Hodja

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Hodscha or Chodscha (from Persian خواجه, DMG ḫ w āǧa , 'teacher, master', derived from Arabic خوجة, Turkish hoca , Albanian  Hoxha , Bosnian Hodža , Kazakh Қожа , Tajik Хоҷа , Uzbek Xo'ja ) is a title and (honorific) form of address for a teacher , especially for a Muslim religious scholars, such as a religious teacher Ottoman prince or a abjad numerals -teacher in a School (Arabic Maktab ). Hodja can have become part of one's personal name. Nasreddin , also Nasreddin Hodscha, is the main character in a collection of humorous stories that is widespread in the Orient.

As religious scholars, the Hodjas do not need any special training, even though they often have an academic degree today. The prerequisite is mastery of prayers in Arabic and the ability to guide prayers. In the mosques they lead the prayer (Arabic salad ), hold the Friday sermon and teach the Koran .

In Turkey, the hodja also performs the religious part of the wedding ceremony ( hoca nikâhı ). In the country, he leads rainmaking ceremonies to ensure a good harvest and other annual festivals. The cinci hoca (from cin , Arabic jinn , "spirit"), also üfürükçü , practices a form of miracle healing for patients who believe they are possessed by a spirit. For this he uses amulets ( muska ), performs ritual acts and speaks verses of the Koran ( ayet ). Chronic physical illnesses with psychosomatic causes are often the reason for the patients, who are mostly elderly and lower social classes, to visit the treating Hodscha .

In Turkish, Hoca means "teacher" and is used as a respectful form of address for teachers, professors, lecturers or clergy. In the Ottoman Empire , the title denoted people of high class: scholars, merchants and eunuchs from a manorial house. In Albanian (Hoxha) and Bosnian or Serbo-Croatian (Hodža) the word simply means imam .

Hodja are also members of the Ismaili Muslims belonging nizari who live mainly in India and Pakistan. Hodjas were also the names of the leading families in Kashgaria between around 1500 and 1850 in the cities of Kashgar , Hotan (Khotan) and Yarkant .

Seven is a significant number in Islam . In the 19th century there were in today Uzbekistan belonging Kokand Khanate "Seven Hodja". These were seven princes, of whom Katti Torah (actually Eshan Khan), Buzurg Khan and Wali Khan are mentioned. In the popular Islam of Kyrgyzstan , analogous to the Seven Saints of Marrakech, seven holy brothers or "Seven Hodschas" are venerated, who are said to have come as missionaries from the Arab region in the early days of Islam. Hodscha in Kyrgyzstan describes people of noble origin. In the Kyrgyz beliefs, the seven hodjas had miraculous powers. Six of them are venerated in the country, one in Uzbekistan. The largest shrine is in Kojo-Kelen in the Kyrgyz province of Osh . In the southwest of Tajikistan there are also known "Seven Hodschas" or "Seven Holy Brothers" who are said to have evangelized in earlier times. They are venerated at seven mausoleums in the Kubodijon oasis, of which Chodscha Mahschad is the best known.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ilhan Başgöz Rain-Making Ceremonies in Turkey and Seasonal festivals. In: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 87, No. 3, July-September 1967, pp. 304-306
  2. ^ Christopher Dole: Mass Media and the Repulsive Allure of Religious Healing: The Cinci Hoca in Turkish Modernity. In: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 38, No. 1, February 2006, pp. 31–54, here p. 31
  3. ↑ Friedhelm Röder: The importance of Turkish healers (Hodschas) for general medical practice. In: Deutsches Ärzteblatt, 85, Issue 4, January 28, 1988, pp. 27f
  4. ↑ Hamid Wahed Alikuzai: Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes: Volume 14. Trafford Publishing, Bloomington 2013, p. 312 (from: Demetrius Charles Boulger: The life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar. Wm. H. Allen & Co, London 1878, p. 71, at Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Gulnara Aitpaeva: Sacred Sites of the Southern Kyrgyzstan: Nature, Manas, Islam. Aigine Cultural Research Center, 2013, pp. 94f
  6. ↑ Hafiz Boboyorov: Collective Identities and patronage networks in Southern Tajikistan. (ZEF Development Studies) Lit, Münster 2013, pp. 183, 188