Article

Name: Semiotics of circular dances of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Siberia and Turkestan

Authors: S. N. Abdullaev, G. S. Abdullaeva

Issyk-Kul State University named after K. Tynystanov, Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

In the section Этнохореография

Abstract:

Circular dances reflect the worldview of Turkic and Mongolian peoples, in particular, their shared historical origins. Twenty-first-century scholarship shows significant interest in the cultural expressions of a specific ethnic group, as reflected in their traditional and contemporary choreography. This article undertakes a comparative study of the circular dances practiced by the Uyghurs and the indigenous peoples of Siberia. Within the system of national culture, circular dances are examined as semiotic representations. Within Turkestan, the circular male dance performance is uniquely associated with the Uyghur culture. A comparative study with Siberian circular dances can enhance the scientific understanding of its singularity. The research objects for this study were Uyghur dance Sama, the Yakut dance Osuokhai, and the Buryat dance Ekhor. Use was made of a descriptive method within a semiotic framework. An analysis of the study results allows for a consideration of the historical and cultural dynamics of the ethnic groups in question. Each of the three dances, along with their constituent elements, were found to possess unique formal and semantic characteristics. Some characteristics were determined to demonstrate similarity, while others exhibit disparity. This finding can be attributed to the historical trajectories of specific ethnic groups. A conclusion is made that circle dances represent a vital aspect of contemporary folk choreography, exhibiting adaptability to evolving societal contexts. The typological study of circle dances will provide valuable insights into the cultural heritage of Turkic and Mongolian peoples.

Keywords: circle dance, worldview, sign, cinema, meaning, unity

Bibliography:

Abdullaev S. N. Fortifikatsionnyy opyt rannesrednevekovykh uygurov [Fortification experience of the early medieval Uyghurs]. In Muzeefikatsiya fortifikatsionnykh sooruzheniy: problemy i puti ikh resheniya [Museification of fortification structures: problems and solutions]. Smolensk, Svitok, 2021, pp. 23–25. (In Russian)

Abdullaev S. N. Strukturno-semanticheskaya rekonstruktsiya uygurskogo tantsa “Sama”: arkhaicheskiye predstavleniya ili kontaminattsiya smyslov [Structural and semantic reconstruction of the Uyghur dance “Sama”: archaic ideas or contamination of meanings]. Kochevaya tsivilizatsiya: istoricheskie issledovaniya [Nomadic civilization: historical research]. 2022, no. 3, pp. 63–73. (In Russian)

Abdullaev S. N. Uygurskiy krugovoy tanets “Sama” [Uyghur circle dance “Sama”]. In Krugovyie tantsy narodov Evrazii: aktual’nyye voprosy izucheniya, sokhraneniya, ukrepleniya tradittsyi. [Circular dances of the peoples of Eurasia: current issues of studying, preserving, strengthening traditions]. Yakutsk, 2024, pp. 47–56. (In Russian)

Abdullaev S. N., Abdullaeva G. S. Uygurskiy krugovoy tanets “Sama” kak fenomen sibirskogo I vostochno-turkestanskogo kul’turnogo prostranstva [Uyghur dance “Sama” as a phenomenon of the Siberian and East Turkestan cultural space]. Sotsial’naya integratsiya i razvitie etnokul’tur v evraziyskom prostranstve [Social Integration and Development of Ethnic Cultures in the Eurasian Space]. 2022, vol. 2 (iss. 12), pp. 6–10. (In Russian)

Abdullaeva N. S. Kul’tura uygurov v zerkale leksiki pitaniya, imen I drevney khoreografii [Uyghur culture in the mirror of food vocabulary, names, and ancient choreography]. Saarbrücken, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2023, 68 p. (In Russian)

Abdullayev S. Correlation of the Texts of Ancient with Modern Folklore: “Kutadgu Bilik” and “Nur dastani.” In Ancient Texts and Languages of Ethnic Groups along the Silk Roud. Goettingen, 2021, pp. 9–13.

Almas T. Uyғury [Uyghurs]. Yrumchi, 1989. (In Uyghur)

Arzaeva R. Yakutsk ustanovil rekord Ginnessa. 15293 cheloveka stantsevali osuokhay [Yakutsk set a Guinness record. 15,293 people danced osuokhai]. Yakutsk vecherniy [Yakutsk in the evening]. 2012, June 29, p. 14. (In Russian)

Bakaeva E. P. O nekotorykh voprosakh sopostavitel’nogo izucheniya oyratskikh i kalmytskikh tantsev [On some issues of comparative study of Oirat and Kalmyk dances]. Vestnik Kalmytskogo instituta gumanitarnykh issledovaniy RAN [Oriental Studies]. 2014, no. 2, pp. 83–90. (In Russian)

Buksikova O. B. Tanets v istorii kul’tury narodov Sibiri [Dance in the history of the peoples of Siberia]. Abstract of Dr. art sci. diss. St. Petersburg, 2009, 389 p. (In Russian)

Dashieva L. D. Buryatskiy krugovoy tanets ekhor: istoriko-etnograficheskiy, ladovyi, rimicheskiy aspekty [Buryat circular dance ekhor: historical-ethnographic, modal, rhythmic aspects]. Abstract of Cand. art criticism diss. Novosibirsk, 2007, 268 p. (In Russian)

Dugarov D. S. Istoricheskiye korni belogo shamanstva [Historical roots of white shamanism]. Moscow, Nauka, 1991, 297 p. (In Russian)

Erzin M. Iz glubin Evrazii [From the depths of Eurasia]. Almaty, 2015, 269 p. (In Russian)

Lukina A. G. Krugovoy tanets ocuokhay: ideyi, obrazy, simvoly [Circular dance osuokhai: ideas, images, symbols]. Bulletin of the Yakutsk State University. 2006, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 69–72. (In Russian)

Lukina A. G. Traditsionnyy krugovoy tanets yakutov Osuokhay: istoki i sovremennoye sostoyaniye [Traditional Yakut circular dance Osuokhai: origins and current state]. Culture and civilization. 2023, vol. 13, no. 3A–4A, pp. 50–62. (In Russian)

Makhmutova Kh. M., Saitova G. Yu. Analiz uygurskogo tantseval’nogo fol’klora cherez prizmu sovremennogo vzglyada [Analysis of Uyghur Dance Folklore through the Prism of a Modern View]. Arts Academy. 2023, no. 3 (7), pp. 5–15. (In Russian)

Mu Q. Pulled by God: Sound and Altered State of Consciousness in the Hälqä-Sohbät Ritual of Uyghur Sufis. European Journal of Musicology. 2021, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 173–195.

Nikolayeva D. A. Semantika krugovogo tantsa yekhor u zapadnykh buryat [Semantics of the circular dance yekhor among the Western Buryats]. Abstract of Cand. hist. sci. diss. Ulan-Ude, 2000, 20 p. (In Russian)

Noiwicka E. Siberian Circle Dances: the New and the Old Communitas. Polish Sociological Review. 2016, vol. 94, no. 2, pp. 249–260.

Obryadovaya poeziya sakha (yakutov) [Ritual poetry of the Sakha (Yakuts)]. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2003, 512 p. (Folklore monuments of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East). (In Russian)

Romm V. V. Tanets kak factor evolyutsii chelovecheskoy kul’tury [Dance as a factor in the evolution of human culture]. Dr. cult. stud. diss. Barnaul, 2006, 403 p. (In Russian)

Samchay Ch. Kh. Kul’turnyye predposylki vozniknoveniya tuvinskogo khorovodnogo tantsa cheler-oy [Cultural prerequisites for the emergence of the Tuvan round dance cheler-oy]. Gaudeamus Igitur. Sovremennye gumanitarnye issledovaniya [Gaudeamus Igitur. Modern humanitarian research]. 2016, no. 3, pp. 52–56. (In Russian)

Samchay Ch. Kh., Kukhta M. S. Semantika strukturnykh elementov tuvinskogo tantsa [Semantics of structural elements of Tuvan dance]. Novye issledovaniya Tuvy [The New Research of Tuva]. 2019, no. 1, pp. 176–189. (In Russian)

Shinzhina A. I. Altayskiynatsional’nyi teatr tantsa “Altam” kak laboratoriya prakticheskoy realizatsii rezul’tatov nauchno-issledovatel’skoy raboty po izucheniyutraditsionnoy lul’tury altaytsev [Altai National Dance Theater “Altam” as a laboratory for the practical implementation of the results of research work on the study of the traditional culture of the Altai people]. Kul’tura i iskusstvo [Culture and Art]. 2021, no. 2, pp. 65–79. (In Russian)

Struchkova N. A. Semantika osnovnykh dvizheniy yakutskogo khorovodnogo tantsa osuokhay [Semantics of the main movements of the Yakut round dance osuokhai]. Cand. hist. sci. diss. Yakutsk, 2000, 188 p. (In Russian)

Sultangareeva R. A. Tantseval’nyi fol’klor bashkir [Dance folklore of the Bashkirs]. Ufa, Gilem, Bashkirskaya entsikl., 2013, 128 p. (In Russian)

Tkachuk M. A. K probleme opredeleniya ponyatiya “tanets” [To a problem of definition of concept “dance”]. Ojkumena. Regionovedcheskie issledovaniya [Ojkumena. Regional Researches]. 2011, no. 2, pp. 93–102. (In Russian)

Vasil’ev V. E. Semantika krugovogo tantsa osuokhay: simvolicheskiy perekhod v mir predkov I bozhestv [Semantics of the circular dance ohuohai: symbolic transition to the world of ancestors and deities]. Severo-Vostochnyy gumanitarnyy vestnik [North-Eastern Journal of Humanities]. 2023, no. 4 (45), pp. 48–59. (In Russian)

Vorob’eva N. S. Kommunitas kak “sushchnostnoe My”: vozmozhnost’ dialogicheskikh otnosheniy v obshchnosti [Communitas as the “essential We”: the possibility of dialogical relations in a community]. Sotsiologiya vlasti [Sociology of Power]. 2019, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 155–184. (In Russian)