Language and Culture of the Baloch in

Turkmenistan
Vyacheslav V. Moshkalo, Dept. of Iranian Languages,
Institute of Linguistics, ussian !cademy of "ciences,
Mosco#
Introduction
In the epu$lic of Turkmenistan a small national minority lives little
kno#n to others than a narro# circle of scientists and specialists. This
national minority is the Baloch. The Baloch are a people #hich have a
strong sense of unity, sharing a common origin, history, language,
traditions and religion. The Baloch of Turkmenistan are a part of this
people #hich #as divided $y the peculiar #ill of history mainly
$et#een three countries% &akistan, Iran, and !fghanistan. 'utside
these countries there are rather small Balochi communities in India,
(ast !frica and 'man. The Baloch are scattered over a vast territory.
The Turkmenian Baloch live in the very north of this vast territory.
'nly Baloch in the diaspora, e.g. in )orthern (urope live farther to the
north.
The Baloch in Turkmenistan
The *rst Baloch migrants in ussia appeared in the region of Mari
in Turkistan, i.e. in the territory #hich no#adays $elongs to the
epu$lic of Turkmenistan. The statistical report on Turkmenistan for
+,+- . +,/0 mentions ,12 Baloch living in the Bayram.!li district. The
Baloch of Turkmenistan mostly came from !fghanistan, from the
Chakhansur district located in the province of )imru3, in the "istan
area of !fghanistan. !part from them there #ere also a small group of
Baloch #ho migrated to Turkistan from Iran 4from 5hurasan6. In these
migrations there #ere also some Brahuis #ho came together #ith the
Baloch.
+

In the +,/0s separate groups of the Baloch $elonging to di7erent
Balochi tri$es #ere united $y 5erim 5han. This Baloch chief #as an
e8traordinary personality. 9e #as a poor shepherd from the $eginning
1 "ee also !8enov:s article in the present volume.
+
$ut managed to make a career and to $ecome a famous, even
legendary chief of the Baloch in Turkmenistan. The Baloch of
Turkmenistan, united under his po#er, at the $eginning supported the
"oviet po#er and $eing very $rave #arriors, they helped the "oviet
authorities in their struggle against the Basmachis
4counterrevolutionary movement in Turkistan, #hich lasted actively
from +,/0 till the mid.10s6. !t the end of the /0s, $ecause of
disagreement #ith the "oviet authorities, 5erim 5han together #ith
the ma;ority of his people left Turkmenistan for Iran or !fghanistan.
)o$ody kno#s #here he #ent. I tried to *nd it out during my trips to
Turkmenistan, $ut in vain. 5erim 5han:s traces should $e looked for
outside Turkmenistan, either in Iran or in !fghanistan. It #ould $e
very interesting to *nd out #hat happened to him and his people
after#ards.
!t the present time the Baloch of Turkmenistan live mainly in the
districts of Bayram.!li and Iolotan of the region of Mari 4Mariyskiy
velayat6. !ccording to the data of the +,<, census in the ="", - >00
Baloch lived in the "oviet "ocialist epu$lic of Turkmenistan, in the
valley of the Murgha$ river, in the districts of Bayram.!li, Turkmen.
5ala and Iolotan, and ,?,, @ of them considered Balochi to $e their
mother tongue. In the +,-0 census there #ere +/ 200 Baloch in
Turkmenistan, and ,+,> @ regarded Balochi as their native language.
In the +,-, census there #ere +> ,,- Baloch in Turkmenistan, and +>
211 persons 4,>,+ @6 stated that Balochi #as their native language.
There are in +,,- pro$a$ly appro8imately 1> 000 . ?0 000 Baloch in
Turkmenistan, although some give a higher estimation of around <0
000 or even more. The very strong loyalty among the Baloch to their
mother tongue is Auite remarka$le, and can at least to a certain
degree $e e8plained $y their rural #ay of life. ! thorough
investigation of the socio.economic conditions under #hich this
strong retention of the Balochi language has $een possi$le #ould $e
very interesting to carry out.
The Turkmenian Baloch $elieve themselves to $e a part of the $ig
ethnos. Bor a long time, ho#ever, they #ere separated from the other
Baloch $y the CIron CurtainC, and had practically no contacts #ith the
Baloch of the other countries. In +,1? the "oviet $order #ith Iran and
!fghanistan #as closed and this event $ecame a source of many
personal tragedies and disasters. It #as une8pected, and those #ho
/
#ere in Iran or !fghanistan making their earnings or visiting relatives
could not return to their families. Thus, parents #ere separated from
children, $rothers from sisters etc. It #as impossi$le for them to unite
again. The only reason for that #as the CIron CurtainC along all the
"oviet $orders. It #as only at the end of the +,>0s, #ith the
$eginning of Dor$achov:s perestroika and after the disintegration of
the ="" that many Turkmenian Baloch got the opportunity to visit
Iran and !fghanistan in order to *nd their lost relatives and reunite
#ith them after long years of separation.
The history of the Baloch is the history of constant migrations over
vast territories. 9o#ever, the lack of a #ritten literary tradition and
#ritten sources makes it diEcult to study, not the legendary, $ut the
real history of the Baloch. The Baloch never had an independent state
of their o#n in the proper sense of the #ord. The 5alat "tate could
not $e considered a truly independent Baloch state. In spite of the
fact that the 5alat "tate united many Baloch tri$es, it did not e8ist
long and it could not play a prominent part for the Baloch culture nor
for the esta$lishment of a tradition of #riting in the Balochi language.
Brom a political point of vie#, throughout history the Baloch #ere
generally su$dued $y the po#er of stronger and $etter organi3ed
conAuerors, and as usual, they did not pay attention to the Balochi
language and culture. !ny#ay, in spite of all the complications and
peculiarities in the destiny of the Baloch, they have managed not only
to create an enchanting, rich and original culture, $ut also from many
points of vie# very interesting and uniAue literary specimens. To my
profound regret, these have not up till no# $een descri$ed or studied
to the e8tent that they deserve to $e. The masterpieces of the
Balochi literature have not to any large e8tent $een translated into
the main #orld languages.
Brom this point of vie# the Turkmenian Baloch are not an
e8ception. They are even in a #orse position in comparison #ith the
others. )ot very much has $een done to study their language and
culture, even though some studies on the Balochi language and
Balochi culture #ere made in Mosco# and Leningrad 4present.day "t.
&eters$urg6 during the "oviet period. Fhen it comes to the oral
literature of the Turkmenian Baloch, for e8ample, I. I. Garu$in
collected and pu$lished a num$er of folk tales #ith translations into
1
ussian.
/
It is, ho#ever, striking enough that in the t#entieth century
not a single $ook or monograph has $een pu$lished in Turkmenistan
a$out the Baloch.
It should $e said that the disintegration of the ="" has $rought
for the Baloch of Turkmenistan more losses and disillusions than ;oys
and achievements, especially in such *elds as education, culture and
science. Mosco# #as al#ays for the Turkmenian Baloch the force
#hich helped them to stand against the domination of the Turkmens,
and in spite of all the diEculties, they had some opportunities for
education 4there #ere special Auotas in di7erent institutes for the
Baloch students6 and cultural progress. !fter the disintegration of the
="", Mosco# ceased to $e the centre for Turkmenistan, and
no#adays the Turkmen central government does little for the national
minorities living there.
1

!ttempts at developing the Balochi language in
Turkmenistan
The *rst alpha$et used $y the Turkmenian Baloch #as $ased on the
oman script. !n attempt to turn Balochi into a #ritten language #as
made in the +,10s. ! fe# $ooks and a ne#spaper in oman script
#ere pu$lished in Mari and !shkha$ad. There #as a mother tongue
education programme for the Turkmenian Baloch. But after s#itching
to Cyrillic script for minor languages of Turkistan, due to lack of
special national policy to#ards the minorities, *nancial pro$lems and
the s#itch of education at all levels to ussian and Turkmen etc.,
Balochi #as not further developed as a #ritten language. During my
trips to Turkmenistan I met several old men #ho could still use that
Balochi oman script of the 10s.
Bifty years later, at the end of the +,>0s, an enthusiast for his
mother tongue, a modest school teacher named Mammad "herdil,
together #ith his friends #orked out an alpha$et for Balochi $ased
upon Cyrillic script. They managed to pu$lish several te8t $ooks in
Balochi for primary schools and o$tain the permission from the
authorities to start an e8periment #ith mother tongue education in
one or t#o schools. Besides that, Mammad "herdil and "aidAuli
Mammadnur initiated the pu$lishing of one full page in Balochi t#ice
2 Garu$in, Beludkie skazki, I.II, see $i$liography.
3 !part from the Baloch there are e.g. a$out +00 000 5urds in Turkmenistan.
?
a #eek in the Turkmenian ne#spaper of the district called Taze
durmush 4)e# Life6.
?

These attempts coincide #ith the period of CperestroikaC and
disintegration of the ="". !n independent epu$lic of Turkmenistan
has since then appeared on the political scene. There$y a ne# life
$egan also for the Turkmenian Baloch. But this ne# life is
characteri3ed $y neglect of the Baloch and their cultural life. It should
$e mentioned that the Baloch in Turkmenistan never have had any
political, social, or even cultural organi3ations #hich could defend
their rights and dra# the attention of the authorities to their needs.
It seems that the Turkmenian Baloch are in great need of help
from international organi3ations and cooperation #ith Balochi
scienti*c and cultural organi3ations in other countries. )o#adays, as
far as I kno#, there are no relations either on state level or on the
level of organi3ations. I kno# only of one incident in the past #hen
there #as an attempt at esta$lishing relations $et#een the
Turkmenian Baloch and the Baloch of &akistan. In the mid +,>0s the
=nion of the "oviet "ocieties for Briendship and Cultural elations
#ith Boreign Countries invited the Balochistan &rovincial !ssem$ly
speaker MHr Muhammad !kram Baloch to Mosco#. The ="" .
&akistan Briendship "ociety organi3ed a trip to Turkmenistan for him.
In !shkha$ad he met Baloch students and took part in one of their
traditional gatherings. In addition, he visited the to#n of Te;en, #here
only fe# Baloch families live no#adays. 9e #as, ho#ever, una$le to
visit the Mari region #here practically all the Turkmenian Baloch are
concentrated. !fter that there #ere no contacts on such a high level.
MHr Muhammad !kram Baloch:s notes a$out this trip #ere pu$lished
in one of Mhtk balo:s editions.
<
)otes on the Balochi dialect spoken in Turkmenistan
The Baloch of Turkmenistan speak a dialect of the Balochi language
#hich is very close to the dialect of the !fghan Balochi. The dialect of
the Turkmenian Baloch $elongs to the Festern Droup of Balochi
dialects, to the akhshInH dialects. The dialect of the Turkmenian
Baloch possesses a num$er of phonetical and grammatical
4 "ee !8enov:s article in the present volume for more details.
5 )ote also that there are several articles on the Baloch in Turkmenistan in the
May +,<- issue of Mhtk balo.
<
characteristics, #hich are speci*c to this dialect. &rofessor Ivan I.
Garu$in #as the *rst scientist #ho paid attention to these
characteristics. Garu$in #as a pioneer of Balochi studies in ussia. In
Turkmenistan he selected a group of young talented people and took
them to &eters$urg to $e educated there.
There are no aspirated plosives at all in this dialect. There are no
fricatives JKJ and JLJ either. The fricatives JfJ, JMJ and J8J are to $e
found only in late loan#ords. The pharyngeal fricative JhJ is never
pronounced, e.g. Asan 49asan6.
The indicative mood of the ver$ in Balochi has got a rich system of
tense forms #hich are united $y a common modal meaning 4i.e. a real
action in the present, past or future6, and are opposed to each other
on the one hand $y aspect and temporal meaning and on the other
hand $y person and singularJplural forms. The num$er of these tense
forms are di7erent in the di7erent dialects of Balochi. The simplest
system of the tenses 4#ith less num$er of innovated forms6 is
presented in the dialect of the Baloch of Turkmenistan. There are only
*ve tense forms to $e found in this dialect%
+6 &resent.future tense 4man kr-a kann :I #ork:, man-a ran :I go:6
/6 &reterite 4simple past6 4man kr kurtun :I #orked:, man utun :I
#ent:6
16 &ast continuous 4man kr-a kurtun :I #as #orking:, man-a utun :I
#as going:6
?6 &resent perfect 4man kr kurt un :I have #orked:, man ut un :I
have gone:6
<6 &ast perfect 4man kr kurt-tun :I had #orked:, man ut-tun :I had
gone:6
There is another indicative tense system in most other Balochi
dialects, #here there are no preterite versus past continuous forms.
'n the other hand continuous forms are formed #ith au8iliary ver$s,
e.g. man raa!-y-un :I am going: and man raa!-y-atun :I #as
going: 4akhshInH Balochi6.
2
9o#ever, also in the dialect of Gahidan,
Iran, this preterite . past continuous distinction is retained.
-
6 Bor a thorough description of the tense forms occurring in a variety of
akhshInH spoken in &akistan, see Barker.Mengal, vol. I.
7 Information o$tained from Carina Nahani.
2
Temporal meaning of the ver$al forms is closely connected #ith
aspect, or manner, of the ver$al action. In general, ;udging $y the
material I have studied, the tendency to further distinctions of
aspectual and temporal relation in the indicative is very characteristic
to Balochi dialects, especially $y means of ne# descriptive forms
such as the present continuous and past continuous tense forms in
akhshInH dialects. This process has progressed more in akhshInH
than in any other Balochi dialect group. This may $e one of the
reasons #hy akhshInH is of increasing importance as a literary
vehicle no#adays and #hy it also potentially could develop into a
standard literary language of the Baloch in the future.
The great importance of a standard literary language cannot $e
underestimated for the Baloch. The need of a universally accepted
standard to $e employed $y all Baloch is urgently felt. The Baloch
intelligentsia, intellectuals and literary men are indeed concentrating
more and more e7ort on this important pro$lem.
In the dialect of the Turkmenian Baloch there is a special inclusive
pronoun mm :#e and you:.
>
It is declined in the follo#ing #ay%
)ominative% mm
Denitive% mmay
!ccusativeJdative% mmr
! three case system governs the declension of nouns and pronouns in
this dialect. The o$liAue case #hich is usual for the agent in the
ergative construction is not used in the Turkmenian Balochi dialect,
$ecause there is no ergative construction left there. &ast transitive
ver$s are constructed actively% man tr dstun :I sa# you:, brs- sar
andent :his $rother nodded his head:, murd at kitb "a amm
nt- :Murad read his $ook to us:, duman dast-u-"dn batant
:the enemies tied his hands and feet: etc.
The ergative construction has $een eliminated from the dialect,
$ut there are still traces of it. The enclitic pronoun 4or suE8ed
pronoun6 of the 1rd person singular .# is very often used #ith
transitive 4and even sometimes #ith intransitive6 ver$s% !ut-
:heJshe said:, kurt- :heJshe did: ut- :heJshe #ent:, $ist- :heJshe ran
a#ay:, zarbk ham dale ki ms- !ut kurt- :Gar$ik did the #ay her
8 !lso found in other )orthern akhshInH dialects.
-
mother told her: etc. It should $e pointed out that enclitic 4suE8ed6
pronouns are not commonly used in the dialect of Turkmenian Balochi
as in most Balochi dialects. 4Cf. &ersian #here they are very
common.6
The voca$ulary of the Turkmenian Balochi dialect has not $een
studied properly up till no#. But it is indisputa$le that the main
Balochi le8icon is of Iranian origin, as in all Balochi dialects. Certainly
there are a large num$er of loan#ords. The largest num$er of
loan#ords de*nitely come from &ersian and !ra$ic 4through &ersian6.
The Baloch of Turkmenistan also $orro#ed some #ords form ussian
and Turkmen during the "oviet period of their history. It is diEcult to
estimate the num$er of loan#ords, $ecause up till no# there is no
comprehensive Balochi dictionary. 9o#ever, $ased on Garu$in:s
collection of Balochi folk tales, Nosef (lfen$ein compiled A %o&abulary
o' Mar Balu&hi, #here he also gives etymological information for
most of the entries.
>