Winja people

Winja

Winja / Venja 溫加
Total population
173,014 (2015)
Regions with significant populations
China	149,010‬ Qinghai — 130,607 Gansu — 16,225 among others
Loulan	23,997
Languages
First language Winja Second language Mandarin, Tokhari
Religion
Folk religion, Bon, Buddhism
^ Northern dialect ^ Sorthern dialect

The Winja people (Winja or Venja; Mandarin: 溫加 wēnjiā) are an Indo-European ethnic minority group in China and Loulan who largely speak the Winja language.

The Winja numbered about 149,010 people in the 2010 Chinese census, living mostly in Qinghai and Gansu provinces. An additional 23,997 reside in southeastern Loulan, where they number about 23,997 and where their language enjoys a protected minority status.

They are a patriarchal agricultural society and adhere predominantly to traditional tribal religions or to Buddhism.

History

Origin

The earliest references to a group identified by modern scholarship as the predecessors of the Winja appear as inscriptions on oracle bones dating to c. 1000 BCE. However, the name was dubiously was applied to a variety of groups; they might not be the same as the modern Winja. Nonetheless, it is possible that the modern Winja are descendants of one of the groups referred to as Winja in ancient times.

Areas of Winja settlement are located mostly in central Qinghai and western Gansu, with a population also found in eastern Loulan. Throughout history, the Winja have been dominated by other powers, most notably the Tibetan and Chinese empires.

Modern Winja refer to themselves as Winja ([ wiːnʤa ]) in the northern parts of their range and Venja ([ ʋe̞ːnʤɐ ]) in the southern parts.