Yaohul language when worshipping "Khan Dianger", this may be a legacy of primitive Shamanism. In Yugur language, "Dianger" means "heaven" and "Khan" means "khan". "Sweat Dot Gore" means "Heaven Khan". The Yugu people believe that "Khan Dinger" can help them avoid evil spirits and disasters, and it is peaceful and auspicious all the year round. The so-called "Khan Dianger" is a fine wool rope, which is wrapped with various animal hair spikes and colorful cloth strips. At the lower end is a small white cloth bag, which contains grains with skins and peels, and is enshrined in the upper right of the tent.
There are three temples rebuilt and opened in Yugu area, namely Kanglong Temple, Minghai Temple and Changgou Temple [4] 。
Before the founding of New China, in order to adapt to nomadic life, the Yugur people mainly lived in tents. Yugur tents are made of cow hair or wool brown. When setting up a tent, you should choose a place that is sheltered from the wind and facing the sun. Most of them sit north to south. After sitting in the selected direction, first use a beam and two posts to support the tent, and then use four wooden poles and ropes to pull it into a square. The tents of rich families are wider and round with six or nine wooden poles. In the middle of the tent is the stove, which is a place for cooking and heating. In the past, it used to be a pot made of three stones (called "Jiagus" in Yugu language). Later, it was replaced by a stove made of stone and mud. After 1958, the iron stove with chimney was gradually used, which can burn dung and coal, and the fire is bright and clean. The roof of the tent is a skylight, which is opened during the day and covered at night or in rainy and snowy days. Since 1958, the pastoral areas in Sunan County have basically settled down, and herdsmen have all lived in bungalows in winter and spring. The elderly can spend their old age here safely, and the children can go to school nearby. Now, the civil buildings in the settlements have been replaced by brick houses. The furnishings are more fashionable and modern. In the past, there were Jiji mats and felt on the earthen kang, but now many families have used the Ximengsi bed. In the summer and autumn fields, the old woolen tents were basically eliminated and replaced with Tibetan square tents. Now many herdsmen have built brick houses on the summer and autumn fields, and their living conditions are much better than before [4] 。
The diet of the herdsmen of the Yugur nationality mainly consists of buttered tea, tsamba (called "Talkan" in Yugur language), milk leather, Qula (a kind of lump and granular dairy products) and other dairy products. Usually, three teas and one meal are served every day, that is, butter milk tea is drunk once in the morning, noon and afternoon respectively. In the evening, the whole family has a meal of mutton noodles or rice together, and sometimes they also have baked steamed buns and grilled rolls (often referred to as "baked shells").
Hand grazed mutton, sausage and "dried fruit" are the favorite flavor foods of Yugur people. Hand grasping meat emphasizes eating boiled meat, that is, when the meat is just cooked, it will be eaten out of the pot, fresh, tender and delicious. After slaughtering the sheep, chop up the neck meat and tenderloin, mix with chow mein and seasonings and put them into the fat sausage, which is called "sausage". Chop the liver, lungs and other viscera, add seasonings such as chow mein, onion and garlic, and roll them with belly oil, called "dried fruits". Sausages and "dried fruits" are boiled and cut into thin slices, and poured with garlic juice and vinegar. They are fat but not greasy, and can be eaten hot or cold.
Before the founding of New China, except for white flour and rice for the rich, the poor herdsmen could not afford to buy food. They often ate noodles made from seeds of "Xie Jie Cao" and drank a kind of wild tea. As for light oil, sauce, vinegar and other condiments, it is more difficult for ordinary herdsmen to eat them. With the improvement of living standards, the Yugur herdsmen now have a great variety of diet, and their diet structure tends to be diversified. However, the habit of drinking milk tea has remained for a long time. Every year, the country transfers brick tea from Yiyang, Hunan Province to meet the needs of herdsmen [4] 。
Yugur Married women wear trumpet shaped white felt hats (called "pull hats" in Yugu's language), with two black edges on the front edge and bright red colored ribbons on the top. In the past, women also wore a long ribbon shaped head, which was inlaid with various ornaments to form a pattern. But the head is very heavy, hanging on the hair is harmful to labor and health, and it has been removed.
With the change of the times, most Yugur men and women usually wear clothes popular in the mainland, and only wear traditional clothes in major festivals or festive activities [4] 。
Yugur folk oral literature is very developed, including historical legends, folk stories, narrative poems and folk songs.
The folktales are rich in content and vivid in language. The popular ones are "Mora", "Arrow Shooting Wild Goose", "Pearl Deer", etc.
The most famous narrative poem is Huang Daichen, which describes the unfortunate experience of a young girl in an arranged marriage in the old society.
Folk songs are the most popular form of oral literature among Yugur people, with a wide range of themes. There are "felt songs", "grass cutting songs", "piling grass songs", "sheep watching songs", "cattle watching songs", "camel pulling songs", etc. about production labor, and there are "wearing head and face songs", "parting songs", "hospitality songs", "yaodaquge", "asihasi", etc. about wedding etiquette.
After the founding of New China, the masses created many new songs to praise the new era and new life [4] 。
Yugur women They weave various beautiful patterns on their self-made fur pockets, blankets and reins.
Yugur women have absorbed the embroidery technology of the Han nationality, and embroidered various flowers, plants, insects, birds, livestock, poultry, etc. on women's collars, sleeves and cloth boots, with harmonious colors and vivid images.
The Yugur men in Minghua are also good at root carving art. They process the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron growing in the desert according to their original shape and paint them with varnish, which is a valuable work of art [4] 。
The Spring Festival is the biggest festival of the year for the Yugur people. Before the festival, people should make dumplings (used as frozen dumplings), fried pastries, sanzi, etc., and there is a custom of ancestor worship. During the festival, firecrackers will be set off, butter lamps will be lit, and Hada and gifts will be sent to each other as blessings.
The traditional marriage habits of the Yugur have two forms: formal marriage and informal marriage.
Yugur Wedding The unofficial marriage of the Yugur nationality mainly refers to the marriage of the accountants with their heads on. When a girl is 15 or 17 years old, a ceremony of wearing her head and face is held, which is called the bar mitzvah. At this time, parents will set up another tent for their daughter (Yugu calls it "Dorlang"). After the girl wears her head and face, she has social freedom. She can live together with a desirable couple in "Dorlang" and live together. She will not be criticized for having children. Some of the women with heads in the accounting room live with a fixed man until old age, and some of them live with another man because of their ups and downs in their relationship.
After the founding of New China, the marriage status of the Yugur has changed greatly. Young men and women are free to love and marry, and parents generally do not interfere. Yugur intermarriage with other nationalities is also common [4] 。
There were three kinds of funerals of the Yugur nationality, namely cremation, celestial burial and burial. In the funeral, the monks should be invited to chant scriptures and give alms to the temple, which is a heavy burden for the masses.
After 1958, cremation became the main form of cremation [4] 。
