Ebook: A history of Uighur religious conversions (5th - 16th centuries)

Singapore: National University of Singapore, 2005. — 81 p. Asia Research Institute, Working Paper Series, No 44.As the Uighur moved about in the areas through which the Silk Road extends, their religious traditions also reflect the colorful picture of many world religions along the Silk Road, such as Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Buddhism and Islam. These world religions co-existed and interacted there with the Uighurs’ primitive spiritual practices. Like many nomadic peoples in Central Asia, the Uighur, in ancient times, were closely tied to Shamanism. This primal religion or magic system still lies deep in the belief system of modern Altaic peoples.