Local residents shared stories about the origin of the name of their village.
Villager Aichurok Jakshybaeva said that the village of Zheti-Tash has existed since ancient times, possibly since the time of the Huns.
“Our village was originally called Darkhum. This name is interpreted as ‘daary’ (medicine) and ‘kum’ (sand). According to one legend, the word ‘Huns’ gave rise to ‘gun,’ which then transformed into ‘hum,’ which is present in the original name of the village. However, this cannot be confirmed. Relatively recently, the name changed to ‘Zheti-Tash,’ which is associated with seven large stones resembling human silhouettes located at the entrance to the village. The legend says that once enemies attacked the residents, and they decided to flee to the mountains. One of the women ran away with a baby. The people prayed to God to rid them of the invaders, and then they turned into stones. These seven stones resemble the silhouettes of those fleeing, among which is a woman with a child in a ‘beshik’ (cradle),” she shared.
Zheti-Tash is part of the rural municipality of Ken-Talaa and has about 130 households. The local residents mainly engage in agriculture, growing barley and wheat, and 95% of them are involved in animal husbandry. Additionally, the village actively weaves carpets. There is also a health post, a kindergarten, and a school.
Reference:
The Huns were a nomadic people who invaded Europe from Central Asia in the late 4th century, which became one of the first impulses for the Great Migration of Peoples. Most scholars believe that the Huns originated from the Xiongnu people mentioned in Chinese sources. This tribal group belongs to the Altaic type and uses Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic-Manchu languages, invading Eastern Europe in the 370s, gradually advancing westward from the borders of China.
