The Tatar People

A small number of Tatars live in Northeast China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They have a long history with their origins dating well before the Tang Dynasty. At one point after the Tang Dynasty, their name, which the Russians gave to them meaning "sons of the Mongols," encompassed several different tribes in the north. Today's Tatars are a mixture of the Baojiaer, Kipchack and Mongol peoples.

It was during the 19th century that Tatar merchants, intellectuals and Muslim clerics moved to Xinjiang. The Muslim clerics who came opened schools in several areas. They taught the Koran, history and Islamic law as well as math and the Chinese language. A particularly famous school is the Ining Tatar School, which was established in 1942.

The Tatar language belongs to the Turkic language family of the Altaic language system and their written language is based on Arabic letters. However, close contact with the Uygurs and Kazaks has affected their language.

Government sources indicate that Tatars have enjoyed equality with other ethnic groups since Liberation. These sources also indicate that the level of women has been raised since then. Tatars now receive an education that includes the teaching of Islamic law and history, arithmetic and the Chinese language.

Most Tatar families are small and monogamous. Sons and daughters live apart from the parents after marriage. There is, however, intermarriage between the Tatars and other Islamic minorities.

Tatars who live in cities live in flat-roofed mud houses. These homes are decorated with tapestries and are kept tidy. Nomadic Tatars live in tents. Tatar cuisine includes pastries with two famous types being the gubaidiai and the yitebailixi.

Their instruments include a wooden flute called the kunie, a harmonica called the kebisi and a two-stringed violin. Their dances, some of which have Russian, Uygur and Uzbek characteristics, are lively and cheerful. Tatars are Muslims. In addition to celebrating the month of fast and other common Muslim religious festivals, the Tatar also have their own seasonal festivals and celebrations. One is the Saban Festival, which occurs just before the time of plowing in the spring. They also have a competition where participants race one another with an egg in a spoon locked between their teeth.

Links:

http://www.orientaltravel.com/people/Tatar.htm