Tajik

Tajik, Tadjik or Tadzhik may refer to:

Tajik (surname)

The surname Tajik may refer to:

See also

Tajiks of Xinjiang

Chinese Tajiks or Mountain Tajiks in China (Sarikoli: [tudʒik], Tujik; Chinese: 塔吉克族; pinyin: Tǎjíkè Zú), including Sarikolis (majority) and Wakhis (minority) in China, are an extension of the Pamiri ethnic group that lives in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. They are Mountain Tajiks, unlike Plain Tajiks in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. They are one of the 56 nationalities officially recognized by the government of China.

Name

Despite the name by which they are known in China, the Tajiks of Xinjiang are not the same as the Tajik people (who speak a Persian dialect, known as Tajik in Tajikistan or Dari in Afghanistan). The Tajiks in Xinjiang of China, are an extension of the Pamiri people, a different Iranic group who speak the Eastern Iranic Pamiri languages.

History

Qing dynasty

During the Qing dynasty, the Tajiks were administered by a system of Begs like the rest of Xinjiang.

The Tajiks of Xinjiang practiced slavery, selling some of their own as a punishment. Submissive slaves were given wives and settled with the Tajiks. They were considered property and could be sold anytime. Their slaves came from numerous sources, enslaving Sunni captives such as Kirghiz in retaliation for Kirghiz slave raids, or from Kunjud, Gilgit, Chitral. The Tajiks also sold some slaves to Bukhara. The Sunnis called them Rafidites and did not consider them Muslim.