Inner Mongolia has just passed a law aimed at protecting the culture of the Elunchun (鄂伦春), also known as the Oroqen, according to an item republished at Chinawriter.com.cn (鄂伦春传统文化).
Like the Evenki portrayed in Chi Zijian’s Last Quarter of the Moon, the Oroqen speak a Tungusic tongue, and their population has markedly declined since the PRC was founded in 1949. Similar to the Evenki in Heilongjiang, and other Siberian peoples in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, China’s Oroqen were accused of superstitious beliefs and forced to abandon their Shamanistic rituals. For details, see The Last Oroqen Shaman of Northeast China.
A few factoids from the article at Chinawriter.com.cn:
- 1996: Authorities ban Oroqen from hunting within their “Oroqen Autonomous Banner” territory.
- 2010: Oroqen population estimated at 8,659 persons.
- 2014: “Regulations regarding protection of traditional folk culture of the Oroqen people of the Oroqen Autonomous Banner,” passed and set for implementation beginning October. It calls for a “traditional folk culture” fund, and the establishment of an “Oroqen Ecology Protection Zone” (鄂伦春生态保护区).
AfroLit4China 