People of the Yaghnob Valley

The Yaghnobis, a people with ancient roots whose language and culture date back to the Sogdians – one of the oldest peoples of Central Asia live in the Yaghnob River valley in today’s north-western Tajikistan. Their ethnic group formed in isolation, being surrounded by rough mountains and engaged mainly in pastoralism.

In the 1970s, the Soviet authorities forcibly relocated the Yaghnob people to other regions, mainly to the lowlands, in order to control their population and forcibly work in the cotton harvest. Unsuited to life in the lowlands, the highlanders began to fall ill and die in large numbers. Residents tried to return to their villages, but these were deliberately destroyed by the Soviet authorities. Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union did this become fully possible, but many displaced families who survived decided not to return to their valley. The valley is now inhabited by fewer than 1,000 people.

The Yaghnobis speak tin their own language, which is a direct descendant of the ancient Sogdian language. Their culture is rich in oral traditions such as stories, songs and legends passed down from generation to generation. It is estimated that the Yaghnobi language is currently spoken by around 15,000 people worldwide and is in danger of extinction.