"You may stretch yourself out on a piece of carpet in some nook or corner, and watch the ever varying group and the succession of strange, wild faces for hours with unflagging interest. Representatives of all the people of Central Asia may be found in the motley crowd."
JA Macgahen 'Campaigning on the Oxus and the fall of Khiva' 1874

'Complexions and colourings vary widely'

Ask the average Uzbek in Tashkent or in the Fergana Valley what they think about people from Khorezm and they will tell you, "They're different from us. They speak their own language and have their own customs." Khorezmliks (people from Khorezm) will also attest to this fact, proudly citing their distinct culture and a dialect that could almost be classified as a different language.
Due to its isolated location, Khorezm has produced a unique culture which is closer to its nomadic Turkoman and Karakalpak neighbours than the more Persian-influenced cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. Likewise Khorezmliks have maintained a purer form of Chaghatay Turki or old Uzbek than other regions with far less Persian and Arabic loan words.
In terms of religion, Khorezm never embraced Islam to the same passionate extent as other regions such as Bukhara, Kokand and Samarkand and as a result music and dance flourished much more freely. Khorezmliks are also more laid back concerning hospitality and other traditions. For example, in other parts of the country guests will hear 'oling, oling' (take, take) while their cup is at their lips while in Khorezm guests have their own teapots and can serve themselves.
Arminius Vambery, the Hungarian dervish cum spy, took a liking to the people of Khorezm and preferred them to the cultured hypocrisy of the more Persian -orientated cities of Bukhara and Samarkand:

"Even in the traits of his character, the Khivan Uzbek is preferable to his relatives in the other races. He is honest and open hearted, has the savage nature of the nomads that surround him without the refined cunning of oriental civilisation. He ranks next to the pure Osmanli of Turkey, and it may be said of both that something might still be made out of them."
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

'Some Khorezmliks have inherited the fairer complexions and blue eyes of Alexander the Great's army which took many wives whilst in Khorezm'

Whilst the people of Khorezm are easily marked out by their accents, they are not so easy to distinguish racially. Conquered by Alexander the Great from the west and Genghis Khan from the east and influenced by large Persian and Kurdish slave populations, Khorezmliks vary widely in appearance. The Macedonian features of Alexander's armies have left their legacy and many Khorezmliks have lighter hair and blue eyes. Complexions vary widely from the darker tones of the Persian and Kurdish slave descendants to the yellower tones of the Mongols and the lighter tones of the original Turki people.

'Complexions and colourings vary widely'

Today people call themselves Khorezmliks regardless of whether they have a Persian, Mongolian, Turkoman or Kurdish background and many people do not know their own particular racial heritage. However in the 1830's clearer distinctions existed between the different people groups living in the Khiva khanate. Captain Muraviev identified four different races.

"Khiva is inhabited by four different races:

1) The Sarts, who are the aboriginal inhabitants of the country.
2) The Karakalpaks, nomads who wander in the neighbourhood of the Sarts, and are greatly under their influence.
3) The Uzbegs; foreigners who have conquered and possessed themselves of the country.
4) The Turkomans, who are divided into many tribes, and have been tempted by motives of profit (commercial and other) to settle a nomadic life in the State.

The relation of the four races to one another used, at first, to be as follows:
1) Noble
2) Servant
3) Conqueror
4) Guest

By and by, however, as the nation grew more closely welded together and became one great whole, the old distinctions disappeared and the classification became as follows:
1) Merchant
2) Agriculturist
3) Noble
4) Warrior"
Nicolai Muraviev 'Journey to Khiva through the Turkoman Country' (English Edition) 1871

However Vambery perceived fewer racial distinctions, commenting instead on the racial purity of the people of Khiva.

'A Tartar woman in Khiva'

"The Khivite has a legitimate pride in the purity of his ancient Uzbek nationality, as contrasted with that of Bukhara and Kashgar. At the very first sight, however, the Khivan betrays the mixture of his blood with the Iran elements, for he has a beard, always to be regarded by the Turanis as a foreign peculiarity, but his complexion and form of countenance indicate very often genuine Tartar origin."
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

In 1924 Stalin bundled together the Khorezmliks with the mixture of peoples living from the Aral Sea to the Fergana Valley in order to form the new republic of Uzbekistan. Today, seventy years after Soviet rule, the government of modern Uzbekistan is pursuing a proactive nationalistic policy in an attempt to rediscover what it means to be 'Uzbeg' (pronounced in other regions: Uzbek) which literally means, 'ruler of self'. Unfortunately the large Tajik and Kazakh minorities are often discriminated against and so many have 'Uzbek' written in their passport in order to find work. However this process of 'uzbekification' of other ethnic groups within the region is actually nothing new.

"As the Uzbegs have been for hundreds of years the dominant race in Turkestan and adopted the institutions of Islam earlier than any other nomad people of these parts, the name itself has become invested with a certain prestige of breeding and 'bon ton', so that the Kirghiz, Kiptchak and Kalmuk, from the moment that they settle in cities, generally abandon their several nationalities and assume the denomination of Uzbegs."
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

Nowadays 95.5% of people in Khorezm call themselves Uzbek; the highest percentage in Uzbekistan. However there continues to be different regions within Khorezm where descendants of other races predominate. Towns such as Hanka have high percentages of ethnic Turkomans whilst Koshkopir contains a large population of darker, Iranian descendants of the freed Persian slaves.

'Some of the ethnic Koreans still living in Khorezm'

The more obvious minority groups are the Russians and Koreans who settled in Khorezm during the Soviet era. They now find themselves at a distinct disadvantage since many are unable to speak Uzbek. Whilst Russians are often resented as the colonial oppressors the Koreans, who were deported from North Korea to Central Asia by Stalin, are treated with more acceptance despite the fact that they have adopted the Russian language. There are also a number of Tartars living in Urgench from both Kazan in Russia and the Crimea. Most Tartars are more russified than other Turkic people but often intermarry with Uzbeks and are predominantly Muslim in religion.
Racism amongst Uzbeks in Khorezm is prevalent and there is a definite pecking order. Russian women are considered loose and immoral but Russians are often regarded as more trustworthy in business matters than their fellow Uzbeks. Khorezmliks with more oriental features are mocked as foreign Mongols whilst darker skinned people are considered ugly and certainly not a good wedding match. In addition they are mistrusted as their dark skin is attributed to the overflow of a dark heart and are often derided because many have descended from the darker skinned Kurdish and Persian slaves.

'Some of the ethnic Koreans still living in Khorezm'

Just over the border in Turkmenistan, the Khorezmliks are racially the same and make up the majority of the population in the regional capital of Dashaouz. During the Soviet era it made little difference on which side of the border people lived, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union and an increase in border restrictions, Khorezmliks in Turkmenistan have felt increasingly isolated.
The Khorezmian cultural identity, forged from the various peoples living in the Khiva khanate, remained intact despite the cultural onslaught of Soviet values and russification. However the challenge now is whether it will endure the aggressive nationalist policies of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan which have split it down the middle.