A Study Of The Culture And Ethnic Identity Of Monguor People Migrated To An Alien Land

Zhenglan Banner "Tangut" are the Monguor people who migrated to Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia in the 1920s. Since their arrival, they have coexisted with the native Mongolian for nearly ninety years. They have blended in with the local people and, gradually, it has brought changes to many aspects, such as language, customs and production pattern. Now, they are regarded the same as the Mongols whereas some of them still recognize their cultural identity. There are still remarkable differences between their traditional costume, food, fete and the ones of Mongolian. It is worth carrying out a research which can make clear the extent of change of their culture and ethnic identity, or whether they maintain their ethnic identity. The thesis adopts interview and questionnaire as its research methodology to conduct a survey on the culture and ethnic identity of Zhenglan Banner "Tangut".This thesis consists of three parts, namely, the introduction, the main part and the conclusion.The introduction:this part introduces the reason why the author has chosen this topic and the meaning of the research, the relevant researches and the methodology.The first chapter gives a brief introduction on the geographical location and population of the Zhenglan Banner "Tangut". This part also elaborates on the process of their migration, their earliest and current situation of life and production.Chapter two discusses the current situation and culture of Zhenglan Banner "Tangut". In this chapter, the relation between "Tangut" and the local people are discussed from the aspect of marriage, daily contact, living environment and residential distance. On the other hand, the thesis represents the remaining traditional customs of "Tangut" people in terms of costume, food, religion and fete.Chapter three explores the ethnic identity of Zhenglan Banner "Tangut" from two aspects, namely, their self-identity and the identification of the "Tangut" people from the perspective of other ethnic groups. Meanwhile, it gives a brief introduction on the connection between the "Tangut" people and their hometown Qinghai Province.The conclusion winds up the thesis. Zhenglan Banner "Tangut" have coexisted with the native Mongolian for nearly ninety years. Along this process, their culture and ethnic identity changed to some extent. Culturally, they have blended in with the local Mongolians. They have, gradually, accepted the double identities:Mongolian and Monguor people...