On Child-Rearing Folk Customs using Buxuk and their Change amongst Uyghur People, Kinjiang China

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  • ビュシュック(揺籃)育児とその再編 : 中国新疆ウイグルの産育文化の一側面
  • ビュシュック ヨウラン イクジ ト ソノ サイヘン チュウゴク シンキョウ ウイグル ノ サンイク ブンカ ノ イチ ソクメン

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Abstract

This paper reports findings of a survey on child-rearing folk customs using the buxuk (cradle), and on their new trends, in the Uyghur society of Xinjiang China. The buxuk comprises an item in the traditional lifestyle of Uyghur society, and functions as a uniquely Uyghur child-care item for toddlers in the period between birth and a little after age one. We can discover in the Xinjiang Uyghur buxuk a structure and characteristics predicated upon the childcare method of swaddling, and, alternatively, ascertain its role as an important tool in child-rearing ceremonies. Examining child-care manners and customs centering around the buxuk by using the buxuk as a cardinal point, provides one clue from which to not only understand the present reality of Uyghur child-rearing but also from which to grasp the dynamics of culture and ethnicity of China's minority ethnic populations amidst a rapidly changing environment. Meanwhile, in recent years amidst large-scale development policies and an increasingly market economy, we can find signs especially amongst urban residents of a trend towards "post-buxuk" (trends away from use of buxuk). However, use of buxuk still continues in regions with large concentrations of Uyghur, and even in large metropolis such as Urumqi we can still find persistent use of traditional baby foods. Including selection of whether or not to use the buxuk, child-rearing customs in present-day Uyghur society, by both region and generation, present a complicated coexistence of elements of the traditional and the modern, and we propose that Uyghur child-rearing customs are in a continually generative process, a mutual flow between change and continuity. In summary, the findings of this survey are as follows: 1. The Uyghur buxuk possesses a structure and usage characteristics predicated upon swaddling. 2. Buxuk is not only a child-care item, but is also given an important place as a tool in child-rearing ceremonies. 3. The representation and internalization of Uyghur norms and values are promoted through the symbolism and practice of child-rearing ceremonies which utilize the buxuk. 4. Buxuk is also widely recognized as an ethnic craft, and, including ceremonial use, its production and usage are deeply connected to Uyghur identity and the expression of Uyghur culture. 5. Child-rearing using the buxuk in present-day Xinjiang exists as a complicated process consisting of not only trends toward post-buxuk but also those of parallel existence with and fusion between the buxuk and new child-care goods.

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