Tor Tajiks

Tor Tajiks

A Tor Tajik man in cultural attire
Total population
several thousand
Regions with significant populations
Kashgar Prefecture
Languages
Native: Tor Tajik dialect (Tajik) Secondary: Mandarin Chinese
Religion
Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam
Related ethnic groups
other Iranic peoples

Tor Tajiks, also called Tajiks of Tor are a Tajik sub-group who are native to the Tor village in the Kashgar Prefecture in Xinjiang, China.

Name

The Tor Tajiks are a Iranic people and they are ethnically Tajiks (an Iranic people who speak the Tajik language). Officially, Tor Tajiks are regarded as "Tajik", one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the government of China. The Chinese term 'Tajik' includes three distinct groups: Iranic Sarikolis, Iranic Wakhans, and the Iranic Tor Tajiks.

Language

Their language is a dialect of Sarikoli, exclusive to the Tor village.

Sarikoli, an Iranic language, however, shows some phonological similarities to Turkic languages such as Kazakh and Uyghur spoken in the nearby area.

Culture

Intermarriages between the Sarikoli and Wakhi groups is usually common, however, the Tor Uyghurs tend to take more pride in their identity and hardly ever intermarry with Sarikoli or Wakhi Tajiks.

Map of the Kashgar Prefecture within Xinjiang, showing the Tor village

Main Sources

• Kim, D. (2017): Topics in the syntax of Sarikoli, Doctoral Thesis, Leiden University. (PDF1, PDF2)
• Arlund S., Pamela (2006): An acoustic, historical, and developmental analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs, University of Texas at Arlington. (PDF1, PDF2)