Modern Tajik woman. National clothes of Tajiks (Photo feed)

To be Tajik is proud, because, according to many, these are the most hardworking, most submissive, most faithful and strongest women of the East.

But being a Tajik is also very difficult, because the family in Tajikistan is almost entirely dependent on women. They will feed you delicious food, dress neatly, and without complaint they will take on all the men’s family responsibilities when their other halves do not return from labor migration for years.

They are raised this way by strict mothers and uncompromising traditions, as well as prohibitions that are not yet clear to everyone, which the girls themselves are aware of from the day they are born.

Eyebrows and freedom of a Tajik girl

Perhaps the strangest Tajik prohibition is not to pluck your eyebrows before marriage. And it doesn’t matter what time a girl is lucky enough to start a family. Let it be 30, but you can’t pluck your eyebrows!

By the way, no matter how strange it may sound, there are quite adequate reasons.

Firstly, neatly plucked eyebrows are a sign of married women. And if a young girl suddenly catches the eye of potential suitors at some event, she will be judged not only by her manners, but also by her eyebrows. People won't ask directly if she's married. And unplucked eyebrows just hint at the girl’s free status.

Secondly, in addition to hints, there is another, very important side of the issue - Islam (and 99% of Tajiks profess this religion) does not welcome changes to God’s creation. It is canonically allowed to give a well-groomed look, but at the same time you need to catch the line at which the eyebrows will be neat, but their shape will not change.

For a Tajik woman, a date is a sign of depravity

Before marriage, it is strictly forbidden to meet men - to have romantic dates by candlelight, going to the cinema or walking in the rain. You can forget about this. And it’s a sin to even think about innocent kisses and touching hands.

And how do Tajik women create a family under such conditions? It’s very simple, because falling in love before marriage is allowed. Choosing a life partner is the same. But it is fanatically important for men that their future half is immaculate and pure.

Roughly speaking, she should belong body and soul to only one man - her future husband - and wait for him humbly. Otherwise, it’s a shame not only for the girl, but for her entire family. And normal families will not come to her for marriage. And, God forbid, she remains an old maid. This is how they scare girls in strict, traditional Tajik families.

The line is 30 for a Tajik girl

There is nothing worse for a mother than her daughter remaining a girl. Before the girl turns 18, her parents begin seriously collecting a dowry for their beautiful and unique daughter. What if tomorrow the matchmakers knock on the door. And this, by the way, is quite possible.

And God forbid that the daughter turns out to be stubborn, picky and has big plans for personal growth for the future. But such people will delay marriage until they are 30 years old, with the risk of remaining an old maid. By the way, by this time the neighbor’s daughter will already have three children running around the yard.

Tajiks are sure that time is gold; if you lose it, you will not get it back. And marriage, like time, does not spare you if you miss your chance. And the chances, of course, are greater before the age of 30. After this trait, young grooms will go to woo the young, and the old ones too.

And with your plans for personal growth, you will be left alone with yourself.

Of course, in modern society, not all Tajik girls strictly follow these, but they still try to adhere to them.

1915 7-06-2016, 07:23

Wardrobe initiatives: how should Tajik women dress?

ENG RUS KZ

In Tajikistan, they have again decided to focus on the clothing style of women and girls. Now the Committee on Women and Family Affairs has taken the initiative. They will start with workers of markets and shopping centers first. An AP correspondent looked into what government agencies are offering and how women themselves feel about this initiative.

Women took the initiative into their own hands

The head of the Committee for Women and Family Affairs, Idigul Kosimzoda, decided to personally take up the task of regulating the clothing of girls and women in public places. In particular, on May 24, Kosimzoda held a meeting with representatives of the ministries of education, health, internal affairs, the State Committee for National Security and the administration of markets and shopping centers. As reported on the official website of the committee, the main goal of the meeting is to prevent women and girls from imitating a clothing style that is alien to Tajikistan and to teach them the culture of dressing.

“During the meeting, the head of the committee said that it was necessary to take measures regarding the sale of products that promote foreign culture. She called on representatives of authorities and markets to pay attention to the clothing style of their employees and strengthen control to prevent the imitation of foreign culture by women and girls,” noted the Committee’s website.

Before this, the issue of alien clothing had been raised more than once at various levels, but there were no fewer girls and women in “alien” clothing on the streets.

We were not able to speak personally with the head of the Committee on Women and Family Affairs about her initiative. But earlier, in an interview with AP, Idigul Kosimzoda already noted which clothes are considered ours and which are someone else’s.

“The authorities are promoting the clothes that our mothers and grandmothers wore. I myself try to wear national clothes more often,” said I. Kosimzoda. At the same time, answering the question whether the European style of clothing is considered an alien culture, she emphasized that they have no complaints about the European style of clothing.

At the same time, the representative of the Committee on Religious Affairs and the Ordering of Traditions and Customs, Khusein Shokirov, added that the authorities are against clothing that does not allow a person to be recognized, that is, against the burqa or niqab, which are considered a traditional element of clothing for Arab women and cover the entire face. “If a person’s face is recognizable, then the issue is settled,” Shokirov also added at one of the press conferences.

Fines for hijab

To find out how market workers themselves feel about the wishes of the Women's Affairs Committee, we went to the Shokhmansur bazaar. Women sellers dominate the market, they are the majority. But they have many much more important problems than the issue of wearing a headscarf. The financial crisis, lack of clients and profits are the main problems women talk about. They did not give their names, fearing that they might lose their place due to excessive “frankness.”

“People have been coming to us about our clothes for the past year. If you forget to wear an apron, you will be fined; For a scarf that is too large, they give lectures for hours, either from the market administration or from the local police officer, but no one asks about our problems,” says one of the saleswomen.

According to her, she has never worn a hijab, limited herself to an ordinary headscarf, but she does not understand why it is necessary to spend so much time and energy on regulating some piece of fabric on her head, because there are much more important problems.

“I have been looking for journalists for a long time to raise an issue. Our main income was from the sale of dried fruits, but we were sent to Poytakht-90. There are no buyers there at all, I lost 10 thousand somoni: all our goods were spoiled. I returned back to Shokhmansur, but here we are not allowed to sell dried fruits. And Tajiks are not such a rich people that they can constantly buy sweets. How to turn around here, how to pay taxes, pay rent for an apartment and feed a child? Nobody wants to discuss this issue; the whole problem is the hijab. Many are ready to discuss this,” she noted.

Another of our interlocutors, who comes from Rasht, said that she was fined there for wearing a hijab.

“I myself live in Dushanbe, but I go to Rasht to visit relatives. And recently, when I was there, I was actually forcibly dragged to the police department and issued a fine. Since my relatives work in the local administration, they gave me a discount - I paid only 400 somoni,” says the woman.

According to her, in Dushanbe things are better with this - they are only warned, but not fined. “Even here, in the market, they tell us: when you come to work, take off your hijab, but you can wear it on the street. But I’m tired of this - how many problems can you face because of one scarf? I stopped wearing a hijab,” says the saleswoman.

Another young saleswoman plans to leave the market altogether after Ramadan. “Every time they called us here, they called us both terrorists and prostitutes. How long can you tolerate this?! But I wear such a scarf for one reason - I often have to bend over to buy goods that lie under the counter, so they cover my chest with a scarf tied in front. If I had the opportunity, I would study, and not trade in the market,” the girl complains.

According to her, after she was able to pay off her debt of 6.5 thousand somoni, she can confidently quit her job and sit at home.

Madina Niyozmamadova, deputy head of the capital’s department of economic development and trade, said in an interview with AP that uniforms for sellers have already been introduced in all capital markets. “It is important that the seller is different from the buyer. But, unfortunately, there are many cases when sellers are simply too lazy to put on a uniform,” she noted.

Niyozmamadova also said that there is a decree prohibiting saleswomen from appearing at the market wearing a hijab. However, Niyozmamadova found it difficult to answer who the decree came from.

No one to explain

As it turned out, there are no human rights defenders in Tajikistan working on issues of freedom of conscience.

“The hijab is considered clothing that is an element of religious paraphernalia. And we do not have human rights experts on this issue. Even international organizations have noted that people are not protected in this area. After all, all this is done to ensure safety. But I don’t know any human rights activists who defend the religious rights of people in Tajikistan,” noted one of the local NGO employees.

Meanwhile, international human rights norms guarantee every person the right to freedom of conscience, including the freedom to publicly or privately manifest their religious beliefs through religious worship, fulfillment of religious orders and rituals. On the other hand, the state has an obligation to ensure privacy, including the right to personal autonomy - for example, the ability to independently determine how to dress at home and in public places. The State is also obliged to ensure the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, in particular on the basis of religion or gender. Finally, the state has an obligation to protect the rights of religious minorities within its jurisdiction.

The UN Human Rights Committee explains that worship includes the display of symbols, and the performance of religious orders and rituals may include the wearing of certain clothing or head coverings.

Like the vast majority of other rights, freedom of religion and the right to personal autonomy are not absolute or unconditional. The State may impose certain restrictions on their implementation, but only if there are compelling reasons for their necessity to protect public safety, public order, public health or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. Such a reservation presupposes the existence of truly compelling reasons.

At the same time, according to Part 3 of Article 14 of the Constitution, “restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens are permitted only for the purpose of ensuring the rights and freedoms of other citizens, public order, protection of the constitutional order and territorial integrity of the republic.”

At the same time, a ban on selling or wearing any clothing is an infringement of human rights.

Article 26 says that everyone has the right to independently determine their attitude towards religion, to profess any religion separately or together with others or not to profess any, and to participate in the performance of religious cults, rituals and ceremonies.

Regarding the sale of clothing of a particular style, part two of Article 12 of the Constitution states: “The state guarantees freedom of economic and entrepreneurial activity, equality and legal protection of all forms of property, including private property.”

According to Part 2 of Article 3 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, “entrepreneurial activity is an independent activity carried out at one’s own risk, aimed at systematically obtaining profit from the use of property, sale of goods, performance of work or provision of services by persons registered in this capacity in the manner prescribed by law.”

At the same time, in the modern world they already say that one cannot judge a person’s readiness for negative actions by external attributes. For example, terrorist attacks in Brussels and France were carried out by people “from whom it could least be expected.” They wore neither a hijab nor a beard; their appearance was quite consistent with the image of a “modern European”.

In Tajikistan, each region has its own national costume. The cut is approximately the same everywhere, but differs in color, embroidery, and the presence of decorations. Young people are increasingly wearing European clothes, but national Tajik costume is still very popular among villagers.

Men's and women's national clothing of Tajiks is very similar in cut - tunic-like, loose, and hides the figure well. Most Tajiks are adherents of Islam and do not welcome excessively tight clothing.

Tajik national clothing is distinguished by its brightness. The Tajik costume reflects the degree of prosperity. The more luxurious the outfit, the more expensive decorative details it contains, the richer its owner.

Special mention should be made about fabrics. Tajiks live in a hot climate, so they prefer cotton and silk fabrics. Purely national Tajik matters include I'm hungry(iridescent striped fabric of different colors, consists of cotton and silk), snipe(semi-silk fabric, striped or patterned) and brocade(silk fabric with gold and silver threads).

Since the traditional Tajik costume is multi-layered, the bottom layer of clothing is usually made from cheap fabric, and the top layer is made from more expensive fabric.

National clothing of Tajik men

The traditional costume of a Tajik man includes: a cotton shirt - “kurta”, trousers, a robe and a wide waist belt. The shirt is sewn from one piece of fabric. It is wide and does not restrict movement. Men wear it untucked, belted with a long narrow fabric or a special scarf folded diagonally. The scarf performs several functions: it is both a belt supporting the trousers and a kind of pocket.

It’s interesting that you can tell about a man’s well-being by looking at his belt. Thus, young, poor guys wore belts twisted from square scarves with “miyonband” or “belbog” embroidered on the edges. And wealthy men could afford wide velvet belts (“kamarband”), embroidered with gold thread.

Trousers(“ezor” and “ishton”) are also sewn quite wide, but tapering towards the bottom. Men wear a robe over their shirt (" chapan") loose-fitting, usually striped. Mountain Tajiks prefer chapans made of undyed wool, with an embroidered ornament on the collar.

The robe can be quilted if it is a winter clothing option. Classic chapans have become museum exhibits, and their place has been replaced by modern analogues - made of velvet. The main advantage of a classic chapan is that it retains heat in winter and coolness in summer. Since ancient times, men have been given a chapan for important events - weddings, birthdays and even funerals. At a wedding, the bride's brother will not allow his sister to enter her husband's house until the groom's relatives give him a chapan.

And today, in the 21st century, young Tajiks, on the first day after their wedding, go out to people in chapans, and not in modern costumes. But in everyday life, modern men are increasingly combining traditional clothes with European ones. For example, they can wear bloomers with a jacket or a chapan and classic trousers.

Women's national clothing of Tajiks

Traditional Tajik women wear long shirt dresses ( kurtas) and loose-fitting two-layer harem pants. Shirts with sleeves that widen towards the bottom are decorated with embroidery and have different names depending on the type of collar. In the old days, gussets (inserts, wedges) of a different color were sewn into such shirts; this had a magical meaning and was believed to ensure fertility for the woman.

The shape of the collar neckline depended on whether the Tajik woman was married: young girls wore dresses with a horizontal collar neckline and ties at the ends of the opening. And after marriage, women began to wear dresses with a vertical neckline, decorated with embroidered braid. Women wore white dresses with a stand-up collar as underwear. At the same time, the outer dress had a cutout such as to show the embroidery on the collar, but nothing more.

Women's outerwear is a quilted robe (tsoma) of the same tunic-like cut as that of men, or a munisak, with a slightly different cut (there is no sewn-on collar, and there are ruffles under the sleeves). Elderly women, starting from the 19th century, wear munisaki without braid or lining; they are simply hemmed with a narrow strip of fabric of a different color.

Separately, it should be said about the burqa (“faranji”). Tajik women wore them mainly in cities where there were many strangers. The burqa symbolized purity, chastity, modesty and fidelity. Today it is an essential attribute bridesmaid outfit. In addition, it is believed that the burqa protects a pregnant woman from dark forces. And finally, this element of the costume allowed a woman to feed her child even in public.

Tajik headdresses

Men's headdress - skullcap. In cold weather, men wear fur hats or wrap a woolen scarf around their heads. Also still popular is the turban, which is worn over a skullcap or kuloh hat.

Women traditionally cover their heads with a headdress consisting of three components: a turban, a cap and a “lachaka” - a kind of scarf. Sometimes these elements can be used separately from each other.

The bride's head is still decorated with an embroidered scarf covering her face, neck and chest.

Recently, women have begun to wear skullcaps (totsi), which was not particularly accepted before.

National Tajik shoes

For urban Tajiks - both men and women - the usual footwear is soft “makhsi” boots. They were worn with leather ears. Ichigi (light boots with a soft toe and a hard back), made of goatskin and famous for their durability, were quite popular.

Rural residents had a more varied selection of shoes. In particular, both men and women, in addition to light shoes, wore high-heeled boots or wooden shoes with three legs, the so-called “kafshi chubin”.

National Tajik jewelry

Tajiks are very successfully combine traditional decorations with modern ones. Women love to wear necklaces, pendants, earrings and rings.

Jewelry can be seen not only on the neck and ears, but also on the headdress. These can be all kinds of pendants, brooches and beads.

Traditionally, national Tajik jewelry is forged and embossed, made of silver, and is somewhat massive. It is considered normal to wear 3-4 jewelry at the same time, or even more!

Do Tajik men wear jewelry? At different periods of history, Tajik men in some regions wore beads with pendants along with women. Previously, men also wore headbands and earrings; they indicated belonging to a certain ethnic group and a person’s status in society. Today only women wear jewelry.

This is, in general terms, the national clothing of Tajiks. In our time, it has certainly undergone changes, but traditional skullcaps, trousers and shirts of various colors are still very much loved by Tajiks, including young people.

The government of modern Tajikistan popularizes the traditional Tajik costume in a very unique way - representatives of ministries are regularly called upon to strengthen control over the wearing of national clothing.

clothes among employees and not to allow the promotion of alien - European - clothing. The country actively holds special fashion shows and competitions for fashion designers. And the hosts of state TV channels go on air in stylized Tajik clothes.

National customs and traditions of Tajiks. Tajik wedding, Tajik holidays, Tajik superstitions, rites and rituals, circumcision. The Tajik people, like other peoples of the world, have centuries-old national traditions and customs that were created by their ancestors and have been preserved in their original form from generation to generation to this day.

All Tajik traditions and customs, which have developed over many years, are a very important and subtle part of the existence of the ethnic people - Tajiks. Therefore, in practice, from birth, ancient customs are established in the subconscious of a small child as the main program of life.

Ancient rituals, superstitions, rituals, traditions and customs - all together formed the Eastern mentality characteristic of the Central Asian people. Peoples of about 20 nations live in Tajikistan - hardcore Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Assetins, Tatars, Russians (mainly in the cities of the country), Ukrainians and other representatives of different nationalities. All these peoples are considered equal citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan, therefore each person has the right to profess the religion and traditions that they inherited from their ancestors.

Tajiks are the descendants of ancient Indian and ancient Persian tribes and, accordingly, many of the manners and lifestyle of a Tajik person - a Tajik/Tajik woman are characteristic of his/her native East Asian mentality.

Tajik wedding- national-social tradition among Tajiks.

A Tajik wedding is a collective ceremony, and the word wedding also refers to 2 national events - the wedding of the newlyweds and the wedding in honor of the circumcision of a Muslim boy (khatna tui). In Tajikistan, marriage weddings (tuyi arusi-domod) take place in a very unusual way; here it is customary to celebrate the wedding at the public level. Hospitality is one of the highest qualities of Tajik people; Tajiks are hospitable people, they always support each other in both joy and trouble.

Tajik families love to share their joy with everyone - with familiar friends and even with strangers, this indicates that Tajiks are also good-natured. Especially in villages, weddings can be very interesting and unique. If they hear that someone’s wedding is planned in a neighboring street, then the whole village rejoices, since among Tajiks, according to custom, 1-2 days before the wedding, without exception, all relatives and fellow villagers of the bride and groom are invited, the main thing is not to miss, otherwise be offended, no matter who. Probably the saying “from 7 to 70 years – everything is at the wedding” came from this land. After all, it is indeed customary for Tajiks to be present on the eve of the wedding, in the process of preparing for the wedding of neighbors or distant relatives, supporting and helping the hosts of the wedding.

Modern Tajik wedding is a mixture of ancient and modern traditions. Modern wedding ceremonies in Tajikistan are very fun and noisy. In Tajikistan, the national wedding ceremony lasts for as long as 7 days/stages, as it is very rich in traditional rituals, which Tajik families follow very faithfully. Any Tajik wedding begins with obtaining the consent of the girl’s parents.

For the “matchmaking” event, 2 or three female matchmakers, close relatives of the guy, come to the girl’s house and explain the reason for the visit, and also introduce the general situation of the future groom’s family and ask for the girl’s hand in marriage. In Tajik families, issues related to the marriage of an adult girl are usually decided by the main family members - grandparents. If the matchmakers are very lucky, then everything will be resolved the first time and both parties will discuss all upcoming events related to handouts. Subsequent visits to the future groom's relatives are not complete without gifts and gifts. Thus, the Muslim wedding day and the date of the wedding evening are set. And then the most interesting is yet to come!

The first stage of the wedding ceremony is the announcement (safedi dodan, fotiha cardan) of the marriage of the bride and groom. In honor of the marriage, relatives and neighbors of the bride and groom are invited to visit and pilaf, the Tajik national food, is served to them.

The second stage of the wedding (tukkuz) each party exchanges gifts intended for the newlyweds.

The third stage of the wedding consists of bringing kalyn-tui; the groom sends a horned animal and other necessary products to the bride’s house to celebrate the wedding at the bride’s place (nahor oshi).

The fourth stage of the wedding takes place at the bride's; the groom, accompanied by his friends and relatives, goes to the bride's house. On the same day, the bride also invites her friends to the festive table (choigashtak).

The fifth stage of a Tajik wedding is the newlyweds' oath before the imam (nikoh), after which they must drink a cup of water. This ritual means that now the bride and groom, according to Islamic Sharia, have become spouses and their marriage is secured by holy surahs, which give them the right to be together.

The sixth stage of the ceremony is the long-awaited wedding evening of the bride and groom (tui arusi-domod) in a restaurant (dar tarabkhona or tuikhona). This is a great celebration that every Tajik family dreams of. On this day, guests and friends of the bride and groom congratulate the newlyweds on their married life and wish them their wishes. At the set wedding tables, everyone is having fun and applauding the wedding guests who have spoken. Young people and other visitors to a Tajik wedding have the opportunity to personally approach the newlyweds and wish them happiness, and people sing and dance until the night. Then the newlyweds leave the guests and go to the groom's house by car.

The seventh stage of the Tajik national marriage wedding is rubinon, an event organized for the neighbors and relatives of the groom, in which the bride will show off her outfits and reveal her face. And the guests of the celebration present the bride with various gifts necessary for the young family. The father and mother of the groom - the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the new bride - also congratulate the bride on her gifts.

The next stage is chilla, in modern terms – a honeymoon, which will last 40 days. Young spouses must spend all this time under the same roof with their parents and in-laws. This will ensure the safety of the spouses from all sorts of ailments, as well as protect the bride and groom from various kinds of problems at the very beginning of their young married life.

Tajik holidays. What are the national traditional holidays in Tajikistan?

Religious holidays and national holidays associated with the independence of the state, including seasonal holidays, are widely celebrated in Tajikistan.

The Tajik people love the Muslim holiday most of all - Kurban Khayit, in which people become complacent and kind. On this day, Tajiks traditionally perform sacrifice rites, provide financial assistance to families with little property, dress orphans, visit the sick, and so on. On this day, in every house the table is set to greet guests with dignity; the hostesses prepare various national pastries and Tajik dishes. Young girls go to the houses of new brides who have recently had a wedding. Brides indulge their guests with a variety of sweets and display their dowries.

Another national Tajik holiday of the people is Nowruz– new day – equinox. This is one of the favorite spring holidays of Tajik girls. On this holiday, girls specially sew dresses from national Tajik fabrics, such as satin, adras, brocade, etc. There is also a tradition of the “Tulip Festival,” which is no less loved by Tajik beauties.