Proceedings of the Caucasian historical and archaeological society Tiflis 1926 Volume 4 (p.15-45)

Talysh, or as they call themselves, tolysh, inhabit the southern district of Lankaran, known as Talish, as well as adjacent areas of Persia (Guilan). Literature Talyshs very poor, and this is highly interesting people were still almost unexplored in ethnographic terms. Because of this, I would like to publish those poor, unfortunately, the material that I was able to gather during a visit to Talysh autumn of 1916, adding some of the latest statistical and other data. In order to better understand the recorded customs and beliefs, I Talyshs I compare them with the relevant facts in the life of other peoples. I visited the following items Talish: Lenkoran - Jill - Osyakudzha - Derya - Gageran - Separady. In addition, of Lankaran Astara went to Russian and Persian, as well as through Kumbashi-Nikolayevka and Masalit, Lower. and Superior. Isa. Materials collected at Jill, Osyakudzhe, Deryane and Gagerane.

Talysh Refion

The time Talyshs settlements in the territory of Lankaran district, there are no data, and are considered to be ancient inhabitants Talyshes Talish. In the past, settlements Talyshs went much further to the north, and it must be assumed, directly adjacent to populated areas related to them in language tatami, so that the Iranian language of the people were all the Caspian Sea coast from the borders of Persia to the borders of Dagestan (r.Samur). Currently Talyshes Tats and separated from each other by a wide strip of Azeri Turks. Turkish ethnic elements in a significant number are beginning to settle on the shores of the Caspian Sea with 12 centuries, since the emergence of the Seljuks. Since then the border of Talysh people became gradually superseded to the south. When Shirwan-shahah Talysh people have reached Kizil-agadzha, and not so long ago, old people still remember that Talysh language spoken Lenkoran far north. Currently, both sets B. Miller, the northern boundary of Talysh population passes through the middle flow of river. Vilyazh-tea, at the bottom of its current Turkish population shifted to the right bank of the river reach Kumbashinskogo Mordoviya (swamps, lakes).
In addition to limiting the spread of the territorial Talyshs, Turkic folk masses and had a tremendous impact on Talyshs in terms of their oturecheniya. Postoyango touching with the Turks, the lowland part Talyshes Talish learn Turkic language, as a necessary weapon mezhduplemennogo communication, using their native language Talysh only household items. Talish Mountains, to a lesser extent, impacted by Turks, it is better preserved their native language and household characteristics.

Oturecheniem Talysh population lowland part Talish explains why the statistics on the number of Talyshs are inaccurate and unreliable. According to the Zeydlitsa relating to the years 1859-1864, Talyshs in Lankaran district was 34,444 chel.ob.p. By posemeynym lists of 1886 the total number of Talyshs Lenkoranckom in the county stood at 47,296 people. These figures can be considered more or less correct; oturechenie Talyshs at that time did not have time to do especially big success, and Talyshes as the people it is viable, show normal natural increase, approximately 1.5% per year. In further statistical material observed a strange phenomenon: the number of Talyshs decreases. According to the first general census in 1897 Talyshs (on the basis of mother tongue) in Lankaran district is already only 34,991 people., While the «Tatars» in the county has 84,725 people. Since 1886, Talyshes shall not be removed and not extinct. It is clear that a significant portion Talyshs, on the basis of the language attributed to the Turks. Published in 1914, the Baku-Daghestanian Office Agriculture and gosud.imuschestv «Essay Agriculture and Forestry Lenkoran County» Talyshs determines the number of county 77,066 souls of both sexes, Turks same total 63,060 people. Finally, according to the Census of Agriculture of Azerbaijan in 1921 Talyshs villages in the same county okazyvaetetsya 66,206 people. (34,382 m and 31,824 g.), While the Azeri Turks, there are 78,380 people in the county. Having in mind that the census of 1921 was held in poor conditions and suffer significant disadvantages (44 villages Lankaran district have not been described, some Talysh village, for example. Boradigya, written as Turkish and so forth.) Talysh population figure should be lower than 66.206 active. In fact, in Azerbaijan Talyshs Talysh much more. B. Miller believes that the number of Talysh people in the Soviet Azerbaijan is about 80,000 people. They live in 350 villages and otselkah and a few in the city of Lankaran. This figure could be close to recognize the reality.

With regard to the different nature and zavisimoti the characteristics of life, nature and arrangement of dwellings in different groups Talyshs different. In mountainous and forest strip, where many forests, and lowland wooden houses, indoor cane, straw and sometimes tattered. Gender poor ground, with a more affluent wood. Houses bedneyshegonaseleniya previously, as in the villages. Gageran, without windows, and light passes through an open door. Now, there is little of such houses. Instead stoves - fireplaces without output openings for the smoke, why in the furnace chimney smoke thick club flies under the ceiling and goes out through the door revealed. For this reason doors in homes Talish high, usually amounting to a ceiling. In the mountains Zuvanda where there are no forests, and there is abundant stone houses are built of stone, and consistent great severity of the climate, more firmly and thoroughly. Polukochevniki alartsy and orandtsy summer spent in squalid tent «alachugah», winter in the warmer, but no less miserable postoroykah.
At Talysh lowlands, where the summer homes in the growing dampness, where malaria is rampant, for years the host arranged a special room «Llama»; this kind of wooden towers on the four pillars, at a height of 4-5 meters installed outdoor dais, surrounded by wooden railings. This tower up the stairs or on an inclined - to put the logs made it hack.

UNESCO

Dress Talish different costumes on the Azeri Turks. Men's clothes: jacket (Shay), pants (Homa-CHAVELOT), trousers (CHAVELOT), top arhalug (ahlyh) and long choha (choho); on the head first race skullcap - ahchin, at the top - hat (kolo) thumb or fabric. At the foot stockings (guava) and leather rounders (ed) or shoes (merda-mashio). Women's clothing: jacket (Shay), trousers (CHAVELOT), born arhaluga (pagary); head scarf povyazyvaetsya «pilyandy», over котрого nadevetsya large silk scarf «kyalagay» or «self-pilyandy». When leaving the house, women in the old lodge with a head to toe veil in print, in addition, to the person to wear sometimes «ruband» (zschakryvayuschy person)-a large white handkerchief with two holes for the eyes, some rubanda covering the bottom half of a person, often arranged like a grid of silk threads. Ruband fastened at the back buttons. For riding, there are some great women's trousers «chahur», fastened at the bottom of the buttons under the sole and zavyazvayuschiesya string. The custom of closing the face of women in domestic life has not adhered to the revolution, and only when leaving the house put a veil and some ruband. At the present time and the chador, and ruband many left.

And at home, and clothing, and the whole lifestyle Talyshes is more simple and undemanding. With regard to the warehouse of family life and the status of women in the family, in this respect are Talyshes vyshesvoih neighbors - Azeri Turks. «Warehouse to a family life», - said DA Kisten. «Their family is not the patriarchal type, and more individual, and therefore the identity of Talish more freely and independently, it is not suppressed as generic as the beginning of the Tartars, almost as a woman in the family they have a meaning, and its position is higher than in the family past. Separation of family and start a family in the public-land relations and the characteristic feature is their way of life ».
Talysh - peace-loving people, not knowing militant burned and predatory inclinations of traveling in the neighborhood with them shahsevanov. However, if necessary, Talysh shown outstanding bravery and courage. B. Legkobytov has long been given in this regard Talyshs apravlnuyu description: «They are not militant spirit, though brave, great riders and very good shot from guns. Living in the mountains, however, more militant than those who settled in the plain ». In other respects haoakteristika B. Legkobytova unjust, and he considers them prone to lies and deceit, profit, profit-hungry, and extremely persistent in the blood feud. All this is not the case: no special vindictiveness or misguided to Talyshs nablyudaentsya.oni not vice versa and gracious, hospitable, polite and soft.

 
Living in a fairly primitive hozyaystvennnogo life, away from the ways in which penetrate pok cultural conquest, Talyshes before the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan were neglected and forgotten people. No school in any of the villages was not Talish why literacy among Talyshs was rare. According to the general census in 1897, of 18,705 husband. Literacy was 403, or 2.1%, from 16,286 women literate 18 or 0.1%, from the same number of 34,991 souls of both sexes were 421 literate, which is 1.2%. rural population has remained nearly universal illiterate. Selskohozyaystvnnoy According to the census of 1917, from 13,482 muzhch.talyshey literacy in rural areas turned out 80 per person 0.6%, from 11.993 talyshinok literate rural women have had only 2, almost equal to zero.
By Talyshes religions - Muslims, mostly Shia, only residents of the southern Talish (b.Astarinsky mage), about 25 villages of the Sunnis.
Because the area of people's religious beliefs Talyshs more markedly preserved until the present time the veneration of trees and groves. The sacred tree are usually oak and beech. Osobennnym surrounded the veneration of the sacred oak in Mashhane, which come to worship, even from remote locations. The surrounding area is also considered to be an oak sacred and inviolable. Another svyaschennny oak has a near Lenkeran mineral water, near the villages of Razi and Piady at the top Vahmaku. Cut the branches of a sacred oak, of course not. Report that as a surveyor poonadobilos povesait this oak flag. Talysh-useful for working wood, cut down the branch, IW fell hitting his death. Holy place of the sacred oak called «Odzhag», as called Talyshs have any sacred place. Of the other sacred trees is called otmechennnye already in the holy books akad.N.Ya.Marra at altitudes Ulya Shavesh, the sacred grove of trees near azatovyh with. Veravula etc. As udrugih narodrov, the Persians, Kurds, Turks and others, sacred trees give light weight colored cloth - offerings of patients queuing up to leave a scrap of their clothes here and its ills. Such cloth is often uvesheny and branches of trees and shrubs near the mineral springs. I saw this picture, eg., A small cold sulfur source on the right-bereegu r.Ulyum tea near sel.Ambarany. I can not say whether these cloth to the bushes, where they navesheny, or placed around areas.

likede egil heyse

It appears that the remnant of the cult of the rocks and stones should be considered as a phenomenon, as the veneration of the Prophet Ali Trace - «Ali Reese». At proavom Bank r.Ulyum-tea, in Rvinskoy wood cottage near ototogo The place where the village Ulyum, the roadway path to a small cliff, there are several deepening, one of them, like a human foot print, the length about 60 cm is considered next leg of prophet Ali - «Ali Reese». Nemnoogo off there in the rock several round deepening, and that traces of the horses hooves Ali. There also two of another saint, apparently huge growth as his feet are about 1 m.v length. A stone with a foot Ali pious admirers navlena a pile of small pebbles, but they are billions of possible colors tryapochek. Everyone feels a duty to put right a «Ali Reese» stone, a piece of his patients put clothes, my guide told me to put a coin.
Stories about the miraculous imprint feet of gods, prophets, heroes and their horses, as is known, is widely distributed among all peoples: for example in India, Indochina, in Ceylon and pr.pokazyvayut traces of the Buddha, the ancient Greeks spoke of the trace of Hercules, many Christian nations show prints Christ Our Lady Foot them. In various localities of Transcaucasia has also a lot of these wonderful tracks. Near the village Kutkashen Nuhinskogo county show traces of hoofs of horses, as well as the feet and hands of a distributor of Islam, probably Babarutena. In different locations of Georgia have shown traces of fingerprints Devi, the Mother of God, etc. Svans show on the road from Tsageri in Lentekhi and stamp the feet of Christ. Ossetians have Hetaga foot, and traces of hoofs Sosruko Armenians trace horses hooves Surb-Sargis, Turks Derbend - traces of the horses hooves prophet Ali and pr.i etc.

Amulets and talismans. Amulets and talismans so far are still quite common among Talyshs. During his visit in 1916, I was struck by an abundance of all sorts of talismans, protecting and pr.na children, animals and objects. On the fence hung a skull stakes horses and cattle, as protecting against the evil eye. For children (usually boys, for girls, less value) were stitched naveshany and amulets of all sorts and destination, typically it is prayer, protection of cloth, rarely in the skin, in the form of triangles or quadrangles. Some prayers ( «duvo» or «dovo») protects from evil eye ( «bowl-ing» of the «bowls» eyes, «ma» - Busan, stone), others from fear, others from illness, etc. Such prayers sew to right side, hang on the neck, with Shiva to child cap ( «sipi-divi-ma» - Busa against sipi-diva), or put the child in a hat ( «sadozho-dovo»). At carrycots as, as obereegov, hang the shell, beads, iron rings, etc. Rodtlnitse on the neck hang amulets such as bone alazhena - «alazheni-chig», etc. for tools, weapons ipr.takzhe hang up amulets to protect these items from the evil eye. In chatty sbivaniya for oil, I met a string of beads of pasta, stone, iron ring. These wonderful things doolzhny were to protect a pitcher from the evil eye and provide a rapid sbivanie oil and its abundance. Hunters hang amulets on the gun that he has no evil eye and shoot it. There neskoleo sorts of amulets for guns: «Bakhty-duvo» serves ddlya happiness and luck in hunting, «chashnafasi-duvo» - against the evil eye shotguns; «chila-duvo» - (from «chil»-forty) preedohranyaet gun from the harmful effects on the case if the game killed by guns will rodilnitse before the expiration of 40 days after giving birth - without the gun duvo in this case ceases to be in game.
Maternity practices. Childlessness, osobennno absence of male children, a great frustration for Talish. Prior to the establishment of Soviet power in such cases Talysh often took a second wife. To seek the child, childless wife of old times given a vow of lifelong learning delivered to settle during the holiday moharrema (mogarrama) public feasts sugar, meat, rice and other products.
Births occurring in the living room on the floor. Assist with the delivery of village midwives, are used to facilitate childbirth as mechanical techniques, and magicheskies redstva. In difficult births often resort to the help of magic and prayers. In such cases, all pregnant women, women belonging to a person at all buckles, strap buttons. Chests, boxes, cartons, and all generally available in the house of open closed and kept open until the end of the delivery. This is a magical reception practicing almost everywhere. He resorted Georgian Imereti and Kakheti, Karachai, Russian, Ukrainians, Jews, Serbs, kachintsy, gilyaki many dr.narody.
Resort and for the next reception, also a friend dr.narodam. lead to the door of the house a horse and a woman in travail to feed it to the floors of their dresses. This method is practiced ease difficult childbirth Persians, Armenians, Abkhazians, Udine, Serbs.
If a woman in travail begins to fainting, shot from guns, to bring it into consciousness. Like other people have Talyshs has a picture of the evil, bloodthirsty creature who attack pregnant women and newborn children. The substance is known as «alazhen» Talyshes and submitted in the form of a black woman with big eyes and huge breasts, which she cast over the shoulders. Alazhen enters the room where the woman in travail, it scares my view, sometimes beats. In addition, alazhen kills babies. To drive alazhen under the pillow mothers put a dagger, gun, knife, even some of the iron, because iron alazhen very afraid.
Alazhen likes to ride a horse. From its frenzied ride a horse hudeet. Alazhen plait mane of horses in the nodes that are not able to untangle, but after some time they disentangle themselves. Alazhen summer, often swimming in the river.
There are many stories about how alazhen caught and forced to serve as its own. In barely Mamadyub alazhen often traveled at night on a horse. Horse Neck (alazhen sits a horse's neck) spread the resin and alazhen prilipla and was caught. Just stuck in the dress alazhen needle, and alazhen raboy be obedient, do not leave, and remove the needle from the dresses, like a steel thing, you can not. This is - a belief common among many people about different kinds of spirits. Turks Shamakhi county thus turning into slavery and leschego and «Al», Udins sel.Vartashen so captivated gin, spirits deshabahtan aysory caught, the Armenians Akhalkhalak County, Nagorno-Karabakh idr.rayonov, votknuv needle, turn into slavery Chortis, Anatolian Turks caught in such a way alcohol or al-crucians, etc. etc.
«Alazhen» literally means red female ( «al» - red, «wife»-woman). And svemu name and by nature - this is the same substance, which occupies a prominent place in the beliefs of Persians, Kurds, Anatolian Turks, the Turks of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus, S., Armenians, Georgians, and mn.d.r.narodov under the names «al », Ali», «Al-crucians», «albasty», «Almas», alpab »etc. from the Persians «al» has the form of a coherent, beautiful girl with red hair color (hence the name «al», meaning the red, red). «Al» attacks on pregnant women and razryvet their heart. Do Udins Vartashena on maternity attack «al», to run it under a pillow, put a dagger, skewer, garlic, etc. Do the Kurds of Azerbaijan to the birth attacking al-Anas, it is pulling out of the birth the heart and lungs and washes in the river (zap.v 1924 g.). Kurds in Armenia, the same substance called «ALA»; with the same name «ALA» or «alk_i» known Armenians. According to the Turks Shamakhi county, «al» - female creature with cat's face and red hair, she kidnaps a rodilnits liver and throws into the water and poisons the newborn, feeding her poisonous milk in dr.rayonah Azerbaijan gubitelnitsa rodilnits and newborn is called «al-Anas». We Georgians Kakhetia «Ali» - Pretty girl with golden hair, it penetrates into the house and one shot can kill rodilnitsu and child. The same kind of humor and has «Ali» and by the Georgian highlanders, mtiulov and Georgian Kartli. Do Anatolian Turks - «Al» and «Al crucians» - an old woman with long matted hair, attacking pregnant women and the bridegroom. In pregnant women it is pulling out slightly, why the woman died. A mountain peoples of Dagestan - the same substance detrimental to rodilnits nositt name «alpab» (Red female), but a tiny growth in krrasnymi hair down to foot. It penetrates the rodilnitsu, pulling out her lungs, liver and spleen, and cast into the water. According to Kyrgyz attitudes, at rodilnits attacks and destroys them, vyryvaya lightweight and loaded them into the water, the female creature - «albasty» or «albosty». In the Caucasus Mountain Jews in sovershennno the same role in favor of female type creature «dedey-ol», ie ol mother, obviously, the same samya «al». Available in some other nations (Chechen, leg, Kazan Tatars and others) about the albasty or Almas. In spite of the same name of an evil substance, attach it to other functions (leshy, etc.) not related to rodilnitsam. Undoubtedly, the original al, Almas, Almast, albasty, alpab, alazhen and pr.predstavlyali creature kills rodilnits and newborn, and as correctly observed already KP Patkanov, «probably originally the personification of puerperal fever». Hence the red color of their hair, and most of their name, indicating the red, scarlet.