Khotons
Khotons
a mongolized Turkic-speaking ethnic group in the Mongolian People’s Republic. The Khotons live among the Derbets in the northwestern part of the country and, according to a 1975 estimate, number about 3,000. In the past they were Muslims. The Khotons are of mixed Turkic ancestry; their forebears were taken captive during the wars between Manchu China and the Turkic khanates of eastern Turkestan in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The principal occupations of the people are stock raising and land cultivation. The Khotons closely resemble the Derbets in language and culture.