Jamela just posted a review of Everyday Islam, a book by a soviet anthropoligist about the tenacity of tradition and failure of sovietization in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. You can read it here:
Everyday Islam–Soviet Anthropologist on Central Asia « Birds’ Books
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Posted in book review, folklore, Tajikistan
The headline of this news article, “Unlikely Ties Connect Iran and Portland, Oregon” , instantly caught my attention since so much of my life was shaped by my encounters with Iranians and the Persian language when I lived in Portland. Many of the Iranian-American ties described by Steve Holgate in this article were familiar to me, and some were new. Here are some of the new developments he describes: Continue reading
Stories from the Land of Springs (Dushanbe, 1996) is the memoir of one of Tajikistan’s most prominent 20th-century folklorists. Rajab Amonov (1923-2002) describes his boyhood in the northern Tajikistan city of Uro Teppa. The book’s attraction lies in its both cultural and historic value. As a folklorist, Amonov details cultural practices still observable in many parts of Tajikistan. Written in the late 20th century, the account also discloses Amonov’s perspective on the changes that took place during the early years of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, Amonov knew the value of story, so his descriptions are couched in engaging narratives. Continue reading
Posted in Central Asia, folklore, Tajik, Tajikistan, translation
reshtyaq akhasht
‘In truth, he is risen!’
Middle Persian rendering of Luke 24:34 from a Manichaean text recorded in: Handschriftenreste Estrangelo-Schrift aus Turfan, F. W. K. Müller, 1904. This text is described in: A Possible Restoration from a Middle Persian Source of the Answer of Jesus to Pilate’s Inquiry ‘What is Truth?’, by H. C. Tolman, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1919. Online: http://www.jstor.org/view/00030279/ap020033/02a00020/0
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Posted in Iranian Languages, Persian
There used to be an excellent web site called Iranian Languages & Scripts (IL&S) at http://iranianlanguages.com, but there has been nothing at this address for several months now. This site had introductory information, samples of writing, and bibliographies for all the languages of the Iranian language family, as well as some good articles on the history of the Iranian language, and on-line texts from the Avesta. If anyone knows a new address for this web site please leave a note with the new URL in the comments at the end of this post. Continue reading
Posted in Iranian Languages, Linguistics, Persian, Tajikistan
Today is the first day of spring and the Persian new year’s day which is called no ruz in Farsi, and na ruz in Tajik- both meaning ‘new day’. So, this post is to wish everyone idaton mubarak! ‘may your holiday be blessed!’
I found a nice video slide-show of Iran with Persian background music at this link:
This video was posted with along with a plea to take action to prevent the US from going to war against Iran. Personally, I don’t think the Bush administration would make such a foolish and politically unpopular decision. Nevertheless, I do support this effort to promote peace!
Listed below are instructions for calling to/from the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States, also known as the former Soviet Union) and the United States. Continue reading
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Posted in Central Asia, Tajikistan
My wife and I spent the fall of last year living with a Yaghnobi family in a village in Tajikistan. It was a fantastic experience. The family we lived with was extremely hospitable. We spent several hours every day sitting around the dastarkhon (tablecloth) with them, their extended family, and neighbors. We will always value the friendships we made there.
My purpose for living in a Yaghnobi community was to study the language and collect material for my MA Thesis. I am a graduate student in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Oregon and plan to graduate in the spring of this year.
I really enjoyed eliciting words and sentences in Yaghnobi, collecting stories, and analyzing the language. Since we lived in the home of Saifiddin Mirzoev who has a doctorate in philology and is head of the department of languages at the Rudaki Institute of Language and Literature, I received a great deal of expert consultation and was able to make tremendous progress in studying the Yaghnobi language.
Now I’m back home in Oregon working and writing my Thesis. I’ve been feeling a bit isolated in this work since I don’t know anyone else who is studying the Yaghnobi language. I’m hoping that this blog will be a medium for connecting and collaborating with other students and scholars of the Yaghnobi language.
6/13/07 Update: I started a new blog, The Yaghnobi, and all new posts about the Yaghnobi language are being made there.
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Posted in fieldwork, Linguistics, Tajikistan, Yaghnobi
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