Sufi Motives in Ancient Turkic Nomadic Culture
Kurmanbek A. Shagyrbay A. Kudaiberdi B. Mussabekov M.N. Kossalbayev B.D.
2025Africa Journals
Pharos Journal of Theology
2025#106Issue SpecialIssue-21 - 13 pp.
The cultural and anthropological concept of Turkic Sufism is rooted in ideals of spiritual perfection, the absolute, and the archetype of the “perfect human”. This concept, though widely influential, remains insufficiently explored from sociological perspectives. This article expands on Sufi motives in ancient Turkic nomadic culture by incorporating sociological theories of collective rituals, authority, and cultural capital. Drawing on Émile Durkheim’s notion of collective effervescence, we examine how communal Sufi practices fostered social cohesion and a shared sacred experience among nomadic communities. Using Max Weber’s concept of charismatic authority, we analyze the role of Sufi saints and leaders whose personal spiritual charisma legitimized new religious ideas and guided cultural transformation. Through Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital, we explore how Sufi knowledge, rituals, and symbols functioned as valued social assets that facilitated identity formation and integration into the broader Islamic civilization. The study addresses the synthesis of pre-Islamic Tengriism with Sufism in the Great Steppe, illustrating how spiritual practices shaped collective identity and ethical norms. This sociological reframing clarifies the profound influence of Sufism on cultural values, social structures, and identities, offering a more rigorous understanding of its role in the historical evolution of Central Asian cultures.
Collective , Nomadic culture , Sufism , Tengriism , Turkic society
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Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Al-Farabi 71, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Institute of Philosophy, Political Science and Religious, Committee of Science of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Shevchenko Street 28, Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan
Department of Humanities, Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science, Suleyman Demirel University, Kaskelen, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Maqsut Narikbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Geology and Oil-Gas Business Institute Named after K. Turyssov, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050043, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Philosophy and Political Science
Institute of Philosophy
Department of Humanities
Maqsut Narikbayev University
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
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