Paper abstract:

This paper sheds light on three understudied aspects of Dungan studies: their kinship patterns, identity within the diaspora and interactions with other ethnic groups across Central Asia. The first Dungans (Chinese Muslims) used the strategy of groupness to survive in an unknown environment upon the arrival to the Russian Empire. They tended to keep together predominately with their compatriots who originate from the same Chinese province and had very few contacts with the Dungans from other groups. For a more than a century the Dungans’ kinship patterns have not changed. The ancestors of modern Dungans migrated to the territory of modern Central Asia in the second part of the 19th century mainly from two Chinese provinces – Gansu and Shaanxi with different dialects and traditions. Nowadays, in daily life, Dungans still have strong internal division and they are guided by the principle of fraternity, which means that they mostly prefer to settle and work with compatriots and try to avoid inter-marriage and doing business with other Dungan groups. The study is the result of numerous fieldworks conducted in n Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the areas of the Dungans’ residences. This research is mostly based on primary sources, including rich ethnographic data: observation, focus group and in-depth interviews with Dungan cultural elites as well with leaders of Dungan Associations of People in these three republics, published materials on Dungan Studies.