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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Kyrgyzstan
Index
Alongside Islam the Kyrgyz tribes also practiced totemism, the
recognition of spiritual kinship with a particular type of animal. Under
this belief system, which predated their contact with Islam, Kyrgyz tribes
adopted reindeer, camels, snakes, owls, and bears as objects of worship.
The sun, moon, and stars also played an important religious role. The
strong dependence of the nomads on the forces of nature reinforced such
connections and fostered belief in shamanism (the power of tribal healers
and magicians with mystical connections to the spirit world) and black
magic as well. Traces of such beliefs remain in the religious practice of
many of today's Kyrgyz.
Knowledge of and interest in Islam are said to be much stronger in the
south, especially around Osh, than farther north. Religious practice in
the north is more heavily mixed with animism (belief that every animate
and inanimate object contains a spirit) and shamanist practices, giving
worship there a resemblance to Siberian religious practice.
Data as of March 1996
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