The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian originated

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

s in East,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, who speak

Mongolic languages The Mongolic languages are a language family spoken by the Mongolic peoples in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Asia and East Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas and in Kalmykia and Buryatia. The best-known member of this language ...

. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contemporary Mongolic ethnic group is the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

. Mongolic-speaking people, although distributed in a wide geographical area, show a high genetic affinity to each other, and display continuity with ancient Northeast Asians.

List of ethnic groups

Contemporary ethnic groups

In addition, Mongolized

Soyot The Soyot are ethnic group of Turkic origin live mainly in the Oka region in the Okinsky District in the Buryatia, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 3,608 Soyots in Russia. Their extinct language (partly revitalized) was of a T ...

s live in Buryatia. Their population is 3600 people. A number of orientalists (Nanzatov, Baldaev and others) traditionally consider modern Soyots as a sub-ethnos within the Buryat people.

Ethnic groups of Mongolian origin

A large Mongolian component took part in the ethnic formation of the

Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scat ...

, also called the Hazara Mongols. Even in the 16th century, according to

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...

, the

Mongolian language Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residen ...

was widespread among the Hazaras, and a small part of them, apparently, spoke a language close to Mongolian as early as the 19th century. Массон В. М., Ромодин В. А. (1964)
История Афганистана. Том I. С древнейших времен до начала XVI века.
Москва: Наука. pp. 289–290. In Russian: ''"Еще в XVI в., по сообщению Бабура, среди хазарейцев был распространен монгольский язык, а небольшая часть их, по-видимому, и в XIX в. говорила на языке, близком к монгольскому."'' The high frequency of haplogroup C2-M217 is consistent with the purported Mongolian origin of many of the Hazaras. Жабагин М. К. (2017)
Анализ связи полиморфизма Y-хромосомы и родоплеменной структуры в казахской популяции
Москва. p. 71. In Russian: ''"...за счет высокой частоты гаплогруппы С2-М217, что согласуется с монгольским происхождением хазарейцев."'' Modern Hazaras speak the Hazaragi, one of the dialects of the

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...

. The Mughals, descendants of the

Barlas The Barlas ( mn, Barulās, script=Latn;Grupper, S. M. ‘A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins.’ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay/ ...

and other Mongol tribes, currently speak

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Historical ethnic groups

* Donghu * Xianbei — founders, in the 1st century CE, of the first Mongolic empire, namely Xianbei state * Wuhuan *

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizat ...

** Yujiulü * Duan * Yuwen *

Kumo Xi The Kumo Xi (Xu Elina-Qian, p.296b), also known as the Tatabi, were a Mongolic steppe people located in current Northeast China from 207 CE to 907 CE. After the death of their ancestor Tadun in 207, they were no longer called Wuhuan but joined ...

Murong Murong (; LHC: *''mɑC-joŋ''; EMC: *''mɔh-juawŋ'') or Muren refers to an ethnic Xianbei tribe who are attested from the time of Tanshihuai (reigned 156–181). Different strands of evidence exist linking the Murong to the MongolsТаск ...

* Tuyuhun *

Tuoba The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. ''Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen Kingd ...

* Qifu *

Tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...

* Shiwei * Didouyu * Khitan **

Yelü The Yelü clan ( Khitan: , spelled ''ey.är.uu.eld'', pronounced ''Yäruuld''; ), alternatively rendered as Yila () or Yarud, was a prominent family of ethnic Khitan origin in the history of China. The clan assumed leadership of the Khitan triba ...

Zubu Zubu (, also referred to as Dada or Tatars) was confederation led by Khereid. It consisted of Khamag Mongol, Naiman and Tatar tribes from the 10th to 12th centuries. Little is known in detail about this group. The name "Zübü" might be derive ...

General characteristics

Languages

Languages of the Mongolic peoples belong to the Mongolic language family. The Mongolic languages are a language family spoken in

(

Kalmykia he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref> , official_lang_list= Kalmyk , official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains ...

and

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

and the Mongol residents of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

and

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

, with an estimated 5.7+ million speakers. The Mongolic ethnicities possibly related to the Turkic and

Tungusic peoples Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia. The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic ...

, whom languages together would include into the hypothetical Altaic language family.

Religions

The Mongolic peoples are predominantly followers of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. In 1576 the

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

Tibetan school which was founded by the half-Mongol

Je Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Bud ...

became the

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

of the Mongolia. Some groups such as

Dongxiangs The Dongxiang people (autonym: '' Sarta'' or ''Santa'' (撒爾塔); , Xiao'erjing: دْوݣسِيْاݣذُ) are Mongolic people and one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Most of the Dongxiang live ...

and Bonan people adopted

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...

, as did Moghols in Afghanistan and Mughals in India. Among a part of the population, the

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a prima ...

, namely

Tengrism Tengrism (also known as Tengriism, Tengerism, or Tengrianism) is an ethnic and old state Turko- Mongolic religion originating in the Eurasian steppes, based on folk shamanism, animism and generally centered around the titular sky god Tengri. ...

(

Mongolian shamanism Mongolian shamanism ( mn, Бөө мөргөл — ''Böö mörgöl''), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and i ...

) is preserved. A small number of

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

emerged under the influence of the Russian Church and Western missionaries. Mongolian shamanism, more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally ''Tengerism'', as refers to the

animistic Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, h ...

and

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

indigenous religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas (including

and

), as well as among Daur and other peoples, at least since the age of

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

. In the earliest known stages it was intricately tied to all other aspects of social life and to the tribal organization of Mongolian society. Along the way, it has become influenced by and mingled with Buddhism. Tengrism was transformed into a

monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...

religion only at the imperial level within aristocratic circles.

Culture

The

Culture of Mongolia The culture of Mongolia has been shaped by the country's nomadic tradition and its position at the crossroads of various empires and civilizations. Mongolian culture is influenced by the cultures of the Mongolic, Turkic, and East Asian peoples ...

has been heavily influenced by the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

nomadic way of life and shows similarities to other

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

and

Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the form ...

cultures. The various Mongolic ethnic groups share a highly similar culture and traditions, but have specific differences in clothing styles and cuisine. Although Mongolian traditional clothing ( deel) has changed little since the days of the empire, there have been some changes in styles which distinguish modern Mongolian dress from historic costume. Each tribe or clan has its own deel design distinguished by cut, color, and trimming. Mongolian cuisine is primarily based on

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and dairy, with some regional variations. The most important public festivals are the

Naadam Naadam (Mongolian Naadam Festival) ( mn, Наадам, classical Mongolian: ''Naɣadum'', , ''literally "games"'') is a traditional festival celebrated in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Tuva Republic. The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurva ...

. A Naadam involves

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

, and

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...

competitions. For families, the most important festival is Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year), which is roughly equivalent to the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...

and usually falls into January or February. Mongolia has a very old musical tradition. Key traditional elements are throat-singing, the Morin Khuur (horse head fiddle) and other string instruments, and several types of songs. Mongolian melodies are typically characterized by pentatonic harmonies and long end notes.

Genetics

and other Mongolic-speaking groups, show high genetic affinity to each other, as well as to other East Asian populations. The analysis of 175 Mongolic samples, representing 6 ethnic groups, incorporating results of the 1000 Genomes Project panel, revealed genetic homogeneity between different Mongolic groups, and strong affinity between North, East, and Southeast Asian populations. Furthermore, derived allele sharing between

Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...

and Mongolians/Siberians, suggest substantial gene flow from East Asian-related groups westwards into a population ancestral to modern Finns. A 2014 paper investigated Mongolian geneflow into populations of Europe and South Asia, which can be mostly traced back to the time of the Mongol empire. The study analyzed the genome of a Mongolian individual from

, and compared the sample to worldwide populations. The Mongolian individual showed expected high affinity to other East Asian and Native American populations. The highest affinity of the Mongolian sample was to Oroqen in Russia. A relative large amount of ancestral alleles shared with Native Americans ( Maya) most likely have resulted from the Mongolians’ ancestors contribution to the peopling of the Americas. Europeans had a low, but relatively higher allele sharing with Mongolians and other East Asians, than Middle Easterners, suggesting greater impact of Mongolian geneflow towards Europeans during the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

. Indians also show evidence of minor geneflow from Mongolians, associated with the Mughal dynasty. A 2020 study based on ancient DNA found that West Eurasian autosomal ancestry declined significantly in Mongolia during the Mongol empire period. The authors detected a male-mediated rise in East Asian ancestry in the late medieval Mongolian period, noting also the increase in haplogroup C2b, the presumed lineage of Genghis Khan. A 2020 study based on ancient DNA found that West Eurasian autosomal ancestry declined significantly during the Mongol empire period. The authors detected a male-mediated rise in East Asian ancestry in the late medieval Mongolian period, noting also the increase in haplogroup C2b, the presumed lineage of Genghis Khan. A 2021 paper analyzed 42 individuals from different Mongolic sub-populations and found that all Mongolic groups have dominant East-Eurasian (East Asian-related) ancestry, specifically a Northeast Asian hunter-gatherer component (ANA, represented by DevilsCave_N or Mongolia/Baikal_N_North), and a

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

millet farmers component (YR_LN). A proportion of West-Eurasian-related ancestry, related to Western Steppe Herders (WSH), was found in the gene pool of modern Mongolians ranging from 5.6% to 11.6%. The admixture event was estimated to have taken place in the period ranging from

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

. Another 2021 paper analyzed 611 Mongolian individuals. The geographically different Mongolian populations were found to share a common genetic heritage, and also showed high affinity to acient and medieval Mongolians, suggesting genetic continuity with the

Slab Grave Culture The Slab-Grave culture is an archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Mongols.Tumen D., "Anthropology of Archaeological Populations from Northeast Asipage 25,27 The ethnogenesis of modern Mongolian people is linked to the ...

. Mongolian samples from different geographical regions have slightly different ancestry make-up: Mongolians generally have mostly dominant East Asian-related ancestry, with a strong genetic affinity to the "Ancient Northeast Asians lineage" (ANA). A 2022 paper based on mtDNA noted that ancient Mongolians had a mixed West and East Eurasian origin, while modern Mongolians are characterized by substantially less West Eurasian ancestry. The authors suggested that most West Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups in modern Mongolians are believed to have arrived around 2,500-5,000 years ago, or the Mongolian bronze age. A smaller number arrived in the early iron age. During the medieval period, a continuous increase in

mitochondrial lineages was detected, which these authors attribute to Genghis Khan's Pax Mongolica.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

General

* * *

Genetic researches

* * * * *

Linguistics

* *

Religious studies

* * * * * * * * * {{East Asian topics East Asian people Central Asian people People from the Russian Far East Eastern European people South Asian people Nomadic groups in Eurasia Modern nomads