Yaghnob

Yaghnob, there are not many places on our planet which have been untouched by civilization, where people live by the laws of their ancestors carefully preserving their language, traditions and culture. Yaghnob valley is situated between the Southern slope of the Zeravshan range and the Northern slope of the Hissar range administratively subordinates to the Ainy district of Sogd Oblast. The Yaghnobies are the heirs and descendants of the Sogdians. Yaghnоby language is called New-Sogdian and generically it belongs to the eastern group of the Iranian languages. The main activity of the local population is agriculture and animal husbandry. They are also practicing traditional healing like herb diet, massage and bone-setting. Yaghnob Valley faced major challenges in the 1970s, when its entire population was forcibly removed from their mountain homeland to the semi-desert lowlands of Zafarabad district to participate strongly into the cotton production needs. Thus the relationship of the ethnic group with its native land has been broken, and they started to lose not only their own roots but also the language, culture and local traditions. A slow renaissance of the valley began at the end of the 1980s when some Yaghnobi families returned to their ancestral homes. Mahmud, from Zafarabad, is one of the Yaghnobies who tries to rebuilt this relationship.