中国穆斯林民族的割礼习俗与文化认同

中国信仰伊斯兰教的少数民族一般都实行割礼。割礼就是在男孩子长到一定年龄时举行一定的仪式割去他们阴茎上过长的包皮。行过割礼之后,这个小男孩便成了一个穆斯林。割礼既是中国信仰伊斯兰教的民族通行的重大人生礼仪,也是穆斯林民族文化特性的标志,还是卫生之举,广为穆斯林民众所接受。随着历史的进步和社会的发展,中国穆斯林民族割礼习俗中最初单纯的宗教性涵义已日趋淡化,从而在一定程度上使割礼变成一种展示民族传统文化、共同心理、思维特征和精神面貌的文化复合体。

Male Circumcision of Chinese Minority Nationalities Believed in Islam and Their Cultural Identity

Male circumcision has been practiced among Chinese minority nationalities believed in Islam,which is a surgical procedure that involves partial removal of the foreskin of a boy' s penis after he was born.Males only circumcised can be accepted as Muslim.It has been variously proposed that male circumcision began as a rite of passage marking a boy' s entrance into adulthood,as a means of differentiating a circumcising group from their non-circumcising neighbors,and as an aid to personal hygiene.Along with the advancement of the ethnic societies,the original religious meaning of male circumcision was weaker and weaker.And now male circumcision has been become a part of the traditional ethnic cultural system,which revealed the common psychology,thought and spirits of Chinese minority nationalities believed in Islam.