Yugur

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Yugur
Alternative names: Yogïr/Sarïg Yogïr, Yogor/Šera Yogor, Yellow Uighur

Total population
15,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
China: Gansu
Languages
Western Yugur, Eastern Yugur
Religions
Tibetan Buddhism, shamanism
Related ethnic groups
Uighur

The Yugur (Simplified Chinese: 裕固族; Traditional Chinese: 裕固族; pinyin: Yùgù Zú), or Yellow Uyghur as they are traditionally known, are one of China's 56 officially recognized nationalities, consisting of 13,719 persons according to the 2000 census. The Yugur live primarily in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County in Gānsù Province.

About 4,600 of the Yugur speak a Turkic language and about 2,800 a Mongolic language; the remaining Yugur of the Autonomous County lost their respective Yugur language and speak Chinese. A very small number of the Yugur reportedly speak Tibetan. They use Chinese for intercommunication. Both Yugur languages are unwritten.

The Turkic speaking Yugur are considered to be the descendants of a group of Uyghur who fled from Mongolia southwards to Gānsù after the collapse of the Uyghur Empire in 840 A.D. The Mongolic speaking Yugur are probably the descendants of one of the Mongolic speaking groups invading northern China during the Mongol conquests in the thirteenth century. The Yugur were eventually incorporated in the Chinese Qing empire in 1696, during the reign of the second Manchu emperor Kangxi (1662-1723).

The nationality's current, official name, Yugur, derived from the Yugur's autonym: the Turkic speaking Yugur designate themselves as Yogïr or Sarïg Yogïr ((Yellow) Yugur), and the Mongolic speaking Yugur likewise use either Yogor or Šera Yogor ((Yellow) Yugur). Chinese historical documents have recorded these ethnonyms as Sālǐ Wèiwù'ěr or Xīlǎgǔ'ěr. During the Qing dynasty, the Yugur were also called Huángfān ('Yellow Barbarian'). In order to distinguish both groups and their languages, Chinese linguists coined the terms Xībù Yùgù (Western Yugur) and Dōngbù Yùgù (Eastern Yugur), based on their geographical distribution.

The Turkic speaking Yugur mainly live in the western part of the County in Mínghuā District, in the Townships of Liánhuā and Mínghǎi, and in Dàhé District, in the centre of the County. The Mongolic speaking Yugur mainly live in the County's eastern part, in Huángchéng District, and in Dàhé and Kānglè Districts, in the centre of the County.

The traditional religion of the Yugur is Tibetan Buddhism, which used to be practiced alongside shamanism.

The Yugur people are predominantly employed in animal husbandry.