article
Religious legitimation in the healing practice of an Uyghur preacher: A Field Report from Rural Turpan
Journal of Asian and African studies • (52) • Published In 1996 • Pages: 35-55
By: Wang, Jianxin.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is study of religion and medicine in a Uyghur village. An important aspect of Uyghur religiosity is the belief that the recitation of Quran verses and prayers contain sacred power that any religiously educated person is capable of utilizing. Consequently, healers and religious teachers are addressed by the same honorific. There is a distinction between ordinary and supernatural illnesses. The former have natural causes that can be treated by a doctor in a modern clinic. For the latter, including illnesses due to sorcery, one goes to see a traditional healer. Illness is regarded as part of the spiritual process of religious purification, and medical practices are based on what the Prophet did in his lifetime, such as using protective amulets and carrying out purification rites involving repetitive recitation of the Quran. Attention to cleanliness and health also is part of religious practice.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sickness
- Theological systems
- Purification and atonement
- Magic
- Priesthood
- 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
- article
- 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
- 1993-1995
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1993-1995
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Yar village, Turpan City, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, People's Republic of China
- NotesAdditional notes
- Wang Jianxin
- Healers are variously indexed as 756 (shamans), 759 (medical personnel) and 793 (priests).
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 55)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75001539
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Uighur (Turkic people)