Ethnicily and Economic Activities in the Hui-Han Multiethnic Village : A Case of Najiahu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

This paper focuses on the relationship among ethnicity and economic activities of Teams (xiaozu) 1 and 11 of Najiahu Village at Yanghe Township, Yongning County in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), PRC. The research was carried out from August to October 1997 and from September 1998 to August 1999. The total population of the Teams studied here was 437(92 households), of which 305(66 households) were Hui and 132(26 households) were Han at the end of 1998. Both Teams comprised the Hui and the Han ethnic groups. The Teams are located about 5 kilometers away from the Yellow River and about 17 kilometers away from Yinchuan City, the capital of NHAR. Main crops of this area are rice, wheat and corn. Due to the rapid growth of population, the average area of arable land per person is barely 1.4 mu (9 ares). When private farming was reintroduced in 1981 under the "Reforms and Open Policy", the land was equally distributed among the members of the Teams regardless of ethnicity, age and sex, having scarcely changed thereafter. Consequently, the scale of farming is almost similar to each other. As well, no difference of cultivation and crop combination is observed between the Hui and the Han because the total farming practice including crop rotation is decided by the village administration authority under the collective ownership of the PRC. However, various differences between the Hui and the Han are observed in livestock raising and off-farm activities. In livestock raising, because of the Islamic taboo on the eating of pig, only the Han keep hogs. Sometimes disputes arise between the Hui and the Han because the Hui are displeased with the Han by raising hogs in the village. Regarding sheep raising, most of the Hui farmers keep small numbers of sheep for domestic use to slaughter them and make a feast at Islamic festivals such as Id al-adha. In contrast, some Han farmers raise sheep on a large scale to sell them at local markets around the village. In terms of off-farm activities, numbers of farmers are in need of off-farm jobs in order to supplement their income. Most of them, however, fail to find permanent jobs due to the lack of development of commercial, manufacturing and construction industries in the area. Consequently, only 17.4 percent of the economically active population of the Teams is engaged in stable non-agri-cultural jobs such as working in companies, factories, construction sites or grocery stores. Only the Hui are engaged in the slaughter, processing and sales of mutton because the mutton slaughtered by the Han out of the Islamic way cannot be sold to the Hui. Only a few Hui women are employed by the companies and factories, while many Han women are engaged in these kinds of job. The author often heard about negative views on the work of women in off-farm activities especially from elderly Hui. The employment between the Hui and the Han takes place only when the work is short-term and less complicated. The employers tend to be worried if the difference of lifestyle and sense of values between the Hui and the Han may damage the efficiency of the activities. In the author's prospects, if the economic policies of PRC keep to encourage the development of stock raising and off-farm activities, the difference of lifestyle between the Hui and the Han will be magnified in the study area. This will result in the intensification of ethnic identity of each ethnic group.