View source for Kyrgyz people

{{Short description|Turkic ethnic group}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Kyrgyz people
| native_name      = {{lang|ky-Cyrl|кыргыздар}}<br />{{lang|ky-Latn|qyrğyzdar}}<br />{{nobold|{{lang|ky-Arab|قیرغیزدار}}}}
| image            = 2013-09-07 Falconer with his eagle in Barskoon valley, Kyrgyzstan 01.jpg
| image_caption    = Kyrgyz [[falconry|falconer]] in the [[Barskoon|Barskoon valley]]
| total            = {{circa|'''6–7 million'''}}
| region1          = {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}
| pop1             = 5.6 million (2024 est.)
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://kun.uz/en/news/2024/11/25/kyrgyzstans-population-climbs-to-over-725-million | title=Kyrgyzstan's population climbs to over 7.25 million }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stat.gov.kg/ru/publications/kratkij-statisticheskij-spravochnik-kyrgyzstan/ | title=Краткий статистический справочник «Кыргызстан» – Архив публикаций – Статистика Кыргызстана }}</ref>
| region2          = {{flag|Uzbekistan}}
| pop2             = 291,628 (2021 est.)
| ref2             = <ref>{{cite web | url=https://data.egov.uz/eng/data/6117a05996188a0f14ac917b?page=1 | title=Permanent population by national and / Or ethnic group, urban / Rural place of residence }}</ref>
| region3          = {{flag|China}}
| pop3             = 204,402 (2020 census)
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web |language=zh-hans |url=http://www.xjtj.gov.cn/sjcx/tjnj_3415/2016xjtjnj/rkjy/201707/t20170714_539451.html |script-title=zh:新疆维吾尔自治区统计局 |publisher=Xinjiang Bureau of Statistics |access-date=3 September 2017 |archive-date=1 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101140146/http://www.xjtj.gov.cn/sjcx/tjnj_3415/2016xjtjnj/rkjy/201707/t20170714_539451.html }}</ref>
| region4          = {{flag|Russia}}
| pop4             = 148,516 (2021 census)
| ref4             = <ref name=census2021>{{cite web|title=Национальный состав населения|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref>
| region5          = {{flag|Tajikistan}}
| pop5             = 38,600 (2020 census)<!--Calculated value-->
| ref5             = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/WS10RizoevENG.pdf |title=Dissemination of the Republic of Tajikistan Population and Housing Census Data 2020 |first=N. M. |last=Rizoev |publisher=Presidential Statistical Agency of the Republic of Tajikistan |language=en |year=2020 |access-date=26 August 2025}}</ref>
| region6          = {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
| pop6             = 38,606 (2024 est.)
| ref6             = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://stat.gov.kz/api/iblock/element/178068/file/en/ |title=Kazakhstan population by ethnic groups |work=Demographic Statistics |series=18 |publisher=Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Bureau of National Statistics |date=22 April 2024 |access-date=26 August 2025}}</ref>
| region7         = {{flag|Turkey}}
| pop7            = 23,802 (2024)
| ref7            = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://nip.tuik.gov.tr/?value=TabiiyetYabanciNufus |title=Tabiiyete Göre Yabancı Nüfus |language=tr |trans-title=Foreign Population by Nationality |publisher=[[Turkish Statistical Institute]] |access-date=12 October 2025}}</ref>
| languages        = [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]
| religions        = Predominantly [[Islam]]{{sfn|West|2009|p=440}}{{sfn|Mitchell|2012|pp=23–24}}
| native_name_lang = 
| related_groups   = [[Teleuts]], [[Telengits]], [[Altai people|Altai-Kizhi]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Siberian Tatars]], and other [[Turkic peoples]], along with [[Sart Kalmyks]]
}}

The '''Kyrgyz people''' (also spelled '''Kyrghyz''', '''Kirgiz''', and '''Kirghiz'''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɪər|ɡ|ɪ|z}} {{respell|KEER|giz}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɜr|ɡ|ɪ|z}} {{respell|KUR|giz}}; {{Langx|ky|Кыргыздар}}; قیرغیزدار)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/kyrgyz|title = Kyrgyz|access-date=31 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kyrgyz |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/kyrgyz_n?tab=factsheet#39939238 |publisher=OED |access-date=31 March 2024}}</ref> are a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] [[ethnic group]] native to [[Central Asia]]. They primarily reside in [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], and [[China]].{{Efn|The Pamiri Kyrgyz people of Pakistan and Afghanistan make up a notable minority.}} A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in [[Russia]], [[Tajikistan]], and [[Kazakhstan]]. They speak the [[Kyrgyz language]], which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Report: Mapping of Kyrgyz Diaspora Compatriots and Migrants Abroad 2021 {{!}} United Nations in Kyrgyz Republic |url=https://kyrgyzstan.un.org/en/159272-report-mapping-kyrgyz-diaspora-compatriots-and-migrants-abroad-2021,%20https://kyrgyzstan.un.org/en/159272-report-mapping-kyrgyz-diaspora-compatriots-and-migrants-abroad-2021 |access-date=17 May 2024 |website=kyrgyzstan.un.org |language=en}}</ref>

The earliest people known as "Kyrgyz" were the descendants of several Central Asian tribes, first emerging in western [[Mongolia]] around 201&nbsp;BC. Modern Kyrgyz people are descended in part from the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]] that lived in the [[Yenisey]] river valley in [[Siberia]]. The Kyrgyz people were constituents of the [[Tiele people]], the [[Göktürks]], and the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] before establishing the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate]] in the 9th century, and later a Kyrgyz khanate in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fahlbusch |first1=Erwin |last6=Bromiley |first6=Geoffrey W. |last2=Lochman |first2=Jan Milíč |last3=Mbiti |first3=John |last4=Pelikan |first4=Jaroslav |last7=Barrett |first7=David B. |first5=Lukas |last5=Vischer|title=The Encyclopedia of Christianity |date=2003 |publisher=Eerdmans and Brill |isbn=978-0-8028-2415-8 |page=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ly4DgtT3LkC&pg=PA144 |language=en}} "Various Kyrgyz tribes began creating an independent khanate during the 15th century with a distinctive Kyrgyz language."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Everett-Heath |first1=Tom |title=Central Asia: Aspects of Transition |date=8 December 2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-79823-9 |page=107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lF2QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA107 |language=en}} "Chingis Khan and his Mongol descendants held sway over the area from the thirteenth century until the fifteenth century, when an autonomous Kyrgyz khanate was established."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Victoria R. |title=Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes] |date=24 February 2020 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-6118-5 |page=608 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3_zRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA608 |language=en}} "In 1510, the Kyrgyz threw off Oirat rule and established a Kyrgyz khanate in 1514."</ref>
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== Etymology ==
There are several theories on the origin of [[ethnonym]] ''Kyrgyz''. It is often said to be derived from the [[Turkic languages|Turkic word]] ''kyrk'' ("forty"), with -''iz'' being an old plural suffix, so ''Kyrgyz'' literally means "a collection of forty tribes".{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1990|p=108}} It also means "imperishable", "inextinguishable", "immortal", "unconquerable" or "unbeatable", as well as its association with the epic hero [[Epic of Manas|Manas]], who – according to a [[founding myth]] – unified the 40 tribes against the [[Khitan people|Khitans]]. A rival myth, recorded in 1370 in the ''[[History of Yuan]]'', concerns 40 women born on a [[steppe]] motherland.<ref>Zuev, Yu.A., ''Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8–10th centuries)'', Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 103 {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

[[File:Ala-Bel pass, Kyrgyzstan (29561433347).jpg|thumb|Nomads in Kyrgyzstan]]
The earliest records of the ethnonym appear to have been the Chinese transcriptions ''Gekun'' ({{lang|zh|鬲昆}}, [[Eastern Han Chinese|LH]] *''kek-kuən'' < [[Old Chinese]]: *''krêk-kûn'') and ''Jiankun'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|堅昆}}, [[Eastern Han Chinese|LH]] *''ken-kuən'' < [[Old Chinese|OC]]: *''kên-kûn''). Those suggest that the original ethnonym was *''kirkur ~ kirgur'' and/or *''kirkün'', and another transcription ''Jiegu'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|結骨}}, [[Middle Chinese|EMC]]: *''kέt-kwət'') suggests *''kirkut / kirgut''. [[Yury Zuev]] proposed that the ethnonym possibly means 'field people, field [[Huns]]' (cf. [[Tiele people|Tiele]] tribal name 渾 ''Hún'' < [[Middle Chinese|MC]] *''ɣuən'').<ref>Zuev Yu.A., ''Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms'' (translation of 8–10th century Chinese Tanghuiyao), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 103, 128 (in Russian)</ref> [[Peter Benjamin Golden|Peter Golden]] reconstructs *''Qïrğïz'' < *''Qïrqïz''< *''Qïrqïŕ'' and suggests a derivation from [[Old Turkic]] ''qır'' 'gray' (horse color) plus suffix ''-q(X)r/ğ(X)r'' ~ ''k(X)z/g(X)z''.<ref name="Golden2017">{{cite journal|last= Golden|first= Peter B.|title= The Turkic World in Mahmûd al-Kâshgarî|journal= Türkologiya 4|year= 2017|page= 16|url= https://www.turkologiya.org/saylar/turkologiya-2017-4.pdf|access-date= 29 August 2020|archive-date= 3 April 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220403091810/https://www.turkologiya.org/saylar/turkologiya-2017-4.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Golden2018">Golden, Peter B. (August 2018). "The Ethnogonic Tales of the Türks". ''The Medieval History Journal'', 21(2): 302.</ref> Besides, Chinese scholars later used a number of different transcriptions for the Kyrgyz people: these include ''Gegu'' (紇骨), ''Jiegu'' (結骨), ''Hegu'' (紇骨), ''Hegusi'' (紇扢斯), ''Hejiasi'' (紇戛斯), ''Hugu'' (護骨), ''Qigu'' (契骨), or ''Juwu'' (居勿), and then, during the reign of [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] [[Emperor Wuzong of Tang|Emperor Wuzong]], ''Xiajiasi'' (黠戛斯), said to mean "red face".<ref name="lung"/><ref>Theobald, Ulrich (2012). [http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Altera/kirgizes.html "Xiajiasi 黠戛斯, Qirqiz"] for ''ChinaKnowledge.de – An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art''</ref> [[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]] surmises that "red face" was possibly a [[folk etymology]] provided by an interpreter who explained the ethnonym based on [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] ''qïzïl'' ~ ''qizqil'', meaning 'red'.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1990|p=105}} By the time of the [[Mongol Empire]], the ethnonym's original meaning had apparently been forgotten – as was shown by variations in readings of it across different reductions of the ''History of Yuan''. This may have led to the adoption of ''Kyrgyz'' and its mythical explanation.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

During the 18th and 19th centuries, European writers used the early Romanized form  ''Kirghiz'' – from the contemporary Russian {{lang|ru|киргизы}} – to refer not only to the modern Kyrgyz, but also to their more numerous northern relatives, the [[Kazakhs]]. When distinction had to be made, more specific terms were used:
the Kyrgyz proper were known as the ''[[Kara-Kirghiz Autonomous Oblast|Kara-Kirghiz]]'' ("Black Kirghiz", from the colour of their tents),<ref name=EB11/>
and the Kazakhs were named the {{Interlanguage link|Kirghiz-Kaisak|lt=|kk|Қырғыз-қайсақ}}<ref>{{Cite book
| first1     = Chokan Chingisovich |last1=Valikhanov |first2=Mikhail Ivanovich |last2=Venyukov
| display-authors=etal |name-list-style=and
| translator1= John Michell |translator2=Robert Michell
| publisher  = Edward Stanford |year=1865
| title      = The Russians in Central Asia: their occupation of the Kirghiz steppe and the line of the Syr-Daria: their political relations with Khiva, Bokhara, and Kokan: also descriptions of Chinese Turkestan and Dzungaria
| url        = https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.83064
| pages      = [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.83064/page/n293 271]–273}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[Vasily Bartold]] |chapter-url=http://www.kyrgyz.ru/?page=75 |script-chapter=ru:Тянь-Шаньские киргизы в XVIII и XIX веках |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102190052/http://www.kyrgyz.ru/?page=75 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |trans-chapter=The Tian Shan Kirghiz in the 18th and 19th centuries |script-title=ru:Киргизы. Исторический очерк |trans-title=The Kyrgyz: an historical outline |series=Collected Works of V. Bartold, Vol. II, part 1 |year=1963 |pages=65–80 |language=ru}}</ref> or "Kirghiz-Kazak".<ref name=EB11>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Kirghiz |volume=15 |pages=827–829}}</ref>

== Origins ==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2024}}
[[File:A Kyrgyz woman.JPG|thumb|upright|A Kyrgyz woman]]
{{See also|Turkic_migration#Origin_theories}}

The Kyrgyz are a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic ethnic group]]. It has been suggested Turkic peoples either descended from pastoralist or farming populations in [[Altaic]] (re-labelled as Transeurasian) hypothesis,{{sfn|Robbeets|2017|pp=216–218}}{{sfn|Robbeets|2020}} and the Altaic hypothesis has been widely rejected.<ref>{{cite book |last=Georg |first=Stefan |year=2023 |chapter=Connections between Uralic and Other Language Families |editor1=Daniel Abondolo |editor2=Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi |title=The Uralic Languages |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=176–209 |doi=10.4324/9781315625096-4|isbn=978-1-315-62509-6 }}</ref> [[Turkic migration|Turkic urheimat]] has been suggested to be placed somewhere between [[Transcaspian Oblast|Transcaspian Steppe]] and [[Manchuria]];<ref name="Yunusbayev2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Yunusbayev |first1=Bayazit |last2=Metspalu |first2=Mait |last3=Metspalu |first3=Ene |last4=Valeev |first4=Albert |last5=Litvinov |first5=Sergei |last6=Valiev |first6=Ruslan |last7=Akhmetova |first7=Vita |last8=Balanovska |first8=Elena |last9=Balanovsky |first9=Oleg |date=21 April 2015 |title=The Genetic Legacy of the Expansion of Turkic-Speaking Nomads across Eurasia |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=11 |issue=4 |article-number=e1005068 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005068 |issn=1553-7390 |pmc=4405460 |pmid=25898006 |quote=The origin and early dispersal history of the Turkic peoples is disputed, with candidates for their ancient homeland ranging from the Transcaspian steppe to Manchuria in Northeast Asia, |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Amur]] or [[Northeast China]] also are amongst the suggestions{{sfn|Nelson et al.|2020}}{{sfn|Li et al.|2020}}{{sfn|Uchiyama et al.|2020}} alongside with [[South Siberia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=He |first1=Guang-Lin |last2=Wang |first2=Meng-Ge |last3=Zou |first3=Xing |last4=Yeh |first4=Hui-Yuan |last5=Liu |first5=Chang-Hui |last6=Liu |first6=Chao |last7=Chen |first7=Gang |last8=Wang |first8=Chuan-Chao |date=January 2023 |title=Extensive ethnolinguistic diversity at the crossroads of North China and South Siberia reflects multiple sources of genetic diversity |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jse.12827 |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=230–250 |doi=10.1111/jse.12827 |bibcode=2023JSyEv..61..230H |issn=1674-4918|url-access=subscription }}</ref> By the early 1st millennium BC, these peoples had become [[equestrian nomads]].{{sfn|Robbeets|2017|pp=216-218}} In subsequent centuries, the steppe populations of [[Central Asia]] appear to have been progressively [[Turkification|Turkified]] by an [[East Asian people|East Asian]] [[dominant minority]] moving out of Mongolia.<ref name="Damgaard_Conclusion">{{harvnb|Damgaard et al.|2018|pp=4–5}}. "These results suggest that Turkic cultural customs were imposed by an East Asian minority elite onto central steppe nomad populations... The wide distribution of the Turkic languages from Northwest China, Mongolia and Siberia in the east to Turkey and Bulgaria in the west implies large-scale migrations out of the homeland in Mongolia.</ref><ref name="Kuang_Lee_197">{{harvnb|Lee|Kuang|2017|p=197}}. "Both Chinese histories and modern dna studies indicate that the early and medieval Turkic peoples were made up of heterogeneous populations. The Turkicisation of central and western Eurasia was not the product of migrations involving a homogeneous entity, but that of language diffusion."</ref>

The oldest notes about a definite mention of the Kyrgyz ethnonym originate from the 6th century. The Kyrgyz as an ethnic group are mentioned quite unambiguously during the time of [[Genghis Khan]]'s rule (1162–1227), when their name replaces the former name Khakas.{{sfn|Kokaisl|Kokaislova|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XRXVbGwPgqIC&pg=PA132 132]}}
[[File:YurtIssykFamily.jpg|thumb|right|A Kyrgyz family]]
18th-century Qing administrators referred to the Kyrgyz by the name ''Bulute''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hostetler |first1=Laura |title=Writing Travel in Central Asian History |date=2014 |publisher=Indiana University Press |editor1-last=Green |editor1-first=Nile |location=Bloomington |page=111 |chapter=Central Asians in the Eighteenth-Century ''Qing Imperial Illustrations of Tributary Peoples''}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wen |first1=Shao-Qing |last2=Du |first2=Pan-xin |last3=Sun |first3=Chang |last4=Cui |first4=Wei |last5=Xu |first5=Yi-ran |last6=Meng |first6=Hai-liang |last7=Shi |first7=Mei-sen |last8=Zhu |first8=Bo-feng |last9=Li |first9=Hui |date=September 2021 |title=Dual origins of the Northwest Chinese Kyrgyz: the admixture of Bronze age Siberian and Medieval Niru'un Mongolian Y chromosomes |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354654630 |journal=Journal of Human Genetics |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=175–180 |doi=10.1038/s10038-021-00979-x |pmid=34531527 |access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref>

=== Possible Yenisei Kyrgyz affiliation ===
The [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]], whose 9–10th century migration to the [[Tian Shan|Tienshan area]] was of "particularly great importance for the formative process" of the modern Kyrgyz,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bernshtam |first1=A. |title=On the Origins of the Kyrgyz People |journal=Советская этнография |date=1955 |volume=2 |pages=16–26}}</ref> have their origins in the western parts of modern-day [[Mongolia]] and first appear in written records in the Chinese annals of the [[Sima Qian]]'s ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (compiled 109–91 BCE) as ''Gekun'' ({{lang|zh-hant|鬲昆}}, {{lang|zh-hant|隔昆}}) or ''Jiankun'' ({{lang|zh-hant|堅昆}}).<ref name="lung">{{cite book |access-date=15 June 2012|title=Interpreters in Early Imperial China|author=Rachel Lung|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qsNoHtgkGPkC&pg=PA108|year=2011|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=978-90-272-2444-6 |page=108}}</ref> The Middle Age Chinese composition ''[[Tang Huiyao]]'' of the 8–10th century transcribed the name "Kyrgyz" as ''Jiegu'' (Kirgut), and their [[tamga]] was depicted as identical to the tamga of the present-day Kyrgyz tribes Azyk, Bugu, Cherik, Sary Bagysh and a few others.{{sfn|Abramzon|1971|p=45}}

The description of the Yenisei Kyrgyz as "large, with red hair, white faces, and green or blue eyes" in the [[New Book of Tang]] (11th century) have tempted a number of researchers to assume that the Kyrgyz may have originally been non-Turkic or at least an ethnically mixed people with a large non-Turkic element.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Drompp |first=Michael |date=1 January 2002 |title=The Yenisei Kyrgyz from Early Times to the Mongol Conquest |url=https://www.academia.edu/10197431 |journal=Early Ages}}</ref> The ''New Book of Tang'' did not consider the Yenisei Kyrgyz to be the same as the [[Tiele people]], but states that they had the same language and script as the [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghurs]], who were part of the Tiele tribes. The Yenisei Kyrgyz were described to look similar to the neighboring "Boma tribe" ([[Basmyl]]), who did not share the same language, implying that the Yenisei Kyrgyz may have originally been a non-Turkic people. According to the '''You yang za zu''' by Duan Chengshi in the 9th century AD, the Yenisei Kyrgyz were not of wolf descent, unlike the [[Göktürks|Türks]], but were born in a cave north of the Quman Mountain as the offspring of a god and a cow. Based on these historical descriptions, Lee & Kuang suggest that the Yenisei Kyrgyz were turcophone, but may have been of non-Turkic origin, and were [[Turkified]] through inter-tribal marriage.{{sfn|Lee|Kuang|2017}} Contemporary Persian writer [[Gardizi]] recounted a legend that ascribed these traits to [[Saqaliba]] ancestry in the tribe.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources |date=2009 |editor1-last=Levi |editor1-first=Scott C. |location=Bloomington, IN |page=62 |editor2-last=Sela |editor2-first=Ron}}</ref>

In 840, a revolt led by the Yenisei Kyrgyz brought down the Uyghur Khaganate, and brought the Yenisei Kyrgyz to a dominating position in the former [[Second Turkic Khaganate]]. With the rise to power, the center of the Kyrgyz Khaganate moved to [[Jetisu|Jeti-su]], and brought about a spread south of the Kyrgyz to [[Tian Shan]] and [[Xinjiang]], bringing them into contact with the existing peoples of what is now [[Western China]], especially the [[Tibetan Empire]].

The [[Khagan]]s of the Yenisei Kirghiz Khaganate claimed descent from the Han Chinese general [[Li Ling]], which was mentioned in the diplomatic correspondence between the Kirghiz khagan and the [[Tang dynasty]] emperor, since the Tang imperial Li family claimed descent from Li Ling's grandfather, [[Li Guang]].<ref>(黠戛斯已破回鹘，得太和公主；又自以李陵后，与唐同宗，故遣使者达干奉主来归。) ''Xin Tang Shu'', vol.217, part 2.</ref> The Kirghiz qaghan assisted the Tang dynasty in destroying the Uyghur Khaganate and rescuing the [[Princess Taihe]] from the [[Uyghurs]]. They also killed a Uyghur khagan in the process.

Then Kyrgyz quickly moved as far as the [[Tian Shan]] range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. In the 12th century, however, Kyrgyz domination had shrunk to the [[Altay Mountains|Altai]] and [[Sayan Mountains]] as a result of [[Mongol]] expansion. With the rise of the [[Mongol Empire]] in the 13th century, the Kyrgyz migrated south. In 1207, after the establishment of ''Yekhe Mongol Ulus'' (Mongol empire), Genghis Khan's oldest son [[Jochi]] occupied Kyrgyzstan without resistance. The state remained a Mongol vassal until the late 14th century. Various [[Turkic peoples]] ruled them until 1685, when they came under the control of the [[Oirats]] ([[Dzungars]]), which lasted until [[Dzungar genocide|1757]]. Many Kyrgyz tribes that had fled the Dzungars returned to modern Kyrgyzstan at this time.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prior |first1=Daniel |date=September 2006 |title=Heroes, Chieftains, and the Roots of Kirghiz Nationalism |journal=Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=74}}</ref>
[[File:Kyrgyz women offering butter and salt.jpg|thumb|Kyrgyz women offering butter and salt]]
By the 16th century, the carriers of the ethnonym ''Kirgiz'' lived in South [[Siberia]], Xinjiang, Tian Shan, [[Pamir-Alay]], [[Middle Asia]], [[Urals]] (among [[Bashkirs]]), and in [[Kazakhstan]].{{sfn|Abramzon|1971|p=31}} In the Tian Shan and Xinjiang area, the term ''Kyrgyz'' retained its unifying political designation, and became a general ethnonym for the Yenisei Kirgiz and other Turkic tribes that presently constitute the Kyrgyz population.{{sfn|Abramzon|1971|pp=80–81}} Though it is impossible to directly identify the [[Yenisei]] and [[Tien Shan]] Kyrgyz, a trace of their ethnogenetical connections is apparent in archaeology, history, language and ethnography. A majority of modern researchers came to the conclusion that the ancestors of Kyrgyz tribes had their origin in the most ancient tribal unions of [[Sakas]]/[[Scythians]], [[Wusun]]/[[Issedones]], [[Dingling]], [[Mongols]], and [[Huns]].{{sfn|Abramzon|1971|p=30}}

=== Genetics ===
[[File:KyrgyzEagleHuntsman.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Kyrgyz eagle hunter]]

==== Haplogroups ====
The genetic makeup of the Kyrgyz is consistent with their origin as a mix of tribes.<ref name="stanford">{{cite journal|title=The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity|year=2001 |vauthors=Wells RS, Yuldasheva N, Ruzibakiev R, Underhill PA, Evseeva I, Blue-Smith J, Jin L, Su B, Pitchappan R, Shanmugalakshmi S, Balakrishnan K, Read M, Pearson NM, Zerjal T, Webster MT, Zholoshvili I, Jamarjashvili E, Gambarov S, Nikbin B, Dostiev A, Aknazarov O, Zalloua P, Tsoy I, Kitaev M, Mirrakhimov M, Chariev A, Bodmer WF |display-authors=5 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=98 |issue=18 |pages=10244–9 |pmid=11526236 |pmc=56946 |bibcode=2001PNAS...9810244W |doi=10.1073/pnas.171305098 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>Day, J. (2001). Indo-european origins: The anthropological evidence. Inst for the Study of Man. {{ISBN|978-0941694759}}.</ref> For instance, 63% of modern Kyrgyz men of [[Jumgal District]]<ref>Figure 7c in {{cite journal |doi=10.1086/342096 |title=A Genetic Landscape Reshaped by Recent Events: Y-Chromosomal Insights into Central Asia |year=2002 |last1=Zerjal |first1=Tatiana |last2=Wells |first2=R. Spencer |last3=Yuldasheva |first3=Nadira |last4=Ruzibakiev |first4=Ruslan |last5=Tyler-Smith |first5=Chris |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=466–82 |pmid=12145751 |pmc=419996}}</ref> belong to the paternal [[haplogroup R1a1]]. Low diversity of Kyrgyz R1a1 indicates a [[founder effect]] within the historical period.<ref name="centralasialandscape">{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/342096 |title=A Genetic Landscape Reshaped by Recent Events: Y-Chromosomal Insights into Central Asia |year=2002 |last1=Zerjal |first1=Tatiana |last2=Wells |first2=R. Spencer |last3=Yuldasheva |first3=Nadira |last4=Ruzibakiev |first4=Ruslan |last5=Tyler-Smith |first5=Chris |journal=[[The American Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=466–82 |pmid=12145751 |pmc=419996}}</ref> Other groups of Kyrgyz especially Southwest Kyrgyz show a considerably lower frequency of haplogroup R.<ref>Deka, Papiha, Chakraborty, R. S. R. (2012). Genomic diversity: Applications in human population genetics. (1st ed.). Springer. {{ISBN|978-1461369141}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|author=Balaganskaya Olga Alekseevna|date=2011|title=ПОЛИМОРФИЗМ Y Хромосомы У Тюркоязычного Населения Алтая, Саян, Тянь-Шаня И Памира В Контексте Взаимодействия Генофондов Западной И Восточной Евразии |trans-title=Y Chromosome Polymorphism In The Turkish-Speaking Population Of Altai, Sayan, Tien-Shan And Pamirs In The Context Of Interaction Of The Gene Pools Of Western And Eastern Eurasia|language=ru|place=Moscow |url=http://med-gen.ru/ar/ar_BalaganskayaOA.doc|access-date=24 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524122607/http://med-gen.ru/ar/ar_BalaganskayaOA.doc|archive-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> The other main haplogroups of modern Kyrgyz are [[haplogroup C-M217]] at 12–20%, [[haplogroup O-M175]] at 0–15%, and [[haplogroup N-M231]] at around 4.5%.{{sfn|Lee|Kuang|2017}}

Depending on the geographical location of samples, West Eurasian [[mtDNA haplogroup]] lineages make up 27% to 42.6% in the Kyrgyz,<ref name="Genetic Structure"/> with haplogroup [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|mtDNA H]] being the most predominant West Eurasian mtDNA haplogroup at about 14.2% (range 8.3% Talas to 21.3% Sary-Tash) among the Kyrgyz. However, the majority of Kyrgyz belong to East Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups, with mtDNA [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|haplogroup D]] (approx. 20.2%,<ref name="Genetic Structure"/><ref name="Guo2020">{{cite journal |vauthors=Guo Y, Xia Z, Cui W, Chen C, Jin X, Zhu B |title=Joint Genetic Analyses of Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosome Molecular Markers for a Population from Northwest China |journal=Genes |date=2020 |volume=11 |issue=5 |page=564 |doi=10.3390/genes11050564|pmid=32443545 |pmc=7290686 |doi-access=free }}</ref> range 14.6% Talas to 25.5% Sary-Tash<ref name="Genetic Structure"/>) and D4 in particular (approx. 18.5%<ref name="Genetic Structure"/><ref name="Guo2020"/>) being the most frequent Eastern Eurasian lineage among them.<ref name="Genetic Structure">Table 2 in {{cite journal |title=Different Matrilineal Contributions to Genetic Structure of Ethnic Groups in the Silk Road Region in China |last1=Yao |first1=Yong-Gang |last2=Kong |first2=Qing-Peng |last3=Wang |first3=Cheng-Ye |last4=Zhu |first4=Chun-Ling |last5=Zhang |first5=Ya-Ping |journal=[[Mol Biol Evol]] |year=2004 |volume=21 |issue=12 |pages=2265–2280 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msh238 |pmid=15317881 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Population structure of Turkic-speaking populations in the context of their geographic neighbors across Eurasia.PNG|thumb|Population structure of Turkic-speaking populations in the context of their geographic neighbors across Eurasia; modern Kyrgyz derive the majority of ancestry from Ancient Northeast Asian sources, compactible with the inferred Turkic homeland in 'Southern Siberia and Mongolia'.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yunusbayev |first1=Bayazit |last2=Metspalu |first2=Mait |last3=Metspalu |first3=Ene |last4=Valeev |first4=Albert |last5=Litvinov |first5=Sergei |last6=Valiev |first6=Ruslan |last7=Akhmetova |first7=Vita |last8=Balanovska |first8=Elena |last9=Balanovsky |first9=Oleg |last10=Turdikulova |first10=Shahlo |last11=Dalimova |first11=Dilbar |last12=Nymadawa |first12=Pagbajabyn |last13=Bahmanimehr |first13=Ardeshir |last14=Sahakyan |first14=Hovhannes |last15=Tambets |first15=Kristiina |date=21 April 2015 |title=The Genetic Legacy of the Expansion of Turkic-Speaking Nomads across Eurasia |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |article-number=e1005068 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1005068 |doi-access=free |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=4405460 |pmid=25898006}}</ref>]]

==== Autosomal DNA ====
A 2011 study of autosomal ancestry found that East Eurasian ancestry is predominant in most Kyrgyz living in Kyrgyzstan. East Eurasian ancestry makes up roughly two-thirds with exceptions of Kyrgyz living in Tajikistan and the western areas of Kyrgyzstan, where it forms only half.<ref>{{cite journal| pmc=3025785| pmid=20823912| doi=10.1038/ejhg.2010.153 |volume=19 |issue=2 |title=In the heartland of Eurasia: the multilocus genetic landscape of Central Asian populations |year=2011 |journal=Eur J Hum Genet |pages=216–223 |vauthors=Martínez-Cruz B, Vitalis R, Ségurel L, Austerlitz F, Georges M, Théry S, Quintana-Murci L, Hegay T, Aldashev A, Nasyrova F, Heyer E}}</ref> A 2022 study found that Kyrgyz people derive most of their ancestry from Northern East Asian sources. Kyrgyz from China were found to have more West Eurasian-like ancestry than the Kyrgyz from Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz are inferred to derive most of their ancestry from "Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age populations from northern China and Mongolia" (59.3–69.8%), suggesting "genetic continuity" with them. Their West Eurasian-like ancestry (24.9–37.5%) is represented by a combination of Bronze Age [[Western Steppe Herders]] and "Iranian Farmer-related" ancestries ([[Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex|BMAC]]). They also harbor minor ancestry associated with the earliest [[Tarim mummies]] (3.2–5.3%).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dai |first1=Shan-Shan |last2=Sulaiman |first2=Xierzhatijiang |last3=Isakova |first3=Jainagul |last4=Xu |first4=Wei-Fang |last5=Abdulloevich |first5=Najmudinov Tojiddin |last6=Afanasevna |first6=Manilova Elena |last7=Ibrohimovich |first7=Khudoidodov Behruz |last8=Chen |first8=Xi |last9=Yang |first9=Wei-Kang |last10=Wang |first10=Ming-Shan |last11=Shen |first11=Quan-Kuan |last12=Yang |first12=Xing-Yan |last13=Yao |first13=Yong-Gang |last14=Aldashev |first14=Almaz A |last15=Saidov |first15=Abdusattor |last16=Chen |first16=Wei |last17=Cheng |first17=Lu-Feng |last18=Peng |first18=Min-Sheng |last19=Zhang |first19=Ya-Ping |title=The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |date=1 September 2022 |volume=39 |issue=9 |article-number=msac179 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msac179 |pmid=36006373 |pmc=9469894 |url=https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/9/msac179/6675590}} "The Kyrgyz individuals from China/Kyrgyzstan distribute in the center of PCA and cluster largely according to their geographic locations. The Kyrgyz of China cluster closer with Europeans and South Asians indicating that they have a higher proportion of west Eurasian component than the Kyrgyz of Kyrgyzstan."</ref>

A 2023 study analyzed the genome of 70 Kyrgyz individuals from [[Southern Xinjiang]] (SXJK). The authors found that the SXJK samples display genetic heterogenity and form two clusters along a 'Turkic cline', which stretched from [[East Asian people|East Asians]] at the one end to "[[Indo-Europeans]]" at the other end. The main cluster had 63.3–83.3% [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] ancestry, with the remainder ancestry being derived from West Eurasian (Western Steppe Herders) and Tarim_EMBA-like sources, and displayed high genetic affinity to [[Kazakhs]] and contemporary Kyrgyz from Kyrgyzstan. The secondary cluster had 47.2–55.6% Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry and higher West Eurasian ancestry, particularly via additional BMAC-related admixture (9.1–27.8%), and clustered closer to modern [[Uyghurs]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Halili |first1=Bubibatima |last2=Yang |first2=Xiaomin |last3=Wang |first3=Rui |last4=Zhu |first4=Kongyang |last5=Hai |first5=Xiangjun |last6=Wang |first6=Chuan-Chao |date=August 2023 |title=Inferring the population history of Kyrgyz in Xinjiang, Northwest China from genome-wide array genotyping |journal=American Journal of Biological Anthropology |volume=181 |issue=4 |pages=611–625 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.24794 |issn=2692-7691 |pmid=37310136 |quote=Both Kyrgyz_SXJ and Kyrgyz_o1 could be modeled as the admixture between ANA/Baikal_EBA and post-EBA WSHs (Sintashta/Alan), with higher proportions of ANA ancestry ranging from 63.3% in Kyrgyz_o1 to 83.3% in Kyrgyz_SXJ, while Kyrgyz_o2 required the third ancestry from Central Asian (represented by Turkmenistan_Gonur_BA_2 and Turkmenistan_Gonur_BA_1, 9.1%–27.8%) with the proportion of ANA decreasing to 42.7%–55.6%}}</ref>

== Religion ==
{{main|Religion in Kyrgyzstan}}
{{Further|Islam in Kyrgyzstan|Christianity in Kyrgyzstan}}
[[File:Mešita v Tokmoku.jpg|thumb|A mosque in [[Tokmok]], Kyrgyzstan]]
Kyrgyz are predominantly [[Muslim]]s of the [[Hanafi school]] of [[Sunni Islam]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148795.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123110800/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148795.htm |archive-date=23 November 2010 |title=Kyrgyz Republic |publisher=U.S. Department of State |work=International Religious Freedom Report 2010}}</ref> [[Islam in Kyrgyzstan|Islam]] was first introduced by Arab traders who travelled along the [[Silk Road]] in the 7th and 8th centuries. In the 8th century, orthodox Islam reached the [[Fergana Valley]] with the [[Uzbeks]]. However, in the 10th-century Persian text ''[[Hudud al-'Alam]]'', the Kyrgyz were still described as a people who "venerate the Fire and burn the dead".<ref name="anthology">{{cite book |author=Scott Cameron Levi, Ron Sela |title=Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources |chapter=Chapter 4, Discourse on the Qïrghïz Country |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAX5ohFkcVgC&pg=PA30 |page=30 |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-253-35385-6 }}</ref>

The Kyrgyz began to convert to Islam in the mid-17th century. Sufi missionaries played an important role in the conversion. By the 19th century, the Kyrgyz were considered devout Muslims and some performed the [[Hajj]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union|last=Akiner|first=Shirin|publisher=Routledge|year=1986|isbn=0-7103-0188-X|location=London|pages=328, 337}}</ref>

[[Atheism]] has some following in the northern regions under Russian communist influence. A few cultural rituals of [[Shamanism]] are practiced to this day, particularly in Central Kyrgyzstan. During a July 2007 interview, [[Bermet Akayeva]], the daughter of [[Askar Akayev]], the former President of Kyrgyzstan, stated that Islam was increasingly taking root, even in the northern regions which had been under communist influence.<ref name="eurasianet.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav071707a.shtml |title=Eurasianet Civil Society – Kyrgyzstan: Time to Ponder a Federal System |website=www.eurasianet.org |access-date=3 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106225225/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav071707a.shtml |archive-date=6 November 2010 }}</ref> She emphasized that many [[mosque]]s have been built and that the Kyrgyz are "increasingly devoting themselves to Islam".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wluml.org/node/3892|title=Kyrgyzstan: An interview with Bermet Akayeva, daughter of ex-president Askar Akayev {{!}} Women Reclaiming and Redefining Cultures|website=WLUML |agency= EurasiaNet  |first1=Timothy |last1=Kenny |first2=Ruslan |last2=Myatiyev |first3=Bermet |last3=Akayeva |date=17 July 2007 |language=en|access-date=18 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318173032/http://www.wluml.org/node/3892 |archive-date= 18 March 2017 }}</ref>

Many ancient indigenous beliefs and practices, including shamanism and [[totemism]], coexisted syncretically with Islam. Shamans, most of whom are women, still play a prominent role at funerals, memorials, and other ceremonies and rituals. This split between the northern and southern Kyrgyz in their religious adherence to Muslim practices can still be seen today. Likewise, the Sufi order of Islam has been one of the most active Muslim groups in Kyrgyzstan for more than a century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tradition and Changing Ideals Collide in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/04/tradition-and-changing-ideals-collide-in-post-soviet-kyrgyzstan/ |access-date=24 March 2024 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Safavid Iran exerted some religious and cultural influence into Central Asia. This influence reached certain Turkic tribes, including some Kyrgyz clans, leading to their conversion to Shia Islam. Twelverism was dominant among the Kyrgyz Shias.<ref>Mansoor, Alexandre Y. Religion and Identity in Central Asia: Turkic Shia Communities in the Shadow of Empires. pp. 89–92. Central Asian Studies Press, 2017.</ref> Some Kyrgyz Shias in the Pamir Mountains and adjacent areas were influenced by Nizari Ismaili teachings.<ref>Khalid, Adeeb. Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia. pp. 134–135. University of California Press, 2007.</ref> The Kyrgyz tribes located near Badakhshan, Hazarajat, and parts of Tajikistan came into contact with established Ismaili Shia communities.<ref>Ritter, William S. The Turkic Peoples of Central Asia: Their Historical and Religious Diversity. pp. 203–207. Routledge, 2015.</ref> There had also been Kyrgyz Shia communities in eastern Kyrgyzstan, near borders with Tajikistan and China, where distinct Shia religious traditions persisted alongside Kyrgyz nomadic culture. In northern Afghanistan, the Kyrgyz Shias also integrated Shia Islam with their local cultural practices.<ref>Khalid, Adeeb. Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia. pp. 135–136. University of California Press, 2007.</ref><ref>Mansoor, Alexandre Y. Religion and Identity in Central Asia: Turkic Shia Communities in the Shadow of Empires. pp. 91. Central Asian Studies Press, 2017.</ref> Kyrgyz Shias in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan all remained marginalized due to their small numbers and the dominant Sunni national identity in all countries.<ref>Mansoor, Alexandre Y. Religion and Identity in Central Asia: Turkic Shia Communities in the Shadow of Empires. pp. 93. Central Asian Studies Press, 2017.</ref><ref>Khalid, Adeeb. Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia. pp. 136. University of California Press, 2007.</ref>

==Outside Kyrgyzstan==
=== Afghanistan ===
The Kyrgyz population of [[Afghanistan]] was 1,130 in 2003, all from eastern [[Wakhan District]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Estrin |first=James |date=4 February 2013 |title= A Hard Life on the 'Roof of the World'|url=http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/a-hard-life-on-the-roof-of-the-world/ |newspaper=The New York Times }}</ref> in the [[Badakhshan Province]] of northeastern Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section3/2022/03/the-kyrgyz-of-the-afghan-pamirs-a-resilient-community-in-a-harsh-environment.html | title=The Kyrgyz of the Afghan Pamirs: A Resilient Community in a Harsh Environment &#124; ヒューライツ大阪 }}</ref><ref name=unep>{{cite web|url=http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/WCR.pdf |title=Wak.p65 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref> They still lead a nomadic lifestyle and are led by a ''[[Khan (title)|khan]]'' or ''[[Tegin|tekin]]''.

The suppression of the [[Central Asian Revolt|1916 rebellion]] against [[Russian Empire|Russian]] rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz later to migrate to [[China]] and Afghanistan. Most of the Kyrgyz refugees in Afghanistan settled in the [[Wakhan]] region. Until 1978, the northeastern portion of Wakhan was home to about 3–5 thousand ethnic Kyrgyz.<ref name="reu">[https://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSSP389507 FACTBOX-Key facts about the Wakhan Corridor]. [[Reuters]]. 12 June 2009</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mockandoneil.com/stg04r3.htm |title=Mock and O'Neil, Expedition Report (2004) |publisher=Mockandoneil.com |access-date=27 September 2012}}</ref> In 1978, most Kyrgyz inhabitants [[Kyrgyz in Pakistan|fled to Pakistan]] in the aftermath of the [[Saur Revolution]]. They requested 5,000 visas from the United States consulate in [[Peshawar]] for resettlement in [[Alaska]], a state of the United States which they thought might have a similar climate and temperature with the [[Wakhan Corridor]]. Their request was denied.  In the meantime, the heat and the unsanitary conditions of the refugee camp were killing off the Kyrgyz refugees at an alarming rate. [[Turkey]], which was under the military coup rule of General [[Kenan Evren]], stepped in, and resettled the entire group in the [[Lake Van]] region of Turkey in 1982. The village of [[Ulupamir]] (or "Great Pamir" in Kyrgyz) in [[Erciş]] in [[Van Province]] was given to these, where more than 5,000 of them still reside today. The documentary film ''37 Uses for a Dead Sheep&nbsp;– the Story of the Pamir Kirghiz'' was based on the life of these Kyrgyz in their new home.<ref>{{cite web|author=EurasiaNet |url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/20052012-turkey-kyrgyz-nomads-struggle-to-make-peace-with-settled-existence/ |title=Turkey: Kyrgyz Nomads Struggle To Make Peace With Settled Existence |publisher=Eurasiareview.com |date=20 May 2012 |access-date=27 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tigerlilyproductions.com/37usesforadeadsheep|title=37 USES FOR A DEAD SHEEP TRAILER|website=Tigerlilyfilms ltd|language=en-US|access-date=18 March 2017}}</ref> Some Kyrgyz returned to Wakhan in October 1979, following the [[Soviet occupation of Afghanistan]].<ref name =kreutzmann2003>{{cite web |url=http://www.juldu.com/Pamir/HERMANN%20KREUTZMANN.pdf |title=Hermann Kreutzmann (2003) ''Ethnic minorities and marginality in the Pamirian Knot'' |access-date=27 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173840/http://www.juldu.com/Pamir/HERMANN%20KREUTZMANN.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> They are found around the [[Little Pamir]].<ref name="Clammer2007">{{cite book|author=Paul Clammer|title=Afghanistan. Ediz. Inglese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjhP76JaVgkC&pg=PA24|year=2007|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-642-8|pages=24–}}</ref>

=== China ===
{{main|Kyrgyz in China}}
{{see also|Fuyu Kyrgyz people}}

[[File:Kirghiz Tents.png|thumb|"Kirgiz Tents" or yurts. 1914]]
The Kyrgyz form one of the [[Nationalities of China|56 ethnic groups]] officially recognized by the [[People's Republic of China]]. There are more than 145,000 Kyrgyz in [[China]].  They are known in Mandarin Chinese as ''Kē'ěrkèzī zú'' ({{lang-zh|s=柯尔克孜族|t=柯爾克孜族}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://guides.lib.unc.edu/c.php?g=8580&p=42169|title=LibGuides: Chinese Ethnic Groups: Overview Statistics|last=Bolick|first=Hsi Chu|website=guides.lib.unc.edu|language=en|access-date=18 March 2017}}</ref>

In the 19th century, Russian settlers on traditional Kirghiz land drove a lot of the Kirghiz over the border to China, causing their population to increase in China.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DHsTAAAAYAAJ&q=chinese|title=Unknown Mongolia: a record of travel and exploration in north-west Mongolia and Dzungaria, Volume 2|author=Alexander Douglas Mitchell Carruthers |author2=Jack Humphrey Miller|year=1914 |publisher=Lippincott|page=345|access-date=29 May 2011}}</ref> Compared to Russian controlled areas, more benefits were given to the Muslim Kirghiz on the Chinese controlled areas. Russian settlers fought against the Muslim nomadic Kirghiz, which led the Russians to believe that the Kirghiz would be a liability in any conflict against China. The Muslim Kirghiz were sure that in an upcoming war, China would defeat Russia.<ref>{{cite book|author=Alex Marshall|title=The Russian General Staff and Asia, 1860–1917|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDXfGErwPtsC&pg=PA85|date=22 November 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25379-1|pages=85–}}</ref>

The Kirghiz of [[Xinjiang]] revolted in the 1932 [[Kirghiz rebellion]], and also participated in the [[Battle of Kashgar (1933)]] and again [[Battle of Kashgar (1934)|in 1934]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAs9AAAAIAAJ&q=1932+Kirghiz+rebellion&pg=PA241|title=Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: A Political History of Republican Sinkiang 1911–1949 |last=Forbes|first=Andrew D. W.|date=9 October 1986|publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-25514-1}}</ref>

They are found mainly in the [[Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture]] in the southwestern part of the [[Xinjiang]] Uygur Autonomous Region, with a smaller remainder found in the neighboring [[Uqturpan County|Wushi (Uqturpan)]], [[Aksu, Xinjiang|Aksu]], [[Shache]] ([[Yarkent County|Yarkand]]), Yingisar, [[Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County|Taxkorgan]] and [[Pishan County|Pishan]] ([[Guma, Pishan County|Guma]]), and in [[Tekes County|Tekes]], [[Zhaosu]] (Monggolkure), [[Emin County|Emin]] (Dorbiljin), [[Bole, Xinjiang|Bole]] ([[Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture|Bortala]]), [[Jinghev]] ([[Jinghe County|Jing]]) and [[Gongliu County]] in northern Xinjiang.{{sfn|Kokaisl |Kokaislova |2009 |pp=173–191}}  In [[Akto County]], the [[Akto Turkmen]], a former Kyrgyz tribe, now speaks [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lausanneworldpulse.com/urban-php/770/07-2007 | title=Into Their World…The Akto Turkmen of China &#124; Lausanne World Pulse Archives }}</ref>

A peculiar group, also included under the "Kyrgyz nationality" by the PRC official classification, are the so-called "[[Fuyu Kyrgyz people|Fuyu Kyrgyz]]". It is a group of several hundred [[Yenisei Kirghiz]] ([[Khakas people]]) people whose forefathers were relocated from the Yenisei river region to [[Dzungaria]] by the [[Dzungar Khanate]] in the 17th century, and upon defeat of the Dzungars by the [[Qing dynasty]], they were relocated from Dzungaria to Manchuria in the 18th century, and who now live in Wujiazi Village in [[Fuyu County, Heilongjiang|Fuyu County]], [[Heilongjiang]] Province.  Their language (the [[Fuyu Kyrgyz language|Fuyü Gïrgïs dialect]]) is related to the [[Khakas language]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XuMAgAAQBAJ&q=Fuy%C3%BC+G%C3%AFrg%C3%AFs&pg=PA75|title=The Caucasus – An Introduction |last=Coene|first=Frederik|date=16 October 2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-20302-3}}</ref>

Certain segments of the Kyrgyz in China are followers of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].{{sfn|West|2009|p=441}}{{sfn|Mitchell|2012|p=25}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/2005/ethnic/837167.htm |script-title=zh:柯尔克孜族 |access-date=18 February 2007 |work=China.com.cn|language=zh}}</ref>{{sfn|Kokaisl |Kokaislova |2009 |pp=4, 185–188, 259–260}}

=== Pakistan===
{{main|Kyrgyz in Pakistan}}
Kyrgyz are the only [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] people native to Pakistan. The Kyrgyz in Pakistan live mostly in the north, primarily [[Chitral]], where Kyrgyz is the only Turkic language spoken in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |author=Raheal Siddiqui|date=1 December 2019|title=The last Kirghiz khan in Gilgit|website=The News on Sunday|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/575661-the-last-kirghiz-khan-in-gilgit}}</ref> There are only a few thousand left, and many have assimilated with [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] or the [[Kho people|Kho]].<ref name="jstor 43123791">{{Cite journal |jstor=43123791|title=The Kyrgyz of the Afghan Pamir Ride on|last1=Callahan|first1=Ted |journal=Nomadic Peoples|year=2007|volume=11|issue=1|pages=39–48|doi=10.3167/np.2007.110103 |s2cid=161724357 }}</ref> They used to dominate the region of [[Gilgit-Baltistan]]. There are also [[Afghan refugees in Pakistan|Afghan refugees]] of Kyrgyz origin in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 1988 |title=Resettlement Pattern: The Afghan Refugees in Pakistan |magazine=Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine |url=https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/resettlement-pattern-afghan-refugees-pakistan}}</ref> Some also come from Kyrgyzstan from the [[Soviet-Afghan War]] where some defected and settled in Pakistan. There are also Kyrgyz nationals who work in Pakistan.

=== United States ===
The Kyrgyz American Foundation (KAF) is a US registered non-profit organization with the mission to strengthen civil, humanitarian, cultural and business ties between Kyrgyzstan and the United States by advancing intercultural awareness and cooperation. While preserving the multicultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan, KAF strives to cultivate a strong sense of identity for Kyrgyz Americans living in the US through cultural and educational initiatives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kyrgyzamericanfoundation.org//|title=Kyrgyz American Foundation}}</ref>

Kyrgyz-Washington Sister Region Organization was established in 2019. The organization is governed by a board of directors consisting of business, government, and community leaders, as well as ordinary citizens, in [[Wenatchee]], Washington. The mission of the Kyrgyz-Washington Sister Region Organization is to foster cross-cultural understanding and professional development between Kyrgyzstan and Washington State. The mission is carried out through exchanges of delegations between the two regions and by undertaking professional analysis and advances in Kyrgyzstan and Washington State in the areas of agricultural development, outdoor recreational tourism, and water resource management.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kyrgyz-washington.org/our-mission.html//|title=Kyrgyz-Washington Sister Region Organization}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
* [[Lavr Kornilov]], Russian military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army
* [[Kai Merk]], professional footballer
* [[Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov]], Kyrgyzstani footballer  
* [[Dilshat Kidirhan]],  Chinese politician 
* [[Daniel Dujshebaev]], Spanish handball player 
* [[Ömürbek Babanov]], Kyrgyz businessman and politician
* [[Chinghiz Aitmatov]], Kyrgyz author
* [[Alex Dujshebaev]], Spanish handball player
* [[Kyranbek Makhan]], Chinese former basketball player

== See also ==
* [[Chala Kazak]]
* [[Kyrgyz language]]
* [[History of Kyrgyzstan]]
* [[Culture of Kyrgyzstan]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Abramzon |first=S.M. |title=The Kirgiz and their ethnogenetical historical and cultural connections |location=Moscow |publisher=Кыргызстан |year=1971 |isbn=5-655-00518-2 |language=ru}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Damgaard |first1=P. B. |last2=Marchi |first2=N. |display-authors=1 |date=9 May 2018 |title=137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=557 |issue=7705 |pages=369–373 |bibcode=2018Natur.557..369D |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0094-2 |pmid=29743675 |hdl=1887/3202709 |s2cid=13670282 |ref={{harvid|Damgaard et al.|2018}} |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0094-2 |access-date=11 April 2020|hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kokaisl |first1=Petr |last2=Kokaislova |first2=Pavla |year=2009 |title=The Kyrgyz&nbsp;– Children of Manas [Кыргыздар&nbsp;– Манастын балдары] |publisher=NOSTALGIE Praha |language=en,ru |isbn=978-80-254-6365-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRXVbGwPgqIC}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Joo-Yup |last2=Kuang |first2=Shuntu |date=18 October 2017 |title=A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Historical Sources and Y-DNA Studies with Regard to the Early and Medieval Turkic Peoples |journal=Inner Asia |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=197–239 |doi=10.1163/22105018-12340089 |issn=2210-5018 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Tao |last2=Ning |first2=Chao |display-authors=1 |date=June 2020 |title=Millet agriculture dispersed from Northeast China to the Russian Far East: Integrating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics |journal=Archaeological Research in Asia |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=22 |issue=100177 |article-number= 100177|doi=10.1016/j.ara.2020.100177 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Li et al.|2020}}|hdl=21.11116/0000-0005-D82B-8 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Laurence |orig-date=2008 |title=Kyrgyzstan: The Bradt Travel Guide |publisher=The Globe Pequot Press |edition=2nd |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-84162-221-7}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nelson |first1=Sarah |author-link1=Sarah Milledge Nelson |last2=Zhushchikhovskaya |first2=Irina |display-authors=1 |date=14 February 2020 |title=Tracing population movements in ancient East Asia through the linguistics and archaeology of textile production |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume=2 |issue=e5 |pages=e5 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.4 |pmid=37588355 |pmc=10427276 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Nelson et al.|2020}}}}
*{{cite journal |last=Pulleyblank |first=E.G. |author-link=Edwin G. Pulleyblank |year=1990 |title=The Name of the Kirghiz |journal=Central Asiatic Journal |volume=34 |issue=1–2 |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=Harrassowitz |pages=98–108}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |date=1 January 2017 |title=Austronesian influence and Transeurasian ancestry in Japanese |journal=Language Dynamics and Change |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=210–251 |doi=10.1163/22105832-00702005 |doi-access=free |issn=2210-5832 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002E-8635-7 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last1=Robbeets |first1=Martine |author-link1=Martine Robbeets |year=2020 |chapter=The Transeurasian homeland: where, what and when? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/43039094 |editor-last1=Robbeets |editor-first1=Martine |editor-link1=Martine Robbeets |editor-last2=Savelyev |editor-first2=Alexander |title=The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-guide-to-the-transeurasian-languages-9780198804628 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-880462-8 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Uchiyama|first1=Junzo|last2=Gillam|first2=J. Christopher|last3=Savelyev|first3=Alexander|last4=Ning|first4=Chao|display-authors=1|date=21 May 2020 |title=Populations dynamics in Northern Eurasian forests: a long-term perspective from Northeast Asia |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |volume= 2|article-number=e16 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.11 |pmid=37588381 |pmc=10427466 |doi-access=free |ref={{harvid|Uchiyama et al.|2020}} }} [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]]  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].
* {{cite book |last=West |first=Barbara A. |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |location=New York |publisher=Facts On File |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8160-7109-8}}

== Further reading ==
* Kyzlasov, L.R. "Mutual relationship of terms ''Khakas'' and ''Kyrgyz'' in written sources of 6–12th centuries". Peoples of Asia and Africa, 1968. {{in lang|ru}}
* Zuev, Yu.A. "Kirgiz&nbsp;– Buruts". ''Soviet Ethnography'', 1970, No 4, {{in lang|ru}}.
* Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) ''The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War''. University of Washington Press. 1st paperback edition with new preface and epilogue (2002). {{ISBN|0-295-98262-4}}.
* ''Kyrgyz Republic'', by Rowan Stewart and Susie Steldon, by Odyssey publications.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061207121421/http://expat.nursat.kz/?3245 Books by Chokan Valikhanov]
* Aado Lintrop, [http://haldjas.folklore.ee/folklore/nr1/heredit.htm "Hereditary Transmission in Siberian Shamanism and the Concept of the Reality of Legends"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061015144217/http://www.silkroadproject.org/smithsonian/nomads/shamanism.html 2002 Smithsonian folklife festival]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061208133401/http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/vol3num2/8_duyshembiyeva.php Kyrgyz Healing Practices: Some Field Notes]
*''[http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=17240 Politics of Language in the Ex-Soviet Muslim States: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619112258/http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=17240 |date=19 June 2010 }}'' by Jacob M. Landau and Barbara Kellner-Heinkele. Ann Arbor, [[University of Michigan Press]], 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-472-11226-5}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511160909/http://kyrgyz.org.uk/ Culture of Kyrgyz Republic.Well made JAPANESE pages.]
*[http://www.bukhara-carpets.com/making/kyrgyz.html Kyrgyz Textile Art] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616035522/http://www.bukhara-carpets.com/making/kyrgyz.html |date=16 June 2015 }}
* Yu Taishan. "A Note On The Geographical Location Of Jiankun". ''International Journal of Eurasian Studies'', Beijing, 2019, No. 9. – pp.&nbsp;1––5. In Chinese.

== External links ==
{{EB1911 poster|Kirghiz}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.nps.edu/Programs/CCs/Docs/Tribal%20Trees/Kirghiz.pdf Kirghiz tribal tree], Center for Culture and Conflict Studies, US Naval Postgraduate School

{{Demographics of Kyrgyzstan}}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyrgyz}}
[[Category:Ethnic Kyrgyz people|*]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in China]]
[[Category:Turkic peoples of Asia]]
[[Category:Modern nomads]]
[[Category:Pastoralists]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Muslim communities in Asia]]