Nooruz in Central Asia by Ardahbek Amantur

Is there a Central Asian Nooruz?

If you had been a companion of Marco Polo in the 13th century or a Russian empire’s intelligence collector in the 19th century and happened to pass through the Iranian town of Yazdi, the storied city of Bukhara, or the vast Dashti Kipchak steppe around March 20, you would have noted a festival celebration. Across these regions, the peoples of Central Asia (who did not call themselves such at the time) celebrated the New Year around the same time as the Iranians, Turks, and some Caucasians do.

However, how these Central Asian communities observed the occasion was remarkably diverse. In the Pamirs, a community would spray flour on their walls.[1] In a village in present-day Uzbekistan, a group of men would gather to watch a bachcha dance.[2] Nomadic communities near the Tengirtoo mountains would mark the occasion by shooting at the sun with their hunting guns.[3] In Turpan, families would celebrate by eating dumplings. In Khotan, livestock were set loose to roam freely.[4] Many of these communities prepared a communal dish with a specific number of ingredients, which might intrigue you to draw parallels with the haft-sin.  However, their number is often nine instead of the Iranian tradition of arranging seven items starting with the letter “sin” on a table. Jumping over the fire among the Kyrgyz would also resemble the Iranian traditions, but you see it was also the sheep and goats that would join the ritual.[5]

You would likely have been perplexed, wondering whether these Central Asian peoples were celebrating the same festival as the Iranians or even the same festival among themselves. Adding to this, from the 13th to the 19th century, the changes in the forms of celebration activities and the different names various communities used to refer to the celebrations would deepen the puzzle.[6]

In 2025, as a graduate student tasked with writing a blog on the theme of “Novruz in Central Asia,” I find myself facing the same perplexity. Despite the efforts of modern states and researchers over the last century to standardize, canonize, and generalize these New Year celebrations under the framework of Nooruz, variations persist. Terms like “Kazakh National Nooruz Festival” or “Central Asian Nooruz Festival” are frequently invoked, but often failing to capture the full range of historical and cultural practices associated with these celebrations.

Traditions of Joy and Hope

If there is anything that has united these celebration practices across centuries and regions in Central Asia, it is the shared joy and anticipation for the revival after the dormancy of winter, the hope brought by the melting snows and warming weather, and the excitement for the occasion to share food and time with the community. This spirit is reflected in many instances.

For instance, a madrassa instructor in 19th-century Ferghana would compose a “Nooruzluq”—a celebratory poem recited by pupils as they roamed the community, reciting the poem. One such poem might go:

Assalamu Alaykum,
May it be a fortunate day for you.
The season of life has arrived,
The winter has passed, and fortune has come.
Novruz has arrived, and with it the shine.
All creatures have awakened.
Be happy, oh people,
Return to your professions and work.
Seize the opportunity,
May your labor be blessed.

…..
May our land be prosperous,
May hearts be happy and free of worry.
Be peaceful every day,
Be peaceful, be peaceful.[7]

In the bustling bazaars of Bukhara and Yarkand during the late 19th century, the air would hum with activity as people purchased ingredients for community feasts. The results of ram and chicken fights, observed with roars of excitement, were interpreted as omens for the coming year’s harvest. Nearby, young women and children would play on swings, a pastime reserved for such occasions.[8]

Meanwhile, a Kyrgyz mother in the mid-20th century, living near the Tengritoo mountains, would rise early to perform an alas ritual. She would spin burning juniper around the heads of her family members and livestock to ward off evil spirits and wish for a good tol (livestock production).[9] In the Pamirs, a shughni (community leader) would share specially prepared nan bread with families and the wider community.[10] The Kazakhs, believing in the blessings of kızır (a holy man) roaming the steppe during this festival, would wake early to sacrifice a goat for the community dish, kosho. After the meal, nomadic communities would gather to watch a horse game of kok-boru, a spirited contest between different auls.[11]

Modern Faces of Nooruz

These historically diverse practices, which defy strict definition or categorization, arose from the geographic diversity of the region, varying economic modes, and distinct historical trajectories and cultural connections (Turkic, Islamic, Persianate, Tibetan, and Mongolian, as we categorize them today).

The 20th century brought dramatic changes to these traditions. The colonization of Central Asia by the Russian and Chinese empires was followed by efforts to suppress these festivals, often designating them as religious or nationalistic activities that supposedly threatened colonial powers.[12] Later, the nationalization and modernization of Nooruz led to a standardization of the festival. Nooruz became a focus of nation-building and modernization processes, and the practices deemed backward were excluded or reinterpreted.[13] More recently, Nooruz started being utilized as a tool in the foreign relations of these nations.

We see staged performances of Nooruz rituals, women in national dress reciting alas poems, and concerts dedicated to the festival. Encyclopedias of national states include detailed entries on the festival. Political institutions, such as the Turkic Council, celebrate Nooruz to advance political agendas.[14] And, of course, the debates among netizens: Is Nooruz a Central Asian festival or an Iranian one?

May your new year be fortunate, abundant, and healthy!

Kazakh: Наурыз құтты болсын!

Kyrgyz: Ноорузуңар менен!

Uyghur: نورۇز مۇبارەك!

Uzbek: Navro’z muborak!

Tajik: Наврӯз муборак!

Turkmen: Nowruz gutly bolsun!

FOOTNOTES: 

[1] Qahar Abdureshit, تاشقورغان تاجىك ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسىنىڭ ئومۇمىي ئەھۋالى (Tashqurghan Tajik Aptonom Nahiyisining Umumiy Ehwali) [General Situation of the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County] (Ürümqi: Xinjiang People’s Publishing House, 1988), 53.

[2] Vladimir Nalivkin, Maria Nalivkina, and Mariana Markova, Muslim Women of the Fergana Valley: A 19th-Century Ethnography from Central Asia, ed. Marianne Kamp (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2016)

[3] 《柯尔克孜族简史》编写组, 柯尔克孜族简史（修订本） [A Brief History of the Kyrgyz People (Revised Edition)] (Beijing: 民族出版社 [Ethnic Publishing House], April 2008), 222-224.

[4] Ildikó Bellér-Hann, Community Matters in Xinjiang: 1880–1949 (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2008), 370–372.

[5] Xinjiang Weiwu’er Zizhiqu Congkan Bianjizu and Zhongguo Shaoshu Minzu Shehui Lishi Diaocha Ziliao Congkan Xiuding Bianweihui, 柯尔克孜族社会历史调查 (Ke’erkezi zu shehui lishi diaocha) [Social and Historical Survey of the Kyrgyz] (Beijing: Minzu Chubanshe, 2009), 128–129.

[6] Similar celebration occasions were also known as sayil among the Uzbeks, chidchedir among the Tajiks and ules among the Kazakhs.

[7] Imin Tursun, نورۇزنامە [The Book of Nowruz] (Ürümqi: Xinjiang Yash Ösmürlär Näshriyati, 2009), 17–19.

[8] A. Baltaýew and A. Jykiýew, NowruZ – türkmen halkynyň milli Baýramy [Nowruz – The National Holiday of the Turkmen People] (Aşgabat: Ylym, 2013), 19.

[9] 《柯尔克孜族简史》编写组, 柯尔克孜族简史（修订本） [A Brief History of the Kyrgyz People (Revised Edition)], 222-224.

[10] Abdureshit, Tashqurghan Tajik Autonomous County, 50-60.

[11] Қазақстан [Мәтін]: Ұлттық энциклопедия [Kazakhstan: National Encyclopedia], ed. B. Ayağan (Almaty: Қазақ энциклопедиясы, 2005), 25.

[12] Julian Postulart, “Beyond Fun and Games – The Politics of Nowruz,” Novastan, March 20, 2023, https://novastan.org/en/kazakhstan/beyond-fun-and-games-the-politics-of-nowruz/#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20during%20Soviet%20times%2C%20Nowruz,of%20Nowruz%20has%20increased%20spectacularly; Mehriban, “In Song and Dance, Uyghurs Forced to Celebrate Lunar New Year,” Radio Free Asia, January 30, 2024, https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/lunar-new-year-01302024164617.html.

[13] On the nationalization of festivals in Central Asia and specifically in Uzbekistan, see Laura L. Adams, The Spectacular State: Culture and National Identity in Uzbekistan (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2010)

[14] “Joint Nowruz Celebration Program Was Organized by the Turkic States in Vilnius, Lithuania,” Turkic States Organization, May 21, 2022, https://www.turkicstates.org/en/news/joint-nowruz-celebration-program-was-organized-by-the-turkic-states-in-vilnius-lithuania.

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Ardahbek Amantur is a PhD student in Central Euroasian Studies at Indiana University Bloomington.