CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Pantic, Nikola Zoran |
|---|---|
| Title | Faith and the Common Man: A Damascene Barber and Popular Religion, 1741-1763 |
| Summary | This study aims to explore some aspects of the popular religious practices of the eighteenth-century Damascus, roughly during the period of 1741-1763. For this purpose, this thesis uses an eighteenth-century manuscript produced by a barber-chronicler which covers the aforementioned years. Due to the recent discovery of the manuscript, this work offers a chapter committed to juxtaposing the manuscript with its printed edition and presenting results of this comparison. Through the barber-chronicler’s manuscript, this study analyzes some elements of the eighteenth-century Damascene practiced religion, providing the overview of customs shared by the population of the city as perceived and documented by the barber. This research will point out the issues which emerge from attempts to study the popular religious practices of Damascus (and elsewhere) through the examination of the normative texts only. Furthermore, it shall be pointed out that the study of practiced religion of a people (in this case, the Damascenes of the eighteenth century) requires the realization that it does not seem valid to separate the formal from the informal religious practices. This thesis will highlight the role which religious tropes had for self-representation, representation of others, and in some cases, for negotiating social mobility. Some elements of the popular beliefs and practices of the eighteenth-century Damascenes (as described by the barber) shall be provided. Furthermore, it shall be demonstrated that popular religious practices had the potential to serve as a symbol of unity for the population of the city. This study will help illuminate some of the details necessary for acquiring a clearer understanding of the region under study approximately a century before the first Islamic reformers emerged. |
| Supervisor | Al-Azmeh, Aziz; Al-Bagdadi. Nadia |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/pantic_nikola.pdf |
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