EAN: 9783447061780

THE PLAIN OF SAINTS AND PROPHETS - GISELA PROCH...

The book is the first detailed study on the Nusayri-Alawi community of Cilicia available in a
Western language. The Alawis are an Arabic speaking religious minority of ca. 300 000 people
living in the Turkish provinces of Adana and Mersin. The book contains chapters devoted to the
history of Alawi settlement  the community's identity and social structures  and prejudices
they have to face from the majority population. Also covered are religious practices like
feasts and beliefs like metempsychosis. The heart of the book is an analysis of the numerous
Alawi sanctuaries. Long-term field research enabled the authors to document a vital  highly
mobile practice of saint veneration performed at continuously changing sacred places. Besides a
catalogue of nearly 200 shrines and several detailed case-studies there are chapters on the age
and origins of the sacred places  the rites performed there  and the structure of the pilgrims.
A major aim of the study is to present the local Alawi saint veneration in a broader Islamic
context by describing the sacred landscape  analyzing current changes and tendencies  and
discussing the paramount role of women in the practice of saint veneration and in the perceived
sacredness of the holy places.

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