Yaghnob Valley
Yaghnob Valley | |
---|---|
Дараи Яғноб, Яғнобдара | |
Sughd, Tajikistan | |
Coordinates | 39°12′N 69°00′E / 39.2°N 69.0°E |
The Yaghnob Valley is a valley in north-west
The valley is formed by the
The valley is home to the
Western exploration
Topographers and Russian military expeditions have been visiting the Yaghnob Valley since the 1820s. In the 1870s General Abramov of Russia led the first scientific expedition to the Yaghnob Valley. The so-called “Mystery of Yaghnob” was introduced to the world by the German scientist G. Capus in 1883 in his article Yaghnob Valley and its People, published in the European Journal of Geography. The author highlighted the unique nature of this valley, the language of its people and the need for further research.
However, the valley has only really become the focus of public attention in the last 17 years, with a number of expeditions, as well as national and international publications, dedicated to the Yaghnob Valley. In 1990, after the Glasnost reforms, it became possible for the Tajik Cultural Fund to organize expeditions and the historian Oleg Panfilov published articles on the valley.
The subsequent period of
History
- Early history
The valley's first permanent settlements date back to the 8th century. The population was made up of
- The Soviet Years
The Yaghnob Valley faced major challenges in the 1970s, when its entire population was
- Recent history
A slow renaissance of the valley began at the end of the 1980s when some Yaghnobi families returned to their ancestral homes. In 1990, the
During the time of
Current developments
The residents of the Yaghnob Valley had to pool their own resources to build a road up to Bedef village. However, this road is deteriorating as there are no more funds available for maintenance work. The valley is still effectively isolated for more than six months of the year and the people have little access to the outside world and, in particular, to emergency health services.[5]
Recently, a brand new road has at last been built, leading to the very heart of the valley. However, as in many similar cases, this has turned out to have mixed blessings. On the one hand, it has indeed improved access to the outside world, but - likewise - it has equally improved the access of the outside world to the valley and increasing numbers of outsiders, with greater financial resources, have been attracted to exploit the economic potential of the valley.
The current population of the valley is about 492 people (82 families) according to 2008 census,[6] but the population fluctuates according to season. Nevertheless, the overall trend appears downwards, as the younger people seem less inclined to remain in the valley, due to the paucity of health and educational facilities available locally.[7]
- Proposed Yaghnob Protected Area
In 1989-1992, Anvar J. Buzurukov (as the head of the Protected Areas Department of the Ministry of the Environment) initiated, planned and led scientific feasibility studies towards establishing the first national and natural parks in the Tajik SSR. In 1992, the biggest high mountain park in USSR-
In 2007 A.J. Buzurukov, as founder of the TSEU, planned and organized a multidisciplinary expedition to the Yaghnob Valley, with the support of the
Advocates have long called for a special status to be given to the valley and the Yaghnobi language. One solution would be to create the YNEP, which would be the first such in the northern region of Tajikistan. It would protect the valley from any increase in environmentally-damaging activities, such as overgrazing, but would support sustainable and responsible tourism. Plans for the YNEP were discussed and approved during the first international scientific conference on environmental and developmental issues in the Yaghnob Valley: Ancient Sogdiana: Past, Present and Future, which took place on the 18–19 October 2007 in Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
The conference delegates formulated an appeal to the government and citizens of
Yaghnobi villages
The Yaghnobi villages were divided into 3 districts (or, in Yaghnobi, sada):
Lower District:
Middle District:
Upper District:
Note: † indicates an abandoned village, and ‡ indicates a Tajik-speaking village.
Notes
- ^ a b "THE LOST WORLD OF THE YAGNOB". Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ Gunya, A.Yagnob Valley – nature, history, and chances of a mountain community development in Tajikistan. Moscow, 2002
- ^ Jamolzoda, A. Journey to Sogdiana's Heirs www.yagnob.org
- ^ Jamolzoda, A. Journey to Sogdiana's Heirs www.yagnob.org
- ^ Jamolzoda, A. Journey to Sogdiana's Heirs www.yagnob.org
- ^ Сайфиддин Мирзозода: Фарҳанги яғнобӣ-тоҷикӣ, Душанбе 2008.
- ^ Jamolzoda, A. Journey to Sogdiana's Heirs www.yagnob.org
- ^ "Home". yagnob.org.
References
- Gunya, A.Yagnob Valley – nature, history, and chances of a mountain community development in Tajikistan. Moscow, 2002
- Whitlock, M. Land Beyond the River: The Untold Story of Central Asia. St. Martin's Press, 2003
- United Nations. Tajikistan: rising from the ashes of civil war
- Loy, Thomas (July 18, 2005). Yaghnob 1970 A Forced Migration in the Tajik SSR Central Eurasia-L Archive.
- Jamolzoda (Buzurukov), A. Journey to Sogdiana's Heirs http://www.yagnob.org/JtSH-Yagnob-AJ-Eng.pdf
- Сайфиддин Мирзозода: Фарҳанги яғнобӣ-тоҷикӣ. Душанбе (Анҷумани Деваштич) 2008.
- http://yaghnobi.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/history-of-the-yaghnobi-people