Circumcision
3 min readlygur and other ethnic minorities call circumcision as”Sunnet”or”Hetne and a circumcision ceremony as”Sunnet toy”or “Hetne toy”. Originally, the circumcision is the custom of the ancient inhabitants in the arabian peninsula and then followed by islam. With the introduction of Islam to Xinjiang thecircumcision was also accepted by the islamic ethnic groups like Uygur, Hu Kazak, Kirgiz, and gradually became a life custom
The so-called circumcision is to slice off redundant foreskin from genita organs of boys. the circumcision is usually carried out when the boys are 5-7 years old and usually in spring to guarantee quick healing of the incisior most families choose to perform the circumcision on holidays in order to not delay the study of the children. Uygur and other ethnic minorities regard the circumcision as a great event in life, so the circumcision rite is very solemn and s an important ceremony ranking second only to a wedding in the islamic ethnic groups. According to traditional custom, the parents who apply circumcision surgery to their son should prepare new clothes, new quilts, new pillows and enough eggs for their son, and then choose a lucky day, mostly the Jumah Day”(Friday) and invite an imam who is professional or a clergy to home to host the circumcision The surgical instrument is a small folding steel knife which is referred to as “ustura”and a reed stem which has been split into two halves and cut smoothly. Before the circumcision, the imam will gently knead the boy,’s penis foreskin for a while with two fingers, and covers the foreskin with two slices of reed stem with his left hand and picks up the ustura which has been sterilized on the fire in advance with his right hand.
Then he recites the scripture “In name of the kind Allah”and breathes on the knife and cuts the foreskin completely, quickly and accurately, and then he puts the cotton ash burned well in advance on the bleeding wound at the moment of cut, as an aide, his father or brother should hold the baby’s legs and head. at the same time, they should put the eggs without shell into the child’s mouththat has been open because of pain, one after another to distract the childs attention and to avoid the child from crying hard which has the effect of hemostasis and calm. After the circumcision surgery, the child has to rest in bed and will be particularly taken good care of and he will recover in about aweek. In the process of the surgery, no idlers can watch alongside, especially women(including his mother) cannot be present or in and out the room because the circumcision of a boy is a sign of him entering adulthood
On the day of the circumcision, parents have to fete relatives and friends to celebrate. Uygur beating nagara drum on the roof and blowing suona horn, relatives and friends come to congratulate with gifts. the day is so boisterousthat Kazak and Kirgiz people will conduct many activities like horse racing and goat grabbing
Nowadays, some children from non-Muslim minorities in Xinjiang also have the circumcision surgery in the hospital because the circumcision is in accordance with the requirements of physiological health with the development of the time, some changes have taken place in this ancient custom. Today, when applying the circumcision for a child, many parents(mainly in the cities) prefer to invite the experienced Uygur urologist rather than the imam. The traditional ustura is also replaced by a scalpel. The circumcision ceremony is usually held in the banquet hall after the CIrcumcision surgery.
