Tor Tajiks Explained

Group:Tor Tajiks
Pop:several thousand
Popplace:Kashgar Prefecture
Langs:Native: Tor Tajik dialect (Tajik)
Secondary: Mandarin Chinese
Rels:Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam
Related:other Iranic peoples

Tor Tajiks, also called Tajiks of Tor are a Tajik sub-group who are native to the Tor village in the Kashgar Prefecture in Xinjiang, China.

Name

The Tor Tajiks are a Iranic people and they are ethnically Tajiks (an Iranic people who speak the Tajik language). Officially, Tor Tajiks are regarded as "Tajik", one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the government of China. The Chinese term 'Tajik' includes three distinct groups: Iranic Sarikolis, Iranic Wakhans, and the Iranic Tor Tajiks.

Language

Their language is a dialect of Sarikoli, exclusive to the Tor village.

Sarikoli, an Iranic language, however, shows some phonological similarities to Turkic languages such as Kazakh and Uyghur spoken in the nearby area.

Culture

Intermarriages between the Sarikoli and Wakhi groups is usually common, however, the Tor Uyghurs tend to take more pride in their identity and hardly ever intermarry with Sarikoli or Wakhi Tajiks.

Main Sources