38. Chinese Nationalities (Tajik Minority) -- Minorities by Descending Populations

The Tajik ethnic group has a population of 45,000, of which 60% live in Tashi Ku'ergan Tajik Autonomous County, while others live in South Xinjiang. Language The Tajik language belongs to the Iranian Austronesian, Indo-European languages Phylum. Most of the people in China speak the Sekule language whereas a few of them speak the Waihan language. The Uigur and Kirgiz languages are used universally among them.

The Tajik people believe in the Shiah of Islam universally. They also worship eagles, the sun and fire in a small way. The ancestors of their nationality might have originated from clans who speak East Iranian, living in Pamirs prior to AD. Diet Tajiks daily meal consists of tea and nang, a large pancake popular in Xinjiang. On some special occasions, they also eat whole sheep that have been stewed, but their typical meals are simple. To Tajiks, the best and most impressive present for festivals is always pure white wheat flour.

Costumes and Customs For clothing, men wear shirt, long collarless jackets with buttons down the front as well as wide and long colored waistbands. Their trousers are very loose and they wear a small knife at the right side of the trousers waist. They don a round cap made of budge. Women wear one-piece dresses, knickerbockers and round embroidered caps. When going out, women cover the cap with a long, large veil, which covers the head, shoulders and waist, so just their eyes, noses and mouths are exposed.

The Tajik people pay great attention to etiquette. Juniors must greet seniors and, when relatives and friends meet, they will shake hands and men will pat each other's beards. For saluting, men will bow with the right hand on the chest and women will bow with both hands on the bosom.

A Tajik herdsman hands gnarled by years of roping horses, seems soothed by the sound of his own music, Sheepskin tambourines, souna horns, and long-necked dutars also lend exotic sounds to Kashgar. The Tajik live in the south the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The men wear long- collarless sheepskin overcoats decorated with a fur trim and buttoned down the front. Their velvet hats are tall and cylindrical and edged in black kidskin. On their feet they wear soft boots made from wild goatskin, with a sole of Yak leather. They are part of the Altaic Turkic ethno linguistic group.