TURKMENISTAN: TRADITIONS OF NOHUR CHALLENGED BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000671 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2019 TAGS: PINR PINS SCUL SOCI EAGR TX IR SA TC SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: TRADITIONS OF NOHUR CHALLENGED BY OUTSIDE INFLUENCES Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Nohur, a remote settlement of about 5,000 people located in a mountainous area near Iran in the Western part of Ahal province, is notable for its traditional culture and animalistic-superstitious variant of Islamic belief. Living conditions are primitive and the economy is based largely on subsistence farming. The area's pristine nature is a potential source of tourism revenue, but locals object to the potential negative impact of inappropriate behavior of some visitors. Bureaucratic restrictions on the ability of non-resident Nohurli to return to Nohur has generated conflict with government officials in the past, a sensitive subject for a government preoccupied with maintaining internal stability. The existence of Nohur and tolerance of its unique culture by the Turkmen Government illustrates the complexity of inter-tribal relations in Turkmenistan, which can require the government to tread lightly at times in order to preserve peaceful co-existence. END SUMMARY. WHAT IS NOHUR ¶2. (C) Nohur, a settlement of about 5,000 people located in a mountainous area close to the Iranian border and between Ahal and Balkan provinces, is distinguished by the traditional nature of its culture, which is protected from outside influence by the area's remoteness. Nohurli speak their own language, called Nohur, which is a dialect of Turkmen containing influences from Persian and Arabic. Locals practice Islam tinged with superstition and animalism, which can be seen in the cemetery where gravestones are topped by the horns of goats -- and which outsiders are forbidden to enter or photograph. Columns on the front of homes in the area include details that may be in the Ionic style, or could represent sheep horns. Nohur is also home to several legends concerning holy people and which are linked to the Persian legend of the Peri. Very little is known about the origins of Nohurli, some of whom claim that they are the descendents of Alexander the Great's soldiers. Among the Nohurli, there is a preponderance of blue-eyed, long-nosed people whose appearance clearly differs from that of ethnic Turkmen. PRIMITIVE LIVING CONDITIONS; SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY ¶3. (C) During a 24-hour stay in the area, a local family told Embassy Officer that children hardly ever go to school and when they do, not much is expected of them. Hence, nearly everyone is illiterate. According to the daily routine, adults get up at about 6:00 a.m. to begin the day's work. Women wear traditional long Turkmen dresses and spend their days milking cows, baking bread, preparing meals, tending children, and cleaning. Men tend fields or watch livestock. Children generally play or help with the livestock. At the end of the workday, village elders call men to prayer in the mosque, and elderly women, but not young women, pray in their homes on prayer mats. Some Nohurli are able to sell produce on the market, but much of the farming is for subsistence. The home where Embassy Officer stayed had running water and electricity, albeit unreliable, with a separate outhouse in the back. In the evenings, women watch Russian television programs, which helps some to learn passable Russian, while weaving silk by hand on a loom. Men and women eat meals in the traditional Turkmen way, on the floor and in separate rooms. The elder of the family where Embassy Officer stayed still knew Russian from his experience in the Soviet Army. Two brothers, one age 26 and the other 30, said that they didn't know anything about the U.S., except from what they saw in pictures that a non-Nohurli friend took during a U.S. Government-funded trip to the U.S. Like elsewhere in Central Asia, Nohurli highly value hospitality and refuse to allow visitors to help with chores. PRESIDENT'S CLASSMATE: THE VILLAGE DENTIST ASHGABAT 00000671 002 OF 003 ¶4. (SBU) Embassy Officer noticed a man wearing the dark suit and tie, white shirt, and Turkmenistan flag pin characteristic of government officials. The brothers explained that he is the area's dentist. He is not a government official, but dresses like one because he went to dental school with President Berdimuhamedov. TO LEAVE, OR NOT TO LEAVE NOHUR ¶5. (C) The 30-year-old brother is thinking about leaving Nohur -- as he estimated 70 percent of Nohurli have done -- to become a driver in Ashgabat. The younger brother was content with life in the village and planned on staying. They explained that villagers accepted that young people moved elsewhere because of the limited living and farming space on the mountain. They explained that those who left Nohur retained their traditions and some local habits, like having wooden chests painted in a traditional Nohur style in their homes, which differ in style and motifs from similar furniture owned by Turkmen. These brothers acknowledged the prevalence of inbreeding and the health problems that it caused. The household elder did not want members of his household engaging in this practice any longer, and they are now allowed to marry outside of their clan, to members of other clans in the Nohur area. (NOTE: Nohurli apparently understand that inbreeding leads to birth defects and learning disabilities, but not so much that they know that they will have to expand the pool beyond 5,000, or the approximate total of 17,000 Nohurli in Turkmenistan in order to avoid this. END NOTE.) The two brothers admitted that Nohurli who live in other parts of Turkmenistan are known to be wily businessmen, which contributes to a bad reputation for Nohurli -- their illiteracy leaves them few options in the professional world and they have to rely on their street smarts. One Turkmen told emboff that she knows of a Nohur woman who is a shuttle trader of goods from Iran, and marveled that she is able to do this job without being able to read or write. BEHIND THE WATERFALLS, PEOPLE STAND UP TO AUTHORITY -- AND OUTSIDERS ¶6. (C) The area's pristine nature, including several waterfalls, has long attracted Turkmen, but -- according to various sources both inside and outside of the area -- local Nohurli tore down the Chandybil Tourist Center because "Turkmen brought prostitutes and drank." Nohurli are especially critical of drunkenness and complained about this behavior several times when explaining the refusal of local elders to accept tourism in the area. (NOTE: When asked about Nohur, one Ashgabat resident told emboff that he wanted to go to Nohur soon, to "drink vodka under the waterfalls," and maintained that he would sneak alcohol into these areas, even if he stayed with locals. END NOTE.) A tourism company interested in developing tourism in Nohur asked to meet with members of this family, who in addition to farming, also work for the Ministry of Nature Protection as forest rangers of the nearby national forest. However, the family declined to work with the company because it did not appear sincerely interested in the area or people, but just wanted information. They family was also suspicious of the problems that tourism could bring to the area. ¶7. (C) A non-Nohur and close friend of the family explained how Nohurli forced Turkmen security officials to discontinue requiring border permits in order to enter the area three years ago. Security officers prevented some Nohurli who lived outside the area from returning to attend a funeral because they didn't have the necessary permits. (NOTE: Nohurli believe in burying the dead within a 24-hour window, and obtaining border permissions took several days at a minimum. END NOTE.) Nohurli, angered that the government was interfering in their lives and sacred burial traditions, tore down the officers' building, and literally drove them out of the area. This source noted the extreme sensitivity ASHGABAT 00000671 003 OF 003 of this information, explaining that Turkmen authorities are extremely fearful about the spread of information containing any hint of instability in the country. MORE ON THE COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD ¶8. (C) The brothers noted that one good thing about border permissions was that Iranians could enter the area only with difficulty. They said that Iranians bring two things to Nohur that no one likes: drugs, and in the other extreme, the Iranian brand of religious observance. They also said that some young people were going to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for religious education, and elders did not like the new ideas that these youth brought back with them. Nohurli like the way that they worship and want it to stay that way. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: The existence of Nohur and tolerance of its unique culture by the Turkmen Government illustrates the complexity of inter-tribal relations in Turkmenistan. While some Nohurli seek to protect their traditional culture, it is clear that pressures are building to open up to the outside world. Increasingly Nohurli move elsewhere to earn a living and, tourism, which could provide local jobs, would bring the influence of pernicious habits. Still, options are limited if the Nohurli are going to improve their current dire living conditions. END COMMENT. MILES