The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Unlike their nomadic neighbours, the Uyghur have had a settled civilization for more than thousand years. The modern Uyghur homeland situated at the cross roads of Eurasian Continent, benefited from the civilizations of the old world that passed through the terrain via the ancient trade routs, giving the resultant culture a diverse hue and rich expression. Building on the existing pre-historic local and non-local cultures, the Uyghur of today cultivated a distinctive cultural heritage. This book is dedicated to the detailed recording of some of the important cultural inheritance of the Uyghur people.
Uyghur customs and their stories are the original memorial to a culture that has evolved overtime and acquired its present identity. The social customs and traditions or behavioural standards recorded here has long historical roots and contemporary relevance. Just like in any human society, the way Uyghur society is organised reflects the communal preference of a collective group and the empirical need of each age. Many aspects of those inherited traditions and costumes are now lending a helping hand in defining a modern ethnic identity. this synchronic collection of living traditions and their stories is a tool for making sense of many rituals and rites now form the core of the modern Uyghur identity.
Abtract of ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Modern Uyghur Social Customs and Traditions'' (Two Volumes), Published Uyghur Language Studies, London, 2019
