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MARGILAN, Fergana Valley: Strung into garlands, hung above doorways, walls, and crafted into traditional textiles and ceramics, red hot chili peppers are a distinctive ornament in Uzbek culture: a legacy of ancient beliefs that made them amulets against the evil eye and demons.

Chilies most likely arrived in Central Asia from China, brought by spice caravans that traveled the Silk Road — the ancient trade network that for hundreds of years linked East Asia with the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Present-day Uzbekistan was a major crossroads on this route, which passed through the Fergana Valley in the east to Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva in the southwest.

In the region’s hot climate, the properties of red chili, which in Uzbek is known as kalampir, were quickly noticed and became valued.

“It not only added flavor to food but also helped preserve it. People noticed that the spice protected products from spoiling. In folk medicine, it was used to warm the body, reduce inflammation, and ‘drive away’ illness,” said Prof. Elmira Gyul of the “Silk Road” International Research Institute, Uzbekistan’s leading center for the study of Silk Road history and material culture.

“Over time, the pepper, prized for its beneficial properties, also acquired symbolic meaning — as a protector not only against disease but also against the evil eye, curses, and malevolent spirits such as jinn and the witch-like albasty.”

Not only the pepper itself but also its image was attributed to hold benevolent magical power. Gradually, it became a dominant motif in folk art, featured in Uzbek embroidery, ceramics, and handwoven palak fabrics, and often appeared alongside other talismanic symbols like almonds, needles, knives, and designs of traditional amulets and protective charms known as tumor or tumar.

“The tradition of depicting chili peppers was especially characteristic of the Fergana Valley, where this motif is found most frequently. This is likely connected to the fact that peppers were introduced to Central Asia from China,” Prof. Gyul said.

“For example, in the collection of the State Museum of Arts there is a Fergana embroidery on gray silk, where the central rosette is surrounded by a protective garland of bright red, meticulously rendered peppers. Interestingly, alongside them appear images of tumor jewelry amulets and stylized Arabic inscriptions, which in folk tradition were also perceived as talismans.”

While kalampir is used in Uzbek cuisine to add flavor and color, it is not a dominant spice or condiment. But chili peppers often appear as protective decoration on ceramic dishes, especially large ones used for communal meals, to safeguard the food from going bad.

Today, the motif of kalampir is most often associated with the famous black skullcap known as tubeteika or doppa, which originates from Chust in the Fergana Valley and is traditionally worn by Uzbek men on special occasions.

The monochrome cap is decorated with chili peppers painted or embroidered in white.

“This was originally a different symbol — the wings of khvarna, the divine blessing in Zoroastrianism, bestowed from the heavens,” Prof. Gyul said. “In the Islamic period, the original meaning gradually faded, and the wings transformed into the image of a chili pepper.”

Although these “peppers” were not kalampir at first, their protective function was already present and continues to this day.

There is a legend about the power of chili peppers that many Uzbek children hear at home. It is about a man who went to the mountains to find food for his family and encountered wolves.

“The only thing that saved him from this bunch of wolves and scared them off was the chili pepper. He came back later to his family with food and a symbol of protection, which then carried on for centuries,” said Kamila Erkaboyeva, a culture and tourism consultant.

“To this day, you will see a doppa hat with kalampir. It’s sharp-edged and something that protects us ... from a lot of things.”