From Shamanism to Sufism: Women, Islam and Culture in Central Asia

Women have traditionally played a vital part in Islam throughout Central Asia - the vast area from the Caspian Sea to Siberia. With this ground-breaking and original study, Razia Sultanova examines the experiences of Muslim women in the region and the ways in which religion has shaped their daily lives and continues to do so today. 'From Shamanism to Sufism' explores the fundamental interplay between religious belief and the cultural heritage of music and dance and is the first book to focus particularly on the role of women. Based on evidence derived from over fifteen years of field work, 'From Shamanism to Sufism' shows how women kept alive traditional Islamic religious culture in Central Asia, especially through Shamanism and Sufism, even under Soviet rule when all religion was banned. Nowhere was the role of women more important than in the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan, the cradle of female Islamic culture and a centre for women's poetry and music. This area is home to the 'Otin-Oy', a sisterhood of religiously educated women and members of Sufi orders, who take a leading part in rituals, marking the pivotal moments in the Islamic calendar and maintaining religious practices through music and ritual dances. Sultanova shows how the practice of Islam in Uzbekistan has evolved over time: long underground, there was a religious resurgence at independence in 1991, boosting national Uzbek identity and nationalism - 500 new mosques were built - only to be followed by a return to persecution by a repressive state under the banner of the 'war against terror'. Now events have come full circle, and once again covert worship by women remains crucial to the survival of traditional Muslim culture. Ritual and music are at the heart of Central Asian and Islamic culture, not only at weddings and funerals but in all aspects of everyday life. Through her in-depth analysis of these facets of cultural life within Central Asian society, 'From Shamanism to Sufism' offers important insights into the lives of the societies in the region. The role of women has often been neglected in studies of religious culture and this book fills an enormous gap, restoring women to their rightful historical and cultural context. It will be essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in the History or Religion of Central Asia or in Global Islam.

Table of Contents:
Preface Chapter 1: Historical Overview 1. Early religious practices and beliefs 2. Islam in Central Asia 3. Central Asia under Russian and Soviet rule 4. Land ploughed by Cultural Revolution Chapter 2: Shamanism in Central Asian nomadic culture 5. Theory and practise 6. How to become shaman? 7. Women and Shamanism in Central Asia 8. Kyrgyz heroic epic 9. Shamanism and Islam Chapter 3: Sufism in Central Asia 10. Historical development 11. Main Tariqas of Central Asia Chapter 4:Female Sufism: historical overview 12. Female Sufism: historical overview 13. Sufi poetry in Central Asia: Ghazal and female poets Chapter 5: Transmission of Sacred Knowledge 14. Usto-shogird in medieval sources 15. Usto-Shogird tradition today 16. Mehterlik or Professional guilds 17.Professional training: Hafizlik Chapter 6: Music and Female Sufis . 18. Sufi Masters in Music 19. Sufi music in Central Asia: from court to folk traditions 20. Maqam music and Sufism 21. Female Maqam singers 22. Munojat Yulchieva 23. Sufi origin genre Katta Ashulla Chapter 7: Interaction of Shamanism and Sufism 24. From healing rituals to protective songs 25.Femalee shamanism in Turkmenistan 26.Galeke 27.Tajikistan Chapter 8: Female music making: Musical instruments and Dance 29. Musical instruments: from Shamanism to Sufism 30. Dutar 31. Dances in Central Asian culture Chapter 9 : Female folk Sufism 32. Female Sufi practises 33. Otin-Oy as female Sufi Pirs 34. How to become an Otin-Oy 35. Current situation: female religious school in Bukhara Chapter 10 : Female rituals led by Otin-Oys 36. Female rituals 37. Zikr 38. Other rituals led by Otin-Oy 39. “O'qish” (reading) as a ritual's session 40. Calssification 41. Ichkari: the inner space 42. Pre-Islamic believes and practices in rituals 43. Female rites of passage 44. Toy: the main ritual in human life as a Sufi feast 45. Calendar Rituals led by Otin-oy 46. Otin-Oy in Uzbek pop music Chapter 11: Otin-Oy in the neighbouring areas 47. Female rituals in Turkic speaking world 48. How musical are female rituals Conclusion Apendix: 1. Female poetry References and notes Comprehensive glossary Bibliography

About the Author :
Razia Sultanova is Fellow at Cambridge Central Asia Forum, University of Cambridge and Director of the Centre for Central Asian music. She graduated from Uzbek State Conservatory and was awarded her PhD by Moscow State Conservatory, where she is Visiting Professor. She has also worked as a Research Fellow at Goldsmith's College and at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Her interests extend from Russian and Central Asian to Middle Eastern culture and music. Razia Sultanova was the editor of a special issue of the "Journal Ethnomusicology Forum," entitled "Music and Identity in Central Asia" (2005); a special issue of the journal Cahiers de musiques traditionelles entitled "Entre Femmes" (2005) and the book "Sacred Knowledge: Schools or revelation? Master-Apprentice System of Oral Transmission in the Music of the Turkic Speaking World" (2009).