Baotou By Lee Maoqing ( Our tour operator and guide )
Baotou is no doubt the biggest city in Inner Mongolia, as its significance relies on the production of iron and steel, with steel mines, big or small, widely spans to the north border with Mongolia. When visitors arrive here, negative impression is its skyline to the west is painted bronze, yellow from sandstorm which hits the city frequently, it seems there is no reason for the city to be such huge size in the gobi desert, almost not much to offer to the travelers, except the night market in the Huangheng Road, Wudangzhao, the Tibetan monastery outside the town. Wudangzhao is one of the four most famous Gelupa Sect Monasteries in China. The city museum, which is located at No. 42 of Steel Road, was newly founded in December of 1999. The local culture exhibition hall, one of the seven halls, is worth your time visiting for hours. Travelers find themselves surrounded by Han culture downtown, while local culture is not seen only when you are out of the town. However,a few locals still have great passion devote themselves to the inheritance of Mongolian culture. These are traditional dress shops owners, culture station which lies in the No. 9 building of Qiao Family’ s Gold Street, of Donghe District in Baotou. It should be worth your time to visit the experts if you have interest know the further information about the museum.
The origin of the most Mongolian tribes dates back to the large area of today’s Hulun Bur of the northeast Inner Mongolia, and the Onon River valley which across the border of east Russia and Mongolia. Barag, known as Barhu in China, is no exception. The settlement of the Barag group is stable, still scatter to the south of Dalay Lake , known as Hulun Lake in China, is fed by Herlen River to its south and Ergun River to its north in Russia. Barag is seen the history record in Sui and Tang Dynasty of 581—907 A.D, dated back a history of 1300 to 2300 years.
In the glory day of Yuan Dynasty, Barag jointed Genghis Khan’s West Expedition Army in the thirteen centuries. Part of the Barag settled down along the road back after the century war . Barag is found in today’s gobi desert by Dorim River , the north of Darkhan Muminggan, north of Baotou in China, Ten thousands of the Barag scatter in the North of Qinhai, practicing animal husbandry by Qinghai Lake.
According to the research in 20 led by Li Ronglan , the anthropologist of Inner Mongolian University, Barag Mongolian shares 52.63 percent common in the face proportion with Buryat, based on the samples from 400 Mongolian men and women from different area.
The language of Barag is closer to the Buryat tribe in today’s Republic Buryatia in Russia, but getting more and more close to ordinary Mongolian tongue, though a few dialects are similar to Uyghur language, a branch of Turki linguistic.
Before the new order of China was declared Tian-an-meng in Beijing by Chairman Mao, Darkhan people were inhabited to the north of Bailingmiao , the town as today’s headquarter of county level , known in Manchurian administration system as Qi or “Banner”. The gobi desert covers the wide area from the town to the border with Mongolia, nowadays the paradise of China’s rare earth mine.
Darkhan tribe of Mongolian in Damaoqi Banner
In Mongolian, Darkhan means sacred, inviolable. This group , known as Tushetukhan in the sixteenth century, descended from ancient Khalkha, which is the main population of today’s Mongolian. The tribe submitted to the Manchurian in 1653 A.D, the early Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi period (1662-1722 A.D), the prince of the baron Darkhan married the sixth princess of Kangxi emperor, consolidating its relation with the Qing Dynasty by the marriage.
Muminggan
The tribe is believed to be the descendants of the princeling Belgutei, Genghis Khan’s sibling from different mother, Surchigei. In Mongolian, it means lower class. This group is inhabited mainly to the south of Bailingmiao , the green grassland to the north Baotou. The group submitted to the Manchurian 1653, the same year that Darknan tribe was granted to have its autonomous territory by the Qing Dynasty.
Muminggan tribe of Mongolian in Damaoqi of Inner Mongolia
In 1950, The two banners were combined in one county level administration, officially known as Darkhan Muminggan United Banner.
There is very small difference between the dress of Darkhan and Muming-an, both dress with its open along the collar to the right underarm. The Muminggan’s sleeve is loose while Darkhan’s sleeve is thinner and a little bit longer.
The Four Princelings Mongolian, known as Siziwang in Chinese. Is a well known subgroup of Mongolian , scattering in today’s Gegengtala Grassland, two hundred kilometers to the east of Darkhan Muminggan and north of Baotou. It is named after the four princelings of the fifteenth grandson of Gasar who was born in 1164, the third brother of Genghis Khan.
The tribe originated in today’s Hulun Buir Lake , shares the border with Russian Baley, far to its east territory. After hundreds of years war with its neighbors and Russian czar, the territory shrank sharply . In the sixteenth century. In 1630 , the tribe surrendered to Manchurian in exchange the noble title of baron, in return to receive a new land to the east of Darkhan Muminggan. Most of the habitants migrated to the new land till today.
Ivenki herdsmanan are traveling with their reindeers in winter time in Genghe
By Lee Mao Qing ( our tour operator and guide)
The stories and myths about antlered friends, the reindeer, are told almost in everyone’s childhood. In China, it is believed that the Evenki people, who inhabit in the boreal taiga forest in far northeast Inner Mongolia, are the only fairy animal herders.
The reindeers are numbered 1600 in China, less than the national treasure pandas of 2200 wild and raised ones. The Evenki people in Genghe, far northeast Inner Mongolia raise 1400 ones.
The pasturing area covers the total area in the north of Genghe city, with the border to the west and north with Russia and Helongjiang province to its east. In wintertime when food is not enough, reindeer may travel some hundred kilometers in the snow-covered taiga forest. The herders follow the flocks of reindeers , take care of them by keeping off predators, set fire to smoke the tick which is popular in the arctic area.
Maria Suo is toasting her black bread while herding . She passed two years ago.
The Evenki people pitch their teepee, a half-folded style tent in the forest for shelter. In Summertime, the teepee is made of birch bark which is cool with more fresh air blowing. In wintertime, the teepee is replaced with thick leather from the reindeer, which is warm enough when the temperature is minus 30 centigrade.
The leather from the carcass of reindeer is the main material for the women to sew the clothes for the family. The hat, jacket, gloves, pants and boots are all leather with fur. Even the sinew from the reindeer is used as thread, nothing is wasted. They wear several layers of garments in winter to keep off the freezing cold. In summertime, the Evenki wear ordinary modern clothes. Men usually wear camouflage clothing when herding in the forest, to avoid strong color to keep their reindeers quiet.
In 2003, the local government built a cluster of concrete houses at Aoluguya Township, just a few kilometers to the west Genghe city. All the houses are free for these herders if they agree to move out from the forest and give up hunting for rare animals protection. As a condition to get the free house, 230 people form the hunting tribe stamped with their fingerprints on the contract, only a lady, Maria Suo refused to stamp her fingerprint on the paper. She chose to give up the free house and return stay in the forest with the reindeer. Some of the Evenki people who had stamped their fingerprints broke the paper and followed her to enter the forest.
Maria Suo became the headwoman of the Evenki hunters. People say she knows the reindeer than anybody else, she knows where to find the moss, fungi, and other most nutritious food. Wherever she goes, she is always surrounded by the reindeer.
In August 22 of 2022, Maria Suo died in peace in the forest at her age of 101. Actually she even didn’ t know her birthday, people get her age in reference with the people who live around her.
The Evenki of Aoluguya reindeer herders are estimated of 316 in 2021. Their old story tells their ancestors immigrated from Lena River which feeds Berga Lake in 17 century. In the history the group was known as Yakuts in Chinese document. Yakut is also known today as a region, the Sakha Republic of far northeast Russia. Yakha (Yakut) people speak Turkic, with a population of 478,085, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Siberia. Both Sakha in Russia and Aoluguya Evenki have an Asian face, their clothing design for special occasion is similar. The only difference between the two groups is that Sakha is not the reindeer raisers.
Nenets-Reindeer-herders-Yamal-Russia
2300 kilometers to the west of Sakha Republic, in the Yamal Peninsula are inhabited with the Nenet people, who own the same face of those Evenki in Inner Mongolia and Sakha Repblic. The Nenets , like Evenki in China, are the herders of reindeers. Both build the same style of teepee, a tent when herding reindeer in the forest, wear same style of dress. Can the three groups are the same descendants of the same ancestors , who probably originated in the range of Altai Mountain across Xinjiang of China to Kazakhstan to Russia ? Though the tree regions are far to each other over thousand kilometers, but for flocks of reindeer to transfer from one pasture to the other, the distance is just not worth mention. Maybe the bio geneticists can tell us one day in the near future.
The museum of Alxa lies 4 kilometers to the east of Dingyuan Fort and two kilometers to the southeast of the Long-Distance Bus Station.
This new building stands on a platform with all four squares around it. The north huge, heavy gate north gate was closed, so the only entrance is some minutes’ walking to the south.
It was blistering hot and dry as we ascended the steps to the entrance, 31 centigrade outsides. We entered, got two bottles of cold iced tea then visit the Non-Material Heritage Hall as our priority.
As we passed some tedious comments of the history of the local culture, we came to the show case of tribe costume.
In this show case is the dress of Torghut.
Torghut originated in the south of today’s south Mongolia , covers the area of the east Xinjiang, Axal as its center, and far to north of Shanxi and Hebei. Mainly to the north side of the Chinese Great Wall.
Since the 200 A.D to 800 A.D, this region mixed with gobi desert and less green meadow was changed hand among the Sabir, Tangut, Chinese and the Huns. As the fall of Tang Dynasty, Torghut people were organized and became the ruler of the wide land for more than 300 years, its land covers today’s north Xinjiang and Kazakhstan. In the 16th century, the Russian marched to the south, Torghut was pushed to the east. After fighting fiercely , the Torghut occupied large area of northeast Black Sea. As the Russian was distracted in the war with Ottoman Empire, the Torghut marched back to today’s north Xinjiang, some of them cross the Altay Mountain, Badan Jaran Desert to their original region, the middle of Inner Mongolia.
Dörbet Mongolian
Dörbet Mongolian originated in today’s Durhut Grassland of northeast Inner Mongolia. This group has not been so well known in Yuan Dynasty history. The group joined Genghis Khan‘s force to march to conquer Europe. When the Mongolia retreated back to the grassland of today’s Mongolia, a part of them remained in today’s north Caspian Sea, known as Kalmyks of Russian. Today, the group scatter in south Inner Mongolian and northeast Inner Mongolian, the sanctuary grassland where the group originated.
