Marushiakova, Elena and Vesselin Popov. 2014. Migrations and Identities of Central Asian
‘Gypsies’. – In: Asia Pacific Sociological Association (APSA) Conference “Transforming
Societies: Conestations and Convergences in Asia and the Pacific”, 15-16.02.2014, Chiang-Mai,
Thailand. http://rcsd.soc.cmu.ac.th/web/APSA2014/docmedia.php?type=1&page=2.
Different communities, living in the new, independent states of Central Asia, (former Soviet
republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) are often called with
the umbrella appellation ‘Central-Asian Gypsies’. However, uniting all these groups, which mostly
have nothing in common both in their origin and in their language, under one cover term can not be
justified. Generally speaking, the thing that unites all these communities into one category is their
distinction (according to their lifestyle, main occupation, appearance, ethno-social structure, certain
ethno-cultural characteristics, etc.) and the generally marginal position compared with the majority
of their surrounding populations throughout the region of Central Asia.
(PDF) Migrations and Identities of Central Asian ‘Gypsies’. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266387780_Migrations_and_Identities_of_Central_Asian_'Gypsies' [accessed Nov 19 2018].
What are the ‘Central-Asian Gypsies’
Most often as ‘Central-Asian Gypsies’ is called Lyuli, also known as Jughi (in Tajikistan), Multoni
(in some regions of Uzbekistan) and sporadically also Gurbath (or Gurvath). They been present in
the land of a contemporary Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for
centuries, since their ancestors migrated from India. (Snesarev 1960: 24-29; Snesarev & Troitskaya
1963: 597-609; Nazarov 1968a: 43-45; Nazarov 1968b: 53-55; Nazarov 1975: 3-23; Nazarov 1980:
165-185; Nazarow 1983: 3-38; Demeter 1980: 143-149; Abashin 2004; Bessonov 2008: 27-39;
Gabbasov 2008a; Gabbasov & Cherenkov 2008; Khakimov 2010: 32-53)
A Lyuli are not the only ‘Central Asian Gypsies’. There are other, relatively small, groups, mainly in
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, that can be identified as “intermediate communities”; they often
differentiate themselves from Lyuli (and Lyuli likewise differentiate themselves from them) though
their surrounding populations perceive them all as a single minority of Lyuli or Central Asian
Gypsies. These are the Tavoktarosh (or Kosatarosh, or Sogutarosh in Tajikistan), Mazang1 and Agha
(called also Kashgarskie Lyuli); all these groups are relatively close to Lyuli and perhaps in the past
were even part of them. (Snesarev 1960: 24-29; Snesarev & Troitskaya 1963: 597-609; Nazarov
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1 The designation “Mazang” (literally “dark, dark-faced”) often leads to confusion, as it can refer to "real"
Mazang, i.e. those who use this term to describe themselves (Oransky 1971b: 202-207) as well as to Mug’at,
Tavoktarosh, and other “Gypsy-like communities”
1968a: 43-45; Nazarov 1975: 3-23; Nazarov 1980: 165-185; Nazarow 1983: 3-38; Demeter 1980:
143-149; Bessonov 2008: 27-39; Gabbasov 2008b; Khakimov 2010: 32-53)
The region is also home to a number of other groups usually defined by scholars as ‘Gypsy-like
communities’ such as the Chistoni, Kavol, Baluj and Parya. Relative newcomers to the region (their
ancestors migrated here from Afghanistan and India in 18th-19th centuries), they are more obviously
distinct from the Lyuli. All of these groups maintain their differentiation (including by the practice of
endogamy) and may even strongly oppose being classed under the Lyuli heading. (Oransky 1961: 62-
77; Oransky 1964a: 62-75; Oransky 1964b: 3-16; Nazarov 1968: 43-45; Oransky 1971a: 66-99;
Nazarov 1975: 3-23; Oransky 1977; Demeter 1980: 143-149; Oransky1983; Nazarow 1983: 3-38;
Abashin 2004; Bessonov 2008: 27-39; Gabbasov & Cherenkov 2008; Khakimov 2010: 32-53)
The division of the so-called Lyuli and other ‘Gypsy-like communities’ in Central Asia can be
presented schematically as follows:
“Gypsies” Lyuli / Jughi / Multoni / Ghorbat
The Lyuli call themselves Mug’at, from an Arabic term meaning “fire cult followers” or “heathen”
applied in the past to Zoroastrians; it has persisted despite they fact that they have been Sunni
Muslims for centuries. They are subdivided by the geographical regions with which they are
historically associated, e.g. Samarkandikho, Karshigikho, Mug’atoi bukhorgi, etc., and into
patronymic clans (tupar) which are in turn comprised of separate extended families (avdol).
(Nazarov 1968a: 43-45; Nazarov 1975: 3-23; Nazarow 1983: 3-38; Abashin 2004; Bessonov 2008:
27-39; Gabbasov & Cherenkov 2008)
3
Beyond the borders of the former USSR, small groups descended from Mug’at who migrated in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century from what was then Russian Turkestan are to be found in
Afghanistan, where they are called Ghorbat. They continue to use self-apellations such as Kulobi,
Bukhori, Samarkandi, etc. (Günther 2007: 103-120; 2011: 86-98). The latter two obviously derive
from Bukhara and Samarkand, suggesting that these regional names persist even after moving away
The Lyuli of Central Asia: Background Data
The Mug’at, a hierarchically structured community most commonly known as Lyuli by neighboring
populations, have for centuries been an integral part of Central Asian life. They live primarily in
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, with smaller populations in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (mainly in the
Fergana Valley) as well as a small presence in Turkmenistan. They inhabit both major urban centers
such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent, and rural areas. (Snesarev 1960: 24-29; Snesarev &
Troitskaya 1963: 597-609; Nazarov 1968a: 43-45; Nazarov 1975: 3-23; Nazarov 1980: 165-185;
Nazarow 1983: 3-38; Bessonov 2008: 27-39; Gabbasov & Cherenkov 2008; Khakimov 2010: 32-53)
They are generally multilingual, commonly having a mastery of both Uzbek (even outside of
Uzbekistan proper) and often also Russian, which retains a legal status of “language of transnational
communication” throughout most countries of Central Asia. 2
Their mother tongue, however, is Tajik. They often also possess Tajik preferred identity, and
especially outside of Tajikistan tend to publicly identify as Tajiks in addition to or in place of their
own ethnic identity. (Snesarev 1960: 24-29; Oransky 1961: 62-77; Snesarev & Troitskaya 1963:
597-609; Oransky 1964a: 62-75; Oransky 1964b: 3-16; Oransky 1971a: 66-99; Oransky 1977;
Oransky 1983; Khakimov 2010: 54-60)
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