Downtown, two mosques at the heart of the ‘old city’ are significant for their location and for their historical function (especially during the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s) as a conduit for Muslims from inland Chinese provinces who chose to set… Read More ›
Tag Archive for ‘Islam’
Music of the Ordam Shrine Festival
Music of the Ordam Shrine Festival Professor Rahile Dawut (Xinjiang University) Aynur Kadir (Simon Fraser University, Canada) Rahile Dawut has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork around the Xinjiang for over 20 years, and is the world’s leading expert on Uyghur shrine… Read More ›
Urumchi Soundwalks
Urumchi Soundwalks Conducting a series of soundwalks is a good way to gauge the range and diversity of the different mosques in Urumchi and to discern, en route, the ‘keynotes,’ ‘signals’ and ‘soundmarks’ of the surrounding city. Experimenting with phone-based… Read More ›
Islamic Soundscapes of Khotan
Mu Qian (Research Student, Department of Music, SOAS, University of London) Khotan is situated on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert. It is an area still dominated by Uyghurs. According to the national census in 2010, Uyghurs account for… Read More ›
The Silent Loud: Voice, Faith, and the Practice of Listening in China’s Jahriyya Sufism
Guangtian Ha (SOAS, University of London) (Please do not cite or circulate without the author’s permission) Though many Jahriyya Sufis in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region would hesitate to designate their daily recitation as a form of musical performance, they… Read More ›
Islam by Smartphone: the changing sounds of Uyghur religiosity
Rachel Harris (SOAS, University of London) Aziz Isa (Independent scholar) Over the past few years, localised violent incidents have become commonplace right across Xinjiang. State media blames the ongoing violence on the spread of Islamic jihadi ideals via the Internet… Read More ›
Mazar festivals of the Uyghurs: Music, Islam and the Chinese State
Mazar festivals of the Uyghurs: Music, Islam and the Chinese State. British Journal of Ethnomusicology. Volume 11, Issue 1, 2002 Rachel Harris & Rahilä Dawut Abstract: Mazar in Central Asia are the tombs of Islamic saints, mythical or real, whose protection the Uyghurs (Turkic Muslims of China’s northwestern Xinjiang… Read More ›
Al-Rahman
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… Read More ›
Kashgar Shadiyanisi (Sama music and dance)
Performed by: Memet Tokhti and apprentices Place: Kashgar city, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Recorded by: Rachel Harris and Aziz Isa Date: August 2006 One of a series of pieces performed on the naghra (paired kettle drums) and sunay (shawm)… Read More ›
Subhan’Allāh
Place: Shahyar county, Aqsu prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Date: August 2009 Recorded by: Rachel Harris and Aziz Isa Pious Uyghur village women, led by ritual specialists called qushnach, recite a zikr: Subhan’Allāh wa bihamdihi, subhan’Allāh il adhīm (Glory to Allah and praise… Read More ›