Shepherd with 150 years of experience: The secret of longevity of the oldest long-liver of the USSR Shirali Muslimov

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

If you believe the official statistics, or rather, the Guinness Book of Records, then the longest life was lived by the Frenchwoman Jeanne Kelmann - 122 years. However, in the USSR, according to official documents, there was a long-liver who lived 46 years longer than the record holder from France. The name of this long-liver was Shirali Muslimov. Talish nationality and a shepherd by profession, he lived to be 168 years old.

Clay pot instead of metric

The life story of the Talysh Shirali Farzali oglu Muslimov began - this is the full name of the long-liver, in the small mountain settlement of Barzavu (present-day Lerik region, Azerbaijan). An interesting fact is that it is the Talysh who are the ethnic group among which the oldest people on Earth are found more often than others. Shirali's parents lived a long life even by the standards of that time. So, Muslimov's mother lived to be 90 years old, and his father to 110 years old.

The long-liver-record holder Shirali Muslimov himself was born in March 1805, on the 26th. It was this date that would later be indicated in the Talysh's Soviet passport. But, how and where did these figures come from, if even Shirali never had any simple metric? The answer lies in the custom or habit of the ancient highlanders to register the birth of children.

Since ancient times, many inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the Caucasus have marked the birth dates of their “offspring” on freshly made clay pots. They were subsequently buried in the ground in their yard. After the arrival of Islam, many highlanders began to write down the days and years of birth of their own "children" in the pages of the family Koran. Shirali Muslimov's parents used the first version with a pot. Precisely for the reason that the Talysh did not have a “standard” document on his birth, Shirali's record for longevity was not officially recognized.

Talysh shepherd with a century and a half experience

All his life - from birth to death, Shirali Muslimov lived in his native village of Barzavu. The simple way of life and the way of life of the mountaineers did not leave the male representatives with a wide choice in the profession. Therefore, Muslimov became a shepherd. From childhood, little Shirali first helped his father graze sheep in the meadows of the foothills, and when he grew up and had a family, he began to drive them to pastures and his flock.

During the Soviet era, Shirali Muslimov worked as a shepherd. Moreover, in his profession, where physical health was almost the main criterion, the long-liver was not inferior to young shepherds. Every day the Talysh shepherd Shirali walked tens of kilometers with his herd. For his hard work, Muslimov was awarded an honorary Soviet award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. All in all, the Talysh Shirali Muslimov “worked” as a shepherd for almost 150 years in his entire life.

A family the size of aul

Like most Caucasian men, Shirali Muslimov was a father of many children. And his age and healthy lifestyle (clean water and mountain air, absence of bad habits) allowed Shirali to become the head of a huge family. During his life, the Talysh had 3 wives, of which only the last, Khatum-khanum Muslimova, outlived her husband for 15 years and died at the age of 104, gave birth to Shirali only one daughter. It is this child that makes Muslimov not only a world record holder, but also the oldest father on the planet.

In the first two marriages, Muslimov had many more children. So, at the time of Shirali's death, his entire family - children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, according to various sources, numbered from 150 to 200 people. At the same time, Shirali's grandfather, on an equal basis with the young people, looked after the family garden and grazed his flock until the last days. The long-liver-record holder died on September 2, 1973 at the age of 168 years 5 months and 4 days.

The secret of Shirali Muslimov's longevity

According to Soviet statistics, the Talysh, a small mountain people, were distinguished by their long-livers. In addition to Shirali Farzali oglu Muslimov, two more representatives of this nation survived to the age of one and a half - Mahmud Bagir oglu Eyvazov and Majid Oruj oglu Agayev. At the same time, the Talysh, who celebrated their 100th anniversary, make up more than half of this people. It turns out that the secret of longevity is in some special genes? Most likely, in the lifestyle and climate of the area where the Talysh live. Clean mountain air and spring water have a beneficial effect on any living organism.

But the “record holder” Shirali Muslimov had his own secrets. As a devout Muslim, he never drank any alcoholic beverages in his life, and was not fond of smoking. The long-liver's diet was extremely simple, but at the same time wide and varied: homemade cakes and cheese, honey, various vegetables, herbs and fruits. Shirali drank only pure spring water and natural teas from mountain herbs. In addition to everything, every day the shepherd walked with his herd in the fresh air for at least ten kilometers.

However, this was not the main secret of Muslimov's longevity. Shirali Firzali oglu himself considered labor to be the “culprit” of his venerable years. The aksakal liked to say more than once that one must constantly work. Indeed, according to Muslimov, “idleness always breeds laziness. And laziness breeds death”. This is how Shirali's grandfather spent his life in his labors. Until his very last days, he diligently engaged in housekeeping.

How can one fail to recall one well-known proverb in this case: "Movement is life." And if we take the example of the life of Shirali Muslimov, then this proverb is rather a statement: a kind of dogma of healthy and happy longevity.