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Hui ancestors arrived on Silk Road
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Editor’s Note:
China has 56 ethnic groups. Today’s distribution of ethnic groups resulted from expansion and integration during Chinese history. Each group has its own rich and colorful tradition of costumes, festivals, religious beliefs and dietary habits.
This biweekly column will introduce and explain the evolution and characteristics of each ethnic group.
Hui people are probably the most widely dispersed ethnic minority in China, with its people found throughout the country. They have much in common culturally with the Han, while most keep the distinctive religion inherited from their ancestors who came to China by the Silk Road.
With a sizable population of 9,816,802 based on the fifth national census in 2000, the Hui are the fourth biggest ethnic group in China. Though many live in northwestern regions and the central plains, they also can be found in most counties and cities throughout the country.
Though Hui people are ethnically similar to Han, the group has retained some Arabic, Persian and Central Asian features due to their ancestral path along the Silk Road.
The Hui people usually are defined as Chinese speakers whose ancestry includes foreign Muslim roots. Under this definition, the Hui may include all historically Muslim communities in China that are not included in China’s other ethnic groups.
The Hui people are of varied ancestry, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers. From the 1st century BC to the 13th century, large numbers of Arabic and Persian traders traveled back and forth along two Silk Roads, one on land and the other on the sea.
During dynasties like the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) that encouraged immigration from Muslim Persia and Central Asia, some of the travelers settled in China and gradually intermarried with the surrounding population while converting them to Islam. In turn, they assimilated most aspects of Chinese culture.
A new ethnic group gradually came into being during the 13th and 14th centuries whose paternal ancestors were Muslims from Central Asia and whose maternal line consisted of the Han, Mongols, Uygurs, Tibetans and other Chinese people.
They adopted Chinese as their native language, while retaining some Arabic and Persian words.
As a result of most Hui practicing Islam, they have some distinctive cultural characteristics as well.
For example, as Muslims, they follow Islamic dietary laws and do not consume blood, alcohol, pork or any creature that died before proper slaughter. Other traditions also include the giving of a Huihui name to a baby by an ahung (imam) soon after birth, the witnessing of wedding ceremonies by ahungs, and the deceased being cleaned with water and wrapped with white cloth and buried promptly with an ahung presiding.
Mosques are built wherever there is a Hui community. There also are Hui people who don’t practice Islam, or with loose ties to the religion.
Hui men traditionally wear white or black brimless hats, especially during religious services, while traditional garb for women includes black, white or green headscarves, a custom derived from religious practices.
Lesser Bairam (end of Ramadan) is one of the most important festivals for the Hui people.
During the entire ninth month in the Hui calendar, adherents cannot eat anything or have sex from sunrise to sunset. Lesser Bairam is celebrated on the first day of the tenth month and lasts three days. Rich feasts with choice beef, mutton and youxiang (sweet fried cake) are served.
The cuisines of the Hui people vary from region to region, considering the wide dispersal of the group. Hui people living in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region prefer food made with flour, while those in Gansu and Qinghai favor corn, barley and potatoes, and those living mixed with Han in other regions may love local specialties as long as they don’t break Islamic rules.
Beef and mutton are common food for Hui people. Pigeons are considered a divine bird that can be eaten only under certain circumstances, such as to help cure the sick with an imam’s approval. Gaiwan tea with tea leaves, lychee-like longan fruit, jujube fruit, sesame, sugar candy and medlar fruit as ingredients is a typical drink for Hui people in northwest China. It is usually served in a tea cup set with a cup stand and cover.
Youxiang cake made of flour and fried in sesame oil is another traditional food of Hui people, served and eaten during festivals.
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