Shamanism, culture and the Xinjiang Kazak: A native narrative of identity

This work results from a dialogue which occurred in 1994 between the author and a native Kazak scholar in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. The consultant addressed the author's questions regarding the existence of "shamanism" among the Xinjiang Kazaks, while providing a detailed ethnographic narrative on his people.; What emerged from the narrative is a native and scholarly expression of the consultant's perspective on his people, which he wished to share with others interested in Kazak culture. The identity of the consultant was complex: he was a loyal citizen of the People's Republic of China, a university-educated scholar, a proud Kazak who had spent his childhood living in the Kazak countryside with his elders, and a Muslim by religion. This complex identity manifests itself in his narrative.; The author translated the recorded dialogue between himself and his consultant. The representation of the Kazaks of Xinjiang in their own words is extremely limited outside of Xinjiang. The consultant's narrative shows that the Kazaks of Xinjiang, although Muslim and living within modernity, possess a unique way of life that is connected to the "shamanist", pre-Muslim past of their ancestors.; The author's objective is to transmit a representation of cultural identity based on a particular "native" discourse on the cultural practices of an under-studied people. This presentation is accompanied by the author's ethnographic and linguistic commentary, and completed by an analysis of Kazak historical identity. The conclusion of the work consists of a related analysis, centered upon the consultant's native taxonomy of healing practices, concerning shamanism, healing and its role in Xinjiang Kazak culture.; The interactions between the native scholar and the author constitute a dialogic narrative, from which emerges a version of Kazak culture that is uniquely personal. This version reflects the views of the consultant at an experiential level, as a native, and at a reflexive level, as a modern scholar. The dialogue also highlights the scholarly interaction between members of two contrasting academic cultures, who, in addition to their common interest in Kazak culture, share similar linguistic and cultural backgrounds.