Status and Contract--an Empirical Analysis of Old Uyghur Documents
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DOI: 10.25236/ieesasm.2020.023
Author(s)
Alimujiang Yiming, Osman Juma
Corresponding Author
Alimujiang Yiming
Abstract
The unearthed old Uyghur documents tell us that people at that time used contracts to settle their civil relationships. However, these ancient contracts also tell us that Uyghur documents have strong status characteristics. A valid contract requires a tamğa or nişan, which depicts a symbolic mark representing a group rather than an individual. It is recorded in sale and loan contracts that the seller or borrower fixes contract obligations for his family members. The members are bound to the contract merely because of their status as a member of the group.
Keywords
Status, Uyghur documents, Social norm, Contract, Tamğa, Nişan