Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics
Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics Rafis Abazov Greenwood Press CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS The Central Asian Republics. Cartography by Bookcomp, Inc. Culture and Customs of the Central Asian Republics 4 RAFIS ABAZOV Culture and Customs of Asia Hanchao Lu, Series Editor GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abazov, Rafi s. Culture and customs of the Central Asian republics / Rafi s Abazov. p. cm. — (Culture and customs of Asia, ISSN 1097–0738) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–313–33656–3 (alk. paper) 1. Asia, Central—History. 2. Asia, Central—Social life and customs. I. Title. DK859.5.A18 2007 958—dc22 2006029553 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2007 by Rafi s Abazov All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006029553 ISBN: 0–313–33656–3 ISSN: 1097–0738 First published in 2007 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Series Foreword vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Notes on Transliteration xvii Chronology xxi 1 Introduction: Land, People, and History 1 2 Thought and Religion 59 3 Folklore and Literature 79 4 Media and Cinema 105 5 Performing Arts 133 6 Visual Arts 163 7 Architecture 191 8 Gender, Courtship, and Marriage 213 9 Festivals, Fun, and Leisure 233 Glossary 257 Selected Bibliography 263 Index 279 Series Foreword Geographically, Asia encompasses the vast area from Suez, the Bosporus, and the Ural Mountains eastward to the Bering Sea and from this line southward to the Indonesian archipelago, an expanse that covers about 30 percent of our earth.
[Show full text]