Siberian branch
Western Yugurs (Yellow Uyghurs)
A small Buddhist Turk people of the Gansu corridor, linked by history to the Uyghurs of Ganzhou.
Sarıg Yoğur / Sarı Uygurlar
The Western Yugurs are commonly traced to the Uyghurs who moved south into the Gansu corridor after the fall of the Uyghur Khaganate in Mongolia in 840 and founded a kingdom centred on Ganzhou (today’s Zhangye). In the 11th century this kingdom was absorbed by the Tangut state of Western Xia.
Today most Western Yugurs live in the western part of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, established in 1954. The Yugur nationality also includes the Eastern Yugurs, who live in the eastern part of the county and speak a Mongolic language; the two communities share a common name and culture but not a language.
Western Yugur is spoken by a small community, many of whose members also use Chinese, and it is considered endangered. Most Yugurs follow Tibetan Buddhism, and herding has long been central to their way of life.
- Language
- Western Yugur (Yellow Uyghur), a Turk language usually classed with the Siberian group; the Eastern Yugurs, part of the same officially recognised nationality, speak a Mongolic language
- Branch
- Siberian
- Homeland
- Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, on the northern slopes of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu province, north-western China
- Also living in
- Neighbouring areas of the Gansu (Hexi) corridor
Key dates
840
The Uyghur Khaganate in Mongolia collapses; Uyghur groups move south into the Gansu corridor.
Late 9th – 11th century
A Uyghur kingdom centred on Ganzhou (Zhangye) flourishes in the Gansu corridor.
1028–1030s
The Tanguts of Western Xia conquer the Ganzhou Uyghur kingdom.
1954
Sunan Yugur Autonomous County is established in Gansu.
Heritage
- The Western Yugur language, documented in grammars, texts and vocabularies
- Tibetan Buddhist religious life and monasteries
- Pastoral herding traditions in the Qilian Mountains
Sources
- M. E. Roos, The Western Yugur (Yellow Uygur) Language: Grammar, Texts, Vocabulary (PhD dissertation, Leiden University, 2000)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Turkic languages”