Khotons

Khoton
Regions with significant populations
Mongolia	10,000 (2015)
China	1,200 (2004)
Languages
	Oirat, historically Uyghur (Khoton)
Religion
	Religious syncretism (Sunni Islam, including elements of Buddhism and Shamanism)
Related ethnic groups
	Uyghurs, Huis, Dörbets

Last updated January 24, 2025

The Khoton or Qotung people are a Mongolic ethnic group in (Outer) Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.^[3]^[4] Most Mongolian Khotons live in Uvs Province in western Mongolia. In China, the Khotons (often called Qotungs) live in Inner Mongolia, concentrated in Alxa League and are classified as ethnic Mongols. They speak the Dörbet or Alasha dialect of the Oirat language.^[5] According to the Great Russian Encyclopedia, modern Khoton people are a part of the "Mongols — a group of peoples who speak Mongolian languages".^[6]

Demography

In Mongolia, most Khotons live in Uvs Province, especially in Tarialan, Naranbulag and Ulaangom. There were officially about 6,100 Khotons in 1989.^[7] In 2015, there were around 10,000 Khotons in Mongolia.^[8]

The Khotons of Inner Mongolia reside in Alxa League, mainly in Alxa Left Banner. Some also live in Bayannuur. A 2004 study reported that Khoton informants estimated their total population to be about 1,200.^[4]

Historical population in Mongolia
Year	Pop.	±%
1956	2,603	—
1963	2,874	+10.4%
1969	4,056	+41.1%
1979	4,380	+8.0%
1989	6,076	+38.7%
2000	9,014	+48.4%
2010	11,304	+25.4%
2020	12,057	+6.7%
Source: National Statistical Office of Mongolia

History

Khoton, Khotong or Qotung was originally a Mongol term for Muslim Uyghur and Hui people, or Chinese language-speaking Muslims.^[7] However, while the term historically included multiple groups, modern research indicates that the Khotons are not directly related to the Hui people. Instead, the Khotons have distinct origins, being primarily descendants of Turkic peoples brought to Mongolia by the Oirats or who migrated there during historical conflicts, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries.^[9]

The Khotons were settled in Mongolia by the Oirats when the latter conquered Xinjiang and took their city-dwelling ancestors to Mongolia. According to another version, they settled in Mongolia after 1753, when their leader, the Dörbet Prince Tseren Ubashi, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.^[7] The Khotons soon adapted and assimilated Mongolian or Oirat culture and speech.^[7] According to some scholars, the Khotons can be considered Mongolized Uyghurs as a result.^[10]

The Khotons of Inner Mongolia that reside in Alxa League are considered to be descended of Turkic peoples originally from Hami, Xinjiang, who later adopted and assimilated into local Mongol culture.^[4] Most scholars believe that the ancestors of the Khotons were brought to the area around the 18th century or earlier as captives from Xinjiang after the prince of the Alasha Mongols returned from fighting the Dzungars.^[11] According to local tradition, the ancestors of the Khotons arrived in the area in the late 17th century as merchants and eventually settled and assimilated with the Alasha Mongols.^[4] Occasional later migrants from Xinjiang and some Hui from nearby regions who were incorporated into the Khotons helped to maintain and increase their community.^[4]^[11]

Culture

Unlike most Mongolians, Khotons follow a syncretic form of Islam that incorporates Buddhist and traditional elements (like Tengrism).^[12]^[7] They traditionally avoid intermarriage with other ethnic groups and tend to avoid mainstream Mongolian written culture.^[7]

In Inner Mongolia, many Khotons are pastoral nomads though in recent times, an increasing amount are now settled.^[4]

Language

Khotons used to speak the Khoton language (a dialect of the Uyghur language). The language became extinct around the 19th century.^[13] Once settled in Mongolia, the Khotons adopted the Dörbet or northern dialect of Oirat.^[14]^[12]^[7] In Inner Mongolia, the Khotons speak the Alasha dialect of Oirat.^[4]

Bibliography

Fosse, Magdalena (1979). The Khotons of Western Mongolia.

Related Research Articles

The Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China, as well as Buryatia and Kalmykia republics of Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of Mongolic peoples. The Oirats and the Buryats are classified either as distinct ethno-linguistic groups or subgroups of Mongols.

This article on the demographics of Mongolia include population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. All data are from the National Statistics Office of Mongolia, unless otherwise mentioned.

The Dzungar Khanate, also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from the Great Wall of China in the east to present-day Kazakhstan in the west. The core of the Dzungar Khanate is today part of northern Xinjiang, also called Dzungaria.

Oirats or Oirds, formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths, are the westernmost group of the Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.

Khovd, alternatively romanized as Khobhd, is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It takes its name from the Khovd River, which is located in this province.

The Dörbet, known in English as The Fours, is the second largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and was formerly one of the major tribes of the Four Oirat confederation in the 15th-18th centuries. In early times, the Dörbets and the Öold were overruled by collateral branches of the Choros lineage. The Dörbets are distributed among the western provinces of Mongolia, Kalmykia and in a small portion in Heilongjiang, China. In modern-day Mongolia, the Dörbets are centered in Uvs Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oirat language</span> Central Mongolic language

Oirat is a Mongolic language spoken by the descendants of Oirat Mongols, now forming parts of Mongols in China, Kalmyks in Russia and Mongolians. Largely mutually intelligible to other core Central Mongolic languages, scholars differ as to whether they regard Oirat as a distinct language or a major dialect of the Mongolian language. Oirat-speaking areas are scattered across the far west of Mongolia, the northwest of China and Russia's Caspian coast, where its major variety is Kalmyk. In China, it is spoken mainly in Xinjiang, but also among the Deed Mongol of Qinghai and Subei County in Gansu.

Mongols in China, also known as Mongolian Chinese, are ethnic Mongols who live in China. They are one of the 56 ethnic groups recognized by the Chinese government.

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As of 2020, Islam in Mongolia is practiced by approximately 5.4% of the population. It is practised by the ethnic Kazakhs of Bayan-Ölgii Province and Khovd Province aimag in western Mongolia. In addition, a number of small Kazakh communities can be found in various cities and towns spread throughout the country. Islam is also practiced by the smaller communities of Khotons and Uyghurs.

The Dzungar people are the many Mongol Oirat tribes who formed and maintained the Dzungar Khanate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Historically, they were one of the major tribes of the Four Oirat confederation. They were also known as the Eleuths or Ööled, from the Qing dynasty euphemism for the hated word "Dzungar", and as the "Kalmyks". In 2010, 15,520 people claimed "Ööled" ancestry in Mongolia. An unknown number also live in China, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Alasha, or Alaša-Eǰen-e, is a Mongolic variety with features of both Oirat and Mongolian that historically used to belong to Oirat but has come under the influence of Mongolian proper. It has more than 40,000 speakers in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia, China and consists of two sub-dialects, Alasha proper and Eǰene.

Khoton is an extinct dialect of the Uyghur language in the Karluk group of Turkic languages. Khotons use the Oirat dialect of Mongolic languages in daily life.

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References

↑ "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-709
↑ Донгак А. С. (2019). "Культ умерших предков в традиционной обрядности хотонов Западной Монголии" (in Russian) (Тенгрианство и эпическое наследие народов Евразии: истоки и современность ed.): 105–108.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ James Stuart Olson, (1998), An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China, p. 179
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haiying, Yang (2004). "Between Islam and Mongols: The Qotung People in Inner Mongolia, China". Inner Asia. 6 (1): 5–22. doi:10.1163/146481704793647252. ISSN 1464-8172.
↑ Finke, Peter (1999). "The Kazaks of western Mongolia". In Svanberg, Ingvar (ed.). Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives. London: Curzon. p. 109. ISBN 0-7007-1115-5.
↑ "Монголы • Большая российская энциклопедия - электронная версия". bigenc.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Christopher Atwood Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, c. 2004 Khotong was originally the Mongol designation for Muslim oases dwellers and in Inner Mongolia designates the Hui or Chinese-speaking Muslims.
↑ Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-709.
↑ Sanders, Alan J.K. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780810874527.
↑ Sanders, Alan J.K. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780810874527.
1 2 White, Thomas (2021), "Religion, Nationality, and "Camel Culture" among the Muslim Mongol Pastoralists of Inner Mongolia", Ethnographies of Islam in China, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 75–77, doi:10.2307/j.ctv16t66pq.6, ISBN 978-0-8248-8643-1 , retrieved 2024-06-01
1 2 Cope, Tim (2013). On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Lands of the Nomads. Bloomsbury. p. 72. ISBN 9781608190720.
↑ Finke, Peter (1999). "The Kazaks of western Mongolia". In Svanberg, Ingvar (ed.). Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives. London: Curzon. p. 109. ISBN 0-7007-1115-5.
↑ Wurm, Stephen A.; Muhlhausler, Peter, eds. (2011). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. Walter de Gruyter. p. 910. ISBN 9783110819724.

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[1] "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-709

[2] Донгак А. С. (2019). "Культ умерших предков в традиционной обрядности хотонов Западной Монголии" (in Russian) (Тенгрианство и эпическое наследие народов Евразии: истоки и современность ed.): 105–108.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[3] James Stuart Olson, (1998), An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China, p. 179

[:2-4] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Haiying, Yang (2004). "Between Islam and Mongols: The Qotung People in Inner Mongolia, China". Inner Asia. 6 (1): 5–22. doi:10.1163/146481704793647252. ISSN 1464-8172.

[:12-5] Finke, Peter (1999). "The Kazaks of western Mongolia". In Svanberg, Ingvar (ed.). Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives. London: Curzon. p. 109. ISBN 0-7007-1115-5.

[6] "Монголы • Большая российская энциклопедия - электронная версия". bigenc.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

[encyclopedia-7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Christopher Atwood Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, c. 2004 Khotong was originally the Mongol designation for Muslim oases dwellers and in Inner Mongolia designates the Hui or Chinese-speaking Muslims.

[8] Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-709.

[:02-9] Sanders, Alan J.K. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780810874527.

[:0-10] Sanders, Alan J.K. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780810874527.

[:3-11] 1 2 White, Thomas (2021), "Religion, Nationality, and "Camel Culture" among the Muslim Mongol Pastoralists of Inner Mongolia", Ethnographies of Islam in China, University of Hawaii Press, pp. 75–77, doi:10.2307/j.ctv16t66pq.6, ISBN 978-0-8248-8643-1 , retrieved 2024-06-01

[:1-12] 1 2 Cope, Tim (2013). On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Lands of the Nomads. Bloomsbury. p. 72. ISBN 9781608190720.

[13] Finke, Peter (1999). "The Kazaks of western Mongolia". In Svanberg, Ingvar (ed.). Contemporary Kazaks: Cultural and Social Perspectives. London: Curzon. p. 109. ISBN 0-7007-1115-5.

[14] Wurm, Stephen A.; Muhlhausler, Peter, eds. (2011). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. Walter de Gruyter. p. 910. ISBN 9783110819724.

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