Cloud People on the Clouds - Tajik Style

Author: Xiren Kurbang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in the Pamir region is China's only inland county bordering multiple countries. It features crisscrossing river valleys and towering glaciers. The beautiful alpine pastures, charming folk customs, and majestic glacier landscapes create a harmonious tapestry. The "Father of Ice Peaks" Muztagh Ata, the world's second-highest peak, Qogir, Takhtamansu Hot Springs, Princess Castle, and Stone City are breathtaking sights. The Tajik people living in this beautiful and tranquil homeland are known for their simplicity and hospitality, earning the name "Cloud People's Homes." This book aims to systematically and comprehensively introduce the natural landscapes of the Pamir Plateau and the daily lives of the Tajik people through a combination of images and text, presenting readers with vivid scenes of plateau folk customs.
The hardworking and wise Tajik people, who engage in agriculture, make full use of the geographical features of the Pamir Plateau—its mountains, valleys, and water sources. They raise livestock on the high-altitude pastures and cultivate crops in the lowland fields, skillfully combining animal husbandry as the primary occupation with supplementary agriculture. To adapt to this semi-pastoral and semi-agricultural lifestyle, people live a semi-settled and semi-nomadic existence. The Tajik people build their permanent homes in the valleys and fields, nestled against mountains and near water sources. When spring arrives, they draw water from the valleys to irrigate and sow crops. Due to the cold climate and short frost-free period, they grow cold-resistant crops such as highland barley, spring wheat, and peas. After the spring planting is completed, the people drive their herds to the mountains for grazing. The livestock include sheep, yaks, goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, and camels. The main purpose is to allow the animals to graze on the high-altitude pastures and to prevent them from eating young crops. The herds provide the majority of the material resources needed for the four essential aspects of life—clothing, food, shelter, and transportation—for the Tajik pastoralists. For example, sheepskin is used to make clothing and hats, and yak leather is an excellent material for boot soles.
After moving to the mountains, the pastoralists return to the village only once or twice during the summer to weed and water the crops, spending the rest of their time engaged in grazing activities. Both men and women in this region are skilled at herding sheep. In autumn, when the crops in the valleys ripen, the pastoralists return to the village to harvest. During this season, the diligent labor of the Tajik women, as they work in the fields, appears even more enchanting as they move among the flowers swaying in the wind.
By late October, snow begins to fall on the mountains, and the pastoralists drive their herds down to graze near the village. During the harsh winter, people stay in the village homes nestled in the valleys. P044-P046