The term Wutun refers to a small language community settled in a rural area located in Tongren county (Ch. 同仁 Tóngrén, WT Reb gong, Amdo Tibet, current Qinghai province, People’s Republic of China). Even though officially classified as the Mongolic-speaking Tu (土 tù), Wutun speak a Sinitic language strongly influenced by Tibetan (called by the community ngandehua ‘our language’), and identify themselves as Tibetans.

In contrast to what is said by academic sources and Chinese official discourse, that see Wutun as the descendants of Sitinic garrisons, Wutun affirm that their ancestors, as well as their language have origins in Central Tibet. Through the community’s claims about the origins of the Wutun village as well as linguistic data, this seminar explores dynamics of identity construction as well as the linguistic and cultural maintenance of the community.