Bonan

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Bonan


Total population	16,505 (year 2000 census)
Regions with significant populations	People's Republic of China, mostly concentrated in Gansu province and a small number in Qinghai.
Language	Bonan
Religion	Muslim, Tibetan Buddhist (Qinghai)
Related ethnic groups	Mongols, Dongxiang

The Bonan (also Bao'an) people (保安族; pinyin: bǎoān zú ; native [bɵ:ŋɑn]) are an ethnic group living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwestern China. Numbering approximately 17,000 they are the 7th smallest of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.

The Bonan speak the Bonan language, a Mongolic language, and are predominantly Muslim. [1] The Bonan of Qinghai speak a slightly different dialect that those fo Gansu. Whereas the Bonan language of Gansu has undergone Chinese influences, the Bonan language of Qinghai has been influenced by Tibetan. They are believed to be descended from Muslim Mongol soldiers stationed in Qinghai during the Yuan or Ming dynasties and to have settled in Gansu during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (1862–1874).

[edit] Culture

Islam in China History
Architecture
Chinese mosques Niujie Mosque
Major figures
Zheng He • Ma Bufang Haji Noor
People Groups
Hui • Salar • Uygur Kazakhs • Kyrgyz • Tatars Uzbeks • Tibetans • Dongxiang Bao'an • Tajiks
Islamic Cities/Regions
Quanzhou • Linxia • Xinjiang Ningxia • Kashgar
Culture
Islamic Association of China Cuisine • Calligraphy Education • Martial arts This box: view • talk • edit

The Bonan share many traditions with the Dongxiang and Hui. Their traditional dress are a mixture of Tibetan, Hui and Dongxiang. Bonan women of Gansu use clothes of shining and showy colors, with wide trousers of different colors. They use veils of colors different according to the civil state of the woman: the married ones use the black veils, unmarried use green ones. The men also surround their heads with fabrics of white or black color and jackets of white color. The Bonan are renowned by their ability of constructing knives known as “Bonan knives”, famed by its beauty and its hardness. Part of its economy is based on the benefits that they obtain with his sales. In addition, the Bonan is dedicated to agriculture and ranching.