Features of the Shamanic Tradition of Kazakhs in Turkey: Diasporic Transformation and Cultural Memory
Khinayat Babakhumar
General Section April 10, 2026 DOI: 10.66343/cstpf/vol1_iss1/art42 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Kazakh diaspora in Turkey, formed by forced migrations from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in 1949–1956 |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | Argues that shamanic relics persist among the Kazakh diaspora in Turkey, transformed within an Islamic environment and diasporic existence. The analysis of ritual texts and proverbs reveals their role as carriers of cultural code and mechanisms of identity formation, grounded in collective and cultural memory theories. |
Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of relics of the Kazakh shamanic tradition among the Kazakh diaspora in Turkey, which was formed as a result of forced migrations from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in 1949–1956. Based on field materials from 2023, oral testimonies, ritual texts (saryny), paremiological formulas, and narratives, the study examines the transformation of the shamanic complex in conditions of an Islamic environment and diasporic existence. The theoretical framework of the research is grounded in Maurice Halbwachs’ concept of collective memory and Jan Assmann’s theory of cultural memory. Special attention is paid to the folkloric tradition, the textual structure of shamanic formulas and proverbs as carriers of cultural code and mechanisms of identity formation practices.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |