Exploring Sanya's Utsul Cham Muslim Culture, Historic Mosques, and Halal Heritage in Hainan
[Internet Repost]
A Study on Sanya's Utsul Cham Culture and Historical Origins: From Ancient Champa Migrants to the Great Family of the Chinese Nation
Abstract:
An in-depth analysis of the Champa historical roots carried by Sanya's Hui Muslims. Tracing the epic history of ancient Champa kingdom Muslims who sailed south to settle in Yazhou since the Song and Yuan dynasties, this explores how they have integrated Chinese culture over hundreds of years to become a unique cultural treasure of the island.
They are the descendants of the Southeast Asian Champa.
During the Chinese New Year of the Horse, I went to Sanya to visit friends, and after having lunch together, we stopped by a nearby mosque.
It is said that there are six mosques in Sanya (four in Huihui Village and two in Huixin Village), and this time we visited the East Mosque and the North Mosque.
(Sanya East Mosque)
The East Mosque looked small from the outside, with a shop on the ground floor. Walking inside, however, we found it quite spacious. An electronic screen on the wall displayed the set times for daily prayers. The floor of the main hall was crowded with shoes, and a few men wearing white prayer caps were performing wudu (ablution) by the pool... A Muslim girl told us that wudu is the preparation for the five daily prayers, which can be done either at home or at the mosque.
There were very few parking spots in front of the East Mosque, and since we couldn't find anywhere to park, we had to leave in a hurry.
Afterwards, the two of us headed to the North Mosque and found a small parking lot not far away.
The North Mosque is probably the largest mosque in Sanya, or even Hainan, though the original architecture was destroyed by war and typhoons long ago. The current mosque was built after 2000, and underwent major renovations and remodeling in recent years.
Along the way, we spotted villagers of all ages—women wearing hijabs, and men wearing white caps and white robes, making it feel as if we had suddenly teleported to Southeast Asia...
Inside the mosque hall, there was a casket covered with a black cloth; as it turned out, we had stumbled upon a funeral. The deceased's family and friends sat separately in two different areas, divided by gender.
Worshippers who arrived one after another, likely for prayer, gathered in the shade in front of the mosque to chat.
On the stage, a man wearing a white sarong was preaching in three languages. The first was probably the Sanya Utsul language, which the owner of the shop out front described as "the language of the local ethnic minority," noting that even he couldn't understand it.
Afterwards, the man preached again in Hainan Mandarin and English... Since we were outside the doorway, we couldn't catch the exact details.
Today's sunshine was intensely bright, burning our skin, and our phones started overheating as several airplanes flew right above the Chinese-style minarets.
After chatting with a few Muslim villagers for a bit, we left the mosque and headed back to Wanning...
#SanyaUtsul #NorthMosque #SoutheastAsianChampa
A Study on Sanya's Utsul Cham Culture and Historical Origins: From Ancient Champa Migrants to the Great Family of the Chinese Nation
Abstract:
An in-depth analysis of the Champa historical roots carried by Sanya's Hui Muslims. Tracing the epic history of ancient Champa kingdom Muslims who sailed south to settle in Yazhou since the Song and Yuan dynasties, this explores how they have integrated Chinese culture over hundreds of years to become a unique cultural treasure of the island.
They are the descendants of the Southeast Asian Champa.
During the Chinese New Year of the Horse, I went to Sanya to visit friends, and after having lunch together, we stopped by a nearby mosque.
It is said that there are six mosques in Sanya (four in Huihui Village and two in Huixin Village), and this time we visited the East Mosque and the North Mosque.
(Sanya East Mosque)
The East Mosque looked small from the outside, with a shop on the ground floor. Walking inside, however, we found it quite spacious. An electronic screen on the wall displayed the set times for daily prayers. The floor of the main hall was crowded with shoes, and a few men wearing white prayer caps were performing wudu (ablution) by the pool... A Muslim girl told us that wudu is the preparation for the five daily prayers, which can be done either at home or at the mosque.
There were very few parking spots in front of the East Mosque, and since we couldn't find anywhere to park, we had to leave in a hurry.
Afterwards, the two of us headed to the North Mosque and found a small parking lot not far away.
The North Mosque is probably the largest mosque in Sanya, or even Hainan, though the original architecture was destroyed by war and typhoons long ago. The current mosque was built after 2000, and underwent major renovations and remodeling in recent years.
Along the way, we spotted villagers of all ages—women wearing hijabs, and men wearing white caps and white robes, making it feel as if we had suddenly teleported to Southeast Asia...
Inside the mosque hall, there was a casket covered with a black cloth; as it turned out, we had stumbled upon a funeral. The deceased's family and friends sat separately in two different areas, divided by gender.
Worshippers who arrived one after another, likely for prayer, gathered in the shade in front of the mosque to chat.
On the stage, a man wearing a white sarong was preaching in three languages. The first was probably the Sanya Utsul language, which the owner of the shop out front described as "the language of the local ethnic minority," noting that even he couldn't understand it.
Afterwards, the man preached again in Hainan Mandarin and English... Since we were outside the doorway, we couldn't catch the exact details.
Today's sunshine was intensely bright, burning our skin, and our phones started overheating as several airplanes flew right above the Chinese-style minarets.
After chatting with a few Muslim villagers for a bit, we left the mosque and headed back to Wanning...
#SanyaUtsul #NorthMosque #SoutheastAsianChampa
