The Äynu (also Ainu, Abdal, and Aini) are a people native to the Xinjiang region of western China. There are estimated to be fewer than 30,000 Äynu, mostly located on the fringe of the Taklamakan Desert.[1]
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Origins
The origins of the Äynu people are disputed. Some historians theorize that the ancestors of the Äynu were a nomadic people who came from Persia several hundred years ago[2], while others conclude that the Persian vocabulary of the Äynu language is a result of Persian being once the major trade language of the region, or Persian traders intermarrying with local women.[3]
Language
Uyghur is spoken at home and in public, by Äynu men and women alike. Äynu men also speak Äynu, a Turkic language with mainly Persian vocabulary.[1]
Culture
The Äynu people engage mostly in agriculture, although in the past some were peddlers, circumsizers, or beggars.[1]
There is a tradition of discrimination against the Äynu by their neighbors, who identify the Äynu as Abdal, a name which carries a derogatory meaning.[1] Intermarriage with their neighbors the Uyghur people is uncommon.[4] However, the Chinese government counts the Äynu people as Uyghur.[4]
The predominant religion is Sunni Islam.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Johanson, Lars (2001). Discoveries on the Turkic Linguistic Map. 5. Stockholm: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. pp. 21–22. http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/DILBILIM/johanson_01.pdf.
- ^ Safran, William (1998). Nationalism and Ethnoregional Identities in China. Routledge. pp. 77. ISBN 9780714649214. http://books.google.com/books?id=MT0VFdKklYoC.
- ^ Matras, Yaron; Bakker, Peter (2003). The Mixed Language Debate: Theoretical and Empirical Advances. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 9. ISBN 3110177765. http://books.google.com/books?id=OeAELTdNANwC.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (15th ed.). Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aib.
External links
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