Kyrgyz Diaspora in Afghanistan
Kyrgyz of Afghanistan.
The settlement of the Afghan part of the Pamir by Kyrgyz began in the 16th-18th centuries and continued until the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The last waves of migration were caused by the policies of the Kokand Khanate and the Russian Empire towards the Kyrgyz living in the southwest of the Fergana Valley, the consequences of the 1916 uprising, as well as Soviet reforms in the 1920s-1930s in southern Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz of the Greater and Lesser Pamir are mainly represented by the tribes of Teit, Kypchak, Keseck, and Bostan, which are part of the clan association of Ichkilik. This group consists of about 2,000 people, of which 700-800 live in the Greater Pamir, and 500-600 in the Lesser Pamir. The connections between the Kyrgyz of the Greater and Lesser Pamir are quite weak due to geographical conditions: it takes 3-4 days on horseback to cover the distance between them.
The population of these groups is virtually stagnant due to harsh living conditions and the inaccessibility of civilization.
The cold harsh climate in the area located 3.5-4 km above sea level, the lack of roads, electricity, proper medical and social services, the preservation of the tradition of early marriages combined with the poor health of women—all of this leads to high child and maternal mortality and overall depopulation.
The basis of the Kyrgyz economy is livestock breeding. They raise yaks, sheep, goats, camels, and horses. The only source of income is the sale of animals; however, natural exchange of livestock for food and essential goods predominates. The Pamir Kyrgyz, as in former times, undertake seasonal migrations. With the arrival of spring, herders move up depending on the melting of snow and the appearance of fresh grass. In summer, they reach the highest pastures, where lush and soft meadows grow. In autumn, they descend, spending the winter in depressions and gorges, where there is relatively little snow and wind, allowing them to avoid snow avalanches. Kyrgyz villages in these places consist of 3-10 yurts-families, occasionally up to 20 families manage a joint household. Each community has its own pastures and wintering grounds, which are essentially their property. None of them has the right to violate the boundaries of another community's summer pasture and wintering grounds.
In these remote areas, there is no school education system, and a large part of the population is illiterate. Children receive home education privately, with classes organized in yurts, and in summer—outdoors. There is not a single school in the Greater Pamir, and a primary class for literacy training in Dari and Pashto was opened in the Lesser Pamir. However, due to the fear of losing their native language, parents are reluctant to send their children to this class.
The vast majority of Kyrgyz do not have passports or Afghan citizenship. Only a few families have moved to live in Kabul. The Kyrgyz of Pamir maintain a traditional way of life, the entire complex of material and spiritual culture, family rituals, and customs. Oral folk creativity, the genealogical tradition of sanjyr, national games and entertainments, and many other national traits have been well preserved over the centuries in an isolated environment.
Until 1978, there was the "last khanate in Central Asia" in Pamir, led by the last leader of all Pamir Kyrgyz, Khan Rahmankul. His power was amorphous and relied on authoritative biys and aksakals—leaders of clans and tribes. A significant role in weakening the khanate was played by the penetration of Afghan-produced drugs into the lives of local Kyrgyz, including the elite, leading clans and tribes. After the Afghan revolution in the spring of 1978, Rahmankul Khan decided to leave the country and at the end of that year moved with the Kyrgyz of the Greater Pamir to the Pakistani region of Gilgit.
However, the unusually hot climate and foreign cultural environment forced the migrants to leave Pakistan after four years and move to the Turkish province of Van. Forty families led by Abdrashit returned from Gilgit back to the Greater Pamir.
Kyrgyz Diaspora in China
