Many peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan had an abstract idea of spirits. Thus, the Tajiks did not have a special generalizing term for this concept in their language. The private names of some of the most famous characters of Tajik demonology were usually used.
In those cases when they wanted to talk about spirits in general, they resorted to allegorical expressions. Often used the words "cheese" - "thing, something", "zien" - "harm", "bala" - "misfortune". The substitution of these words for the names of the spirits was caused by the unwillingness “to attract their attention. Other nations also had a taboo on the names of spirits and gods.
The composition of the pandemonium among the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan is more or less homogeneous. Everyone has ideas about jinn, peri, devas and albastas. The perfumes were divided into three categories:
1. "Pure" living in mazars, that is, the spirits of the dead saints. Such a spirit was called either by the name of a saint, or by the word "mazar" which was often used in this case. According to beliefs, "pure" spirits were of human origin and went back to the cult of ancestors, sometimes heroes.
2. Albasts, jinn (ajins), devas.
3. Peri
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Albasty
Albasts appeared in the form of a multi-breasted woman, or a woman with long sagging breasts, with long braids, which she combs, sitting somewhere under a tree, most often under a nut. Therefore, the nut is considered a bad tree, under which it is dangerous to stay for a long time and especially to fall asleep.
According to legend, Albasts render women sterile by tying up their reproductive organs. To be freed from the spell, a woman must cross the river. It is noteworthy that the passage through flowing water is considered by many peoples to be a means of getting rid of any magical "binding".
Albasts sent diseases. Moreover, in most cases, the causes of diseases were understood as quite specific actions of spirits. It is believed, for example, that the Albasts hit a person with their "fingers", which makes his body covered with bruises - the marks of his fingers. In Samarkand, they said that spirits touch a person with their hand.
There is a well-known legend about the meeting of the Albasta with King Solomon (Suleiman), who in the Muslim world is also considered the king of demons and spirits. In one version of the legend, it is said that the Albasts are ordered to make their image, promising not to harm the one who carries it with him. Thus, the amulet, designed to protect against albasta, was used according to the exact opposite principle: the image of the spirit was carried with them.
The custom of wearing idols as amulets is attested throughout Central Asia. In Bukhara in the 10th century, after the introduction of Islam there, fairs were held annually where idols were sold, and anyone who lost his idol or wanted to replace a dilapidated one bought a new one there. Idols were also carved on the doors of castles as amulets.
Genies
The concept of jinn, or ajin, was different. The Uzbeks of Khorezm presented these demons as something very small - like midges. Among Tajiks, ajins are drawn in the form of something hairy, for example, a cat or a fur wineskin.
In contrast to the Islamic understanding of the jinn as coming from "pure fire", the Tajiks saw him as an unclean creature choosing dirty places for himself: heaps of manure, destroyed houses, abandoned mills. It is noteworthy that the ajins, wanting to punish a person, could only touch him with their hair.
In some areas there is a belief that girls were not allowed to play with dolls in the evening. The reason for the ban was the fear of attracting demons: the Tajiks were afraid that the ajins would gather and, thinking that the dolls were of their breed, would take them and carry them away. In this regard, it is curious that the dolls, which were made during the Kazakh ritual and then thrown into the steppe, were made so that the spirits would take them for “their sisters”.
Devas
Demons - devas (divas) were one of the central figures of demonology. Devas appear to be giants, covered with wool, with sharp claws on their hands and feet, with terrible faces. Devas live in their lairs, called devloch, in wild, inaccessible places, or inside mountains, at the bottom of lakes, in the bowels of the earth. There they guard the treasures of the earth - precious metals and stones; famous for their jewelry art.
Mountain falls and earthquakes were explained by the work of the devas in their workshops or by the fact that "the devas are raging." Devas hate people, kill them or keep them in dungeons in their homes and devour two people every day. They are insensitive to the entreaties of the captives and respond to curses in the name of God with blasphemy.
Legendary Iranian kings and heroes act as devobors; in "Yashts" Ardvisur Anahita bestows victory and power over the devas Yima, Kai Kavus and other heroes. The main Devoboret in ancient Persian mythology was Rustam. According to a fragment of an early Sogdian work of the fifth century that has come down to us, Rustam laid siege to the devas in their city, and those, deciding to die or get rid of shame, went on a sortie.
“Many climbed on chariots, many on elephants, many on pigs, many on foxes, many on dogs, many on snakes and lizards, many on foot, many walked flying like kites, and many also walked upside down and feet up. They raised rain, snow, hail and great thunder; they screamed; emitted fire, flame and smoke."
But Rustam defeated the devas.
The royal book of the Persian poet Ferdowsi "Shah-name" is replete with plots of the struggle with the devas: the son of the first king Kayumars Siyamak dies at the hands of the black deva, but his son Khushang, together with his grandfather, kills the black deva and restores the kingdom of good that he had destroyed.
The king of Iran, Kai Kavus, wishing to destroy evil spirits, sets out on a campaign against the kingdom of the devas of Mazandaran, and, blinded by their witchcraft, he is taken prisoner by the white deva with his retinue.
Kai Kavus calls on Rustam for help, and he defeats Shah Mazandaran deva Arshang, and then kills the white deva, frees the king and restores his sight with a drug from the deva's liver. As a mythological character, devas are most common among the Uzbek and Tajik peoples, while among other nationalities they often appear as fabulous images, although they retain mythological features.
Peri
Peri is a perfume lover. Typically, the wagering spirit that fell in love with a person was of the opposite sex. But sometimes he chose a person of the same sex for himself, then their relationship was limited to friendship. Tajiks believed that these unions could give birth to children, often imaginary ones. There was a belief that if a bet woman had children from a man, then his wife would be sterile.
In later performances, peri are beautiful supernatural beings who appear in the form of a woman. Peri help their earthly chosen ones. The messengers and executors of their will are magical animals and birds that obey the peri. The appearance of the peri themselves is accompanied by an extraordinary aroma and fragrance.
Peri are very powerful creatures, capable of fighting and defeating evil demons and genies. Stars falling from heaven are a sign of such a battle. Peri are indispensable participants in the action in the myths and fairy tales of the peoples of Iran and Central Asia: Persians, Afghans, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Baluchis, etc., where they play the role of fairies of the Western European cultural tradition.