Between The Sacred And The Secular

Since the1980s, a lot of mosques have been reopened or rebuilt. Many religious activities have been revived accordingly. In the1990s and around the turn of the20th century, the similar situation existed. It seemed that a wide range of Isamic revitalization and rehabilitation of the Chinese Hui society began to arise.However, there exists the discourse that the Hui today are not the same as the Hui in the past or that the Hui today have deviated away from the tradition. Even so, the Hui people are distinctively different from the others around on their personhood.Through the study of the Na people of Yongning County in Ningxia Hui autonomous area, this dissertation intends to discuss the component of their personhood. Based on the participant observation, personal interviews, and previous studies, it is believed that the religious symbol, which have been part of the Na people's life, is the central element of understanding their personhood. People, the Lord, and the society constitute the mainframe of the Na people's personhood.However,the relationship between the three is not fixed at all.In general situation, the sacred and secular role of the Na people are interconnected. While taking care of their livelihood, the Na people also try to perform the religious rituals embeding in their daily life. The notion of the Lord among these people is remarkable.In the circumstance of the socialist reform, the religion-oriented Na people are endowed with more and complex secular social roles. As a result, the traditional lifestyle surrounding the mosque is changed. However, the course is progressive and is linked to the collectivization and imreligious campaigns complemented by the local government. In this situation, some people have changed their personhood and begun to pursue the meaning of life in the secular political reform or in their struggle for susistence, Meanwhile, some people are also concerned about their after-life and thus seek the sanctity of religion.Although the mosque has been reopened since the reform and the Na people continue to some religious activities, their personhood has changed. In the perseverence of their tradition, things like pursuing self interests, converting to a new sect or the Sufi Order, exploiting the Islamic characteristics for personal purposes,happen from time to time. Some people do believe that the personhood is more authentic. In sum, the Na people in this period tend to be more secular while show their tendency to pursue the sanctity. Therefore, although the Na people today chang so much, they still differate from the other groups of people.