Culture of Tajikistan
Encyclopedia
The Culture of Tajikistan
has developed over several thousand years. Historically, Tajiks and Persians
come from very similar stock with a mutual language and are related as part of the larger group of Aryan
peoples. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and Kuhiston (Highland). Ancient towns such as Bukhara
, Samarkand
, Herat
, Balkh and Nishopur Khiva are no longer part of the country. More modern centres include Dushanbe
(the capital), Khudjand, Kulob
, and Panjikent.
Tajik culture was represented at Miss UN Pageant in 2010. The country's representative and citizen Nilufar Sherzod won the Miss United Nations title.
Zoroaster, the prophet of Zoroastrianism, was born in the Balkh area, (northern Afghanistan
and Transoxania) and was possibly Bactrian (the partial ancestors of the Tajiks). Zoroastrianism
had been adopted by Persian emperors as a state religion and was practiced during the Samanid era in Central Asia
until being overrun by the Arabs. The Shahs of Somoni made Bukhara
their residence and a focal point for art and science as well as an administrative center. The personal interest and support of the Shahs in the arts and sciences, along with international trade, and the relatively stable political situation in the Silk-Road region, all contributed to Tajik art and science at its zenith.
The largest celebration to come from the pre-Islamic period is Navruz, which means "New Day". It is held on March 21 or 22, when the cultivation of the land starts. During Navruz, many families visit relatives, throw out old belongings, clean the house and play field games. Special dishes are also served. Other Pre-Islamic Tajik traditions like fire jumping, dancing round the fire and fighting 'devils' with fire, still occur in the more remote regions.
Tajikstan's government has shown intolerance of some religious faiths, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, and has demolished religious buildings.
Tajik cuisine has much in common with Uzbek, Afghan
, Russian, and Iranian cuisine, and developed from Persian cuisine. It is known for dishes such as kabuli pulao
, qabili palau, and samanu
. The national food and drink are plov and green tea
, respectively. Traditional Tajikistani meals begin with small dishes of dried fruit
, nuts, and halwa, followed by soup and meat, and finish with plov. Tea accompanies every meal and is often served between meals as a gesture of hospitality. It is often drunk unsweetened. Tajik cuisine offers a large variety of fruit
, meat
, and soup
dishes.
, mountain biking
, rock climbing
, skiing
, hiking
, and mountain climbing. The facilities are limited, however. Mountain climbing and hiking tours to the Fann
and Pamir Mountains
, including the 7,000 m peaks in the region, are seasonally organized by local and international alpine agencies.
Football is the most popular sport in Tajikistan. The Tajikistan national football team
competes in the FIFA
and AFC
leagues. It also hosts many football clubs.
Pamir Stadium
is a multi-purpose stadium in the capital, Dushanbe
. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 24,000, and is currently the home ground of the national football team
.
Examples of Tajikfilm's success during the Soviet times are such movies as the Legend of Rustam, the Legend of Rustam and Siavoush, and the Legend of the Smith Kova, based on stories from Ferdowsi
's Shahnameh
; First Morning of Adolescence (Юнности Первое Утро), which tells the life story of people living in Badakhshan
in the beginning of the Soviet Empire, when its army was still struggling with the Basmachi movement; a trilogy New tales from Shaherizada based on Arabic tales One Thousand and One Nights.
Among prominent Tajik producers are Valeriy Ahadov and Davlat Khudoynazarov.
After the breakdown of Soviet Union and the civil war in Tajikistan (1992–1997), Tajik cinema went downwards. The studio mainly survived by taking small foreign orders and produced only a few of its own movies.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
's film Sex & Philosophy
from 2005 was set and produced in Tajikistan, as was the film Angel on the Right
by Jamshed Usmonov
from 2002. Other Tajik movies produced in the past two decades include: Kosh ba Kosh (1993), Business trip (1998, documentary), and Luna Papa (1999, a joint project of Tajikfilm with some counterparts from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Russia).
is the predominant style of Tajik folk music, though falak
is popular in southern Tajikistan. The Pamiris of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province
have their own distinct style of music as well.
and Bukhara
, however these cities are now in Uzbekistan
. In recent history, Tajik literature has been predominantly social realist. Though Tajiks do not draw a line between their own literature and general Persian literature, there have been a few notable Tajik writers and poets. The standardization of the Tajik language has shaped Tajik literature in recent decades as well.
, opera
and ballet
. Poets such as Mirzo Tursunzoda
, Mirsaid Mirshakar and Loik Sherali; novelist and historian Sadridin Aini
, all figured prominently in this revival, as did professors M Ishoki and Osimi, scholar Sotim Ulughzoda, novelist Jalol Ikromi, and anthropologist and historian Bobojon Ghafurov
. In 1969, Malika Sobirova won a gold medal in an international ballet competition.
Since independence, there has been a pre-Soviet cultural revival in an attempt to foster a sense of national identity. Novelist Taimur Zulfikarov and professors Rahim Masov and Bozor Sobir being prominent.
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
has developed over several thousand years. Historically, Tajiks and Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
come from very similar stock with a mutual language and are related as part of the larger group of Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
peoples. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and Kuhiston (Highland). Ancient towns such as Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Balkh and Nishopur Khiva are no longer part of the country. More modern centres include Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
(the capital), Khudjand, Kulob
Kulob
Kulob , also Kulab or Kulyab , is a city in Kulob district, Khatlon Province, Tajikistan. Located 203 km south-east of the capital Dushanbe on the Yakhsu River , it is one of the largest cities in the country Kulob , also Kulab or Kulyab , is a city in Kulob district, Khatlon Province, Tajikistan....
, and Panjikent.
Tajik culture was represented at Miss UN Pageant in 2010. The country's representative and citizen Nilufar Sherzod won the Miss United Nations title.
Ethnic groups
Tajiks make up almost 80% of the population, though this number includes many Pamiris. Uzbeks make up 15% of the population, Russians make up 3% and Kyrgyz 1%. There are also significant German and Armenian populations.Religion
Zoroaster, the prophet of Zoroastrianism, was born in the Balkh area, (northern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Transoxania) and was possibly Bactrian (the partial ancestors of the Tajiks). Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
had been adopted by Persian emperors as a state religion and was practiced during the Samanid era in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
until being overrun by the Arabs. The Shahs of Somoni made Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
their residence and a focal point for art and science as well as an administrative center. The personal interest and support of the Shahs in the arts and sciences, along with international trade, and the relatively stable political situation in the Silk-Road region, all contributed to Tajik art and science at its zenith.
The largest celebration to come from the pre-Islamic period is Navruz, which means "New Day". It is held on March 21 or 22, when the cultivation of the land starts. During Navruz, many families visit relatives, throw out old belongings, clean the house and play field games. Special dishes are also served. Other Pre-Islamic Tajik traditions like fire jumping, dancing round the fire and fighting 'devils' with fire, still occur in the more remote regions.
Tajikstan's government has shown intolerance of some religious faiths, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, and has demolished religious buildings.
Cuisine
Tajik cuisine has much in common with Uzbek, Afghan
Cuisine of Afghanistan
Afghan cuisine is largely based upon the nation's chief crops: cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice. Accompanying these staples are dairy products , various nuts, and native vegetables, as well as fresh and dried fruits; Afghanistan is well known for its grapes...
, Russian, and Iranian cuisine, and developed from Persian cuisine. It is known for dishes such as kabuli pulao
Kabuli pulao
Kabuli Palaw, Qabili Palaw or simply Palau is an Afghan rice dish consisting of steamed rice mixed with lentils, raisins, carrots and lamb. It is the most popular dish in Afghanistan, and is considered the national dish....
, qabili palau, and samanu
Samanu
Samanū , Samanak , or Sumalak or Sümölök is a sweet paste made from germinated wheat, which is prepared for Nowruz in a large pot . Traditionally, women take a special party for it during the night, and cook it from late in the evening till the daylight, singing related songs...
. The national food and drink are plov and green tea
Green tea
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally...
, respectively. Traditional Tajikistani meals begin with small dishes of dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
, nuts, and halwa, followed by soup and meat, and finish with plov. Tea accompanies every meal and is often served between meals as a gesture of hospitality. It is often drunk unsweetened. Tajik cuisine offers a large variety of fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, and soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
dishes.
Sport
Tajikistan's mountains provide many opportunities for outdoor sports, such as hill climbingHill climbing
In computer science, hill climbing is a mathematical optimization technique which belongs to the family of local search. It is an iterative algorithm that starts with an arbitrary solution to a problem, then attempts to find a better solution by incrementally changing a single element of the solution...
, mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
, rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and mountain climbing. The facilities are limited, however. Mountain climbing and hiking tours to the Fann
Fann Mountains
Fann Mountains are part of the western Pamir-Alay mountain system and are located in Tajikistan's Sughd Province between the Zeravshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south...
and Pamir Mountains
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range in Central Asia formed by the junction or knot of the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains and since Victorian times they have been known as the "Roof of the World" a probable...
, including the 7,000 m peaks in the region, are seasonally organized by local and international alpine agencies.
Football is the most popular sport in Tajikistan. The Tajikistan national football team
Tajikistan national football team
The Tajikistan national football team represents Tajikistan in association football and is controlled by the Tajikistan National Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tajikistan. Tajikistan's home ground is Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe....
competes in the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
and AFC
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
leagues. It also hosts many football clubs.
Pamir Stadium
Pamir Stadium
Pamir Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium currently holds 24,000, which is all seated. It is being reconstructed to hold over 30,000. It is currently the home ground of the Tajikistan national football...
is a multi-purpose stadium in the capital, Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 24,000, and is currently the home ground of the national football team
Tajikistan national football team
The Tajikistan national football team represents Tajikistan in association football and is controlled by the Tajikistan National Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tajikistan. Tajikistan's home ground is Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe....
.
Cinema
Tajikistan's film industry dates from 1929. The first official movie studio, called Tajikkino (later renamed to Tajikfilm), began operation in 1930. In 1935 Tajikkino started producing movies with voice-over. Some experts believe 1970-80 to be the ‘golden age’ for Tajikfilm. Subsidized by the government, the studio was able to produce about six feature films each year.Examples of Tajikfilm's success during the Soviet times are such movies as the Legend of Rustam, the Legend of Rustam and Siavoush, and the Legend of the Smith Kova, based on stories from Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
's Shahnameh
Shahnameh
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
; First Morning of Adolescence (Юнности Первое Утро), which tells the life story of people living in Badakhshan
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province is an autonomous, mountainous province in the east of Tajikistan. Located in the Pamir Mountains, it makes up 45% of the land area of the country but only 3% of the population....
in the beginning of the Soviet Empire, when its army was still struggling with the Basmachi movement; a trilogy New tales from Shaherizada based on Arabic tales One Thousand and One Nights.
Among prominent Tajik producers are Valeriy Ahadov and Davlat Khudoynazarov.
After the breakdown of Soviet Union and the civil war in Tajikistan (1992–1997), Tajik cinema went downwards. The studio mainly survived by taking small foreign orders and produced only a few of its own movies.
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an Iranian film director, writer, editor, and producer. During 2007 he was the president of Asian Film Academy.Makhmalbaf's films have been widely presented in international film festivals in the past ten years. The multi-award-winning director, belongs to the new wave...
's film Sex & Philosophy
Sex & Philosophy
Sex & Philosophy is a 2005 French-Iranian-Tajik film directed, written and produced by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Starring Daler Nazarov, Mariam Gaibova, and Farzona Beknazarova the film is set in Tajikistan. Sex & Philosophy premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival in September 2005...
from 2005 was set and produced in Tajikistan, as was the film Angel on the Right
Angel on the Right
Angel on the Right is a 2002 Tajik drama film directed by Jamshed Usmonov. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
by Jamshed Usmonov
Jamshed Usmonov
Jamshed Usmonov is a Tajik film director, producer, scriptwriter and one of most notable figures of contemporary Persian cinema.He studied at the Dushanbe Fine Arts School in Dushanbe and Director's School in Moscow...
from 2002. Other Tajik movies produced in the past two decades include: Kosh ba Kosh (1993), Business trip (1998, documentary), and Luna Papa (1999, a joint project of Tajikfilm with some counterparts from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Russia).
Music
Traditional Tajik music is closely related to other Central Asian music forms. ShashmaqamShashmaqam
Shashmaqam is a Central Asian musical genre, , which may have developed in the city of Bukhara. Shashmaqam means the six Maqams in the Persian language, dastgah being the name for Persian modes, and maqams being the name for modes more generally.It is a refined sort of music, with lyrics derived...
is the predominant style of Tajik folk music, though falak
Falak
Falak in the legend of Bahamut is the powerful serpent that lives under the Realm of Fire. This serpent is said to be so great that only its fear of the greater power of Allah prevents it from swallowing all creation....
is popular in southern Tajikistan. The Pamiris of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province is an autonomous, mountainous province in the east of Tajikistan. Located in the Pamir Mountains, it makes up 45% of the land area of the country but only 3% of the population....
have their own distinct style of music as well.
Literature
Traditional centers of Tajik literatures were SamarkandSamarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, however these cities are now in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. In recent history, Tajik literature has been predominantly social realist. Though Tajiks do not draw a line between their own literature and general Persian literature, there have been a few notable Tajik writers and poets. The standardization of the Tajik language has shaped Tajik literature in recent decades as well.
Cultural revival
One thousand years after the Samanid period another cultural revival occurred; this time due to the Soviet's modern dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. Poets such as Mirzo Tursunzoda
Mirzo Tursunzoda
Mirzo Tursunzoda - was an important poet and a prominent politic figure. Today Tursunzoda has been elevated to the level of a national hero of Tajikistan. Tursunzoda's face appears on the front of the one Somoni note. The town of Tursunzoda is named in his honor. He was awarded the Stalin...
, Mirsaid Mirshakar and Loik Sherali; novelist and historian Sadridin Aini
Sadridin Aini
Sadriddin Ayni , also Sadriddin Aini, a Tajik intellectual prolifically engaged in poetry, fictional writing, journalism, history and lexicography...
, all figured prominently in this revival, as did professors M Ishoki and Osimi, scholar Sotim Ulughzoda, novelist Jalol Ikromi, and anthropologist and historian Bobojon Ghafurov
Bobojon Ghafurov
Bobojon Ghafurovich Ghafurov was a Tajik historian, academician, and the author of several books published in Russian and Tajik, including History of Tajikistan and The Tajiks. He was born in the village of Isfisar near Khujand in Tajikistan...
. In 1969, Malika Sobirova won a gold medal in an international ballet competition.
Since independence, there has been a pre-Soviet cultural revival in an attempt to foster a sense of national identity. Novelist Taimur Zulfikarov and professors Rahim Masov and Bozor Sobir being prominent.
See also
- Literature of TajikistanLiterature of TajikistanModern Tajik literature and its history is bound up with the standardisation of the Tajik language. Tajik literary centres include the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, currently in present day Uzbekistan....
- Persian Culture
- Welcome to Tajikistan