yaγnōbī́t, яғнобиҳо | |
|---|---|
 Yaghnobi children | |
| Total population | |
| c. 25,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Valleys aroundYaghnob,Qul andVarzob Rivers,Zafarobod District and elsewhere inTajikistan | |
| Languages | |
| Yaghnobi,Tajik | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherIranian peoples |
TheYaghnobi (Yaghnobi: yaγnōbī́t or suγdī́t;Tajik: яғнобиҳо, yağnobiho/jaƣnoʙiho) are anEastern Iranian people residing inTajikistan'sSughd region, specifically in the valleys of the Yaghnob, Qul, and Varzob rivers. Although they are considered part of the broader Tajik ethnicity, they are distinguished from otherTajiks by their use of theYaghnobi language, aneastern Iranian language.
Yaghnobi is spoken in theupper valley of theYaghnob River in theZarafshan area ofTajikistan by the Yaghnobi people, and is also taught in some schools.[2] It is considered to be a direct descendant ofSogdian and has often been calledNeo-Sogdian in academic literature.[3] The Yaghnobi Tajiks are considered to be descendants of theSogdian-speaking peoples[4] who once inhabited most ofCentral Asia beyond theAmu Darya River in what was ancientSogdia.
The 1926 and 1939 census data gives the number ofYaghnobi language speakers as approximately 1,800. In 1955, M. Bogolyubov estimated the number of Yaghnobi native speakers as more than 2,000. In 1972, A. Khromov estimated 1,509 native speakers in the Yaghnob valley and about 900 elsewhere. The estimated number of Yaghnobi Tajiks is approximately 25,000.[1]
Their traditional occupations were in agriculture, growing produce such as barley, wheat, andlegumes as well as breeding cattle, oxen and asses. There were traditional handicrafts, such as weaving, which was mostly done by men. The women worked on moulding earthenware crockery.[5]
The Yaghnobi people originated from theSogdians, a people dominant in the area until the Muslim conquests in the 8th century, when Sogdiana was defeated. In that period, Yaghnobis settled in the high valleys.
The ancientSogdians fled to theYaghnob Valley to escape the medievalArab Caliphate. Their direct descendants, the Yaghnobi, lived there in peaceful isolation until the 1820s.[6][7]
Until the 20th century, the Yaghnobis lived through theirnatural economy. Some still do, as the area they originally inhabited is still remote from roads and power transmission lines. The first contact withSoviet Union in the 1930s during theGreat Purge led to many Yaghnobis being exiled, but perhaps the most traumatic events were the forced resettlement in 1957 and 1970, from the Yaghnob mountains to thesemi-desert lowlands ofTajikistan.[8][9]
In the 1970s,Red Army helicopters were sent to valleys to evacuate the population, ostensibly because Yaghnobikishlaks (villages) were considered at risk fromavalanches. Some Yaghnobis reportedly died ofshock in helicopters as they were moved to the plains.[citation needed] Many were then forced to work atcotton plantations on the plains.[10][11] As a result of overwork and the change in environment and lifestyle, several hundred Yaghnobis died of disease.[12] While some Yaghnobis rebelled and returned to the mountains, the Soviet government demolished the empty villages and the largest village on theYaghnob River,Piskon, was removed from official maps.
Since 1983, families have begun to return to theYaghnob Valley. The majority of those that remain on the plains tend to beassimilated with the Tajiks,[13][14] as their children study in school in theTajik language. The returnees live through thenatural economy, and the majority remain without roads and electricity.
TheYaghnob Valley comprises approximately ten settlements, each housing between three and eight families.[7][15] There are other small settlements elsewhere.[7][15] The upperYaghnob River Valley was protected by an until recently almost impenetrable gorge.[16] They also live in and about theAmu Darya River, the Yaghnob River, the Yaghnob Valley, theQul River, theVarzob rivers and the town ofAnzob.[15]
The Yaghnobi people areSunni Muslims.[17][3] Many elements of the pre-Islamic Iranian religion ofZoroastrianism are still preserved.[18]
The mainpaternal haplogroups of Yaghnobis areR1-M173 andJ2-M172, both found at a frequency of around 32%. The second most common haplogroup isR1a1a-M17 at around 16%. The third most common haplogroup isL-M20, at a rate of approximately 10%. Other haplogroups includeC-M130,K-M9 andP-M45, each at 3%.[19]
Yaghnobi Tajiks are genetically more similar to "present-day western Eurasian populations and Iranians". They display high genetic affinities toIron Age Central Asians. Genetic data further indicates that Yaghnobis "have been isolated for a long time with no evidence of recent admixture". Yaghnobis derive around 93% of their ancestry from historicalIndo-Iranian sources (represented by an Iron Age sample from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) and around 7% fromBaikal EBA groups (a population with 80-95%Ancient Northeast Asian and 5-20%Ancient North Eurasian ancestry). The ancient and present-day Iranian populations from Central Asia form together a cline between Iranian Neolithic farmers and Central Steppe Bronze Age, with a clear shift in ancestry toward Steppe between Bronze Age and Iron Age, and a smaller shift toward eastern Asian ancestry between Iron Age and present-day. This shift is more pronounced for Tajiks than Yaghnobis, with additional South Asian related ancestry among the former.[20]
The Yaghnobi Tajiks may be used as proxy for historical Central AsianSteppe ancestry associated with the initial spread ofIranian languages.[21]
