The Islamic Culture of Central Asia According to S. M. Dudin’s Materials (1900–1902)

Abstract

The article presents materials reflecting the religious culture of the Muslim peoples of Central Asia, which were collected by S. M. Dudin during his trips (1900–1902) on the instructions of the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum (now the Russian Ethnographic Museum). They include attributes of Islamic cult, photographs of rituals and places of worship, as well as descriptions of various phenomena in religious life of the local population. He noted a much greater influence of Islam on the everyday culture of sedentary Uzbeks and Tajiks than on culture of nomads. At the same time, some pre-Islamic ideas and practices were still in use, for example, divination, magic healing and so on. Dudin has drawn attention to the city-forming significance of Muslim architecture and the role of places of worship in social life. Describing the attributes of the cult, he characterizes the peculiarities of their presence among different peoples of the region. Dudin has pointed out unique information provided by him about the dervishes and their participation in the Andijan uprising (1898). At present, the materials of Dudin’s journey: clothing, collection of photo, documents present a valuable historical source on religious culture of the Central Asia of the late 19th — early 20th centuries.