Tajik and “crown” of Tajik Ethnic Group
“Tajik” is the name that the Tajik nationality calls itself. On its source and meaning, the researchers’ views are still different by now. One representative viewpoint is: “Tajik” firstly sourced from the name of an ancient Arabian tribe in the Iraq region—“Tayi”, which was later used by all the eastern countries to generally call Arabians. In the Chinese history of our country, it was translated as “Dasi”. Round the 10th century, “Tayi” evolved as the name “Taji” that Iranians used to call Islamic believers. In the 11th century, the word “Taji” spread to the nomadic tribes that spoke Tujue language in the middle part of Asia, they called the settled inhabitants who spoke Iranian and believed in Islam in the middle part of Asia as “Tajik”. Afterwards, “Tajik” became the name of the nationality.
However, the Tajik nationality of our country, which has lived in the Pamirs from generations to generations and has a long history, has unique explanation to their own nationality name, and they believe that the word “Tajik” meant “crown” originally. A scholar of the Tajik nationality in our country, Xiren Kurban, wrote in the book Chinese Tajik Nationality which he wrote in collaboration with other people, Tajik sourced from the word “Taji”, and gradually evolved from the former words of “Taji’erda” (person that wears crown) and “Tajiyeke” (sole crown), etc. And he related such a folk legend: The hero Lusitamu with incomparable strength and extraordinary braveness defeated all the brutal, dark and mean forces with the spirit of male lion, then the people gained happiness, the ancestors of the Tajik people, Kaiyihuosilu, Kaiyikubate, Kaiyikawusi, Jiamixide and Nuxiliwang, etc, became the king one after another.
They wore crown on their head, and governed a large piece of land from the east to the west. Their subjects also manufactured all kinds of bright-colored hat “Taji” by imitating the crown and wore it on head to show they themselves were the happy ordinary people that were ruled by the just king. Since then, all the kingdoms far and near called them as “Tajikla” (Tajik people). By now, the “tubake” (Tajik-style man’s high hat), which is seen by the Tajik people as the mark of exquisite workmanship, and the “kuleta” (Tajik-style women hat), which has excellent embroidery, were passed down from that time. According to this legend, now many scholars have recognized that “crown” is the original meaning of the nationality name “Tajik”.
