ABSTRACT
The Oroqen (Orochen) are one of China’ s smallest officially recognized nationalities with a population of about 7000 according to the 1990 census. In some respects, the situation facing the Oroqen is reminiscent of any number of small ethnic communities around the world. A series of historical developments not favorable to the viability of traditional Oroqen social patterns, as well as pressures to assimilate to a surrounding national culture, have led to the near disappearance of many key markers of ethnic identity: unique dress, subsistence hunting and gathering, shamanistic religion, a clan-based or ganizational structure, and the Oroqen language. As a result, the youngest generation of Oroqens is now in a transitional period of sorts, one in which identification with traditional culture is made primarily through the memories of parents and grand-parents, yet the greater identification for younger Oroqen is with contemporary Chinese national culture, which is the more immediate basis of their experience. This transition is clear to all Oroqens and has led to a bur geoning interest in the reclamation of some aspects of traditional culture and in language revitalization. The last decade has witnessed several attempts to launch projects toward this end.
