Paper abstract:

This paper explores the female oral transmission of hikmats, i.e., words of wisdom, in the Divani Hikmat (Compendium of Words of Wisdom), attributed to the Central Asian Sufi leader Kho'ja Ahmad Yassavi (d.1166) and his followers, like Sulayman Baqirghani (d.1186). Little scholarly attention has been given to the topic of promulgation of Sufi literature, specifically hikmats, by women in Central and Inner Asia. This research focuses on how Uzbek, Uyghur and Tatar women orally transmit hikmats, a tradition mainly performed in religious gatherings such as Gap, Bibi Seshanba, Mushkul Kushod and Mavlud, where female teachers, i.e., otin-bibi (Uzbek) or Buwi (Uyghur) relay hikmats to all-female audiences. Orally passed hikmats are not always congruous with the ones found in the Divani Hikmat, discovered in the 17th century and published in 1872 in Kazan. The paper relies on the memories of Distinguished Writer of Uzbekistan Muhammad Ali of his grandmother Hosiyat Otin-Bibi's teachings, first-hand experiences of the author of this paper and interviews with Muslim women living in Uzbekistan, and published studies on Central and Inner Asian women's religious customs. This research also examines the Uzbek editions of the Devoni Hikmat (1992) edited by Rasulmuhammad Ashurboy o'g'li and the first edition of the recent hikmats published in 2004 by Nodirkhon Hasan, and the Boqirg'on kitobi (1991), compiled by Ibrohim Haqqul and Sayfiddin Rafiddionv. It is hoped that the current study will encourage other scholars to contribute and elaborate about the female transmission of Sufi literature, i.e., hikmats, in Central and Inner Asia.