The issue of the nation and the so-called "purity of blood" worries everyone in different ways. There are people in whose family there were representatives of different nationalities, and they do not worry about this at all and are proud of their ancestors. And there are those who do not perceive representatives of other races and despises them. They enter into marriages only when they are convinced of the pedigree of their future half, and, noticing at least the slightest nuances in it, immediately break off any relationship.
Truth or fiction
Many to this day argue about who the Aryans are. In translation, "Aryan" means "respected", "worthy", "noble". However, this term is not scientific. It was put forward by the nationalists with the aim of dividing the people living at that time into worthy and unworthy. The former included representatives of European nationalities, primarily belonging to the so-called Norman type. Traditionally, this is the name given to people from Northern Europe who have a strong physique, blond hair and blue eyes. The representatives of those who, according to the nationalists, were unworthy of life, were primarily considered Jews.
Hitler's theory
Surely everyone knows that Hitler's dream was not only to conquer the whole world, but also to create an ideal race, according to his theory, fair-haired and blue-eyed people. To understand who Hitler's Aryans are, it is enough to read his quote:
"All human culture, all the achievements of art, science and technology that we are witnessing today are the fruits of the creativity of the Aryans ... He [the Aryan] is the Prometheus of mankind, from whose bright brow sparks of genius flew at all times, kindling the fire of knowledge, illuminating the darkness of gloomy ignorance, which allowed man to rise above other creatures of the Earth.
Considering the nature and pathological determination in achieving the goals he himself set, Hitler made demands not only on the external data of ideal people. Giving a definition of who the Aryans are, he also took into account character traits, lifestyle, principles and even features of sexual development and maturation. The requirements were very strict, but the desire for a fictitious ideal was so high that those who did not meet the slightest requirement were shamefully expelled from the caste of the elite and could even be physically destroyed. Arguing on the topic of who the Aryans were, Hitler acted harshly: compassion was alien to him, and with equal success (if one can put it that way, of course), both children and adults were destroyed on his orders.
Making a portrait of an Aryan
To imagine who the Aryans are and how they look, you can familiarize yourself with the alleged criteria that were applied to the appearance, type of character and features of the physical and sexual development of this category of people.
So, a real purebred Aryan is distinguished by:
- very light, almost snow-white skin;
- light, preferably Blue eyes;
- smooth and thin hair of light shades;
- height at least 180 cm (women may be shorter);
- weight proportional to height;
- refined features, long thin fingers;
- lack of hair on the back, legs, other manifestations on the face and in the genital area are mild;
- high forehead and correct form scull;
- absence of superciliary arches;
- the presence of a sign of a metopic suture on the forehead;
- evenly set eyes;
- straight and healthy teeth;
- late puberty and late aging;
- pleasant sounding speech;
- required talents and (preferably) genius;
- lack of desire for physical and monotonous work;
- equilibrium;
- independence from alcohol and drugs;
- lack of susceptibility to hereditary diseases (in principle, a person should not get sick);
- accuracy;
- complete rejection of even the thought of an alien racial culture, religion, dislike for Jews;
- selective and legible in sexual relations;
- strong ideas about the value of the family;
- an Aryan woman is beautiful, slender, faithful to her husband, loves children, is an excellent housewife, hates Jews.
After studying these characteristics, one can imagine who the Aryans are and what they look like. A photo of all those considered worthy representatives of the highest race will not give a complete impression, so it remains only to dream up.
Helpful information
If you believe the statistics, then most often when asked who the Aryans are, associations arise precisely with the period of the nationalist movement during the Second World War, but such a nation actually existed and still exists. This question causes a lot of confusion in scientific world, because the race of Indo-Europeans, some of whom were called Aryans, really existed.
An artificially created or historically based nation?
Most of the peoples of the world speak similar languages. This can only mean one thing: we all have common roots and origin. Even in the ancient tribes, there was a division of people according to social status, and given the natural selection, which was especially tough in the wild, only the strongest and most dexterous survived. Tribes consisting of such people conquered territories, later their leaders became rulers, etc. The Aryan tribe was unique.
Its representatives were something of a legend of the time. They were looked up to, imitated, respected and feared. It was precisely because of their historical superiority that Hitler chose them as a model. He repelled not only from appearance, although, of course, this fact cannot be denied. High cheekbones and even facial features are inherent in most Germans, however, similar differences in physique are also characteristic of many representatives. Slavic peoples with which the Nazis waged a fierce struggle. But why should they fight if (focusing on external signs) are they related to the Slavs by family ties? This dilemma is the reason why a clear answer to the question of who the Aryans are cannot be obtained.
Historical facts
A brief historical overview will help people who are interested in who the Aryans are and where they came from understand. Tribes living in northern Europe are often referred to as Indo-Europeans. This term is still used today, but has a wider meaning than in the last century. How the Aryans themselves called themselves is unknown to historians to this day. These tribes occupied the then fertile lands and are often considered the founders of agriculture and animal husbandry.
Interesting, but if you believe the studies, then the Aryans originally lived on the territory modern Russia and not in Germany.
Around the second millennium BC, there was a large-scale resettlement of representatives of this tribe throughout the globe. Of course, preference was given to areas suitable for agriculture, but the harsh conditions, in principle, did not frighten them.
As a result of mixing with other peoples, their appearance has undergone significant changes, and it has become impossible to determine the origin. Even modern indigenous Tajiks have two main types of appearance. One half is swarthy, dark-haired and dark-eyed people, and the other half has blond hair and blue eyes. But that doesn't mean they're Aryans, does it?
A nation of kings and rulers
Even without really knowing who the Aryans were and where they lived, the ancient kings and emperors recognized belonging to this race as prestigious and were always looking for an opportunity to find representatives of this race among their ancestors.
Perhaps this was the product of what we call nationalism and fascism. After all, the concept that all people are brothers exists only in church teachings, but practically does not occur in life.
By dividing people into similar to God (and therefore worthy of worship) and descended from a monkey (suitable only for rendering services to the superior race), our ancestors, without knowing it, laid the foundations for the age-old confrontation between peoples. Some were ready to die to exterminate other races, while others defended their lands and rightly condemned the Nazis for their beliefs.
Theory of Adolf Lanz
At the beginning of the 20th century, the views of the Catholic monk Adolf Lanz on the origin of the human races on Earth were published. He believed that initially there were two tribes - Aryans and people-animals. The first he called heroic, and the second monkeys. The "super talented" Aryans were of divine origin and even looked like angels. Demons on earth were symbolized by ape people: they were not capable of anything but destruction and stupidity, lies and deceit. These races hated each other and tried their best to destroy the enemy tribes. The apes began to act by mixing blood and seduced Aryan women, and the Aryans tried to exterminate everyone who posed even the slightest danger to dilute their divine blood.
IN currently due to the mixing of blood on Earth, there are people, each of whom belongs to a greater extent to one or another type, therefore, is closer either to God or to a demon. It is from this famous theory the Nazis are repelled in their reasoning about who the Aryans and Slavs are.
Summing up
Who are the Aryans? Where did they come from and who are they? Most likely, this issue will be of interest to humanity for a very long time, but with full confidence it can only be stated that special attention to this category of people is caused by historical factors that have a serious impact on the development of world society.
Many European and Oriental languages are close to each other. All of them belong to a single "Aryan" or Indo-European language family. However, historians are still arguing whether the "Aryans" actually existed.
Aryan etymology
The Aryans are the ancient peoples of India and Iran who spoke the Aryan languages that are part of the Indo-European language family. The etymology of their self-name is very mysterious. In the 19th century, a hypothesis was put forward that the ethnonym "Aryan" came from the words "nomad" or "farmer". Already in the 20th century, scientists believed that the Indo-European ar-i̯-o- means “one who is hospitable to ari”, and “ari” can be translated from ancient Indian as “friend” or, conversely, “enemy” (the opposite meaning of the same the same word or related words is characteristic of ancient languages).
The unifying meaning can also be "a tribesman from a foreign clan", since he could be both a friend and an enemy. Thus, the concept of "Aryan" denoted a person who is part of the ethnic totality of the various tribes of the Aryans. The hypothesis is confirmed by the presence in the Vedic pantheon of the god Aryaman, who is responsible for friendship and hospitality.
Another vector of etymological research leads us to a different meaning of the word "Aryan" - "freeborn" and "noble", which came from the Semitic languages. It is possible that the rudiments of this word were preserved in the Old Irish language, in which "aire" is translated as "noble" or "free", as well as in some others.
Where did the arias come from
Recent studies show that the ancient pra-Aryans were originally united people, and only in the second millennium BC they were divided into two branches - Iranian and Indo-Aryan. The very word "Iran" has a connection with the word "Aryan", and means "land of the Aryans". At the same time, it is important to take into account that modern Iran is only a small area on the map of those vast territories that were occupied by ancient Iranian peoples: Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, steppes north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea and others. In addition, the commonality of the Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches proves the similarity of the sacred texts - the Iranian Avesta and Indian Vedas. To date, there are several versions of where the arias came from.
According to the linguistic hypothesis, the Aryans migrated to India and settled there around 1700-1300. BC. The version is based on the study of ancient languages and customs reflected in historical sources. Linguistics shows that India was not the birthplace of the Aryans - as a rule, in the region of origin of any language family there are many various languages and dialects of the same family, and in India there is only one Indo-Aryan branch of languages. In Central and Eastern Europe, by contrast, there are hundreds of varieties of Indo. European languages. It is logical to assume that it was here that Indo-European family languages and peoples. In addition, having come to India, the Aryans encountered its indigenous population, speaking the languages of another family, for example, Munda (Austroasiatic family) or Dravidian - languages from which archaic borrowings in Sanskrit were taken.
Most recognized in this moment- the barrow hypothesis. According to her, the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans was the Volga and Black Sea lands, where archaeologists recorded the Yamnaya culture. Its representatives were the first to build war chariots, which allowed them to capture everything large territories and extend its influence to the entire Eurasian continent.
Pseudo-scientific speculation
In addition to academic versions, there are dozens of fantastic ones: that the Aryans, in fact, are inhabitants of the mythical Hyperborea, who came from the Arctic; that they are the immediate ancestors of the Germans, Russians or someone else. As a rule, such theories are in demand among nationalist-minded communities to build a pseudo-history of a certain people. The main goal is to "prolong" the history of their country.
Aryan culture
The Aryans or Indo-Iranians left a rich cultural legacy. In addition to the most important written heritage, such as the Vedas and Avesta, the later Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Aryans also left monuments material culture. Originally a semi-nomadic people, they focused primarily on raising cows and horses. The main weapon of the Aryans were arrows. These peoples were familiar with irrigation systems, forging copper and gold products.
The Aryan family was patriarchal, in each family there were other members, slaves and cattle in addition to the head of the family. Families united into clans, communities and tribes, sometimes at war with each other. That three-class social system that became widespread in ancient Iranian and Indian societies was not as strongly developed among the Aryans, however, its main features were present. The top of the hierarchy were priests, future brahmins, and kshatriya aristocrats who commanded the common people. Arias were warlike people mining land in search of new lands and pastures.
Origin of the "Aryan race"
The origin of races before the 19th century was a historical mystery. However, at the beginning of the century, scientists discovered the commonality of many European languages with the languages \u200b\u200bof India and Iran. All these languages were called Aryan language family- later it will be called Indo-European. The self-name of the peoples of ancient India and Iran - the Aryans, was mistakenly understood as common name of all Indo-European tribes, and archaeologists soon found the so-called Pit culture, which, thanks to the construction of war chariots, quickly expanded its linguistic, cultural and political influence from a small area within the borders of some lands of modern Poland, Ukraine and southern Russia to the scale of an entire empire - from Portugal to Sri Lanka.
Despite the fact that no separate race of Aryans existed, and the mixing of physiological characteristics with linguistic ones was pseudoscientific (the peoples of Tajikistan, Persia, the gypsies, and even the Veddas, who are Australoids), were among the speakers of Indo-European languages), scientists began to believe that the community of languages is equal to the community of race. The well-known mistake of the German philologist Max Muller, who accidentally referred to the non-existent "Aryan race", led to the spread in the scientific world of the opinion about the existence of the Aryan race, and later the emergence of Nazi racial theories.
In this book, Blavatsky spoke about the theory that she managed to deduce thanks to numerous spiritualistic sessions and numerous experiments with otherworldly forces. Her theory was about the Aryans. Aryans who are they? - mystically illuminated people who once inhabited our Earth and belong to the race of masters.
She believed that the Germans descended from the ancient Aryans, and the first place where the Aryans appeared was Atlantis or the island of Thule (the name of this island later became the name of the secret society "Thule"). After the death of Atlantis, the Aryans moved to the foothills of the Himalayas and to Tibet.
According to Helena Blavatsky, the Aryans were God's chosen people, whose calling was to rule all those living on Earth. Hitler immediately liked this theory. He realized that this was exactly what he had been looking for for so long. Thanks to this legend, he will be able to raise the morale of the German people broken in the First World War. After all, it is they, the Germans, who should rule all other peoples, and they have been endowed with this right since ancient times.
Was the book alone the progenitor of the future ideology of the National Socialist Party, or did something else influence the creation of the foundation of the nationalist ideas of Adolf Hitler?
Hitler was a Freemason
Few people know that back in 1919, Hitler joined one of the Masonic lodges. At that time, he really needed a strong shoulder and support, both financial and spiritual, from the powers that be. Subsequently, he will get rid of his former comrades, the Masons - by dissolving all their lodges in every country where his army visits.
No, he did not arrange a total persecution of the members of the lodges, but in no case should they be allowed to gather in societies, especially those who love the sacraments and strive for power. After all, competitors have no right to exist.
Yet, long before the National Socialists gained power, Hitler considered the Masons his brothers and they shared his opinion. It was in the box that Hitler would first hear old legend about the secret history of the Earth, which in the future he will take as the basis of ideological convictions, thanks to which he will ascend to the pinnacle of power in Germany.
Arive legend
The legend says. There were once two races on earth. Some had dark color skin, and were endowed with extraordinary power. They had a highly developed culture and science. All their cities were predominantly located in the south. In the north lived people of the "white race". Their development in comparison with the "black race" was not great, so they were obliged to obey the "black masters". But one day everything changed. Among the white people appeared the brave and wise Aryan Ram, who no longer wanted to obey the "black masters". He was able to convince representatives of his race to raise uprisings in the northern lands. It happened about eight thousand years before the birth of Christ.
Aryans who are they? The people of the "white race" under the leadership of Ram were able to defeat the "black masters" and overthrow them. This circumstance subsequently affected the representatives of the "black race" in that they lagged far behind the white people in development. Ram, on the other hand, managed to create an empire of extraordinary strength, uniting many peoples of the world. But everything is not forever.
After the death of Ram, his heirs could not agree among themselves in any way and for many years unleashed a bloody civil strife. As a result, small uprisings turned into riots, and then into a civil war started by Prince Irshu. Moreover, the struggle for power and the legacy of Ram had not only political significance, but also determined further ways development of all mankind.
In this struggle, the Aryans were defeated, and all subsequent revolutions, socialist utopian teachings and the loss of spirituality by people are a consequence of this.
After these events, another legend remained. As if somewhere in Asia, high in the mountains, on the border of Afghanistan, Tibet and India, there is the country of Agharti-Shambhala, which is inhabited by sage mediums who managed to survive after the Irsha uprising, who hid secret laboratories, libraries, warehouses in inaccessible caves that store all scientific experience of many ancient civilizations. Whoever can negotiate with the inhabitants of Shambhala and take possession of the key to secret knowledge - he will take over the world and reveal all the secrets of the Universe!
Hitler in search of Shambhala
After hearing this legend and reading Blavatsky's book, Hitler becomes simply obsessed with the idea of finding this secret knowledge. In his search, he relies on the locations indicated by Helena Blavatsky. The first place to look for is the city of Agadi, located underground on the site of the former Babylonia, and the second is the legendary Shambhala, where there is a key to all the secrets of the Universe.
After Adolf Hitler officially re-established his National Socialist Party in 1925, Heinrich Himmler joined it in August of the same year, with whom Hitler had already known since the days of the Beer Putsch. It was Himmler who in 1923 carried the "battle banner of the Reich." As soon as the devoted Heinrich Himmler becomes a member of the party, Hitler immediately appoints him Gauleiter of Bavaria. After some time, Adolf tells Heinrich an ancient legend and asks a friend to help in the search for valuable knowledge.
In 1926, first in Munich, and then in Berlin, quite numerous colonies of Tibetans and Hindus began to appear, with whom specialists from the SS were working, trying to get at least some information about Shambhala and the black faith of the Bonpo.
The Near and Middle East were not forgotten either. "Archaeological" expeditions are sent there, consisting of Nazi-sympathetic scientists and SS officers who are trying with all their might to find the underground city of Agadi.
Heinrich Himmler is trying his best to complete the task entrusted to him by Hitler to search for ancient knowledge and the origins of the Aryans as quickly and as best as possible. In other respects, his efforts were soon appreciated. On January 6, 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed to the post of Reichsführer-SS. Thus, Hitler not only thanked Himmler for his efforts, but also acquired a true friend and "right hand".
Since the beginning of 1931, Himmler has been creating his own independent secret service called the SD. At the beginning of the same 30s, Himmler begins to show interest in the retired sailor Reinhard Heydrich.
A well-educated, musically gifted, fair-haired, athletic young man, recreated, according to Himmler, the image of a true Aryan. But not only this in Heydrich interested the Reichsfuehrer SS.
First of all, Himmler drew attention to his education and deep knowledge culture: not every Nazi functionary or SS officer could boast of this. And Reinhard was born and raised in the family of the director of the conservatory, where the cult of culture reigned.
Reinhard was such a virtuoso on the violin that he could easily do musical career, but he chose the path of a naval officer, but could not stay there for a long time because of his weakness for women. He had to leave the fleet after the trial of officer honor because of the scandalous love story with the daughter of one of the senior officers.
Project "Heritage of Ancestors"
As a result, Heydrich was invited to Himmler's office, where he was offered to head the secret service of the SD, the goal, which was new program on the search for ancient knowledge called the "Heritage of the Ancestors".
Himmler believed that only Reinhard Heydrich, possessing enviable erudition and deep knowledge of world culture, would be able to get off the ground, thoroughly deadlocked searches. Reinhard gladly accepted the proposals of the Reichsführer SS and left the office.
Some time after the appointment of Reinhard Heydrich, a secret structure was organized as part of the SS, called the "Ancestral Heritage". The main task of this organization is to be in the culture, science, and history of the whole world, to confirm God's chosenness and claims to world domination of the Aryan race represented by the Germans.
This secret structure united under its roof more than fifty scientific institutes and closed laboratories of various profiles, where highly qualified specialists studied:
- Symbolism
- Runic writings
- Applied Linguistics
- The history of the Aryans
- Knowledge of ancient peoples with translations from Sanskrit
All kinds of myths and legends of various tribes and peoples were carefully analyzed, ethnographic issues were discussed, anthropometric features of various races were revealed, etc.
In parallel with the research carried out in the laboratories and institutes of Germany, searches are also being carried out in the East and Tibet, where very often expeditions are sent, which include professional intelligence officers, saboteurs and venerable scientists.
Subsequently, the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition did not find a single report or report on any expedition. What the Germans managed to find in the Middle East and Tibet will remain a mystery forever.
Origin of the Aryan race
But some information is still preserved. Specialists and Heritage of Ancestors managed to find out where Aryan race. According to them, these places should have been somewhere in Central Asia in the Gobi desert region, in the Pamirs and Eastern Europe.
It is also known that the SS believed that the Gobi desert was not always lifeless, but turned into one as a result of the use most powerful weapon not yet known to people 30s of the last century. And it happened, according to their calculations, about four thousand years ago.
Around the same time, the tribes of the Aryans after ecological disaster scattered all over the world. The Nordic Aryans headed by Thor (who later became the main deity of the ancient Scandinavians and Germans) went to the northwest, where the rest went remains unknown.
It is not known how Himmler motivated the request when he told Hitler in the late 30s that sacrifices were required, but Adolf immediately gave the green light to this matter. A year later, the head of the SD, Reinhard Heydrich, also became the head of the concentration camp system, and, having created the first ghetto, he began to solve the problem of “sacrifices” to unknown “powers”.
Apparently, the sacrifices were very to the liking of the gods to whom Hitler brought them, because he won victories one after another, until his luck turned away from him in the winter of 1941 and he “stumbled” near Moscow.
Many scientists are still eager to know what information was kept by the Ancestral Heritage organization and still strive to understand Aryans who are they? Occasionally, various fragmentary data on the activities of this powerful organization come up here and there, for example, here is one of them.
There is evidence that the "Heritage of the Ancestors" managed to understand what the energy-information system and the unified energy-information field of the Earth, in which the Tibetans believe so much, are. Maybe it was for this reason that the Allied troops numbered thousands of corpses of Tibetans dressed in Waffen-SS uniforms without identification marks, so vehemently defending Berlin, to the last bullet, to the last drop of blood.
Whether this is so or not and what the Tibetans did in the service of the Nazis will remain a mystery of history. Aryans who are they? Until the end, this is also unknown.
All members of the expedition died under strange circumstances
Luck turned away not only from Hitler in his conquests, but also from his entourage.
For example, the fate of Reinhard Heydrich was very prosaic. He had long been under the "cap" of British intelligence. On May 27, 1942, Deputy Reich Protector Heydrich, in an open Mercedes, was returning through the narrow streets of Prague from his country house to the residence sharp turn two men dressed in overalls jumped up to his car. One opened fire on the driver, and the second threw a grenade under the car. As a result of the explosion, Reinhard Heydrich was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the chest and stomach and died suddenly on June 4 of the same year.
Now it is difficult to say who organized the assassination - the British or Hitler himself. After all, on the eve of what happened, one of the expeditions sent to Tibet returned safely and brought valuable information, which was first read by Reinhard Heydrich. According to a number of sources, all members of that expedition died under strange circumstances, and the materials they delivered disappeared without a trace ...
As you know, the leaders of the "Third Reich" seriously believed that true aryans are the Germans. Or at least they pretended to believe it. And in 1939, Himmler sent a large-scale scientific expedition to Tibet.
What were the Germans looking for there? Gold? Emeralds? No, they measured the width of the Tibetans' cheekbones, the facial angle, took off their plaster masks, calculated the coefficient of cephalization... They hoped to find in Tibet those same mythical "Nordic" Aryans who, in their opinion, once left Germany and went to the East. But they didn't find it. For the most part, they dealt with indigenous Tibetans - representatives of the Mongoloid population group.
Who are the derds?
The French explorer Michel Pessel was more fortunate. In 1975, he nevertheless found in the snowy Himalayas a small people, the Min-Ro, who had all the features of a European anthropological group. Some of its representatives even looked like "Nordic" Aryans.
This mysterious people and to this day lives in the Western Himalayas, in Ladakh - a kind of threshold of Tibet. The region is located where the borders of three countries meet: India, Pakistan and China. Of course, Pessel discovered in Tibet not the “Nordic” Aryans at all, but the descendants of the Indo-Europeans, who in 1400 BC new era came to India from Central Asia and later became Indo-Aryans.
The Minaros are by no means the only Europeans who have lived in the Himalayas since time immemorial. People with a European appearance are conditionally called dards by the inhabitants of Tibet.
Europeans from time immemorial
In the province of Nuristan in Afghanistan, as well as in the mountains of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, one of the amazing peoples Dard group - Kalash. Its population is about 6 thousand people.
The villages are located at an altitude of 1900-2200 meters above sea level. Kalash inhabit three side valleys formed by the right (western) tributaries of the Chitral (Kunar) River: Bumboret (in Kalash Mumret), Rumbur (Rukmu) and Birir (Biriu), at a distance of approximately 20 km south of the city of Chitral.
Their wooden houses are piled one above the other along the steep mountain slopes and are somewhat reminiscent of Georgian sakli with a flat roof. Bridges and steep ladders are laid between the dwellings, along which the children jump with pleasure. Nearby are the ruins of ancient stone fortresses - possibly built by the ancestors of the current inhabitants.
Neighbors consider Kalash natives - and scientists confirm this. In joint research by the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, the University of Southern California and Stanford University, a separate paragraph is devoted to the Kalash, which says that their genes are indeed unique and belong to an ancient European group.
Like in the Russian North
The Kalash, despite all the oppression, managed to preserve their pagan faith. Interestingly, the neighbors, who have the same European appearance as they do, profess Islam. The rites of the Kalash are very similar to the ancient Slavic and Baltic ones. They worship the sacred fire in three forms: the sun, lightning and hearth fire.
They have preserved remnants of the twin cult, typical of all ancient Indo-Europeans. In temple premises ritual dances carved figures of twins embracing and a stylized image of the sun can be seen on wooden pillars. In the middle of the temple room, blown by all the winds, there is a sacred pillar with carved on it solar signs.
Some signs symbolizing the sun are similar to those that are still found in the Arkhangelsk wooden carving! Not far from the ritual pillar is an altar: two horse heads carved from wood.
horned deity
On holidays, on a special altar in front of a pagan idol made of a single trunk of a large tree, installed on a mountain slope under open sky, sacrifice a goat. Their grazing on mountain pastures is done by unmarried shepherds.
Local folklore is replete with tales associated with totemic ideas about this animal. On major holidays, the fair sex wears colorful dresses reminiscent of traditional costumes Slavic and Baltic women, draw the silhouette of a mountain goat with curled horns over their eyebrows with soot.
Often during the holiday they play a scene where a horned goat is depicted unmarried girl, and the shepherd is an unmarried boy. This action is very reminiscent of the rite of buffoon disguise under New Year. Harvest festivals and love festivals are arranged, similar to Ivan Kupala: then they dance round dances, sing songs.
Wooden horned idols have also been preserved - a female deity on a throne with a massive carved staff in her left hand. Involuntarily, you will remember the Russian devil with a poker.
As in native Provence
Kalash cultivate wheat, millet and barley in irrigated fields. Harvest with sickles. They grow walnuts and mulberries. Now they have an exotic crop for these places - corn.
Pessel was at one time struck by the fact that representatives of the Minaro people, outwardly so similar to the French, just like the Tyroleans or the inhabitants of Provence, grow grapes on the mountain slopes of the Western Himalayas and make wine from it. When in his book "The Gold of the Ants", published in 1984 (published in Russian in 1989), Pessel published a photograph of a smiling minaro man, outwardly looking like a Frenchman, and even with a bunch of grapes in one hand and a cup of wine in the other Not everyone believed him. Some even accused the scientist of a brawl.
Nevertheless, today it is already a proven fact: people who live in the Himalayas are indistinguishable from Europeans; and they lead a way of life that makes them related to European peasants.
Combat past
Kalash women at their leisure make beaded jewelry reminiscent of Russian and Baltic ones. On the breastplate, for example, there is symbolism in the form of two horse heads looking in different directions, and solar signs. Even in the 19th century, similar ones could be found in the Russian North in carvings on huts, spinning wheels and gates. Among the Balts, these plots are still preserved in village life.
The Pakistan Museum of National Antiquities has wooden statues of horse riders in helmets and armor. At one time, they were "expropriated" by the Pakistani authorities from the Kalash. They were probably a very warlike people in the past: legends about aggressive campaigns to neighboring lands have been preserved in their folklore. During military sorties, foreigners were taken prisoner. From the slaves, a caste of artisans was formed, infringed on their rights - later it was they who converted to Islam. In their composition, there are much fewer blondes and a Mongoloid and Australoid admixture is noticeable.
In pristine purity
In the cemetery, on the graves of Kalash, wooden boards with solar signs carved on them are installed vertically. The center of the tribal cult is a carved board, personifying the goddess Dzheshtak, the patroness of family ties, or the "temple" ("the house of Dzheshtak") - a room for dancing and meetings.
The symbolic plots on the gravestones are somewhat similar to the South Ossetian gravestones of the 18th century. Let me remind you that the Ossetians are the descendants of the nomadic Alans who took refuge in the mountains of the Caucasus from the Hun invasion.
All this suggests that the Alans, Slavs and Kalash had common ancestors. However, Kalash, perhaps the only ones in the world, kept in pristine purity not only appearance typical Caucasians, but also the culture of pagan ancestors, Proto-Indo-Europeans. They believe in the transmigration of souls in the same way as the ancestors of all Indo-Europeans believed in it, including the Slavs, not excluding the Russians. Many features of everyday life and rituals are explained precisely by this.
And yet the cultural impact of non-Christian neighbors is undoubtedly being felt. The men adopted the typical Muslim clothing and headgear. The names of tribal deities are gradually forgotten. The Holiday of Merits - honoring respected people - is becoming a thing of the past. But those who have passed away from this life and who are to be born again in a new body are not forgotten.
Shard of antiquity
In the social structure, the Kalash, like the inhabitants of neighboring Nuristan related to them, are divided into ranks. The head of the family clan, who wants to increase his prestige, slaughters a few goats and treats his fellow tribesmen. Anyone has the right to come to the feast.
Thanks to a warm welcome and a feast all over the world, the head of the clan receives one vote in the council of elders and the right to install a personal carved wooden statue in the family cemetery after his death. Of course, this is not a Greek or Roman statue, but still a distant resemblance to antique images you can see in these masks and figures.
Relatives of towels
The Kalash have the highest holiness in the mountains and mountain pastures, where the gods live and "their cattle" - wild goats - graze. Holy are the altars and the goat-sheds. Sanctuaries are located, as a rule, in the open air. These are mostly altars built of juniper or oak. They are furnished with ritual carved boards and idols of higher deities.
Indoor wooden halls are specially erected for religious mysteries and dances.
The ritual life of the Kalash takes place in collective festivities, feasts and games, to which the gods are invited as full participants. At the matchmaking ceremony preceding the wedding, you can see matchmakers with tied wedding towels, decorated with embroidery and very reminiscent of towels!
At the feet of the gods
Kalash, like all Dardian peoples, live in close proximity to the greatest peak in the world, called K2 by climbers, and Chogori by the local population.
It is located in Kashmir, in northern Pakistan, near the border with China and looks like a giant snow-covered pyramid. Second in the world after Everest. Its height is 8611 meters above sea level.
There is reason to believe that it is Chogori who appears in the Hindu Vedas as sacred mountain Meru, and in the main book of Zoroastrianism Avesta - as the Great Hara. According to ancient Aryan beliefs, the Sun, Moon, stars and planets revolve around this mountain.
Perhaps the ancient Aryans or their descendants - Caucasoid nomadic Scythians - because of religious beliefs climbed so high into the mountains and chose these highlands as their residence? According to the Vedas, great gods live on Mount Meru. And to live at the foot of the abode of the gods - is not it the greatest honor?
Alexander Belov, paleoanthropologist
Tall, slender, blond ... A true Aryan?
The term "Aryan" is perhaps the most controversial in historical science. Initially, the word "Aryans" referred to the cultural and linguistic Indo-Iranian group, and not to ethnicity. 19th-century scholars made it synonymous with all Indo-Europeans and "glued" a racial label to it. And already in the 20th century, Hitler abused this concept in his racist policies and attempts to achieve world domination. Since then, the Aryans have been spoken of only in a negative light, but is there really a reason for this?
1. Origin 
Origin of the Aryans.
"Aryan" comes from the Sanskrit word ary - the self-name of the Vedic Indians. The original meaning of the term "Aryan" is not fully understood. Some believe it means "noble" or "pure". If we remove the racial connotations, then the concept of "arya" should be considered more as a cultural quality, revered in the sacred texts in Sanskrit.
Confusion about this word appeared in the 19th century, when "Aryan" became a noun. Scholars have incorrectly assumed that "Aryan" was a term used to describe the ancestors of all Indo-European people. German nationalists began to associate this term with racial identity, despite all the texts in Sanskrit.
2. The void of the Indus Valley 
The course of the Saraswati River.
For decades, scholars believed that the Aryan migration to the subcontinent was one of the conquests. Allegedly conquerors in chariots crossed the Hindu Kush and conquered the "lower" Dravidian culture. For many, this was clear evidence of the superiority of the Aryan civilization. However, it turns out that such a description is fundamentally wrong. The Indus Valley civilization was one of the most complex and advanced in the ancient world.
The first evidence of religious practices in this place dates back to 5500 BC. Agricultural communities developed from 4000 BC, and urbanization (including a complex underground sewage system) began as early as 2500 BC. However, around 1800 BC. riverbeds, which were the main source of water for the Indus Valley Civilization, began to change.
The Saraswati River either dried up or suffered catastrophic floods. The region's agriculture has declined, leading to unrest among the people. When the nomadic pastoralists of the Aryans Central Asia entered northern India, they found it already deserted. In fact, they simply occupied the vacuum left by the Dravidians.
3. Genetics 
Aryan genetics. Caliper to help.
In 2011, researchers at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad stated that the Aryan migration was a myth. According to Dr. Lalji Singh, "there is no genetic evidence that Indo-Aryans invaded or migrated to India, or even that Aryans existed at all."
Earlier that year, the researchers published an article in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology stating: "The genetic influence of Central Asia in the Bronze Age was strongly male-driven." Previous Indian genetic research has only focused on DNA inherited from mothers.
A recent study, which was devoted to the male Y chromosome, found that 17.5 percent of the Indian male genetic line belongs to the R1a haplogroup. Scientists believe that this genetic "signature" originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe and spread through Central Asia, Europe and South Asia 5,000 to 3,500 years ago.
4. Disinformation 
Disinformation in Mein Kampf.
While imprisoned for a failed coup attempt, Adolf Hitler dictated his famous book Mein Kampf. Subsequently, this book became a real Nazi Bible. By the start of World War II, five million copies of the book, translated into 11 languages, had been sold. Its main theme was the superiority of the German race, which Hitler called "Aryan".
Aryan mythology provided Hitler with a powerful motivation: to restore the glory of the German people and conquer Russia, the homeland of the Aryans. In fact, Hitler's erroneous assumptions date back to late XVIII century. European linguists, fascinated by the connections between Sanskrit and local languages, invented a mythical race called "Indo-Aryans".
Allegedly, the "Indo-Aryans" were common ancestors Indians and Europeans. It was assumed that Aryan homeland located in the mountains of the Caucasus. European scholars misunderstood themselves as the heirs of the Sanskrit civilization and assumed that the German people were the highest manifestation of the Aryans.
5. Language 
Aryan language.
Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism. Many believe that it spread thanks to the Central Asian pastoralists who appeared on the subcontinent during the Bronze Age. According to legend, the god Brahma created Sanskrit and gave it to the sages. By the second millennium BC. this language had a written form in the collection of sacred hymns known as the Rigveda.
During colonial rule, Europeans quickly noticed similarities between Sanskrit and French, English, Russian, and Farsi. As a result, the theory arose that all these languages are descendants of an ancient language known as Indo-European.
Since the languages of South India are descended from the Dravidian family of languages and not Indo-European, the British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler proposed the "Aryan invasion" theory. It said that Central Asian nomads attacked the subcontinent during the Bronze Age, caused the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization and became the dominant culture in the area.
6. The Last Thoroughbreds 
The last pure-blooded Aryans.
Hidden in the Ladakh mountain valley in the Himalayas ethnic group Brokpa claims to be the last pure-blooded Aryans. Living in several villages at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, the Brokpa have remained culturally and genetically isolated for centuries.
In the past, visitors were simply not allowed here, and marriages with people who did not belong to this culture were highly undesirable. Endogamy and oral traditions have preserved what some consider "archaic traits". Aryan ancestors". In 2010, the Indian government made an attempt to open these mountain villages to tourists, but getting there is still quite difficult.
Brogpas tend to be taller than their Tibetan-Mongolian neighbors, have Mediterranean features, fair skin and hair. Their origin remains unknown. According to one of the legends, they are the remnants of the army of Alexander the Great.
7. Castes 
Cast system.
Oral traditions trace the origins of the Indian caste system to the arrival of the Aryans in the subcontinent around 1500 BC. Scholars have long believed that the class hierarchy system was created to formalize the relationship between newcomers and natives, whom they considered inferior.
The use of the word "Dasi", which translates to "slaves", suggests that the system may have grown out of the enslavement of the region's indigenous people. The caste system consists of four classifications based on occupation. Brahmins (priests) occupy the top of the "class pyramid".
They are followed by kshatriyas (warriors). Next are the merchants and farmers, known as vaishyas. At the bottom of the pyramid are the sudras (workers). The Indian word for caste is varna (colour). This suggests that the lighter-skinned Aryans used this system as a means of oppressing the darker-skinned inhabitants of the region.
8. Aryan cities 
Excavations of Aryan cities.
In 2010 Russian archaeologists announced the discovery of ancient Aryan cities in the south of the West Siberian Plain. Dating back 4,000 years, these 20 spiraling settlements rivaled the Greek city-states in size and each housed 1,000-2,000 people. The cities were first explored over two decades ago.
However, until recently, due to their extremely remote location, almost no one knew about them. Experts believe that about 50 more such settlements could be discovered. Along with the buildings, the researchers also found various items of equipment, chariots, horse burials and pottery.
Many items are decorated with a swastika. This ancient symbol of the Sun and eternal life was associated with the Aryans for thousands of years before it was appropriated by the Nazis. While these settlements are certainly Indo-European, there is no direct evidence that these were people who continued to inhabit northern India.
9. Iran 
Aryan Iran.
In 1935 Shah Reza Pahlavi formally asked foreign delegates to use the name Iran for their country instead of the traditional name Persia. Many believe that the word "Iran" means "Land of the Aryans". The name originally comes from the ancient Persian word Arya or arya, which was the self-name of the Indo-Europeans.
This related word for the Sanskrit word "arya", from which the name "Aryans" comes. In 1862, scholar Max Müller argued that "Iran" meant "Aryan space". But in Old Persian, "arya" was referred to in the context of native speakers rather than race.
10. Motherland 
Homeland of the Aryans.
After a long debate about the location of the homeland of the Aryans, most scholars agreed that it was the steppe between the Black and Caspian Seas. Experts cite culture bronze age Central Asian pastoralists, known as the Yamnaya culture, which spread its traditions and genes to the east and west.
However, there is no definitive archaeological evidence linking the Yamnaya culture to the subcontinent. It would be a mistake to unambiguously consider Yamnaya the ancestors of the Aryans, but the Pontic-Caspian steppe is clearly the birthplace of Indo-European languages and culture.
Aryans as they are.
