Oriental Studies (May 2018)
Migrations of Mongolian-Speaking Tribes from Transbaikalia to Manchuria
Abstract
The paper examines migrations of Mongolian-speaking groups - Khori-Tumats, Khorchins, Barguts and Daurs - from Eastern Transbaikalia to Manchuria in the 13-17th centuries. In the first half of the 17th century, the Daur people were closely linked with the Manchu, and some Manchu clans could have actually been of Daur origin. The Daurs had been nominally affiliated with the Khorchins from 1634 to 1692, and later were included in the banner system by the Kangxi Emperor. Buryat folklore and chronicles show the Khorchins had originated from Eastern Transbaikalia. Khorchins were a close ally of Manchus, in 1606 they presented Nurhaci his first title of ‘khan’ - Kundulun Khan. Manchus had had a significant influence on the Barguts’ ethnic process. The latter were separated into different groups, many of them being relocated to Mukden where some called them - a ‘Ninth Banner’. The Barguts resettled to Manchurian heartland gradually assimilated into Manchu society and were subsequently sinicized together with the Manchu people. Their descendants remember about their Mongolian origin till nowadays. Manchu chronicles noted some Mongolian origin of the Yehe clan - the leading one within the Hulun Alliance of Manchuria. Sources specified founders of this clan as ‘Tumets’. The paper refutes the opinion according to which the Yehe had been established during the period of Altan Khan’s campaigns. Yehe Bujai Prince (ruled in the 1590s) was a sixth-generation descendant of the Yehe clan’s founder Shingen Darkhan, i.e. the latter had been born approximately in the mid-15th century. South Mongolian Altan Khan was born in 1507, thus, the invasion of the Tumets to Hulun cannot be dated to this time. We consider the theory which identifies Yehe Tumets as Khori-Tumats to be more correct. With reference to manuscript sources, published scholarly works and folklore, the article provides an overview of migrations of significant Mongolic groups from Transbaikalia to present-day Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. It shows that from the 13th to the 17th centuries - driven by different reasons - Khori-Tumats, Khorchins, Barguts and Daurs moved southwards and eastwards deep into the territory of Manchuria, appearing from time to time near the borders of Ming China. The circumstances under which some of the tribes (e.g., Muu-Mingan and Gorlos) got resettled are to be investigated in future, just like the case with the Three Uriankhai Guards that had been under the dominion of the Ming in the 15-16th centuries and bordered upon Jurchen territories. In general, the scale of migrations of Mongolic groups from Transbaikalia (or across Transbaikalia when it comes to Khori-Tumats) to Manchuria is impressive enough. Already by the early period of Nurhaci's activities aimed at uniting the Jurchen tribes, his neighboring areas were inhabited by Mongols of the Hulun alliance. In the north, the Nen River Valley was inhabited by the Khorchin and Gorlos. The Mongolian language ans script were quite wedespread all over the region. The establishment and consolidation of the Manchu Empire resulted in further migrations of other ethnic Mongolian groups - completely or partly originating from Transbaikalia - to Manchuria. The Manchu rulers put an end to the military, political and cultural pressure of Mongols, bringing the migration processes under their control, which in its turn resulted in the Manchu cultural pressure on Mongols. Some minor Mongolic groups were gradually and overwhelmingly assimilated by the Manchu, with separate populations finally cinicized. The research scrutinizes mutual influences between Daurs and Manchus, and suggests that some Daur clans could have formed part of the Manchu population. It notes that the Daurs had been nominally affiliated with the Khorchins for some time, and also mentions ethnic ties of Khorchins with Transbaikalia, including the related claims of Manchus on the territory. Again, special attention is given to supposed Mongolian roots of the Yehe clan.
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