Evolution of Tatar and Bashkir Qur’an Reading Tradition from the Middle Ages till Catherine the Great’s Epoche

Abstract

The article traces the most important stages in the development of the tradition of the Qur’anic reciting by the Tatars and Bashkirs of Russia in the pre-Catherine time, i. e. from the epoch of Middle Age islamization up to the late 18 th century. The author reveals some factors, which let the tradition develop diachronically. It is pointed out that the melodic characteristics of the ethnic tradition of reciting of the Quran are conditioned by the peculiarities of the developing folk music culture, determined primarily by the pentatonic (five-stage) mode basis. The closeness of the Tatar and Bashkir cultures dictates the use of the ethno-regional research methodology. According to it, the tradition of the Tatar and Bashkir Qur’anic reciting is considered as a whole phenomenon due to the ethnical resp. linguistic closeness of the both peoples. The information from medieval treatises, historical works, as well as cultural works is also involved into the horizon of this interdisciplinary research.