(Erciyes University)
The Syncretic Transformation of Beliefs in the Tarim Basin Based on Old Uighur Texts: Boat Symbolism
68th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Bangkok 2026
This study examines the interaction between the native beliefs existing in the Tarim Basin—a pivotal crossroads of the Silk Road—long before the arrival of Buddhism and Manichaeism, and the soteriological metaphors subsequently integrated into the region. Archaeological evidence, particularly the boat- or raft-shaped coffins discovered in centers such as Xiaohe (Little River) and dated to approximately 3000 BCE, indicates a deeply rooted local tradition where death was conceptualized as a journey across a body of water.
In Buddhist literature, the metaphor of the “boat of the teaching” (Sanskrit dharmanāvā, Chinese da zhouhang 大舟航, Tibetan gru gzings chen po, Old Uighur tar kämi) occupies a central place from an early period, symbolizing the crossing of the “ocean of birth and death” (Sanskrit saṃsārasāgara, Chinese shengsi hai 生死海, Tibetan skye shi’i rgya mtsho, Old Uighur sansarlıg taloy ügüz / togmak ölmäklig tägzinč) and the attainment of the ultimate goal, the “farther shore” (Sanskrit pāra, Chinese bi’an 彼岸, Tibetan pha rol, Old Uighur ıntın kıdıg / ol kıdıg).
This research posits that the metaphors in question were not merely abstract concepts exported from Indo-Buddhist literature; rather, they acquired new local meanings through a “cultural resonance” established with the region’s ancient river culture and funerary rituals. Through philological comparisons of Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Old Uighur texts—supported by the concept of “Ships of Light” in Manichaean cosmology—it is demonstrated that religious symbols were not simply transmitted along the Silk Road but were reinterpreted through interaction with the local milieu.
Consequently, this study aims to discuss, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the evolution of boat symbolism in the Tarim Basin from a tangible funerary tradition (boat coffins) into a metaphysical vehicle of salvation (the Dharma ship/boat).