Mirrajab Dodkhoh Museum

Historical museum located in the city of Konibodom in northern Tajikistan, the museum is intended to display ethnographic objects from the Fergana Valley.
Mirrajab Dodkhoh Museum
Photo by Gafur Mansurov
Type: Historical Museum
Country:
Tajikistan

The Mirrajab Dodkhoh Museum (Tajik: Музей имени Мирраджаб Додхо) is a historical museum located in the city of Konibodom in northern Tajikistan, the museum is intended to display ethnographic objects from the Fergana Valley.

History

The museum is located in the former Oim Madrassa, being one of the first schools for girls in the history of Tajikistan, part of the structure dates back to the 17th century, approximately built between 1824 and 1825. During the period of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, the building was used as a prison for teenagers, then in the period of Independence, it was decided to renovate part of the building to turn it into a museum with the help of the Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation.[1]

The madrassa is considered a national monument in the category of historic architecture and was also inscribed on the UNESCO list of historic monuments in 2015.[2] In the Middle Ages, the madrasas of Konibodom were used for the study of Arabic calligraphy, when part of the Fergana Valley used to be part of the Khanate of Kokand (Persian: خاننشین خوقند; Tajik: Хонии Қӯқанд), in addition, it is one of the ancient madrassas of the city that could survive the passage of time after the formation of the Tajik Republic.[3]

Collections

The madrassa features a minaret and 26 hudjra (Cyrillic: худжра), which serve as cells for the building's structure. Additionally, it incorporates an Iwan (Cyrillic: Айван), a traditional Persian gateway commonly used in Central Asia. In addition, museum exhibits were installed in several of the hudjras, including pottery, blacksmithing, embroidery techniques and traditional house making.[4]

Mirrajab Dodkhoh Museum Image 1
Several traditional ceramics from the Fergana Valley such as a Dugusha (Cyrillic: Дугуша), used for storing milk, and a Khurmacha (Cyrillic: Хурмача), a traditional conical-shaped jar, in addition to a Koze (Cyrillic: Кӯза), a ceramic container (2019) - Photo by Gafur Mansurov
Mirrajab Dodkhoh Museum Image 2
Wax figures wearing traditional Tajik clothing (2019) - Photo by Gafur Mansurov

References

  1. Orifi, Z. (2019-06-25). Канибадам: После реставрации открылось историческое медресе, которому 300 лет. SugdNEWS. (in Russian)

  2. Канибадам: Более 3000 человек посетили историко-краеведческий музей. (2017-10-23). SugdNEWS. (in Russian)

  3. Abdullayev, K. N. (2009). От Синьцзяня до Хорасана: Из истории среднеазиатской эмиграции XX века. [Translation: From Xinjiang to Khorasan: A History of Central Asian Emigration in the 20th Century.] Ирфон. ISBN: 978-5-02-038920-5 (Page 257) (in Russian)

  4. США помогают отреставрировать музей Мирраджаб Додхо в Канибадаме (фото). (2014-01-31). Asia-Plus. (in Russian)

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