Xinjiang
has been populated by multi-nationality communities since ancient
times. The present population of over 16 million is composed of forty
seven nationalities. Among which the Uygur are the main nationality
in Xinjiang, making up for 47% of the population in the region; twelve
other nationalities, such as the Han, Kazak, Kurgiz, Mongolian, Xibe,
Tajik, Uzbek, Manchurian, Daur, Russian, and Tatar have also have
considerable long histories of living in the region, and they are
also of considerable number; the other thirty-four nationalities such
as the Dongxiang,Zhuang, Salar, Tibetan, Miao, Yi, Buyi and Korean
number over eighty thousand people in all, and most of them had immigrated
around the 1950¡¯s from the interior or border regions of the country.
For tens of centuries, the various minority nationalities of Xinjiang,
which made up for two-third of its population in the process of their
historical development and with the changes in the local, unique natural
environment, have continuously moved east and west, and in that process
they have been influenced by the different economies and culture,
and absorbed different religious faith to gradually form their own
unique fold customs which are reflected in dress, food, rituals, marriages,
funerals; religion, preferences and taboos. Their holidays, cultural
art, and various other aspects, even their physical features are markedly
different from the Han nationality of the Central Plains. The Uygur,
Kazak, Kirgiz Mongolian, Xibe, Tajik and other minority nationalities
have their individual spoken and written language. Therefore, visitors
to Xinjiang once they set foot on the land will immediately be attracted
by its exoticism. Some foreign tourists have aptly described Xinjiang
as ¡°the show window for minority nationalities¡±.
Firstly, from the aspect of clothing and ornaments. The national dresses
of the minority nationalities are colorful. Uygur and Kazak ladies
prefer to wear bright color dresses and headkerchiefs, they also wear
earrings, necklaces, rings, and other ornaments whole the men prefer
to wear embroidered shirts or chapan, fastened with a waistband, the
wearing os embroidered skullcaps is common with most minority nationality;
however, the difference in nationality and location results in a variation
of designs. The Uygur men and women like to wear finely embroidered
caps; the Kazak girls¡¯ caps are decorated with tassels and owl feathe;the
KIrgiz ladies like to wear pillbox hats made with red velvet; and
the Tajik women wear pillbox or hats decorated with strings of colored
beads or pearls hanging around the edge. All minority nationalities
regardless of sex wear traditional leather boots while men from the
mountainous regions and the grassland prefer to wear fur-lined jackets
and pants. On high days and holidays, the minority nationalities are
even more colorfully dressed, providing a feast for the eyes for those
visiting Xinjiang for the first time.
The dining and dietary customs of the minority nationalities are also
original. Their main source of meat is beef and lamb, and prepared
in a unique way, such as the Xinjiang skewered lamb (shish-kebab)
which has now spread to the rest of the country. Barbecued whole lamb
and whole camel is a specialty in Xinjiang cuisine. Other specialties
such as pilaf and boiled lamb are for entertaining guests on special
occasions, and they are¡± must ¡° at funerals and weddings. The
crispy nan, somsa, hand-stretched noodles, fried sanzi, steamed youtazi,
and milk tea are their traditional fiids. In the dead od winte when
the wind is fierce and the snow is thick, it is not unusual to see
city people sitting by the stalls on the roadside, warming themselves
around a stove and enjoying skewers of freshly grilled lamb and munching
water melon at the same time. Such dining habits are unmatched elsewhere
in the country.
Thr housing of the Xinjiang minority nationalities are vared and colorful,
but they can be basically divided into two big categories, that of
the stock-breeding areas and the farming areas. In order to adapt
to their nomadic and semi-nomadic life, the Kazak and the Mongolian
live in yurts which can be easily dismantled and reassembled. The
front half of the yurt is the kitchen and living room where nearly
all the daily necessities are put, and the rear half is the bedroom
and guest room. At the top center or the yurt is the ¡°skylight
¡°under which is the stove for cooking and warmth. Most of the Uygurs
in farming areas live in square adobes with skylight and flat roofs,
and an earthen platform covered with a beautiful carpet where bedding
is spread out at night, and niches in the walls and colorful hanging
rugs. The adobes mostly come with a patio the length of the house,
facing a courtyard which is grown with flowers, fruit trees and grapes
and meticulously clean and neat. From the aspects of funeral and wedding
rituals, there is a great difference between those of the Xinjiang
minority nationalities and those of the Han people of the interior
of China. For example, a Uygur wedding takes two days to complete.
On the first day the bride¡¯s family holds a ritual to welcome the
groom¡¯s entourage which has come to fetch the bride. That ritual
is usually in the afternoon. On the second day, the groom¡¯s family
holds the ritual for lifting the bridal veil. Each ritual is attended
by friends and relatives who sing and dance to celebrate the occasion.
Uygur funerals are simple and unadorned, quick, auster, and ground
burial are carried out, using on coffins. On the seventh day after
the deceased id interred, and on the fortieth day, and first anniversary
of the death, memorial activities are held, and the clergy is invited
to red from the Koran, and friends and relatives gather for a meal.
Kazak weddings are simple but lively. Although the Kazak is also of
Islam faith, the difference is that the clergy is not invited to preside
over the wedding, instead it is done by the bridesmaid ar matron of
honor and the bets men who sing along with the rest of the party through
the night. On the day of the wedding, activities such as horse-racing,
wrestling, various horse-man ship performances are held. As for their
funeral rituals, aside from the traditional Islamic rituals, the Kazak
have one which is entirely their own. On the first week after the
burial, the dead¡¯s favorite horse is slaughtered and its head is
hung on a tree or put on a high cliff as a sign of respect to its
master. The horsehide is then cut into strips and distributed to friends
and relatives as souvenirs, reminding them that the dead is with them
in spirit. The funeral and wedding rituals of other minority nationalities
also vary greatly but are as colorful.
From the point of religious belief, Xinjiang is a place where different
religions co-exist. They are mainly Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism,
Christianity, Eastern orthodox, Shamanism and others, the principal
religion being Islam, Presently, there are ten minority nationality
groups I Xinjiang who are followers of Islam,including the Uygur,
Kazak, Kirgiz, Hui, Tajik, Uzbek, Tatar, Sala, Dongxiang, and Baoan,
numbering over nine million and making up for approximately 60% of
the Xinjiang population. Therefore, special imphasis is placed on
the two traditional Islamic holidays such as the Greater Bairam and
the Lesser Bairam, especially on the Great Bairam which is equivalent
to the Sping Festival of the Han nationality. The minority nationalities
have a three ¨Cdays holiday for the occasion and the Han one day,
to jointly celebrate it since the Greater Bairam is the most important
holiday for the followers of Islam, early that morning the Muslim
do thei ablutions and dress up in their holiday best to go to the
mosque. When friends meet they salute each other with a salaam. On
the day of the Greater Bairam, nearly all families slaughter a lamb,
some a cow, and others a camel. The meat of the animal is not to be
sold but distributed accordingly to the mosque, the clergy, and the
rest for entertaining guests.
As for cultural entertainment, the minority nationalities of Xinjiang
are born singers and dancers. Their dances are unconstrained and vigorous,
and of lively rhythm, and the dance style for men is uninhibited,
rugged and manly while that for women is lithe and vivacious. The
folk songs of the minority nationalities are reserved and concealing.
But melodious and expressive at the same time. In Xinjiang, on high
days and holidays, and in celebrations of different events, one can
enjoy its unique songs and dances.
Where reception is concerned, one cannot find more hospitable hosts
than the minority nationalities of Xinjiang. The vast desert and the
towering peaks have cultivated in them an all-embracing generosity,
and their nomadic life has made their nature uninhibited and unconstrained.
When visiting a family in a farming area or a livestock breeding area,
the guest will receive the warmest welcome.
In short, the unique folk customs of the Xinjiang minority nationalities
were formed in the lengthy process of social and historical development,
and the author is inadequate to describe them in just a few words.
Since is believing, visit Xinjiang and experience everything for yourself.
You will definitely not be disappointed. |
