The Xinjiang Autonomous Region has been the focus of inter-national news coverage since the beginning of July, drawing much attention to China’s largest minority—the Uyghurs. My contact with the major ethnic group of the Xinjiang province is scant but romantic.Throughout the 1980’s, I lived in one of the most remote regions of China in which the average inhabitant had never seen a foreigner in person. The only individuals with Western features ever witnessed were the street vendors of pú tăo gār—‘raisins’—from the Xinjiang province.
Funny the fact, I was often confused with the vendors, most likely since I spoke the local dialect and, yet, had no Han features! The logical conclusion was, “he must be from Xinjiang!” But even when I purchased a handful of those scrumptious raisins, the vendors from Xinjiang would shake my hand and, with a sparkle in their eye, utter through a warm welcoming grin: Ässalamu läykum!
That was my contact with the Uighurs—short and, just like their raisins, very sweet!
Uighurs are a Turkic people who live throughout the countries of Central Asia, mostly in Kazakhstan, the Kirghiz Republic, the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China (pronounced sheen geeang).The name Uighur, spelled many different ways, means ‘alliance’ and points to the Turkic tribes that united thousands of years ago in the Altai Mountains where modern-day Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia converge.
With a long and glorious history of empires, kingdoms, and golden ages, Uighurs in Xinjiang now number nearly 9 million people.
Xinjiang, which means ‘new frontier’ in Mandarin, became part of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The capital, Ürümchi, is located near the Silk Road—no wonder they were one of the first peoples to employ silkworm breeding.
Uighurs are Muslim, having embraced Islam about 934 AD. Their language is Turkic and uses the Arabic script.Uighurs have a rich and ancient culture that exalts the family, food, dance, and music, which has spun off into new mixes of traditional Uighur melodies and contemporary genres. Definitely check out Abdulla Abdurehim, the father of modern Uighur pop.
Although the Uighur men with whom I had contact dressed in Western clothing, traditional Uighur menswear abounds in brilliant colors and embroidered patterns, which are evidenced by the doppa—their beautiful square caps.
Lavish gowns with loose sleeves and slanted collars are tied with a sash at the waist, usually sported with an upright collar-embroidered pullover underneath and pants that tuck into leather boots.
Take a walk down the ancient silk road of Uighur menswear as you listen to the melodic voices of Xinjiang. Be sure to turn off the playlist below, first!
Photo top right by EnricX of flickr, Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0at Wikipedia.
Photo middle left by Colegota, Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0at Wikipedia.
Photo middle left by Colegota, Copyright Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0at Wikipedia.
Photo bottom right 8th-century prince by Tilivay, Copyright GNU Free Documentation License at Wikipedia.
