On the Edge of Time and Space: The Udis of Oghuz

This paper looks at the role of anthropological notions of time and space in the rituals, everyday life, discourse and the notable spaces of the Udi community in Oghuz (former Vartashen, Azerbaijan). This particular Udi community is examined through and studied within the context of the above-mentioned concepts. The text focuses on the local sacred plane tree, several chapels and narratives of the locals in relation to the concept of spacetime. This paper looks at how the idea of spacetime shapes the Udi community of Oghuz and its symbolic role in performing the identity within this community. Relying on ethnographic fieldwork in Oghuz and accompanying historical research, the paper shows the complex entanglement of spacetime narrative in the lives of the local Udis.