Pamir peoples. The Pamiris - the mystery of Central Asia

24.04.2019

Unique nature The Pamirs have always been of interest to researchers and travelers. This harsh mountain region is the homeland of an ancient people about whom almost nothing is known. And if before the twentieth century about mysterious Pamiri people few people heard, because they lived in remote areas, then, starting from the USSR era, these people were most often confused with Tajiks.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the highlands have a special culture, interesting customs and traditions. Who are the Pamiris? Why were they separated by the borders of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China and Pakistan?

What are they?

The Pamiris do not make it into world news, do not fight for independence, and do not strive to create their own state. These are peaceful people, accustomed to an isolated life in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains. Badakhshan is the name of the historical region of their residence.

This ethnic group consists of many nationalities united common origin, customs and traditions, religion and history. The Pamirs are divided into northern and southern. Among the former, the most numerous national group are the Shugnans, numbering more than 100 thousand people. There are three times fewer Rushans. There are almost 25 thousand people from Sarykolt, and Yazgulyam people are considered a small ethnic group.

The main part of the southern Pamirs are the Vakhans, about 70 thousand of them. And there are much fewer Sanglicians, Ishkashims and Munjanians.

All these people belong to the Pamir-Fergana subrace - the easternmost branch of the Caucasoid race. Among the Pamiris there are many fair-haired and blue-eyed people. They have oblong faces with straight noses and large eyes. If there are brunettes, they are with light skin. Anthropologists believe that the inhabitants of the European Alps and the Mediterranean are closest to the representatives of the Pamir-Fergana subrace.

Residents of Badakhshan speak languages of the Eastern Iranian group of the Indo-European family. However, for interethnic communication they use the Tajik language, and it is also the language of instruction in schools. In Pakistan, the Pamir languages are gradually being replaced by official Urdu, and in China by Uyghur.

Being representatives of Iranian-speaking peoples, back in the 1st millennium BC the Pamiris were adherents of Zoroastrianism. Then, along with trade caravans from China, Buddhism spread to the highlands. In the 11th century, the famous Persian poet Nasir Khusrow (1004-1088) fled to these lands to escape persecution by Sunni Muslims. This creative person became the spiritual leader of the local population; under the influence of the poet, the Pamiris adopted Ismailism, a Shiite branch of Islam that absorbed some provisions of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Religion significantly distinguishes the Pamiris from their Sunni neighbors. Ismailis perform namaz (pray) only twice a day, while Tajiks and Uzbeks do it five times a day. Since the Pamirs do not fast in holy month Ramadan, their women do not wear burqas, and their men allow themselves to drink moonshine, then neighboring nations do not classify these people as devout Muslims.

History of the people

There is no clear answer to the question of the origin of the Pamiris. The history of this ethnic group goes back more than two thousand years. Considering that the inhabitants of Badakhshan belong to the Caucasian race, some researchers are inclined to believe that the Pamiris are the descendants of the ancient Aryans, who remained in the mountains during the Indo-European migration and subsequently mixed with the local population. However, there is no historical evidence for this theory.

According to most experts, several eastern Iranian tribes moved to the Pamirs separately from each other and in different time. It is interesting that their closest relatives were the legendary Scythians - an ancient ethnic group that created a huge empire in the 7th-4th centuries BC, stretching from Crimea to Southern Siberia.

Scientists associate the origin of the Pamiris with several waves of migrations of the nomadic tribe of Sakas, who began to populate the highlands in the 7th-6th centuries BC. Then the ancestors of the Wakhans moved from the Alai Valley, which is located east of Badakhshan. And the future Ishkashim residents moved to the highlands from the southwest. After a linguistic study of their language, scientists consider the Munjans to be remnants of the Bactrian community that survived in remote areas.

The next wave of Saka migration gave birth to the northern Pamirs, who migrated to Badakhshan from the west along the Pyanj River, subsequently breaking up into the Shugnans, Rushans, Yazgulyams and Vanjs. And even later, the ancestors of the Sarykol people moved to their current territories, which are currently part of the Chinese province of Xinjiang. All these migration waves ended by the beginning of our era.

Thanks to the rich deposits of ruby and lapis lazuli, the inhabitants of the highlands were regularly visited by merchants who exchanged for gems household items, household utensils, as well as knives and axes, and other tools. Back in the 2nd century BC, caravans from China along the Great Silk Road passed through the Pyanj River valley.

Throughout the history of the Pamirs, various Turkic-speaking tribes, Chinese, Arabs, Mongols, as well as the Sassanid and Timurid dynasties tried to conquer this region. But none of them stayed in the highlands to rule over a handful of tribes. Therefore, even the nominally conquered Pamiris continued to live quietly for a long time, as they were accustomed to.

The situation changed in the 19th century, when Russia and Britain waged an active struggle for influence in Asia. In 1895, the border was officially established between Afghanistan, which was under the protectorate of the British, and the Emirate of Bukhara, which enjoyed the support of the Russians. The two empires divided their spheres of influence along the Panj River, with the Wakhan Corridor going to Afghanistan. Subsequently, the border of the USSR was established there. Neither in Moscow nor in London did anyone care about fate Pamir peoples, which were literally cut off from each other.

Now the highlands are divided between Tajikistan, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The languages of the Pamir peoples are being consistently displaced, and their future remains uncertain.

Customs and manners

The Pamiris have always lived rather isolated. The harsh nature of the highlands, which is located between 2 and 7 thousand meters above sea level, had a significant impact on their life and morals.

Every element of the house here has a symbolic meaning. The Pamiri people's homes are supported by five pillars named after Muslim saints: Muhammad, Fatima, Ali, Hussein and Hassan. They demarcate the men's and women's bedrooms, as well as the kitchen, living room and prayer area. And the four-tiered vault of a traditional dwelling symbolizes the natural elements: fire, earth, water and air.

Previously, the Pamirs lived in large patriarchal families, all relatives ran a joint household, unquestioningly obeying the elder. But later such mini-communities were replaced by ordinary monogamous families. Moreover, among the Pamirs there are marriages between cousins, which is often due to the reluctance to pay a large bride price for a bride from another family.

Despite the fact that Islam has significantly influenced the position of women, marriages among the Pamiris are matrilocal. That is, after the wedding, the newlyweds settle in the house of the bride’s parents.

The traditional occupations of these people are agriculture and animal husbandry. Cows, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys are raised in the highlands. The Pamirs have been engaged in wool processing, weaving, pottery, and jewelry making for many centuries. There were always many skilled hunters among them.

The Pamiri diet usually consists of wheat cakes, sheep cheese, homemade noodles, vegetables and legumes, fruits and walnuts. A poor resident of the highlands drinks tea with milk, and a rich one also adds a little butter to the bowl.

Story

The Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) was formed on January 2, 1925 as part of the Tajik SSR. It is located in the eastern part of the country, occupying 40% of the territory of Tajikistan - 63.7 thousand square kilometers. In the north it borders with Kyrgyzstan, in the east with China, in the south and west with Afghanistan. In 1911, at 23:15 from the 5th to the 6th, an event occurred in the Pamirs that made significant changes to the local geography. Due to strong underground tremors on the mentioned night, a huge mountain collapsed into the valley of the Bartang River near the village of Usoy. As a result, the entire village died along with its entire population and livestock. In 1928, a large complex Pamir expedition, as a result of a theodolite photo survey, described a peak discovered two years earlier, which dominated all the sky-high giants of the region. It was mistaken for Garmo Peak. And only in 1932, the solution to the Garmo node was crowned with success: experts established that the Garmo peak is located 20 km away from the highest peak of the Pamirs.

Topographic surveys made by I. Dorofeev made it possible to determine the height of the peak - 7495 meters. Later it was put on maps and given the name of the “father of all nations” - Stalin (and in 1962 it was renamed the peak of Communism). Peak Communism is the highest peak of the Pamirs and the former Soviet Union. Since 1999, it has been called Ismail Somoni Peak. In 1931, one of the highest mountains in the world was founded near Khorog. Botanical Garden, whose employees study the region’s vegetation and horticulture. The garden has more than 2 thousand species of plants. The main industries of the region are light and food. In 2001, industrial goods in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region produced 11 million 671 thousand somoni, which is 31.8% higher than in 2000. In 1998, in the history of Badakhshan, it opened new page: the Mugrab-Kulma-Karakorum and Kulyab-Darvaz highway began to function, which is popularly called “Shokhrokhi Vahdat” (the highway of unity). Essentially, with the commissioning of these roads, the region emerged from geographic isolation. This will allow Tajikistan to access the major seaports of China, Pakistan and India.

Nature

PAMIR - which has the highest mountain peaks in the Soviet Union (Communism Peak, 7495 m) and large mountain glaciers (Fedchenko Glacier, 71 km, the longest in the CIS countries). The region's territory is divided into western (smaller) and eastern (larger) parts. The western part is on average lower and more dissected: deep narrow valleys of the right tributaries of the river. Panj cross it from west to east; they are separated by ridges that rise 3000-4000 m or more above the valley bottoms. The eastern part is the highest leveled highland with flat valleys and basins, above which the mountain ranges rise to 1200-1800 m. The lowest places in the western part do not fall below 1500 m, in the eastern part - below 3600 m. The climate of the western part is moderate continental. The average January temperature is -7.8°C, July 22.2°C, precipitation is about 240 mm per year (Khorog). In the eastern part it is much colder and drier: the average January temperature is -19.6°C, July 13°C (Murghab), precipitation 60-70 mm per year. The duration of the growing season (with temperatures above 5°C) is 223 days in Khorog and 140 days in Murghab. The main rivers in the western part - Pyanj and its tributaries Vanch, Yazgulem, Bartang, Gunt and Shakhdara - originate in glaciers or flowing lakes, are high-water, swift, and abound in rapids and waterfalls. The rivers of the eastern part - Murghab with Oksu, Alichur and others, on the contrary, are low-water, flow slowly, meander in wide valleys. There are few lakes. In the eastern part there are drainless lakes Karakul (the largest), Shorkul, Rangkul, etc. Among the flowing lakes, Sarez (on the border of the western and eastern parts), Yashilkul and Zorkul stand out. The soil and vegetation cover in the western part bears the features of strong xerophilicity in all zones: in the lower zones there are gray soils with wormwood, saltwort, cousinia, and in the spring, ephemeral vegetation; in the upper ones there are desert-steppe soils with wormwood, feather grass, fescue and thorny grass; at the tops of the ridges there are pads (of acantholimons) and patches of meadows with sedges and cobresia. Along the banks of the rivers there are groves of willows, poplars, and jidas, and on the slopes there are sparse thickets of juniper. In the eastern part, on leveled areas, there are high-mountain desert soils with rare teresken bushes and cushion plants, and in places swampy lowlands; on the mountain slopes on rocky-gravelly soils the vegetation is extremely sparse. The most common animals are the wolf, fox, tolai hare, snow leopard, mountain goat, long-tailed marmot, large birds of prey, etc. In the west live the lynx, porcupine, wild boar, and in the east - argali. Trout, marinka, and char are found in rivers and lakes.

Religion

Residents of Gorno-Badakhshan profess Islam. The inhabitants of Darvaz, Vanj and Murghab are Sunni Muslims - Hanafia. The inhabitants of Rushan, Shugnan, Shahdara and Ishkashim are Shiite Muslims - Ismailia. The Ismailis separated in the 9th century. From the rest of the Shiites after the reign of the sixth Shiite Imam - Jafar Sadiq. They insisted on filling the position of imam after his death with his son, Ismail, who by that time had untimely disappeared and died, but his son, Muhammad, remained. The Ismailis have a spiritual leader who is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. IN this moment The spiritual leader of the Ismailis is His Highness Prince Aga Khan IV, who is the forty-ninth (49th) spiritual leader of the Ismailis. The Tajiks of Gorno-Badakhshan are descendants of ancient Eastern Iranian tribes. They were part of the Scytho-Saka associations, which played a huge role in the ethnogenesis of the Iranian and other peoples of Central Asia. These peoples contributed to the creation of the culture of Bactria, Kushan, Samanids, Ghurids, etc. The remains of ancient fortresses and border fortifications from the Bactrian and Kushan periods still exist in Badakhshan. In ancient and medieval periods, trade and military routes passed here connecting Europe with China. Along this route, through Wakhan, the religion of Buddhism spread to China. Arab Muslim and Chinese civilizations collided in the Wakhan corridor. Through these roads, goods of various qualities were transported to China, for example, from Sogd military chain mail for the Chinese army, from Shugnan rose hips for the Chinese emperor, musical instruments from Bactria and Sogd. Caravans with Chinese goods went back: paper, silk, porcelain, etc. Branches of the Great Silk Road passed here, which were associated with the extraction of La'la - noble spinel in Shugnan and its transportation to Babylon, Egypt and China. Badakhshan Tajiks retain many elements of ancient Iranian ideology in their language and everyday life, just like the Tajiks of the valleys of Tajikistan. But they also have their own specifics. This was reflected in many rituals and customs, such as during the wedding ceremony, fire ritual and hearth rituals. Before leaving for the bride, the groom and anyone leaving home on a journey must kiss the hearth with the burning incense. The language has also retained its peculiarities. For example, the ancient Iranian deity of fertility and water - Anahita (Nana), was preserved in the Shugnan language under the name of matter - Nan. The same Avestan Zamed (Earth), as one of the sacred elements, was preserved in the word Zemad (Earth). There are many such examples. The veneration of fire as an element even entered Islamic ideology. This can be seen in the ritual of remembering the departed - lighting a torch (charogravshankuni). Badakhshans are followers of Ismailism. This trend was very famous in medieval times as freedom-loving and tolerant of other movements of Islam. Ismailism, which arose among Arab and Iranian Muslims, retains strong spirit freedom, love of knowledge and enlightenment. Adherents of Ismailism, along with others, defended these lands from the invasion of the crusaders during the Crusades, defended Iran and Baghdad from the Mongol invasion for a long time and performed countless feats. There were also tragic pages in the history of Ismailism. Due to political altercations, they were sometimes persecuted in the Middle East and Central Asia. Ismaili thinkers made a great contribution to the culture of Central Asia during the Samanids. Ferdowsi, Ibn Sina and others had close relations with these educational circles. Under the rule of the Ismaili Fatimids, the House of Science (Academy) was created in Cairo and, most importantly, the first university in the world - Al-Akhzar, where Muslims studied everything existing in the world at that time sciences Famous Tajik poet and thinker of the 11th century. Nasir Khusrav, who headed the mission of enlightening Kharasan, forever left his memory in the hearts of the inhabitants of Gorno-Badakhshan. The tradition of science and education is still strongly preserved among the Badakhshan Ismailis. In all likelihood, Ismailism penetrated into Gorno-Badakhshan a very long time ago, i.e. even before the 10th century. Indirect evidence of this is the ancient Shiite and Ismaili manuscripts discovered exclusively here. For example, we can name the manuscripts of “Umm-ul-kitab” - excerpts from the cosmological-theological system of the Ismailis from the time of Imam Ja'far Sadiq. Apparently the activities of Nasir Khusrav coincided with this ready fertile soil. Here, precisely in these mountain gorges, he created his main philosophical and theological works, as well as his poems, and as he himself puts it, every year he distributed them throughout the world.

Language

The majority of the population in the western regions of Badakhshan are Tajiks. Darvaz and Vanj Tajiks speak the Farsi-Tajik language, the inhabitants of Rushan, Shugnan and Shahdara speak the Shugnan-Rushan Tajik language, originating from ancient eastern Iranian languages. Ishkashim people speak Farsi-Tajik, Wakhan and other eastern Iranian languages. Murghab residents speak Kyrgyz, but there are also residents who speak Tajik.

People

1) Yazgulam people (self-called zgamik) - live in the high mountain valley of the Yazgulem River.

2) Shugnans (self-named Khugni or Khununi) - live in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region - on the right bank of the Pyanj River between the villages of Sokhcharv and Khaskharag and in the area of the Shugnan Range in the valleys of the Gunt and Shahdara rivers, in northern Afghanistan (left bank of the Pyanj River). The largest in number of the Pamir peoples.

3) Bartang people (self-named Bartangidj) - about 2 thousand people) - live in the high mountain valley of the Bartang River, in its lower and middle parts, and in the upper reaches - in Roshorv (old spelling Oroshor) - a local group of Bartang people - Roshorvtsy (rozhorvij) .

4) Ishkashim people (self-called Ishkashim) - live in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan (mainly in the village of Ryn) and in northeastern Afghanistan. The number is about 500 people.

5) Rushans (self-called Rhen or Rushni)

6) Sarykol people - inhabit the Murgab valley, and also live in China (in Xinjiang), in the facial features of the Sarykol people, unlike other Pamiris, some Mongoloidity may be noticeable.

8) Baju people

9) It would be worth adding the population of Vanj Bolor - Mountain or High Vanj, but at the moment the population of Vanj uses the Tajik language and, apparently, has lost its original Pamir language.

10) At the same time, it is also worth noting that if the Shugnans and Rushans can understand each other (i.e., their languages are quite close to each other), then the speech of the Yazgulams and Ishkashims is incomprehensible to the rest of the Pamiris.

, Tajiks, Hunzas, Kalash

Origin Iranian

Pamiris (Pamir Tajiks , Pripamir Tajiks) - a collection of small Iranian peoples inhabiting the highlands of the Pamir-Hindu Kush, divided between Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. The heterogeneous Pamir languages of the East Iranian group of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family are spoken. Most of the Pamiris are united in religious basis confession of Ismailism.

Settlement

The areas of settlement of the Pamirs - the western, southern and eastern Pamirs, contiguous in the south with the Hindu Kush - are high-mountain narrow valleys with a rather harsh climate, almost never falling below 2,000 m above sea level and surrounded by steeply sloped ridges covered with eternal snow, the height of which in some places approaches 7,000 m. To the north of the Hindu Kush watershed, the valleys belong to the upper Amu Darya basin (Upper Kokcha, Panj, Pamir, Vakhandarya). The eastern slopes of the Pamirs belong to the river basin. Yarkand, south of the Hindu Kush begins the Indus basin, represented by the Kunar (Chitral) and Gilgit rivers. Administratively, this entire territory, which had long been an eclectic but unified area, was divided between Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China as a result of expansion in the 19th century. Russian, British and Chinese empires and their satellites (Bukhara and Afghan emirates). As a result, the areas of many Pamir peoples were artificially divided.

The ethnogeographical units in the Pamirs are the historical regions: Shugnan, Rushan, Ishkashim, Wakhan, Munjan, Sarykol - in general, they initially coincided with the nationalities that formed in them. If in terms of material and spiritual culture, the Pamir people, thanks to thousands of years of mutual contacts, have become significantly closer to each other, then the study of their languages shows that different Pamir peoples came from at least four ancient Eastern Iranian communities, only distantly related to each other and brought to the Pamirs independently.

Peak Ismoil Somoni

Geography and climate in places of settlement

The area of Badakhshan as a whole is - 108159 km², population 1.3 million people.

Tajik part of Badakhshan (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region). - 64,100 km², 216,900 people. Most of the territory of GBAO is occupied by the highlands of the Eastern Pamirs (the highest point is Ismoil Somoni Peak, former Communism Peak (7495 m)), which is why it is sometimes called the “Roof of the World”. On the slopes of the mountain there are powerful firn fields and glaciers with a total area of 136 km².

To the west and northwest of the peak is the Pamir firn plateau, one of the longest high-mountain plateaus in the world. The plateau stretches from east to west for 12 km. The width of the plateau is 3 km. The lowest point of the plateau is located at an altitude of 4700 m, the upper one - at an altitude of 6300 m.

Pamiro-speaking peoples

The classification of the Pamir peoples is usually based on linguistic principles.

Afghan part of Badakhshan

Tajik Badakhshan

Northern Pamirs

Shugnano-Rushans- a group of peoples inhabiting adjacent valleys, speaking closely related languages-dialects, which allows them to understand each other tolerably when communicating; Shugnan is often used as an intervalley Shugnan-Rushan language.
- Shugnans- Shugnan (Taj. Shugnon, Shugn. Xuɣnůn) - part of the river valley. Pyanj in the Khorog region, the valleys of its right tributaries (Gunt, Shahdara, Badzhuv). The right bank of the Pyanj River belongs to the Shugnan and Roshtkala districts of GBAO Tajikistan, the left bank belongs to the Shignan district of the Afghan province of Badakhshan. The leading ethnic group of the Pamirs, numbering approx. 110 thousand people, of which in Afghanistan approx. 25 thousand
- Rushantsy- Rushan (Taj. Rushon, Rush. Riẋůn), the area downstream of Shugnan along the Pyanj at the confluence of the Bartang River. The right bank part is located in the Rushan district of GBAO Tajikistan, the left bank - in the Shignan region of the Afghan province of Badakhshan. Total number - approx. 30 thousand people It also includes small related groups with separate languages and separate identities:
  - Khufians- Khuf (Taj. Khuf, khuf. Xuf) southeast of Rushan;
  - Bartang people- middle and upper reaches of the river. Bartang;
    - Roshorvtsy- Roshorv (Taj. Roshorv, rosh. Rōšōʹrv, self-described rašarviǰ) - upper reaches of the Bartang.
Sarykoltsy(Chinese: 塔吉克语 Tǎjíkèyǔ"Tajiks") inhabit Sarykol (Uyg. ساريكۆل, Chinese 色勒库尔 Selēikùěr) in the river valley Tiznaf (Tashkurgan-Tajik Autonomous County) and the upper reaches of Yarkand in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Number of approx. 25 thousand people

Western Pamiris

Yazgulyamtsy- the people inhabiting the Yazgulyam valley (in the language of the Yazgulyam people - Yuzdam) in the western Pamirs and belonging to the Caucasian race.

Southern Pamirs

The Southern Pamiris are a relict population group south of Shugnan, speaking two closely related dialect languages:

Ishkashim people- Ishkashim along the banks of Pyanj (Taj. Ishkoshim, ishk. Šьkošьm): the village of Ryn in GBAO (Ishkashim district) and the village of Ishkashim in the region of the same name in Afghan Badakhshan. OK. 1500 people
Sanglitsy- river valley Varduj in Afghan Badakhshan, a left tributary of the Pyanj, with the main village of Sanglech. The number is critical (100-150 people). To the north of Sanglech, in the Zebak region, the Zebak language formerly existed, which has now been completely replaced by Tajik (Dari).
Vakhans- historically inhabit the Wakhan region (Taj. Vakhon, wah. Wux˘), including the upper reaches of the Pyanj and its source, the Vakhandarya. The left bank of the Pyanj and the Vakhandarya valley (Wakhan corridor) belong to the Wakhan region of Afghan Badakhshan, the right bank to the Ishkashim region of GBAO Tajikistan. In the 2nd half of the 19th century. The Wakhans also settled widely south of the Hindu Kush - in the valleys of Hunza, Ishkoman, Shimshal (Gilgit-Baltistan) and the river. Yarkhun in Chitral (Pakistan), as well as in Chinese Xinjiang: Sarykol and on the river. Kilyan (west of Khotan). The total number of Vakhans is 65-70 thousand people.
Munjanians(dari منجی munǰi, munge məndẓ̌i˘) inhabit the river valley. Munjan in the upper reaches of the river. Kokcha (Kuran and Munjan region in Afghan Badakhshan). Number - approx. 4 thousand people
- Yidga(Urdu یدغہ ‎ , yidga yiʹdəγa) - part of the Munjans who moved across the Hindu Kush ridge in the 18th century. in the Lutkuh valley of Chitral region (Pakistan). Number - approx. 6 thousand people

Close and neighboring peoples

Pamiri in China

Tajik-speaking Pamiris

From the west, the valleys of the Pamir peoples are surrounded by territories occupied by Tajiks, speakers of the Badakhshan and Darvaz dialects of the Tajik language (Dari). The Badakhshani-Tajiks are largely close to the Pamiris proper. In some areas, the Tajik language has supplanted the local Pamiri languages in historical times:

Yumgan (Dari یمگان, Yamgan, district of the same name in Badakhshan province) - in the 18th century. (Shughni language)
Zebak (Dari زیباک, district of the same name in Badakhshan province) - in the 20th century. (Zebak language)

In addition, in the massif of Pamiro-speaking peoples there are Tajik-speaking groups of villages:

Goron region (Taj. Goron) on the river. Pyanj between Ishkashim and Shugnan (right bank in the Ishkashim region of GBAO)
Right Bank Vakhan (4 villages).

Neighboring peoples

The Tajik language is the language of religion (Ismailism), folklore, written literature, as well as a means of communication between various Pamir peoples speaking different languages.

In addition to the Tajik language, the Shughnan language and, to some extent, the Wakhan language are common in communication between different nationalities.

The Shugnan language has been playing the role of the language of oral communication between the Pamiris for almost a long time

On modern stage There is an increased expansion of the Tajik language, which, for example, is actively displacing the Wakhan language from all spheres of use, including the family sphere.

The Wakhan language, as a spoken language, occupies a dominant position throughout Wakhan. Communication between the Wakhans and the Tajik-speaking population of Wakhan, as well as the Wakhans and Ishkashims, is usually conducted in the Wakhan language.

For some Pamir peoples living in China, the language of interethnic communication is Uyghur and Chinese. In Afghanistan, this is Dari and, to a lesser extent, Pashto. According to the Constitution of Afghanistan, the Pamiri languages are the official languages in areas where Pamiri people live densely.

Ethnogenesis and history

Pamir warrior of the pre-Islamic period

The origin of the Pamirs, who speak heterogeneous Eastern Iranian languages, is associated with the expansion of the nomadic Sakas, which most likely took place in several waves, in different ways, and various Iranian-speaking communities that emerged outside the region participated in the settlement of the Pamirs. One of them, the Pravakhans, was initially close to the Sakas of Khotan and Kashgar and penetrated into Wakhan, apparently from the east - from the Alai Valley. In historical times, the Kirghiz came to the Pamirs along the same route. The Praishkashim people formed in Tajik and Afghan Badakhshan and penetrated here from the southwest. The Munjan language shows the greatest affinity with the Bactrian language and more distantly with Pashto. Probably, the Munjanians are the remnant of the Bactrian community, surviving in the mountains like the Yagnobis - the remnants of the Sogdians. The North Pamir community, which split into Vanjians, Yazgulyamians and Shugnan-Rushans, judging by the dialect division, penetrated the Pamirs from the west along Pyanj and its expansion ended in Shugnan. Approximate dates for the beginning of the Iranianization of the region (according to linguistic data and archaeological excavations Saka burial grounds) - VII-VI centuries. BC e. The earliest waves are the Pravakhans and pre-Ishkashims. It should be noted that initially the Pamirs inhabited only the Pyanj basin and its tributaries. The expansion of the Sarykol people into Xinjiang, and the Yidga and Wakhan people into the Indus Valley date back to a later era.

For a long time, probably long before Iranianization, the Pamir mountains were one of the main suppliers of lapis lazuli and ruby for the ancient world. Nevertheless, the life of the ancient Pamiris remained very closed. The isolation of the Pamiris was interrupted starting from the 2nd century. BC e., when, with the establishment of Central Asian-Chinese connections through the Pyanj valley, caravan trade was established, which became known as the Great Silk Road (in the form of its southern section). Numerous attempts to conquer the Pamirs by world empires (Sassanids, Turks, Chinese, Arabs, Mongols, Timurids, etc.) either failed or ended only in temporary successes and the establishment of nominal dependence on external power. In fact, until the 19th century. the Pamir regions were independent or semi-independent principalities.

According to studies of the Soviet and post-Soviet period, outside borders of the Gorno-Badakhshan region (GBAO), representatives of the Pamir peoples from GBAO call themselves "Pamir Tajiks" .

Regarding ethnic self-identification outside GBAO, for example among labor migrants in the Russian Federation, two types of self-determination are characteristic:

for contacts with government agencies(law enforcement and migration agencies) - present themselves as Tajiks according to passport data, based on considerations of nationality (Tajiks are citizens of Tajikistan) and partly ethnicity (85% of Pamiris did not consider themselves Tajiks during the survey);
among compatriots (natives of GBAO) - exclusively “Pamirs”, with specification of nationality (Rushans, Vakhans, Ishkashims, etc.).

According to an anonymous survey of Pamiris conducted in Tajikistan by representatives of the NGO Memorial who did not identify themselves, the Tajik authorities are pursuing a policy of inculcating the image of a “Tajik,” which means uniting all citizens of Tajikistan, regardless of nationality, under the generalized concept of Tajik in ethnic terms. According to the respondents, the Pamiris refuse to recognize themselves as Tajiks.

Researchers of ethnic self-identification and ethnicity of the peoples of the Pamirs note that there is no clear answer to the question of the ethnicity of the Pamirs, which is explained by both objective and subjective circumstances. In their opinion, the objective ethnic self-awareness of the Pamiris does not quite fit within the framework of accepted criteria. Subjective circumstances arose after the fact that for ideological reasons ethnic characteristics peoples of the Pamirs are deliberately denied. They argue that for the Pamiris, the concepts of nationality and ethnicity are unequal.

Pamir man from the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan

Settlement and housing

A specific habitat with complex terrain was the most important natural-geographical factor in the construction of settlements and the formation of the architecture of this nationality. In addition to the specific relief, folk architecture was influenced by the dry climate, contrasting in temperature. The long warm period of the year is characterized by an almost complete absence of precipitation and sharp daily temperature fluctuations. The cold period begins in November and lasts until April. The minimum temperature in winter is −30, the maximum in summer is +35. The temperature regime also changes with altitude. The abundance of water sources ensures irrigated agriculture, and the meadows in the side gorges at an altitude of over 3000 m provide transhumance. (Mamadnazarov 1977: 7-8) Pronounced building traditions determine the regional character of settlements, estates and residential buildings. When choosing a settlement site, the possibilities of rockfalls, avalanches and flood waters were taken into account. The traditional form of settlement of the Pamiris is the village. At large quantities land convenient for farming, dwellings in the village are located freely, each house has a yard of larger or smaller size and very often vegetable gardens and small plots of fields.

There are villages in which the dwellings are located in several groups at a considerable distance from each other, creating the impression of separate farmsteads connected to each other by common ditches, between which areas of fields and gardens stretch almost continuously. Closely related families usually live in such farmsteads. If the village is located in a place inconvenient for farming, then the location of housing is very concentrated. There are almost no courtyards in such a village, and the houses are located in steps along the mountainside. Such villages are usually found in narrow mountain gorges. Water supply to villages varies. Based on the sources of water supply and use, villages can be divided into three categories: 1 - villages using water from mountain springs; 2 - using water mainly from turbulent mountain streams and rivers; and 3 - using very long ditches coming from afar with a more or less slow flow of water. The dwelling of the Pamiris, despite the apparent monotony, however, presents very significant differences, depending on the natural building resources, climate, household skills and on the social and property status of its owner. Usually the dwelling is one-story, but if it is located on a steep slope, then sometimes a barn is built below. An attached second floor is very rare in larger, wealthier homes. The material for construction is usually earth (loess or clay), from which the walls are made. In villages located in narrow gorges on rocky soil, where loess is expensive and inaccessible, most of the dwellings and all outbuildings are made of stones held together with clay. The basis for the roof is several logs laid on the walls, on which a flooring of poles is placed, covered with earth and clay on top. From the inside of the building, the roof is supported by pillars. The home is usually divided into winter and summer premises. The winter part - hona - is a square or rectangular room, most of the floor of which is raised in the form of a platform or adobe bunks, which are used for sleeping, seating, etc. In the passage between the bunks, under a hole in the ceiling, a hole is dug for water drainage, covered with wooden lattice. A small door leads into the hona either from the street or yard, or from the summer room. A window for transmitting light is a hole in the wall, usually having a wooden sash.

Until the 1930s, there were almost no glass windows anywhere in mountain villages. To heat the room, there is a fire pit, which is used for baking bread (cakes). Food is cooked in a hearth, which is a recess in the form of a cone cut from the top and side, with smooth walls and a wider bottom. A fire is built at the bottom of the recess, and a flat, wide cauldron is placed on top. Why is it arranged either in a special elevation in a corner or along one of the walls, or in a passage thicker than a bunk. Young livestock and poultry are kept in the hona in winter, for which purpose a special room, closed with a door, is installed on the side of the entrance. It is necessary to mention the so-called. “letovyas”, where livestock is driven away for the summer and where most of the women of the village live with small children for several summer months, procuring dairy products for future use. Small huts made of stones, often not covered or insulated, are used for housing. Almost every village has a mosque, with the exception of the smallest ones (Ginsburg, 1937: 17-24).

The houses of the Pamiris are not like the houses of other peoples. Their structure remains unchanged for many centuries, passing from generation to generation. Each architectural element of a Pamir house has its own esoteric meaning - pre-Islamic and Islamic. Every element of a house has a meaning in a person's life. The house embodies the whole universe, reflecting the divine essence of man and the harmony of his relationship with nature. The support of a Pamir house is 5 pillars. They are named after 5 saints: Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussein. The Muhammad pillar is the main one in the house. This is a symbol of faith, male power, the eternity of the world and the inviolability of the home. A newborn boy is placed in a cradle near him. The Fatima pillar is a symbol of purity, the guardian of the hearth. During the wedding, the bride is dressed and decorated near this pillar so that she is as beautiful as Fatima. Ali's pillar is a symbol of friendship, love, fidelity, agreements. When the groom brings the bride to his house, they are seated near this pillar so that they can family life was full of happiness and they had healthy children. The Hasan pillar serves the earth and protects it, taking care of its prosperity. Therefore, it is longer than other pillars and is in direct contact with the ground. The Hussein pillar is a symbol of light and fire. Prayers and religious texts are read near it, namaz and the ritual of lighting a candle (“charogravshan”) are performed after the death of a person. The four-step vault of the house - “chorkhona”, symbolizes 4 elements: earth, water, wind, fire.

Marriage and family

The most archaic form of family among the Pamiris was a large patriarchal family, based on the principles of agnatic kinship. The undivided economy was the basis for the existence of a large family, which in turn was based on joint ownership of land. At the head of such a family was an elder who managed all property, distribution of work in the family and other matters. Patriarchal relations dominated within the family, the younger ones unquestioningly obeyed the elders, and all together obeyed the elder. However, with the penetration of commodity-money relations into the areas of settlement of the Pamiris, the communal structure was undermined, which led to the disintegration of large patriarchal families. The patriarchal family was replaced by a monogamous family, which still retained patriarchal relationships to one degree or another.

With the establishment of Islam, the superiority of men over women was legalized. According to Shariah norms, the husband had an advantage in the matter of inheritance; as a witness, the husband's right to divorce was legalized. In fact, a woman’s position in the family depended on the degree of her participation in production and rural labor, therefore, in mountainous regions, where a woman took more part in productive activities, her position was relatively freer. Among the Pamirs, consanguineous marriages played a significant role; they were also stimulated for economic reasons. Cousin marriages were especially popular, mainly marriage to the daughter of the mother's brother and the daughter of the father's brother.

And why are they considered ancestral peoples?
I have visited those parts several times in my time and have always been amazed by their appearance:

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The Pamirs are a mystery of Central Asia. There are such peoples as: Yazgulyam people, Shugnano-Rushans, Rushans, Khufs, Bartangs, Roshorvs, Sarykols, Ishkashims, Sanglits, Wakhans, Munjans, Yidga. These are the peoples of the Pamirs.
It just so happens that they live in four Asian countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and China.

These are the peoples of Central Asia. There are not many of them, a little more than 200 thousand. What is their mystery, you tell me?
Look at the photo below and everything will fall into place.
Amazing appearance, we expect to see something completely different when we talk about the peoples of Central Asia.
People of European appearance are the Pamiris, one of the mysteries of Central Asia.

Outwardly, the Pamiris are very different from all other inhabitants of Asia. They have a distinctly European appearance: rounded, soft features, rather wide face, light gray or blue eyes, light brown or reddish hair. After the 1914 expedition, I.I. Zarubin wrote, that many mountain Tajiks can be mistaken for peasants in central Russia in disguise. This fair-haired race continues to exist in the deep mountain valleys on the slopes of the Pamirs and Hindu Kush among a whole sea of black-haired tribes of Asia.

How such people appeared there and how they did not mix with other peoples over so many centuries is a mystery. But there are a couple of versions. They themselves consider themselves the ancestors of the army of Alexander the Great. There is another version; some ethnographers consider these people to be the ancestors of all Europeans on earth. Tens of thousands of years ago, or maybe hundreds of thousands of years ago, there was a different climate and the first people appeared in the foothills of the Hindu Kush and Pamirs, it was the promised land.

These were the first people with a European appearance - the Pamiris. Who, after centuries, went to explore new lands. As a result, they populated all of Europe.
Not only are these people similar to us, but they are also very hospitable people, both from our side and ours.

Some more information about the Pamiris: the Pamiris were once Zoroastrians, then they became Buddhists, then Ismaili Muslims. Among the Pamiris there are northern (Yazgumlens, Shushgan-Rushans, Sarykolts) and southern (Ishkashims, Sanglits, Vakhans, Munjans). Most of the Pamiris are united on a religious basis; they all profess Ismailism, in contrast to the main religion of the rest of the Tajiks - Sunnism. Just like the Uzbeks are Sunnis.

The man who created the religion of Islam, Muhammad, said during his lifetime that his tree would have 73 branches. It’s hard to say whether this is true or not, but there are a lot of directions in Islam. One of them is Ismailism. Ismailism left a big imprint on the spiritual culture of the Pamiris and is still one of their ethnic symbols. An important role in Pamir society was assigned to pirs and caliphs - spiritual mentors. Relations with the head of the Ismailis of the whole world, Aga Khan, which were interrupted during the Soviet period, began to improve after Tajikistan gained independence. Nevertheless, the Sarykol and Wakhan Ismailis living in the PRC are still in religious isolation.

In 1162, Imam Hasan emerged from hiding and began to rule, whose appearance his flock was eagerly awaiting. Two years later, during the 17th day of Ramadan, he abolished many of the strictures of Sharia; allowed to drink wine, women to uncover their faces, changed traditional Islamic rituals, declared all people rafiks (comrades) and brothers.

Aga Khan III had a great understanding of life and found clues for his murids. There is a firman that delivered the Fir of Sabzali from the imam to the Ismailis of the Pamirs in 1923. It says: “.....You must have a good attitude towards the Power that you now have. If you serve it with honor and conscience, it will be for You will be a pack donkey, will take upon itself the entire burden of the burden of your life. But if you are at enmity with it, it can be a dragon. This Power came to you like soft snow, and like soft snow it will melt."

All Ismailis, at all times, paid zakat (tax to the imam). After the establishment of Soviet Power in the Pamirs, for another 15 years it was allowed to send walkers to Bombay to the Aga Khan; the OGPU closely monitored them, but did not touch them. Only in 1936 was the border completely closed and communications were interrupted. At the same time, more than 1000 bridges were erected in the Pamirs, roads were built, electricity was installed, and children began to receive an education. The Pamiris liked the Soviet Power.

Pamiris from GBAO.

Chechen? No! Pamiriets.

Faces of Khorog.

Well, they're Chechens.

Tombstone at the Pamir cemetery.

The spitting image of Uncle Vanya from the garages (photo from the civil war in Tajikistan)

In the photo are Pamiris from China. The photo was taken by a Chinese photographer.

They demarcate the men's and women's bedrooms, as well as the kitchen, living room and prayer area. And the four-tiered vault of a traditional dwelling symbolizes the natural elements: fire, earth, water and air.

Ancient people of the Pamirs

The unique nature of the Pamirs has always interested researchers and travelers. This harsh mountain region is the homeland of an ancient people about whom almost nothing is known. And if before the twentieth century few people had heard about the mysterious Pamiris, because they lived in remote areas, then, starting from the USSR era, these people were most often confused with Tajiks.

Meanwhile, Residents of the highlands have a special culture, interesting customs and traditions.

Who are the Pamiris? Why were they separated by the borders of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China and Pakistan?

What are they?

The Pamiris do not make it into world news, do not fight for independence, and do not strive to create their own state. These are peaceful people, accustomed to an isolated life in the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains. Badakhshan is the name of the historical region of their residence. This ethnic group consists of many nationalities united by a common origin, customs and traditions, religion and history.

The Pamirs are divided into northern and southern. Among the former, the most numerous national group are the Shugnans, numbering more than 100 thousand people. There are three times fewer Rushans. There are almost 25 thousand people from Sarykolt, and Yazgulyam people are considered a small ethnic group. The main part of the southern Pamirs are the Vakhans, about 70 thousand of them. And there are much fewer Sanglicians, Ishkashims and Munjanians.

Residents of Badakhshan speak languages of the Eastern Iranian group of the Indo-European family. However, They use the Tajik language for interethnic communication, and it is also the language of instruction in schools. In Pakistan, the Pamir languages are gradually being replaced by official Urdu, and in China by Uyghur.

Being representatives of Iranian-speaking peoples, in the 1st millennium BC, the Pamiris were adherents of Zoroastrianism. Then, along with trade caravans from China, Buddhism spread to the highlands. In the 11th century, a famous Persian poet fled to these lands Nasir Khosrow(1004-1088), who was fleeing persecution by Sunni Muslims. This creative person became the spiritual leader of the local population; under the influence of the poet, the Pamiris adopted Ismailism - a Shiite branch of Islam that absorbed some of the tenets of Hinduism and Buddhism.

Religion significantly distinguishes the Pamiris from their Sunni neighbors. Ismailis perform namaz (pray) only twice a day, while Tajiks and Uzbeks do it five times a day. Since the Pamirs do not fast during the holy month of Ramadan, their women do not wear burqas, and their men allow themselves to drink moonshine, neighboring peoples do not classify these people as devout Muslims.

History of the people

There is no clear answer to the question of the origin of the Pamiris. The history of this ethnic group goes back more than two thousand years. Considering that the inhabitants of Badakhshan belong to the Caucasian race, some researchers are inclined to believe that the Pamiris are the descendants of the ancient Aryans, who remained in the mountains during the Indo-European migration and subsequently mixed with the local population. However, there is no historical evidence for this theory.

According to most experts, several eastern Iranian tribes moved to the Pamirs separately from each other and at different times. It is interesting that their closest relatives were the legendary Scythians - an ancient ethnic group that created a huge empire in the 7th-4th centuries BC, stretching from Crimea to Southern Siberia.

Thanks to the rich deposits of ruby and lapis lazuli, the inhabitants of the highlands were regularly visited by merchants who exchanged household items, household utensils, as well as knives, axes, and other tools for precious stones. Back in the 2nd century BC, caravans from China along the Great Silk Road passed through the Pyanj River valley.

Throughout the history of the Pamirs, various Turkic-speaking tribes tried to conquer this region., Chinese, Arabs, Mongols, as well as the Sassanid and Timurid dynasties. But none of them stayed in the highlands to rule over a handful of tribes. Therefore, even the nominally conquered Pamiris continued to live quietly for a long time, as they were accustomed to.

The situation changed in the 19th century, when Russia and Britain waged an active struggle for influence in Asia. In 1895, the border was officially established between Afghanistan, which was under the protectorate of the British, and the Emirate of Bukhara, which enjoyed the support of the Russians. The two empires divided their spheres of influence along the Panj River, with the Wakhan Corridor going to Afghanistan. Subsequently, the border of the USSR was established there. Neither Moscow nor London cared about the fate of the Pamir peoples, who found themselves literally cut off from each other.

Now the highlands are divided between Tajikistan, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The languages of the Pamir peoples are being consistently displaced, and their future remains uncertain.

Customs and manners

The Pamiris have always lived rather isolated. The harsh nature of the highlands, which is located between 2 and 7 thousand meters above sea level, had a significant impact on their life and morals. Every element of the house here has a symbolic meaning. The Pamiri people's homes are supported by five pillars named after Muslim saints: Muhammad, Fatima, Ali, Hussein and Hassan. They demarcate the men's and women's bedrooms, as well as the kitchen, living room and prayer area. And the four-tiered vault of a traditional dwelling symbolizes the natural elements: fire, earth, water and air.

Despite the fact that Islam has significantly influenced the position of women, marriages among the Pamiris are matrilocal. That is, After the wedding, the newlyweds settle in the house of the bride's parents.The traditional occupations of these people are agriculture and animal husbandry. Cows, sheep, goats, horses and donkeys are raised in the highlands. The Pamirs have been engaged in wool processing, weaving, pottery, and jewelry making for many centuries. There were always many skilled hunters among them. The Pamiri diet usually consists of wheat cakes, sheep cheese, homemade noodles, vegetables and legumes, fruits and walnuts. A poor resident of the highlands drinks tea with milk, and a rich one also adds a little butter to the bowl.