From: "Andrei Vinogradov" <[log in to unmask]>
The MA Thesis in Religious Studies,
"Ak Jang in the Context of Altai Religious Tradition"
by Andrei Vinogradov is available in the electronic form (PDF) at the
address:
http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-01192005-154827/
The access is unrestricted.
ABSTRACT
In 1904, a Native religious movement, Ak Jang, formed in Gorny Altai in
Southwestern Siberia. It strongly opposed itself to Shamanism, which was
considered to be the “core” tradition of Altaians. The initial persecution
of the movement by the Russian colonial administration did not stop its
spread and development. It was widely practiced in Altai until 1930 when it
was eradicated by the Soviet regime.
During the period when Ak Jang was still practiced, it was observed by a
number of witnesses, some of whom were ethnographers while others were not.
Those who investigated Ak Jang, produced a number of diverse and often
contradictory interpretations of it.
From the 1930 until the post-Soviet period, Ak Jang was not studied due to
an imposition of the Communist Party “verdict” regarding its
(counterrevolutionary) character.
In the 1980s, the practice of Ak Jang has resumed. However, there is no
agreement in academic publications regarding its nature and character.
The Thesis research has had two principal objectives: the analysis and
clarification of certain misconceptions about the nature and character of Ak
Jang, and the formulation of a view, according to which Ak Jang is the
manifestation of the continuity between the old religious and cultural
tradition of Turks and Mongols and the modern tradition of Altaians and
their cultural “siblings” – the heirs of the ancient Turkic-Mongolian
culture
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