Shrine Pilgrimage Among the Uighurs

Shrine Pilgrimage among the Uighurs Rahilä Dawut Chinese scholars have tended to be more inter- Xinjiang University ested in the historical aspects of Islam among Urumqi, China the Uighurs, while researchers from other countries have often encountered difficulties in gain- he practice of shrine pilgrimage has long ing access to rural areas in Xinjiang. An exami- been prominent on the global Islamic nation of current Uighur pilgrimage practices, T landscape. Its significance has been not- coupled with knowledge of religious behavior ed by many scholars (Hawley 1987; Werbner in the region from a historical perspective, will 2003; Kieckhefer and Bond 1990; Tyson 1997). demonstrate that that shrines have long been People across the Islamic world go on pilgrim- critical focal points of Islamic practice among ages to fulfill a wish expressed in the name of the Uighurs (cf. Tyson 1997). a saint or to seek the blessing of a particular In this paper, I shall draw on information ob- shrine [Fig. 1]. tained from fieldwork and written resources to provide insight into the mazar culture among the Uighurs by exploring the classification, distribution and physi- cal evidence for rituals of worship at mazars. Of particular interest is the way this material suggests a relation- ship between Islamic mazar culture and pre-Islamic traditions, including those of Buddhism and shamanism. In the Uighur language, mazar means “tomb” or “shrine.” It often refers to the burial place of a saint or a place where miracles are believed to have occurred. Mazar pilgrimage refers to the practice of making journeys to the Fig. 1. Shrine pilgrimage in Xinjiang. Except as noted, tombs of saints, which are scattered all photographs in the article are © 2009 by the author. around the deserts and towns of Xinjiang. The mazars are the sites of pilgrimage in part be- In Xinjiang, there are numerous such shrines cause they are believed to have the power to (mazars). Some of the earliest evidence about cure infertility and diseases and avert natural mazars in Xinjiang is that left by foreigners or other disasters. In principle, mazar worship from various European countries and Japan in involves the activities of worship: reading of the th th the 19 and early 20 centuries. They came Quran, prayers, to this area as travelers, scholars, diplomats, offerings of sac- and missionaries and have provided us useful rifices and other information related to the historical situations, rituals for the pur- shapes, locations and legends of some of the pose of securing mazars of that time. Also, under the Qing Dy- the divine protec- nasty, Chinese scholars or rulers recorded im- tion of the mazar portant information on mazars. [Fig. 2]. Mazar However, since 1949 there have been few eth- worship is popular nographic studies of shrine–centered religious among the broad activities in Xinjiang (for recent publications in Fig. 2. Praying at Western languages see Harris and Dawut 2002; the mazar in Pichan. Sawada 2001a, 2001b; Zarcone 2001, 2002). Photo © Zulpiye Zum- ratshah. © 2009 by the Silkroad Foundation, the author, The Silk Road 6/2 (2009): 56-67 56 and the holders of rights to the illustrations. masses of the Uighur people, and has become of Sultan Ali Arslan Khan, grandson of Satuq an inalienable part of their religious belief. Wor- Bughra Khan. Shrines of Sufi leaders are also shippers at the mazars pour out the sorrows quite common, but their rituals are more local- and bitterness of their hearts and use different ized. The most widely known are the tombs of forms to express their needs and wishes. Some the Khoja rulers of Kashgar including that of pray for revenge on people who had done them Afaq Khoja and the “fragrant concubine” Ipar wrong, some for protection from disaster or for Khan.3 material wealth. Still others pray for harmony in marital relationships or for an ideal marriage Although they are considered an Islamic phe- partner. Others pray for financial security in old nomenon, many sites of worship are not directly age or for relief from extended drought. People linked to Islam. The tombs of philosophers and look on the mazar as a place which can pro- writers have in the past been important sites of pilgrimage for students at Islamic schools. tect them from disaster, where they can pour Most famous of these are the tombs of the out their innermost feelings, where they can prominent 11th century Uighur scholars, Yusuf seek cure for diseases, where their souls can be Khass Hajib, author of “Wisdom of Royal Glory” saved, and also as a place where they can seek (Qutadgu Bilig), and Mahmud Kashgari, author pleasure. Therefore, whether in extreme cold of the “Compendium of the Turkic Dialects” or heat, regardless of how dangerous or dif- ficult the journey, people will make pilgrimages to mazars. Some will not stint their fortune to offer sacrifices at the mazar in order to gain its divine protection. There are individuals who hold mazar worship to be of equal importance to a pilgrimage to Mecca. Many local cemeter- ies have a shrine around which people of the community are buried. In the course of several years’ fieldwork I have documented more than seventy in the Khotan region alone (Dawuti 2001). The types and geographical distribution of mazars The most common pilgrimage sites, which at- tract the greatest number of worshippers, are the tombs of kings, Islamic missionaries and Is- lamic martyrs (shehit) killed in jihad [holy war] Fig. 4. The Büwi Märyäm mazar. against the Buddhist kingdoms of Xinjiang. (Divanu Lughat-it-Türk). The tomb of the first Major sites of pilgrimage include the tomb of is in Kashgar city, the second in the village of the founder of the Qarakhanid1 empire Sultan 2 Upal some 50 km. to the south. Other sites of Satuq Bughra Khan, and the Ordam Padishah pilgrimage are the tombs of craftsmen, which [Fig. 3], “Court of the Emperor” (located about are believed to be effective in healing specific 24 km. southeast of Harap county in Yengisher ailments such as skin diseases. Many tombs of prefecture), which is reputed to be the shrine female historical figures are sites of pilgrimage Fig. 3. The Ordam Padishah mazar. for women, especially those who seek to have a child. The most famous of these is the tomb of Büwi Märyäm (located in Beshkerem county near Kashgar) [Fig. 4], also of the Qarakhanid dynasty. According to local legend, Büwi Märyäm was a sister of Ali Arslan Khan, and grand-daughter of Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan, founder of the Qarakhanid dynasty. 57 the name of langar which literally means “sta- tion” or “inn” in Uighur. Mazars located at traffic hubs and way–stations usually have caretakers and adjoining inns and are situated in quiet and elegant surroundings with springs and trees. While resting there, travelers can recover from the weariness of the journey and can also pray at the nearby mazars for blessings and protection for the remainder of their trip. However, most mazars do not have caretakers or inns to shelter the travelers, but rather are mainly burial sites even if the sites of some mazars are not really suited for burials. They may be marked by piled up stones or earth and the usual mazar sign of poles with colorful flags on them. On the poles and the trees near the mazar will be found many strips of cloth, and on the graves will be placed the horns of cows or sheep [Fig. 6]. The geographical location and form of such mazars suggest that they have the obvious char- acteristics of the shamanist obo. Sacrificial ac- tivity at an obo is an integral part of shamanist religious rituals, and played a very important Fig. 5. The Hazriti Beg mazar, Yengisar, Kashgar role in the religious life of the ancient nomadic prefecture. peoples of northern China. With the decline of shamanism and its absorption into Lamaist reli- Most mazars in Xinjiang are concentrated in the gious ritual among the Mongolian and Yugu na- south and east, although there are some in the tionalities, the obo has gradually lost its original north, in the Ili River valley. The distribution of significance and is retained merely as a symbol the mazars is uneven; some mazars are situ- of the sacred ground for sacrifices. However, for ated in traffic hubs and densely populated ar- the Uighurs, probably in conjunction with the eas, while others are in remote areas [Fig. 5]. concept of worshiping saints in Islam, in certain Especially in the Khotan area some mazars are sacrificial rituals the obo continues to play a located on the edges of the Taklamakan Desert role in mazars. Indeed, there is much evidence or even farther out in the des- to suggest that the shrine tradi- ert. Although such mazars are tion is not purely Islamic but has far from any community, their roots in a variety of pre-Islamic surroundings are scenic, with a beliefs and practices (Dawuti water source and shady trees, 2001). Many shrines are named and mosques, hanikas, inns, after animals and plants, such and similar affiliated construc- as Üjmä (Mulberry) mazar, and tions. Ghaz (Goose) mazar. Travel on the ancient Silk Road Some sites of pilgrimage were meant following paths which led also formerly Buddhist sites of from one oasis to another in or- worship (Dawuti 2001). It is well der to reach a remote destina- known that after the advent of tion, the mazars often serving Islam, in Central Asia and other as road markers. Between the regions local Buddhist and Zo- oases are either the barren gobi, roastrian temples and Chris- mountainous paths or dense Fig.

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