The Baoan People

The Baoan originally came to the city of Linxia, southwest of Lanzhou in Gansu Province from Baoan, 150 kilometers west of Qinghai, which was populated by Tibetan Buddhists. The decision to leave Baoan was made by the elders due to strife over religion and water. The area around Linxia is an autonomous region-the Jishishan Baoan-Dongxiang-Salar autonomous county. As the name indicates, the Baoan share this autonomous region with the Dongxiang and Salar. Other Baoan live in Xiahui Autonomous Region and Xunhua County in Qinghai.

The Baoan descend, it is thought, from the Mongolians. It is possible that they migrated from northern Xinjiang to Qinghai when the Mongols ruled (1271-1368). Religion had been used to exercise power over the people with the mullahs employing private jails and torture for religious lawbreakers.

Their language, which has two dialects, belongs to the Mongolian branch of the Altaic language family and has similarities to that of the Tu and the Dongxiang. Though it is 46% Mongolian, their language has undergone enough of a change so that based on it, government researchers, in the early 1950s, concluded that the Baoan were a separate ethnic group. The Baoan also speak Han Chinese fluently and use Chinese characters for writing, as they do not have their own written language.

Baoan are famous for their steel knives, which they make-a skill learned from the Tibetans. The blades have sharp edges and unusual decorations while the handles are of ox horn with a strip of metal inlaid around the edge. Hui, Tibetans and Mongolians use them for eating whole roast mutton.

They enjoy wrestling, riding horses and marksmanship. Before liberation, agricultural production was backward. Peasants earned a living by peddling, making charcoal, selling herbs and running rafts along the Yellow River. Some of their customs are similar to those of nomadic tribes.

This people love to sing and dance. Most of their songs have six lines and mention a flower or use flowers as an allegory; thus, their folk songs are called Huar, "flower songs." Love-being in love, longing for love or the loss of love-is their main theme. They play traditional string and wood instruments and for entertainment sing impromptu songs.

The Baoan are chiefly Muslim, divided into two sects: the Old and the New. Ten per cent are Buddhist. In former times the ruling class used religion to control the peasants. Islam influences their culture and thus they are not permitted to marry non-Muslims. They marry young and must receive permission from their parents and the mullah. Weddings are held on Muslim prayer days with the groom fetching his bride, who is accompanied by an elderly woman, in the morning. Before liberation the Baoan practiced polygamy.