Who are the Pamir people, where they live, culture, traditions

After the withdrawal of US troops from the territory of Afghanistan in the press increased attention to the Pamirs. Many are afraid of destabilizing the situation in this region, which is in fact isolated from the outside world. "The Roof of the World" is a special place, since almost all the indigenous people of this region belong to the Ismailis.

Many mistakenly confuse local residents with Tajiks and other peoples. The article will be able to explain who the Pamiris are, and why they are considered to be a separate ethnic group.

General information

Since the Pamir people live in a high mountain region, which is divided between four states, they are often equated with other peoples. Their historical region (Badakhshan) is located on the territory of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China. Most often this people are mistakenly confused with Tajiks. Who are the Pamirians?

They are referred to the totality of the Iranian peoples who speak different languages of the East Iranian group. Most Pamiris profess Islam. By comparison, the Tajiks, for example, speak a West Iranian dialect and profess Sunni by their majority.

Territory of residence

Pamirians are settled on the territory of the western, southern, eastern Pamirs. In the south, these mountains meet with the Hindu Kush. The area is a narrow valley, located at an altitude of two thousand meters above sea level. The climate in this area is notable for its severity. The valleys are surrounded by steeply sloping ridges up to seven thousand meters above sea level. They are covered with eternal snows. It is not for nothing that the expression "The Roof of the World" is used as the name of this area (the range of Pamir residents).

The peoples who live in the Pamirs have a similar culture and traditions. However, the researchers were able to prove (from the study of languages) that these peoples belong to several ancient East-Iranian communities that came to the Pamirs separately from each other. What nationalities are the Pamir people from?

Variety of nationalities

Pamir peoples are usually divided among themselves according to the language principle. There are two main branches - the northern and southern Pamirians. Each of the groups consists of separate peoples, some of whom can speak similar languages.

The northern Parmirians include:

• Shugnans are the leading ethnic group numbering more than one hundred thousand people, out of them about 25 thousand live in Afghanistan;
• Rushans - about thirty thousand people;
• Yazgulyamtsy - from eight to ten thousand people;
• Sarykoltsy - are considered part of the once united Shugnan-Rushan group, which has become isolated, its number reaches twenty-five thousand people.

The southern Pamirians include:

• And the Ishkashim people - about fifteen hundred people;
• Sanglichtsy - the number is no more than one hundred and fifty people;
• Vakhans - the total number reaches seventy thousand people;
• Mundjans - about four thousand people.

In addition, there are many close and neighboring peoples who are very close to the Pamirians. Some of them eventually began to use the local Pamir languages.

Language

The Pamir languages are very numerous. But their scope is limited to everyday communication. Historically, from time immemorial, the Persian language (Tajik) had a great influence on them.

For the inhabitants of the Pamir the Persian language has long been used in religion, literature, and oral folk art. It is also a universal tool for international communication.

Pamir dialects were gradually replaced by the Tajik language. In some mountain peoples, they are less and less used even in everyday life. For example, in GBAO (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region) the official language is Tajik. It is he who studies in schools. Although if we talk about Afghan Pamiri, there are practically no schools on their territory, so the population is illiterate in the general mass.

Preserved Pamir languages:

• Yazgulyamsky;
• Shugnansky;
• Rushan;
• Khuf;
• Bartang;
• Sarykolsky;
• Ishkashim;
• Vakhan;
• Munjansky;
• Yidga.

All of them belong to the group of East Iranian languages. In addition to the Pamirians, representatives of the East Iranian ethnos also included the Scythians, who once lived in the Northern Black Sea region and left behind historical monuments in the form of barrows.

Religion

From the end of the first millennium BC Pamir tribes were under the influence of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. Islam began to penetrate and spread widely among the masses from the eleventh century. The introduction of the new religion was closely related to the activities of Nasir Khosrow. He was a famous Persian poet who fled to the Pamirs from his pursuers.

Ismailism had a great influence on the spiritual life of the inhabitants of the Pamirs. According to the religious factor, it is not difficult to understand who the pamir is (what a nation, we considered above). First of all, representatives of these peoples belong to the Ismailis (the Shiite direction of Islam, which was influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism). What is this direction different from traditional belief in Islam?

The main differences:

• Pamirians pray twice a day;
• Believers do not observe fasting in Ramadan;
• Women did not wear or wear a veil;
• Men allow themselves to drink moonshine from mulberry.

Because of this, many Muslims do not recognize the Pamiri as true believers.

Family traditions

Relationships with family and marriage will make it possible to understand who the pamir is. What kind of nation and what are its traditions, can tell the family way. The most ancient version of the family was based on the principle of patriarchal relations. Families were great. In their head stood the elder, to whom all unquestioningly obeyed. So it was before the appearance of commodity-money relations. The family became monogamous, preserving patriarchal traditions.

This continued until the establishment of Islam. The new religion legalized the superiority of the male over the female. According to Sharia law, a man had advantages and rights in most cases, for example, in cases of inheritance. The husband received a legal right to divorce. At the same time, in the mountain regions, where women took an active part in the rural labor, their situation was freer.

In some mountainous nationalities, related marriages were adopted. Most often this was stimulated by economic reasons.

Basic Occupations

To understand who Pamiris are, it is better to study their way of life. The main occupation they have long been the farming of the alpine type, which is combined with livestock. As pets, they bred cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, horses. The cattle were short, not of good quality. In winter, the animals were in the villages, and in the summer they were driven out to pastures.

To the traditional domestic crafts of the Pamirians, above all, we can refer to the processing of wool and the fabrication of fabrics. Women worked wool and made yarns, and men weaved world-famous stripy, lint - free carpets.

Developed was fishing for processing horns, especially wild goats. Of these, crests and handles for cold weapons were made.

National cuisine

Learning about culture and religion, you can understand who the Pamir people are. You can supplement this knowledge by considering the traditional food of representatives of these peoples. Knowing the traditional activities, it's easy to guess that there is very little meat in the Pamir diet. This is due to the fact that there is nowhere to graze livestock, so they protect it for milk and wool.

The main food products are wheat in the form of flour and crushed cereals. From flour make noodles, flat cakes, dumplings. Also, mountain people eat fruits, walnuts, beans, vegetables. Of the dairy products the most popular among them is sheep's cheese, tea with milk, sour milk. Prosperous Pamirians drink tea with milk, adding a piece of butter.