Tradition · Fergana, Andijan +3
Askiya, the art of wit
A battle of wits born in the Fergana Valley and Tashkent: two or more askiyachi duel in wordplay on a set theme.
Tradition · Fergana, Andijan +1
Katta ashula (‘great song’)
The Fergana Valley’s ‘great song’: two to five unaccompanied singers, each holding a tray, sing in a soaring high register; UNESCO-listed since 2009.
A song sung into a tray
Katta ashula, also called patnusaki ashula, is a traditional Uzbek song form of the Fergana Valley. It is usually performed by two to five singers (hofiz) without instruments, each holding a tray or plate. It is sung mostly in a high register with long breaths, in a demanding style all its own.
The genre grew out of ancient ritual and work songs, laments and the traditional chanting of ghazals in aruz metre. It sets ghazals by Navoi, Lutfi, Mashrab, Muqimi, Furqat, Miskin and others; songs such as ‘Do‘stlar’ (Navoi) and ‘Adashganman’ (Muqimi) are widely known.
Today
Katta ashula was sung at large gatherings, fairs and weddings, its themes ranging from love to philosophical and spiritual reflections on the universe and nature. UNESCO added it to the Representative List in 2009 as part of the identity of the Uzbeks, Tajiks, Uyghurs and others of the Fergana Valley and some neighbouring regions. It passes orally from master to pupil through a demanding apprenticeship. Listen for it at valley weddings and local festivals and competitions.
Sources (2)
Tradition · Nationwide
Hospitality and the dastarkhan
‘A guest ranks above your father’: the seat of honour, a dastarkhan that is never left bare, and table manners from breaking the bread to the closing blessing.
Tradition · Nationwide
Tea culture and the choyxona
Green tea ‘returned’ to the pot, a bowl filled only halfway, and the choyxona at the heart of every mahalla: the Uzbek day begins and ends with tea.
Tradition · Nationwide
The Uzbek wedding
From matchmaking to the bride’s bow: an Uzbek wedding is not a one-day party but a chain of rites that unites two families.
Tradition · Nationwide
Beshik to‘yi (cradle feast)
The rite in which a first-born baby is laid in its cradle for the first time; the cradle and gifts arrive from the mother’s family to the sound of karnay and surnay.
Tradition · Nationwide
The mahalla
‘A little town within the town’: the neighbourhood community gathered around its guzar, teahouse, mosque and elder — the basic unit of Uzbek life.
Tradition · Nationwide
Hashar
Unpaid communal work by neighbours: once used to dig canals and raise houses, today a clean-up of the mahalla before holidays.
Tradition · Nationwide
Navruz customs
The spring-equinox festival: hashar clean-ups and new clothes, sumalak stirred all night, ko‘k somsa, the ‘Boychechak’ song, kurash and kupkari.
Tradition · Bukhara
Shashmaqom and the maqom tradition
‘Six maqoms’ — a classical suite of instrumental and vocal music that took shape in Bukhara; joint UNESCO heritage of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan since 2008.
Tradition · Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya +2
Bakhshi art
Epic poems sung from memory to the dombra, kobyz or dutar — the performers of Alpamysh and Go‘ro‘g‘li; UNESCO-listed since 2021.