Paper abstract:

Abstract: The foundations of Uyghur identity are built upon geographical, cultural, and sentimental “footings” entrenched in a geographic homeland (Uy. wätän). Yet, beyond the Chinese-imposed Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and aspirations for an independent East Turkestan, regions that, somewhat paradoxically, share similar political borders, the contemporary Uyghur homeland remains somewhat illegible and largely abstract. Through an exploration of Uyghur songs, this paper will engage in a lyrical and conceptual cartography of the Wätän. The aims of the paper are twofold. First, it will demonstrate that “popular” Uyghur music suggests that the Wätän may be best understood as a shifting constellation comprised of several regional, cultural, and historical points. Second, it will propose that the listening, singing, and sharing of these songs facilitates a sonic pilgrimage (Uy. ziyarät) to the Wätän. Therefore, in a process similar to physical pilgrimage at sacred sites, aural journeys mark important sites in otherwise meaningless space and therefore hold the potential to define the boundaries of a transregional homeland.