The Bonan people () are an ethno-linguistic group distinct from all other Mongolic peoples, living in Gansu and Qinghai provinces in Northwestern China. They are one of the "titular nationalities" of Gansu's Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County, which is located south of the Yellow River, near Gansu's border with Qinghai.
Bonan are the 10th-smallest (47th out of 56) of the ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. 95% of Bonan live in Jishishan County, numbering 21,400 of the county's population.
History
The Bonan people are believed to be descended from Mongol and Central Asian soldiers stationed in Qinghai (around modern day Tongren County) during the Yuan dynasty. After the collapse of the Yuan dynasty, the ancestors of the Bonan stayed in the region and eventually intermingled with the surrounding Hui, Tibetan, Han, and Monguor peoples, which would contribute to the emergence of the modern Bonans. Later on, some of the members of the Bonan-speaking community converted to Islam and moved north, to Xunhua County. It is said that they have been converted to Islam by the Hui Sufi master Ma Laichi (1681?–1766). Later, in the aftermath of the Dungan Rebellion (1862–1874) the Muslim Bonans moved farther east, into what's today Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County of Gansu Province.
Language
Both the Muslim Bonans in Gansu and their Buddhist cousins in Qinghai (officially classified as Monguor) have historically spoken the Bonan language, a Mongolic language. The Buddhist Monguor of Qinghai speak a slightly different dialect than the Muslim Bonan of Gansu. Whereas the Bonan language of Gansu has undergone Chinese influences, the Bonan language of Qinghai has been influenced by Tibetan.
They have no script for their language.
The Muslim Gansu Bonans are more numerous than their Buddhist Qinghai cousins (the estimates for the two groups were around 12,200 (in 1990) and around 3,500 (in 1980), respectively). However, it has been observed that in Gansu the use of Bonan language is declining (in favor of the local version – the "Hezhou dialect" – of Mandarin Chinese), while in Qinghai the language keeps being transmitted to younger generations.
- O=23.43(O2=20.31,O1a=1.56,O1b=1.56)
- J=18.75
- R1=14.07(R1a=10.94,R1b=3.13)
- C=9.37
- N=9.17
- R2=6.25
- D=6.25
- I=4.69
- Others=8.02
In another study in 2010 found:
- K*=22.2
- O1b=18.5
- D*=14.8
- O2=14.8
- O*=7.4
- R1a=7.4
- R2=7.4
- N=3.7
- R1b=3.7
Culture
The Bonan share many traditions with the Dongxiang and Hui. Their traditional dress includes elements of Tibetan, Hui and Dongxiang clothing. Married Bonan women wear black veils, while unmarried women wear green veils. Women wear more colorful dress, including trousers with colored cuffs. Bonan men typically wear black or white skullcaps and white or dark blue jackets. Fur-lined jackets are used during the winter.
The economy of the Bonan consists of farming (mainly wheat and rye), raising livestock, selling local handicrafts and working in the lumber industry.