Peoples of Southeast, Central and Middle Asia

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Asia is the largest part of the world and forms the continent of Eurasia with Europe. It is conditionally separated from Europe along the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. Asia is washed from the north by the Arctic Ocean and separated from North America by the Bering Strait. From the east it is washed by the Pacific Ocean, in the south - by the Indian. And in the southwest, the borders run along the seas of the Atlantic Ocean, and it is separated from Africa by the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Due to such a vast territory, Asia is characterized by diversity in nature, climate.

And as a result, the peoples of Asian countries are also diverse, speaking different languages, having their own, sometimes very rare national ethnic roots, professing different religions. Their formation began a very long time ago. It was in Asia that the oldest civilizations in the world were born. On its territory, to this day, there are rare tribes in which only a few hundred people live.

Half of humanity

The peoples of Asia are the most numerous. Most of them are Chinese, Bengalis, Hindustanis and Japanese. That's almost three billion people - half the world's population.

The first settlements, and then the first states arose in the basins of the Huang He, Tigris, Euphrates,Ind. Irrigated lands, a favorable climate for life contributed to an increase in the population. The peoples of Asia began to settle, to populate other territories favorable for life. In the era of the great migration, people wandered to the north, south, east, and also to the west - to Europe. South, East and West Asia remain the most populated today.

The Motherland of Religions

Many religions exist on Earth, but Asia is the birthplace of the three most famous in the world. These are Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. Christianity emerged in Southwest Asia in the first millennium AD. Developing, it broke up into several directions. The most significant are Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. Muslims are adherents of Islam, which originated in the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century AD and is now very strong in the Arab countries and the southwest. The oldest religion of Buddhism originated in South Asia in the sixth century BC, and is currently widespread among the peoples of East and Southeast Asia.

In Asia, there are religions that are followed only by the peoples of certain countries. These are Japanese Shinto, Indian and Bangladeshi Hinduism, Chinese Confucianism.

Regions of Asia

In general, there are five vast regions throughout Asia: North, South, Central, East and West. From the name of the territories received their general names and the peoples of Asia. There are two ruling tribes. Mongolian lives in northern and eastern Asia, and Central Asian - in western and southern. South-the east is mostly inhabited by Malays and Dravidians. These tribes are in second place in terms of numbers. On the linguistic basis, the peoples of Asia are represented by Hyperboreans and High Asians. Hyperboreans are inhabitants of the Far North: Koryaks, Chukchi, Chuvashs, Yukaghirs, inhabitants of the Kuriles, Kotts and Ostyaks living on the Yenisei. Most of them are still pagans or accept Russian Orthodoxy.

Mongolian language group

The High Asian language group is divided, in turn, into subgroups of polysyllabic and monosyllabic languages. In the first subgroup - Urals and Altaians. Altaians are Mongols, Tungus and Turks. The Mongols are divided into Buryats and Kalmyks in the western part and Mongols proper in the eastern part.

The development of the language, literature and culture of the Mongols and Kalmyks took place under the influence of Buddhists from India. The Tungus, on the other hand, had and still have a very strong Chinese influence. The peoples of the Turkic language subgroup are divided into four more. The first - with its center in the Siberian city of Yakutsk, which got its name - "Yakuts" from the name of the city.

Eastern Turks

The second is the Eastern Turks, the peoples of Central Asia, who speak the ancient Zhagatai and Yugur languages. On the territory of modern Central Asia live Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Modern research shows that here, as in China, the formation of world civilization took place. And at the same time, a century ago, these peoples lived in feudal-patriarchal states. Yes, and still here are strong medievalcustoms and traditions, reverence for elders, isolation in one's national groups, alertness to strangers. Traditional clothing, housing, and the whole way of life have been preserved. The hot climate and arid climatic conditions contributed to the development of endurance among the peoples of these countries, adaptability to extreme situations and, at the same time, restraint in emotions and feelings, reduced socio-political activity. The peoples of Central Asia have very strong tribal and - especially - religious ties. In the Central Asian countries, Islam was firmly implanted. Its rooting was facilitated by the simplicity of dogma and the simplicity of its rituals. With a relatively large psychological similarity, the peoples of Central Asia are largely original. So, the Kazakhs and Kirghiz, like the Mongols, from ancient times were engaged in breeding sheep and horses, led a nomadic life, lived away from people for a long time. Hence their restraint in communication and love for animals. The Uzbek people have been engaged in trade and agriculture since ancient times. Therefore, this is a sociable, enterprising people with a careful attitude to the land and its riches.

Arab-Persian subgroup

The Ural Tatars, residents of Kazan and Astrakhan, and their tribesmen in the North Caucasus make up the third Turkic subgroup, and the Turks and Ottomans make up the fourth, southwestern branch of the Turkic tribe. The peoples of the fourth linguistic subgroup developed under Arabic and Persian influence. These are the descendants of the Kanglis, who lived along the banks of the Syrdarya River and founded the Seljuk empire. The empire collapsed under the pressure of the Mongols, and the peoples were forced to move to Armenia, then to Asia Minor, andOttoman Turkish Empire was founded under Osman. Since the ancient Ottomans led either a completely sedentary or nomadic lifestyle, now it is a mixture of various racial types that show kinship with other Turkic peoples. The Persian and Transcaucasian Turks of Seljuk origin are very mixed, because their numbers have been decreasing by continuous wars, and they have been forced to mix with Slavs, Greeks, Arabs, Kurds and Ethiopians. Despite their ethnic heterogeneity, the peoples of the southwestern Turkic branch are united by a strong Muslim religion and culture, which also SUFFERED Byzantine and Arab influence. Turks and Ottomans are a solid, serious people, not fussy, not talkative, not intrusive. The villagers are hardworking and hardy, very hospitable. City dwellers love idleness, the enjoyment of life, and are fanatically religious at the same time.

Monosyllabic language group

The second largest subgroup of the Mongolian language group is the numerous peoples of China, Tibet, the ancient Himalayan tribes, the wild tribes of Burma, Siam, as well as the primitive peoples of South Asia that remain to this day. They form a monosyllabic language group.

The development of peoples in Tibet, Burma and Siam was influenced by the ancient culture of India and Buddhism. But the few peoples of East Asia have experienced and are experiencing the strongest influence of China.

People of the Celestial Empire

The Chinese are the oldest people in the world. Ethnogenesis lasted for several millennia. There are three teachings in religion -Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The cult of ancestors is still alive among many peoples, penetrating all beliefs in China.

Hereditary villagers - achans growing different varieties of rice, live in the provinces of Yunnan, Jingpo, Dachang. The Khsi swords of the Achan people are very popular in China. Bai farmers live on the Yunnan-Guizhui Plateau. The people of this nationality have a rich history and ancient culture. On the banks of the Huang He River, people of the smallest people in China, the Bao'an, are engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. The Bui people number over two million and live in the region where the Huangguoshu Falls is located. Tea and cotton are grown by Bulan farmers. Daurs live on the banks of the Nenjang River. For twenty centuries, the bamboo plantations of Yunnan and Lingchang have been cultivating dengi. And dong settlements surround the fir forests of the Jenyuan, Jinping and Tianzhun regions.

Samurai

The Japanese people and their emergence are considered from three perspectives. The first is the Japanese in the racial sense as an ethnic group and nationality. It is generally accepted that modern Japanese are descendants of the Mongoloid race. Their ancestors are the ancient peoples of Southeast Asia. Starting from the third century BC, as a result of the mixing of the Mongoloids of China, Korea and Manchuria, a racial type arose as the foundation of the ethnic Japanese. And under the very term "political Japanese" in the nineteenth century, several ethnic groups of the Japanese archipelago were united. And how did the nation of the Japanese appear with the emergence of Japanas states.

The graphic system of the Japanese language consists of the katakana and hiragana alphabets and another four thousand Chinese characters. The language belongs to the Tungus-Altaic group and is considered isolated. Modern Japanese culture is noo opera, kabuki theaters and puppet bunkaru, Japanese poetry and painting, origami, ikebana, tea ceremony, Japanese cuisine, samurai, martial arts.