Practices of traditionalization in Central Asia

‘Our Traditions Will Kill Us!’: Negotiating Marriage Celebrations in the Face of Legal Regulation of Tradition in Tajikistan

“…Firstly, although the government's discourses may reflect an attempt to tighten control over the population, they are historically grounded and they do not fall on the 'bare' ground but have certain resonance with people's concerns about ever expanding ritual expenses (Koroteyeva and Makarova, 1998;Zanca, 2011;Reeves, 2012). Secondly, while Central Asian states might propagate certain homogeneous national identities, people engage in their own projects of traditionalization from the 'bottom-up' (Beyer and Finke, 2019). These projects are themselves contested and involve constant negotiations of what belongs to the realm of the traditional and needs to be performed (Cleuziou, 2019b).…”

“…Although qoida is imagined as a static historically continuous entity, there is a lot of room for fluidity, flexibility and change. In rapidly changing societies more variation can be expected in terms of interpretations and acceptance of different practices traveling in and out of tradition (Beyer and Finke, 2019). Tajik marriage conclusions have experienced a rapid change since the beginning of the 20th century and in the past decades have incorporated further practices resembling the patterns of modernizing weddings in other contexts, such as increased reflexivity and participation of the young generation in marital choices, growing variation in modes of celebration, commercialization of wedding ceremonies, and the use of conspicuous consumption to mark social status (e.g.…”

“…Kendall, 1996;Yalçin-Heckmann, 2001;Trevisani, 2016). White bridal dress and professional make-up, wedding cortege with decorated cars, photo 16 On the complexity and translatability of the lexicon of tradition in Central Asia see Beyer and Finke (2019).…”

REVOLUTION IN KYRGYZSTAN OF 2020 AND THE SADYR JAPAROV’s POPULIST PROJECT

“…Notably, that it is precisely the Soviet legacy to understand national culture as a, mainly, traditional culture with special emphasis on its folklore and ethnographic [33,42,72]. The latter became the reason why the development of nationalism in Central Asia has little alternatives but to develop by the practices of traditionalisation [73]. As a result, although paradoxical to a certain extent, the invention of national traditions and identification in modern Kyrgyzstan were followed by denying the Soviet heritage as the symbol of modernity, especially regarding gender equality and secularism [74].…”

Uyghur customs: the genesis, popularity, productivity and demise of a modern Uyghur topos

“…According to Peter Finke and Judith Beyer, the notion of 'tradition' in Central Asia has mainly been understood in two, albeit not mutually exclusive, ways in the last century: 'as a deficiency to be overcome (often in juxtaposition to an aspirational "modernity") or as a quality to be embraced (often in alignment with nationalism).' 3 The concept of 'Uyghur customs' as adopted and developed by Uyghur scholars and intellectuals in the People's Republic of China (PRC) can be seen as a specific sub-category of this notion featuring a similar tension. Customs are defined as explicitly non-modern and nonpolitical practices, yet the concept is employed for very political and highly modern purposes: to effect economic transformation and to build ethnic identity.…”