Mohe people
The Mohe, Malgal, or Mogher, maybe a mispronunciation of the word Mojie, were an East Asian Tungusic people who lived primarily in the modern geographical region of Northeast Asia. The two most powerful Mohe groups were known as the Heishui Mohe, located along the Amur River, and the Sumo Mohe, named after the Songhua River.
The Mohe constituted a major part of the population in the kingdom of Balhae, which lasted from the late 7th century to early 10th century. After the fall of Balhae, few historical traces of the Mohe can be found, though they are considered to be the primary ethnic group from whom the Jurchen people descended. The Heishui Mohe in particular are considered to be the direct ancestors of the Jurchens, from whom the 17th century Manchu people originated. The Mohe practiced a sedentary agrarian lifestyle and were predominantly farmers who grew soybean, wheat, millet, and rice, supplemented by pig raising and hunting for meat. The Mohe were also known to have worn pig and dog skin coats.
Name
The Chinese exonym Mohe 靺鞨 is a graphic pejorative written with mo 靺 "socks; stockings" and he 鞨 "shoes". Mo is an adjective, a customary expression meaning "barbarian" or Xiongnu. In the Dynasties before the Five dynasties recorded as "靺羯", such as Honglujing Stele. He 鞨 is gal, meaning "stone" by Mohe/Malgal, Jie/Gal language. The Jie ruler Shi Le takes the surname shi 石 "stone" from gal. According to the History of Jin, Shi Tu Men is the prince of the Jurchen people, whose surname shi hints to a connection with the Mohe and Jie.The ethnonym of the Mohe bears a notable resemblance to that of the later historically attested *Motgit in Middle Chinese..
The name of the Mohe also appears as "Maka" in "Shin-Maka" or "New Mohe," which is the name of a dance and the musical piece that accompanies it; the dance and song were introduced to the Japanese court during the Nara Period or around the beginning of the Heian Period from the Balhae kingdom. In modern Japanese historical texts, the name of the Mohe is annotated with the "kana" reading Makkatsu, which is probably a transliteration based on the standard Sino-Japanese readings of the Chinese characters used to transcribe the ethnonym of the Mohe.
Tribes
According to some records, there were seven/eight Mohe tribes :| Moji/Merjie/Wuji/Matgat | Mohe/Mogher/Malgal/Muthot | Modern location | - |
| Sumo tribe 粟末部 속말부 | Sumo tribe 粟末部 속말부 | near Songhua River | - |
| Baishan tribe 白山部 백산부 | Baishan tribe 白山部 백산부 | near Paektu Mountain | - |
| Yulou tribe 虞婁 우루 | Yulou tribe 虞婁 우루 | on the Suifun River Basin | - |
| Boduo tribe 伯咄部 백돌부 | Boduo tribe 伯咄部 백돌부 | - | |
| Funie tribe 拂涅部 불열 | Funie tribe 拂涅部 불열 | near the Mudan River on the Khanka Basin | dwelled in Jixi and Mudanjiang |
| Anchegu tribe 安車骨部/安车骨部 안차골부 | Tieli tribe 鐵利 철리 | near the Songhwa River | dwelled in Harbin |
| Haoshi tribe 號室部/号室部 호실부 | Yuexi tribe 越喜 월희 | dwelled in Dalnerechensk | |
| Heishui tribe 黑水部 흑수부 | Heishui tribe 黑水部 흑수부 | low banks of Amur River | dwelled in Hegang, Jiamusi, Shuangyashan, Khavarovsk, Birobidzhan, Yichun |
Notable personalities
Prefecture Mohe chieftains
■ Sumo Mohe- Tudiji, ca. 580-620
- Li Jinhang, 619-683, Tudiji's son
- Dae Joyeong, ?-719
■ Heisui Mohe
- A Tou
- Tou Fu
- Su Wugai
- Gao Zhimen
- Wusukemung
- Nisuliji
- Shiyimeng
- Li Duozuo
- Wushikemeng
Citations