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The Culture of Tajikistan has developed over several thousand years. Historically, Tajiks and Persians come from very similar stock with a mutual language and are related as part of the larger group of Iranian peoples. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and Kuhiston(Highland). Ancient towns such as Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Balkh and Nishopur Khiva are no longer part of the country. More modern centres include Dushanbe (the capital), Khudjand, Kulob, Panjikent and Istarvshan. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... The Tajiks are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang province of China. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Iranian peoples are peoples who speak an Iranian language and/or belong to the Iranian stock. ... Bukhara (Bokhara in XIX century English, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); بُخارا /Bukhârâ/ in Persian, Buhe/Puhe Tang Chinese, Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ... Colour photograph of Ulugh Beg Madrasa taken in Samarkand ca. ... Herāt (Persian هرات) is a city in western Afghanistan, in the valley of the Hari Rud river in the province also known as Herat, and was traditionally known for wine. ... Dushanbe (Душанбе), population 562,000 people (2000 census), is the capital of Tajikistan. ...

Historical background

In order to understand Tajik culture it is necessary to look back to the time of Traxonia, (an area that lies between the Amu Darya and Sir Darya rivers and modern north-west Afghanistan), and the centres of civilization of the Nile, Mesopotamia and the banks of the Yangtze. The Tajiks' ancestors were from Scythian proto-Indo-European tribes who were nomads of the Eurasian steppes and were among the first to settle in Central Asia about 4000 years ago. Zoroaster, a preacher, started the worlds' first monotheistic religion that worshipped a god of Light and good, but acknowledged an equal god of Dark and evil. Zoroastrian principals had been exported and influenced other religions like Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. Mani, another preacher, promoted the quasi religion Manichaeism, which held that all human beings are born equal and have equal potential regardless of their standing. These beliefs influenced other religions, particularly in the Samanid period. The Amu Darya (Darya means river) rises in the Pamirs and flows mainly north-west through the Hindu Kush, Uzbekistan to join the Aral Sea in a large delta. ... For alternative meanings of Nile, see Nile (disambiguation) The Nile (Arabic: النيل an-nīl), in Africa, is one of the two longest rivers on Earth. ... Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan between rivers; Aramaic name being Beth Nahrain house of rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. ... The Tajiks are one of the principal ethnic groups of Central Asia, and are primarily found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, and the Xinjiang province of China. ... Scythia was an area in Eurasia inhabited in ancient times by an Indo-Aryans known as the Scythians. ... Zoroaster, in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Buddhism (more correctly Pali Buddhadhamma or Sanskrit Buddhadharma) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries... Judaism. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ...

Religion

Zoroaster, the prophet of Zoroastrianism, was born in the Balkh area, (northern Afghanistan and Transoxania) and was possibly Bactrian (the partial ancestors of the Tajiks). Zoroastrianism had been adopted by Persian emperors as a state religion and was practiced during the Samanid era in central Asia until being overrun by the Arabs. The Shahs of Somoni made Bukhara their residence and a focal point for art and science as well as an administrative center. In this period, the personal interest and support of the Shahs in the arts and sciences, along with international trade, and the relatively stable political situation in the Silk-Road region, all contributed to Tajik art and science at its zenith. Bukhara (Bokhara in XIX century English, Buxoro or Бухоро in Uzbek (the Cyrillic alphabet was officially phased out for Uzbek after independence); بُخارا /Bukhârâ/ in Persian, Buhe/Puhe Tang Chinese, Бухара in Russian; also Boxara in Tatar) is the fifth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and capital of the Bukhara region (Bukhoro Wiloyati). ...

The largest celebration to come from the pre-Islamic period is Navruz, which means "New Day". It is held on March 21 or 22, when the cultivation of the land starts. During Navruz, many families visit relatives, throw out old belongings, clean the house and play field games. Special dishes are also served. Other Pre-Islamic Tajik traditions like fire-jumping, dancing round the fire and fighting 'devils' with fire, still occur in the more remote regions. Norouz (also spelled Norooz, Noruz, Naw-Rúz or Nowrouz) is the traditional Iranian festival of the New Year which starts at the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring. ...

A 1000 years after the Samanid period saw another cultural revival; this time due to the Soviets. They introduced modern drama, opera and ballet. Poets such as Mirzo Tursunzoda, Mirsaid Mirshakar and Loik Sherali, novelist and historian Sadridin Aini, all had input, as did professors M Ishoki and Osimi, scholar Sotim Ulughzoda, novelist Jalol Ikromi, and anthropologist and historian Bobojon Ghafurov. In 1969,Malika Sobirova won a gold medal in an international ballet competition. Sadriddin Aini (1878-1954) (Tajik Садриддин Айни, Persian صدردين عيني)was a Tajik intellectual prolifically engaged in poetry, fictional writing, journalism, history and lexicography. ...

Since independence, there has been a pre-Soviet cultural revival in an attempt to foster a sense of national identity. Novelist Taimur Zulfikarov and professors Rahim Masov and Bozor Sobir being prominent.

See also

• Persian Culture