地理空間 12 - 2 97 - 115 2019

Characteristics of pastoralism in Karakul, Tajik Pamirs in the North-eastern part of

SHIRASAKA Shigeru＊ and WATANABE Teiji＊＊

＊ Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan ＊＊ Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan E-mail: [email protected]＊

This paper details the pastoralism practised in the Karakul area, northeast Tajikistan. The families in Karakul graze their livestock in jailoo (summer pastureland) far away from the Karakul village and move their livestock to kyshtoo (winter pastureland) around the village. In addition to jailoo and kyshtoo, they also use two other kinds of pasture: küzdöö (spring pasture) and bäärlöö (autumn pasture). The pastoralism in the study area is characterised by the dominance of vertical migration, and low water availability due to the topographical conditions. Keywords: pastoralism, subsistence, vertical livestock migration, Tajikistan, The Pamirs

Watanabe (2013, 2016) examined the relationship Ⅰ Introduction between seasonal grazing activities and the degree The Pamirs, one of the least economically of the degradation of the pastureland in the same developed regions in the world, has been regarded area. Watanabe and Shirasaka (2016) described the as marginal and for many years produced livestock diversified daily grazing systems in the Alai Valley meat and wool for the . The region as an adaptation strategy to the changing socio- has been greatly affected by the socio-political economic conditions after independence in 1991. changes that have occurred since the beginning of The Tajik Pamirs is characterised by a compli- the 1990s. As a result, the world’s researchers have cated aggregate topography with mountain ranges, started to pay attention to the Pamirs and its sur- basins, and gorges ranging from 2,000 m to more rounding regions, and studies on livestock grazing than 7,500 m in altitude. There are some studies on in the region are rapidly increasing. For example, the transforming pastoralism in the eastern Tajik Robinson et al. (2016) discussed the site selection Pamirs (e.g., Kreutzmann et al., 2011; Vanselow et of the pastureland among livestock owners in al., 2012a, 2012b; Kreutzmann, 2015). Kraudzun southern . Dörre (2012) examined the (2012) studied the transformation of pastureland challenges in pasture legislation in , tenue from common resource to private property. conducting a case study on the central part of the However, there are no descriptions of the cur- country. Pastoralism above the cultivation limit was rent state of pastoralism in the north-eastern part described in the eastern Alai Valley of southern of the Tajik Pamirs except Watanabe and Shirasaka Kyrgyzstan (Shirasaka et al., 2013, 2016). Liu and (2018). This paper aims to first detail some impor-

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tant aspects of the current status of pastoralism in is extremely limited (771,000 ha), most of which the Karakul village, north-eastern Tajik Pamirs, is seen in the western Tajik Pamirs. The Karakul after overviewing the historical transformation of village (Karakul AA; Aiyl Aimak), which is situated pastoralism. at an altitude of 3,930 m on the eastern side of the Karakul Lake (3,915 m), belongs to the Murghab Ⅱ Study area district (Murghab Rayon), part of the GBAO. The The Tajik Pamirs roughly correspond to the village is the only settlement in the Karakul area administrative area of the Gorno-Badahshan (Fig. 1). As of 2010, the population of the Karakul Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). The area of the village is 804 people (163 families). Almost all of GBAO is 6,410,000 ha, occupying 45% of the terri- the inhabitants are Kirghiz people; only one family tory of Tajikistan. The cultivated area of the GBAO was Tadzhik. Approximately 130 families (80% of

Fig. 1 Study area.

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inhabitants) rely mainly on livestock farming, and about 20% are public employees (staff of the village Ⅲ Brief history of pastoralism office and school teachers). The most prosperous １．From nomadism to the sedentarization family keeps 300 yaks in addition to approximately of livestock farming: Establishment of 1) 1,000 sheep/goats and employs two chabans kolkhoz and domiciliation (shepherds) for the care of the livestock. In the so-called nomadism era, Kirghiz people The Za-Alai Range, which has its highest peak, entered the Karakul area for summer pasturing Lenin Peak (7,134 m), in the north of Karakul, bor- through the Alai Range pass. The Kirghiz people ders the study area and the Alai Valley, Kyrgyzstan. had also entered through the mountains from what The eastern part of Karakul is in a wide buffer is now China. zone with barbed wire fences. Tajikistan was incorporated in the Soviet Union The measured meteorological data in the in the 1920s. There were five sovkhoz (state farms) Karakul village from August 2014 to July 2015 in the Murghab district in the Soviet Era. In addi- show that the annual air temperature was –0.1°C tion to four kolkhoz or collected farms (Murghab with the warmest month in July (14.2°C) and the Kolkhoz, Lenin Zholu Kolkhoz, Kirov Kolkhoz, coldest month in January (–14.1°C). Monthly and Bash Gumbez Kolkhoz), there was Pravda mean air temperatures exceeding 10°C occurred Kolkhoz, which was the former Karakul village. only in July and August. The annual precipitation There was no domiciled village in the area before in Karakul is estimated to be around 70–80 mm the establishment of Pravda Kolkhoz. A border (Komatsu, 2016). The measured seven-month pre- garrison was first stationed in WWJ because the cipitation excluding winter in 2014–2015 was 26.2 area is bordered by China. Pravda Kolkhoz was mm in the Karakul village, although it increased at established at WJJ (Fig. 2; 3,961 m) in 1918, which higher altitudes (Watanabe and Shirasaka, 2018). is now called Jangi-Jer (‘new settlement’). The The snow depth around the Karakul Lake is usu- kolkhoz was then developed to establish a village ally about 10–15 cm. Snow in Jalang Jailoo,2) one there. of the summer pastures (Ko6 in Fig. 2; 4,094 m), The members who had gathered in the kolkhoz disappears in June. Low temperatures and a lack of were poor. They moved mainly from the Murghab an irrigation system permit no farming in the area. area. Pravda Kolkhoz made kashars (WK1–10 in People of the Karakul village usually use Som, Fig. 2). A typical kashar at that time was composed which is the monetary unit of Kyrgyzstan. Their of residences for taking care of domestic animals relations with Kyrgyzstan are very strong in and large barns, which contained more than 400 everyday life. Therefore, we describe the price/ sheep/goats in winter. They built an office in WK1 cost of items in Kyrgyz Som, not in Tajik Somoni (Fig. 2), where people had managed those kashars. (Tajikistan’s monetary unit) in this study. One hun- A road linking Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan dred Kyrgyz Som in 2012–2015 was approximately through the Za-Alai Range was constructed along 2 US dollars. the east of the lake in the 1930s. This road was

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Fig. 2 Locations of summer and winter pastures in Karakul (2015) Summer pasture (jailoo): Ka1: Eshan-Rabat; Ka2: Bulak; Ka3: Kyzyl-Art; Ka4: Ui-Bulak; Ak1: Kosh-Jilga; Ak2: Chat; Ak3: Zulumart; Ak4: Istik; Ak5: Sai-Konush; Ak6: Bel; Ak7: Maamat; Ak8: Kara-Chim; Ko1: Apak; Ko2: Kara Chim; Ko3: Kök-Dün; Ko4: Dangi; Ko5: Tash-Jilga; Ko6: Jalang; Ko7: Tuura-Bulak; Ko8: Kül-Airik; Ko9: Arka-Jalang; Ko10: Onoi Gösh; Mu1: Kyzyl-Jeek; Mu2: Muzkol; Mu3: Shor-Bulak; Mu4: Don-Shiber; Mu5: Chini-Suu. Winter pasture (kyshtoo): WJJ: Jangi-Jer; WTO: Tumushuk-Ötök; WMK: Döö-Ötök; WC: Chöbök; WKJ: Kara Jilga; WK1: Karakul; WK2: Karteke; WK3: Kara-Art 1; WK4: Kara-Art 2; WK5: Kara-Art 3; WK6: Kara-Art-Agin; WK7: Köyöndu; WK8: Kum-Chukur; WK9: Kara- Shilarjin; WK10: Kök-Chukur.

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expanded and became a carriageway in 1949, kolkhoz, all members participated directly in its which is now called the Pamir Highway. Due to the management. The principal objective of most of road, they relocated their fixed residences from the kolkhoz was production for self-consumption. WJJ to WK1 on the highway (Fig. 2). The relocated However, the scale and the organisation of the settlement, named Karakul, became the base of kolkhoz gradually grew larger over time. The the kolkhoz. Jangi-Jer (WJJ) is now one of the yak kolkhoz were not able to solve various management pasturelands in winter. problems by themselves. The nation intervened The five sovkhoz leased a part of the Alai Valley to fix their organisations and most of the kolkhoz and used it for the production of feed (tabigyi chop were substituted with sovkhoz in 1977. in Tajikistan). The settlement of Sary-Mogol in the Pravda Kolkhoz was reorganised by about Alai Valley (Fig. 1) had belonged to the Kyrgyzstan 1940. Pravda Kolkhoz became Kyzyl-Chekarachi Soviet Socialist Republic as a ‘lease of 61,000 ha Sovkhoz, and the Kyzyl-Chekarachi Kolkhoz was for 50 years’ (no data on other lease conditions) maintained until 1976, and the Kyzyl-Chekarachi and had belonged to the Murghab district in the Sovkhoz continued until 1999. Life for local people GBAO of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. The in Karakul in the sovkhoz era was easier than that five sovkhoz enabled some of their members to in the kolkhoz era because all production materials emigrate to Sary-Mogol. Each sovkhoz moved its were offered to the sovkhoz by the government. brigada (a squad or branch of sovkhoz) into Sary- Mogol and cultivated forage crops. In other words, ２．Private possession of domestic animals Sary-Mogol had been an enclave of the Republic of with the collapse of the Soviet Union Tajikistan between 1957 and 2003. Sovkhoz were dismantled in 1998, and the The inhabitants of Sary-Mogol had maintained domestic animals that the sovkhoz had owned were Tajik citizenship after the independence of distributed to the local people. The basic policies of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Almost all people in the distribution in Karakul were as follows: (1) the Sary-Mogol acquired Kyrgyzstan citizenship after period served as labour in the kolkhoz/sovkhoz, and 2003. (2) the number of family members. Five sheep/ Domestic animals had been grazed only by goats (three females and two males), one yak using natural herbs in Karakul in the beginning of (female), and one calf of yak were distributed as the kolkhoz era. The purpose of the brigada setting the base per inhabitant who engaged in domestic of the five sovkhoz was to make hay and to fatten animal-related work in the sovkhoz. Some families their domestic animals in the Alai Valley with rich who received little in the distribution of livestock grasses. The local people said that grass cultivation sold what they had received and emigrated to was recognised as important, and they transported outside areas. hay by truck to the Tajikistan side every autumn. The governmental provision of kerosene, coal, In the beginning, kolkhoz were generally small and other necessities stopped after independence. organisations. When they established their The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused

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food and fuel shortages. The instruments and vehi- the Karakul village told us that pastureland and cles used for the sovkhoz were all sold to individu- natural grassland for hay including jailoo (summer als. All kashar that the sovkhoz had owned were pastureland) in the area are ‘national land’, and that also sold to individuals. There were 15 kashars in the inhabitants are only given the usufruct. The Karakul in the sovkhoz era, and these are still in national land of the Karakul village is managed by use. A kashar is, generally, used by one to three the village authorities in cooperation with the local families with large number of sheep/goats during Association of Fermers. winter. And some families with small number of sheep/goats keep them stabled in Karakul. A few Ⅳ Pastoralism in the post-Soviet era families with large number of livestock built their １．Livestock new dwellings attached for sheep/goats’ shed in People in the Karakul area now mainly keep the vicinity of Karakul. sheep/goats and yaks/cows (milk cows), as well Thus, as a result of the dismantling of the as donkeys5) as domestic animals. Our interview sovkhoz, domestic animals were shared by families, with the vice-mayor of the village in August 2013 and individual families became fermer (personal suggested that approximately 14,000 sheep/goats management). In Karakul, the entire sovkhoz had had been grazed in Karakul by the end of the sovk- completed the shift to fermer management by 2000. hoz (Soviet) era. After independence in 1991, the The law regarding fermers in Tajikistan was number decreased significantly. This is because amended in 2005, and the private management of the poor inhabitants sold the distributed livestock. agriculture as well as livestock was legalised as so- The local people said that they tended to keep the called legalizatsiya in Tajikistan. large livestock (yaks) if possible but sold their Our fieldworks indicate that three manage- sheep/goats. The estimated number of livestock ment bodies now coexist for the management of in the Karakul area in 2013 was as follows: 10,000 agriculture and livestock farming in the GBAO: sheep/goats, 100 cows, 2,500–3,000 yaks, and 90 (1) individual dekhan3) farms, (2) collective dekhan donkeys. farms (a form of cooperative management where １）Sheep/goats some families gather), and (3) state enterprises. A Most families in the area have grazed sheep/ state-owned enterprise in livestock farming man- goats and the income from their sheep/goats agement still remains in Tajikistan. The upbringing mainly supports their livelihoods. Sheep in of fermers (individual dekhan farms) and dekhan particular are important to sell. While sheep in charba (collective dekhan farms) still exist today. the sovkhoz era were mainly Spanish, Caucasian, Dekhan charba is an aggregate of some fermers. and Russian merino to make wool, most sheep There is only fermer management in Karakul, after the 1991 independence are jaidar sheep with and all fermers have to join the Association of black wool. Local people say that the meat of jaidar Fermers in Tajikistan (the nation-wide organisa- sheep is of excellent quality. The fat of the sheep’s tion of farmers and pastoralists)4). The officer in rump is called kuiruk and the sheep with the great-

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est amount of fat is called kuiruk-koi. The quantity up to the jailoo. Although the local people make of kuiruk and the weight of kuiruk-koi reflect the felt from the wool, there is also a route to sell wool sale price. The age or sex of the sheep has nothing to Uzbekistan via Sary-Mogol. to do with the sale price. The local people also say ２）Yaks and cows that castrated sheep have tastier meat. Therefore, Among the 160 families of Karakul, 80 families sheep/goats are castrated as babies between ten keep yaks; 20–30 families own 100–150 yaks and days and one month after birth. the other families have fewer, suggesting that the Sheep/goats can mate after they are one year total number of yaks in the area would reach 4,000. old. Sheep/goats can have offspring for five to six The families with more yaks tend to also own more years after the first baby is born, and afterwards sheep/goats. Local people always leave their male the owners sell the old female sheep/goats for and female yaks together to kyshtoo in winter and meat. About 80% of the sheep/goats give birth jailoo in summer. every year. Sheep/goat rams are grazed for two Every family chooses a yak for mating (buka). to four years. The local people purchase the Approximately 70% of female yaks at the age of four males for mating from several jailoo. One male or older (tuar-iynek) produce calves every year. for mating costs 8,000–9,000 Som (USD125–140)/ Yaks usually give birth in March. If chaban do not head (as of August 2011). Since sheep/goats mate watch over the females and calves, wolves often at- in November, lambs are born between March tack them. The chaban usually put new-born calves and May. Sheep usually have one lamb, and 80% in the koloo at night. They let yak calves nurse until of female goats produce twins. Lambs are kept in 12 months after birth, but the calves are isolated pens (koloo in Kyrgyzstan) until the grass of the from the females afterwards. They do not provide pastureland begins to grow enough. feed to adult yaks. Every family separates their rams from their The milking period for yaks and cows in jailoo is flocks and leaves them to one hired chaban, who from May to September. In the event that the own- stays in the kyshtoo (winter pastureland), such as ers have more than 100 yaks, they separate and Jangi-Jer (WJJ) in February. The trust expense is breed the yaks and calves. Such wealthy owners 50 Som/head/month. The total number of rams require two chaban for the yaks and calves. Yaks that one chaban watches over is approximately and milk cows are separately grazed in different 350. The chaban grazes the rams from February to pasturelands in Karakul. Yaks and cows that do not the end of September every year, and delivers all give birth in spring are called suai. Suai and males the rams to, for example, Kosh-Jilga Jailoo (Ak1) are put in the same group in the pasture. The herd in May. Every family comes to Kosh-Jilga Jailoo in owners do not use a chaban for the group of suai. October to receive their rams as well as male yaks. One of the owners will visit the suais’ jailoo in The ratio of males to females for sheep/goats is rotation for one week to confirm the head count. about 1:25 or 1:20 in the study area. The season of The price of purchase of buka (mating yaks) is wool cutting for sheep is in May, just before going 40,000–50,000 Som. Male yaks command a higher

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price than female yaks in the Pamirs, and some area are located in the western, high-altitude area families graze more males. They sell most of the (Fig. 2). These are situated on the bottom of the yaks by the age of three, or before the yaks start U-shaped valley, which used to be glacialised. mating. Local people say that they obtain more On the other hand, kyshtoo, winter quarters, are meat when the yaks are castrated. They use female located in the eastern, lower altitude area (Fig. yaks for ten years for milking, after that they sell 2). The highest jailoo is Ak7 or Maamat Jailoo the yaks for meat. (4,442 m), and the altitude of their kyshtoo (winter The Kirghiz people call the crossbreed between pastureland), Wk9, is 3,936 m. Therefore, the yak and cattle argin. No argin were observed pastoralists in the study area use pastureland with in Karakul during our field surveys. The people an altitudinal difference of about 506 m, meaning of Karakul are extremely negative regarding that they practise vertical livestock migration, the production of argin. This is also true among which will be discussed later. the Kirghiz living in the Alai Valley in southern ２）Seasonal movement between summer Kyrgyzstan. Although the reason is unclear, local and winter pastures people say that the cruising radius of argin is Figure 3 shows the relationship between the larger than that of yaks (5–6 km) and therefore jailoo (summer pastureland) and the kyshtoo (win- they are more difficult to keep. ter pastureland) by four groups (Kyzyl-Art, Akjilag, Kokuibel, and Muzkol) in the study area. The ２．Pastoral practise Kyzyl-Art group migrates their livestock between １）Locations of summer and winter Ka1-3 in summer and WK1 and 6-10, WC, and WJK pasturelands in winter, which are located at the similar altitudes. Most jailoo (summer pastureland) in the study On the other hand, the remaining three groups

Fig. 3 Relationship between the summer and winter pasturelands in Karakul

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migrate their livestock between the jailoo at the The uei or tam became owned by individuals high altitudes and the kyshtoo at low altitudes. after independence. Now, any person in the village Some families in the Akjilga group use two kyshtoo can freely build uei or tam in the jailoo if he/she (WK4 and 5), which are located at higher altitudes. pays 1,500 Som (equivalent to the amount of about Grasses grow in the area where the melting water 1/3 of the sale price of one sheep) to the village from glaciers in the upper valley is supplied. authority to receive permission to build. Although Most families do not stay in the Karakul village permission is easily granted, the number of uei (WK1), meaning that they stay outside the village or tam does not increase rapidly because the cost throughout the year even though they have a of building is expensive. The place with houses house in the village. in jailoo is called jurt, which means ‘people’ in ３ ） Jailoo Kyrgyz. A steam bath (banya) may be attached to Typically, jailoo is comprised of the following some jurt. facilities: (1) residence: traditional yurts (tents) Sheep/goats have to be kept in a stud farm with and/or houses made of sun-dried bricks (uei walls at night for protection from wolves. The ortam in Kyrgyz); (2) koloo: a place where people Kirghiz people call such a hut koloo. Koloo are sur- Fig. 4 keep their sheep/goats at night; (3) kana: a hut rounded by stone walls, which is called tash-koloo (両段) where they keep cow and yak babies at night; (4) (Fig. 4). In recent years they have often used a jele: a place for the milking of yaks and cows (and fence with wire netting as a substitution for the where they are tied up at night); (5) seri: a stand stone walls. where cheese is dried; (6) oor: a hole near a small Kana, meaning ‘rooms’, is a hut for keeping stream that they use as a refrigerator; (7) tandyr: a cow and yak babies at night. As the Kirghiz call a pot to bake bread; (8) tualet (Russian): a toilet; and juvenile yak younger than two years torpok, a hut (9) jaiyt: grazing land. Some details regarding (1) for the night is called torpok kana. Not all jailoo to (8) excluding (9) are given below. have kana, for example, there is no kana in Jalang Traditional movable houses in jailoo are yurts. Jailoo. However, the so-called dwellings made of sun-dried Jele means a place for milking of yaks and cows. bricks were built in the jailoo in the 1980s of the Some jailoo separate the place for milking and sovkhoz era. It was irrational for them to carry all for tying yaks and cows at night. In this case the the necessary materials to the jailoo every sum- milking place is called korgon. mer; thus, they built houses with sun-dried bricks Seri is a stand to air cheese (kurut), which is in their jailoo. They call a relatively big house uei, their important preserved food, and also dry their and a small house tam. The price of a new yurt laundries under seri. exceeds 150,000 Som (3,000 USD). It is assumed They dwell near a small stream and use the that the construction of uei or tam is promoted. water in their daily lives. The water temperature of Further, the use of Western-type tents (chatyr) the stream is 4–5°C even in the summer. Digging tends to increase. a hole by the stream to use as a refrigerator is a

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common practise. They call the hole caktajych. It is this jailoo. Sheep/goats are grazed on the higher often used to keep suzmö, a kind of soft cheese. slopes to the south and west of the jailoo. A pot to bake bread is called tandyr. However, As described above, two chaban from two some families bake bread in a big iron pan, which families are necessary every day for the yaks and is placed on piled stones. Every family bakes bread sheep/goats in the jailoo. These two chaban rotate once or twice a week. daily among the eight families. A simple restroom (tualet) with a hole and There are a significant number of suai, namely stone walls is constructed at a distance from their female yaks and cows that are not able to give houses. When the hole becomes full, they fill it up birth as shown in Table 1. Two chaban of Jalang and dig another one. Jailoo patrol ‘Kara-Zoo Jailoo’ once a week. They ４）Pasturage in jailoo: An example of Jalang take these suai down to their jailoo (either Jalang, Jailoo (Ko6) Kül-Airik, or Tuura-Bulak) on the day before the The Jalang Jailoo (Fig. 5) is located at 4,094 m descent from their jailoo and lead them to the a.s.l. in the Kokuibel Valley, which eight families kyshtoo. (Families A-H in Table 1) used in the summer of Most female sheep around here do not have 2015. This is the most heavily used jailoo with the horns. Cutting the wool of the sheep takes place largest number of family users in the Karakul area. in May, but the lambs’ wool is cut in the jailoo in The eight families (A–H) cooperate and share August. They also make a nick in the ear of sheep/ the pasturage of yaks and sheep/goats in Jalang goats and use coloured paint on their bodies to Jailoo. They make two novad (daily grazing system distinguish them from the others. on a rotational basis among participating families; The people of Jalang Jailoo usually transport Watanabe and Shirasaka, 2018) every year as their three to four-year old sheep/goats every follows: (1) one novad of 68 yaks, and (2) another summer. They gather their sheep/goats from each novad of approximately 740 female sheep/goats. family to make one group of 250–300. Two or three The breeding of all male sheep/goats (about 30 selected chaban take the group to Sary-Mogol in head) is consigned to Kosh-Jilga (Ak1). Kyrgyzstan, although it is officially banned by the The main work in the jailoo is the grazing and law (Watanabe and Shirasaka, 2018). This trip on milking of livestock and processing the milk. They foot takes one week. The sheep/goats are sold in start to milk at around 6:00 in the morning, and the bazaar of Sary-Mogol. Livestock feed is lack- finish in 30 minutes. Chaban drive yaks in the ing in the area in winter; therefore, selling their mountains after milking and graze the yaks until livestock at the end of the summer contributes to the evening. In 2015, all the babies of the 68 yaks minimising the necessary amount of winter feed. were grazed on the forward flatland of the houses in Jalang Jailoo. The grazing land of these calves is ３．Breeding and using livestock in range and sight of the dwelling area. In addition, １）Milking and dairy products approximately 20 cows were also grazed around Milking yaks is a post-Soviet activity. People milk

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Fig. 4 Tash-koloo for sheep/goats in Jalang Jailoo Source: Taken by Shirasaka, August 2011.

Fig. 5 Jalang Jailoo Source: Taken by Shirasaka, September 2015.

Fig. 6 Landscape of grassland in Karakul Source: Taken by Shirasaka, August 2013.

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Table 1 The number of livestock grazed by eight families in Jalang Jailoo (Ko6; 4094 m a.s.l.) in September 2015

Number of livestock Family Age of family Sheep/ Cows Yaks name members Donkeys goats* Female Male Juvenile Female Male Juvenile H72, W?, D?, A 150 3 (1) 3 2 15 (3) 0 12 0 S17 H55, W53, B 80 2 (1) 0 1 7 (2) 0 5 0 S23 H46, W43, C D21, D19, 90 2 (1) 1 1 8 (0) 0 8 1 S19 GF80, GM72, D H47, W42, 55 6 (5) 1 1 7 (29 0 5 2 5C? H56, W55, E 60 0 0 0 11 (49 0 7 0 S18 F S31, S27 150 0 0 0 14 (4) 1 10 2 GF65, GM62, G 100 3 (3) 3 0 15 (5) 1 8 2 H37, W?, 3C? H40, W38, H 80 0 0 0 11 (5) 3 6 3 3C? Total 765 16 (11) 8 5 88 (25) 5 61 10 GF: Grandfather; GM: Grandmother; H: Husband; W: Wife; D: Daughter; S: Son; C: Children (male/female unknown). Figure after GF/GM/H/W/D/S/C: age; ?: Age unknown. Juvenile denotes a baby younger than one. The number in the bracket denotes that of suai. Families B and C have a brother relation. The number of the livestock changes by year: for example, Family G increased in 2012, and Family H in 2015. * Total of male and female adults, castrated, and juveniles. Source: Field survey. yaks only in the jailoo. Milking the yaks twice in jailoo. The quantity of milk from one sheep/goat the morning and in the evening is a job for women is extremely small. They mix the milk from sheep/ and young girls, and they obtain approximately 1–3 goats and from yaks/cows together. Around 1.5 litres/head/day of yak milk. The husbands and litres of butter are produced from 10 litres of yak boys help bring the calves close to the mother yaks milk. From this they make their dried cheese for milking. This is called iyet in Tajik. They tie the called kurt. milking yaks/cows and their calves to each jele in The entire process to make butter and cheese the evening. is called süt tartuu. Süt means milk and tartuu As a general rule, people of Karakul do not milk means ‘to separate’. A separator, locally called the sheep/goats, although we saw milking in the mashina, is used for süt tartuu. The local Kirghiz field; half of the families milk sheep/goats in the people have used güp, with which they dug out a

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big tree, to separate butter from milk in the past. of it is sold in Karakul. However, most of it is used An informant born in 1960 remembered that he for self-consumption and some of it is distributed used güp when he was a boy. The local Kirghiz peo- to adult children and relatives living far away. They ple began to use the separator after the Russians do not sell butter and cheese because the markets entered as commoners between 1965 and 1970. (Murghab and Sary-Mogol) for butter and cheese Milk becomes sour when it is stored for two to are too far away. three days. The local people call the soured milk ２）Males for breeding airan (yogurt). They put the soured milk in the The locals in Karakul generally use male sheep/ separator, and divide it into butter and butter-milk goats for breeding for only two to three years. (called naksüt). The butter, which is salt-free, is Some inhabitants do so only for one year. Most called kaymak or sarymai, which means yellow oil. owners of sheep/goats exchange the males for Since sarymai is not good for long-term preserva- breeding purposes only. They do not exchange tion, it is kept for a few days and is heated in a large the males with families using the same jailoo in pan to dehydrate it. They add salt to it and knead the summer. For example, some families, who it to preserve it for a long period of time. This used Jalang Jailoo, exchanged their males for butter is called akmay, which means white oil or breeding with Apak Jailoo (Ko1) in October 2014. mechmemay. They store akmay in a dried ‘stomach They said that they were going to exchange the of sheep.’ This type of akmay can be stored for a males with those in another jailoo in October 2015. long period of time and its sale price at the market The purchase price of one male for breeding was was as high as 400 Som/kg as of August 2015. 8,000–9,000 Som in 2014. Butter milk is fermented when it is gathered up In many cases, they exchange male yaks for after a few days. When the butter milk is warmed breeding (called buka) for mating in the village. to 30–35°C, it becomes hard. They filter the solid It is common to use buka for five to six years, and through cotton cloth and collect the body of the they can keep buka for up to 15 years. They sell the solid butter milk. This solid body is called süzmø, buka afterwards to livestock dealers coming from which is a kind of cheese. After they add new milk or Dushanbe. Female yaks give birth until and akmay to the süzmø and leave it for a few days, they are around 20 years old, and they are sold for they warm it in a large iron pan to dehydrate it meat when the quantity of their milk decreases or while churning for 20–30 minutes. They pour it when they lose their teeth. into a cotton bag and hang it under a seri. They ３）Mating and castration drain off the water from the süzmø. Afterwards, The age that livestock can begin to mate (called the süzmø is stored in oor near the stream for a ahota in Russian) is as follows: male yaks: over the few days and is then torn off by hand to make age of three and female yaks: over the age of four; dry cheese, kurt, which is their most important and both male and female sheep/goats: over the preserve. age of one. The local people usually graze their Kaymak and kurt have a market value, and some male and female yaks together. As mentioned

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earlier, they separate their male and female sheep/ decides the area and location of the lot assigned goats every year from spring to September and to each family based on the number of domestic breed them. The females and males stay together animals that they own. They started the system in October. Traditionally, the castration of livestock in 1999 when sovkhoz was abolished. The opening is carried out in the Karakul area. They call the day for mowing in Chabindi is decided by the local castration bichuu, and the castrated male is called Association of Fermer, which is usually about 15 bich-mal. Both yaks and sheep/goats are castrated August. The mowing is carried out by every family. for the purpose of producing more meat. Yaks are Because most people stay in the jailoo in summer, castrated at the age of two or three. They breed the they come to Chabindi from the jailoo to engage castrated yaks until they are around five years old. in mowing. Some families pitch tents and cut the The locals say that the adult male yaks around here grass. have little weight, and they do not gain very much The inhabitants do not need to pay any mowing weight: castrated yaks grow larger. Moreover, they fees to the administration, but the families have to become more subdued and quieter in character, pay an annual grazing charge to the state accord- so it is easier for people to handle the castrated ing to the number of breeding domestic animals. yaks. In the case of sheep/goats, the local people They call this charge vznos. The amount of vznos judge if each is strong or weak three months after in 2015 was as follows: (1) sheep/goats: 1.5 Som/ their birth. The local people then castrate the weak head/year; (2) yaks/cows: 2.5 Som/head/year; males. The market value of the meat is the same and (3) donkeys: nothing. whether they are castrated or not. Family KR, who grazed 80 sheep/goats, two ４）Hay production and feed in winter milk cows, and ten yaks (all including calves) in Because no farming is possible in Karakul, only Jalang Jailoo (Ko6), was assigned an area of 300 m natural hay is available as feed in winter: the people by 300 m in Chabindi in 2013. It takes 70 minutes of Karakul do not purchase feed. In this area, it is on foot from their home in Karakul to Chabindi. not suitable to collect grass on the pastureland; Two family members harvest the grass for seven however, a grassy plain appears in a small area days. They dry the grass for two or three days and near the village on the north-eastern shoreline of make small grass mounds (called chömörö). Some the Karakul Lake, which is called Chabindi (Fig. families ask for help from tractor owners. They 6). There are two kinds of grasses: one is nokotek carry the hay to Karakul or their kashar by rented (white Dutch clover), and the other is chi in the lo- truck. The mowing is usually finished by about 10 cal dialect. Both are 20–30 cm in height. The local September. The grass in Chabindi grows well after people call hay chap, which means grass. They said winters that have seen significant snowfall, but that they did not sow the grass seeds there. does not grow well after winters with little snowfall. The Chabindi area is national land. The inhabit- A small amount of hay is also produced in the ants are given only the right to cut the grass. Karakul village and it is very valuable feed for the Every spring, the local Association of Fermer winter season.

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Livestock farming in Karakul is characterised and cows in the summer. However, there are no by dependence on an extremely small amount of brokers who come to buy sheep/goats for their stored feed. Their pastoralism follows a seasonal meat. cycle, moving from pastureland to pastureland. The Tajik government gave an executive order They raise most domestic animals using natural to perform a domestic animal transportation of feed. Our interview with family T who grazes an living bodies in the country in 2009. Therefore, exceptional 1,000 sheep/goats and 40 yaks shows transporting live domestic animals across the that it is not necessary for the family to store feed national border is now prohibited. even with 1,000 sheep/goats because the family takes their sheep/goats to pastureland every day ４．Age-specific names of domestic animals even in the winter. The family gives hay to new- It is important for the people in the pastoral born sheep/goats for one to two months after birth society to use the names of livestock by age for as well as to the female yaks, cows, and sheep/ management purposes and to ensure a clear under- goats. standing among sellers and buyers. The system of ５）Transportation and price of domestic age-specific names is very convenient for livestock animals farming societies (Shirasaka, 2007). Yak and cow meat is generally higher in value All domestic animals have age-specific names than that of sheep/goats. The sale price of domes- in the study area. Sheep are categorised into two tic animals in the Karakul village is as follows: fe- groups: under three years old and over three years male yaks aged five or six, 25,000 Som; male yaks, old (Table 2). Male and female sheep younger than 35,000–40,000 Som; female sheep aged five or six, three have the same name: kozu: <1 year old; and 4,000 Som (two or three years old was cheaper); toktu: 1–2 years old. In the area, male sheep that male sheep, 5,000–6,000 Som; female goats mainly can mate are called shishek and the females are aged five or six, below 2,000 Som; and male goats, called jusak. Four-year-old male sheep are named 3,000–4,000 Som. The calves of yaks are sold from chaari and the females are soluk. Male and female the age of one for more than 3,000 Som. Because sheep over the age of five have the same name, koi, meat from male yaks is more expensive, breeding which is the common name for sheep. male yaks is preferred in Karakul. Male and female yaks have the same name until A certain amount of the domestic animals in the age of two, and they are called torpok (Table 2). Karakul are transported to the market of Murghab Female yaks that can mate are called tuar-iynek, at the end of summer when the animals become and the males are called pyshti, meaning ‘castrated.’ fat. From the view point of their pasturing in winter, All females for breeding over the age of five are it is necessary for the local people to sell a number tuar-iynek; male yaks for breeding aged five or of sheep/goats before winter as mentioned earlier. older are called buka, which means a strong male Generally, they sell sheep/goats aged four or yak. five. Some brokers come to the jailoo to buy yaks Donkeys have the same name until the age of

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Table 2 Names of sheep and yaks by age in the northern part of the Pamir

Sheep Yaks Age Female Male Female Male <1 year old kozu kozu torpok torpok 1 year old toktu toktu torpok torpok 2 years old toktu toktu tai tai 3 years old jusak shishek gunan gunan 4 years old soluk chaari tuar-iynek pyshti > 5 years old koi koi tuar-iynek buka Koi is a general noun denoting sheep. Source: Field survey at Ko6 in August 2013. four. One-year-old donkeys are called godik, two- year-olds are tai, three-year-olds gunan, and four- year-olds are called pyshti. Female donkeys over the age of five and that are a possibility for mating are called mada eshek, and males are called asiy. The word mada means birth young, and asiy means get old.

Ⅴ Discussion Fig. 7 Schematic diagram showing the relationship This study defines vertical migration as when between water conditions and the jailoo (Ak5 and Ko6) and the kyshtoo (Karakul the jailoo is located above the knick point, a site village) along the Akjilga/Kokuibel valleys where the slope gradients change significantly. P: total precipitation and SM: average soil moisture Figure 7 shows that the major knick points exist (range) from April to October in 2014–2015. Source: Field survey. at altitude around 4,000 m. The major knick points occur within the belt higher than 100 m from the nance of the seasonal livestock migration involving kyshtoo, which means that vertical migration pro- vertical movement except in some cases of the gressively occurs after about a 100 m rise from the Kyzyl-Art and Muzkol groups (Fig.3, Table 3). In kyshtoo. Ka1(Kyzyl-Art group), and Mu1 and Mu2 the Karakul area, the maximum altitudinal differ- (both, Muzkol group) are located below the knick ence attains 506 m in the Akjilga group, followed points, so the livestock migrations between these by 352 m in the Kokuibel group, and 235 m in the jailoo and kyshtoo are categorised as horizontal Muzkol group. The altitudinal difference shown in migrations. All others are regarded as vertical Table 3 is based on the altitudes of houses in jailoo migrations. and those in kyshtoo. Here, the calculation does not The seasonal movement patterns in the Karakul consider the altitudinal zone of daily movement on area, therefore, are characterised by the domi- the pasture slopes, which often exceeds 400–600 m.

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Table 3 Summary of the altitudinal difference between the jailoo (summer pastureland) and the kyshtoo (winter pastureland)

Maximum Altitudinal range of jailoo (m) Altitudinal range of kyshtoo (m) difference (m) Kyzyl-Art Group 3,976 (Ka4)–4,080 m (Ka3) 3,930 m (Wk1)–3,964 m (WC) 150 m Akjilga Group 4,104 (Ak2)–4,442 m (Ak7) 3,936 m (Wk9)–4,252 m (Wk3) 506 m Kokuibel Group 3,933 (Ko4)–4,280 m (Ko5) 3,928 m (WMK) 352 m Muzkol Group 4,093 (Mu1)–4,196 m (Mu4) 3,961 m (WJJ)–3,966 m (WTO) 235 m *) Excluding the outsider from Murghab (Mu5). Maximum difference denotes the calculated possible altitudinal difference. Source: Field survey.

The reason why this study uses the location However, the houses in the Karakul village have of the jailoo above the knick point is its geomor- either no attached winter sheds or small sheds phological setting. Such jailoo are located on only. The livestock in the Karakul area essentially the glaciated valley bottoms, which have grass- stay in the pastureland, kyshtoo, not in the sheds. covered slopes on both sides of the valley. In the This is especially true for families who own a large Karakul area, jailoo are located on the leeward number of livestock. Their livestock stay in the slopes of the mountain ranges (5,500–6,600 m), pasturelands even in winter. Families with only a where a large amount of snow supports large small number of livestock keep them in the sheds glaciers. To the west of the jailoo, a mountain ridge attached to their houses in the village. This differ- above 5,500–6,600 m runs in the N-S direction, ence is most likely due to the availability of hay and meltwater from the glaciers is supplied to the in winter. Grass to cut for winter is not available jailoo for a long period in summer. As a result, the in the Karakul area: the grass in the jailoo is only soil moisture in the jailoo is much higher than in sufficient for summer grazing, but the amount the kyshtoo (Fig. 7). Although the area is generally of grass there may not be enough for winter hay. extremely dry, the higher jailoo receives more Further, grass in kyshtoo would be difficult for poor snowfall in February and March and more rainfall families to transport because of the necessary cost from spring to autumn. As a result, a jailoo in the of transportation and the difficult accessibility in Karakul area has relatively rich grass. the Karakul area (Watanabe and Shirasaka, 2018). On the other hand, most kyshtoo in the east are It is easier and more practical for them to graze located on the vast plane or gentle slopes, where their livestock in the pastureland even in winter. the strong winter winds blow snow more easily. Therefore, people in the Karakul area keep their Therefore, yaks can eat dry grass on the thin livestock in the pastureland throughout the year, snow-covered ground surface in the kyshtoo even although they have a house in the village. We call in winter. Such a pronounced difference in water this type of pastoralism ‘nomadic pastoralism.’ conditions in the jailoo and kyshtoo (Fig. 7) occurs because of the ‘mountain effect.’

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number of domestic animals, which is collected for Ⅵ Conclusions National (State) Statistics in Central Asian countries, is announced on 1 January. In other words, it is the Pastoralism in the Karakul area has changed to smallest number of the year. personal management (fermer) after independence 2) The Kirghiz people call summer quarters jailoo. ‘Jai’ means summer and ‘loo’ means a village or grazing in 1991. The main domestic animals kept in the land. area are yaks and sheep/goats. 3) Individual household of the dissolved kolkhoz is Local people user various pasturelands with the called a dekhan farm, or literally a peasant farm (Kraudzun, 2016), although there are other types different altitudes for their pastoralism practise in (Robinson, et al., 2010). Karakul, in the north-eastern part of the Pamirs. 4) Our interview in Kona-Kurghan of the Murghab They graze their domestic animals in kyshtoo district shows that the Association of Fermers was established by each local government in Tajikistan around the principle village of Karakul (3,930 m) in 1999. By being enrolled in the association, in winter, and in jailoo in summer. They cannot inhabitants are allowed to use the grazing land. In cultivate grass for winter. other words, the Association of Fermers in Tajikistan plays the role of Jaiyt Komitet of Kyrgyz. Our In addition to jailoo and kyshtoo, they also use interview shows that the Association of Fermers küzdöö (spring pasture) and bäärlöö (autumn of Karakul is related to the hospital in the village pasture) although the significance of these and the administration of the school. Further, the Association of Fermers issues documents about the pastures is smaller. Pastoralism in the Karakul births of children, which is necessary for insurance. area in the Tajik Pamirs is characterised by the The Association of Fermers also publishes zaks, a dominance of the vertical seasonal movement document confirming marriage. 5) The handling of donkeys by the Kirghiz people in the along with the horizontal seasonal movement and northern Pamirs is interesting. Neither the Tajik nor the daily rotational care of the livestock called the Kyrgyz government have the official statistical novad. The pastoralism in Karakul area is caused number of donkeys. However, the Kirghiz people living in the southern part of Kyrgyz and the GBAO by the topographical differences and the resulting in Tajikistan use donkeys on various occasions. climatological conditions and water availability. When the locals were asked about the number of donkeys, they smiled and did not answer without an [Acknowledgement] exception. They said, ‘what would you do if you learn the number of our donkeys?’ The price of sheep is We thank Dr. Kazuyuki Watanabe of Hannan more than 4,000 Som/head, but that of donkeys is University, Japan for reviewing the manuscript. This extremely cheap at 500–1,500 Som/head in Karakul. research was founded by JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Donkeys tolerate plain feed and are capable of Research (B) Grant Number JP17401002, and (A) Grant hard labour. Nevertheless, the Kirghiz do not treat Numbers JP23251001 and JP20251001 (Teiji Watanabe). donkeys carefully. Donkeys are not categorised as a domestic animal for the Kirghiz. No inhabitants take Notes care of donkeys in the Karakul village during winter. The people living in the northern part of the Pamirs 1) The number of livestock varies by year. Babies including the Kirghiz use donkeys for passengers are born in spring, and many domestic animals and porterage. However, a donkey is generally are sold in autumn. Our interview shows that the considered an abominable animal in the society of number of small domestic animals during winter the Kirghiz. The area where the Kirghiz live is in the was approximately two-thirds of that in summer. The

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