It is difficult to say now when the legendary history began to form around the monuments of Mizdakhan. Apparently, since ancient times, the Eastern Hill had the significance of a holy place for more than a thousand years: there was a cemetery on the hill, both in pre-Islamic times and with the advent of Islam.

Apparently, the architectural monuments on the Eastern Hill became objects of visitation for Muslim pilgrims as early as the 12th century.

It is quite possible that the community of followers of the Sufi sheikh Sulayman al-Haddadi al-Musawi (d. 1261) played a significant role in this process of forming the legendary history of Mizdakhan. It is possible that the ritual actions around the mausoleum of Shamun-nabi and the Jumarat-kasab hill were once supported by the Sufis living in Mizdakhan.

Shamun-nabi, Jumarat-kasab, Gyaur-kala

Some of the first monuments of Mizdakhan, the legendary history of which became the property of science, were the Shamun-nabi mausoleum, the "hillock" of Jumarat-kasab, and partly the settlement of Gyaur-kala. A graduate of the Department of Ethnography of Moscow State University, Yu. V. Knorozov, dedicated his diploma work to these monuments. Part of it was published in the article “Mazar Shamun-nabi (Some remnants of pre-Islamic beliefs among the peoples of the Khorezm oasis”)

by Yu. V. Knorozov noted that the ritual of visiting the mausoleum of Shamun-nabi and the legends surrounding this monument contain remnants of pre-Islamic beliefs.

In his work, he cited the story of the sheikh of the cemetery, according to which “Shamun-nabi was a palvan who lived long before Muhammad and fought with the kefir for the faith in the true Allah. He came from Arabia and settled on this hill. Nearby in the fortress (the settlement of Gyaur-kala) lived the infidel plavna Gyaur, with whom he often fought. Gyaur saw Shamun-nabi’s wife, fell in love with her and dug an underground passage to the saint’s home. Through this passage, the unfaithful wife, in the absence of her husband, went on a date with Gyaur. Once Shamun-nabi, returning home, did not find his wife, went to look for her, stumbled upon an underground passage and through it got to Gyaur's castle, where he found his opponent together with his wife. Gyaur began to fight with Shamun-nabi. The wife threw a handful of millet at her husband's feet, causing him to slip and fall to his knees. At that moment, Shamun-nabi's dog bit Gyaur and distracted his attention. The fight ended in vain. After this, Shamun-nabi bequeathed not to bury him with his legs, but to cut them off.

The wife tried to tie her husband with ropes and even wire to hand him over to Giaour, but the saint broke all the bonds. By chance, she learned that he could not free himself if he was tied with hair from his own beard. Thus, Giaour managed to convince Shamun-nabi. According to the will, before burying him, the saint's legs were cut off."

Yu. V. Knorozov pointed out that there are pre-Islamic roots of the legend of Shamun-nabi, which go back to the biblical character Samson. They are manifested in the name of the saint (Shamun-Samson), gigantic stature, the theme of his wife's infidelity; the motif of hair, which plays a key role in the hero's strength.

Several other informants present the legend in a similar way.

One of them adds that after his death the saint rose again and in turn killed Giaour; another mentions that Shamun-nabi had not a comrade, but a brother named Yahya. There is a version according to which Shamun-nabi killed Giaour after he slipped on millet while he was busy fighting a dog, and then - according to one version - the saint, angry at his own legs, chopped them off and died from this. The motive of chopping off the legs is preserved in all versions. The locals do not remember the time of construction of the mausoleum.

The last of the mentioned versions of the legend adds that Shamun-nabi had seven daughters, and each built him a gumbez. A more realistic version reports that it was built according to a vow by a “rich man” whose cattle were falling. He drove him to the hill (Jumarat-kasab) for seven years and drove him around the saint's grave seven times, after which the cattle died.

The connection of the Shamun-nabi mazar with the Jumrat-kasab hill, clearly visible in ritual practice, allows us to assume that in the name Jumarat tradition preserves the name of an ancient hero of the legend, whose ruined sanctuary (apparently the ancient one in the cemetery) was replaced by the Shamun-nabi bazaar. Jumarat-kasab, a generous butcher, can be compared with Gayomard of Zoroastrian sources, mentioned in the Avesta under the name of Gaya Maretan, while the popular Pahlavi form was Gemurd.

In Zoroastrian cosmogony, Gayomard is the ancestor of all people (from his seed came the first human couple), created by Aghura Mazda from the earth together with the primordial bull, the ancestor of animals. According to the Avesta, Gaya Maretan is the first righteous man who followed the decrees of Ahura Mazda, and the ancestor of the Aryan peoples.

Later versions of the stories about Shamun-nabi say that he was gifted with the abilities of a healer and palvan, and could also perform miracles. Shamun-nabi came to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya to preach Islam; he treated the sick and did not take payment for it. In another version, Shamau-nabi was a preacher who arrived in this land "even before the messengers of the prophet Muhammad, and called on people to believe in the One God. Shamun (Simon) performed many miracles, healed diseases, controlled the weather and the movement of heavenly bodies, and could speak the language of wild animals."

It is obvious that the obvious pre-Islamic component in the cult of Shamun-nabi had to be compensated for by the fact that his implacable opponent is another hero Gyaur (infidel/non-Muslim), who lives in a neighboring settlement called Gyaur-kala (Fortress of the Infidels). Traces of a fertility cult are clearly visible in the ritual practice around the mausoleum of Shamun-nabi and the hill of Jumarat-kasab.

Very often, barren women come to the mausoleum of Shamun-nabi, walk around the mausoleum three times, and then roll down the slope of the hill of Jumarat-kasab. It is believed that in this way one can ensure the birth of a child.