The Uygur culture is an ethnic minority in china. There are presently 7.3 million Uygurs living there. The majority of the Uygurs live in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. This region was discovered by the Chinese government on October 1, 1955. To the Westerners it was known as Chinese Turkestan, Eastern Turkestan, or Sin kiang. The Region makes up one-sixth of China's land area, covering approximately 635,800 square miles.
The Uygur origins date back to the founding of the Uygur Empire in the 8th century. Karabalghasun which was located on the Orkhon River was where the empire was centered, and remained there until 840 AD. When the Kirghiz conquered the empire, it forced most of the population of Uygur culture to head westward, and settle in the Tarim Basin.
Identifying the Uygurs is done by the language they speak and from where their ancestors came from. The language of the Uygurs along with the Uzbek is classified as belonging to the Turkic branch of the UIralo-Altaic language family. They belong to the Karluk division of this branch. The modern Uygur is estimated that thirty percent of their vocabulary comes from the Farsi. The northern and the southern dialects of Uygur have historically been the two dialects of the Uygur. A modified Arabic Scrip is what the Uygurs use. The Uygurs are allowed and given the right to use there native language to educate their children and practice their own religion, develop there own culture, and use there native language. They have this right because of the Law of Regional Autonomy for Minority Nationalities.
Uygurs are Sunni Muslims for the school of hanafi. In the 10th century they began to change to Islam and by the 15th century the process was complete. Islam, over the past few centuries, has been worked into the Uygur culture. Being born into the Uygur people also means being born in the Muslim faith. From an early age, children are taught about their religious heritage. In Xinjiang today there are over 15,000 mosques. Mosques are theological training schools in Urumqi, which is the capital city, opened in 1987 and currently holds 60 candidates for an Islamic clergy position. The religious and cultural Center, of the Uygur, remains Kashgar and its Id Kah mosque. Thousands of people gather at the mosque and spill out to completely fill the city's center square, which is done on traditional Islamic feast days. Mosques are very frequent religious observances, and Islamic education is available and adhered inside these communities.
In the villages men tend to wear a doppa. A doppa is a bright, embroidered skull cap. While women on the other hand tend to wear dresses and scarves that are very bright. These are made out of silk material that is very uniquely patterned. This silk material has as many as fifty colors and motifs. A majority of the women refrain from wearing veils and avoid dressing as conservatively as there Muslim counterparts of the Middle East. One of the few places where you can see women with veiled heads is in the southern city of Kashgar. However, this veil is often lifted from their face. Due to some major Chinese influence most Uygurs wear clothes resembling Western dress.
References:
Ethnic Minorities in China: Uygur Chinatown On-line ( 2 Feb 2003) http://www.Chinatown-online.co.uk/pages/culture/ethnic/uygur.html (15 Jan 2002)
Chinese Nationalities (Uygur Minority) Chinese Nationalities http://ww.paulnoll.com/China/Minorities/min-Uygur.html
Written by Kellen Marson, 2003