The Khiva watchtower, facing west towards the Turkoman menace

For centuries the Turkoman people have been bonded together in strongly independent tribal groups. The Tekke, Yomut, Salor, Sarik, Tchaudor and Ersari were the major Turkoman tribes during the time of the Khiva khanate, along with the more minor Kora, Alieli and Goklen tribes. Despite clear differences in location and occupation, they proudly trace a common ancestry back to the Manghischlak or 'ming kishlack' (a thousand villages). It was the mainly the Yomut and Tchauder tribes, who lived between the Caspian and Aral Seas, and the Tekke, who were the leading traders in Persian slaves, which interacted with the khans of Khiva.

Tribalism continued to flourish until the amalgamation of the Turkoman people into the Soviet Union, when were five principal remaining tribes. Even today, despite rampant nationalism in Turkmenistan, the distinct dialects of each tribe are still spoken and five tribal carpet motifs appear on the Turkmenistan flag. The Tekke tribe, which has always been the most dominant, continues to control the sway of power and currently holds most government positions.

A Turkoman old man

In days of old the nomadic Turkoman tribes exhibited a curious mixture of contrasts; on one hand they were feared as the scourge of the Korakum desert and were famed for their merciless raids, untrustworthiness and general debauchery, yet on the other hand they displayed incredible hospitality and generosity. Whilst the men were considered indolent and lazy, the industrious women created fabulous textiles. The few foreigners who visited Turkoman encampments without wearing shackles were baffled at the wonderful treatment they received from the same people who savagely dealt with their captured Persian and Russian victims.

The Turkomans made formidable raiders

In 1864 Vambery estimated that there were roughly 100 500 Turkoman people, who, despite this relatively small population, became infamous as a result of their unexpected ambushes.

"They never attack a formidable party, nor have they been known to make a second assault when foiled in their first; and it stands to reason that so puny a race so sunken in vice can have no chance against anything like an equity of numbers, where brave and determined men are the parties attacked. What they depend on is the first surprise, and if they fail in this, they scatter like the sand of their desert from the slightest breeze."
Richmond Shakespear 'A Personal Narrative of a Journey from Herat to Orenburg, on the Caspian, in 1840' 1842

"The leading feature in the life of a Turkoman are the 'Alaman' (predatory expedition) or the Tchapao (the surprise).... The attack is always made either at midnight, when an inhabited settlement, or at sunrise, when a caravan or any hostile troop is its object.... The party assailed must possess great resolution and firmness to be able to withstand a surprise of this nature; the Persians seldom do so....
"Often," said one of these nomads to me, "the Persians, struck with a panic, throw away their arms, demand cords and bind each other mutually; we have no occasion to dismount, except for the purpose of fastening the last of them.""
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

Richmond Shakespear witnessed the misery of newly captured Persian slaves at first hand.

"Well may they shed tears of anguish, for well they know their fate. Never in their surliest moods did they inflict such cruel treatment on their cattle as they themselves are now doomed to undergo from their fellow creatures; and all hopes of home, or wife, children, and kindred, have vanished like the dreams of the previous night. The rest of their life is doomed to be passed in slavery, amongst people indifferent to human suffering, and unacquainted with mercy.
Richmond Shakespear 'A Personal Narrative of a Journey from Herat to Orenburg, on the Caspian, in 1840' 1842

Shakespear recounted an attack in which two Persian men in a family camel caravan were shot whilst the women were left to the dubious mercies of the raiders.

A fewTurkoman settlements still exist today

"The camel carrying the women is now made to sit down, the unfortunate wretches are dragged brutally to the ground, and their veils torn off. Their cries for mercy and attempts to screen their faces are alike food for mirth to these accursed savages The poor women, if possessing any beauty, are allowed to ride on the camels and have food given to them, lest hardship and suffering should reduce their value when produced for sale."
Richmond Shakespear 'A Personal Narrative of a Journey from Herat to Orenburg, on the Caspian, in 1840' 1842

After a raiding party had returned to their encampment, the booty would be divided equally between the men with an additional portion set aside as well. Each robber would examine his portion and if it was deemed lacking in any way, it would be reimbursed from the central pot.

Despite their raiding, Turkomans were often poor

Despite the prosperity gained from raiding, most Turkomans lived a very basic lifestyle. Few could afford to bake bread more than once a week, subsisting instead on dried fish. Turkomans would usually buy flour whilst selling their slaves in the Khiva or Bukhara bazaars.

During Vambery's sojourn amongst the Turkoman, he was amazed at their lack of societal hierarchy but even more surprised at how well their communities managed to function with an extraordinarily low crime rate. On further investigation he discovered that Turkoman society was held together by a strong sense of the traditional law which governed daily life and customs know as 'Deb'.

"It is remarkable how little the 'Deb' has suffered in its struggle of eight centuries with Mohammedism. Many usages which are prohibited to the Islamite, and which the Mullahs make the object of violent attack, exist in all their ancient originality.... What before they found in the sun, fire, and other phenomena of nature, they now saw in Allah Mohammed. The nomad is ever the same, now as two thousand years ago; nor is it possible for any change to take place in him till he exchanges his light tent for a substantial house; in other words, till he ceases to be nomad."
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

The 'Deb' was particularly adamant on the rules of welcoming guests. Crucial to the survival of any desert nomadic culture, the bonds of hospitality were incredibly strong.

"Shir Dil stepped forward, bowed deeply to his father, and said: 'Father, I bring our brother to you, the man about whom I have told you so much, who saved the life of both your sons.'
The old man nodded, stood up and threw both his arms around me, clapping me on the back with his right hand. He thus created me the official guest of the camp, and I was now more securely guarded than by a regiment of soldiers. Turkoman hospitality is unexampled and unlimited. However great his poverty, the Turkoman will slaughter his last sheep for his guest, even though the guest be a despised unbeliever.
He will not only give him his last crust but he will at need defend him at the risk of his own life - even against relations and tribal brothers. The rights of hospitality are inviolable. The stranger who commits a theft or even a murder, in his host's house, is sacred as long as he remains within the house or camp. Pursuit may not be taken up until the miscreant is out of sight."
Gustav Krist 'Journey through a Forbidden Land' 1933

Shakespear, even though he was repulsed by the Turkomans' cruelty and underhand raiding tactics, was taken aback by the generosity of one tribal leader towards him.

"Just as I was leaving the governor brought me two superb hawks, which he begged me to accept. I pleaded the impossibility of carrying them with me; upon this he immediately gave me an old man to take care of them. The only way of escape was to give the old man a couple of ducats, and tell him to look after the hawks until my return. Brutus says that the birds are celebrated for their speed, and worth at least four slaves each."
Richmond Shakespear 'A Personal Narrative of a Journey from Herat to Orenburg, on the Caspian, in 1840' 1842

The Turkomans, as Vambery noted, were nomads first and Muslims second, practising a syncretic version of Islam which drew heavily on animism and shamanism. They were, however, very strong in their identity as Sunnis and despised the Persian Shiites as worse than unbelievers. This religious fervour may have been partly attributed to the fact that it would be a sin for a Turkoman to enslave a fellow Muslim. However if Shiites were considered worse than unbelievers, a Turkoman raider could then rest with an easy conscience as he proceeded to shackle, sell or kill his captured booty.

Turkoman women baking in all their finery

Women in Turkoman society did not feature much higher than Shiites in the social pecking order and were expected to bear the brunt of all work, as Gustav Krist noted,

"They show not the slightest consideration towards their women who are treated as slaves and expected to do all agricultural as well as domestic work. The men hunt, get up displays and jousts on horseback, or indulge in raiding; otherwise they live a leisured life of uninteruption and ease."
Gustav Krist 'Journey through a Forbidden Land' 1933

IlliterateTurkoman women marvelling at a book

Despite the burden of work, the Turkoman women were able to create wonderful textiles ranging from carpets to clothes. The women from the Sarik tribe would make a special and highly valued material from the wool of a newly born camel known as 'agary'. First the wool would be boiled in milk for a couple of days until it become elastic like the consistency of silk pulp. It would then be woven into men's outer garments. Agary was very expensive and not easy to come by as the Sariks were not on friendly terms with the other tribes.

Women also made beautiful clothes for themselves.

"The women, when dressing themselves for holidays, are accustomed to also bind a shawl round the waist over their long shift, which hangs down in two slips. High heeled boots, red or yellow, are also indispensable; but the objects which are most coveted, and that give them most pleasure are trinkets, rings for neck, ear or nose. ...These accompany every movement of the body with a clear sound, as it were, of bells. The Turkoman is very fond of such clatter, and attachs articles that produce it either to his wife or his horse; or when the opportunity fails him, he steals a Persian, and suspends chains upon him."
Arminius Vambery 'Travels in Central Asia' 1864

The Turkomans continued to raid and capture Persians with impunity, making the most of the Persian Shah's preoccupation with other matters. However the Russian hatred and resentment towards the Turkomans did not dissipate on the release of the Russian slaves from Khiva by Richmond Shakespear in 1840. Russian sailors continued to be captured by the Yomuts who were infamous pirates on the Caspian Sea and by the time an invading Russian army finally reached the Korakum desert, they were ready for a vicious retaliation.

The Russians imposed a war enmity of 2 200 000 rubles upon the khan and his subjects, which included the Turkoman tribes. Their elders were summoned to Khiva and told that they must pay half of their share within two weeks and hostages were held to ensure that this was carried out.

However General Kaufmann, bored with a bloodless victory, decided to give his army some action with the Turkomans. Without even waiting until the two weeks were up, he sent his forces to ascertain how much money had been produced, ordering his troops to spare no one. The Russian army attacked one of the main Turkoman settlements at Goek Tepe near modern day Ashkabad with horrific results.

Even today someTurkomans have nomadic tendancies

"Men, women and children at the breast were slain with ruthless barbarity; houses with bedridden inmates were given up to the fiery element; women- ay, and prattling babes - were burned alive amidst the flames; hell was let loose on Turkomania. And this, the Russians would have us believe, was done to further Christianity and civilisation.
...If the Turkomans had been treated differently they would have paid the tribute to the Russian general. But they are barbarous creatures, utterly unacquainted with that European civilisation which characterises Russian troops. They were so foolish as to be exceedingly angry. Indeed it is said that later on these poor ignorant Turkomans became utterly lost to all feelings of honour. They actually dared to attack General Golovatcheff's camp at Illyali; but they had no chance against the breechloaders of their foes, and were repulsed with great slaughter."
Captain Frederick Burnaby 'A Ride to Khiva' 1876

By the 1930's the Turkoman way of life was increasingly changed by communism. Families were settled and men were expected to work

This was the beginning of the end for the fiery independent Turkoman tribes. Russian expansion and colonialism began to encroach on their territory and the Trans-Caspian railway was built. By the 1930's the Soviets attempted to settle the nomads and turn them into model Soviet citizens but this resulted in vehement resistance and a mass exodus of various tribes into Northern Afghanistan and Persia. Russians were shipped in to modernise the region and a steady erosion of culture began. The Turkmen SSR became little more than a cotton-growing plantation.

The Arch of Neutrality, topped by a golden, revolving statue of Turkmenbashi

In 1990, independence was unexpectedly thrust on the reluctant first secretary of the Communist Party, Saparmurat Niazov, who was keen to remain within the Soviet Union. However he rapidly re-invented himself as Turkmenbashi, the father of the Turkomans. The concept of the Turkoman tribes as a nation state was promoted with a new flag , national anthem and the slogan, "One people, one nation, one father, Turkmenbashi". Today pictures of the President are plastered all over the place and his face appears on every bank note and is the main icon for the national television channel. The port town of Krasnovodsk has been renamed Turkmenbashi and the centre of Ashgabad boasts a large three-legged monument topped with a golden revolving statue of Niazov, which overlooks his gold domed palace.

The handmade carpet traditions are being revived

During independence the Turkoman cultural identity has been fostered by the replacement of Russian by Turkmen as the official language and a revival of handicrafts and national costume. However Niazov plans to destroy the main historical archives, stating that they will confuse and pollute people's minds. Nationalism and cultural identity have become closely tied with the personality cult of the president as history and culture has been reinvented to suit the current regime. To reject Turkmenbashi is to reject Turkmenistan and all political opposition is firmly repressed.

Today the Turkomans are no longer slave traders and women enjoy a more equal place in society. However, the vacuum left by the Soviet ideology and structure has not been filled by the Deb or a similar system of rules for society. Instead the Turkomans have gone the way of the Persians they so deeply despised and are governed by the whims of a Shah in all but name, Turkmenbashi.