Yugur Nationality

The Yugur call themselves "Yao hu'er" and "Xi La yu'er".

In history, it has been called "Huangfan", "Huangtou Uighur", "Sari is afraid of me", "Sari is afraid of wu'er" and so on.

In 1953, with the consent of the masses through consultation, the family name was "Yugu" (also taking the meaning of Chinese wealth and consolidation) which was similar to the sound of "Yao HuR".

The Yugur nationality originated from the Uighurs nomadic in the erhun River Basin in the Tang Dynasty. In the middle of the 9th century, the Uighur Khanate collapsed due to the heavy snow disaster inside and the internal strife of the ruling class, and the attack of the xiajiasi nationality outside, and the majority moved westward. One of them moved to Shazhou (today's Dunhuang), Ganzhou (today's Zhangye) and Liangzhou (today's Wuwei) in the Hexi corridor. It was ruled by the Tubo regime and was known as the Hexi Uighur in history. In 851, Zhang yechao, a Han Chinese from Shazhou, took advantage of the civil unrest in Tibet, led the uprising of the people of all nationalities in Shazhou, expelled the Tibetan generals in Hexi, and took possession of 11 prefectures such as Gua, Sha, Yi, Su and Gan, which belonged to the Tang Dynasty. The Uighurs in Hexi attached themselves to Zhang Yanchao. In 872, Zhang Yichao died. Later, Hexi Uighurs captured Ganzhou City and established Khan, so Hexi Uighurs are also known as Ganzhou Uighurs. In 875, the Uighurs sent envoys from heluochuan (now Ejina River, in the northwest of Zhangye) to pay tribute, and the Tang Dynasty gave 10000 silk. At that time, the Tang Dynasty itself was very poor and could also present silk horses at the request of tribute envoys, which fully demonstrated the friendly relations between the two sides.

In the 10th century, the Tibetan forces weakened and the Uighurs in Ganzhou gradually became strong, further controlling Lanzhou and Hezhou and controlling the traffic channels in the Tang and western regions. Later, they defeated the Han rulers of Gua and Sha, making Gua and Sha actually their vassals.

After the establishment of Ganzhou Uighur regime, they led the Uighur tribes in Hexi. The supreme ruler is Khan. At the same time, it also adopts the Han official system, with Prime Minister, privy minister and other positions. There were leaders in the tribes under the command of Khan, "dividing the clan accounts". According to the records in the history of the Song Dynasty, there were Gua and shaerzhou Uighurs, Liangzhou Uighurs, Helanshan Uighurs, Qinzhou Uighurs, heluochuan Uighurs, Suzhou Uighurs, etc.

Hexi Uighurs have always maintained close ties with the Central Plains Dynasty, commensurate with their nephew. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Ganzhou Uighur Khan often sent envoys to pay tribute to local products. In the Song Dynasty, he was called "nephew of Ganzhou Shazhou Uighur Khan" and gave back mainland specialties. In the fifth year of Taiping and rejuvenating the country (980) of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty and the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1010) of emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Ganzhou Uighur Khan sent several important officials to pay tribute to the capital of the Song Dynasty, offering Ligularia camel, famous horse, coral and amber.

In the middle of the 11th century, Xixia fought with Hexi Uighurs, conquered Ganzhou, and the Uighur regime in Ganzhou collapsed. Since then, Hexi Uighurs have become vassals of Xixia, and all tribes moved outside Jiayuguan to graze, but they are still connected with the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Xining, Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty (1068), Uighur envoys came to pay tribute again and asked to buy the gold word Daban ruojing. In 1073, the messenger said that the Uighur population was more than 300000 and Dingzhuang 200000. The population of this branch gradually multiplied and became an important indigenous people in Hexi area. In 1227, after the Mongolian army defeated Xixia, the Hexi Uighur was directly ruled by the Mongols.

From the middle of the 11th century to the 16th century, it was an important period for the gradual formation of the Yugur nationality. In the long historical process, a part of Hexi Uighur has been living with the surrounding Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur, Han and other nationalities for a long time, integrated with each other, and gradually developed into a community. It is called Huangtou Uighur in the draft of the essentials of the Song society, saliwei Wu in the history of the Yuan Dynasty and saliwei wu'er in the history of the Ming Dynasty. It is today's Yugur. Today, the border areas of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang are the common areas where they live. During this period, many Uighurs in Hexi also integrated into other ethnic communities.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, local feudal groups such as Turpan, Hami and Wala outside Jiayuguan competed for power and land, and wars continued to occur. In the Ming Dynasty, several "Wei" with military nature were successively established outside the pass, such as anding, a Duan, Quxian, Shazhou, Hantong, Chijin and Hami, which ruled the people of all ethnic groups, and the Yugur were also under the rule of "Wei". But before long, due to the mutual attack between the rulers, the guards collapsed one after another under the attack of Turpan regime and Mongolian right-wing feudal lords. In order to facilitate its rule, the Ming Dynasty moved the guards outside the pass into the pass for resettlement. At this time, the Yugur also moved eastward to settle down near Suzhou and Nanshan area of Ganzhou.

It is a great event in the history of the Yugur nationality to move eastward to the customs. So far, there are still legends about the eastward movement among the Yugur people. It is said that hundreds of years ago, the hometown of the Yugur nationality suffered a great storm. The strong wind swept away livestock, the Shashan swallowed up the tent, and even the scripture hall built of gold was submerged at the bottom of the Shashan. They also said that they were oppressed by other religions, could not have a foothold in their hometown and began to move eastward. "Through the thousand Buddha cave, through the ten thousand Buddha gorge, set up a camp under Jiuquan City. Along the ridge, walk up the high Qilian Mountain and see the vast pasture of bazidun. The grass green and flower fragrant bazidun grassland has become a lovely hometown of Yugur.". This historical folk song roughly reflects the route and course of Yugur's eastward migration.

Yugur people used to focus on animal husbandry production. According to history, the war horses needed by the governments of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty were mainly purchased from the Uighurs. Ganzhou and Xizhou Uighurs sent horses to Kaifeng in the name of tribute more than once a year. The governments of the five dynasties or the Northern Song Dynasty "valued and paid the price. At the beginning of the third year of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty (965), Ganzhou Uighurs once paid tribute to 1000 "famous horses" of the Northern Song government, and 500 llamas. After moving eastward, the Yugur nationality gradually changed in the mode of economic production. Under the interaction and influence with the Han nationality, the Yugur nationality in Huangnibao area learned agricultural production technology and gradually replaced animal husbandry. Sunan Area is still engaged in animal husbandry and hunting. Thanks 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 of the Ming Dynasty (1628), liyuanbao was set up in the southwest of today's Zhangye and troops were stationed as a stronghold for ruling the Yugur people, and a license was issued to the Yugur leader to govern the grassland.

At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Yugur in the Qilian Mountains (known as the "West lagur huangpan" in the Qing Dynasty) were forced to pay taxes to the Yugur in the early Qing Dynasty. The Ministry of Junggar stationed special tax collection officials in Yugur areas. In 1696 (the 35th year of Kangxi), the Qing Dynasty eliminated the main Mongolian force in Junggar, and the Yugur nationality was attached to the Qing Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Republic of China, Yugur areas were under the jurisdiction of Ganzhou and Suzhou respectively. After 1931, Ma Bufang's Qinghai army controlled the middle and west of Hexi corridor. Since then, the Yugur people have been under the rule of the Majia warlords for ten years. After 1942, the KMT Hexi county governments began to compile and check Hukou in Yugur areas and set up Baojia, aiming to put Yugur under the direct jurisdiction of each county. Under the Kuomintang's "divide and rule" policy, the Yugur inhabited areas were divided into four parts, under the jurisdiction of Zhangye, Jiuquan and Gaotai counties. As a result, the Yugur area fell into a long-term dispute.

According to the license granted to the "manager of the huangpan of the seven nationalities" during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the whole bazidun grassland in the upper reaches of the Heihe River is the pastoral land of the Yugur nationality. In 1959, Gansu and Qinghai provinces made major adjustments to the provincial boundaries of Qilian mountain area. Bazidun and Youai were transferred from Gansu to Qilian County, Qinghai Province. The Yugur here "moved thousands of miles" and moved to huangchengtan (now Huangcheng town) in Qinghai. "Moving thousands of miles" is a major change in the distribution pattern of Yugur since the Qing Dynasty, and the traditional living areas of various tribes have been disrupted.

Before the founding of new China, the Yugur region practiced a feudal tribal system for a long time. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Yugur had 7 tribes, which were divided into 10 tribes (also known as "families") in the period of the Republic of China, namely datoumu family, dongbajia family, Yangge family, Luoer family, four Ma families, five families, Mantai tribe, xibajia family, yalag family and helangge family. The first seven tribes live in the East and speak Engel; The latter two tribes live in the West and speak yaohur. Each tribe has its own grazing range. In today's Kangle Township, there are datoumu family, Dongba family, Yangge family, Luoer family and four Ma families; In today's Dahe Township, there are yalag family, helangge family, eight families and five families. The East and West Haizi of Minghua Township also belong to the grazing land of the yarrages and helanges. The pastureland of Mantai tribe is at the angle between Heihe River and Babao river. After the founding of new China, Youai township was established here, which is known as Youai area (now Qilian County, Qinghai).

The traditional Yugur society has a hereditary leader who governs all tribes. Datumu is not only the leader of the "seven nationalities", but also the tribal leader of the "datumu family", holding dual positions. Its power and jurisdiction were determined by the Ming and Qing Dynasties and granted a license. The leader used to be very powerful and in charge of all the tribes. In the later period of the Republic of China, the power was reduced and could only govern several tribes that spoke Engel. Yaohur speaking tribes are controlled by the leaders of the yarragh family.

Each tribe has a head, deputy head, general circle head (or auxiliary group) and small circle head. Tribal leaders are also hereditary. All tribal leaders are surnamed an, so there is a saying that "all leaders in the world are surnamed an". Most of the chief and deputy leaders of the tribe manage a place together, and a few rule by land. The chief leaders of the yalag and helangge families are located in Dahe Township and the deputy leaders are located in East and West Haizi of Minghua. In fact, they have their own separate jurisdiction. The main leader of the Mantai tribe is the deputy leader of the big leader tribe.

The general circle leader and the auxiliary gang are the managers who help the leader deal with daily administrative affairs. Almost all of them are held by large families. The general term of office is one or three years and can be re elected. The leader and general circle leader have the power of the tribe, try theft, fighting, grassland disputes and other cases in the tribe, and have the power to punish and punish. During the trial, both the plaintiff and the defendant have to give gifts, treat and court money to the leader and the general circle, and bear the tea, rice and livestock feed of all trial personnel. The fines after treatment often fall into the pockets of the leaders. Therefore, the lawsuit can only bring new disasters to the poor herdsmen. The small circle head is an errand for the leader. Appointed by tribal leaders, some tribes are held by poor herdsmen who can't afford tea horses in turn. The term of office is usually one to three years, but some are often appointed by leaders for another six or seven years.

The tribe holds several meetings every year, mainly to apportion miscellaneous funds and deal with civil and criminal disputes. Tribal meetings are convened by leaders, and generally every household should send people to attend. Nominally, it is democratic deliberation. In fact, all issues are decided by the leader and the general circle. Under the rule of feudal tribes, the poor herdsmen had no social status. When you meet the leader, you must kneel down and call the leader "master". If you meet on horseback, you must dismount and stand up to greet. When herdsmen go to see the leader, they can't wear short clothes, smoke and speak loudly, otherwise they will be punished. When the leader's family meets with weddings and funerals, the herdsmen must send property. The head of the general circle and the auxiliary gang are also gaining momentum. When the women of the East eight families coaxed their children, the children dared not cry as soon as they said "the total circle is coming".

During the period of the Republic of China, there were two thousand families and several "elders" in Yugur areas. One of the thousand households is Ailuo, the big family of the eight families in the East, and the other is an Jinchao, the leader of the yarag family (known as "an thousand households"). It was respectively sealed by huluktu, Charlotte of Qinghai Guanghui temple and huluktu, Tu Guan of Qinghai Youning temple, both of which were appointed by Han Qigong, division commander of Hexi Majiajun, with great power. At one time, arrow took the power of big head and searched for "official sheep" and "official horses" in big head's house, dongbajia, Yangge's house and four horse houses. The important affairs of the yarag family, the helonge family and the five families, such as the replacement of the general lap head, should be discussed with the "anqianhu". "Old man" is equivalent to the head of each family under the tribe. In Minghua and Dahe, it is designated by the leader to collect various funds from the tribe and assist the leader in handling disputes; In recreation, the retired general circle head and auxiliary gang are responsible for the job, and do not undertake specific tasks for the leader to consult.

Before the founding of new China, the vast majority of Yugur grassland and livestock were in the hands of tribal leaders, upper levels of monasteries and herdsmen. They own more than 45% of livestock and more than 42% of all grassland. Most of these grasslands are in winter and spring. The tribal public grassland accounts for about 30%, mainly in summer and autumn. In the name of public grassland, tribal members can graze. In fact, poor herdsmen have few livestock and no pack animals. When they move into the public grassland, the fat grass head has been eaten up by the herdsman's livestock. Generally, herdsmen only occupy about 18% of all grasslands. The Yugur nationality has a glorious revolutionary tradition. In 1937, the Red Army entered the Yugur area of Qilian Mountain on the Long March, received the strong support of the Yugur people, and jointly launched the struggle against the Kuomintang army. The Yugur herdsmen braved difficulties and dangers, delivered food, firewood and rescued the wounded and sick for the Red Army. Koadai, a Yugur youth, led the way to the Red Army. Unfortunately, he was captured, would rather die than surrender, and was tragically killed. Jiaosi baling, the eldest mother of the Yugur nationality, took in more than ten lost and wounded Red Army soldiers in the battle of Hongshiwo. Later, she sent them back to the team and recruited a Red Army soldier as a son-in-law to stay. She is known as the "red old man" of the Yugur nationality.

In September 1949, Hexi area was liberated and the Yugur people were reborn. After the founding of new China, in the basic spirit of regional national autonomy, the party and government first seriously treated and solved the problem of administrative system in Yugur areas. In 1950, according to the opinions of the Yugur people and the actual situation, it was decided to take Liyuan River and dongliugou as the boundary, and the datoumu family, luo'er family, four Ma families and eight families in the East were assigned to Zhangye County, with District 11. Eight families, five families, yarag family and helangge family in the west of Gaotai County are located in District 6. East and West Haizi belong to Qiming District, Jiuquan county.

In July 1953, a symposium of people from all ethnic groups and all walks of life at the northern foot of Qilian Mountain 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. In April 1954, Huangnibao ethnic township in Jiuquan county was established. In 1957, the Youai township (formerly Minle county) where the Mantai tribe was located was assigned to Sunan. So far, all Yugur tribes except Huangnibao 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, Jinquan, Kangle and Minghua districts were established in the Yugur distribution area, governing 10 townships. In 1958, the district was merged into the township and the people's commune management committee was established. In 1962, after system adjustment, the district level construction was restored. In 1983, the county implemented the social reform of townships, governing 6 districts, 1 town and 13 townships, of which the Yugur inhabited 13 townships in 4 districts of Minghua, Dahe, Kangle and Huangcheng. This system lasted 21 years. At the end of 2004, in order to streamline the organization and straighten out the administrative jurisdiction system, Sunan County withdrew districts and merged townships again. Minghua, Dahe and Kangle were changed from districts to townships and Huangcheng district to towns.

From 1955 to 1956, Yugur areas carried out democratic reform and socialist transformation. In Huangnibao, land reform was carried out together with the Han areas; In Sunan, the reform was carried out through peaceful consultation. The feudal ownership of grasslands by tribes, monasteries and individuals was abolished, and a grassland management committee was established to implement unified management, comprehensive planning and rational utilization of grasslands. In 1958, on the basis of cooperation, the people's commune was realized. At the beginning of reform and opening up, Sunan County changed the original "one big and two public" system, implemented the production responsibility system, re established the policy of focusing on animal husbandry, and 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 "double guarantee" (contract production to households and contract to households) responsibility system. The price of livestock belongs to households, the grassland in winter and spring is contracted to households, and the grassland in summer and autumn is used by multiple households. In June 2002, the Autonomous County fully implemented paid grassland contracting, determined livestock by grass and paid taxes by livestock, so as to adjust the balance between grass and livestock, change the original extensive practice of one-sided expansion of quantity and over grazing, and guide animal husbandry to take a new road 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 Yugur nationality has made great progress, and the outlook of life has changed historically. In 1998, Sunan Yugur Autonomous County became the first batch of minority autonomous counties in Gansu Province. In 2005, the county's GDP 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 respectively over 1978.

Animal Husbandry

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 "tuotuozi", a 2-meter-long strip stone throwing tool made of wool, which is used to beat harmful animals and drive sheep), Lasso, "Tubula" (leather pocket for lamb), milk horn (breast-feeding device made of ox horn and sheep horn), scissors, sickle, etc. Cattle and sheep are grazed in mixed groups. Livestock pens are generally fenced with wooden poles. Poor herdsmen don't even have such facilities. Herds are often attacked by wild animals, wind and snow, and the survival rate of livestock is generally only 50-60%. After more than 50 years of hard work, Yugur animal husbandry has achieved a historic leap.

After the commune in 1958, with the settlement of herdsmen, that is, the nomadic grazing in four seasons was changed to settled rotational grazing, and the group grazing of various livestock was also changed to group grazing. With the help of the state, since 1984, the Autonomous County has carried out the construction of new grassland fences in an all-round way. By the end of 2003, the total area of fenced grassland dominated by small families had reached 2.8593 million mu, and livestock occupied 5.9 mu of fenced grassland. 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 enclosure, sowing forage, elimination of poisonous weeds, locust control and rodent control. With the support of state investment, we will vigorously carry out grassland water conservancy construction, build reservoirs and dams, dig wells, dig springs and dig snow cellars according to local conditions. By the end of 2003, a total of 80 water diversion pipelines for adult livestock, 500.87 kilometers and 175 water diversion canals, 277.8 kilometers, had been built, solving the drinking water problem of more than 20000 people and more than 400000 livestock. It has fundamentally changed the backward state of "worrying about sheep without water, and the drought is forcing people to travel everywhere".

In 1980, Sunan County successfully cultivated a new variety of "Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep", with an average wool yield of 2.6kg higher than that of native Tibetan sheep, which was determined as the production base county of "Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep" by the Ministry of agriculture. Since 1990, the introduction and improvement of Australian blood has been carried out, so that the average haircut is 3.59 kg. In terms of feeding and management, following the shed, the warm shed livestock raising technology has been vigorously promoted in recent years. By the end of 2003, 3243 warm shed sheep houses had been built in the county, including 400 high-standard steel frame glass warm sheds, making more than 80% of small livestock winter. At the same time, it also advocated "breeding on the mountain and fattening under the mountain", which effectively curbed the vicious cycle of livestock being full in summer, fat in autumn, thin in winter and dead in spring, and improved the survival rate of livestock.

By the end of June 2005, the total number of livestock in the county had reached 820100, including 596600 sheep, accounting for 72.74%. Improved fine wool sheep account for more than 50% of the total number of sheep, and has become the main source of increasing herdsmen's income and wealth. In order to improve the economic benefits of fine wool sheep industry, the Autonomous County proposed to take the track of standardized production. The county has established high-quality wool production bases such as Huangcheng, Kangle and 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, "semenou" and "jiupaisong", two Gansu Alpine Fine Wool Sheep brands in Sunan County, were successfully registered. Nearly 70 tons of fine wool organized and produced in that year were successfully auctioned in 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 alleviate the pressure on grassland, the autonomous county puts forward a new idea of changing animal husbandry to agriculture and house feeding. Yuanlianhua Township, inhabited by Yugur, 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, all from animal husbandry to agriculture, and set up a new shuanghaizi village. After more than five years of exploration and struggle, most of the Yugu herdsmen in the past became experts in planting crops and walked out of the road to prosperity on 1500 mu of cultivated land. In 2006, the per capita net income of the whole village reached 3400 yuan, more than three times higher than that before relocation. An Lijun's family planted 15 mu of seed corn, rented 8 mu of land to plant Alfalfa at the price of 100 yuan per mu, and fed more than 20 sheep with crop straw. In one year, the total income was more than 15000 yuan, with an average of more than 5000 yuan per person for the three members of the family.

Industry

With the rapid development of industry, in the past, an iron nail had to be transported from other places. After the founding of new China, industries such as fur processing, agricultural and animal husbandry machines and tools, power generation, coal, carpet, flour and non-staple food processing were 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 beneficiation of more than 1 million tons of metal ore, an annual output of 480000 tons of raw coal and 660000 tons of limestone. The industrial added value reached 129 million yuan. The contribution rate of industry to the county finance has reached more than 60%, and a resource-oriented industrial development system has been initially formed.

faith

Yugur people believed in Shamanism and Manichaeism before moving eastward. After moving eastward, Yugur converted to Gelu sect (yellow sect) of Tibetan Buddhism. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Yugur nationality established the earliest Huangjiao temple - the ancient Buddha Temple. In the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow religion reached its heyday in Yugur areas. Nine monasteries including Jingyao, KANGLONG, runner, Lianhua, Minghai, Changgou, Hongwan, Shuiguan and Jiadao (migrated from ancient Buddhist temples) have been built successively, which are distributed in various tribes. Therefore, there is a saying that "what Temple belongs to what family". Among these monasteries, except KANGLONG temple and Hongwan temple, which are under the jurisdiction of huluktu, Charlotte, Guanghui temple, Qinghai, the rest are under the jurisdiction of huluktu, Tu Guan, Youning temple, Huzhu County, Qinghai.

The scale of Yugur temples is relatively small. KANGLONG temple, the largest, has more than 500 monks at most. Most of the other temples have 20 or 30 monks, and at least there are only seven or eight monks. The internal organization of the temple is not very strict. Some temples have living Buddhas, Khenpo and Dharma platforms, and some have only monk officials or sutras. In addition to religious festivals and going to temples to chant scriptures during meetings, most of them participate in animal husbandry at home on weekdays. In the larger monasteries, there are regular meetings in the first month, April, June and October every year, and a small meeting on the fifteenth day of each month.

Before the founding of new China, monasteries were not only the religious activity center of various tribes, but also the political and economic center of various tribes. The upper level of the temple has a very close relationship with the tribal leaders. The leaders often discuss important affairs with the upper level figures of the temple. The main temple in Qinghai has the right to inherit and approve the leaders of the Yugur tribe through its religious power. For example, the Yugur "manager of the seven ethnic huangpan" must first be approved by the master of Qinghai Guanghui temple, and then appointed by the local garrison Yamen.

After Yugur converted to Tibetan Buddhism, they still retain the ancient belief, that is, the worship of "Khan dianger". Judging from the tradition that the Yugur who speak both languages use yaohur when worshiping "Khan dianger", this may be a legacy of primitive Shamanism. "Dianger" means "heaven" in Yugur Language, and "Khan" means "Khan". "Khan point ger" means "Tian Khan". Yugu people believe that "Khan dianger" can prevent them from evil spirits and disasters, and it is peaceful and auspicious all year round. The so-called "Khan point ger" is a fine wool rope, which is wrapped with hair ears of various livestock and cloth strips of various colors. At the lower end is a small white cloth bag, which contains grain grains with skin and peeling, which is enshrined in the upper right of the tent.

There are three temples rebuilt and opened in Yugur area, namely KANGLONG temple, Minghai temple and Changgou temple.

Architecture

Before the founding of new China, in order to adapt to nomadic life, Yugur took tents as the main way of living. Yugur tents are sewn with cow hair or wool brown. When setting up tents, you should choose a place to shelter from the wind and the sun. Most of them sit in the north and south. After sitting in the selected direction, first support the tent with a beam and two columns, and then pull it into a square with four wooden poles and ropes. The tents of rich families are wider, and they are pulled into a circle with six or nine wooden poles. The middle of the tent is a stove, which is a place for cooking and heating. In the past, three stones were used to hold a pot (Yugu called "gaggs"), but later it was changed into a stove made of stones and mud. After 1958, it gradually changed to a sheet iron furnace with a chimney, which can burn dung and coal, and the fire is prosperous and clean. The top 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 area of Sunan County has basically settled down, and herdsmen have lived in bungalows on winter and spring farms. Old people spend their old age here, and children can go to school nearby. Now, the civil houses in the settlements have been replaced by brick houses. The furnishings in the house are more fashionable and modern. In the past, the earth Kang was covered with Jiji mat and felt. Now many families have used Simmons bed. In summer and autumn, the old wool tents were basically eliminated and replaced with large Tibetan square tents. Today, many herdsmen have also built brick houses in summer and autumn, and their living conditions are much better than in the past.

diet

The diet of Yugur herdsmen is dominated by butter tea, Zanba (Yugur called "talekan") and dairy products such as milk skin and Qula (a kind of block granular dairy product). Every day is usually three teas and one meal, that is, drink butter milk tea in the morning, noon and afternoon respectively. In the evening, the whole family eats mutton noodles or rice together, and sometimes roast steamed buns and baked flower rolls (commonly known as "baked shells"), etc.

Grasping mutton, sausage and "dried branch fruit" are the favorite flavor foods of Yugur people. Pay attention to eating boiled meat when grasping 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 the neck meat and tenderloin, mix with fried noodles and condiments, and put them into the fat sausage, which is called "meat sausage". Chop up sheep liver, lung and other internal organs, add seasonings such as fried noodles and scallion and garlic, and roll them with belly oil, which is called "dried fruit". Pork intestines and "dried fruit" are cooked and cut into thin slices, poured with garlic juice and vinegar. They are fat but not greasy. They can be eaten hot and cold.

Before the founding of new China, in addition to the rich families who could eat white flour and rice, the poor herdsmen could not afford food. They often ate noodles ground from "Xiejie grass" seeds and drank a kind of wild tea. As for condiments such as clear oil, sauce and vinegar, it is even 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 the diet structure tends to be diversified. However, the habit of drinking milk tea and so on has remained for a long time. Every year, the state specially transfers brick tea from Yiyang, Hunan to meet the needs of herdsmen.

Clothes & Accessories

Yugur men wear felt hats, long robes with high collars, red and blue belts and high boots.

Married women wear a trumpet shaped white felt hat (Yugur calls it a "pull-up hat"), with two black edges on the front and a big red color on the top. In the past, women also wore a long belt shaped head, which was inlaid with various ornaments to form a pattern. But the head is very heavy and hanging on the hair is harmful to labor and health. Now it has been removed.

With the changes of the times, most Yugur men and women usually wear the clothes popular in the mainland, and only wear traditional clothes in major festivals or festive activities.

literature

Yugur men wear felt hats, long robes with high collars, red and blue belts and high boots.

Married women wear a trumpet shaped white felt hat (Yugur calls it a "pull-up hat"), with two black edges on the front and a big red color on the top. In the past, women also wore a long belt shaped head, which was inlaid with various ornaments to form a pattern. But the head is very heavy and hanging on the hair is harmful to labor and health. Now it has been removed.

With the changes of the times, most Yugur men and women usually wear the clothes popular in the mainland, and only wear traditional clothes in major festivals or festive activities.

Yugur are good at plastic arts, mainly practical arts and crafts.

They weave all kinds of beautiful patterns on self-made wool pockets, blankets and horse reins.

Yugur women have absorbed the embroidery technology of Han nationality and embroidered all kinds of flowers, plants, insects, birds, livestock and poultry 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 and paint the root of Haloxylon ammodendron growing in the desert according to its original shape, which is a very valuable art.

festival

Spring Festival is the biggest festival of Yugur nationality in a year. Before the festival, we should make dumplings (used as frozen dumplings), fried oil dumplings, Sanzi, etc., and have the custom of offering sacrifices to our ancestors. During the festival, set off firecrackers, light butter lamps, and send hada and gifts to each other as a sign of blessing.

marriage

The traditional marriage habits of Yugur nationality have two forms: formal marriage and informal marriage.

Formal marriage, that is, men marry women. There are many and grand wedding ceremonies. The most important ceremony in the woman's home is "wearing a head". On the way to greet the bride, the man should spread blankets and prepare sheep wine on the way to greet the bride, which is called cutting-edge (in Yugu language, it is called "dusur pool"). At the wedding banquet of the man's house, the famous "ashaas" ceremony will also be held, that is, the "zongdong" (the person in charge of the ceremony) will tell you the ancient origin of the Yugur wedding. This kind of formal marriage costs a lot. The man spends two or three thousand yuan more and hundreds of yuan less. Even ordinary herdsmen have to give a horse, a cow, more than a dozen sheep, ten or twenty pieces of cloth (one piece of cloth is one foot and six feet) and two pieces of Fu tea. For the woman, the dowry property often exceeds three or four times the man's bride price, and often costs more than the man.

The informal marriage of Yugur nationality mainly refers to the head wearing marriage in the accounting room. When a girl is 15 or 17 years old, she holds a ceremony to wear her head, that is, a rite of passage. At this time, the parents have to set up another tent for their daughter (Yugu language is "daoerlang"). After wearing a headdress, the girl has social freedom. She can cohabit with a satisfactory couple in "dorlan" to live together and have children without criticism. Some women who wear heads in the accounting room grow old with a fixed man, and some live together with another man due to emotional twists and turns.

After the founding of new China, the marital status of the Yugur nationality has changed greatly. Young men and women love and marry freely, and parents generally do not interfere. Intermarriage between Yugur and other ethnic groups is also common.

funeral

Before the Yugur funeral, there were three ways: cremation, sky burial and earth burial. During the funeral, the Lama should be invited to chant scriptures and give a lot of alms to the temple, which is a very heavy burden on the masses.

After 1958, all localities changed to simple cremation.