This chapter briefly attempts to describe the origins of Karakalpaks. It argues that the condition of Karakalpak women during Soviet times was relatively better than among other ethnic groups in the region, for example with regard to the veil. It also shows that some Karakalpaks in Soviet times were still semi-nomadic.
Comments: 1/24/10
The following quotation from page 204 is representative of many quotations found in other works that impose normative interpretations of Islam on Muslim practices in Central Asia:
Great emphasis is still placed on complicated non-Islamic, shamanistic rituals and ceremonies for childbirth, weddings, and especially funerals. Often thought of as derivatives of Islam, such practices as a five-part, year-long period of mourning and a five-part, 40-day celebration after the birth of a child have no basis in the Quran or other holy books.While it is interesting to point out the origins of certain practices, if the people deem them to be Islamic, then outsiders should not reject such interpretations.
Descriptors: 1970s, chapter, ethnography, identity, Karakalpaks, M, political science, Soviet
