Sogdian Christian Texts

Socio-Cultural Observations

  • Barakatullo Ashurov
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.83.1.53-70
Keywords: Kālbeliyā community, dance, UNESCO, Intangible Heritage, Invented Tradition, Cultural Policy

Abstract

Sogdian Christian texts are one of the largest extant Christian bodies of writing in an Iranian language, and were discovered in the early decades of the twentieth century by members of the German Turfan Expeditions. All Sogdian Christian texts known today were discovered at the ruin of Shüi-pang, near the modern-day town of Bulayïq, located 10 km north of Turfan, China, and a small number were found in the Dunhuang area. Considering the ascetically character of the texts it is believed that the site of the finds was probably that of a Christian monastery. This article is concerned with the question of the socio-cultural themes and contexts observed in these texts. Part 1 offers introductory review of the composition of the texts focusing on the issue of orthography as a symbol of identity. Part 2 discusses the theme of multi-ethnicity and multilinguality demonstrated in the texts. Part 3 offers discussion on the theme of continuity and preservation of the East Syriac Christian literature in Sogdian.

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Author Biography

Barakatullo Ashurov

BARAKATULLO ASHUROV is a head of collection registration and cataloguing department at the National Museum of Tajikistan. He received his doctorate in the Study of Religions from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include the spread and influence of the Eastern Syriac-speaking Christianity among Sogdians, an Eastern Iranian-speaking people in Central Asia between the 5th and 9th century, with particular focus on the cultural adaptation and indigenous representation of Christianity from the material culture objects and manuscript tradition perspectives.

Published
2015-05-15
How to Cite
Ashurov, B. (2015). Sogdian Christian Texts: Socio-Cultural Observations. Archiv orientální, 83(1), 53-70. https://doi.org/10.47979/aror.j.83.1.53-70
Issue
Vol. 83 No. 1 (2015)
Section
Research Article

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