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Every week on Wednesdays, we profile one of the 728 UPGs in the region that Live Dead Silk Road focuses on. These profiles are meant to give you some information about these peoples so that you can pray for them. They’re the people to whom we are striving to bring the gospel. But what does it mean to be a UPG? What is an “unreached people group”? Find out here.

The Talysh people have lived in the region of the Caspian Sea for thousands of years.

They call themselves the Talushon, and there are about 115,000 of them in Azerbaijan, one of the poorest countries of Central Eurasia. In the middle ages, the Talysh came under Turkish control, but by the 1600s they had establish their own khanate or kingdom.

The Talysh are primarily Shi’ite Muslim, but they also maintain a connection to their pre-Islamic roots with a reverence for trees, which are found at their most sacred sites. They believe in the presence of both good and evil spirits. The most feared spirit is Alazhan the Red Woman who is believed to attack newborn babies and women in childbirth.

The Russians conquered the Talysh in the 1800s, and they continued their influence until 1991 when Azerbaijan seceded from the Soviet Union. Today the Talysh struggle with the same issue as many of their Central Asian neighbors: should they return to their traditional Islamic past, or do they redefine themselves by following Western culture and the progress of technology?

The Talysh are farmers and craftsmen. They live in a country with high unemployment and severe economic problems. A long tradition of corruption in leadership and the government makes progress difficult. Talysh men often marry between the ages of 15 and 20, but Talysh women are married much younger at the ages of 12-16. Bride stealing sometimes occurs because many Talysh men are unable to pay a traditional bride-price.

How you can pray

When you pray for the Talysh, remember their economic situation. Pray for them to find work that will enable them to support themselves and their families. Pray for Azerbaijan so that the Talysh and their fellow countrymen can thrive.

Pray also for the spiritual freedom of the Talysh. Pray that they will be released from the bonds of Islam and spirit-worship. The Talysh need the Bible and Christian resources in their own language. Pray that God would raise up workers who can translate the Bible and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Talysh.

Pray also that Azerbaijan would open to the freedom of the Gospel. Pray that God would send medical teams and humanitarian aid workers to Azerbaijan and the Talysh.

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