Language:
English
Pages:
ix, 408 Seiten
,
Illustrationen, Karten
Keywords:
Zentral-Asien Kirgisien
;
Sowjet-Union, ehemalige
;
Kirgise
;
Usbeke
;
Postkommunismus
;
Nomade
;
Nomadismus
;
Tradition
;
Brauch
;
Glaube
;
Bestattung
;
Begräbnissitte
;
Totenfest
;
Ritual, religiöses
;
Schamanismus
;
Sozialer Aspekt
;
Sozialer Wandel
;
Soziales Leben
;
Sufismus
;
Islam
;
Islam und Politik
;
Islamisierung
;
Autobiographie
;
Hochschulschrift
Abstract:
This dissertation deals with three major issues: Kyrgyz nomadic customs, Islamic revival, and the emergence of a new national ideology, Tengirchilik . These three factors have current significance in post-Soviet Kyrgyz society and in the development of Kyrgyz national identity. The socio-cultural legacy of nomadic life and the worldview of Tengirchilik, which are closely related to each other, conflict with fundamentalist Islamic ideas and practices, which come from outside. In the past, the nomadic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz easily adopted Sufism, especially the veneration of Sufi saints, because its idea of 'saint worship' was similar to their native religious concept of 'ancestor cult.' Today, unlike Sufism, which was tolerant of people's traditional religious beliefs and practices, foreign and underground Islamic fundamentalist groups in Kyrgyzstan, such as Hizb-ut Tahrir al-Islamiyya (Party of Islamic Liberation), are becoming intolerant towards many Kyrgyz customs and religious practices, and condemn them as bid'ah, idolatrous innovations. In Kyrgyzstan, the clash between 'normative Islam' and 'local Islam' is most evident in traditional religious practices and customs, such as funerals. Traditional funeral rituals among the Kyrgyz and Kazakhs form an institutionalized custom, which is deeply connected with the socio-economic necessities of nomadic life, and that they were able to survive by incorporating some Islamic practices. However, the core native customs and rituals continue to play a significant role in Kazakh and Kyrgyz societies. In response to the competing Islamic and Christian religious activities in their countries, native Kazakh and Kyrgyz intellectuals are trying to revive the ancient, but living worldview of Tengirchilik, which comes from the Old Turkic word Tangri (Sky/God). To replace the commonly accepted term 'shamanism,' which focuses on the figure of the shaman, native intellectuals coined a new term, Tengirchilik, by systematizing all the native religious beliefs and practices shared by Turkic peoples. The advocates of Tengirchilik believe that this ancient worldview offers much more sophisticated views about life and the world than other world religions such as Islam and Christianity. Tengirchilik might find universal support in the future, especially among international environmental organizations, for it treats Nature as God and puts it above everything.
Description / Table of Contents:
List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Transliteration Guide -- Introduction: Theory and Methodology -- Chapter I: "Fieldwork" in The Native "Field" -- Chapter II: The Town of Kizil-Jar: The Main "Research Site" -- Chapter III: Dynamics of Identity Formation among the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks: Legacies of Nomadic-Sedentary Differences -- Chapter IV: Islamization and Re-Islamization of Central Asia --Chapter V: Kyrgyz Funeral Rites: "Islamic In Form, `Pagan` In Content?" -- Chapter VI: Kyrgyz National Ideology: Tengirchilik -- Summary -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Appendix
Note:
Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 366-395; Photocopy by Ann Arbor, MI : UMI; Text teilw. in transliterierter kirgisischer Schrift
,
Dissertation, University of Washington, New and Middle Eastern Studies Group, Seattle, WA, USA, 2007
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