Traditions and customs of Central Asia have very extensive roots dating back centuries. And before touching on their content, it is necessary to pay some attention to the historical heritage that the ancient states of Central Asia passed on to modern descendants.
Historical heritage of the region
Central Asia has made a huge contribution to the art, science, architecture and literature of the entire world civilization, left an indelible mark on our common history. In ancient times, skilful artisans and slaves built palaces and temples of incredible beauty and engineering, flourishing cities and settlements, many of which to this day are an adornment of world historical architecture. The way of life, historical fate, traditions and customs of Central Asia are described in the article.
XIII-XIV centuries in Central Asia are marked as the period of construction of the greatest palaces and mausoleums, striking in the proportionality of their proportions, decorated with bright, beautiful ornaments. Many architectural monuments of that period have come down to us. Among them arethe unique Registan Square, which at that time was the center of Samarkand; the beautiful Bibi-Khanum mosque; Gur-i-Emir burial crypt, distinguished from the rest by its unusual turquoise dome.
Craftsmen already in the XV-XVII centuries. erected on the square of Samarkand such structures as the madrasah of Ulugbek, Tillya-Kari and Shir-Dor ("Building with a lion"). The history of Central Asian architecture is a clear evidence that it was the people who have always been the creator of monuments of the spiritual and material culture of these countries.
1220 became a tragic year for the peoples of Central Asia - the Mongol invasion began. The hordes of Genghis Khan devastated prosperous cities and villages, destroyed the most ancient monuments of architecture and culture of these peoples. For many decades, this territory was held by the invaders, and this, of course, also greatly influenced the traditions and customs of Central Asia, left its indelible imprint, which is still visible today. Moreover, almost all of foreign Asia is full of various traces of the Mongol invasion.
Family
Family and family values are the most important for the people of Central Asia. This is especially true for children. The languages of the peoples of these countries contain many aphorisms dedicated specifically to children: "A child is dear, like a heart", "There will be no happiness in a family without a child", "A native child is a decoration of the house", etc.
Every family perceives the birth of a child with special joy and awe. Such a happy eventhas its own traditional ritual. According to custom, several good heralds immediately mount horses (if everything happens in the village) and rush through the streets, telling the happy news about the birth of a baby to relatives, neighbors, friends and acquaintances, who present them with various gifts and offerings for this, make good parting speeches: "Let your offspring multiply from generation to generation", "We wish you to see the wedding of children", etc.
Family relations in the East have always been distinguished by their conservatism. The traditional Central Asian family is a fairly large group of people, consisting of a father, his wife, their sons with their wives, children, and sometimes grandchildren, living together in the same house. It is known that in the mountainous Tajikistan in the 19th century there were families numbering more than a hundred people. Such large families, in fact, were communities with their own land allotments and the principle of "all incomes to the general fund". Even food was consumed by relatives together: everyone, young and old, gathered at the same table. Such communities, as a rule, were very strong and close-knit. Over time, large-family relations turned into relics of the past, although as early as the middle of the last century, some ethnographers noted that for a father, leaving his son’s home and arranging his own corner was considered a serious insult.
The nomadic peoples of the region are also aware of the concept of a large family, however, here its members could live in different yurts, but only one "father's" yurttowered above the rest.
At the end of the 20th century, the Central Asian family underwent some changes. Here, the eldest sons, having married, could already, as they say, go to free bread, create their own separate hearth. Only the youngest son, who inherited the entire fortune of his parents, had to stay to look after them in his old age. This principle, by the way, is fundamental for a large number of peoples, including the peoples of the Caucasus.
Marriage in Central Asia
There are two types of marriages in Central Asian families. According to the first type (exogamous), a young man or girl is forbidden to marry relatives on the paternal side up to the 7th generation. This model of building marriages is characteristic of the Karakalpaks, Kazakhs and part of the Kyrgyz. Another type of marriage (endogamous), when the children of close and relatively distant relatives marry, refers to the Turkmens, Tajiks and Uzbeks. Although it is worth noting that traditional intra-clan relations have undergone some changes due to constant wars, redistribution of territory and migrations. This is especially true of the Turkmen people, where both exogamous and endogamous families can be found.
Despite the difference in the principles of marriage, one factor is fundamental: the groom must pay a dowry to the bride's family. Today, as a rule, it represents a certain amount of money, but in the villages there is still a tradition of transferring a certain amount of cattle as a kalym. The side of the bride, in turn, according to tradition, must prepare a dowry, usually consisting of clothes andhousehold items, while nomads used to include a yurt as a dowry.
The nomadic peoples also had the custom of levvirate, which consisted in the fact that the widow was obliged to marry the brother of the deceased spouse. This was done for economic reasons - all the property of the deceased person, inherited by his wife, should have remained in his family. For a woman, this form of marriage was sometimes tragic.
Surely, you have also heard about such archaic customs as "marriage in the cradle", when parents entered into an agreement for the marriage of their children when they were still infancy, and marriage with abduction.
Holidays
The holidays of the peoples of Central Asia included not only the main ritual rites, but also various games, entertainment competitions (in which, by the way, inter-clan rivalry was also manifested), performances by actors, poets and musicians. The most revered and ancient holidays among the peoples of Central Asia are Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Adha, Novruz.
Oriental hospitality in Central Asian countries
Even people who have never been to the countries of Central Asia probably have an idea of oriental hospitality. The owner of the house will never leave his guest hungry, even if he only comes in for five minutes. The table will certainly be filled with various dishes, sweets, and fragrant tea will be served.
Some historians claim that no one introduced the traditions of hospitality in Central Asiaother than Genghis Khan, under whose rule almost all of foreign Asia was. His order was that in every home a guest seeking shelter should be received with special reverence, friendliness and respect, even if this guest is a complete stranger. In case of violation of this instruction, a terrible fate awaited the inhospitable host: he was tightly tied to two heated horses, which were allowed to go in different directions.
Perhaps for this reason, hospitality, which soon became not a state, but a moral law, is an integral element of culture in Central Asia. Hosts could refuse shelter only if the guest behaved rudely.
It is worth noting that today such traditions have faded somewhat, but still survived.
Kinship relationship
Kinship relations among the peoples of Central Asia have always been of the utmost importance. Due to belonging to a certain surname, a person is obliged to help "their own", even if the relative is wrong in some way. It is common here that a person who has taken a high position surrounds himself with members of his kind.
Tribal ties play a big role in the life of every inhabitant of Central Asia. There is a custom that for many Europeans may seem rather strange and burdensome: upon returning from a long trip, a person must bring gifts to all his relatives, some of whose names number more than a hundred. In general, it should be understood that people in Central Asia do not go to visit empty-handed.
Respect for elders
This custom,as one of the duties of every inhabitant of the Central Asian region, has been known since ancient times. Respect for elders must be shown, even if the difference in age is only a few years. The younger must fulfill the desire of the elder if the latter asks him to go somewhere, bring something or perform some action in his place. Rejection is indecent. In the presence of older people, others should speak with restraint. Thus, it is easy for an outsider to determine the oldest person in a group of people. Thanks to this age hierarchy, strict discipline is maintained even during crowded meetings: the elders are listened to without interrupting, they get the best seats.
Many children
Having many children is also a characteristic feature of Central Asian society. A family can have 5-7 or more children. There are cases when one family brings up more than 10 offspring. The desire to have many children is an ancient postulate in Central Asia. Relations between children, as a rule, are very warm, the elders are always ready to help the younger ones. It is also common that children are involved in labor very early.
Women of the East
Women in Central Asia have always been of secondary importance. This was largely due to the emergence of a new religion here. Islam prescribed women to take only a subordinate role. At all meetings, whether it was holidays or commemoration, women traditionally retired in their own circle. Again, according to religious regulations, a man is forbidden to do women's work.(and such, as you know, is almost all housework). Therefore, the women of the East have always worked very hard.
Today, the position of women and men in society, especially in cities, is almost equal. Although in most modern families, the dominant role of men is clearly traced.
Regions of Central Asia
The territory of Central Asia unites several countries. Among them: the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Republic of Tajikistan. The population of Central Asia is about 70 million people. Their traditions and customs are largely the same, but there are many differences.
So, Tajikistan, whose customs are quite interesting in themselves, is known for amazing wedding ceremonies. A Tajik wedding lasts for 7 days. In the first of them, the bride and groom announce to everyone about the decision to get married. The two families take turns holding solemn ceremonies lasting three days.
And in Uzbekistan (especially in villages) to this day, some houses have a custom according to which women and men are ordered to sit at different tables. Also, upon arrival at the guest house, the owner seats them himself, the most respected guests receive seats located away from the entrance.
Turkmenistan is the most closed state of all Central Asian states. It is quite difficult to get there, only recently free access to the Internet has appeared in this country, but nevertheless, many well-known resources (such as Facebook and Twitter) are still closed. It's hard to say howlive in Turkmenistan. Many avid tourists compare this country with North Korea. It should be noted that Islamic principles here, as, indeed, in other countries of Central Asia, are not so strong. For example, married women may choose not to cover their faces with a headscarf if their family is okay with it.
The culture of Central Asia is extremely rich. Since ancient times, famous poets, writers, publicists and musicians have lived and worked here. The culture of Kazakhstan stands out especially brightly. Not many people know that the first Kazakh film "Amangeldy" was filmed back in 1939. The modern cinema of the country has given us such well-known and recognized films as "Nomad" and "Mongol". The culture of Kazakhstan is really rich and includes many theatrical performances, songs, literary works that are loved and appreciated throughout the post-Soviet space and beyond.
The Republic of Kyrgyzstan has long been known for carpet weaving. The carpet here is actually the main element of the interior and evidence of the ancient history of the country. Since Kyrgyz carpets are made from sheep wool, they are rather felted than woven.
The national clothes of the Kyrgyz have hardly changed in 700 years, this is especially noticeable in rural areas. An interesting fact is that the clothes of unmarried girls, as a rule, are decorated more bizarrely than those of married ones. Of course, in the cities it is rare to see a traditional attire, its place was taken by a standard European costume.
Keeping Traditions
Traditional cultures of the peoples of Central Asia have a large number of well-formed schools of handicraft and performance skills, which have been passed down from generation to generation for many years. There is an established pedagogical process called “ustoz-shogird”, which means “master-student” in translation. It is known that a young person must spend a sufficient amount of time with a teacher, which can be many years, in order to receive a blessing for his creative activity. Thanks to such well-established rules for the transfer of skills from teachers to students, the rich and amazing traditions and customs of Central Asia have largely survived to this day, and this, as you know, is a guarantee of prosperity and the preservation of the identity of any people and any country.
