Folklore and cultural features of the ethnic identity of the Orochons and Manchus living from generation to generation in Heilongjiang Province

Tan Yanhui, Zhang Yang

Ethnic identity, formed in the minds of people, includes various cultural characteristics and determines the life-affirming positions of each person (belonging to a particular people), characteristic of the entire group and transmitted from generation to generation throughout ethnic history, which is expressed in a sense of belonging to a particular community and is reflected in ethnic ties. This article provides a theoretical analysis of the specifics of the origins of the ethnic identity of the Orochons (Orochens) and Manchus living in the lands of north-eastern China. Speaking about the historical transformations of the worldview of the indigenous population of Heilongjiang province and its leading ideas, it should be noted that the signs and evidence of the formation of the ethnic phenomenon of the described peoples are displayed mainly in the culture and, as a result, in the oral folk art of the Manchus and Orochons, as evidenced by religious-mythological, folklore-mythological and religious narratives. At the same time, the folklore traditions of the studied peoples, which since ancient times structure the ideas of the inhabitants of the Chinese province about the origin of the world and man, as well as consolidate their significant ideas about ethnogenesis, are considered by the authors in the system of the formation of their ethno-culture.

Keywords:folklore, culture, ethnic identity, Orochon (Orochen), Manchus, Heilongjiang Province.