ABSTRACT
Kazaks describe their healers with a varied vocabulary that reveals the diffuse character of the Muslim healer's art. Virtually the entire semantic field is shared by all the Muslim peoples of Central Asia, with variations only of spelling and pronunciation, seldom of concept or practice. Kazaks consult Taj ik diviners who sit in the bazaar; they frequent Uzbek healers as well as their own, and Russian herbalists and "extrasensories " may also be held in high esteem. The Qojas, with their claim to Arab descent from the Prophet, are believed to derive their healing powers from the pure way of Islam; so other Kazak healers emulate this sacred tradition. Qoj a or not, all Kazak healers believe they have received their power from the ancestor-spirits .
