Transformation of Public Consciousness: Based on the Image of Saints in the Mangistau Region and Uzbekistan.

Abstract

This article presents the results of studies on the local population's perception and pilgrimage to saints in cities such as Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan. The study explores the development of the concept of the sacred in the Turkic steppes, the adoption of Islam by the local populace, the impact of the Soviet government's political actions at the beginning of the 20th century on the concept of the sacred, and the efforts by Kazakhstan since its independence to revive this concept. The data presented in the works of domestic and foreign researchers is analysed in order to determine the basis of continuity between the saints, irrespective of their region and time period of life. This analysis particularly focuses on ancient madrassas, which serve as the foundation for the succession of saints. The study examines the similarities and differences in the transformed perceptions of pilgrims about historical figures remembered in folk memory as saints. Additionally, it explores how holy places can be transformed into centers of tourism or sources of income for society.