Recorded by: Rachel Harris and Aziz Isa

Place: Shahyar county, Aqsu prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Date: August 2009

A Uyghur qushnach ritual specialist recites part of Surah Al-Rahman (The Beneficent, Q55:1-13) from the Qur’an. The recitation comes at the end of a large-scale khätmä ritual of intercession performed during the festival of Barat. The qushnach uses the classical Egyptian style in her recitation, which she learned from VCDs purchased in the regional capital Ürümchi. Some sixty pious women attended this ritual, and they respond to her recitation with audible sobs and sighs.

Categories: Field work record, Multimedia, Sound map, Sound map contents

Tags: China, Islam, Islamic Soundscape of China, Shayar (Xayar), Sounding Islam China (SiC), Uyghur Islamic ritual, Uyghur muslim, Uyghur women's ritual, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region