A Retrospection of the Social Role of Healers (Ishans, Tauips) among Kazakhs in the 19th – early 20th centuries

Ретроспекция социальной роли целителей (ишаны, тауипы) среди казахов в XIX – начале XX в.
Mukanova G.K. Sarsembina K.K. Baizhumanova Z.B. Bimakanova Z.Sh.
1 March 2026 Cherkas Global University Press

Bylye Gody
2026 #21 Issue 1 131 - 141 pp.

Effective methods of getting rid of ailments among steppe peoples in the past certainly deserve attention, as well as the evolution of healing practices. The purpose and objectives of the study are to rethink the socio-cultural role of Ishan among steppe Kazakhs in the 19th and early 20th centuries through retrospection. Reports about the Ishan have been deposited in the collections of the Russian State Historical Archive, the United Archive of the Orenburg Region, the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as in folk memory, narratives and memoirs of travelers. Information about the Ishan was updated as they moved deeper into the remote regions of the empire and represent diverse materials. Comparative analysis in this context was used to compare the healing activities of Ishan and Tauip people among a number of peoples: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Azerbaijanis, Crimean Tatars, etc. The origins of the Ishan institute and their connection with the Bukhara madrasahs are revealed, as well as trends in the interpretation of the social institution of ishanism in pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern historiography. An attempt has been made to analyze the social role of the Ishan institute in the history of the peoples of the empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. The glossary of the topic has been studied, regarding the designation of the status and attributes of Ishan and Tauip. The glossary reflects the common perception of the steppe people of Ishan and Tauip as: a) spiritual mentors; b) defenders of their natural rights; c) healers. Sources indicate their specialization (experts in medicinal herbs, chiropractors, masters of hypnosis, magicians and magicians, etc.). The Institute of steppe healing was insufficiently studied in the pre-revolutionary period, due to a lack of information and a superficial acquaintance with this extraordinary phenomenon. In the 19th century, the Ishan found themselves in the orbit of the political struggle of the Kazakh people, in the context of the decline of the status of the khans (substitution effect), there was an increase in the influence of spiritual leaders, the Ishan. A number of them left a vivid mark in the context of protest social movements, which permanently removed the topic of steppe healers from scientific circulation. Accordingly, a more detailed study of the topic was postponed in order to trace the evolution of steppe healing in later periods of Central Asian history.

Central Asia , healing , history , Ishans , Kazakhs , madrasahs , narratives , Russian Empire , spiritual leaders , steppes

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Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University, Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan

Valikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology
Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University

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