1916
Autumn
The agriculture is of a primitive nature. Besides simple wooden plows harnessed to a pair of oxen or cows, the Tajiks of the Pamirs know of no other implements. Often the plots to be sown are so small that there is no space for plowing. Then the soil is worked by hoes. To put the soil in a condition satisfactory for seeding, it is often necessary to start by collecting heaps of stones from the plot. The hay is, as a rule, stored on the roofs of the houses.
The villages are usually situated in small valleys on narrow riverine terraces and it is, in part, difficult to see where there is any space for crops. Only a few dozens of square metres are left for seeding. The villages are ordinarily very small and consist of only four to seven houses. Precipitation is extremely low and the crops are usually irrigated with water from mountain brooks. The irrigation ditches are very narrow and furrows conduct water to the entire surface of the fields. Not only level plots are cultivated, but also steep slopes. To reach such fields, winding paths have been made by the people. Rain and cloudbursts are very rare here and therefore erosion of the soil is minimal. In Darvaz [1] the harvest is, in part, brought down from the fields on sleds. Oxen prevent the sleds from sliding down too fast. When the sleds can be released, the oxen walk down to the villages over the pebbly soil.
Larger villages lead a communal life. The threshing and winnowing of the grain is done by common labour. The threshing is done by the hoofs of oxen; thereafter the threshed grain is shovelled together and winnowed by the wind. It is stored in special small granaries built of stones, but also in pits in the ground. Such pits are lined with stones; large flat stones are placed on top of the grain and all is buried under soil.
Water is conducted from the ditches via wooden pipes to the water-driven mills typical of the Pamirs. The water sets small, flat millstones in motion. The agriculture is very poor and at the upper altitudinal limit it does not provide the essentials for the existence of the people. Towards spring all the bread is consumed and the search for roots and spring greens begins. However, in places the modest agriculture does yield enough for making a surplus of bread. The Kirghizes of the Pamirs, who mainly raise cattle, have none and in the autumn one can see caravans of Kirghizes in the valley of the Gunt going to the Tajiks for bread. In exchange for the bread the Kirghizes offer wool and skins of animals.
Notes:
- I reckon it might be this place. [↩]
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