ABSTRACT
Khamnigan Mongol is the Mongolic language spoken by the population known as the Khamnigan or the ‘Horse Tungus’ (also ‘Equestrian Tungus’ or ‘Steppe Tungus’) of Transbaikalia. The native territory of the Khamnigan comprises the Onon and Argun basins in northeastern Mongolia and northwestern Manchuria. More exactly, most of the historically recorded Khamnigan population seems to have been concentrated in the territory lying between the main basins of the Onon and Argun, along rivers such as the Onon-Borzya, Urulyungui, Lower Borzya, Middle Borzya, and Upper Borzya. From the point of view of the history of the Mongols the Khamnigan occupy a most important region, since it was exactly here where Chinggis Khan was born and where he started the amalgamation of the Mongol tribes into a world-conquering empire.
