Cultural Heritage Book Series
The UCA Cultural Heritage Book Series promotes understanding across cultures and generations by supporting Central Asian scholars conduct original and high-quality research, and publish and disseminate their work to regional and international audiences. UCA, with its partners, also supports the development of resources on Central Asian cultural heritage by other publishers.
The custodians of traditional knowledge are aging and with limited resources, this knowledge is under threat from several forces including scarce resources, migration, and outside influences. UCA is committed to make a contribution to preserving the unique and diverse cultural heritage through research, documenting, archiving, and supporting work of regional scholars. A critical part of the mission of UCA is to help the peoples of Central Asia preserve and draw upon their rich cultural traditions and heritages as assets for the future.
About the Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit and Book SeriesType: Brief
Size: 974KB
Date: June 2017
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Books on Central Asian History and Cultural Heritage
Architectural Odyssey: The Safarname of Nasir Khusraw
Munavar Mamadnazarov
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Institute of Ismaili Studies (Russian, 2017)
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Munavar Mamadnazarov
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Institute of Ismaili Studies (Russian, 2017)
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The book presents the author’s analysis of medieval Islamic architectural monuments described in the Safarname (Book of Travels) of Nasir Khusraw, 11th century Persian and Tajik poet, philosopher, traveler, and preacher. Khusraw travelled from Khorasan to the countries of Near and Middle East, Asia Minor, North Africa and Muslim shrines in Arabia for seven years in search of new knowledge about the world and the essence of life.
Based on Safarname, medieval written sources, and contemporary studies, the author introduces readers to the rich and diverse architectural environment of those cities which Nasir Khusraw visited, identifies the monuments described by the traveler, compares them with the modern conditions of the monuments, determines the history of their construction and dates, and reconstructs their original shape.
The work is valuable for its detailed description of Islamic shrines with stunning architectural forms, rich symbols of architectural language and elegant decorations. The author recreates the architectural environment in the middle of the 11th century by illustrating the phases of Nasir Khusraw’s travels through 300 photographs, drawings, and maps of the traveler’s routes. The book is meant for a wide range of people interested in Islamic arts and cultures including architects, art critics, historians, orientalists, and ethnographers.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
The Music of Central Asia
Edited by Theodore Levin, Saida Daukeeva and Elmira Köchümkulova, 2016 (English)
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & Aga Khan Music Initiative
Textbook published by Indiana University Press (English, 2016)
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This beautiful and informative book offers a detailed introduction to the musical heritage of Central Asia for readers and listeners worldwide. The book balances "insider" and "outsider" perspectives with contributions by 27 authors from 14 countries who explore the diverse musical traditions of nomad and sedentary dwellers; the transformation of music and culture from the past to the present day; and the important role music has played in the history of Central Asia. From the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan to the Kazakh steppe, the old Silk Road city of Bukhara, and the urbane arts scene of contemporary Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, music and musical life come alive through vivid writing, copious illustrations, and 189 audio and video examples available on a companion website. Profiles of musicians, listening guides, study questions, and an illustrated glossary of musical instruments make The Music of Central Asia an indispensable resource for both general readers and specialists.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Books on Pamiri History and Cultural Heritage
Archaeological Map of the Eastern Pamirs (GBAO)
Mira Bubnova
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Christensen Fund (Russian, 2015)
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The second in a two-part series on the unique history, artifacts and preservation of archaeological relics of the Pamir mountains, this publication is a comprehensive mapping, including a discussion of the history and challenges faced by the civilization of the Eastern Pamirs from the Middle Ages to contemporary times. Dr Bubanova’s extensive fieldwork has resulted in the compilation of unique maps and illustrations, and original research on 300 monuments, including in the remote Murghab region.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Archaeological Map of the Western Pamirs (GBAO)
Mira Bubnova
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia (Russian, 2008)
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Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia (Russian, 2008)
Part of the Archaeological Map of Tajikistan series by archaeologist, Mira Bubnova of the Institute of History, Archaelology and Ethnography, Tajik Academy of Sciences, this publication focuses on the Western Pamirs, including the six administrative districts of Darwaz, Vanj, Rushan, Shugnan, Roshtkala and Ishkashim. The map contains information on existing monuments from the Stone Age through the 20th Century, and on destroyed monuments, based on archaeological evidence. The book is an important scientific contribution to the archaeological history of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
The Musical Arts of the Pamirs, Vol I-V
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Volume I: Musical Heritage of the Pamirian Tajiks,
Volume II: Musical Performance and Dances of the Pamirian Tajiks,
Volume III: Ritual Music: Birth, Wedding, and Funeral
Volume IV: Tales, Epics and Legends
Volume V: Instrumental Music and Lyrical Songs
Nizom Nurdjanov, Fayzulla Karomatov and Bahriniso Kabilova
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Christensen Fund (Russian, 2010-2015)
The Musical Arts of the Pamirs is a five-volume study on folk music, oral history and theatre traditions from the Pamir region of Tajikistan. Widely viewed as the most comprehensive work on Pamir music and heritage to-date, the series is the culmination of 40 years of field work.
The book series (Volumes I-V) can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Books on Kyrgyz History and Cultural Heritage
Funeral Laments of the Pamiri Kyrgyz Living in Turkey. As Lingua-Folkloristic Primary Source. Analysis and Texts
Sulaiman Kaiypov
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia (Kyrgyz, 2017)
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This fundamental book deals with koshoks, funeral laments of the Pamiri Kyrgyz living in the Van region of eastern Turkey. The author presents rich and original texts of koshok which he recorded during fieldwork conducted from 1997-2007. The fieldwork covers the language, folklore, and ethnography of the Pamiri Kyrgyz, who first moved from their homeland in the Pamir mountains of Afghanistan to Pakistan in 1978 and then to Turkey in 1986.
The koshok texts presented in this book will serve as valuable ethnological, ethnocultural, and lingua-folkloristic source for ethnologists, ethnographers, folklorists, linguists as well as for students of Ethnology and Philology.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Proverbs and Sayings of the Pamiri Kyrgyz Living in Turkey. As Lingua-Folkloristic Primary Source
Sulaiman Kaiypov
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia (2017, Kyrgyz)
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This book presents over 6500 authentic examples of proverbs and sayings that were recorded in their spoken form by the Pamiri Kyrgyz community living in the Van region of Turkey. The work is the result of many years of field work by the author and attempts to record and analyse the multi-faceted genres of oral tradition according to the highest academic standards.
This newest contribution to the field of ethnography and folklore studies is dedicated to researchers as well as a broader public interested in learning more about this under-researched community. It provides new lingua-folkloristic primary source material for linguists, folklorists, ethnographers and university students in the field of folklore and philology.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
"Respect Graces the Living, Lamentation Graces the Dead": Kyrgyz Funeral Laments and Lamenters
Elmira Köchümkulova
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia (Kyrgyz, 2014)
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This book presents a comprehensive ethnographic study of the singing of koshok (funeral lamentations) among elderly Kyrgyz women. Koshok is one of the oldest and most enduring genres of Kyrgyz oral poetry. The book includes koshok texts recorded by the author in different regions of Kyrgyzstan in 2003, 2011 and 2013, categorised according to theme and topic. It also includes descriptions of the author’s research methodology and a rare glimpse into the experiences of recording this sensitive ritual.
The author’s discussions of koshok includes excerpts from dozens of interviews with Kyrgyz women who share their own views on and experiences of singing koshok, including concerns over the waning significance of the ritual in modern Kyrgyz society. An accompanying DVD contains over 30 audio examples of koshoks sung by professional lamenters, as well as video footage of Kyrgyz rituals and customs during memorial feasts offered to the deceased. Drawing on the author’s original photographs and audio-video materials, the book aims to attract a wide range of readers, including scholars, students, those interested in Kyrgyz culture, and the principal tradition bearers of koshok singing, Kyrgyz women and aqyns (oral poets).
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Kyrgyz Herders of Soviet Uzbekistan: Historical and Ethnographic Narratives
Elmira Köchümkulova and Mamatkerim Köchümkulov
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Christensen Fund (Kyrgyz and English, 2014)
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This book describes the socio-economic history, cultural experience and identity of a group of Kyrgyz herders who worked on collective farms in Soviet Uzbekistan in the second half of the 20th century. It tells the story of the herders and their families, who, for more than 50 years, led a semi-nomadic life, wintering on the collective farms in the Fergana Valley and summering in the high jailoos or summer pastures of the Chatkal and Fergana mountain ranges of Central Asia.
Their historical and cultural experiences emerge through the extraordinary life stories of two people, Köchümkul, son of Mingbay (1906-1986), and his daughter-in-law Kumu, daughter of Düyshöbay (1931-2011). The reminiscences of 20 elderly Kyrgyz herders and their family members further embellish the text. Accounts of key events in Soviet history and rich descriptions of Kyrgyz cultural traditions provide a rich backdrop for these personal stories.
The book contains unpublished folk stories as well as original, valuable ethnographic material about Kyrgyz and Uzbek cultures in the Fergana Valley. It includes a DVD presenting a video film with English subtitles documenting the return of Kumu to the Yspy jailoo in summer of 2009, black and white photographs taken during the 1970s, and color photographs taken between 2009 and 2011 in the same jailoo by the authors. The book is intended for scholars, students, the Kyrgyz public and everyone interested in Kyrgyz nomadic or pastoral life, values, customs, and traditional knowledge on family and kinship relations, nature and livestock raising.
Published with support from the University of Central Asia and The Christensen Fund.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Cities of the Dead: The Ancestral Cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan
Photos by Margaret Morton, text by Nasser Rabbat, Elmira Köchümkulova and Altyn Kapalova
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia & The Christensen Fund
Published by the University of Washington Press (English, 2014)
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The first photographic documentation of Muslim cemeteries in Central Asia, this collection presents ethnographic material from collaborative field research in six regions of Kyrgyzstan by American photographer and Cooper Union Professor Margaret Morton and Elmira Köchümkulova. The book and exhibition will contribute to broadening knowledge of the architectural, visual and cultural record of Central Asia within and beyond the region.
A Kyrgyz cemetery seen from a distance is astonishing. The ornate domes and minarets, tightly clustered behind stone walls, seem at odds with this desolate mountain region. Islam, the prominent religion in the region since the twelfth century, discourages tombstones or decorative markers. However, elaborate Kyrgyz tombs combine earlier nomadic customs with Muslim architectural forms. During the Soviet period, enamel portraits of the deceased were attached to the monuments, adding yet another dimension. In contrast to these elaborate and specific adornments, the cemeteries are overgrown with weeds and unmaintained, since maintaining the graves of the dead is not a Kyrgyz custom.
Architecturally unique, Kyrgyzstan’s dramatically sited cemeteries reveal the complex nature of the Kyrgyz people’s religious and cultural identities. Often said to have left behind few permanent monuments or books, the Kyrgyz people in fact left behind a magnificent legacy when they buried their dead.
Traveling in Kyrgyzstan, photographer Margaret Morton became captivated by the otherworldly grandeur of these cemeteries. Cities of the Dead: The Ancestral Cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan presents the photographs she took on several visits to the area and is an important contribution to the architectural and cultural record of this region.
Hardcover, 128 pages, English.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Available in Central Asia for US$20.
Ancient Monuments of the Tian-Shan
Kubat Tabaldiev, 2011 (Russian)
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia
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Based on 20 years of archeological research in the Naryn region, historian and archaeologist Kubat Tabaldiev presents evidence of the rich heritage of the area from the Stone, Bronze, Early Iron and Middle Ages. The publication includes photographs and sketches of historical artifacts, along with accessible narrative on important archaeological discoveries. Through this work, the author intends to raise awareness on the importance of preserving key historical sites in the region.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.
Kyrgyz Instrumental Music: Analysis, Thoughts, and Opinions, Volumes I and II
Asan Kaibylda uulu, 2011 (Kyrgyz)
Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit, University of Central Asia
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This two-volume work written by Kyrgyz ethno-musicologist and komuz player Asan Kaibylda uulu presents findings from over 20 years of ethnographic research on Kyrgyz komuz music. The books contain rich historical material on the Kyrgyz küü, instrumental music played primarily on the three-stringed instrument, komuz, and a comprehensive study of all known and unknown, recorded and unrecorded Kyrgyz instrumental music by master komuz players. The volumes are supplemented by music CDs with over 100 komuz melodies, with narratives on their histories by the author.
The book can be purchased from University of Central Asia’s Cultural Heritage and Humanities Unit. For more information, please contact publications@ucentralasia.org.