The name 'Uyghur', also spelt 'Uighur' or 'Uygur' means 'united' or 'allied'. It describes the Turkic people group, forced from the Mongolian steppe during the 9th century AD to become oasis dwellers in the desert region of northwest China. Today, this remains their homeland and is known as The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Uyghurs themselves prefer to call their homeland 'East Turkestan'. Culturally they are similar to the Uzbeks. According to the Chinese government there are about 8,100,000 Uyghurs living in Xinjiang. However many Uyghurs themselves believe the figure is much higher. Another 350,000 Uyghurs live in Kazakhstan, 43,000 in Kyrgyzstan and 37,000 in Uzbekistan. Many of these Uyghurs fled Xinjiang for the former Soviet Union due to extreme hardships in China in the 1960s. Other populations are scattered among Australia, Central and Southeast Asia, Europe, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the USA.


CULTURE

Ancient culture

Discoveries at the end of the 19th century have shown that in ancient times the Uyghurs had a highly civilized culture rich in arts, architecture, music, literature and printing. These discoveries included cave temples, monastery ruins, wall- paintings, statues, frescoes, manuscripts, documents and books. Also there was evidence from 2700 years ago of a well-developed medical practice including a detailed description of acupuncture.


Language

Their Turkic language belongs to the Altaic family. The written language originally used an Arabic script. In the 1960s a romanized Uyghur script was introduced. Then in the 1980s, the government made yet another change, this time to a modified Arabic script. In the former Soviet Union, Uyghurs use a Cyrillic script.


Recreation

The Uyghurs are very hospitable people with a real passion for music, singing, dancing, drama and story telling.


Diet

The Uyghur diet includes fatty mutton and rice. They also eat fruit, especially locally grown melons, as well as flat bread, noodles and lamb. Many Uyghur houses have grape vines and fruit trees growing outside.


Dress

One will see a few women wearing veils but the majority will wear brightly colored scarves, while the men traditionally wear distinct, embroidered skull caps, which vary in design from oasis to oasis.


ECONOMY

Occupation

Uygurs tend to be traders in the urban areas (17%) and agriculturists in the rural areas (83%). They trade in sheep, cattle, spices, tools and metal chests, and also produce wool, silk, cotton, wheat, melons, carpets and petroleum products. Their perfect position in the mountains between the four great civilizations: Russian, Chinese, Indian and Iranian has given them a strategic advantage in trading, for centuries. About 25% of all Uyghurs are unemployed and the standard of living for a large percentage is very low, with poor sanitation and water supplies resulting in health problems such as cholera and hepatitis. Education levels are relatively low, as schools are small and child labor is often needed to supplement family income.


SOCIETY

Family Structure

Traditionally the "Whitebeard" elder is head of the family and head of the community. Children obey their parents and the extended family is extremely close. This structure remains in the rural areas, but increasingly the strong family unit is in decline. Alcoholism, divorce, wife and child abuse and absent fathers are becoming more common. There is a growing drug problem too, especially with heroin, imported from other parts of Asia.


Marriage and divorce

The marriage practices of the Uyghurs are distinctively Islamic. Sometimes one man marries multiple wives, all from Uyghur, Islamic families. Marriage is often early, due to the Muslim belief that boys become men at 12 and girls reach adulthood at 9 years old. Men are frequently 5-10 years older than their wives are and a gap of 20 years is not uncommon. Many Uyghur marriages end in divorce and re-marriage is very common. Marriage is so important to the Uyghurs that they believe it is better to be married and divorced than never to marry at all.


Nationalism in China

Xinjiang was taken by Chinese communists in 1950. The government sent 5 million Han Chinese into the region to anchor the province to China proper. Since then a number of human rights abuses have been committed against the Uyghurs, and a distinct class system has emerged. The Han are dominant in government, industry and merchant jobs in the North, earning 50% more than the Uyghurs, who dominate agriculture in the South. Many Uyghurs are taking up arms to gain freedom from the daily racial discrimination from China. In 1997 nearly 200 Uyghurs were killed by Chinese in the worst ethnic violence in China for 10 years. The bombings, torture and discrimination continue as the Uygur separatists struggle for independence from China.


RELIGIOUS LIFE AND ISLAM

The Uyghurs were originally animists, worshipping nature spirits and consulting shamans or witch doctors. In the centuries before they turned to Islam, Uyghurs were influenced by Buddhism, a Persian religion called Manichaenism, and Nestorian Christianity. In the 9th Century, the Uyghurs converted to Islam, which is now seen as integral to their ethnic identity. They are officially classified as Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school, but most practice "folk Islam", including belief in the "Jinn" (evil spirits), "evil eye" (curses), amulets, and exorcisms. During the Cultural Revolution in China in the late 1960s most of the mosques were destroyed. Today many mosques have been re-built, and there are now about 15,000 in Xinjiang. In recent years Islam has probably been strengthened and there has been a growth in radical Islamic movements, but at the same time, many urban Uyghurs now see themselves as being "secular Turkic".


Contact with Christianity

Beginning in the late 1800s a Swedish mission to Xinjiang led to the birth and growth of a Christian community. This group reached its peak with about 200 adult Uyghur believers before it was wiped out in a series of wars and persecutions in the 1930s. Fanatical Muslims destroyed the churches and massacred the Christians.

The first modern Uyghur church was established in the mid-1990s in Kazakhstan. Since the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union there has been unprecedented spiritual hunger and encouraging growth of Christianity among Uyghurs. Most Uyghur believers live in Kazakhstan but a there are a small number in Kyrgyzstan and in Xinjiang. Some of the Christian Han Chinese in Xinjiang are attempting to cross the cultural divide and reach out to their Uyghur neighbors.

Despite the encouraging signs, millions of Uygurs remain unreached by the Gospel of Jesus. There are a number of ways the Gospel can be related to them, through radio, literature, music and drama. There is much scope for more creative distribution. Since 1984, work on translation of the scriptures into Uyghur has progressed. This work has been slowed by difficulties of access to the area, and a lack of qualified Uyghur believers able to help.


PLEASE PRAY:

• That the peace of Christ will overcome divisions between the Uyghurs and the Chinese and for an end to the human rights violations in Xinjiang Province.
• That more Christian workers will go to live and work among the Uyghurs and be able to stay on a long-term basis.
• That the Chinese Christians will reach out to their Uyghur neighbors in culturally sensitive ways.
• For the translation of the scriptures into Uyghur, also for the production of Christian literature, radio and other media.
• That the Gospel will spread and that there may be revival among the Uyghurs.

This people profile was produced by our partner ministry © People International 2003.