DAUR MINORITY

DAUR MINORITY


Daur women at a festival

The Daur are an ethnic minority that lives in isolated regions in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. They are famous for their animal head hats and field hockey skills. In the old days they acted as intermediaries between the Chinese and the tribes north of the Great Wall, trading furs, skins and medicinal materials for gold and items for everyday use. Daurs are recognizable by their high, pronounced cheekbones. The Daur are descendants of the Khitan, a nomadic people that founded the Liao Dynasty (A.D. 916-1125). As of the 1990s, many Daur children were taught Mandarin in school but most continued to speak their own, unwritten language. [Source: Norma Diamond, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 6: Russia-Eurasia/China” edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond, 1994]

The Daur are also known as the Dauer, Daguer, Dahuer and Dawoer. They call themselves the “Daur,” which means "cultivator". The name first appeared at the end of Yuan Dynasty (12.6-1368). They have been known also as the Daghor, Dagur, Daguer, Dawoer, Dayur, Taur, Takanerh and Tahuerh. Over the years there have been different translations, such as "Dahur" and "Dagur". [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China, China virtual museums, Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences]

The Daur speak a Mongolian-Altaic language and their language is full of Mongolian, Chinese, Kazakh, Oroquen, Ewenki, and Manchu words, which reflects their association with these groups. The Daur traditionally worshiped sky gods and other natural gods and spirits and believe every living creature has a soul that can be reincarnated. Every community has a shaman that acts as a healer and a arbitrator for domestic problems.

The Daur are mainly engaged in agriculture and some stock breeding and fishing and hunting. In every Daur village, called Mokan, live people belonging to a patrilineal clan with the same surname. The hala is an organization of several mokan, with people with the same surname but belonging to different clans. People with the same surname can not marry. Most Daur live in single-story brick houses with tin roofs. They raise horses, sheep and cattle and grow soybeans, maize, sorghum, millet, oats and buckwheat. They eat porridge made from grain and butter. Until fairly recently big wheeled oxcarts were their primary form of transportation.



Daur Population and Where They Live

The Daur live mainly along the Nenjiang River in Northeast China in the two sides of the provincial border between Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.


About 30 percent of Daur live in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner of the Inner Mongolia, particularly in the Hulun Buir League. Morin Dawa Daur Banner was established in 1958. It covers some 31,200 square kilometers. A few decades ago about 60 percent lived there. Many also live in Ewenki Autonomous Banner, Qiqihar in Heilongjiang Province. Some are also found in the Tacheng area in Xinjiang. They are descendants of Daur relocated there in the mid-18th century. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities]

The Daur are the 33rd largest ethnic group and the 32nd largest minority out of 55 in China. They numbered 131,992 in 2010 and made up 0.01 percent of the total population of China in 2010 according to the 2010 Chinese census. Daur populations in China in the past: 132,747 in 2000 according to the 2000 Chinese census; 121,357 in 1990 according to the 1990 Chinese census. The Daur population increased progressively since the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. There were 58,000 in 1958, 63,394 in 1964 78,000 in 1978 and 94,126 in 1982. [Sources: People’s Republic of China censuses, Wikipedia]

Daur History

The Daur people are thought to be descended, along with the Ewenkis and Oroqens, from the Khitan nomads, who founded the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). They originally inhabited the lower reaches of the Heilong River. Pedro Ceinos Arcones wrote in Ethnic China: Studies of documents, legends, language, geographical distribution and customs seems indicates the Daur share the same ancestry as the ancient Khitans. But the presence of the group in Xinjiang makes makes it difficult ascertain their origin for sure. Some scholars think that they descended from the Khitan of the Liao Dynasty. Others say they originated from the forests north of Manchuria.” [Source: Ethnic China *]

Ever since ancient time the Daurs have been well known for their bravery and skillfulness in battle. They played a role in the struggles for independence and liberation of Chinese nation. They were involved in holding back Tsarist Russia, battling the Japanese and fighting in the Liaoxi-Shenyang Campaign. They Daur were also important traders. They played an important role in the commerce between Imperial China and Mongol-like people north of the Great Wall, trading furs and skins and medicinal materials in return for gold and daily use items. Timber and some commercial river fishing were also an important part of the economy. Chinese sources have different timelines for the Daur evolution from a relatively egalitarian society based on hunting, herding and simple agriculture to a more complex one. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China; Norma Diamond, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 6: Russia-Eurasia/China” edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond, 1994 ]

The Daur were subdued by the Manchus before their conquest of China. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Daurs had a diversified economy which comprised fishing, hunting, farming and stock raising. They traded hides for metal implements, cloth and other articles from the more economically advanced Hans. During the first decades of the Qing Dynasty they were conscripted and forced to migrate to some border defense areas. They were positioned on the Russian border to prevent Russian penetration into Chinese lands and prevent the arrival of Russian missionaries. During the reign of Emperor Shun Zhi (1644-1662), the Daurs moved south and settled on the banks of the Nenjiang River, from where they were constantly conscripted to serve in the armies of the Qing emperors and in garrisons all over the Chinese empire. The Daurs helped to repel Cossack invaders from Tsarist Russia in 1643 and 1651. When the Japanese invaded China’s Northeast in 1931, the Daurs opposed them and helped the resistance forces until liberation in 1945. [Source: China.org]


imitating their forced migration at a festival


Nirji Town is the seat of the government of the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner (County). The town has a People's Cultural Palace, and thriving machine-building, repair, food-processing and chemical industries. There are more than 100 settlements in the region and seven autonomous townships — all nowadays linked by roads and a railway. Local cadres have been trained to administer the banner. Factories there have produced electric motors, transformers and chemical fertilizer. Farm machinery and power supply sources have also contributed greatly to the development of agriculture. With the development of education, nearly all Daur children of school age now attend primary schools. An increasing number of young Daurs go to middle schools and colleges. Epidemics, particularly "keshan" disease which affects the heart, are a thing of the past now that the banner has some 30 medical centers. |

Daur Language and Religion

The Daur language belongs to the Mongolian group of the Altaic family of languages. It has a strong Tungus influence. It has four mutually intelligible dialects: 1) The Qiqihar Dialect, spoken by approximately 40,000 Daurs living in Heilongjiang; 2) the Butha dialect, spoken by 40,000 Daur in the Morindawa Daur Autonnomous Banner in Inner Mongolia; 3) the Hailar dialect, spoken by the 15,000 Daur living near the Ewenki; and 4) the Ili dialect, spoken by 5,000 Daur of Tacheng County.

Having lived with the local people of diverse ethnic groups for a long time, many Daur are bilingual. Most Daur speak Chinese and those that live among the Mongolians, Uyghurs , Kazakhs or Ewenki speak their languages. Chinese, Uyghur, Mongolian, Hezhen, Kazahk and Manchu words appear within the Daur dialects. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the Daur used the Manchu writing system.

According to the “Encyclopedia of World Cultures”: ““The Daur have not accepted the religions of their neighbors, save for a small percentage who follow Tibetan Buddhism. Religious worship focuses on a number of gods, most importantly a grouping of sky gods (tenger ) to whom annual sacrifices are made. Numerous other gods, represented by paintings or idols, are the spirits inherent in different kinds of natural forces, animals, and objects, and a few gods are borrowed from the Han. An ancestral god, identified as a particular ancestor (often female) is worshiped by each hala and mokan. Shamanism is an important component of religious activities at the household, lineage, and community levels. Every mokan has its own shaman (more frequently female) for dealing with sickness, birth, and domestic problems. [Source: Norma Diamond, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 6: Russia-Eurasia/China” edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond, 1994 |~|]


shaman making an offering


The Daur believe that each living creature has a soul that leaves the body at death and can be reincarnated. Exemplary persons might become gods, while the worst remain in hell.” The dead are buried in graveyards arranged according to family lineage. Buried along with the deceased are ornaments, tobacco pipes, cooking utensils, and sometimes slaughtered horses. [Source: China.org |]

Daur religion has many similarities with the Mongolian religion, with their old religion being comprised primarily of nature worship and shamanism, and their newer beliefs revolving around Tibetan Buddhism. Ancestors were part of their old nature worship scheme. Every person had his or her own ancestral gods that women carried with them to the husband's house after marrying. "Over the centuries, ancestor worship has made the jump from Han culture to Daur religion. Each Daur mokan and hala has a designated ancestral deity, usually a female, who is worshipped by all the people of the village and the surname cluster." *\

Daur Festivals and New Year

The biggest festival of the year was held in May, when pigs and oxen would be sacrificed to the gods to ensure prosperity for the coming year. The Anie Festival is one of the most ceremonious festivals for Daur people. They light the cow dung or horse dung in front of their houses to pray for good luck for the coming year. People hold various kinds of activities on that day. Hanbo Dance is an indispensable part in the celebration. The dance is sometimes slow and leisurely, sometimes fast and joyous and is very graceful. [Source: Chinatravel.com]

The Spring Festival is one of the most important celebrations for the Daur. Held at the same time the Chinese Spring Festival (Chinese New Year, in late January of February), it runs from the first day of the first lunar month until the fifteenth day. Sacrifices are made to the ancestors and firecrackers set off in the evening. Everyone joined in a round of visits to their neighbors to partake of steamed New Year cakes and give presents of various delicacies. People put up New Year pictures and poems, prepare all kinds of delicious food such as shouparou ("hand-grasping meat", braised meat eaten with the hands), visit friends and relatives, and enjoy various kinds of entertainment.



On the sixteenth day after New Year people the Daur start going hunting or preparing for the farming work. January 16th is also called "Black Ash Festival". On that day, people apply ash from the bottom of the pan on the face of each other. This is believed to be a symbol of luck and happiness in the coming year. On "Huowuduru" ("Black Ash Day") the eldest member of each family gets up early in the morning, and puts a black dot on everyone's forehead with a black dot. After they get up young people coat their hands with a mixture of oil and black ash from the bottom of a pan and try to apply it to others' faces, causing great mischief and fun. As a result of this, boys and girls end up with shiny black faces. The Daur believe that this kind of entertainment represents happiness and predicts continuous good fortune for the coming year. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China]

Daur Marriage, Family and Wedding Customs

Daur marriages have traditionally been arranged, often between matrilineal cousins. In many cases the marriages were set up when the couple were still children and the girl was brought in the household of the groom’s parents. Matches involving older girls or young women required a bride-price of horses, cattle or luxury goods. Intermarriage with the Ewenki has a long history, with some families and clans intermarried over generations. The linkage is so strong that the Ewenki and the Daur are called two “familial nationalities." [Source: “ Encyclopedia of World Cultures: Russia and Eurasia/ China “, edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond (C.K. Hall & Company, 1994)]

Monogamy has traditionally been the general rule, and marriages were arranged by the parents. A man from a different clan would go to live with his wife's family, but had no claim of their property. Closest ties are those between brothers-in-law. All important celebrations require the presence of the brothers-in-law and their families, who send gifts to new-born children. [Source: China.org |]

According to Daur marital customs, after the engagement the bridegroom's family selects a propitious day to send gifts, namely "Cai'ente" (betrothal gifts). Cai'ente includes pork, wine and pastry and is usually sent by the fiance and his senior companion to the bride's family, who prepares for a Cai'ente banquet to entertain the honored guests and their relatives. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China ~]

At the Cai'ente banquet, the fiance proposes a toast to the future bride’s parents, kneels before them and introduces his relatives. A senior member of the bride’s family presents the future bridegroom with money and a qiandazi (a big cloth bag for keeping money). Both sides deliver congratulatory speeches to each other. A representative of the groom’s side goes first. He says, or often sings: "Your maid and our lad are connected with a long-distance marriage. At such a nice moment of a propitious day, we present our meager gifts. Young pines cypresses in the mountain are straight and strong. Handsome boys and pretty girls have grown up and have the equivalent age and expression. With a full glass of wine, I toast the marital relation between the two families. Present brethren and kinsmen, please accept my sincere regards." The bride’s father receives the wine and sings back," For the harmony of our marital relation, you have suffered difficulty to go over such a long distance and bring the Cai'ente. Please greet your brethren for me". Participants of the banquet drink, laugh and feast and generally have a good time. ~

Major players at a Daur wedding include the best man and friends of the groom ("Huada"), the bridesmaids ("Huoduowo") and the brothers and male cousins of the bride ("Kutulu"). After the arrival of the bride in the bridegroom's house, the groom’s family takes special care of the distinguished guests, presenting an "Entry Toast" before they entry. After this a a "Greeting toast" is delivered very meticulously to avoid any hint of discourtesy. During the banquet the "Huada" hide wine glasses, cups, bowls and plates of the "Kutulu" inside their clothes and make fun of their brothers-in-law and those present at the table. The reason for this is that Daurs believe wine glasses are containers for the bride and bridegroom to measure grains and bowls and plates are containers for storing food reserves— all necessities for life. Therefore, if the male family members find anything missing after the banquet, they search for it. If the "thiefs" are found out they have to drink a glass of wine for each glass or bowl they stole. Even the day after the wedding the “thieves” are still trying to "steal" wine glasses, bowls and plates. The fun ends when the bridegroom catches up with them and brings wine as well. Throughout the wedding ceremony there is singing, laughter and fun and games.

Daur Life and Customs

Since the 1950s, the Daur economy has been a mix of agriculture and herding horses, sheep, and cattle with some hunting. Chinese socialist planning authorities encouraged the Daur to plant large fields of soybeans, maize, and gaoliang (sorghum). Leather and furs are used for clothing. Big-wheeled oxcarts were in common use for transport until the 1980s, when they were supplanted by railway lines and motor transport. [Source: Norma Diamond, “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 6: Russia-Eurasia/China” edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond, 1994 |~|]

The biggest Daur community is in the Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner, which was set up on August 15, 1958 on the left bank of the Nenjiang River in Heilongjiang Province. This 11,943 sq. km.-area has lush pasture and farmland. The main crops are maize, sorghum, wheat, soybeans and rice. In the mountains which border the Daur community on the north are stands of valuable timber — such as oak, birch and elm — and medicinal herbs. Wildlife, including bears, deer, lynx and otters are found in the forests. Mineral deposits in the area include gold, mica, iron and coal. [Source: China.org |]

Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the Daurs had a well developed agriculture, with per-hectare yield of grain reaching 350 kilograms. They raised horses and oxen. Those living in the mountainous north of the area were also engaged in hunting, charcoal burning, edible plants gathering, tanning, and the manufacture of carts and wooden pipes. The Daurs attach great importance on education. They have been active in establishing schools and founding folk organizations. The average schooling of the Daurs ranks high among ethnic groups nationwide.| ~

Inseparable from the Daur scene is the "leleche" — a small cart with large wheels drawn by an ox. Daur people are also adept at making handcarts. Dagulu (meaning big wheels) Handcarts they make are very famous in northern China. The handcart is light and very convenient to move on the grassland. | \=/

Pipes are passed to visitors, men and women alike, as a sign of respect. Girls make elaborate tobacco pouches and slip them into the pockets of young men who take their fancy. |


Daur housing


Daur Houses and Kangs

Daur villages are neat, usually built on mountain slopes and facing streams, and the houses have courtyards surrounded by wickerwork fences. Their houses have traditionally been tall thatched cottages, built in rows, with courtyards, and two to five rooms. Fences made of Chinese tamarisk twisted into various patterns surround every house. Stalls and cowsheds have traditionally been far from the courtyard so it remains clean and fresh smelling. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China]

The Daur people usually use pine or birch wood to make the frames of their traditional houses, with mud bricks comprising the walls, and yellow mud plastered inside and outside. In a two room house the western room is the bedroom while the eastern one is the kitchen. In three- or five-room houses, the middle room is the kitchen and the others on it sides are living rooms or bed rooms. The house usually faces the south and has many windows. Along the southern, northern and western sides—or along the southern, eastern and northern sides— in the living rooms and bedrooms are three heated brick beds (kangs) connected together. This Manzi Kang do a good job keeping the Daur warm in the winter.

The western room is the most distinguished one in a Daur house. The kang is located in the south and this is regarded as a place of honor, usually occupied by a senior family member. The son, daughter-in-law and their kids usually occupy the northern brick bed or that in the eastern room. The western room is designated only for guests. There the bed is usually covered with a reed mat or felt. These days many traditional houses have been replaced by brick houses nowadays. Nevertheless the custom such as sleeping on the Manzi Kang is still quite popular among the Daur people.

Daur Canoe Cradle

The Daur’s canoe-shaped cradle is something unique to the Daur. Used by the Daurs to take care of infants, it is hung slightly tilted under the rafters of the house. Often made elm, willow, or choulizi (a kind of rare wild plant in China) wood, it is 90 centimeters long, 30 centimeters wide, and only 15 centimeters tall. With the head protruding from one end, it is lined with leather on the inside and decorated with colorful cloth on the outside. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China]


Daur mittens and hats

The infant is put inside and bound with a leather or cloth belt. Many animal bones and fish bones are hung at the bottom and a long leather belt or string is nailed there. When women work, sitting on the kang, they may tie the string of the canoe cradle around their toes. When they move their feet slightly, the cradle sways gently, with the bones striking together and making a rhythmic sound that helps put the baby to sleep. This way the mother can do her daily chairs while her baby sleeps peacefully.

The Cradle of Love lullaby sung by the Daur people for a long time goes:
Slightly your elm-made cradle shaking,
Serenely you sleep, and for you the sun smiles;
Gently your willow-made cradle shaking,
Serenely you sleep, and beside you mum stays,

Daur Food and Clothes

The staple food of Daur people are millet, rice, buckwheat and oat. They also enjoy pork, beef and mutton. They eat meat with hands. Sometimes, the meat of captured animals are dried and preserved. Dairy products are their major non-staple food. They also make milk into crème, cheese and butter. [Source: Chinatravel.com \=/]

Millet, oats, and buckwheat are eaten as a porridge to which milk, butter, and/or sugar. Venison, wild fowl, and fish continue as part of the diet Typical of the daily diet of the Daurs is millet or buckwheat noodles mixed with milk, buckwheat cakes and oat porridge cooked with soybeans. Game delicacies include deer meat, pheasant and duck. They cultivate a variety of vegetables.

Traditional Daur clothes include boots, silk pantaloons, a pointy hat, and long silk robes, belted with a sash. They look like the traditional clothes worn by Mongols. Daur women have traditionally been renowned for their needlework, decorating their clothing with fine patterns. Daur men wear blue or gray jackets with gowns usually opened on both sides. The buttons on their jackets are woven with animal skin strips. Men wear straw hats in summer or simply tie a piece of white cloth around their foreheads. In winter they wear leather caps with ear flaps, trousers and gowns made of deer roe fur or fox fur. Daur women wear long gowns with a waistcoat over it. They wear white cloth socks and patterned shoes in summer, donning leather boots and long gowns in winter. They embroider beautiful patterns on the edges of the gown. The most unique part of the Daur clothes is their caps. They made caps of the head skin of roe deer. The skin is kept of its shape and made into a cap with the two ears and the horns pricked up on the head. The caps are very good to keep warm and make a nice disguise when they go hunting. | \=/

Daur Culture and Sports


The Daurs have a rich repertory of folk dances which they love to perform during festivals. Women participate in group singing and most women own a musical instrument called a "mukulian." Men play a similar instrument, but the women are the most accomplished players. [Source: China.org |]

Daur folk literature is mostly based on observations of nature, but it also contains a wealth of legends and fables. One of their most popular stories is called "The Young Stalwart and Dai Fu." It tells of the struggles of the Daurs against national oppression and their feudal rulers in the latter part of the 19th century. Also famous among the Daurs are stories by Ahlabudan, a Qing Dynasty author, such as "Fringed Iris Pouch," "Song of the Four Seasons" and "Song of Refraining from Drinking." Also well known are tales adapted from classical Chinese novels. The best-read contemporary works are those by a Daur writer named Qin Tongpu, such as "A Farmer's Song," "Song of the Fishermen" and "Song of the Lumbermen." The Daurs have a love for poetry, which they compose in several unique verse forms. Their long winter evenings are also enlivened by oral literature, riddles and proverbs, as well as handicrafts such as toy making, embroidery and paper cuts. |

Hua’er which are sung by Daur was inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. According to UNESCO: In Gansu and Qinghai Provinces and throughout north-central China, people of nine different ethnic groups share a music tradition known as Hua’er. The music is drawn from an extensive traditional repertoire named after ethnicities, towns or flowers (‘Tu People’s ''ling’,'' ‘White Peony ''ling’''), and lyrics are improvised in keeping with certain rules – for example, verses have three, four, five or six lines, each made up of seven syllables. [Source: UNESCO]

The Daur have traditionally been known for their courage and skill in on the battlefield and their valor and tenacity in sports. Ever since anyone can remember the Daur have done well in riding, shooting, wrestling— and particularly field hockey and their traditional version of the game, known as "Beikuo" in the Daur language.

Traditional Daur Field Hockey

The Daur have been playing a field-hockey-like game for more than a 100 years. The game, called “ beikou “, is played with long tree branches that have been sanded smooth and a knobby ball made from an apricot root. The game is still played by older people at cultural events. Younger players play field hockey. Beikou is said to be derived from “ju “, a hockey-like game played in Liao Dynasty. [Source: New York Times]

The traditional game of beikou is played in traditional Daur clothes — boots, silk pantaloons, pointy hat, and long silk robes, belted with a sash — on a grassless hockey stadium, Describing a game played by men in their 60s, 70s and 80s, Charles McGrath wrote in the New York Times, “They played a game that in some ways resembled street hockey. They dribble the ball with both sides of the stick, and shouldered and interfered with one another far more than would be allowed in field hockey. They also laughed and shouted more than at a hockey game of an sort...At the end of two periods of roughly 15 minutes they came off the field barely puffing, even though it was a warm evening, and instead of looking for water, a number of them had a smoke.” One player in his 80s told the New York Times, “I do this to keep healthy, and because I think it is the best part of Daur culture. We play fairly often — at all the festivals and whenever we are happy. Or because we are old, whenever we remember to.”


playing field hockey in traditional clothes

The stem of the stick used in traditional Daur folk hockey is about one meter long, is mostly made of oak wood bent at the bottom. The ball is made of apricot root or felt and is as big as a tennis ball. According to the original way of playing, there was no goal or not. Goals were scored by simple hitting the ball beyond the boundary line at each of the field that each team defended. In the modern game, a goal is set up at each end of the field, and points are scored by hitting the ball into the opponent's goal.

"Beikuo" games are often a highlight of Daur festivals and celebrations. At these events, both strong and healthy youths and the gray-haired old people join and play. At night, sometimes the game is played with a burning fireball. Some flammable materials like pine torches are stuffed into a hollow ball, or a felt ball dipped into some combustible materials like oil. Lighted at the face-off, the ball burns into a small fireball in the blowing wind. The two sides fiercely compete against one another. The burning, glowing fireball shuttles back and forth in the dark sky, making bright curved lines one after another. It is a splendid sight.

According to Chinatravel.com: “The fireballs are made of the lumps of the white fungus growing on the birches. People empty the fungus balls and put in some combustible substances like pine torches or dip felt balls into oil to make the balls for the contests. When it's time for the contests, people light the balls and the balls burn like fireballs in the wind. It's quite spectacular.” [Source: Chinatravel.com \=/]

Daur Success in Field Hockey

In 1976 the first national hockey team was founded in Morin Dawa Autonomous Banner and the State Sports Commission named the banner the "Hometown of Field Hockey". Since then, the banner's hockey team has won the national championship almost every year. Many members of the Chinese national field hockey team are Daur. Daur couches have been sent to Sichuan Province, Gansu Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, Tianjin city and other places to improve the sport there and promote field hockey nationwide. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China ~]

Many Daur live in Molidawa County in Inner Mongolia. A third of the players on the men’s Olympics field hockey team came from there. The local team from Molidawa has won five of the last 10 national championships before the Olympics. For a long time the national team was comprised mostly of Daurs from Molidawa County. Of the five members of the team from Molidawa, four went to the same elementary school.The best players come from Gansu Province. They belong to the Man ethnic group and grew up in Inner Mongolia. Explaining why the skills that Daur possess make them good field hockey players, one Daur player told the New York Times, ‘strength, cleverness, mental health, good coordination, flexibility. Hockey is different from football. Football players can stand up straight. Hockey players need to bend and run at the same time.”

Like the Daur, Manchus are good field hockey players. The best players on the Chinese national team come from Gansu Province. They are mostly Manchu, who grew up in Inner Mongolia.

Encircling Animals and Hunting with Eagles

Once hunting was the most activity of the Daur people. Over the decades and centuries, they accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience in regard to hunting and used a variety of techniques, including snares, traps, burying arrows under the earth, dawei (encircling and hunting down animals) and eagle hunting. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China]


playing in the winter


In the early twentieth century, single-shot guns with lead bullets, rifles with steel balls, bows and arrows and spears were the main hunting weapons. These crude tools were not very accurate of sometimes were dangerous to use. To ensure safety and improve hunting productivity, the Daurs developed effective means of hunting together, particularly the "dawei" encircling method. Under an experienced "Aweida" or hunting leader, a clan encircled a large area known to rich in game and slowly moved forward, tightening the ring and killing animals such as ermines, roe deer, deer, and wild boars when they were cornered in the middle.

Eagle hunting is another effective way of hunting that used to be practiced by the Daur but now is more associated with Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. This hunting method has traditionally been carried out in the morning after a snow. The hunter rode on a gallant horse, holding the hunting eagle on his left arm, and controlling his horse with his right hand. Upon finding a bird or animals such as a pheasant, fox or hare, the hunter ordered the eagle to strike them quickly. The sport has largely died out but may still be held as a form of entertainment. Clever, quick and valiant hunting eagle have traditionally been greatly valued and were often worth more than a good horse.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, People's Daily. Chinese government

Text Sources: 1) “ Encyclopedia of World Cultures: Russia and Eurasia/ China “, edited by Paul Friedrich and Norma Diamond (C.K. Hall & Company; 2) Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for Nationalities, Science of China, China virtual museums, Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, kepu.net.cn ~; 3) Ethnic China *\; 4) Chinatravel.com\=/; 5) China.org, the Chinese government news site china.org | New York Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Chinese government, National Geographic, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wikipedia, BBC and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated October 2022


This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of country or topic discussed in the article. This constitutes 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are the copyright owner and would like this content removed from factsanddetails.com, please contact me.