Essay about Blood on the Stepepes - 833 Words

Name: Sayed Khalilullah Anwari ID # 8836 Proff: Dr. Carol Prindle Cultural Anthropology Blood on the Steppes: Ethnicity, Power, and Conflict In this article written by Weatherford, the form and use of ethnic identity is the core focus and further elaborations has been provided on roles of various factors in shaping ethnic identities such as, religion, economics, politics and so forth. Weatherford has also discussed the various usages that ethnic identities may have: Men in pursuit of their own vested interests have used ethnic identities as a means to reach their goals and interests such as wealth, fame and even sexual indulgence. The study was done on Central Asian countries, mostly those which were in the eastern bloc, it is argued†¦show more content†¦Thus, he made himself the Turkmen National Symbol of solidarity and unity. It’s been argued in the article that religion has been most used when people are denied the right to directly express their own ethnic identity or have to accept an identity other than their own. Militant Islam has become the dominant form of identification and main route of resistance to central government authorities. For instance, Uighurs were Buddhists who converted to Islam. Due to the fact that in the presence of Chinese (Khan) dominations they could not express their ethnic identity, they chose Islam to symbolize and identify them. Some chose rather unorthodox methods to express their identity and symbolization as a factor that would assert their identity was indeed different from the previously discussed cases. For instance, a group was formed under the name of â€Å"Reebok Mafia†, although they spoke the same language but they would differ in terms of the place of residence and ethnicity. Thus, they chose to wear clothes products of the Reebok Company to be identified. In some instances ethnic identity has been used to pursue sexual gratification. In the case of Kirgizstan, it is legitimate for a man and women to elope or men kidnap the woman in order to marry them, the specific term coined for this tradition is Bride Capture. In an interview