Meshrep gatherings are widely viewed by Uyghurs in Kazakhstan as tools for community building and education. As Qurban Oktyabir, a long-standing meshrep member based in Almaty, explains: We meet together in order to create solidarity among our people. People get to know each other through meshrep; they learn right from wrong, they how to act
The Thirty Boys / Ottuz Oghul. 2022 A film by Mukaddas Mijit Uyghur communities in Kazakhstan occupy an uneasy space, one eye towards the growing ethnic nationalism of their host country, one eye towards China’s ongoing policies of securitisation, incarceration and cultural erasure in their homeland. This film documents the attempts made by Uyghurs in
by Rachel Harris Alongside the meshrep revival in Kazakhstan, a less well-known women’s chay revival has flourished. It has focused on the same goals of education, cultural revival, social cohesion and mobilisation, and often works in tandem with men’s initiatives at local level. Like meshrep, chay gatherings (essentially tea parties) assume complex ritual and social meanings
The Xinjiang Data Project EXPLAINERS This article examines the inscription of meshrep (mäshräp), an important Uyghur cultural practice, on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage and its subsequent co-optation by the Chinese government to ‘counter-extremism’ and promote national integration. PROFESSOR RACHEL HARRIS https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/how-uyghur-cultural-practices-are-being-politicized-and-co-opted-in-xinjiang/
Rachel HarrisAugust 2020, Kazakhstan The Almaty meshrep has played the leading role in the meshrep revival in Kazakhstan over the past decade. It began in 2009, led by Meshrep Beg Burhan Tajidinov, based on models of meshrep from the Uyghur homeland. It serves as a model for other meshrep groups in Kazakhstan. Burhan is invited by new groups to
The Uyghurs, a Turkic nation of over 25 million people who live across Central Asia, have a long history and a rich cultural heritage that combines elements of nomadism and sedentarism, pre-Islamic, Sufi, and Muslim spiritual traditions. One component of this culture is the meshrep ( مەشرەپ in Uyghur), a community gathering, mostly male, in which music and judgement
RACHEL HARRIS ABSTRACT This article provides an in-depth study and critique of the nomination and inscription of an item on UNESCO’s lists of intangible cultural heritage, and the developments following its acceptance. China is now a major partner in UNESCO’s heritage projects, but the application and experience of heritage initiatives across China has been highly
Rachel HarrisAugust 2020, Kazakhstan The town of Zharkent, or Yerkent in the Uyghur pronunciation, lies in southeast Kazakhstan, near the Chinese border crossing and trading centre of Khorgas. It is an important centre for Uyghurs, many of whom arrived from the neighbouring Ghulja region of the Uyghur homeland (Xinjiang) in the late 1950s. The Yerkent
Rachel Harris August 2020, Kazakhstan Kayrat, or Gheyret in the Uyghur pronunciation, is a small town in southeast Kazakhstan, which lies an hour’s drive east from Almaty. The town is 80% Uyghur, but it is home to many different ethnicities: Kazakhs, Russians, Turks, Azarbaijans and Germans, though many left after independence, even a few remaining
Rachel Harris (Principal Investigator) Rachel Harris teaches at SOAS, University of London (www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31068.php) . Her research focuses on expressive culture, religious life, and the politics of heritage in China and Central Asia. Her co-edited volumes include Situating the Uyghurs: between China and Central Asia (Ashgate 2007) and she is the author of The Making of a Musical
A collaborative research project supported by the British Academy Sustainable Development Fund Project partners: SOAS, University of London, UKTuran University, Almaty, Kazakhstan Our project focuses on meshrep: a system of community gatherings maintained by ethnic Uyghurs in southeast Kazakhstan. Meshrep involve music, dance, joking, readings, and an informal community court. They forge lasting community bonds, support the
