HISTORY

The Pamirs, among the world’s highest mountains in Central Asia, are one of homelands with the most extreme high altitude for several ethnic groups. The settlement history of modern humans on the Pamirs remains still opaque. The Roof of the World, this is isolated region home for Pamiri People.

The etymology and precise meaning of the name “Pamir” are problematic. The name is encountered  for the first time in XuanZang’s account of his travels as “ the  valley of “Po-mi-lo” which corresponds to no known expression in modern Chinese and must have been XuanZang’s attempt to transliterate the name  then used by local inhabitants This designation was  confirmed six hundred years later by Marco Polo, who recorded the name as “ Pamier”

There many other theories of its etymology:

 Sanskrit:

‘ upa-mery’- the country behind the bank of the river;

‘upa-meru’- the country above Mount Meru (legendary holy mountain of Hindu mythology, abode of the gods and the centre of universe)

Old Persian:

‘Pa-i-mehr’- the land at the foot of the sun

‘pa-i- mikhr’ – pedestal of Mitra, the sun go

‘bom-ir’- land of Aryans

Pa-i-mir’- foot of the mountain peaks

‘pa-i-mi’ foot of the Mir (Hazrat Ali)

 Turkic:

 A desert or a plateau

History of Pamir Highway is over one hundred years, but the history of Pamir itself is over millennia. In the first centuries of B.C., there were small independent states Shungan, Wakhan and others, that held contacts with such states as ancient India, China, Sogdiana, Kushan Empire and others. Several ruins of such fortresses as Kakh-Kakha, Yamchun and other monuments have been preserved until today. Scientists think that one of the Silk Road routes had passed through Pamir, coming from China to Afghanistan and India. Archaeological findings testify presence of Zoroastrians, Buddhists in Pamir. 

Local tradition has it that the Pamiris are descendants of Alexander the Great from his 4th century bc invasions into the remote and inaccessible Pamir mountain valleys. Pamiris have strikingly European features for people living in so remote an area of Central Asia. Reference to Shugnis and Rushanis of these high valleys shows up in Chinese chronicles by the 2nd century ad. What is also known from the archaeological and historical sources in Classical Greek and Old Persian is that ethnic groups such as the Saka and Dari, who lived in the Pamir, helped give rise to today’s Pamiris. Pamirs preserved their indigenous language and culture.  In 11th Century Persian Poet Nasir Khosraw came to Pamir and brought Islam, the Shi’ite Ismaili Branch of Islam. Today there is no contradiction between these two traditions Islam which is 1000 years old and Zaraostrism is 4000 years old. They brought Islam but Pamiris kept their traditions.

The birth date of Pamir Highway can be considered the 14 March 1981 when lieutenant colonel Bronislav Grombchevskiy read a lecture on “Our interests in Pamir. Military-political outline” at the secret meeting of the General headquarter of the Russian army in Saint Petersburg. The aim of this secret bridgehead was to prepare for any possible invasion of the British Empire to Central Asia. It would allow to throw troops to the south in case of necessity. All this was a part of geopolitical confrontation now known as “The Great Game”. In the second half of the 19th century, the English were moving forward to the north of Asia via India and Afghanistan, and the Russians were heading south taking territories of current Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan under control.

 Finally, colonial ambitions of the both empires physically met on the banks of the river Panj. As a result, they came to a peaceful agreement when each party would remain on their side of the wild river that became a border existing up to now between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

CULTURE

Pamiri culture is a unique mix of ancient Zoroastrian beliefs and Ismailism, a Shiite branch of Islam. It began to form over two thousand years ago and has survived to our day thanks to the extreme isolation afforded by the formidable Pamir Mountains. In the past, Pamiri culture was prevalent in several mountain enclaves of Central Asia, but today it thrives almost exclusively in the towns and villages spread along the Pamir Highway.

The history of the Pamiri culture began when Indo-Iranian tribes migrated to the region more than two millennia ago, bringing the Zoroastrian religion and culture with them. This culture was further shaped by the extremely harsh conditions of life in the Pamirs which influenced everything from lifestyle and traditions to unique rituals and practices.

The Ismailis have their own spiritual leader called the Aga Khan, and today the 49th Imam, Karim Aga Khan IV, is highly revered in the Pamirs. The spiritual leader in turn provides ongoing social assistance to the Pamiri people, most notably through the construction of educational institutions.

Thanks to elders the culture is kept strongly and passes from generation to generations:

Folklore: sugak, tales, legends, proverbs, and sayings.

Clothing: toqi, cemak, pechak, pekhen, jirib, mase, shal

Music: maddo, lailaik, duduvik, kasha, falak,munojot

Instruments:  daf, rabob, nai,ghizhak,setor,

Dancing: raqs bo aspak, rapo, masked dances, , camel dance, setor dance, ghijack dance, eagle dances, fox dance, chicken dances, pantomime dances, daf dances, spoon dances, mughulbozi, funeral dances (poyamal, kash-sha) jag dances 

Games: sanjak, surb,

Cuisine: Boj khudoi, Amoch, Osh, Battak, Noshxuhpa, Rughanharvo, Tothchte Gartha, Mahen gartha, khihs

Holidays: New Year, Nouruz,  Ba takhtnishi Hazir Imam

Pamiri House: Pomere CHID: A special symbol of Pamiri culture is a traditional house called a chid, whose layout has not changed for over a thousand years.

n Pamiri houses, the seven aspects of creation correspond to the seven Zoroastrian elements and are represented as follows:
The three living, sang or sandj, areas represent the:
1. human,
2. animal, and
3. vegetable aspects of creation.
4. The floor, chalak, represents the earth.
5. The hearth or stove in the room represents fire.
6 & 7. The raised platforms along the sides of the room, the loshnukh and barnekh, represent air and water.

The house is made from stone and clay and the roof and supported with wooden pillars. The five pillars were initially dedicated to five guardians of the Zoroastrian religion.  The first pillar is dedicated to Suroush, the guardian of conscience and wisdom.  The house is always supported with 5 pillars. The pillar is made from the wood. The first pillar is a place for babies.  The second is dedicated to Mithra, the guardian of truth, oath, and commitment.  Near this pillar, newly married couples take their place in the hope of a partnership based on trust and the fulfillment of promises made on their wedding day.  The third pillar is dedicated to Anahita, the guardian of fire and water.  In the house, the kitchen and fire are located near this pillar.  The fourth and fifth pillars are connected to each other with a cross beam. These are dedicated to the guardian of earth, Zamyod, and Azar, the guardian of eternal fire. The interior is filled with sacred symbols associated with Zoroastrianism but are now tied to Muslim saints. Pillar of the Prophet Muhammad is the central column, which in pre-Islamic times bore the name of the Zoroastrian god Saraosha.

Prophet Ali’s pillar, which was previously dedicated to the god Mithra, stands for friendship, love and fidelity.

Pillar of Bibi Fatima is dedicated to the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali, it was named after the goddess of water, Ardvisura Anahita.

Pillars of Hasan and Hussein, sons of the Prophet Ali, are located at the entrance to the chid and are connected by a crossbar.

The Roof of Chid is  called chorkhona, that symbolize, earth, water wind and fire the the window provided connection with GOD

Very unique and only related to Pamiri people celebrating the funeral and wedding ceremony  that has to follow special rituals.

Wedding ceremony

Pamiris have unique wedding ceremonies. It lasts several days. The bride will wear all red as a symbol of happiness and joy. There is special ceremony when the oldest woman in house will help bride to get ready. She will braid the hair  of bide with special pechaks that is a symbols of  strong marriage, put tie her head with white cloth and  after put 7 layer of shals.

Meanwhile the groom will have sartaroshon ceremony. Then bridegroom, accompanied by friends and relatives, goes to his bride’s home. There, the newlyweds make their commitment with Khalifa’s dua, after which they must drink a cup of water and butter. This seals the marriage, and only then are they allowed to be together.” All these accompanied by music and dances. The main wedding ceremony is the “nikoh” (nikkah), during which the Khalifa reads verses from the Holy Qur’an, and blesses the couple. This ritual is held in order to confirm the husband’s agreement to protect his wife, and she in her turn must honor and respect her husband. After finishing the nikoh, the newlyweds proceed to the registry office, and then there is a reception with merry programs, dances and delicious treats in restaurants and house.

Funeral ceremony

Before burying the dead person, they do a specific ceremony to guide the dead person to heaven in peace. The ceremony starts at dark by blessing the family of the dead person. The ceremony focuses on ritual purification and seeing off the soul of the deceased person into another world. A set of obligatory rituals and rites are described, including lamp lighting, mourning rules, and memorial foods and celebrations. The dead are orientated towards Mecca. Madoc is played after the ceremony to accompany the mourning