article
Consuming identities: Food and resistance amoung Uyghur in contemporary Xinjiang
Inner Asia • 2 (2) • Published In 2000 • Pages: 225-238
By: Cesaro, M. Christina.
Abstract
This article is about how food and eating in Ürümqi is an identity marker for maintaining ethnic boundaries, especially between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. Following Muslim custom, Uyghurs only eat food that is “clean” or halal (for which Uyghurs use the Chinese word qingzhen). According to Islamic law, some food is forbidden, while other foods have to be prepared in a certain way. Chinese food is considered "unclean" and Uyghurs "don't eat Chinese." However, the same restrictions do not apply to either Western food or Chinese food served in Western restaurants. The author interprets this as a form of resistance to Han Chinese hegemony, and suggests that such ambiguity around food reflects the ambiguity of ethnic relations in the bustling capital city of Xinjiang.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2023
- Region
- Asia
- Sub Region
- Central Asia
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 2014
- Field Date
- 1996-1997
- Coverage Date
- 1996-1997
- Coverage Place
- Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China
- Notes
- M. Christina Cesaro
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 236-237)
- LCCN
- sn 99033632
- LCSH
- Uighur (Turkic people)