November 2003

World View

Salar people of China

For generations the Salar people have followed Islam. They have a reputation for being the most zealous Muslims in China. Even today, when some Salar don't practice Islam's daily disciplines, their culture is inseparable from their religion. They have no interest in Christianity and are overwhelmed by spiritual darkness.

"They've never heard the name of Jesus," says a Southern Baptist who knows them. "The Salar need people to pray that the hearts of the Salar will be changed. The most important thing that can be done is to pray for God to send His Spirit to these people, perhaps through dreams and visions.

"The Salar people are unreached, overlooked and basically cut off from the one thing in their lives that offers freedom and forgiveness of sin. 'How can they know if they don’t hear? And how will they hear without someone to share? And how will someone share if they don’t go?'"

Salar people are quite approachable and typically are seen smiling, which creates plenty of opportunity to educate oneself on the intricacies of their culture through the establishment of friendships.

The younger generation of Salar seem to be taking a more skeptical view of Islam and are quite possibly searching for the truth, yet there are no confirmed believers among the Salar people. The work in this harvest field itself is very much in the beginning stages and in need of workers.

Lifestyle

One of China's 55 official minority groups, the lives of the Salar people are centered around agriculture, extended family and the mosque. The strength of their economy lies in agriculture. They live in impoverished conditions, tucked away in the mountains of North Central and Northwest China. Salar farmers produce wheat, highland barley, buckwheat, walnuts, potatoes and other vegetables. They also grow hot peppers and such fruits as melons, apples, grapes and apricots. Another means of income among the Salar people include sheep herding for mutton and wool, lumberjacking, and bus and taxi driving. There are still many Salar traders that use the Yellow River as a thoroughfare for their trade.

One other popular means of income is derived from restaurant ownership. Muslim meals are quite popular in China and have become a common way for Salar families to make a living. Most restaurants are small family-owned businesses that serve sweet and sour chicken, beef noodles, eight treasures tea and a host of other Muslim dishes. Their basic diet consists of steamed buns, noodles and vegetable soup. Since the Salar are Muslim, they do not drink alcoholic beverages nor do they eat pork.
Contrary to what one might assume, modern communication mediums are easily accessible in most Salar homes. As a rough estimate, it appears that around 50 percent of the Salar homes contain television sets, approximately 75 percent have radios (some of which are shortwave accessible), and around 25 percent of the Salar homes include telephones.
Sanitation standards in most Salar areas are quite good, as is typical in most Islamic cultures. Salar homes are clean, food has its proper place and the outhouse is distinctly separate from the rest of the home. In addition, transportation is quite modern in and around Xunhua. Buses, cars and mopeds are all an integral part of the transit within the town.

Wedding and marriage customs

Salar families are strongly patriarchal (male-dominated) and patrilineal, meaning that the line of descent is through the fathers. Since homes generally include extended families, marriage is often viewed as being a union of two families rather than a "love" match. In times past, parents selected their children's marriage partners, using a "matchmaker" in the negotiations. A "bride price" of between one to four horses, cloth and sugar was paid to the bride's parents.

There are a couple of unusual customs surrounding Salar wedding celebrations. One involves the groom waiting with his male friends and family as the wedding ceremony takes place outside the bride's house with the bride listening to the ceremony from inside. When the party arrives back at the groom’s home, his family splashes cow’s milk onto the hooves of her horse (a custom borrowed from the Tibetans) and gives a piece of mutton to everyone in the party. The best part of mutton goes to the bride’s uncles, the most important guests at the celebration.

Another custom requires the bride, when leaving for the groom’s home, to walk backwards crying and singing. The explanations of this custom vary: one states that the bride is unhappy with the marriage, while another is that she does not want to leave her parents’ home out of thankfulness to them for all they have done for her.

Education and literacy

An overwhelming majority of the current Salar population has not attained any level of education above primary school. The education level among older women seems to be the poorest of all segments, while the education level of the younger generation appears to be on the rise. Reaching the older generation of China's Salar people with the gospel will be difficult. Many older Salar are nonliterate and speak only the Salar language—which has no audio recordings of Scripture, the JESUS film or Christian broadcasts.

The literacy rate among the Salar has been very poor in the past. While Salar is their official language, only about two thirds of Salar people can speak it. It appears to be slowly dying out, mainly as a result of intermarriage with other ethnic groups. It also is not being taught in the public schools regularly. Approximately 80 percent of the Salar speak and understand Mandarin Chinese, while around 50 percent speak Amdo Tibetan as a result of living and working among the Han Chinese and Tibetans for many years. Today, however, it is gradually increasing, but only in Chinese since Salar is still an unwritten language.

The Chinese government has a law in place that requires school attendance by all school-aged children (ages 6–17), but all too often kids in Xunhua are prevented from attending school by their parents in order to help out with agricultural work at home. Typically, the schools do not invoke much punishment on the children or the parents when these incidents occur.

Religious beliefs
The mosque is the center of the Salar community. The local imams (mosque leaders) are the leaders of the communities. In 1958 the national Chinese government removed all of the mullahs (trained Muslims holding official posts); however, since 1980, formerly forbidden religious activities have begun to revive.
Islam retains a heavy influence over the Salar and is ingrained in their culture and everyday way of living. This legalistic religion is evident through the Salar dress, food, an abstinence from smoking and drinking, and most every other aspect of life. Ninety-nine percent of the Salar people are Sunni Muslim and follow the five pillars of Islam: Witness, Prayer, Alms, Fasting and Pilgrimage to Mecca. The Salar believe that there is no other God but Allah and hold dearly to the teachings set forth in the Quran by Allah’s last and greatest prophet, Muhammad. The Salar beliefs and rituals are almost identical to any other Muslim segment with the exception that the economic situation of most Salar families usually prevents taking the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Although Islamic beliefs are weakening among the Salar young people, they have nothing to replace them with. The only knowledge they have about Christianity consists of the false notions that have been propagated by their Muslim imams.

Clothing

The Salar dress rather conservatively. The men keep their hair cropped short and the majority of the older men wear long beards with no hair across the upper lip. Every Muslim man wears a white skull cap with a dark colored coat. The women’s clothing is a bit more colorful than that of the men. The most distinctive aspect of their appearance is a colored headdress, which is evidence of their Islamic tradition. Most women wear a veil that covers their head, neck and ears but leaves the face exposed. The color of the veil depends on the wearer’s age and marital status. Married women wear black, unmarried women wear green and women over the age of 50 wear white. Young women, however, usually do not succumb to this custom, opting instead for a stylish nylon kerchief.

History

Salar ancestors migrated to their present regions during the Mongolian dynasty (1279 to 1368). They fled persecution in Uzbekistan from a local king during the 14th century and arrived in China where they live today. There is an unconfirmed rumor among the Salar that 5,000 Salar still live outside Uzbekistan.
There are many different versions of the journey the Salar people took to get to Qinghai still told among their people. The basic story is one of two brothers that follow the lead of a camel while searching for a new homeland. They carry a bag of their native soil, a bottle of native water and a copy of the Quran with them. They stopped only when the camel drank from a certain pool. That place is now the village of Jiezi. There is a park at that spot now and a stone camel next to the famous pool. The date of the arrival at Jiezi is said to be in 1370 during the Ming dynasty.
The Salar still retain their Central Asian appearance and identify themselves as a separate nationality of China. Salar history has caused them to be viewed as militaristic and confrontational by most of their counterparts. This image comes as a result of their often-brutal militaristic history that involved several clashes with Genghis Khan’s troops, as well as frequent battles with the Han Chinese over territorial rights. They have participated in every Muslim uprising that has taken place in China since the 17th century (Schwarz). However, personal interaction and casual contact with the Salar people seem to indicate that apart from their religious zeal, they, like many other Chinese Muslims, are quite warm and friendly once one has an opportunity to get to know them on a personal level.

Sources:

International Missions Emphasis from IMB [www.imb.imb.org]
Salar Advocate Group [http://www.salar.advocate.net/profile.htm]
Bethany Prayer Profiles [http://www.bethany.com/profiles/p_code/316.html]