THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF FOLK MEDICINE IN THE FERGANA VALLEY AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Keywords:
folk medicine, tabib, Greco-Arabic medicine, mystical medicine, Russian Empire, colonialism, Fergana ValleyAbstract
This article examines the role and significance of folk medicine in the lives of the local population of the Fergana Valley at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It analyzes the main forms and methods of traditional healing, the functions of tabibs (folk healers), and the medicines they employed. Particular attention is given to the colonial policies of the Russian Empire, which did not directly restrict traditional medicine but promoted Western medical institutions in the region. Drawing on archival materials, periodicals, and scholarly works, the study argues that folk medicine continued to play a crucial role in the daily lives of the rural population despite the gradual introduction of Russian medical practices.
References
1. Report of the Revision of Turkestan by Secret Councillor Girs, by the Highest Command. 1884, p. 164.
2. Abdirashidov, Z. An Annotated Bibliography of Materials on Turkestan in the Newspaper “Tarjimon” (1883–1917). 2011, p. 67.
3. “Need for a Tabib.” Sadoi Farg‘ona, no. 55, 1914.
4. Ogudin, V. L. Folk Medicine of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Moscow: Ganga, 2021, p. 52.
5. Jumanazarov, Kh. Traditions Related to Folk Medicine among Uzbeks (Historical-Ethnological Study). PhD dissertation in History, Tashkent, 2018, p. 25.
6. Kushelevskii, V. I. Materials for the Medical Geography and Sanitary Description of Fergana Province. Vol. 3. Novyi Margelan: Printing House of the Fergana Regional Administration, 1891, p. 236.
7. Shishov, A. The Sarts. Part 1. Tashkent: P. A. Portsev, 1905, p. 379.
8. Seifulmulyukov, I. K. “On the Question of Tabibism in Uzbekistan.” Medical Thought of Uzbekistan, June–July 1928, nos. 9–10.
9. Muminova, G. The History of the Healthcare System in Uzbekistan (1917–1991). Tashkent: Yangi Nashr, 2015, p. 255.
10. Kadyrov, A. A. “On Uzbek Folk Medicine.” In Collected Scientific Works. Tashkent: Medgiz, 1961.
11. Ogudin, V. L. Folk Medicine of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Moscow: Ganga, 2021, p. 91.
12. Kushelevskii, V. I. Materials for the Medical Geography and Sanitary Description of Fergana Province. Vol. 3, p. 263.
13. Asadov, D. A., M. Hasaniy, and M. N. Nazirov. “Mahmud Hakim Yayfoniy-Khoqandiy: A Scholar-Physician of Eastern Medicine in the 20th Century.” Uzbekistan Medicine, no. 5, 2012.
14. Rustamova, et al. History of Medicine: A Textbook. Tashkent, 2004, pp. 133–134.
15. Turdialiev, A. “Mahmud Hakim Yayfoniy – An Enlightened Scholar and Poet.” Adabiy Meros, no. 4, 1988.
16. Nazirov, M. N. “Tariq al-Ilaj – the Most Comprehensive Medical Work Written in Turkic.” Uzbekistan Medicine, no. 1, 2013.
