Crossroads of religions

Dmitriy Kostyushkin is a Programme Officer and Translator at the UNESCO-supported International Institute for Central Asian Studies and an Academic Guide for Veres-Vert Travel Company. In the first article of this new series, Dmitriy reveals the ancient cults and beliefs that were practised in what is now Uzbekistan and shows the sometimes surprising ways they still influence local culture and tradition today.

Before becoming an important centre for the development and spread of world religions, in ancient times the modern territory of Uzbekistan was a place of great migrations for nomadic civilisations. These groups brought with them ideas about the universe and the nature of spiritual matters. Over the course of two millennia, several complex and ideologically powerful religions – namely Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Islam – gradually gained influence in the region.

But those early belief systems were not relegated only to archaeological finds and ancient annals. Look closely and we can see the influence of early cults and traditions across modern life in Uzbekistan, from handicraft and architectural designs to holiday and family rituals, healing practices and even language.

The celebration of Navruz on the 21 March was banned in some periods under the atheistic Soviet regime, but nowadays it is celebrated at the state level in all Central Asian republics and is included on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Few people remember the Zoroastrian roots of this festivity, and most modern Uzbeks don’t worship the elements of nature, but every spring, families and neighbourhoods happily gather around the fire on which ritual sumalak (wheat-grain porridge) – the traditional dish of Navruz – is cooked overnight.

Horse Cults

As in many primal societies, religion in ancient Eurasian cultures manifested itself mainly through the rituals of daily life, like preparation for hunting and funeral rites. Archaeological remains are the primary sources for reconstructing these ancient religious rites and beliefs. Burial sites also show evidence of animal sacrifice, especially of horses, but also dogs and oxen. Horse sacrifice among the Sakas, who populated Central Asia at the turn of the first millennium, is mentioned by Herodotus, as is a water taboo and drinking vessels made from the skulls of slain enemies. All of these customs are found later among various Turkic peoples.

The Sakas also had a fire cult and a related cult of the sun. Herodotus quotes Tomyris, the 6th-century BCE queen of the Massagetae tribe, as swearing “by the Sun our master” and remarks that “the only god they worship is the Sun, to which they sacrifice horses: the idea behind this is to offer the swiftest animal to the swiftest of gods.” It is not surprising that solar symbols are still a popular adornment on women's jewellery amulets and, especially, in the motifs of suzani embroidery, which can be found in the remote mountainous regions of Urgut and Nurata in the Samarkand region. Likewise, images of heavenly, winged horses can be seen on the wall paintings of the 7th century found at the site of Afrasiab.

Totems

The totems of ancient Turkic peoples are preserved in several traditional rituals and customs of Uzbek culture, the traces of which survive in the names of Uzbek places and ethnic groups, folklore and ritual symbols. The most common totems were plants and animals, such as the wolf, bear, eagle, snake, goat, sheep, bull and trees.

As in the Vedic culture of the Indian subcontinent, the agricultural peoples of the East associated water – which gives fertility to the soil and has a powerful productive force – with the image of a bull. The earliest images of a Paleolithic bull can be seen among more than 5000 rock paintings in the famous Sarmishsai petroglyph site in the Navoi region. The image of a half-bull, half-man with a beard was also found on a fragment of a large vessel discovered in the Tali-Barzu area of Samarkand. It is known as ‘Gopatshah’ or ‘the shepherd king’.

The same character is depicted on a stone seal dating from the 5–4th centuries BCE, which is now kept in the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan. The first mythological progenitor of the Turkic dynasties, Oguz Khan, is also associated with a bull.

The wolf was another popular Turkic totem. According to Chinese authors, the words buri (wolf) and khan (khan) were synonymous among the Turkic peoples in the 6th century. Ancient myths often depict the wolf as the revered great ancestor of the Turkic tribes and so it was considered a sacred animal. The wolvish legacy is also captured linguistically in the names of two cultural groups: the Baiburi tribe (Uzbek-Kungrats) and the Baibura tribe (Karakalpaks). The Kungrats of the Surkhandarya region had a custom to place the teeth, nails, flesh or skin of a wolf near the head of an infant to protect the child from evil spirits and the evil eye. The use of wolf amulets and talismans (tumors) is widespread across many Uzbek traditions.

Protective symbols are still commonly portrayed in traditional crafts like suzani, gold embroidery, glazed ceramics, carpet weaving and silk production.

While wolves were undoubtedly popular, the most dominant totems in Central Asia were snakes. A number of the oldest images of snakes are found in Central Asia, including on amulets and on rock carvings in the Saymalitash caves in the Fergana Valley, at Kugart Pass in the Tashkent region, and in the Ilonsai Gorge (literally, ‘the Valley of Snakes’) of the Samarkand region. But perhaps the best example is the collection of spotted snakes seen on a 2nd millennium BCE stone statue from the village of Sokh in the Fergana Valley. It is made from a piece of black chrysotile which was polished, drilled out on the body of the snakes and filled with plaster. All of these characterise the snake as a creature revered by early farmers, and associated with a female deity and ​​fertility and immortality.

Shamanism

Shamanism was widespread in Central Asia and had an important place in the history of the Turkic peoples. The Turkic ancestors believed in spirits that provided help via shamans, known as parikhan, atakhan and momo. Shamans performed important deeds, having entered into a kind of alliance with spirits, devs (ogre-like monsters) and jinns (beings made of fire). They were often considered servants and executors of spirits, and that along with folbins (clairvoyants) and some tabibs (healers), they were intermediaries with the spirit world. In addition, they could heal the sick, provide protection from ailments, find missing people or things, make predictions about the future, and know details across place and time. They were also believed to guide souls into the afterlife and fight evil spirits.

Practical shamanism is still present in Uzbekistan. Traditionally, people believe that disease comes from the presence of insidious spirits. Today, there are still special individuals who are apparently able connect with or remove spirits like the jinn and dev, as well as pari (winged spirits), lashkarlar (warrior souls), and chiltonlar (40 evil spirits). These modern-day shamans supposedly receive their abilities through ancestry or directly from earth and water deities or spirits. They can identify spirits that have harmed a patient, and have various methods to remove them and provide healing.

Tengrism

The shamanistic and animistic religion of Tengrism grew in popularity during and after the collapse of the Turkic Khaganate, which covered a vast territory from the Black Sea across Central Asia and China to the Yellow Sea. It centred around the sky-god Tengri – the main Turkic deity during the reign of Yabgu Khakan Istemi (552-576). Tengri was to the Turks what Jupiter was to the Romans and Zeus to the Greeks.

It was, in some ways, the acceptance of Tengri as a single, main god that subsequently created fertile ground for the adoption of Islam in Central Asia. When Islam did arrive in the region, a transformation took place as it was amalgamated with local beliefs. The local population accepted Allah as the only creator-god,but continued to use the word ‘Tengri’ to refer to him, a practice that continues even now in some places.

Whether planning your first trip to Uzbekistan or revisiting different regions, it’s always a good idea to ask a tour guide or artisan about the significance of the symbols and patterns you see on handicrafts and buildings. And if you are welcomed to a traditional wedding, watch the ceremonies closely, for you’ll likely see whispers of ancient rituals. By digging a little deeper, our historical objects and archeological sites come alive through ancient customs and the curtain is pulled back on the many secrets and surprises of Uzbek culture and history!