European International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
118-123
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
30 March 2025
ACCEPTED
29 April 2025
PUBLISHED
31 May 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue05 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Economic Characteristics
of The Cattle Breeders of
The Surkhan-Sherabad
Oasis by Ethnoterritorial
Location at The Beginning
of the 20th Century
Turdimuratov Yangiboy Allamuratovich
PhD, Associate Professor, Uzbek State University of Physical Education
and Sports, Chirchik, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This article analyzes the economic
characteristics of the cattle breeders of the Surkhan-
Sherabad oasis by territorial distribution, the main
differences in the composition and maintenance of
livestock, as well as the factors that influenced the
traditional economic activities of ethnic and
ethnographic groups at the beginning of the twentieth
century. Also presented are materials on the exchange
of farms in connection with the mixed residence of
cattle breeders with the sedentary agricultural
population.
Keywords:
Traditional economy, livestock farming,
cattle breeders, mixed economy, Kungrats, Turks,
Karluks, Katagans, Karakalpaks, Durmens, Barlas, Arabs,
Tajiks, Turkmens.
Introduction:
One of the main types of work that
determines the way of life and source of livelihood for
many peoples of the world is animal husbandry. The
population of Uzbekistan has been engaged in animal
husbandry since ancient times. This was facilitated by
the vast pastures in the steppe, foothill and
mountainous regions of the country. The Surkhan-
Sherabad oasis is considered one of the regions of
Uzbekistan with developed traditional livestock
farming. The natural conditions of the oasis are very
favorable for livestock farming; rich seasonal pastures
and a hot climate make it possible in most areas to feed
livestock with field and pasture grasses all year round.
The presence of grassy mountain pastures, occupying
large areas and rich in fodder, as well as the possibility
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and Management Studies
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European International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Management Studies
of grazing livestock on the cheapest pastures, largely
contributed to the fact that livestock farming took a
leading place in the oasis. In addition, the development
of livestock farming here allows for the efficient use of
lands that, for one reason or another, are unsuitable for
agriculture.
The population of the Surkhan-Sherabad oasis, unlike
the population of other historical and cultural regions,
had some differences between the small territorial
latitude and some large settlements. Thus, based on
the natural and geographical features of the location of
each territorial group, unique local characteristics were
formed in the way of life, economy and material culture
[12].
At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of
the oasis mainly lived along the Surkhandarya,
Sherabaddarya and its tributaries. In the mountainous
and foothill zones, river oases lived a sedentary
population, in whose economy agriculture and
gardening predominated, and in the economy of the
semi-sedentary population, cattle breeding was the
leading activity. The mountainous regions of the oasis
were mainly inhabited by Tajiks, the semi-steppe low-
mountain regions and uneven steppes were mainly
inhabited by semi-sedentary Uzbeks, and the foothills
and mountain slopes were inhabited by a mixed
population [4, 4]. Although the sedentary population of
the oasis constituted a common ethnic unity of clans
and tribes that migrated in different historical periods,
they differed from each other in that they retained
their origins, customs and some national traditions.
According to the results of the conducted research, the
distribution of the population and ethnic groups of the
southern plain part of the oasis differed in comparison
with its northern part. The Uzbeks lived in the foothills
of Babatag and in the upper reaches of Surkhandarya,
and the Tajiks lived on the right and left banks of the
Tupalang, Sangardak, Obizarang, Khodjaipok, Kyzylsuw,
and Karatag rivers [13].
In the past, cattle, along with cattle breeders, played an
important role in the life of the agricultural population
and in traditional agricultural economy as a necessary
component. Farmers mainly used them as transport,
auxiliary force and an additional source of income. In
general, livestock farming provided the population with
working animals (horses, donkeys, bulls, camels) and
food products (meat, milk and dairy products), and also
served as the main raw material (wool, leather) for
domestic crafts (felt making, carpet weaving, leather
making), and manure (poris) served as fertilizer to
increase crop yields. In addition, livestock farming
served as the main product of the internal and external
trade of the oasis. Therefore, this branch of the
economy occupied a leading place in the ethno-
economy of the oasis [12].
In the economy of semi-settled Uzbeks, cattle breeding
occupied a leading or equal place to agriculture. The
main areas of livestock breeding among semi-sedentary
Uzbeks were sheep breeding (mainly fat-tailed sheep).
They also bred goats, cattle, which served as the main
draft force in agriculture, and camels. Horses were used
in agriculture mainly for threshing (they were used to
plow only in some areas) and, like camels and donkeys,
for transporting sheaves, grain and straw.
The most typical cycle of migrations among semi-
sedentary Uzbeks was as follows. Wintering areas
(villages) were located in river valleys or on the
southern slopes of adyrs (hills), in hollows of springs
and wells sheltered from the winds; cattle were grazed
in the zone of the villages. Only rich owners drove their
flocks to desert pastures, where the cattle were under
the care of hired shepherds. The high-mountain
pastures were mainly grazed by the flocks of wealthy
cattle owners. People of average income united their
livestock in flocks to pasture their sheep in the
highlands, hired shepherds or selected them from
among themselves. The rest of the cattle, in particular
dairy cows and goats, were not driven away [6, 47].
At the beginning of the 20th century, livestock farming
in the oasis was mainly carried out by ethnographic
groups that retained a semi-sedentary way of life and
were divided into clans, such as the Kungrats, Turks,
Karluks, Katagans, Karakalpaks, Durmans, and partly
Central Asian Arabs, Tajiks, and Turkmens [14, 28].
Although they subsequently switched to a mixed
economy due to their permanent sedentary lifestyle,
livestock farming continued to predominate in most of
their farms. The most interesting thing is that this type
of economy did not lose its importance even for the
population that switched to agriculture as their main
activity.
Accordingly, the population of the oasis engaged in
livestock farming can be conditionally divided into
cattle breeders, cattle breeders-farmers and farmers-
cattle breeders depending on their economic activity
and the level of livestock farming. The pasture system
of grazing cattle was predominant among cattle
breeders, the transhumance-pasture system was
predominant among cattle breeders-farmers, and the
stall-pasture system was predominant among farmers-
cattle breeders.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a
peculiar distribution of this type of economy among
many ethnic and ethnographic groups of the oasis, as
evidenced by the information about their ethno-
territorial location. The livestock breeders of the oasis
were distributed differently depending on economic
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European International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Management Studies
conditions, occupied certain territories and specialized
in breeding livestock species corresponding to the
natural capabilities of the area where they lived. For
example, the Kungrats specialized in sheep and camel
breeding, the Karluks, Turks, Arabs, Turkmens and
Karakalpaks - in sheep breeding, the Lakays - in horse
breeding and sheep breeding, the Durmens - in sheep
and cattle breeding, the Katagans, Yuz - in cattle
breeding, the mountain Tajiks - in goat breeding, and
the remaining groups of the population - in mixed
grazing of livestock [12]. However, there were
exceptions. For example, a small tribe of Karatamgali
Uzbeks living in the Gissar oasis (southeast of the Uzun
district) bred cattle year-round in the tugai forests
along the rivers. Since the Karatamgals lived a
sedentary life, they had few sheep and were not driven
to distant pastures. According to Uzbek tribes, who
belong to a semi-sedentary group of the population,
they previously did not consider cows to be cattle and
did not eat beef. From the last quarter of the 19th
century, with the transition to a sedentary way of life in
the oasis, they began to pay attention to cattle [3].
The types and composition of livestock on farms
depended not only on natural and geographical
conditions and types of pastures, but also on the social
status of families. For example, wealthy cattle breeders
had more sheep and horses, agricultural farms had
more working bulls and cows, and poor farms had more
goats.
During the times of the emirate, the Uzbek Kungrats
occupied the second place after the Mangyts in terms
of numbers among all the Uzbeks of Eastern Bukhara.
Being the most numerous Uzbek tribe living in the oasis,
they also gained fame as skilled cattle breeders. The
Kungrats were widespread throughout the oasis and
were located in settlements in the basins of the
Baysundarya, Sherabaddarya, and along the banks of
the Amu Darya and Surkhandarya. They are especially
densely located in the northern and southwestern parts
of the oasis [16, 329].
The nomadic type of cattle breeding was widespread
among some Kungrats who lived in semi-desert areas
(especially in the middle reaches of the Sherabad Darya
basin). Here, herders and their families would follow
their cattle through seasonal pastures, changing their
campsites as the pastures became overgrazed. The
Kungrats, for example, changed their campsites every
two to three weeks. They roamed along specific routes
within the territory of their tribal group. Only summer
cfmps could be outside this territory [6, 47-48].
Before the national-territorial demarcation in Central
Asia, the Kungrats led a semi-sedentary lifestyle, mainly
engaged in livestock farming, in particular sheep
farming and partly camel breeding. In the flocks of the
Kungrats living in the northern part of the oasis, the
leading place was occupied by the Gissar sheep, and in
the flocks of the inhabitants of the south, by the local
breed of jaidar. In addition, goats and horses were bred
on the farms. Cattle were very small due to their
inability to adapt to long journeys. Of the cattle
breeders who lived in the oasis, only the Kungrats were
engaged in camel breeding [6]. However, later they also
began to practice dry farming.
Until the end of the 19th century, before the Karluks
transitioned to a sedentary lifestyle, their main
occupation was animal husbandry. During this period,
some groups of Karluks, in whose economy livestock
farming predominated, were widespread in the upper
part of Surkhandarya - in such villages of the Sariasiysky
region as Togchiyon, Boykishlok, Zagnozot, Pozilkuchdi,
Kulmozor, Cholmiyon, Serimozor, Buyrapush, Neloba,
Dashnabad, Sufiyon [9, 78]. Some studies indicate that
there were more than 500 Karluk families in Sariasia
during this period. The pastures of the Karluks living in
the Shurchi and Sariasiya regions are located on the
southeastern slopes of Baysuntau [15, 68-69].
The Karluks were ancient shepherds who knew well the
methods of grazing and breeding sheep. They taught
their Tajik neighbors a lot in this area. The interaction
in their culture is reflected in their economy, lifestyle,
and customs. The Karluks living in other regions of
Uzbekistan mainly bred Karakul sheep, and the Karluks
of the oases bred Hissar sheep. Under the influence of
the local sedentary population, they also gradually
moved towards agriculture [16]. However, livestock
farming remains an important type of economy for
them. In their farms, livestock breeding was combined
with dryland agriculture.
Until the first quarter of the 20th century, the Turks,
whose main occupation was livestock breeding, lived
mainly in the foothills and mid-mountain regions of the
oasis. Therefore, in the literature they are sometimes
called mountain Turks [4, 72]. While the Turkic
migrations were close to the settlements of the
Chagatai and Tajiks, the Chagatai and Tajiks occupied
mountain river valleys, while the Turks usually occupied
watersheds consisting of treeless hills. The Turks were
engaged in pasture sheep breeding and partly horse
breeding, keeping the cattle on pasture feed during the
day [15]. Later they moved to a sedentary lifestyle and
began to engage not only in livestock breeding, but also
in agriculture.
The majority of the population of the village of Khodjigi,
located in the Sherabad oasis, on the right tributary of
the Sherabad River, were Durmens. The Durmens live
in the northern part of Babatag and in the areas of the
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middle and lower reaches of the Kafarnigan oasis [1].
Cattle and sheep breeding occupied leading places in
the livestock industry of the Durmens. In the Sariasiya
and Denau regions, the Durmens live in a mixed state
with the Yuz and Kungrats and in the past were mainly
engaged in cattle breeding, raising Hissar sheep and
cattle. They combined livestock breeding with
agriculture on irrigated and dry lands. Later, the
Durmens switched to other types of farming, in
particular, to gardening [2].
Previously, the Katagans occupied mainly mountainous
areas, specializing mainly in cattle breeding and partly
in sheep breeding. They lived in the upper parts of the
Surkhan-Sherabad oasis, mainly in Sangardak (mixed
with Tajiks), Changlak, Bakhcha and other mountain
villages in the areas of Denau, Altynsay, Sariasiya. In
addition to cattle breeding, the Katagans were also
engaged in agriculture and gardening. In 1937-1938,
many mountain Katagans descended to the oasis and
continued to engage in cotton growing, livestock
breeding and other branches of the economy [13].
The Barlas, who live in small numbers in the oasis, live
mainly in such villages as Dashnabad, Kudukli,
Karabandi, Shakishlak of the Sariasiysky district, in the
Karatagdarya River basin and in a number of villages of
the Denau district in a mixed form with the Uzbek-
Chagatai and Tajiks. The Barlas mainly intermarried
with the Tajiks. Accordingly, many aspects of their
economy were borrowed from the Tajiks [13, 124-125].
Before 1917, their main occupation was animal
husbandry, as well as agriculture, gardening, viticulture
and crafts. They learned gardening from the
neighboring Chagatai. Currently, gardening is one of
their main occupations [4, 139]. After most of the
Barlas had moved to a sedentary lifestyle, they later
began to engage in agriculture, gardening, viticulture
and, to some extent, crafts.
In the oasis, the Karakalpaks (clan) live mainly in the
village of Khomkon in the Sherabad district, and
livestock farming still occupies a leading place in their
economy. They mainly breed Hissar sheep. After the
resettlement in 1949-1953, the Karakalpaks from
Khomkan live in the territories of “Tallimaron” of
Angorsky, “Surkhan” of Jarkurgan, “Besh kahramon” of
Kumkurgan,
“Pakhtakor”
of
Bandikh
ansky,
“Kallamazor”,
“Tallashkon”
of
Sherabadsky,
“Navbahor” of Muzrabadsky, “Chilanzar” of Baysunsky
districts [12].
The main occupation of the Tajiks living in the
mountainous and foothill areas was livestock breeding.
If earlier the basis of the economy of the mountain
Tajiks was sheep and goat breeding, then the sedentary
farmers, the Tajik Chagatai, mainly bred cattle. Goat
breeding was important in the economy of the
mountain Tajiks. Goats could find food even on the
difficult mountain slopes. Currently, only in the
mountain and foothill villages of the Baysun district do
Tajiks predominate, mainly engaged in livestock
farming.
The Arabs living in the oasis, in particular the Arabs of
the village of Rabatak, used to be mainly engaged in
sheep breeding. The remaining Arabs were engaged in
cattle breeding mixed with agriculture. The pastures of
the Rabatak Arabs were mainly the deserts of
Tallashkan and Kizirik, where they mainly grazed Hissar
and Karakul sheep. Each rich Arab had up to 5-6 flocks
of sheep and goats, and each flock contained 500-600
sheep [15, 30]. During Soviet times, agriculture became
the main economic activity of the majority of Arabs
living in the above-mentioned territories.
Turkmens mainly live in the modern Termez, Angorsk,
Kumkurgan and Jarkurgan regions. In 1924, the
Turkmen population in the oasis was 24 thousand
people [7, 23]. In the oasis, the Turkmen lived in their
own separate villages; a total of 12 Turkmen villages
were identified. They lived mixed with the Uzbek
Chagatai only in the village of Dzhuyzhangal [8, 257].
The Turkmens living in the oasis mainly belonged to the
Ersari, Shikh and Sary clans, and at the beginning of the
last century they were mainly engaged in livestock
breeding. In the Termez region one can still meet
Turkmen families of cattle breeders.
In the first half of the 20th century, the main
ethnocultural processes intensified in the Surkhan-
Sherabad oasis - mutual cultural influence, the process
of rapprochement and partial assimilation of the
sedentary and pastoral population. Undoubtedly, the
process of transition to a settled way of life and the
disappearance of clan traditions in areas where semi-
settled Uzbeks and Turks lived densely in the oasis
occurred gradually. Despite the fact that until the
1930s, agriculture was widespread in Uzbek tribes such
as Kungrat, Karluk, Lakai and Durmen, they retained
elements of a semi-sedentary way of life and a tribal
system [5, 100]. Only among the small number of
representatives of the above-mentioned ethnic and
ethnographic groups living among the sedentary
population, differences in comparison with the original
groups became noticeable over time. The most
interesting thing is that, despite the fact that over time
the majority of the oasis’s cattle
-breeding population
completely switched to a sedentary lifestyle, their
material
culture
retained
economic
forms
characteristic of the cattle-breeding culture, in
particular, types of home crafts associated with the
processing of livestock products (felt making, carpet
weaving).
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Cultural interaction and rapprochement between
pastoralists and the sedentary population occurred not
only as a result of the transition of pastoralists to a
sedentary way of life and cohabitation with the
sedentary population, but also as a result of the
preservation of semi-sedentary livestock breeding and
sedentary agriculture. The two types of farming -
irrigated agriculture and pasture livestock farming in
the oasis complemented each other and were
harmoniously combined. As a result, interethnic ties
were revived, and this harmony served as a factor
strengthening
the
processes
of
integration,
consolidation and assimilation.
Due to the development of new lands in the oasis, the
population living in the mountains and foothills was
resettled to the lower regions. Due to the increase in
internal migrations, most of the ethnic and
ethnographic groups living in the oasis began to live in
a mixed way. This led to the fact that the main
population of the oasis carried out mixed economic
activities. In addition, economic exchange processes
took place in these regions. For example, after the
resettlement of Uzbek cattle breeders to Tajik oasis
villages such as Khufar, Miland, Sangardak, Tajiks began
to speak Uzbek and engage in livestock breeding [13,
127]. In addition, the Kungrats, who were closely
associated with the sedentary Tajiks, taught them the
rules of sheep herding. In turn, the Kungrats learned to
grow wheat and flour from the Tajiks.
In the basins of Surkhan and Sherabaddarya, yurts were
common among the settled Uzbek and Tajik population
as summer dwellings. In some places, Tajik women
began to make patterned felt products from wool and
even wove pile products for yurts [11]. The method of
storing cow fat in a container made from a ram's
intestine, etc., entered into the life of Tajiks from cattle
breeders. The Uzbek Yuzes and Karatamgals were
engaged in rice cultivation in the oasis and taught the
mountain Tajiks how to grow rice. Obviously, under the
influence of the process of settling, specific changes
occurred in the economy and way of life of the
population. In subsequent years, livestock farming did
not lose its importance in the economy of the oasis
population. This is due to the fact that livestock farming
played an important role in the lifestyle and family
economy of the above-mentioned ethnic and
ethnographic groups.
Uzbekistan, in particular the steppe and semi-steppe
regions of the Surkhan-Sherabad oasis, i.e. the unique
“nomadic steppes”, in contrast to the highland and
foothill zones, retained pasture and pasture livestock
farming in connection with extensive agriculture and
domestic crafts. This was not a nomadic way of life, as
noted in some studies of the Soviet period, but only a
form of traditional livestock farming adapted to natural
and geographical conditions in the economic and
cultural environment of the region. It should also be
noted that although the Karluks have lived in this area
for many centuries, the favorable environment in the
oasis for livestock farming allowed a certain portion of
the Karluks to engage in semi-sedentary livestock
farming until the beginning of the 20th century.
In general, ethnocultural ties and mutual influence
between various ethnic and ethnographic groups in the
Surkhan-Sherabad oasis at the beginning of the 20th
century were manifested in their material and spiritual
culture. Depending on the ethno-territorial location of
the cattle breeders living in the oasis, the economic
style was also unique. Among the population of the
oasis, they did not completely mix with the sedentary
population; some retained their tribal customs, in
particular, their unique way of life, customs, culture
and some ethnic characteristics.
According to the ethno-territorial location in the oasis,
cattle breeders specializing in breeding various
livestock in accordance with the natural capabilities of
the area subsequently began to live in a mixed state
with other ethnic and ethnographic groups in the oasis
due to internal migrations, although the types of
livestock in their farms became diverse and moved to a
mixed economy, in the farms of representatives of
some
ethnic
and
ethnographic
groups,
the
predominance of livestock breeding remained.
However, in their material culture (types and objects of
household crafts, tools, dishes), household activities
(weaving carpets, felting, leather making, etc.) the
preservation of some elements of the economic culture
of cattle breeders was observed.
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