The Yugur Nationality

The Yugur nationality has a population of 12,000, with the majority living in the Yugur Autonomous County in the south of Gansu province, and the rest distributed over the Yellowª²Earth Castle district in Jiuquan of the same province. The Yugurs speak a language belonging to two groups of the Altaic family--the Turkic group spoken in the eastern part of the area and the Mongolian group in the west. Livestock raising is their main occupation. The Yugur people excel in weaving and embroidering. They believe in Shamanism and Tibetan Budlhism.

To the southwest of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province, the Qilian Mountain lies across like a sleeping dragon, giving life to the dully unbroken stretch of land in the Corridor. On the pastures at the foot of the mountain, the Yugur people who call themselves "Rouhur" live a simple and peaceful life.

The Yugurs are a nomadic people. Animal husbandry makes up a main part of their economy. Favorable natural conditions in the Qilian mountain area and oasis in the Hexi Corridor provide ideal grazing land. The easily-dissembled tents are their shelter. Oldª²styled Yugur tents are cone-shaped, propped by several poles, but many nonª²traditional ones take after the square-surfaced Mongolian yurts. The Yugurs' home are simply furnished, with the family shrine put on the upper part of the central pole facing the door, the kitchen range set up in the middle of the room. To both sides of the kitchen range are seats laid with felt rug and animal skins for men on the left ª©and womenªª on the right. On arable farms and at the livestock breeders' settlement, people mostly live in the flatª²roofed, mud brick houses that are warm and clean.

Vast stretches of exuberant prairies in the region help make the Yugurs an open, generous people. There, every visitor can feel the warmth and hospitality shown by them. They welcome their guests with kadag(a long piece of white cloth presented to express great respect and wishes of good luck for the guests) and "off-the-horse" toasts. Buttered tea, steamed rice paste and dairy products are the major part of the diet for pastoral people, while farm people eat mainly grain products and vegetables. Mutton served hot and eaten with the fingers is a special treat for guests.

The Yugurs keep the tradition of wearing their national costumes. Yugur men usually wear highª²collared, long robes buttoned on the right side and tied with a violet or blue waistband, tubeª²shaped felt hats with a flat top, and high leather boots. Most Yugur women dress in highª²collared long gowns to which they add a sleeveless jacket. Like men, they also wear hats, but their hats are more attractive. It is made of felt pressed from white wool, with a black edge in the front, and an upturned back brim and a flat front brim. Red tussles hang down from the top. When worn on the head, it looks like a trumpet turned upside down.
The hats of married women have strings of pearls hanging from the inside. The hair of married women is combed into three braids: two were tied to a belt(a special headdress), hanging over the chest, and the third one down the back. The belts are inlaid with colorful pearls, small silver ornaments, coral and shell ornaments to form beautiful designs.

Meadows and riversides are ideal places where young Yugurs go to express their love. Nevertheless, marriage means to them a serious, big event. To a Yugur girl, nothing in her life is more sacred and exciting than the ceremony of "putting on the headdress." On the wedding day, the bride's mother does the hairdressing for her daughter and helps her put on the headdress. It is just like the traditional song: "Time for wearing the wedding veil comes as the sun rises in the east. Like the prettily spotted deer with many-branched antlers, our bride will be finely dressed. My dear, sooner or later, you will have to set up the big tent for your own family and take over the housework as a hostess. So don't be sad and miss this good time for wearing the headdress."

Reluctant to leave, the bride gets on a white horse and heads for her future-husband's with the escort of her brother. The white horse stands for the heavenly white elephant in legendary Yugur tales. Before they start off, the bride's parents have to toast the party escorting her.

The groom's family welcomes the bride's team with as much hospitality as possible. When the "off-the-horse" toasts are presented to the guests, people from both sides enter a big tent to attend the solemn ceremony where the groom puts on the wedding hat. He steps on the design formed by scattering rice on the ground, which is believed to be able to bring an everlasting happy marriage to the couple. Afterwards, an uncle of the bride's begins to recite the words concerning the creation of the world, the origin of marriage, the obligation of the newlyweds to wait on their parents, as well as their long-life faithfulness to each other. Then he chants the blessings of a happy life for the young couple. Now, it is time for the newlyweds to toast all the guests in presence, first to the elderly and then to the young. People enjoy themselves to the full by singing and dancing, and staying up all night.

As a nomadic people, the Yugurs have a special affection for the horse. They take pride in owning a handsome horse. A large-scale horse race is held in the Yugur region every year. The horse race attracts people from every part of the region. Many skillful riders, bringing along with them their beloved horses, come from afar to participate. Two sorts of competitions are carried out at the race, one for firmness and steadiness of horse steps, the other for speed. The horse that wins is decorated with colorful ribbons and led by its proud owner, to walk around for show.

The Yugur people excel in singing and dancing. They love to express their thoughts and feelings by means of songs. They first invite guest to the appetizing buttered tea, and then to roast mutton eaten with the fingers. The guests are presented with the best part-chest meat. At the same time, the host and hostess sing their toasts in turn to each of the guests, expressing their best wishes for the visitors on behalf of the whole family. Inspired by the passionate warmth on the part of the host family, the guests can not help joining in the singing.

Having witnessed many upheavals in the past, the Yugur people cherish a peaceful life. The Hexi Corridor, once a flourishing part of the "Silk Road," is regaining its past glory. With the development of Chinese economy, changes are also taking place on the beautiful Yugur prairies anticipating a new era.