Sailing into the cultures of the Turkman people~

Turkmen's land on the top left of the map.

This week, we sailed to the states of Turkmenistan meeting the nomadic Turkic people. Through genetic studies, it is confirmed that Turkmen are closely related to the Eastern Iranian populations and with strong northern Mongoloid genetic component.

Normadic Turkmen people.

When it comes to their culture, the Turkmen tribe shows great hospitality. This is because Turkmen often judge a person by the way he treats his guests. Therefore, they would prioritize their hospitality to others. Guest will be greeted by phrase "Khosh geldiniz!!" and other traditional phrases that means "How happy we are to see you! or "What an honor you have rendered to us!!". They believe that every guest are sent from God, that is why its not only the host's duty but also his sanctity. Turkmen rely on each other to survive through the hardships living in the dessert. Therefore, if anyone among them are inhospitable to a traveler, even the relatives of that individual would despise him.

A Turkmen with their essential transport - Camel

If you ever visit Turkmenistan, make sure you do not step on any cloth that has food on it! Bread and salt are considered sacred. That is why, stepping on them is a sign of misfortune.

Tradisional Turkmen attire for ladies.

An interesting tradition that is widely practice by the Turkmen is bridal kidnapping! Due to the expensive kalim (groom's dowry), the man abducts the woman he wishes to marry. Even till now, this custom still survive among the modern Turkmen. Not only that, President Saparmurat Niyazov introduced a state enforced kalim where all foreigners are required to pay no less then $50000 to marry a Turkmen women. It is no wonder that bridal kidnapping became one of their choice of marrying the one they love. Although the practice is illegal, the bride kidnappers are rarely procecuted. Furthermore, bride kidnapping actually encourages the family of the bride to accept the marriage. Bizzare isn't it?

Turkmen bride in a Kajaveh.

Alrite, now let's take a look into the real marriage ritual done by the Turkmen without the bridal kidnapping part. Generally, woman play an important role in their tribal system, just like men, woman are productive, spin wools, weave carpets, milk cows and sheeps, prepare dairy products, build cottages, harvesting of agricultural products and the most important of all, they give birth to children that will offer more manpower to their tribe. That is why, their wedding ceremonies are done elaborately and gloriously.

A Turkmen musician playing the sitar.

The ceremony is often done in an open space desert area with string instruments playing. The men and women celebrate separately with guest from surrounding villages and far off places. Most of the guest come on horsebacks in order to take part in the horse racing. Their wedding celebration takes about two to three days, so everyone has the opportunity to take part. Guest are welcomed by the horsemen whom will shake colorful pieces of cloth in front of the guest. Then, the guest has to chase the horsemen to get hold of the pieces of cloth to join the celebration.

A picture of the wedding celebration for Turkmens

The bride will b sprinkled with flour as a sign of luck from their mother. In a Kajaveh, her horsemen will announce her arrival in the bridegroom's house and handkerchiefs will be waved in the sky with background musical instruments and songs.

Another interesting fact about Turkmen's marriage is the newlywed will not live together till two to three years after marriage where the bride will move into the bridegroom's family.

Lastly, here's a video of Turkmen dance involving steps that replicates horse riding and many more! =)

That's about it for the Turkmen tribe. Next week, we will be sailing to the land of Trade. See you again!


Written by, Chyna Yong (Chief Officer of MagicalSail)