Astronomical knowledge of yazgulemians

Abstract

Field study of the folk calendar and astronomical knowledge of the inhabitants of the Yazgulem valley (Tajikistan) was carried out in July 2023 during which 19 people from five villages were interviewed.Now there are only 8 villages left in the Yazgulem valley, three of which have such a small population that there are no knowledgeable informants to conduct a survey of them. Among the folk holidays, the residents of Yazgulem named Gravash, Navruz, Gevkhanuk, wheat harvest, Herman Kubon. However, to a greater extent, these holidays are preserved in memory, and now (except for Navruz) no one celebrates them.Relevant modern holidays are Navruz, Muslim Kurban and Ramadan, and to a lesser extent the “Soviet” (Gregorian) New Year. Among the stars, the inhabitants of the valley know Sirius (Cold Star), which, as elsewhere, is a marker of the onset of autumn, the Pleiades (which in Yazgulem are called Khvag) and Tarozu (three stars of Orion’s belt). With the involvement of information from other regions, it was possible to establish that the onset of Navruz was previously determined by the setting of Tarozu. It is interesting to note that the information about these stars present in M.S. Andreev’s publications, however, he does not have identification of these stars. Another star that is known in this region is Arcturus (α Bootes), which the local population calls Angur, which translates from Tajik as grapes. The fact is that when the grapes ripen, this star is visible at dusk opposite Mecca, and in addition, it has a red color.