Muslim Holy Sites in the Southern Urals: geoinformation mapping and spatial analysis

In the last decade, there has been a tendency in the Southern Urals to reconstruct old and to form new holy places revered by Muslims. To date, more than 115 such objects have been recorded. Most of them are revered only by the residents of small villages, but some have acquired great importance for Muslims throughout the region. The purpose of this work is to identify the most popular places of worship of Muslims in the Southern Urals. Considering that some of the objects of regional importance have been revered by Muslims since the XIV century, and others, having appeared relatively recently, quickly became one of the most visited places, it is necessary to determine the factors influencing the growth of this popularity. The study supposed the Geoinformation methods to be used. Thus, using free Quantum GIS software, and on the basis of archival materials, archaeologists’, ethnographers’, religious scholars’, culturologists’ groundwork, as well as referring to the materials of Internet communities and other open sources, we have created the following layers: 1) Mausoleums, 2) Places of worship according to the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, 3) Places of worship according to the Internet community Sufi RB, 4) Religious tourist routes. Using a comparative method, it was determined that the most popular among Muslims in the region are the mausoleum of Hussein-Bey and Mount Narystau (Ilchigulovo IV, kurgan burial ground). The results of the study indicate that the popularity of objects is influenced by a number of factors: they can be identified as the presence of a monumental structure, the representation of the object in the media space and in the Internet, as well as the availability of objective scientific data about it.

1. Garustovich G.N. Pogrebeniya v kamennykh mavzoleyakh Bashkirskogo Priural'ya [Burials in stone mausoleums of the Bashkir Urals]. Nasledie vekov. Okhrana i izuchenie pamyatnikov arkheologii v Bashkortostane [The legacy of centuries. Protection and study of archaeological monuments in Bashkortostan]. 1995;1:166–185. (In Russian)

2. Garustovich G.N. Osobennosti rasprostraneniya islama sredi bashkir v epokhu srednevekov'ya [Features of the spread of Islam among Bashkirs in the Middle Ages.]. Ufimskii arkheologicheskii vestnik [Ufa Archaeological Herald]. 2013;13:137–143. (In Russian)

3. Akhatov A.T., Bakhshiev I.I., Tuzbekov A.I. Rol' arkheologicheskikh ob"ektov v formirovanii novykh sakral'nykh prostranstv Yuzhnogo Urala [Role of archaeological sites in the formation of new sacral spaces of the Southern Ural]. Ural'skiy istoricheskiy vestnik [Ural Historical Journal]. 2016;4(53):33–42. (In Russian)

4. Yunusova A.B. Elektronnyy resurs “Islam na Yuzhnom Urale” [Islam in the South Urals: spatial analysis]. Izvestiya Ufimskogo nauchnogo tsentra RAN [Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ufa Scientific Centre]. 2016;4:102–109. (In Russian)

5. Sakral'nye ob'ekty Kazakhstana obshchenatsional'nogo znacheniya [Sacred objects of Kazakhstan of national significance]. Astana: Foliant Press; 2017. 496 p. (In Russian)

6. Regional'nye sakral'nye ob'ekty Kazakhstana [Regional sacred objects of Kazakhstan]. Astana: Foliant Press; 2017. 504 p. (In Russian)

7. Graml C., Hunziker M., Vukadin K. Cult and Crisis: A GIS Approach to the Sacred Landscape of Hellenistic Attica. Open Archaeology. 2019;5:383–395.

8. Papantoniou G., Kyriakou N. Sacred Landscapes and the Territoriality of Iron Age Cypriot Polities: The Applicability of GIS. American Journal of Archaeology. 2018;122(4):541–550.

9. Matyushko I.V. Srednevekovye mavzolei v Orenburgskoy oblasti [Medieval mausoleums in the Orenburg region]. Arheologicheskie pamyatniki Orenburzh'ya. Morgunova N.L. Sbornik nauchnyh trudov. Ministerstvo obrazovaniya i nauki Ros. Federacii, GOU VPO “Orenburgskij gosudarstvennyj pedagogicheskij universitet” [Archaeological monuments of Orenburg region. Morgunova N.L. Collection of scientific papers. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Orenburg State Pedagogical University”]. Orenburg: Orenburg State Pedagogical University Press; 2011. Vol. 9, pp. 146–155. (In Russian)

10. Bashkirskoe narodnoe tvorchestvo. T. 2: Predaniya i legendy [Bashkir folk art. Vol. 2: Lore and legends]. Ufa: Bashknizhizdat Press; 1987. 572 p. (In Russian)

11. Khabibullina Z.R. Palomnichestvo musul'man k mogilam “svyatykh” v pole deyatel'nosti upolnomochennogo Soveta po delam religioznykh kul'tov v BASSR [The Muslim pilgrimage to the graves of «saints» in the activities field of the Commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]. Etnos. Obshchestvo. Civilizaciya: Chetvertye Kuzeevskie chteniya: materialy mezhdunarodnoj nauchno-prakticheskoj konferencii [Ethnic group. Society. Civilization: The Fourth Kuzeyev Readings: materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference]. Moscow: Polygraph service Press; 2015, pp. 201–204. (In Russian)

12. Garustovich G.N. Eshche raz o datirovkakh musul'manskikh kirpichnykh mavzoleev stepnoy polosy Volgo-Ural'skogo regiona [Once more on dating of Moslem brickwork mausoleums from the steppe belt of the Volga-Ural region]. Zolotoordynskaya tsivilizatsiya [Golden Horde civilization]. 2012;5:126–136. (In Russian)

13. Botalov S.G., Garustovich G.N., Yaminov A.F. Novye materialy po mavzoleyam Zaural'ya i Tsentral'nogo Kazakhstana [New materials on mausoleums of Trans-Urals and Central Kazakhstan]. Nasledie vekov. Okhrana i izuchenie pamyatnikov arkheologii v Bashkortostane [The legacy of centuries. Protection and study of archaeological monuments in Bashkortostan]. Ufa: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan; 1995, рр. 148–165. (In Russian)

14. Rychkov P.I. Topografiya Orenburgskoy gubernii [Topography of Orenburg province]. Ufa: Kitap Press; 1999. 312 p. (In Russian)

15. Garustovich G.N. K voprosu o khronologii kirpichnykh mavzoleev v stepnoy polose Yuzhnogo Urala i Zapadnogo Kazakhstana [On the chronology of brick mausoleums in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals and Western Kazakhstan]. Vestnik Vostochnoj ekonomiko-yuridicheskoj akademii [Vestnik of the Eastern Economic and Legal Academy]. 2013;1(63):108–113. (In Russian)

16. Zilivinskaya E.D. Arkhitektura Zolotoy Ordy. Chast' 1. Kul'tovoe zodchestvo [Architecture of the Golden Horde. Part 1. Cult architecture]. Kazan: Otechestvo Press; 2014. 228 p. (In Russian)

17. Matyushko I.V. Syrtsovyy mavzoley na territorii Orenburzh'ya [The mud mausoleum on the territory of Orenburg region.]. Izvestiya Samarskogo nauchnogo centra Rossijskoj akademii nauk [Izvestia of Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 2016;18(3):153–160. (In Russian)

18. Tuzbekov A.I., Bakhshiev I.I. Reuse of ancient sacred places in South Ural region – the case of emir Edigey's grave. Studia Mythologica Slavica. 2019;22:135–141.

19. Petrov F.N. Traditsionnoe mirovospriyatie narodov stepnoy Evrazii [Traditional worldview of the peoples of Steppe Eurasia]. Chelyabinsk: Krokus Press; 2006. 192 p. (In Russian)

20. Kuzeev R.G. Proiskhozhdenie bashkirskogo naroda. Etnicheskij sostav, istoriya rasseleniya [The origin of the Bashkir people. Ethnic composition, history of settlement]. Moscow: Nauka Press; 1974. 576 p. (In Russian)