Тумары в системе мусульманских магических практик
Tumars in the system of muslim magical practices

Summary/Abstract: One of the most enduring forms of sacred objects in Central Asia are amulets made of metal or leather — “tumars” (“boytumars”), “bazubands” and “haikels”. They were rectangular, square, triangular or cylindrical in shape and decorated with niello, gilding, inlay and Arabic inscriptions. In the pre-Islamic period, such artefacts were intended to house clay or wooden deities. Following the spread of Islam, their contents gradually took on a predominantly religious character: quotations from the Qur’an and prayer texts were placed inside them. Archaeological evidence attests to a centuries-old tradition of using such objects. This is indicated by the discovery of cylindrical metal amulets dating from the early phase of the Islamisation of Southern Kazakhstan and Zhetysu, including in the Zhambyl Region and at the Taraz settlement. Archaeological finds, in particular a hoard from the Karakhanid period (a Turkic dynasty that adopted Islam in 960), containing a silver tumar and beads made of stone and glass, bear witness to the transformation of the amulet tradition amidst the Islamisation of the region. Particularly telling are the cylindrical tumars with removable caps, decorated with floral ornamentation using the niello technique, which was previously not characteristic of local jewellery art. In the late medieval period, they were used primarily as elements of headdresses, whilst in ethnographic times they became part of women’s breast ornaments. The article also examines their symbolism based on ethnographic data from Turkic-Mongolian peoples. On this basis, it can be concluded that tumars demonstrate a combination of Islamic religious beliefs with more ancient magical and protective traditions that have been preserved in the material culture of the peoples of Central Asia.

• Details
• Contents