ARCHIV ORIENTÁLNÍ. SUPPLEMENTA X, 2017 • 185 ISSN 0044-8699 ISBN 978-80-85425-66-6 © 2017 Oriental Institute (CAS), Prague Gtsang A rig 藏阿柔 – A Tibetan Tribe Classified as Mongol Ute Wallenböck INTRODUCTION In my years living and working in Amdo I have spent much of my time with members of the local population of Henan Mongolian Autonomous County (Henan Mengguzu Zizhixian 河南蒙古族自治县; Tib. Rma lho sog rigs rang skyong rdzong) 1 within the territory of the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Huangnan Zangzu Zizhizhou 黄南藏族自治州; Tib. Rma lho bod rigs rang skyong khul). The majority of the people from contemporary Henan County whom I have come to know refer to themselves as Sog po (Mongolian), 2 meaning “Western Mongols” 3 – regardless of whether they are actually of Mongolian or Tibetan origin. But during the course of the Tibetan Unrest period in 2008, as well as the self-immolations of Tibetans that followed, 4 I have observed a rising awareness of the distinctions that exist between being Bod pa (Tibetan) or Sog po. According to my informants, Tibetans are willing to express their dissatisfaction with the central government, whereas Mongols – at least Henan Mongols – appear to regard the centralized state with gratitude. Consequently, many of my 1 For further readings on the diverse topics with regard to the population of the Henan Mongolian Autonomous County – apart from the official Chinese documents – see Yangdon Dhondup, “Writers at the Cross-roads: The Mongolian-Tibetan Authors Tsering Dhondup and Jangbu”; Hildegard Diemberger, “Introduction: Mongols and Tibetans”; eadem, “Festivals and Their leaders: The Management of Tradition in the Mongolian/ Tibetan Borderland”; Shinjilt, “The Ethnic Reality in ‘Homemade Narration’”; Gerald Roche, “The Tibetanization of Henan’s Mongols: Ethnicity and Assimilation on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier”; and Ute Wallenböck, “Marginalisation at China’s Multi-Ethnic Frontier: The Mongols of Henan Mongolian Autonomous County in Qinghai Province.” 2 The Tibetan term Sog po for Mongols of modern-day Qinghai appears to be derived from the Sogdians (Sog dag). For a more detailed discussion on the Tibetan term Sog po, see Helmut Hoffmann, “The Tibetan Names of the Saka and the Sogdians”; and Marc A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization, 34. 3 Ṅag-dBaṅ-Blo-bZaṅ-rGya-mTSHo, translated by Zahiruddin, The Song of the Queen of Spring or A History of Tibet, 151. 4 For further readings, see Warren Smith, Tibet’s Last Stand? The Tibetan Uprising of 2008 and China’s Response; and Katia Buffetrille and Françoise Robin, Tibet is Burning. Self- immolation: Ritual or Political Protest. Chapter 7