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Paraw
Bibi Shrine
 This
shrine is one of the most impressive and popular sites
of pilgrimage in the country. It is located in western
Turkmenistan approximately 20 kilometers northwest of
Gïzïlarbat in the village of Paraw. The actual
shrine is set some 100 meters up a rocky mountainside
overlooking the village and consists of a white mausoleum-like
structure (described in historical sources as a mosque).
Next to the shrine is an adjoining chamber with an outside
entrance. At the foot of the mountain is a large one-story
building which serves as a guest house (mïhmanhana,
mïhman jayï). A roofed platform (bassïrma)
located nearby the guest house serves as a place where
pilgrims congregate and have meals.
Near the guest house and adjacent to the village are the
remains of the town Ferava/Afraw dating from the ninth
century. Sources indicate that the town originated as
an Arab border fortress (rabat) directed against the Oghuz
and developed into an important town on the road leading
to Khorezm. Among the ruins of the town are the remains
of a shrine-mausoleum to a Paraw Ata dating from the twelfth
century.
Turkmen anti-religious specialists such as Ataev (1989)
note that the mountain shrine has long been active and
considered it an important shrine contributing to harmful
beliefs among the population. According to legends recorded
in Soviet literature, Paraw Bibi was a beautiful and virtuous
maiden who was the object of jealousy of many women. During
a period of infidel military threat a jealous woman wanted
to turn Paraw Bibi over to the invaders in exchange for
promises from the enemy not to carry out the attack. Upon
hearing this, Paraw Bibi cursed the woman causing her
to turn into black stone. Soon thereafter, while on the
mountainside, Paraw Bibi saw the enemy party approaching.
With this she realized the hopelessness of her situation
and ordered the mountain to split open so that she might
enter into it, thus preserving her purity and virtue.
After the miraculous event the locals were commanded by
God to build a shrine to Paraw Bibi at the site where
she opened the mountain. They believed, because of her
bravery and refusal to submit, Paraw Bibi was a true hero
(batïr) who had been blessed by the holy breath of
the prophets.
 Ataev
also describes how, in the final decades of the Soviet
era, pilgrims came from all over western Turkmenistan
to the shrine seeking fertility and a cure for insanity.
He also writes that in and around the complex were many
"miracle working" stones and impressions of
Paraw Bibi's hands and knees left in stone. One stone
is said to be a watermelon that Paraw Bibi had been about
to eat. According to legend, at the moment when Paraw
Bibi was to cut the melon the enemies attacked and thus
she threw it down in haste. At that moment it turned into
stone. Ataev notes that a watermelon-shaped stone said
to be that same stone from the time of Paraw Bibi was
used by pilgrims as a "detector of sin." It
was placed on the thumbs of two people; if the stone rotates
no sin had been committed by those balancing it.
While visiting the shrine in April 1995 we filmed the
site, rites being performed, and interviewed numerous
pilgrims. We were struck by the large number of visitors
(approximately 100 in the course of an hour) at the complex
and by the intense activity and rather festive atmosphere.
While there were male visitors, the majority of those
present were girls and young women (ages 5 - 30). As numerous
young women explained, Paraw Bibijan was a beautiful maiden
whose virtue, purity, and courage were unmatched. Furthermore,
she was a devout Muslim who never failed to perform her
Islamic duties. In the moments when attack was imminent
and at great risk Paraw Bibi performed her prayers; and
due to her "burning with faith" she left behind
the impressions of her knees and hands in the rock. They
also told of the legend of the melon and demonstrated
how "stones from the time of Paraw Bibi" or
"stones seen by Paraw Bibi" may be used in predicting
the future and detecting sin. Inside the shrine itself
we met with several mothers (with their infant children)
and young women who showed us the many dozens of votive
offerings brought by visitors, including hundreds of cloth
strips, miniature cradles, and large quilt curtains sewn
by women hoping for children. Leading out of the main
chamber into the mountain is a niche-cave through which
Paraw Bibi is said to have entered into the mountain and
it is here where young women recite prayers to the spirit
of Paraw Bibi. The young women also pointed out the adjoining
chamber known as Paraw Bibi's bath house to which she
is said to visit each Friday to comb her hair and bathe;
it too contains numerous objects and offerings. Outside
the shrine, along the path, we also saw a small overhang
under which Paraw Bibi is said to have hidden from the
raiders for seven days; it is believed that crawling into
the space will result in fertility.
 Elements
of the legend of Paraw Bibi are evident in other legends
concerning numerous other "Turkmen" saints and
heroines and are not limited to one specific region. The
transformation of a melon into stone at the moment when
one is about to cut it and at the moment when the hero(ine)
catches sight of an approaching enemy, the splitting of
rock by and the disappearance of the heroine into a mountainside
or cave never to return, as well as the indentations and
impressions left in rock by the hero are all fairly common
to legends concerning figures associated with holy sites.
The sites of these types of saints generally lack a tomb
or burial place and thus are atypical öwlüyä;
consequently there are no cemeteries. Furthermore, the
figures to whom the sites are dedicated are usually ahistorical
and are placed in a mythical setting where the struggle
between Islam and non-Islamic forces are simplified and
clearly discerned.
CENTRAL ASIA MONITOR - ON-LINE SUPPLEMENT "SHRINE
PILGRIMAGE IN TURKMENISTAN AS A MEANS TO UNDERSTAND ISLAM
AMONG THE TURKMEN" © by David Tyson (No.1, 1997)
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