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20. Sacred Sites, Profane Ideologies:Religious Pilgrimage and the Uzbek State
David M. Abramson and Elyor E. Karimov
Islam has been a de
fi
ning aspect of life in Central Asia, and sacred places,most predominantly saint shrines, have played a key role in the everydayspiritual life of Muslims for much of the region
’
s history over the lasttwelve centuries. After many decades of life under Soviet socialism, Is-lamic rituals, such as pilgrimages to sacred sites, are gaining popularityin Uzbekistan and in the region. While many of the ritual practices ob-served today have centuries-old roots, they also have new, contemporarymeanings for the region
’
s Muslims, who are struggling to make senseout of the remarkable social, economic,
1
and political changes affectingtheir lives (DeWeese, 1988: 45
–
83). Those meanings are often made in thecontext of large-scale events. However, they are shaped more directly byeveryday con
fl
icts over, for example, what constitutes authentic ritual ob-servance, how people talk about the value of sacred sites in their lives,the architectural designs of those sites, and even how people de
fi
ne whatit means to be Muslim.In examining each of these areas of con
fl
ict, we argue that Islam
’
srenewal in Uzbekistan today is a dynamic, multi-faceted phenomenonthat entails, among other things, the accumulation and deployment ofpolitical, economic, and social capital. Just as importantly, it also entailsspiritual renewal and the search for forms of moral authority alternativeto those prescribed by socialism and nationalism. Moreover, our researchon practices surrounding sacred sites has yielded a rich set of intriguingobservations that are shedding light on the nature of moral authority andhow culture (particularly debates centered on Islam) is being shaped andis shaping the stage on which national and local politics unfold.The story told in this chapter is based on archival information on morethan 2,000 sacred places out of an estimated 3,500 sacred sites in Uzbeki-
320
/
David M. Abramson and Elyor E. Karimov
stan, and on
fi
eldwork conducted in
fi
ve regions of the country
—
Tashkent,Bukhara, Khorezm, Kashkadarya, and Navoi. Several observations are par-ticularly signi
fi
cant. First, since independence, the number of people whoare making pilgrimages (
ihson
) to sacred sites has grown signi
fi
cantly. Thisnewfound popularity of sacred sites (
ziyaratgoh
) is re
fl
ected partly in the de-mographic diversi
fi
cation of visitors to shrine sites. While categories of visi-tors used to consist primarily of, women, children, and elderly men withless education and of a lower social status, they now also include men of allages and people representing all levels of education, wealth, and social sta-tus. The growth in the number and categories of pilgrims has been accom-panied by a vastly increasing in
fl
ux of money through donations (
sadaqa
),the purchasing of souvenirs and talismans, written verses from the Quran,literature about local saints, and entrance fees.Sacred sites, or shrines, have also become the focus of renewed saint ven-eration, which in some cases has brought people who had no prior relation-ship to a sacred place to seek to establish a genealogical connection to it,often for political (legitimacy), economic (pro
fi
t), and/or social (status) rea-sons. The increasing number of pilgrimages and amounts of money and thegrowing social importance of these sites are also re
fl
ected in and in
fl
uencethe architecture of new and restored sacred sites and shrine complexes. Inaddition to restoring old sites, individuals have begun to build mausoleumsand monuments around existing tombs, as well as to place their own gravesand sometimes mausoleums adjacent to saints
’
tombs.Lighting lamps or candles and tying shawls or pieces of cloth on tree branches are the main practices pilgrims engage in at sacred sites. Histori-cally these practices derive from pre-Islamic traditions, but today they bearsigni
fi
cance for Muslims in Uzbekistan that is inseparable from Islam. Theof
fi
cial Islamic establishment (e.g., the Mufti of Uzbekistan and Muslimclerics such as imams credentialed in Tashkent) now reject many of thesepractices as being inconsistent with Islamic tradition. This position is com-municated most often in mosque sermons but is also seen on instructiveplaques sometimes placed at holy sites. At the same time, religious authori-ties facilitate such practices by supporting sacred sites and encouragingvisits. Besides mosque attendance, pilgrimages are one of the most visiblemanifestations of popular interest in Islam and are a considerable
fi
nancialsource for religious communities.
2
Finally, supporters of some Islamist trends in Uzbekistan condemn theinstitution of saints (
avliya
) and saint veneration as un-Islamic and, in somecases, have vandalized saintly shrines because they are deemed un-Islamic.These actions and other claims about what is or is not Islamic exploit theambivalence of some Muslims about the Islamic authenticity of shrine use.In this way, they seek to challenge the of
fi
cial Islamic establishment sup-ported by the government.
Sacred Sites, Profane Ideologies
/
321
These developments are interesting because each one expresses a par-ticular tension between cultural continuity and change, tension expressedin both practice and discourse about the role of sacred sites in CentralAsian Islam. In this chapter, after providing the basic elements that con-stitute a
“
sacred site
”
in the Central Asian context, we explore each of theabove trends and the con
fl
icts embedded in them and, in conclusion, sug-gest ways in which they in
fl
uence and are in
fl
uenced by larger societaldynamics.
definition of a sacred site
What is a sacred site? In the Central Asian context, a sacred site can con-sist of anything from a natural site, such as a water source, to an exten-sive complex including mosque (
masjid
), religious school (
madrasa
), tomb(
mazar
), cemetery (
qabriston
), and additional buildings for administration,artisanship, and even tourist facilities. While the actual form of the sitecan vary (e.g., a water source, tree, stone, mosque, mausoleum, the saint
’
stomb), most sites consist of at least a tree, a water source, and a tomb, allof which are considered sacred because of their af
fi
liation with the siteand miracle stories (
karomatlar
) about the interred saint. The telling andretelling of miracle stories by shrine caretakers and other devotees essen-tially reenact the miracles themselves and intensify the experience for au-diences in search of a saint
’
s good will, grace, or blessing (
baraka
).Sacred places are commonly understood to serve the spiritual needs ofall kinds of people, including the sick and childless, who visit shrines toask for the help of a saint. We can divide sacred sites in Uzbekistan intofour somewhat distinct categories: 1) sites known throughout the Muslimworld and visited by pilgrims from other countries; 2) sites known onlywithin a particular region in Uzbekistan; 3) sites visited primarily bypeople of a particular occupation; and 4) new sites, which have not yetacquired renown.While sacred sites draw pilgrims for multiple reasons and at any time,there are generally
fi
ve types of visits. Everyday visits are characteristicof people who live near a shrine and regularly attend mosque.
3
Visitorsleave sadaqa, usually a small sum of money in the range of 25
–
100
som
,
4
in a standard set of places close to the site, such as under stones and treesor by tombstones. In the past, before in
fl
ation drove coin currency out ofcirculation, visitors would also throw coins into a sacred water sourcenear the shrine. Typically income from the donation is small, but it mayvary in accordance with the sacred site
’
s popularity, ranging from zeroto 4,000 som per day, from 100 som to 25,000 som per week, and averag-ing 80,000
–
100,000 som per month. These considerably lucrative sources
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