What language do Turkmens speak? Main macroeconomic indicators

Faces of Russia. "Living Together, Being Different"

The Faces of Russia multimedia project has existed since 2006, telling about Russian civilization, the most important feature of which is the ability to live together, remaining different - this motto is especially relevant for the countries of the entire post-Soviet space. From 2006 to 2012, as part of the project, we created 60 documentaries about representatives of various Russian ethnic groups. Also, 2 cycles of radio programs "Music and songs of the peoples of Russia" were created - more than 40 programs. Illustrated almanacs have been released to support the first series of films.

Now we are halfway to creating a unique multimedia encyclopedia of the peoples of our country, a picture that will allow the inhabitants of Russia to recognize themselves and leave a picture of what they were like for posterity.

General information

TURKMEN, Turkmen (self-name, in Russian literature of the 18th - early 19th centuries - Trukhmyan, Truhmen), the Central Asian Turkic people in Turkmenistan (numbering 2538 thousand people), also live in Uzbekistan (122 thousand), Russia (39.7 thousand), Tajikistan (20.5 thousand), Iran (975 thousand), Afghanistan (about 400 thousand), Iraq (250 thousand), Turkey (200 thousand), Syria and Jordan. The total number is 4600 thousand people. According to the 2002 population census, the number of Turkmens living in Russia is 33 thousand people, according to the 2010 census. - 36,885 people.

They speak the Turkmen language of the Turkic group of the Altai family (belongs to the Oghuz subgroup of the Turkic languages). By religion, traditionally Sunni Muslims.

Some Turkmen live in Iran, Afghanistan and Russia (Northern Caucasus). They are related to Turks and Azerbaijanis. They were formed at the turn of the 2nd millennium as a result of the assimilation of the local Iranian-speaking population by the Turks.

In the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens, the earliest layer was made up of the ancient Iranian-speaking nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes (Dakhs, Massagets, later Ephthalites and Sarmato-Alans), who lived on the territory of modern Turkmenistan, as well as the settled Iranian-speaking agricultural population of Western Khorezm, the middle Amu Darya and Northern Khorasan. This population, especially the semi-nomadic ones, began to undergo Turkization already from the 4th-6th centuries. The Oguzes, who in large numbers penetrated the borders of Turkmenistan in the 9th-11th centuries, played an important role in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens, determining, in addition to many cultural features, their language and, to a large extent, their physical appearance. The bulk of the Oghuz, who came from the northeast with the Seljuks in the 11th century, settled here and gradually merged with the local population. The formation of the Turkmen language took place. The Turkmens later also included Turkic tribes of neo-Guz origin - Kipchaks, Dzhelairs, etc., at the beginning of the 13th century - part of the Tatar-Mongols. The process of formation of the Turkmen people ended in the 14-15 centuries, when, after the Mongol conquest, new tribal associations formed that formed the core of the Turkmen people: Chovdur (Chovdurs, Igdyrs, Abdaly, Arabachi), "external" (Teke, Yomuts, Saryks, Ersari) and " internal "(actually salyrs) salyrs, as well as gokleny.

In addition to them and the smaller tribes of the Turkmens - the Yazyrs (karadashly), Emrelis, Bayats, etc., a rather large Iranian-speaking population remained in the oases on the territory of Turkmenistan, and nomads from other Turkic and Iranian tribes lived in the steppes. In subsequent centuries, this population was assimilated and became part of the Turkmen. In the 16-18 centuries, there was a mass migration of many Turkmen from Western Turkmenistan to the southern regions and the Khorezm oasis (largely due to the drying up of the Sarykamysh Lake, on the shores of which they lived). The movement was accompanied by tribal strife, which weakened the Turkmen tribes. Political and economic disunity, constant wars and raids by the rulers of neighboring countries hindered economic, cultural and social development and contributed to the conservation of archaic social institutions. Almost until the 80s of the 19th century, the Turkmens had patriarchal slavery; the archaic division into ig - "purebred", gul - "slaves", gyrnak - "slaves" and ardent - descendants from mixed marriages of free with slaves was preserved. In addition to these main social categories, there were also gelmishek (gonshi) - newcomers from other tribes and tat - descendants of the conquered and not yet fully assimilated Iranian-speaking peoples.

Among the customs developed kalym - a ransom for the bride.

In the 18-19 centuries, the traditions of the tribal system in social relations and strong remnants of tribal customs were preserved; extensive nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism contributed to the preservation of the patriarchal way of life. Until the 30s of the 20th century, the Turkmens still retained the division into tribes with a multi-stage tribal division in each of them. The largest were the Tekins (Teke), Yomuts, Ersaris, Salyrs, Saryks, Goklens and Chovdurs. Tribal and tribal ties played an important role in the past and were used by tribal leaders to exploit their relatives. In the conditions of constant movements, conquests, military clashes, which continued until the very accession to Russia, in the society of Turkmens, the tribal structure was a historically determined phenomenon, a form of social organization of the people. The tribal community during this period constantly developed and transformed.

In the 80s of the 19th century, Turkmenistan was annexed to Russia and the process of economic and political life began to rise on its territory, despite the fact that the Turkmens were divided into three parts (not counting the Turkmens of Iran and Afghanistan): in the Transcaspian region (the bulk ), later included in the Turkestan region, as part of the Khiva Khanate and the Emirate of Bukhara. After November-December 1917, the main part of the territory became part of the Turkestan ASSR. The Turkmen SSR was formed in 1924, and in December 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Turkmenistan.

The traditional occupation of the Turkmens was irrigated agriculture combined with nomadic and distant pastoralism. The Turkmens led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, in which the inhabitants of one aul were divided into cattle breeders (charva) and sedentary (chomur) farmers. Western Turkmens were mainly nomadic pastoralists (sheep, camels, horses), and some of the Turkmens living in oases were dominated by agriculture (wheat, dzhugara, melons, cotton) and cattle breeding. Household trades were almost exclusively female. By the middle of the 19th century, carpet weaving, silk weaving and felt felting acquired commercial importance.

In recent decades, the Turkmens have created a diversified industry and large-scale mechanized agriculture (cotton growing, especially fine fiber, melon growing, horticulture and viticulture). In animal husbandry, along with traditional camel and sheep breeding (mainly astrakhan breeding), dairy farming plays an important role. In the 1990s, farms appeared. Rent is a big deal. Folk art crafts continue to develop - carpet weaving (which has also become a professional art), the production of patterned felts, jewelry, embroidery, etc.

The family and everyday life of the Turkmens was characterized by many ancient remnants of patriarchal tribal life, traces of maternal kinship, many archaic customs and beliefs. Marriage bans were strictly individual in nature, relating to certain categories of relatives. Tribal endogamy was strictly observed: marriages between representatives of different tribes were condemned by society.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Turkmens were dominated by a large patriarchal family, which was especially strong in areas where an integrated economy was preserved. A large family included several generations of relatives or families of undivided brothers. Families consisting of a married couple with children, and sometimes one of the husband's parents, were less common. Members of a large family ran a common household, had a common boiler and cash register. It was headed by an older man - a father or older brother. Women were dominated by the wife or widow of the elder. The power of the head of the family was unlimited: he disposed of all its property and the fate of its members.

The traditional dwelling of the Turkmen was the yurt (gara oy). In the oases, along with the yurt, there was a dwelling of a permanent type, most often a 1-3-chamber adobe or mud-brick house (there) with a flat roof and several small windows. In Serakh and Kaahka districts, houses with domed ceilings were quite common. Wooden houses on piles were widespread among the Caspian Turkmens. Nowadays, a rural dwelling is usually a 3-4-chamber house made of mud or baked bricks with a 2-4-pitched slate or iron roof, large windows. A covered veranda (ivan) is preserved, which serves as a place for rest and sleep in the summer. Utility rooms are moved to the back of the courtyard. At present, the yurt exists in many regions as a summer dwelling on the estate or as a dwelling for shepherds on remote and seasonal pastures. Modern cities are characterized by high-rise buildings; well-maintained one-story houses with estates are also preserved.

Modern clothing combines traditional elements with urban pan-European forms. The men's costume, preserved by the elderly Turkmen, consists of a shirt and trousers; put on a robe or overcoat. The headdress is a high lambskin cap (telpek) with long soft curls, under which an embroidered skullcap (takhya) is worn. Shepherds have national shoes (charyk, chokay) made of bull skin. Red silk robes (gyrmyzy don) in combination with telpek are also worn on holidays by young men. Women in rural areas, less often in cities, wear ankle-length tunic-shaped dresses (koinek), usually red, short vests (engsiz), long trousers (balak) that are narrow at the bottom; the head is covered with a large silk or woolen scarf. In many regions, a girl's headdress is an embroidered skullcap (takhya, borik) with silver decorations. Among the urban youth there is a long dress that fits the figure at the waist. In rural areas, dressing gowns are preserved. The national women's costume is characterized by a significant amount of silver jewelry.

The modern food of Turkmen retains national specifics. The most common meat soup (chorba) with various seasonings, fried meat (govurma), pilaf (palov), various lactic acid products (gatyk, suzme, agaran) from cow, goat, sheep and camel milk, rice porridge. Flatbreads (chorek, gatlama, chelpek) are baked from flour, dumplings, noodles, etc. are made. Green tea (gok tea) is drunk in large quantities.

Literature and various forms of folk and professional art flourished among the Turkmens, and a national intelligentsia was formed.

G.P. Vasiliev

UZBEKI, Uzbek (self-name), Sarts (obsolete Russian name), people in Uzbekistan (numbering 14,145 thousand people). They also live in Tajikistan (1198 thousand people), Kazakhstan (332 thousand people), Kyrgyzstan (550 thousand people), Turkmenistan (317 thousand people), Russia (289 thousand 862 people). In Afghanistan, 1.78 million, in China, 15 thousand people. According to the 2002 Population Census, the number of Uzbeks living in Russia is 123 thousand people, according to the 2002 Population Census - 127 thousand people.

They speak the Uzbek language of the Turkic group of the Altaic family. Adverbs: Karluk (or Karluk-Chigile Uigur), Kypchak, Oguz and numerous transitional dialects and dialects. Russian and Tajik languages ​​are also widespread. Writing based on Russian graphics. Believers Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims.

The ethnogenesis of the Uzbeks proceeded in the Central Asian interfluve and adjacent regions. The ancient peoples of Central Asia, who spoke East Iranian languages, took part in the formation of the Uzbeks - Sogdians, Bactrians, Khorezmians, Fergana, Sako-Massaget tribes. Turkic-speaking tribes began to penetrate into the Central Asian interfluve around the turn of our era, in connection with the advances of the nomadic tribes of Northeast and Central Asia. Since the entry of Central Asia into the Turkic Khaganate (6th century), the number of the Turkic-speaking population began to increase. In subsequent centuries, the main ethno-cultural process was the rapprochement and partial merging of the Iranian-speaking and Turkic-speaking population. The process of formation of the ethnic group, which later became known as the Uzbeks, was especially intensified in the 11-12 centuries, when Central Asia was conquered by the unification of Turkic tribes headed by the Karakhanid dynasty. A new wave of Turkic as well as Mongol tribes joined the population of Central Asia after the Mongol conquest of the 13th century. The completion of the formation of the ethnic group is associated with the reign of Timur and the first Timurids (2nd half of the 14th-15th century). The ethnonym Uzbeks established itself much later, after the assimilation of the Deshtikypchak Uzbeks (the name of the nomads of the Golden Horde since the time of Khan Uzbek, 14th century), who came at the end of the 15th-16th century led by Sheibani Khan from the steppes of Kazakhstan.

By the beginning of the 20th century, three large sub-ethnic groups were distinguished among the Uzbeks: the Sarts, the ancient settled population of the oases; the Turks - the descendants of the pre-Mongolian Turkic tribes of the Central Asian interfluve who preserved a semi-nomadic life, mixed with the medieval Oghuz and Turkic-Mongolian tribes who came as part of the troops of Genghis Khan; Uzbeks are the descendants of the Deshtikypchak tribes, whose transition to settled life was completed only by the beginning of the 20th century. The first group prevailed numerically, inhabiting most of the cities and large villages. The second group was significantly inferior in number to the other two. After the accession of the Central Asian khanates to Russia in the 19th century, the process of national consolidation of the Uzbeks intensified significantly. The Uzbek SSR was formed in 1924, and the Republic of Uzbekistan since 1991.

The traditional occupations of the Uzbeks in the oases were diversified irrigation farming, crafts and trade. In agriculture, agricultural technology that had reached a high level was combined with primitive tools (omach, ketmen, etc.) and archaic irrigation. Cultivated mainly cereals (wheat, barley, rice, sorghum, corn, millet), legumes (mung bean, lobia, peas, lentils), vegetables (carrots, radishes, turnips, beets, radishes, onions, red pepper, coriander, etc.). ), gourds (melon, watermelon, food and table pumpkin), oilseeds (sesame, flax, safflower), garden (apricot, peach, fig, quince, pear, apple tree, pomegranate, grapes, tut, walnut, etc.), fodder (alfalfa), technical (cotton). Apricot, grapes, tut, melon, along with cereals and legumes, were of great importance in the nutrition of the population. They were consumed both fresh and dried and dried. These products were widely sold in local markets, especially among the semi-nomadic population. Dried apricots and raisins were exported to Russia and Siberia. The commercial crop was cotton to an even greater extent. Sericulture was also a commodity industry, which was mainly carried out by women. Agricultural work was carried out mainly by men. The women participated in the cotton picking, harvesting and processing of fruits, grapes and mulberries, and melons. In the foothills and steppes, on lands of irregular irrigation and non-irrigated, wheat, barley, millet, sesame, flax, melons, and alfalfa were cultivated. Rainfed wheat, famous for its taste, was widely sold in the cities.

Cattle breeding in the oases, due to the lack of food, had only a consumer value; here they kept (mainly in stalls) working and transport cattle (oxen, horses, donkeys), at least dairy (one or two cows per large family) and meat (several fat-tailed rams were fattened). In the Bukhara and Karshi oases, rich people, hiring shepherds, bred karakul sheep on distant pastures in the steppe, the skins of newborn lambs were exported. The livestock merchants, as well as large merchants, were mainly from the sedentary population - Uzbeks and Tajiks. In the foothills and especially in the steppe zones, cattle breeding was one of the main occupations of the semi-nomadic Uzbeks. Sheep breeding and partly horse breeding had a commodity direction. Goats, cattle, in some places and camels were bred mainly for their own needs. Camels were also used for merchant caravans. Livestock grazing was a man's business, and women's was dairy farming (butter and cheese harvesting), processing wool and skins and making various products from them (felt mats, carpets, rugs, sacks, bag bags, tablecloths, blankets, etc.).

In cities and large trade and craft villages, various types of crafts were represented (blacksmithing, weaving, pottery, jewelry, leather, soap making, confectionery, baking, etc.), and in small villages only certain types. In the families of artisans, women helped their husbands, performing certain operations, preparing semi-finished products. Women's crafts were also widespread (spinning, sewing clothes, embroidery, carpet weaving, etc.).

Since the 1960s, the results of the reorganization of agriculture have been controversial. The mechanization and chemicalization of agriculture, the introduction of new varieties and new agricultural technology, although they increased labor productivity and productivity, led to the loss of many achievements of agricultural technology and selection developed by the people for centuries. The monoculture of cotton in the agriculture of the irrigated zone had a negative impact on other crops and livestock, which led to a sharp deterioration in the nutrition of the population.

The construction of large reservoirs in the Golodnaya Steppe, Central Fergana, Karshi and Sherabad steppes made it possible to expand the area under cotton crops, but at the same time had grave consequences: it accelerated the death of the Aral Sea, reduced the area of ​​pastures for grazing sheep, forced the mountaineers to move to the sultry steppes to develop new lands . Their adaptation to the new conditions was difficult. The resettlement of the highlanders entailed the loss of their traditional culture, their economic skills. Just as the cotton monoculture had a negative impact on other branches of agriculture, so the primacy of astrakhan breeding (for the sake of exporting astrakhans) in sheep breeding led to the loss or deterioration of valuable meat and tallow breeds of sheep (Hissar, Jaidari), bred by the labor of many generations of Uzbek sheep breeders, and also sharply worsened standards of living.

The formation of the peculiarities of the life of the Uzbeks was deeply influenced by communal traditions - the skills of organizing collective work developed over the centuries, firm rules for land and water use. In the cities and large trade and craft villages, quarterly communities and associations of artisans by profession were formed. The members of the community were connected with each other not only by neighborhood, but also by family ties. Among the semi-nomadic Uzbeks, who retained the tribal division, the community outwardly had the form of a tribal community. However, both the neighboring and the "tribal" community were characterized by deep social stratification. The stability of communal traditions was facilitated by an undivided family, when, in an effort not to split up land and livestock, sons were not singled out after marriage. To avoid the cost of bride price and dowry, cousin marriages were practiced, and, moreover, early ones. Relations in the family were based on the subordination of the younger to the elders, on the authority of the head of the family (usually the father) and his wife. Lack of rights and seclusion of women were characteristic, especially among settled Uzbeks. However, in regulating the internal life of the family and the neighborhood community, especially in the conduct of life cycle rites, individual women (the wife, widow of the head of the family or clergyman, or a woman distinguished by special abilities) played a prominent role and enjoyed authority.

The dominant form of the modern family is a small family, consisting of parents and children. However, after marriage, sons tend to settle near their father's house in order to constantly help each other and their parents, with whom the youngest son usually stays. Well-established broad family ties, each family still considers its own.

heritage and therefore pays great attention to the education of kindred feelings in children. The tradition of living in close communion at the place of residence is also preserved, regardless of kinship [kishlak, in large villages and cities - quarter (mahalla)]. This tradition has become one of the features of the national culture of the Uzbeks, their character and psychology. Therefore, in every family, great importance is attached to public opinion.

In housing construction, especially in villages, the features of traditional building art are used: an earthquake-resistant wooden frame, a covered terrace, niches in the walls of houses for bedding, dishes and other utensils.

Uzbek men's and women's clothing consisted of a shirt, trousers with a wide step and a dressing gown (quilted with wadding or simply lined). The robe was girded with a sash (or folded scarf) or worn loose. From the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, outerwear in the waist - a camisole - spread. Hats for men - skullcaps, felt caps, turbans, fur hats, for women - scarves. Leaving the house, women (in the cities) threw a cape over their heads - a veil, covered their faces with a net of horsehair - chachvan. Girls and women before the birth of their first child braided their hair into small braids (up to 40), the rest of the women - into two braids. Traditional footwear - leather boots with soft soles, which were worn with leather, later - rubber galoshes.

In the clothes of Uzbeks, one can now trace all stages of the development of its forms over the past century - from the deeply traditional, consisting of a loose tunic-shaped shirt and dressing gown (without a seam on the shoulders) and trousers with a wide step, to a suit of modern European fashionable styles. Along with the spread of European standards, another process can be traced - the erasure of local differences and the addition of national forms (for example, a men's straight-backed robe and a black skullcap with a white pattern, a women's dress with a short yoke, with fees on the chest and back, a turn-down collar, often combined with harem pants ). The veil and chachvan have long gone out of use. Now the main headdress of women is a headscarf.

Uzbek food consists of vegetable, dairy and meat products. An important place in the diet is occupied by bread baked from wheat flour in the form of flat cakes. Ready-made bread products are also common. The range of dishes is varied. Dishes such as noodles, soups and cereals made from rice and legumes are seasoned with vegetable or cow butter, sour milk, red pepper and various herbs. Favorite dish - plov. A large place in the diet is occupied by vegetables, fruits, grapes, watermelons, melons. The main drink is tea, often green. Dishes and table etiquette preserve the national flavor.

Family rituals retain national specifics. However, many of them have lost their former magical significance and are now performed only for entertainment purposes or have disappeared altogether and new ones have arisen and taken their place (for example, the annual birthday celebration, solemn registration of marriage, etc.). Traditional types of folk art (embroidery, pottery, chasing and engraving of copper utensils, carving and painting on wood and ganch, stone carving, etc.) have reached a high development, retaining their originality in certain historical and cultural areas (Khorezm, Ferghana, etc. ). Oral folk art flourishes (epics, dastans, various songs and fairy tales). Folk theater and circus are popular - performances by wits, puppeteers, tightrope walkers. A professional culture is developing.

B.H. Karmysheva

Essays

Uzbeks. "Myths about ourselves" - "Rush Hour" newspaper

wide chapan
won't wear out
free union
won't fall apart.
Uzbek proverb

As you can see, the Uzbeks foresaw the “main tragedy” of the twentieth century many years ago. So it fell apart, because it was not free. For some it's bad, for some it's good. Here in St. Petersburg, there were much fewer foreign students, but there were a significant increase in laborers. Why did it happen - let's try to understand the next series of our project "Legends of the peoples".

Indeed, how many Uzbeks live in St. Petersburg, why do they come here, what kind of work do they do? And how, finally, do they manage to cook such an amazing pilaf?

Yes, by the way, a chapan is such a caftan, according to Dahl's dictionary.

Publications"Peak Hour" newspapers dedicated to Uzbeks
(clickable, ~ 990 Kb, .pdf format)

: 46 (est. 2010)

extinct archaeological culture

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Language Religion Racial type

Caucasoids, with a small admixture of Mongoloid elements

Included in

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Related peoples

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ethnic groups

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Origin

Ethnogenesis

The earliest basis in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens was the ancient local, Sako-Massagetian and Sarmatian-Alanian tribes of the steppes, as well as the inhabitants of the ancient states - Margiana, Parthia and Khorezm. In the middle of the 1st millennium, the early Turks appeared in the Caspian steppes, and in the 9th-11th centuries, the Oguzes (Seljuks), who played a major role in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens. The process of formation of the Turkmen people basically ended in the 15th century, when the new tribal associations that formed after the Mongol conquest included Turkic tribes of non-Oguz origin, in particular the Kypchaks.

The self-name of the Turkmens is first found in the Sogdian documents of the 8th century, found on Mount Mug (northern Tajikistan).

In the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens, the earliest layer was made up of ancient nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes (Dakhs, Massagets, later Ephthalites and Sarmato-Alans), who lived on the territory of modern Turkmenistan, as well as the settled agricultural population of Western Khorezm, the middle Amu Darya and Northern Khorasan. This population, especially the semi-nomadic ones, began to undergo Turkization already from the 4th-6th centuries.

The Oguzes, who in large numbers penetrated the borders of Turkmenistan in the 11th centuries, played an important role in the ethnogenesis of the Turkmens. The bulk of the Oghuz, who came from the northeast with the Seljuks in the 11th century, settled here and gradually merged with the local population. The formation of the Turkmen language took place.

Genetics

Genetic studies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism confirmed that Turkmens are characterized by the presence of local Iranian mtDNA lineages similar to East Iranian populations, but Turkmens and East Iranian populations with a frequency of over 20% had a high value of the Turkic genetic component. This most likely indicates an ancestral combination of Iranian groups and Turks, which was inherited by modern Turkmens, and which seems to be consistent with historical records, which indicate that numerous Iranian tribes existed in the region even before the migration of Turkic tribes, which, as they are believed to have mixed / merged with the local population and passed on their language and created something like a hybrid / mixed Turkic-Iranian culture.

Society

Tribal division

Like other Central Asian peoples, the Turkmens for a long time retained the division into tribes and clans. The largest Turkmen tribes are the Ersars, Yomuds, Yazyrs (Alilis, Salyrs, Chovdurs, Goklens and Tekins (Teke).

resettlement

Turkmens in Iran

Turkmens in Afghanistan

Turkmen in Russia

Ethnographic groups

In the Turkmen ethnos, several ethnographic groups have developed:

Anthropology

Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, published in the late XIX - early XX centuries, gives the following description of the anthropology of the Turkmens:

Despite the undoubted Turkic origin, attested by language, historical data and folk legends, the type of Turkmen can least of all be called purely Turkic. “Nomads,” says Vamberi, “from time immemorial, systematically engaged in raids and robbery, who were in the most lively communication with the Persians, Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Cossacks, Karakalpaks and Caucasians, very little could keep the original type clean, which currently represents mixture of Old Turkic with Aryan. The purer type was preserved by the Chaudars, who are distinguished by a weaker physique and a smaller head than the Kirghiz, a more conical than a round skull, and a height of 5-6 feet. As we approach the southern borders of the Trans-Caspian lowland, the features of the Iranian admixture are all the more prominent, the facial hair becomes more abundant, the protrusion of the cheekbones is less noticeable, and only small, somewhat obliquely located eyes indicate a partly Mongolian origin. Among the Tekkins, a real Caucasian type already appears, as well as among the Ottomans related to the Turkmens. The same can be said in general about the Turkmens, more or less neighboring to Northern Iran, although their skin color is whiter than that of the Persians, and their physique is stronger than that of a thin Iranian. Beautiful female types resemble beautiful Ottomans. Prof. Yavorsky, who carried out anthropometric research among the Turkmens, mainly among the Tekke, gives the following data on the type of this numerous branch of the Turkmens. Body composition is dominated by thin, but there is a significant% of moderately well-fed and full (26 out of 59). Growth is high, average: 1,694, in particular, tekke 1,700. Chest circumference 862, height ratio 50.88. Skin color in open areas: predominant - bronze tanned (in 31 people), then yellowish-pale (in 15 people), but there is also light (in 4 people); in closed places it is generally lighter. Hair color: predominantly dark on the head and beard, but there are also dark chestnut. The hair on the head is shaved, on the beard it is often smooth, occasionally curly. One subject has a beard length of 97 cm. The color of the ray is dark (brown), but there is a large percentage of light gray (24%). The lips are moderate, rather full, straight. The shape of the skull is characteristic: it looks like a pusher, elongated backwards and upwards, towards the crown, sometimes quite flat. The head is rather large, wider than tall. The shape of the forehead is predominantly rounded. Ears are large, protruding. The direction of the palpebral fissure is predominantly horizontal. The facial angle, according to Camper, ranges between 70°-80°. The head index fluctuates between 68.69 and 81.78; dolichocephals predominate; average: 75.64 (subdolichocephalic). The largest anterior-posterior diameter is average - 193, the horizontal girth of the head is average - 548. The facial line is average 185, the facial index is average 69.73, the nasal index is average 66.66.

see also

• Syrian Turkmens are a people in Syria.
• Turkomans (Turkmans or Iraqi Turkmens) are a people in Iraq.
• Turkish Turkmen (tour.)Russian is an ethnic group in Turkey.

Gallery

• Image Gallery

Turkmenian singer-Zakopane 2006.jpg

Turkmen girl

Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (215).jpg

Turkmens in national dress at the Independence Parade

Independence Day Parade - Flickr - Kerri-Jo (326).jpg

Turkmen children in national clothes at the Independence Parade

Turkmens in national clothes present bread to the President of Russia

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Notes

|heading4 = Relationship to religion |list4 = Islam Christianity

An excerpt characterizing the Turkmens

The blow turned out to be terrible!.. Screaming with a wild cry “No!!!”, I lost consciousness…

* Note: please do not confuse (!!!) with the Greek complex of Meteora monasteries in Kalambaka, Greece. Meteora in Greek means "hanging in the air", which fully corresponds to the stunning view of the monasteries, like pink mushrooms grown on the highest peaks of unusual mountains. The first monastery was built around 900. And between the 12th and 16th centuries there were already 24 of them. Only six monasteries have “survived” to this day, which still amaze tourists.
True, tourists do not know one very funny detail... There is another monastery in Meteora, in which the "curious" are not allowed... It was built (and gave rise to the others) by a gifted fanatic who once studied in real Meteora and expelled from her. Angry at the whole world, he decided to build "his own Meteora" in order to collect the same "insulted" like him and lead his solitary life. How he did it is unknown. But since then, Masons began to gather in his Meteora for secret meetings. What happens once a year to this day.
Monasteries: Grand Meteoron (big Meteoron); Russano; Agios Nicholas; Agia Trios; Agias Stefanos; Varlaam are located at a very close distance from each other.

Despite the undoubted Turkic origin, attested by language, historical data and folk legends, the type of Turkmen can least of all be called purely Turkic. “Nomads,” says Vamberi, “from time immemorial, systematically engaged in raids and robbery, who were in the most lively communication with the Persians, Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Cossacks, Karakalpaks and Caucasians, very little could keep the original type clean, which currently represents mixture of Old Turkic with Aryan. The purer type was preserved by the Chaudars, who are distinguished by a weaker physique and a smaller head than the Kirghiz, a more conical than a round skull, and a height of 5-6 feet. As we approach the southern borders of the Trans-Caspian lowland, the features of Iranian admixture stand out all the more, the facial hair becomes more abundant, the protrusion of the cheekbones is less noticeable, and only small, somewhat obliquely located eyes indicate a Turkic origin. Among the Tekkins, a real Caucasian type already appears, as well as among the Ottomans related to the Turkmens. The same can be said in general about the Turkmens, more or less neighboring to Northern Iran, although their skin color is whiter than that of the Persians, and their physique is stronger than that of a thin Iranian. In women, the Turkic type is more noticeable, despite a significant percentage of Persians among them: the cheekbones are more protruding, and the hair on the head is relatively sparse. Beautiful female types resemble beautiful Ottomans.

Prof. Yavorsky, who carried out anthropometric studies among the Turkmens, mainly among the Tekke, gives the following data on the type of this numerous branch of the Turkmens. Body composition is dominated by thin, but there is a significant% of moderately well-fed and full (26 out of 59). Growth is high, average: 1,694, in particular, tekke 1,700. Chest circumference 862, height ratio 50.88. Skin color in open areas: predominant - bronze tanned (in 31 people), then yellowish-pale (in 15 people), but there is also light (in 4 people); in closed places it is generally lighter. Hair color: predominantly dark on the head and beard, but there are also dark chestnut. The hair on the head is shaved, on the beard it is often smooth, occasionally curly. One subject has a beard length of 97 cm. The color of the ray is dark (brown), but there is a large percentage of light gray (24%). The lips are moderate, rather full, straight. The shape of the skull is characteristic: it looks like a pusher, elongated backwards and upwards, towards the crown, sometimes quite flat. The head is rather large, wider than tall. The shape of the forehead is predominantly rounded. Ears are large, protruding. The direction of the palpebral fissure is predominantly horizontal. The facial angle, according to Camper, ranges between 70°-80°. The head index fluctuates between 68.69 and 81.78; dolichocephals predominate; average: 75.64 (subdolichocephalic). The anteroposterior diameter is the largest average - 193, the horizontal head circumference is average - 548. The facial line is average 185, the facial index is average 69.73, the nasal index is average 66.66

(folk forms of Central Asian Sufism)

Atins are among the Turkmen ovlyads (***) - honorary groups or, as it was customary to write before, "holy (sacred) tribes." Along with the Atins, Hodjas, Shihs, Seyids, Makhtums and Mudzhevurs were also considered Ovlyads.

It has already been noted in the literature that the privileged position of ovlyads in Turkmen society was associated with the veneration of saints, to whom the beginning of ovlyad groups was erected. The ancestor of most groups of ovlyads of tradition is called one of the four successors of Muhammad - the caliphs Abu Bekr, Omar, Osman and Ali. In addition, over the centuries, many people from among the Ovlyads themselves were recognized as saints by folk tradition. According to the beliefs of the Turkmen, the descendants of these saints could also perform miracles, or at least enjoyed the protection of the spirits of their ancestors.

Atins are the most numerous group among the Turkmen ovlyads. They live in several villages of the Kizyl-Arvat region (in particular, in the village of Tutly), make up the main population of the village of Ata in the Serakh region and two collective farms in the Tedzhen region (named after Lenin and "Lenin Yoly"), and are also scattered in small groups in many places of these two districts and in the vicinity of the cities of Mary and Bairam-Ali. Most of them are in the Dargan-Ata region. Outside Turkmenistan, the Atins live in the Turtkul region of the Karakalpak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and, according to the stories of the old people, in Iran (the ubyk-ata group).

Nevertheless, the Atins were not the most influential group of Ovlyads. From some old men of the Atins one can hear stories about their ancestor Gozli-ata, who allegedly showed his “strength” ( ceramic mat) to the hodge who was visiting him: he forced the dragon to descend from the mountains ( ajdarha). Khoja was frightened, and the saint's wife took a stick and, sitting in place, drove the dragon away. However, such stories meet with sympathy only among the Atins themselves and, perhaps, among the Western Yemuds, among whom many shrines are considered the graves of prominent representatives of the Ata tribe. In Turkmenistan, the palm among the ovlyads firmly belongs to the Khojas. Moreover, many Tekins and Salyrs do not consider the Atins an honorary group (ovlyad).

The origin of the Atins, like other ovlyads, has not yet been clarified. Folk traditions are almost the only source on this issue, and first of all we have to turn to them. Oral legends consider Saint Gozli-ata, a descendant of the third “righteous” caliph, Osman (who, as is known, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad), to be the ancestor of the Ata tribe. The real name of Gozli-ata is Khasan-ata.

The earliest point of view on the origin of the Turkmen-ata is based on complete trust in the traditions of the Atins: they, like other ovlyads, were considered Turkmen descendants of the Arabs. Comparatively recently this opinion has rightly been rejected. Another point of view was expressed by G. I. Karpov. Having abandoned the Arabic version, G. I. Karpov found it possible to bring the Atins closer to the Atasians, the ancient tribes that were part of the Massagets and Saks. This hypothesis has no other arguments than the similarity of names.

This story can be understood as a recollection of some participation of the Kazakh component in the formation of the Atins. Apparently, the assumption that the Atins have dissolved some Kazakh groups in themselves will not raise objections. But in general, the past of the Atins can hardly be separated from the history of many other Turkmen groups. References to Turkestan are also found in the legends of other Turkmens about the resettlement from the banks of the Syr Darya, which legends associate with the name of St. Khoja Ahmed Yasawi.

The history of the resettlement of the Atins can be reliably restored only from the beginning of the 18th century, when the Turkmen-ata began to leave the Balkhans, migrating to the Amu Darya. Some data on the movements of individual groups of this tribe is already in the literature, but they do not give a clue to the solution of the question of where the Ata tribe came from.

Who are these Atins? Our point of view on the emergence of ata has already been expressed. We believe that the very formulation of the question should be different - not “in terms of studying ethnic interactions, but in terms of studying the fate of Islam in the Turkmen environment. The Ata tribe was created not by ethnic transformations, but by the separation of part of the Turkmen population into a religious community. The beginning of the Ata tribe (as well as some other groups of ovlyads) must be sought in Sufism.

The article contains material in which, as it seems, one can find arguments in support of such a point of view. This is, firstly, the text of handwritten genealogies of the Atins and, secondly, ethnographic information collected by the author since 1958 in different regions of the Turkmen SSR and in 1970 in the Chimkent region of the Kazakh SSR.

The oral traditions of the Turkmen-ata have already been recorded by various researchers. Of the European authors, A. Borns was the first to retell the legend of the Atins about their origin. The Ata tribe, he wrote, “comprises, as they say, the seids and descends from Caliph Osman” (the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad are called the Seyids among the Arabs and Persians). Then G. I. Karpov gives information about the ancestor of the Atins in his works. In one of them, the version is completely different: “The Ata tribe considers Ali-Ishran, one of the first followers of Mohammed, to be their ancestor.” In another publication, G. I. Karpov is close to A. Borns: the Atins are “a group that considers itself descendants of Mahomet” .

In the notes of G.P. Vasilyeva, the name of Osman appears again: “According to legend ... ata are the descendants of the first of the four imams of Mohammed - Osman”; the ancestor of the Atins, "according to one version ... was Gozil-ata, according to another - Chil-Mamed". In the stories that G. E. Markov heard, the beginning of the Atins is from the prophet Muhammad or "from the Arabs or Turks." According to one of these legends, the prophet Isa forced to read the book that had fallen from the sky of “the pious man Khizret Osman (he is also called Khesen-Ata). The Prophet liked his reading, he gave him the nickname Gozl-ata (Big-eyed) and gave him his daughter as his wife. Their children were the ancestors of the Atins."

The given information does not give a clear idea of ​​the genealogical tradition of the Atins. The relationship between the figures of Osman and Gozil (Gözl)-ata is not clear. In some cases, these are heroes of variants of legends independent of each other (G.P. Vasilyeva), in others they are one and the same person (G.E. Markov). Ya. R. Vinnikov retells the legends of the Atins in the most general terms: “The legends connect the origin of the Turkmen-Atas with the name of Muhammad.”

The name of their ancestor Gozli-ata is well known to the Atins; this is confirmed by the materials of S. M. Demidov and S. P. Polyakov, as well as the testimony of the outstanding Turkmen poet Makhtumkuli, who, referring to another poet, Durdyshahir from Atin, said: “If you are a [descendant] of Gyozli-ata, then we [from] the people (a) of the Herkezes". Nevertheless, other versions formally have the right to exist, because the common version of the legend is not always the most ancient and reliable. And in the presence of several versions of the legend, a correct interpretation can only be counted on if it is possible to establish whether the legend has long existed in the form of a number of independent (parallel) versions or whether the discrepancies appeared as a result of the distortion of the ancient tradition. A manuscript outlining the genealogy can help to understand this. One should not think, of course, that the legend written down by someone many years ago reproduces the original version. No, even the writings of Abu-l-gazi, which are, in fact, a retelling of folk legends, show that the ancient records of legends were edited from time to time. But the handwritten genealogy is clearly older than the oral versions recorded in our time, therefore, the facts reflected in the legends are less distorted in the manuscript.

I managed to see two lists of the genealogy of the Ata tribe. Both documents are written on paper scrolls, which are kept rolled up into a tube, tied with cloth on top. The owner of the first one is Yari Tuvokov, born in 1930, a resident of the village of Tutly in the Kizyl-Arvat region. The owner of the second one is Aman Emirov, born around 1900, a resident of the village of Ata in the Serakh region. Both of them belong to the Atin "kind" myomin. With the kind permission of the owners, I photographed the manuscripts.

Below is the translation. The numbers in the margins correspond to the line numbers of the original. A vertical stroke marks the beginning of each line, two strokes the beginning of every five lines. In square brackets - my explanations, in round brackets - words that are absent in the original text, supplemented by me. The language of the manuscripts is Turkic, close to the so-called Chagatai, interspersed with phrases, lines and even paragraphs written in Arabic (occasionally in Persian). The Arabic text of the original is in italics. I take this opportunity to thank P. I. Petrov, professor of the Institute of Oriental Languages ​​at Moscow State University, for translating the Arabic text.

The beginning of the first scroll is torn off and lost, so the ordinal designation of words is conditional. The first line (of the remaining ones) is not completely preserved, the last words in it are “ Allah, Merciful, Merciful". There is no end in the second line, but it is not difficult to restore it, because the whole line reproduces the saying of the Koran: “ Verily, Allah has chosen Adam and Nuh and the family of Ibrahim and the family of ‘Imran before the worlds.» .

3 | “This is Our argument which We gave to Ibrahim against his people. We raise in degrees those whom we desire. Verily, your Lord is wise, knowing! And We gave him Ishaq and Yakub; all We led 5 in a straight path; || and We led Nuh before, and from his offspring - Daud, Sulaiman, and Ayyub, and Yusuf, / and Musa, and Harun. This is how we reward those who do good! And Zakaria, and Yahya, and Isa, \ and Ilyas - they are all from the righteous. And Ismail, and al-Yas, and Yunus, and Lut \ - and all We exalted above the worlds. And from their fathers, and their descendants, and their brothers. \ We chose them and led them to a straight path.. What follows is a nonsensical four-word phrase. Then:

10 || “From his reverence to the prophet Adam - (let it be on him) God's blessing!- from Adam and Hava was | five hundred souls of children, (who were born) twins: one male child, the other female. | But Shish was the first peace be upon him! The Almighty God sent him from paradise | in wife Guria. Adam's son is Shish, his son is Anush, | his son is 15 Kaniya, his son is Mala'il, his son is Yarda'il, || his son is Ukhnuh, his son is Mathushaleh, his son is Idris | prophet- peace be upon him! His son is Malik, his son is Anas, his son is | Nuh prophet. Nuh had four sons: Ham, Sam, | Jafes, Kan'an. The children of Ham trampled on the scripture | and were unrighteous, therefore they were slaves of (other) descendants of 20 Adam. || The Arabs and Persians are the descendants of Sam. Myself | was a prophet, in his face was clear the light [of the religion revived later by the activity] of Muhammad. Son of Sama - | Hashim, his son is Salih, his son is ‘Abuz, his (son) is Balkh, his son is | Ashruh, his son is Basur, his son is Ashur, his son is Tarkh | nicknamed Azar, because (he) was the vizier of Nimrud. His son is Ibrahim, friend of god. || The Almighty 25 god in the scripture (about him) memory (left): “ So follow his faith!» « Religion of Ibrahim Hanif» \ - so called his religious teachings [tarikat]. His son is Isma'il destined to be a sacrifice to God, his son - | Layan, his son is Kaidar, his son is Hamalmuluk, his | son - Nabatmulyuk, his son - Salarmulyuk, | his son is Yemshekhmuluk, his son is Yeisikhmuluk, his son is Adarmuluk, his son is Madad || muluk, his son is ‘Adnanmuluk, his son is 30 Ka’admuluk, | his son is Hazimamulyuk, his son is Kinanamulyuk, his | son - Nasrmuluk; (tribe) Qureish - his descendants.

At Nasrmuluk | had two sons. One is Davmalik, the other is Almalik. Son of Almalik - | Fakhar, his son is Ghalib, his son is Loy, his son is Ka'ab, his || son - Mert, his son - Kilab, his son - Kusai, his son | — ‘Abd al-Manaf. ‘Abd al-Manaf had two sons: one was Hashim, the other was Abd ash-Shems. | The son of Hashim is ‘Abd al-Muttalib, his son is Abdallah, his son is | Muhammad - peace be upon him! Presentation about Loe. (His) son is Ka'ab, his son is Omar, his son is ‘Amr, | his son is ‘Osman, his son is Kuhafa, his son is Abu Bekr Siddyk [Truthful] — may Allah be pleased with him! || 40 Account of Loe. His son is Ka'ab, his son is Aziz, his son is Ruach, his | his son is ‘Abd al-Aziz, his son is Nufl, his son is Ibn Khattab, his son is ‘Omar.

An account of ‘Abd ash-Shems. His son is Umayya, his son is Abu L'as. | His son is 'Affan, his son is khazret [his reverend] 'Osman Zinnurayn [possessing two lights] - let him be pleased | im Allah! His son is 'Abdallah Akbar, his son is Harun, his son is \\ 'Abd al-Jabbar, 45 his son is 'Abd al-Qahar, his son is 'Abd al-Karim, his son is | Shahab ad-din, his son is Najm ad-din. Najm ad-Din had two sons. | The name of one is Sa'd | nicknamed Ismahmud-ata, | the name of the other is Ma'ruf-ata, his [i.e. e. Ma'ruf-ata] son ​​- Daud, his son - Hasan, his || son - Hussein, 50 his son - My'min, his | son - | Bayezid, his son is Isa, his son is Khoja, his son is Badr-| Khoja, his son is Sadr-Khoja, his son is Iskander, his son is | Yahya, his son is Kaisar, his son is Murad, his son is Suleiman.

| Suleiman had two sons: the name of one was Sujuk-luk ||-ata, the name of the other was Mahab-ata - may 55 have mercy on him (Allah)! Son of Sujukluk-ata - ! — | Sultan, Pole of Poles Hakim-ata Suleiman - (let it be) on it a little (God!). | Saying: "Hakim" [i.e. e. wise], (they meant that he) saw wisdom in the teachings [tarikat] of his reverend Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. | Therefore, he was called Hakim-ata. Hakim Suleiman had four sons: | one - Asgar-Khoja, one - 60 Kodzhkar-Khoja, one - Mahmud-Khoja, one - || Sultan Khubbi-Khoja - May Allah have mercy on him and welcome (his,)! - (who) disappeared in a blessed way [it is not known where during his lifetime - gayib buldi]. | (His) son is Sheikh Sa'd Nefes. Another [inisi] Sultan Sanjar Mazi | was the son of Abu Sa'id.

Description of the Mahab-ata. (His) son is Hasan-ata. | Since in the field of religious teaching [tarikat] difficult circumstances were (and he saw a way out of them), so he was called Kuzlyuk-ata. | From the Pole of Poles, a descendant of the family (prophet) - may his ashes be pure! — 65 murshid walking || on the path of knowing the immutable truth, the best of friends(God's), His Rev. Khoja Ahmed Yasawi | permission (for this) was. His reverend Kyuzlyuk-ata had three sons. | The name of one is Nur-ata, the name of the other is ‘Omar-ata, the name of the third is Ibrahim-ata. | ‘Omar-ata had two sons: the name of one was Otada-ata, | the name of the other is Odamysh-ata. Otada ata had six sons: one - 70 Chin || Muhammed-ata, the other - Musa-Khoja-ata, the third - Ahmed-ata, the fourth - Mu'min-ata, the fifth - | Abdal-ata, the sixth - Selim-ata.

An account of Mu'min. The son of Mu'min is Abdurazzak, | his son is Abdulkarim, his son is Tangryberdy. At Tangryberda | had two sons: one was Yarmesid, the other was Culmesides. Son of Yarmesid - | Odamysh, nicknamed Okly Tokum. Okla 75 Tokuma had four sons: || one is Alifkara, the other is Kodzhkara, the third is Mollakara, the fourth is Kara-baba.

Son of Mollakar - | Mollakarry, his son is Mollaferim, his son is Karadja | Hafiz. Karaj Hafiz had two sons: the name of one was Muhammedyar, the name of the other was | Mollaferim. The son of Muhammadyar is Nurali. Nurali had two (sons): one - Yarveli, | the other is Mukhammedveli. Yarveli 80 had four sons: one - Muhammedyar, the other - || Safar-kylyj, the third - Adynasahad, the fourth - Mukhammedberdy. Mukhammedveli had two sons: | one is Halym, the other is Buvdakyzyl. The son of Buvdakizil is Oraz. | Oraz had three sons: one - Akmuhammed, the other - Amanmuhammed, | the third is Muhammadan. The son of Amanmuhammed is Oraz. Muhammademin had two sons: | one is Adynagafar, 85 the other is Adinasatar. Son of Adinasahad - || Otuz. Otuz had three sons: one was Mukhamedyar, the other... , | the third is Adinasahad.

An account of Kara-baba. The son of Kara-baba - Sheikh Behlil, | his son is Karayarseyid. Karayarseyid had three sons: one - | Janseyyad, the other - Nurseyid, the third - Babysh. Janseyid had two sons: | one is Yarseyid, the other is Yarmuhammed. The son of Yarmukhammed - Hallimukhammed || 90 nicknamed Halli-Kovak. Halla-Kovak had five (sons): one - Bagmukhammed, the other - | Yarmukhammed, nicknamed Koja [old man], the third - Janseyid, the fourth - Sahadmukhammed, the fifth - Adinamukhammed | nicknamed Karabay. Bagmukhammed had two sons: one was Muham, the other was Ataniyaz. | Muham had four sons: one - Dzhumabay, the other - Ishimbay, the third - Shikhimbay, | the fourth is Adynabay. Adynabay had two sons: one was Muham, the other was Bagmukhammed.

|| Koca had four sons: one - 95 Hallimukhammed, another - Karakhan, the third - Nurmukhammed | nicknamed Nuri-Cherre [bug-eyed], the fourth is Akmukhammed. Hallimukhammed had two sons: one - Orazmukhammed, | another - | Agamuhammed. Orazmukhammed had two sons: | one is Halli-Kovak, the other is Hassan, nicknamed Akhund. | Nuri-Cherre had three sons: one was Koja, the other was Kel-bay, the third was Barmukhammed, nicknamed Bar-Cherre. | Kelbai had two sons: one was Tajmuhammed, the other was Velimuhammed. The son of Bari (sic!)-Cheppe is Nur-Cherre.

|| The son of Janseyid is Tekemuhammed. Tekemukhammed 100 had three sons: one - Mukhammedovez, the other - | Atamuhammed. the third is Mukhammedkurban. The son of Atamuhammed is Tekemukhammed. | Sahadmuhammed had two sons: one was Halnefes, the other was Oraznefes. At Halnefes | had two sons: one was Sakhadmukhammed, the other was Nazarmukhammed.

Karabay had five sons: | one is Kutlymurad, the other is Sultanmurad, the third is Adinamurad, the fourth is Berdymurad, the fifth is Mukhammedmurad. || The son of Kutlymurad - 105 Yakhshimuhammed, nicknamed Kerman. The son of Kerman is Kutlymurad. At Sultanmurad | there were two sons: one - Adinamurad, the other - Karabay. The son of Berdymurad is Ashirmukhammed. | Muhammadmurad had two sons: one was Berdymukhammed, the other was Mukhammedniyaz.” There are 107 lines in the first list, not counting the lost beginning.

The second list has been preserved in its entirety, but, unfortunately, the photographs were unsuccessful, and it was not possible to repeat them. Therefore, about two dozen lines were left without translation.

The lists are not identical. Some information from one document is missing in another, and in the same pieces of text there are discrepancies. Thus, in the first list Malik, the son of Idris (line 16), and Asur, the son of Basur (line 23) are named; in the second, these names are omitted. In the second list (lines 63-64) the son of Suleiman ata is named more extensively: Sujukluk-Ibrahim-ata; in the first (lines 54-55) he is only Sujukluk-ata. In the second list (lines 73-74) the named sons of Otada-ata are listed in a different order than in the first (lines 69-71). In the second list (lines 75-76) three sons of Chinmukhammed-ata are named; The first one does not have this information. The number of such examples can be increased, however, it is already clear that the discrepancies are insignificant and are mostly due to errors or omissions in the correspondence. In this regard, only those lines of the second list that are not in the first are given below.

The second list begins with the words: In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Merciful!» The following lines (from the 1st to the beginning of the 13th), written in Arabic, are not translated; from about half of the 13th line follows the phrase: "... I resort to God (for help) from the stoned shaitan." Next, on line 27 inclusive, comes the text corresponding to lines 2-27 of the first list (however, the name of Kaydar's son is written illegibly), then (line 28) the names are given in the following sequence: “Basih, his son is Madavmalik, his son is ' Adnan. From the end of line 28 to line 33 inclusive, there is an Arabic text, information about the Qureish tribe is given: the name Qureish is borne by all the descendants of Nasrmalik, the son of Kinan, a descendant of Hashim; from this tribe came the caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar and Osman, as well as the messenger of God Muhammad himself.

Lines 34 and 35: “Son of ‘Abdallah. Description of Adnan. His son is Ka'ab, his son is Basr, his son is Nasr, his son is Ilyas, his | son - Madrak, his son - Hazima, his son - Kenana, his son - Nasrmalik, his descendants - (tribe) Qureish. Further text on line 39 inclusive corresponds to lines 32 - 38 (from the words: "At Nasrmuluk ..." to the words: "... Muhammad - peace be upon him!) of the first list.

Below, in five circles arranged in a row, is placed the genealogy of Muhammad and the four "righteous" caliphs. Then the text comes again: line 40 and part 41: “ and the best of people after our prophet - Abu Bekr al-Siddiq, then 'Omar al-Farouk, then 'Othman Zinnurayn, then 'Ali al-Murtaza and their successors; | in that order also ... from himself". From the middle of line 41 almost to the end of line 42, the text follows, repeating lines 42-44 of the first scroll (from the words: “An account of Abd ash-Shems ...” to the words: “... may Allah be pleased with him!»).

From line 43 comes the text in Persian, which is not in the first document: “... In the introduction of the book (?), it is said that his reverend Osman - may Allah have mercy on him! - from her reverend Rukayi there were nine sons: | ‘Abd Allah Akbar, ‘Abd Allah Asghar, ‘Omar, Aban, Khalid, ‘Amr, Sayyid, Magbara and ‘Abd al-Malik, || and six 45 daughters: Maryam, Subad, ‘Aisha, Umm ‘Omar, Umm Aban and Umm al-banin. Also (written) in the book "Al-Maqbara" and | it seems - in the book "Al-Kazbad": his reverend 'Othman had ten sons. Some died before him. The best son was named | 'Abdallah Akbar - his mother was Ruqaiya - and the next son was named 'Abdallah Asghar. And Osman had six daughters. And since that time [i.e. e. further] (quoted) "History" | Tabari: (one) who denies the descendants of 'Uthman - and he is cursed; and (one) who lies(?) about the descendants of 'Uthman - and he is a hypocrite in his soul. Firuzshahi (writes): | The children of Kulsum and Zeinab - they do not have the title of sayyid, because they were born before the prophecy, and Fatima and Ruqaiya were born after the prophecy ... "

Lines 50-53 are written in Turkic: «|| An account of his 50 reverend ‘Osman. He had nine sons, but according to another legend - eleven: | ‘Abdallah Akbar, ‘Abdallah Asghar, ‘Omar, Khoja Aban, Khalid, ‘Amr, Sayyid, | Magbara, ‘Abd al-Malik, Ataba and Anaba. Their birth mother is Umm Ruqayya and their stepmother is Umm Kulthum. The descendants of Abu Bekr and ‘Omar and ‘Othman are noble, and as for the children of ‘Ali (they), apart from Hasan and Hussein, were not (?) preferred | due to its origin. Such an order was beautiful; Allah (makes) excellent of || 55 of his slaves, whoever he wants. Pearls of fatwas: The prophet said - peace be upon him! - that ... Allah does not accept repentance, except ... The prophet said - peace be upon him! - who hates 'Uthman ... Messenger of Allah."

The further text from line 56 to the beginning of 83 corresponds to lines 44-80 of the first list (from the words: "His son is 'Abdallah Akbar ..." to the words: "... the fourth is Mukhammedberdy"), except for the fact that that the second list (lines 75-76) lists the sons of Chinmukhammed-ata (Khoja-'Osman-ata, Ibrahim-ata and 'Abyskhoja-ata) and does not name (line 82) the second son, Nurali.

The text continuing the 83rd line up to the middle of the 84th line corresponds to the text of the first list on lines 86-88 (from the words: "An account of Kara-baba ..." to: "... the third one is Babysh"). Further and to the very end (i.e., lines 84-99) there is a text that is missing from the first scroll:

The compilation of a genealogical document, one must think, was primarily caused by the need of the Atins to “confirm” the nobility of their origin, and not to keep the names of their ancestors in the memory of their descendants. This need is strongest when the genealogical tradition is just beginning to be established. Probably, by the time the earliest version of the manuscript was compiled, the relationship with Osman still required proof. Hence our interest in the question: when were the handwritten Sejre compiled?

According to the owners, both documents were written at the end of the last century, but it is not known whether they were copied from ancient manuscripts or not. Dating documents will help internal analysis of the text. Consider the order in which generations are listed. It is better to start counting generations from Gozli-ata: although the genealogy is traced back to Osman, the beginning of the “tribe” of the Atins was put by Gozli-ata. Here is the general scheme:

In both lists, a list of the descendants of Mollakar is given (in the first - more complete). Let's reproduce the general scheme of one branch without going into details.

The 21st generation can also be added here: the son of Oraz, Chara, nicknamed Narchi, was born in 1913.

But more attention in the genealogies is given to the descendants of Kara-baba. Here is one of the branches (according to the first list): 10. Kara-Baba, 11. Sheikh Behlil, 12. Karayarseyid, 13. Janseyid, 14. Yarmukhammed, 15. Hallimukhammed, 16. Yarmukhammed, 17. Nurmukhammed, 18. Kelbai, 19. Tajmuhammed.

The genealogy also details the descendants of other sons of Hallimukhammed, but the list does not go beyond the 19th generation from Gozli-ata. Let's continue it ourselves: 20, Tuvak, son of Tajmukhammed (Tachmyammed, born around 1900), 21. Yari, son of Tuvak (born in 1930), owner of the list.

The second list details the line of descendants of another son of Karayarseyid. Here is one of the branches: 12. Karayarseyid, 13. Babysh (Kara-baba second), 14. Karaheyran, 15. Adynadovlet, 16. Kara-baba (fourth), 17. Bakhbud-ata; 18. Amansahad, 19. Mollakarov, 20. Emirsahad. Let's add the 21st generation: Emirsahad's son, Aman (born around 1900), the owner of the list.

The first list first gives an enumeration of the descendants of Mollakar up to the 20th generation (that is, until the end of the last century), then passes to the descendants of the great-grandson of Kara-Baba, Janseyid (13th generation). Information about the sons of Hallimuhammed (16th generation) is interesting here. First, the descendants of the first son are listed, up to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, then the line of descendants of the second son is reproduced, etc. In other words, the generations are listed as follows: 16, 17, 18, 19; 16, 17, 18, 19; 16, 17, 18, 19; 16, 17, 18; 16, 17, 18, 19. It was possible to present information in this order only during the lifetime of the 19th generation, that is, not earlier than in the last decades of the 19th century.

In the second list, the offspring of Mollakar is brought up to the 17th generation. Then follows a branch formed by the descendants of Kara-baba. The sons of Babysh (13th generation), grandchildren from one of them and great-grandchildren are listed; the score was brought to the 16th knee. Further, the offspring of another grandson of Babysh is captured. His sons are named, grandsons from the eldest son and great-grandchildren from the eldest grandson (Dovletshikh, Bakhbud, Oraz), then the son and grandson of Dovletshikh (18th and 19th generations), sons of Bakhbud and Oraz (18th generation) and grandchildren of Bakhbud - first the children of the eldest son, then the second, etc. The list ends with the 20th generation - the children of the grandson of Bahbud from the eldest son.

It seems that here, starting from the 16th-17th generations, the names are named in the order in which they should have been attributed to the genealogy over time. Perhaps the second document is based on a manuscript compiled during the lifetime of the 16th-17th generation, that is, at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. But it is possible that the main text of the second list was formed later. So, in the second manuscript, four sons of Yarveli are named, but there is no his younger brother, Mukhammedveli (known from the first list). Does this mean that Mukhammedveli (16th generation) was born later than the children of his brother, and the list was compiled before his birth? Unlikely. Most likely, the scribe, who was not interested in the branch formed by the descendants of Mollakar, decided not to reproduce it in all details. The suppression of the line of descendants of Mollakar at the 17th generation and the descendants of one of the grandsons of Babysh at the 16th generation cannot serve as a sufficiently convincing sign for dating the document, which was the original for the second list.

Thus, both genealogies were not only written, but also compiled recently (the first typo is in the last decades of the last century, the second, obviously, a little earlier). But they were compiled on the basis of some old manuscripts. Neither of the two lists serves as an original for the other (this is evidenced by the nature of the discrepancies), apparently, both documents were rewritten from different copies of the genealogy.

Two unequal lists allow to some extent to make up for the lack of old records (“originals”) of the pedigree. Comparing the register of generations, one can find out what information of the Atin Sejre can be considered reliable. The first scroll has twenty generations along the line of the descendants of Mollakar and nineteen generations along the line of the descendants of Kara-bab. The second list lists twenty generations along the line of descendants of Kara-Baba, but of a different branch than in the first list. The coincidence of the number of generations of different genealogical branches (a difference of 1-2 generations is acceptable) gives reason to think that real persons are named in the manuscripts and in the correct order - starting from the stage when the single stem of the genealogy is divided into different branches. This stage falls on the 9th-10th generations - Otly Tokum and his sons. Apparently, since that time, the owners of the Sejre attributed information about new generations to the pedigree. This means that during the lifetime of the 9th-10th generations, the initial version of the handwritten genealogical legend of the Atins already existed. How long ago was that? “Sixteen generations pass in four hundred, at most four hundred and fifty years,” writes Abu-l-gazi, based on the calculation that new generations appear on average after 25 years. The 20th generation from Gozli-ata was born in 1890-1900, therefore, the 9th-10th generations lived about 250 years ago, and the handwritten Sejre of the Atins was already circulating (by the middle, or maybe by the beginning of the 17th century).

As for the first eight generations, their reliability is doubtful. Gozli-ata is named in the document as a contemporary of the famous Sufi Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, who died in 1166-1167. . Oral legends add that Gozli-ata was killed by the Kalmyks (Mongols). If we count how many centuries 20 generations should have been replaced, then the life of Gozli-ata falls at the end, at the earliest - at the beginning of the 14th century. . The difference is too big. Abu-l-gazi would not be surprised by this: “only the person who gained fame in the silt was entered into the record, unknown people were not recorded.” But on the example of the last 10 generations of the ancestry of the Atins, we could be convinced of the opposite. The obvious discrepancy between the internal chronology of the genealogy and the historical date suggests that the Sejre was recorded, of course, not during the life of Gozli-ata (if we believe that this is a real person) and not immediately after his death. Most likely, the manuscript was first compiled at the time from which reliable information begins (the first half of the 17th century). The list of the first 8-9 generations after Gozli-ata was reproduced according to oral traditions, and the period from Adam to Gozli-ata - according to literary sources. Apparently, the very genealogical tradition of the Atins took shape close to the time of compiling the first version of the Sejre, which reinforced the genealogical scheme that needed substantiation with a “document”.

Finally, handwritten genealogies indicate the connection of the Atins with the Yasawiya Sufi order. The text, unlike oral legends, does not directly say that Gozli-ata was the murid of Sheikh Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, but there is no doubt about this: Gozli-ata received his nickname after resolving some difficulties in the field of "tariqa" (Arabic path - a Sufi term denoting the teachings of one or another sheikh), and with the permission of the feast Haji Ahmed Yasawi. Only in order to emphasize the connection with the Yasawi order, the genealogy also mentions the imaginary relative of Gozli-ata - the holy Hakim-ata, who “saw wisdom” in the “tarikat” of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. The genealogy is extremely laconic, most of it is just a dry enumeration of names, and the phrases introduced into the text about the proximity of two persons to Sheikh Khoja Ahmed Yasawi speak of the importance attached to this proximity.

The ethnographic material presented below gives new evidence of the connection of the Atin Turkmens with the Order of Yasaviya.

From the manuscripts of the genealogy, it remains unclear why the saint received his nickname Gozli (health All-Seeing). Oral legends explain this. One person seemed to ask: “Hasan, why is your name Gozli?” “I see the whole face of this world by looking at my fingernail,” replied the saint. Legends also tell of the case when his miraculous abilities allegedly manifested themselves. Among the Atins, there is a story about the competition of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi with another pir (some narrators give the name: Shih-Sheher-Ganji or Shikhi-Ganji). Both feasts were not on friendly terms. Shikhi-Ganji suspected Yasawi of witchcraft. To confirm his guesses, he sent his novice ( sops) with some thing; Yasawi had to find out what the messenger brought. According to one version, it was a snake hidden in a box. Yasawi ordered murid Gozli-ata to unravel the secret. Gozli-ata left the house, looked around and said: "Everything in the world is in its place, only one snake does not have a mate." Then Yasawi sent a vessel to the hostile feast, in which there were water, burning coal and a piece of cotton together. Cotton was not ignited by fire, and fire was not extinguished by water. This finally convinced Shikhi-Ganji that he was dealing with a sorcerer. He ordered his murids to shoot an invisible arrow at Khoja Ahmed Yasawi ( batyl ok). Yasawi, of course, having learned about this, turned to Gozli-ata: “My all-seeing one, look (gozlim, mountains).” Gozli-ata reported on the approaching arrow. Then Yasawi said to another murid named Suzyuk (from the word suzmek- strain): "My Suzyuk, strain." And Suzyuk moved the pir sitting on the prayer rug to another place. An arrow pierced where Yasawi had just been sitting. Pir said: "If it is an arrow of friendship, honey will drip from it, if the arrow of enmity is blood." The novices saw blood on the arrow, and Yasawi ordered them to send the arrow back. Shih-Sheher-Ganji, realizing that the arrow was returning to him, ordered the murids to go out into the street, to see how far it was. But his feet didn't see anything. Meanwhile, the arrow was approaching with a terrible noise. “I need my Gozli to see and my Suzyuk to push back,” said the feast. Those were the last words: the arrow had pierced his chest. In one of the stories, an arrow knocked out the eye of a hostile feast, but did not hit to death.

This unusual legend preserved another evidence that the Atins were involved in the world of legends and characters associated with the figure of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. Saint Suzuk-ata is unknown to Turkmen beliefs, but his revered grave (Suzuk-ata) is located in the vicinity of the village of Sairam (near Chimkent), which is considered here the birthplace of Yasawi; among the Sairam shrines, the graves of the father (Ibrayim-ata) and mother (Karasach-ana) of the famous mystic stand out. In the handwritten drawing about Sairam, Suzuk-ata is called the favorite grandson of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi.

The legend of the competition of feasts is also interesting for its ancient non-Muslim features. Why neither one nor the other saint, knowing about the danger, could not move on their own?

"This would violate the will of God"; "Pir can not run from the arrow"; “The feast should not leave the place where he reads prayers,” the old people of Atin explain.

But such an explanation of the strange immobility of both Sufis cannot satisfy us. According to Muslim beliefs, a Sufi saint does not need to get up at all to stop an arrow, he just needs to read a prayer (spell). Nevertheless, in the Atinian legend, the feast is, in fact, defenseless against an arrow, and only the efforts of outsiders can save it. Apparently, this feature of the feast is older than Sufism. We have already seen that some Central Asian legends about Sufi saints go back to myths about deities incarnated in living people (kings). It seems that in the above legend, the prohibition to move can be explained from the views that strictly regulated all the actions of the kings-priests or kings-gods. “The slightest gesture of the king is considered capable of directly influencing this or that element and seriously disturbing it ... The slightest violation on his part can upset the whole balance of the world ...” .

Once upon a time, the Japanese mikado was forced to sit for hours on the throne, frozen like a statue: in this way he maintained peace and tranquility in his empire. The Guinean priest-king could not even "leave his seat, on which he must sleep while sitting: if he stretched out, there would be no wind and navigation on the sea would stop." There is another detail in the legends about Khoja Ahmed Yasawi that can be compared with the taboos that restricted the freedom of deified kings. Yasawi allegedly spent the second half of his life in an underground cell. Some peoples did not allow their king-priests to leave their dwellings, because they saw in them gods whom "the earth is unworthy to wear, and the sun is unworthy to illuminate." In some places in Africa, the king was allowed to leave the house only at night.

The voluntary stay of Yasawi and some of his followers (for example, a Tajik ishan in the village of Urangai, Turkestan region) in the dungeon was explained by imitation of Muhammad: the prophet died at the age of 63, therefore, he stopped life on the surface of the earth. However, this Muslim interpretation does not explain why underground premises were arranged in the Uzbek villages, in particular in the Chimkent region. chilla khana for prayers for 40 days (chilla utirish). So, underground chilla-khana were at the Khyzra mosque and at the grave of Suzuk-ata in Sairam. And one Sairam akhun He spent 40 days in prayers in the mausoleum of St. Belagardan-ata. Prayers, during which it was not supposed to communicate with people and without extreme need to leave the premises, were performed both for the salvation of the soul and for the sake of society (for example, in order to make it rain). This custom is generated by the belief in the ritual benefits of solitary retreat in underground cells. Some other beliefs of the Uzbeks in the Chimkent region are also forced to recall ancient taboos: for example, a mullah who scolded a madman for several days had to sleep no more than 2-3 hours, and sitting (recorded in the village of Urangai).

Let's return to the Atin legend. Sheikh Ganji, not without reason, suspects Yasawi of witchcraft, but he himself is no better than his opponent - he is the first to send a fatal enchanted arrow. Whatever the origin of the plot of the legend, both holy feasts appear in it as rival sorcerers. The story of a peculiar duel of famous Sufis is very far from the ideology of Sufism.

The fate of dervish zeal speaks of the extreme degeneration of Sufism ( dhikr) in the environment of the Turkmen-ata. Atatins zyakir (zykir, zikir or Jaher) was preserved as a folk custom, the connection of which with Sufism in the minds of the Atins themselves was practically lost. Here is how the linguist S. Arazkuliev explains what a zyakir is, based on the testimony of informants in his definition: “Jaher is (a rite that) is performed with the participation of several people. Sick people, seizures, etc. are brought to the jaher. (Women and children are present as spectators). 8-10 people become a ring, holding each other tightly by the arms, around the seated Shih and, in order to excite him, they shout out in one voice: O:-oo-o: o: ... ". This definition cannot be considered exhaustive and clear enough, but it is indicative of the fact that there is not a word about Sufism.

The stories of my informants describe the zakir as follows. This is a rite performed primarily for the healing of people who were harmed. genies(crazy, etc.), in cases where the prayers of the mullahs turned out to be in vain. As a mass phenomenon, the zyakir disappeared in the 20-30s of the 20th century. For the duration of the rite, felt mats were removed from the yurt so that a crowd of curious people could see what was happening inside. Sometimes it was as if two yurts, devoid of doors, were linked by bars. The action could begin both in the morning and in the evening. There were cases when the zyakir lasted several days, and in the village of Tutly I heard about the zyakir, which lasted intermittently for about a month. Required participants in the ritual: falling into a trance shih; reciter of spiritual verses ghazalchy, ghazal aidyan or khapyz) and people conducting zakir ( zekir chekyen). Some informants say that a zakir should have a boss ( zekirin bashi) - a representative of the higher clergy, akhun or ishan. He recalls the goals of the ceremony, blesses the main performer of the ritual - shikha (“May Allah, prophets, saints help you”) and suggests raising hands for a prayer movement: “Blessing of the ladies ( Pata bereyin)". Zakir begins. The reader in a singsong voice recites from memory the verses of the Sufi poets Divan-i Mashrab (Meshreb-divana), Hakim-ata, Durdy-shikha; some of the old people also call Navoi. A prominent place is also occupied by the poems of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. There is no musical accompaniment in the ceremony. There could be several readers who participated in the action, but only one read; when he got tired, he was replaced by another. From reading religious verses comes into an excited state of shih - the central figure of the rite. This is facilitated by the cries of people conducting the zakir. In the right places, in between verses, they rhythmically shout out “Oh-Oh!” in hoarse voices. and sway. Their voices rise and fall; they are led by khapyz.

Shih loses his temper ( ozuni yitiryer). He makes body movements, which in Turkmen are transmitted by the word fall ( yikylmak). He seems to be falling and getting up all the time. In his strange dance, the Shih beats his head against the bars of the yurt.

One of my informants saw for himself how a fat shih deftly climbed up the pole of the dome through the chimney to the top of the wagon, and the pole did not even bend. Another old man in 1920 saw in Tedzhen during the zakir the famous sheikh from Kizyl-Arvat, nicknamed Kebelek (Butterfly). Shortly after the hapiz sang the verses of the Divan-i Mashrab, the shih fell unconscious. Then, to the singing of verses and the guttural cries of the participants in the zakir, he jumped up and began to run inside the wagon, “like a fly”, along the bars. His dressing gown fluttered, and even those who stood outside the yurt felt the movement of air. People said: if the Shih, having fallen unconscious, does not rise to the singing of religious verses, the mullahs should read the surah of the Koran "Yasin" over him.

During the zakir, Shih did not leave the patient unattended. Shikh beat the patient in the face, on the back, threw him on the bars of the yurt. By this, according to some old people, he frightened the patient, and according to others, he drove away the spirits that sent the disease. However, in some stories Shih did not even touch the patient. So, at the grave of Gozli-ata, where several old men from the village of Ata in the Serakh region once went to worship, the yomud pilgrims allegedly asked the Atins to heal the possessed woman, who was lying right there, bound hand and foot. Among the Atins were both Shih and Khapyz. Khapiz began to sing, and Shih soon began to grab the burning coals with his hands in a frenzy. Three butterflies circled above the girl. Shih rubbed the burning coals with his palms, and one butterfly fell dead. Shih rubbed the coals again, and a second butterfly fell to the ground. Shih again squeezed the coals with his palms - and the third butterfly lay motionless at his feet. The girl recovered immediately (recorded in the Tejen region). It is believed that the Shih saw the jinn of the sick, fought with them, calling on the help of the saints, finally defeated and drove them away forever.

According to the stories, Shih, who fell into ecstasy, lost his sensitivity. He could fall from the dome of the kibitka to the ground, throw himself into a fire lit on the street for cooking, pour boiling water over himself from a samovar, but remained unharmed. In fact, he was no longer an ordinary person. Odamysh, noted in the genealogy, acquired his nickname Otly Tokum (Fire Grain) by the fact that sparks fell from his mouth during the zakir, scorching the hair of the participants in the rite (the story of the owner of the first list). During the zakir, Shih seemed to be able to predict the future. If someone asked, for example, if he would have children, Shih allegedly gave the correct answer. He found out what gifts they brought him. So, one Turkmen from Mary was visiting a Tejen Atin. At this time, a zyakir was held with the participation of Balla-Molla-shih. The guest said: “I don't believe in the power of the Shih, I want to test it. I promise to give him such and such a quantity of tea. Will he know?" Balli-Molla, seeing the Turkmen, said to him: “Hurry, bring the promised tea!” Both the participants of the zakir and the spectators must be clean - to perform a ritual bath. If someone did not fulfill this condition, they supposedly recognized and drove them away. "Don't you have one pitcher of water?" - Shih once reproached one of the spectators.

If every literate person can be a reader, then his unusual properties are given to the shihu from above. These properties are usually denoted by the same word as the "power" of the saint, - ceramic mat. However, the majority of believers, recognizing that there were saints among the shikhs in the old days, do not put the shikh on the level with the saint. One can hear the reasoning that the shih of his ability is given by Allah, that the shih must “give his hand to the feast”, be “pure” religiously and firmly adhere to the old traditions, collectively called Turkmenchilik. But the most common explanation endows the Shih with helper spirits, “comrades” ( oldash). Some believers do not consider themselves entitled to determine what kind of spirit helps the shihu: "Who can know if this is a peri, a deva or a (deceased) saint?" Shih himself does not talk about his "comrades", otherwise, according to legend, he will lose strength or they will kill him. Shih doesn't even say, "I have comrades." Nevertheless, usually the spirits - assistants of the Shih are called "jinn", "arvah" (they are one and the same) or "al" (the latter was reflected in the phrase al-oldash). Some Atins think that the Shih has only one jinn or al (there is no clear distinction between these spirits) in the form of a camel, bull, tiger, snake, dog, etc. But this is not a common belief: one of the informants, for example, represented spirit of a girl whom the future Shih met somewhere in the steppe; Shih should pull out her hair, put it in bread and always carry it with her.

The spirits (or spirit) of the shih tell him about the future, they also help him drive away the genies of the sick person, entering into a fight with them. Spirits that cause diseases that harm people are "infidels" ( kapyr) genies. Jinn shiha are Muslims. Healing of the patient is possible only if the "comrades" of the Shih turn out to be more powerful than the jinn who caused the disease. If the Shih decides to engage in single combat with spirits that are stronger than his assistants, then he may be harmed, he will become crazy or die (however, none of my informants heard that the Shih died or lost his strength after the zyakir). If it is assumed that the jinn of the patient are stronger, several shihs can participate in the zakir - one replaces the other.

Thus, the shih has much in common with the shaman. He falls into ecstasy, he is helped by spirits that appear in animal form, and his ritual practice, as S. M. Demidov has already noted, repeats the actions of a shaman during a ritual. Turkmen shamans also drove away spectators who did not take a bath, acted as soothsayers and allegedly guessed what this or that person brought as a gift. Such a similarity could not but be reflected in popular views. Although there are no shamans among the Atins, the Turkmens - Tekins, Emuds and Salyrs, as a rule, believe that shamans come mainly from the Ata tribe.

The shikha is also close to the shaman’s mental illness (or insanity), as if it appeared when he was “joined” ( yolukdy) genies. Attacks of mental disorder continued even when the connection with the spirits was already firmly established. From time to time Shih felt a breakdown. He lay at home, wrapped himself in blankets chillily and did not want to eat or drink. Such a malaise was called by the Atins payiz-kesel (payiz minute, moment; Kesel disease) or shykh-kesel. To cure a shikha, it is necessary to arrange a zakir. Under the singing of spiritual verses and the womb sounds of the performers, the zakira shikh became animated, soon fell into ecstasy, took red-hot coals in his hands or in his mouth, walked on the coals with bare feet - in short, he did everything that he usually performed in the ritual. After the zakir, Shih felt healthy.

Thus, it was a necessity for the shikh to participate in the zakir from time to time, and sometimes the ceremony was performed only in order for the shikh to take his soul away. One Tekin from the Tejen region told me that he worked together with an Atin. Sometimes, even during field work, this Atinian fell into a trance and began to sway, making hoarse sounds. The special excitability of the Shikhs is noted even by the elderly, who do not share the belief in spirits-"comrades". A person who could become a shikh was found at festivities during the performance of songs to the words of Navoi, accompanied by a dutar: he did not sit still. It could be recognized even in those moments when before the third prayer in the mosque 2-3 literate old men read religious verses, and, of course, during the zakir. It does not follow from the stories of the informants that the Shih's abilities were inherited. However, Khodjamurad, the father of Shih Allamurad-Khapyz, was also a Shih (recorded in the village of Tutly).

Sometimes the Shihs seemed to compete, checking who was stronger. Shih genies began to fight with each other. The Shih whose genie is defeated must obey another (recorded in the village of Tutly).

In the past, women also acted as shikhs. The old people remember a Shikha woman named Tetyevi, who died in 1937. There was a time when she "fell" under the singing of poetry. Once (in 1916) she became very excited, ran out of the yurt, and the clergy who were present at the zakir said to her: “Sit, sing poetry, but don’t fall - it’s inconvenient for a woman when her body is exposed” (recorded in the village of Tutly). Since women did not participate in the dervish rejoicing together with men, this case should be explained in the light of the traditions of female shamanism known in Central Asia.

The bright shamanic features of the degenerate Ata zakir add a new touch to the still unclear picture of common Central Asian Sufism, testifying to the strong influence of shamanism on local Sufism. The word "shih" (from Arabic. sheikh- the elder, the head of the Sufi community), assigned to the raging healer of the sick, confirms the idea of ​​S.P. Tolstov that among the Turkmens in some cases "the role of the shaman ... is performed by the ishan" . The traces of connection between the Ata zakir and the dhikr of Sufism have almost disappeared. So, far from all Atins believe that the “chief of the zakir” should be an ishan or akhun. Some people think that the rite is led by a khapyz reader or shih himself, who do not need the blessing of the higher clergy. The emergence of the custom of arranging zakir is traced back to the prophet Zakariya. Once the prophet fled from the "infidels" and hid in a tree, which, on his orders, split and then closed. But the string from the shirt was sticking out, and the magpie, screaming at the braid, drew the attention of the pursuers to it. The "infidels" cut off the top, began to cut the tree lengthwise, and the teeth of the saw cut into the head of the prophet. The participants in the rejoicing, uttering the womb sounds “oh-oh”, imitate the groans of Zakariya and thereby mourn him. This legend, apparently associated with zeal due to the similarity of the prophet's name with the word "dhikr", shows that the Sufi interpretation of dhikr has disappeared from popular notions. Only once did the author hear that Khoja Ahmed Yasawi somewhat modified the custom left by Zakariya. Many old people explain the originality of the Ata traditions by the fact that the “tribe” Ata was given by God to have shihs in their midst ( atalara hudaydan berylen pie).

The further fate of the zyakir is curious. Brought by the Atins to the south-west of Turkmenistan, by the end of the XIX century. has already begun to be performed by the Yemud Turkmen, but as a secular youth dance; in the post-war years, this dance began to move to the east and is now already known in Ahal. Nowadays, the dance is usually accompanied by ditties that are far from religious themes; but the population also remembers the spiritual verses that were shouted out by the dancers. A comparison of individual couplets recorded by ethnographers with the poems of the Ferghana mystic Divan-i Mashrab will leave no doubt that the degenerate Sufi zeal has become a dance.

So, the ethnographic material supplements the scarce data of handwritten genealogies about the connection of the Turkmen “tribe” Ata with the Sufi order of Yasaviya. Oral legends depict Gozli-ata as the favorite murid of the founder of this organization. The custom of arranging zakir or jaher goes back to Sufi zeal in a loud form ( jahr), accepted among the followers of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. It is curious that the zyakir is also known to other groups of Turkmens, in particular in Western Turkmenistan, but only the Atins and, in some cases, the Makhtums, another group of Ovlyads, also genetically related to Sufism, could perform it (we are talking about a “healing” rite). An echo of Sufi traditions among the Atins is the figure of the poet Durdy-shikha, who is depicted in legends as a mystic fleeing "from the world."

Now it is impossible to establish whether Gozli-ata was a real historical person or whether it was a collective legendary character that combined several generations of sheikhs (ishans) of the Yasawi order. Theoretically, it is quite possible that the descendants of some sheikh of this Sufi order for more than 20 generations have multiplied so much that they formed a populous "tribe". But it is hardly worth it for us to obediently follow the traditional genealogy. Over time, the whole community of Turkmen-Murids of the sheikh could become a special “tribe” as well.

Subsequently, with the decline of Sufism, the reason for the unity of the Sufi community, separated from the rest of the population by a number of peculiar customs, began to be explained in the spirit of ancient Turkmen traditions: the Sufi community began to be regarded as the offspring of Sheikh Gozli-ata, who received initiation from Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. How plausible is this interpretation? The text of the genealogy manuscripts itself contains an example of the intrusion of the kinship principle into the sphere of religious ties. Gözli-ata in handwritten sejras is represented by the cousin of the famous Sufi poet Hakim-ata, also supposedly a descendant of Osman. But in printed Muslim editions of the legendary life of Hakim-ata there is not a word about his ancestor, Caliph Osman, although, from the point of view of the publishers of the legend, it would be unreasonable to neglect such a detail decorating the saint. It seems that Hakim-ata first became a relative of Gozli-ata and a descendant of Osman in the Atin Sejra (in which information about Hakim-ata differs from the printed version of the legend and the number of sons). Where does the idea of ​​kinship come from? Both Hakim-ata and Gozli-ata are murids of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. With the barbarization of Sufism, spiritual kinship was understood as physical. Under the dominance of traditions, which attached great importance to noble kinship and nobility of origin, it was natural to include Osman in the genealogy. Thus, indications of genealogical legends and zyakir, which has become a tribal custom of the Atins, suggest that the basis of the Ata tribe is an unification brought to life by the organizational needs of religious ideology. Apparently, the core of the Ata tribe was made up of Turkmens who separated into a community of followers of one of the Sufi sheikhs of the Yasawi order. By the way, why does Abu-l-gazi not say a word about the Atins? With his excellent knowledge of what was happening in the Balkhan region, it cannot be that he did not know anything about them. Rather, he did not mention them because he knew their genealogy well and did not consider the Atins, along with other groups of sheep, a tribe.

When did the formation of the Atins as a “tribe” take place? The genealogy was compiled approximately in the first half of the 16th century. We repeat that its appearance was most likely caused by the need to establish a previously unknown genealogical tradition. Consequently, the Atins became a special tribe in their imagination and neighbors close to this time. Where was this new tribe born? The graves of Gozli-ata, his wife and son Omar-ata are located on the Balkhans. Of course, these graves could appear in any place where admirers needed them, but they speak of a stable folk tradition to consider Balkhans the ancestral home of the Atins. Toponymy in the vicinity of Balkhan also retained other names known to the written genealogy: Mollakara: (lake, now a resort), Chinmamed (Chilmamedkum sands). This circumstance deserves attention.

In the XIV-XV centuries. “The resettlement of Turkmen tribes from Maverannakhr to Mangyshlak and Ust-Urt continued,” partly due to the temporary flooding of Uzboy, and the appearance of Ishans of the Yasawi order here is understandable. The general economic, political and cultural decline of Turkmenistan in the period from the 16th to the middle of the 18th century. explains when and why that degeneration of Sufism took place, which gave the Turkmens a new "tribe". The presence in the sejra of the popular Khorezm saints Hakim-ata and his son Khubbi-Khoja also indicates that the genealogy of the Atins was compiled in the areas of cultural influence of Khorezm. Some versions of the oral legend call Khan Dzhanybek the father of the Aksil-mama girl, but more often Bugra Khan, a famous character in Khorezm historical legends (in the book life of Hakim-ata, Bugra Khan acts as the father-in-law of the saint).

It is not yet clear from which tribe (tribes) the Turkmens, who formed the ethnic basis of the Atin group, were from. There is no indication of this in the legends, perhaps due to the fact that the new group - the Sufi community - was organized on a principle that ignored tribal ties. Only a thorough study of the traditional culture of the Atins will make it possible to establish which Turkmen tribe they are closest to. This path is the most promising, because in the customs of the Atins there is some originality that has nothing to do with Sufism. So, one of the rituals for making rain is called among the Atins (as well as among the Khojas living in the villages of Khoja-kala and Dzhanahir of the Kizyl-Arvatok region) tyui-tatyn, in contrast to the Yemud name suite gazan and Göcklen suit khatyn.

The name of the tribe "ata" most likely goes back to the word father (ata), applied in Central Asia to the names of many saints. It was in use among the followers of Yasawi almost like a title: this was the name, for example, of the holy “mystic fathers”. One of the old streets of the city of Turkestan bore the name Etti-ata-kochesi (Street of Seven Ata) because of some seven saints buried there. Apparently, the word “ata”, which was apparently also used in addressing the descendants of saints, became the name of a whole tribe in the Turkmen environment. This is typical for the Turkmens: the honorary title of ancestors was assigned to descendants (for example, “birth” beg and vekil among the Tekins, yuzbashi and dabashi among the murchali, etc.). And the fact that the Sufi community has turned into a tribe is also natural in the conditions of Turkmenistan. Under the dominance of tribal traditions, both social strata became tribes here (for example, former slaves became the Gara-Yilgynly group among the Yemuds and Taz-Gongrad among the Chovdurs), and territorial associations. Abu-l-gazi also wrote about the formation of the Khizr-ili and Alili tribes from a heterogeneous mixed population. “Even the old population of many southern Turkmen cities, which had long since lost their tribal organization, began to be regarded as special “tribes”. Such, for example, is the origin of the tribes of Anauli (inhabitants of Anau), Mehinli (inhabitants of Mekhin), Murchali (inhabitants of Murch), etc.” .

The material presented in the article gives a new and striking example of the interweaving of Central Asian Sufism with local shamanism, and in such a form that, again, allows us to speak of the degeneration of Sufism. In itself, the saturation of Sufi ritual practice or mythology with elements of shamanism is the result of the adaptation of a religious trend to a specific ethnic environment and does not yet indicate a decline. However, what we see among the Atins testifies precisely to the degeneration of Sufism: in the Atin zakir, only some external forms of Sufism remained, and in essence shamanism, rooted in ancient folk traditions, prevailed.

The significance of the information presented is not limited to showing the ethnographic specifics of one of the groups of the Turkmen people. The barbarization of Sufism, which we see in the traditions of the Atins, is only a particular example of a general pattern. For several centuries, Sufism has been steadily approaching its decline, if by this we mean the decomposition of the former ideological foundations and organizational structure. Among other peoples of the “Muslim world”, Sufism also took on vulgar forms, which also have certain features noted among the Turkmen-ata. So, in Turkey, small ethnic groups are known, apparently due to their isolation to Sufism. In a number of places, the dervish dhikr by the 19th century. lost its obligatory connection with belonging to the Sufi brotherhood and turned into a folk custom. In Checheno-Ingushetia, for example, the zyakir has become an element of a religious celebration, sacrifice or commemoration; even while riding a long-distance bus, pious old men sing verses of the zakir. In some regions of Azerbaijan, dhikr became part of the funeral ritual. And the Uzbeks of Khorezm (Khiva, the village of Khanki) during weddings, on the day Uly-Toya, before the bride leaves the parental home, women stand in a circle, in the center of which they sit bi-halfa(reciters of sacred texts) and reproduce the jahr accepted in the local Sufi communities.

The strong influence of shamanism on Sufism has been noted more than once in Central Asian material. Almost everywhere, certain Sufi terms are used in new meanings. So, the word "sops" ( Sufi) Uzbeks, in particular, in the Chimkent region, in the Ferghana Valley, call muezzina ( Azanchi). Finally, even the impact of certain Sufi traditions on folk dances is noted not only among the Turkmens: in the Azerbaijani rural round dance, the leader is called, like the head of the Sufi community, murshud .

A generalization of various data on the specific manifestations of Sufism in the life of various "Muslim peoples" will make it possible to better understand the ways in which this complex religious trend declined.

brief information

Of all the Central Asian countries, the least known is, of course, Turkmenistan. For many years this country was closed to foreigners who only knew that it had a lot of deposits of natural gas and oil. Only in recent years, foreigners are gradually beginning to discover Turkmenistan, where, as it turns out, there are picturesque landscapes of the Karakum desert, green oases, mountain ranges, ancient cities, mausoleums, mosques, ruins of ancient fortresses, nature reserves, as well as traditional nomad villages.

Geography of Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia. In the east and northeast, Turkmenistan borders on Uzbekistan, in the south and southwest - on Iran, in the south - on Afghanistan, and in the north and northwest - on Kazakhstan. In the west, the shores of this country are washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea. The total area of ​​Turkmenistan is 491,200 sq. km., and the total length of the state border is 3,736 km.

More than 80% of the territory of Turkmenistan is occupied by the Karakum desert, mainly in the center of the country. In the south is the Kopetdag mountain system. In general, about 15% of the territory of Turkmenistan is occupied by foothills and mountains. The highest peak of this country is Mount Airy-Baba, whose height reaches 3139 m.

The Amu Darya River flows in the east of Turkmenistan. This is the only big river in Turkmenistan.

Capital

The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashgabat, which is now home to about 750,000 people. Archaeologists claim that a human settlement in the area of ​​modern Ashgabat already existed around the 2nd century BC. The city of Ashgabat itself was founded in 1881.

Official language

In Turkmenistan, the official language is Turkmen, which belongs to the Turkic languages.

Religion

About 89% of the population of Turkmenistan is Muslim, and another 9% of the population is Orthodox Christianity.

State structure of Turkmenistan

According to the current Constitution, Turkmenistan is a parliamentary republic headed by the President. The unicameral parliament in Turkmenistan is called the Mejlis, it consists of 125 deputies.

There are only two political parties in Turkmenistan - the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

Climate and weather

The climate in Turkmenistan is sharply continental, it is characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, short winters. In summer, the air temperature in Turkmenistan can easily reach +40C. Winter begins in December, the average air temperature at this time of the year is + 10-15C. Snowfalls in Turkmenistan are rare.

The best time to visit Turkmenistan is spring or autumn, when it is not quite hot (unless, of course, you like the heat).

Sea in Turkmenistan

In the west, the shores of Turkmenistan are washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea. The length of the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea is 1,768 kilometers. Many interesting birds live near the Caspian Sea, including even pink flamingos.

Rivers and lakes

There are no large rivers in Turkmenistan, with the exception of the Amu Darya, which flows through the east of the country. Other well-known Turkmen rivers are Murgab, Tejen, Kyzyl-Arvat, Karasu. By summer, almost all Turkmen rivers become very shallow.

In the north of Turkmenistan there is Sarykamysh Lake, the largest reservoir in this country (its area is 5000 km2).

Story

In the 8th century A.D. In the steppes of Central Asia, the nomadic Oghuz tribes settled, who arrived there from Mongolia. It was the Oguzes who became the ethnic predecessors of modern Turkmens.

Before the Mongol invasion, the territory of modern Turkmenistan was under the rule of the Seljuks and the state of Khorezmshahs. After the weakening of the Mongol Empire, Turkmenistan, from the 16th century, was part of the Bukhara and Khiva Uzbek khanates.

In the second half of the 19th century, Turkmenistan was annexed to the Russian Empire (this process ended by 1885). In the early 1920s, the Turkmen SSR was formed on the territory of modern Turkmenistan, which was part of the USSR.

The independence of Turkmenistan was declared in September 1991.

Culture of Turkmenistan

The roots of Turkmen culture go back to the nomadic tribes of the Oghuz, who came to Central Asia from Mongolia. In the Middle Ages, Islam spread among the Turkmens, and this had a decisive influence on their culture.

Turkmens celebrate traditional folk holidays (“Snowdrop Festival”, “Tulip Festival”, “Horse Festival”, “Bakhshi Day”), as well as all Muslim holidays (Ramadan-Bayram, Kurban-Bayram, Navruz).

In addition, every Turkmen family celebrates “Sach-Alysh” (Day of cutting the first hair), “Akgoyun” (63rd birthday of a man), “Sowing Festival” and “Grape Festival”.

Kitchen

The cuisine of Turkmenistan is very similar to the cuisine of other Central Asian countries (especially Iranian), and mainly consists of rice, vegetables, and, of course, meat (lamb, beef, poultry).

Lunch usually starts with soup. Then the main dishes are served, among which pilaf occupies a special place. Tourists in Turkmenistan are recommended to try "chorba" (soup with meat broth), "manty" (steamed dumplings), "kebal" (barbecue), fried lamb. Turkmens make pilaf from lamb (sometimes they replace it with poultry meat), adding spices, onions, carrots, raisins, peas and quince to it.

Turkmens like to drink "gok chai" - green tea with dried fruits. Sometimes herbs, such as mint, are added to tea. In addition, fermented milk drinks made from camel and sheep milk (“agaran”, “suzme”, “teleme”, “gatyk”, etc.) are popular in Turkmenistan.

Good alcoholic drinks are made in Turkmenistan - wine and cognac. Many tourists buy Turkmen wine and Turkmen cognac as souvenirs.

Sights of Turkmenistan

In Turkmenistan, inquisitive tourists will see ancient mausoleums, minarets, mosques, palaces, fortresses, ruins of ancient cities, settlements, caravanserais, as well as other historical and cultural monuments. The top 10 best sights of Turkmenistan, in our opinion, may include the following:

1. Anau Fortress
2. Ruins of the Parthian city of Nisa
3. Cave city Ekedeshik
4. Ancient caravanserai Tasharvat
5. Altyn-Depe fortress near Kushka
6. Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar
7. Mausoleum of Princess Torebeg Khanym
8. Settlement of Gara-Depe near Kushka
9. Great fortress in Merv
10. Mausoleum of Il-Arslan

Cities and resorts

The largest cities in Turkmenistan are Turkmenabad, Turkmenbashi, Mary, Dashoguz, and, of course, the capital, Ashgabat.

Turkmenistan has not only unique sights, but also beaches, mineral springs, as well as sources of therapeutic mud.

In summer, Turkmens rest on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The most popular cities for recreation on the Caspian Sea among Turkmens are Turkmenbashi, Avaz and Khazar. Dozens of hotels, sanatoriums, recreation centers, children's holiday camps have been built on the coast.

Tourists in Turkmenistan are offered very interesting excursion routes, which pass through the foothills and mountains. Travelers during sightseeing tours can see the Karlyuk caves, the Kopetdag reserve, the Boyadag mud volcano, the Um-Bar-Depe canyon with waterfalls, the Kugitang reserve, the Bakharden cave and the Badkhyz reserve.

Souvenirs/Shopping

Tourists from Turkmenistan usually bring folk art products, carnelian jewelry, Turkmen silk, Turkmen hats (skullcap, telpek fur hat), towels, bathrobes, Turkmen melons, cognac, wine, and, of course, Turkmen carpets.

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