Book
Down a narrow road: identity and masculinity in a Uyghur community in Xinjiang China
Harvard University Asia Center • Cambridge, Mass. • Published In 2009 • Pages: xvi, 349
By: Dautcher, Jay.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a "thick description" of Uyghur gender and identity formation that emerges from the local customs and practices of daily living in a suburban neighborhood. The author examines household and neighborhood dynamics, and life cycle events (e.g. childrearing, child play, courtship, weddings, and married life), followed by an examination of the informal institution of drinking parties that occur several times a week in private homes or in the private dining rooms of local restaurants. Drinking parties are sites for masculine displays of verbal skill and wit, and of drinking prowess. Nicknames are also considered, as they are important as individual and collective identity markers. "A man without a nickname is not a man," according to one saying. The role of identity in the marketplace, including Uyghur-Han relations, is also discussed. Lastly, the author examines religious practices, including male congregational gatherings, that provide an alternative path for establishing male identity and status.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Settlement patterns
- Gift giving
- External trade
- Leisure time activities
- Verbal arts
- Music
- Personal names
- Gender status
- Visiting and hospitality
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Asceticism
- Congregations
- Organized ceremonial
- Ceremonial during infancy and childhood
- Infant care
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Uyghur
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2023
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 2014
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1995-1996
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1992-1997
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Yining, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomus Region, People's Republic of China
- NotesAdditional notes
- Jay Dauchter
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-338) and index
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 2008041015
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Uighur (Turkic people)--China--Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu--Social life and customs
- China--Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu
- Men--China--Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu