Khotons

The Khoton people are a Turkic ethnic group in Mongolia.[2] Most live in Uvs Province, especially in Tarialan, Naranbulag and Ulaangom. While the Khotons spoke a Turkic language until the 19th century, most now speak the Dörbet dialect of the Oirat people.[3] Khotons often avoid mainstream Mongolian written culture.[4] There were officially about 6,100 Khotons in 1989.[4]

Khoton
Regions with significant populations
 Mongolia10,000 (2015)[1]
Languages
Oirat
Religion
Sunni Islam

History and culture

Khoton or Khotong was originally a Mongol term for Muslim Uyghur and Hui people, or Chinese language-speaking Muslims.[4]

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.[4] Sanders states that the Khotons are Mongolized Uyghurs as a result.[5]

Unlike most Mongolians, Khotons follow a syncretic form of Islam that incorporates Buddhist and traditional elements (like Tengrism).[6][4] They traditionally avoid intermarriage with other ethnic groups.[4]

Language

The language the Khotons originally spoke was a Turkic language. It was spoken up until the nineteenth century.[3] Once settled in Mongolia, the Khotons adopted the Dörbet or northern dialect of Oirat.[7][6][4]

Bibliography

The Khotons of Western Mongolia, 1979.

See also

References
  1. "Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М.Баянтөр, Г.Нямдаваа, З.Баярмаа pp.57-709
  2. James Stuart Olson, (1998), An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China, p. 179
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Sanders, Alan J.K. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Mongolia (3rd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 386. ISBN 9780810874527.
  6. Cope, Tim (2013). On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Lands of the Nomads. Bloomsbury. p. 72. ISBN 9781608190720.
  7. 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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