The Oil is Sizzling in the Pot’: Sound and Emotion in Uyghur Qur'anic Recitation

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Main author: Harris, Rachel
Format: Journal Article           
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id eprints-19157
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc
GN Anthropology
M Music
ML Literature of music
description How do Muslims in different parts of the world recite and how do they hear the sound of the Qur'an? What are the purposes of their recitation, and what meanings do they associate with it? In this article I analyse one ritual performance of Qur'anic recitation and dhikr conducted by Uyghur village women in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of north-western China, exploring the ritual performance of emotion, emotional responses to the sounded Qur'an, local and global styles and meanings. The women engaged in this ritual draw on the wider tradition of Islamic culture and practice, yet their access to, interpretation of and even the way in which they embody this rich tradition is particular to their time and place, their social class and their gender. I consider the relevance to this context of the literature on Qur'anic recitation and dhikr in other parts of the world, and discuss some of the wider musicological and anthropological approaches to emotion, arguing that emotional responses to the Qur'an are contextually situated social practices, part of a habitus of listening, best explained by a focus on the embodied experience of sound.
format Journal Article
author Harris, Rachel
author_facet Harris, Rachel
authorStr Harris, Rachel
author_letter Harris, Rachel
title The Oil is Sizzling in the Pot’: Sound and Emotion in Uyghur Qur'anic Recitation
publisher Taylor and Francis
publishDate 2014
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/19157/

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