The Nakh peoples, also known as ''Vainakh peoples'' (Chechen/Ingush: , apparently derived from
Chechen ,
Ingush Ingush may refer to:
* Ingush language
* Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...
"our people"; also Chechen-Ingush), are a group of
Caucasian peoples identified by their use of the
Nakh languages
The Nakh languages are a group of languages within Northeast Caucasian family, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush in the North Caucasus.
Bats is the endangered language of the Bats people, an ethnic minority in Georgia.
The Chechen, ...
and other cultural similarities. These are chiefly the ethnic
Chechen (including the Chechen sub-ethnos, the
Kists
The Kists ( ka, ქისტები ''kist'ebi'', ce, Kistoj, Kisti, Nokhcho, Nakhcho) are a Chechens, Chechen subethnos in Georgia (country), Georgia. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, where ...
, in Georgia),
Ingush Ingush may refer to:
* Ingush language
* Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...
and
Bats
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
peoples of the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
, including closely related minor or historical groups.
The ethnonym "Nakhchi"
Nakh peoples and Vainakh peoples are two terms that were coined by Soviet ethnographers such as the Ingush ethnographer Zaurbek Malsagov. The reasoning behind the creation of these terms was to unite the closely related nations of
Chechen and
Ingush Ingush may refer to:
* Ingush language
* Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...
into one term. The terms "Vainakh" (our people) and "Nakh" (people) were first used as a term to unite two peoples in 1928. It was subsequently popularized by other Soviet authors, poets, and historians such as Mamakaev and Volkova in their research. According to the historian
Victor Schnirelmann, the terms "Vainakh" and "Nakh" were introduced more actively during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s.
History
Before 1920s however, there was a unifying term for both
Chechens
The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and '' Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "E ...
and
Ingush Ingush may refer to:
* Ingush language
* Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...
used by 19th century Russian generals, historians, ethnographers and cartographers. This term was "Nakhchi", or the modern lowland version of "Nokhchi", the term today is only used by Chechens and
Kists
The Kists ( ka, ქისტები ''kist'ebi'', ce, Kistoj, Kisti, Nokhcho, Nakhcho) are a Chechens, Chechen subethnos in Georgia (country), Georgia. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, where ...
. Historically, however, this term included peoples such as Ingush and
Batsbi. The famous 19th century historian B. K. Dalgat who worked extensively in Ingushetia, wrote a lot about Chechen and Ingush ethnography. According to him, the term "Nakhchuy/Nakhchiy" was already a unifying term for both Ingush and Chechens. This is not the case today, as most, if not all, Ingush would reject the Nakhchi ethnonym and consider it foreign. The rejection of this ethnonym was also recorded in 1872 by the ethnographer Umalat Laudaev who wrote:
The term "Nakhchi" was still used by historians and ethnographers for Chechens, Ingush and Batsbi up until the 20th century before it was replaced by the Vainakh/Nakh term in the 1960s. Russian historian
Adolf Berge used this term for both Chechens and Ingush in 1859. The famous Russian linguist
Peter von Uslar
Baron Peter von Uslar (, ''Pjotr Karlovič Uslar'') ( — () was a Russian general, engineer and linguist of German descent, known for his research of languages and ethnography of peoples of Caucasus.
Biography
Peter von Uslar was born in ...
, who studied the North Caucasian languages, also referred to both nations in 1888 as "Nakhche". This term was also used by
Potto, Veidenbaum, Gan, Dubrovin and many others during the 19th century.
The oldest mention of ''Nakhchiy'' occurred in 1310 by the
Georgian Patriarch Cyril Donauri, who mentions the "People of Nakhche" among
Tushetians The Tushetians , or Tush , are a subgroup of Georgians who mainly live in Tusheti. Tsova Tushetians speak the Tsova Tushetian language and Chagma Tushetians speak the Chagma Tushetian dialect of Georgian.
Subgroups
The Tush divide themselves into ...
,
Avars and many other
Northeast Caucasian
The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or ''Vainakh-Daghestani'', is a family of languages spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia and in Northern Azerbaijan as well as ...
nations. The term ''Nakhchiy'' has also been connected to the city
Nakhchivan and the nation of Nakhchamatyan (mentioned in the 7th-century Armenian work ''
Ashkharhatsuyts'') by many Soviet and modern historians.
Chechen manuscripts in Arabic from the early 1820s do mention a certain ''Nakhchuvan'' (near modern-day
Kagizman,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) as the homeland of all Nakhchiy.
Etymology
The etymology of "Nakhchi" is believed to have come from "Nakh" (people) + "-chi" (suffix) or "Nakh" (people) + "Chuo" (territory). Whatever the case, most historians and linguists agree that the ethnonym includes the term "Nakh" (people). It is because of this assumption that many historians such as Potto, Berger, Gan, Dubrovin believed that it meant "the nation".
Historical mentions of Nakhchi
History
;9th–12th centuries: An association of
clans called
Durdzuks (''Durdzuki'') is mentioned by the Persian writers
Ibn al-Faqih
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Faqih al-Hamadani ( fa, احمد بن محمد ابن الفقيه الهمذانی) (floruit, fl. 902) was a 10th-century Persians, Persian historian and geographer, famous for his ''Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan'' ("Co ...
and
al-Baladzori in the 9th to 10th centuries, stating "the construction of Chosroes Anushirvanom (VI) in Durzukia 12 gates and stone fortifications".
;1239: Destruction of the
Alania capital of
Maghas (both names known solely from
Muslim Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
) and Alan confederacy of the Northern
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
highlanders, nations, and tribes by
Batu Khan (a
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
leader and a grandson of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin ...
). "Maghas was destroyed in the beginning of 1239 by the hordes of Batu Khan. Historically, Maghas was located at approximately the same place on which the new capital of Ingushetia is now built."
However, there are many other theories as to where Maghas was originally located, such as in
Chechnya,
Kabardino-Balkaria
The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (russian: Кабарди́но-Балка́рская Респу́блика, ''Kabardino-Balkarskaya Respublika''; kbd, Къэбэрдей-Балъкъэр Республикэ, ''Ķêbêrdej-Baĺķêr Respublik ...
or
North-Ossetia.
;13th–14th centuries:
Independence wars against Tatar-Mongol hordes and the army of Tamerlane.
;14th–16th centuries: The State of
Simsir was a union of Vainakh
teip
Teips (also taip, teyp; Nakh тайпа ''taypa'' : ''family, kin, clan, tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), ''also available online:'Чеченско-Русский сл ...
s. They started a national struggle of liberation from the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragment ...
. After the Mongol invasion,
Islam started its spread in the region. The spread of Islam seems to have started in the lowland part of the Vainakh states at this time, associated with the advent of the
Arabic language
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Arabic writing. Inscriptions on monuments from this time, preserved in some Vainakh villages, also testify to this.
;17th century – present: Ongoing struggle over the independence of Chechnya; Ingush remain less openly rebellious, but still have a particularly problematic
conflict with the Ossetes; Batsbi and Kists are considered Georgians and are part of Georgia (living mainly in the Tusheti region).
;1829–1859:
Caucasian Imamate
;1917–1922:
Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus
;1919–1920:
North Caucasian Emirate
;1921-1924:
Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
Social structure
Traditionally, Nakh peoples were known as a society with a highly developed and complex clan system. Individuals are united in family groups called "Tsa" – house. Several Tsa's are part of the "Gar" -branch or "Nekh"-road, a group of Gar's is in turn called a
teip
Teips (also taip, teyp; Nakh тайпа ''taypa'' : ''family, kin, clan, tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), ''also available online:'Чеченско-Русский сл ...
, a unit of tribal organization of Vainakh people. Teip has its own Council of Elders and unites people from the political, economic and military sides. Teips leave all cases to the democratically elected representatives of houses i.e. "Tsa". The number of participants of Teipan-Kheli depends on the number of houses.
Some believe that most teips made unions called
tukkhums, a military-economic or military-political union of teips. However, this has been heavily disputed by several historians and ethnographers, including Dalgat who claims that most Chechens never used tukkhums. He also claims that they were only used by some societies in the lowlands.
The national scale issues were addressed through Mehk-Khel, the People's Council. Representatives of the Council were elected by each Teip Council and had an enormous influence on the destiny of the people. They could start a war or prohibit and prevent any teip from starting one. Mehk-Khel could gather in different places at different times. It used to gather in Terloy-Mokhk and Akkhi-Mokhk's Galain-Chozh region. A gigantic Mehk-Kheli stone still stands in Galain-Chozh, around which Mehk-Kheli members solved issues.
Political structure
Chechen-Ingush society has always been egalitarian, unstratified, and classless. Traditionally, there was no formal political organization and no political or economic ranking.
Many observers, including famous Russians such as
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
, have been very impressed by the
democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nature of the indigenous Chechen governments prior to Russian conquest. According to the Western Ichkerophile Tony Wood, the Vainakh peoples, in particular the Chechens (as the Ingush and the Batsbi have fallen under foreign domination much more frequently and as a result, the indigenous system and democratic values are less deeply ingrained), could be described as one of the few nations in the world with an indigenous system highly resemblant of democracy
(others cited are often
Scots
Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
* Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland
* Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland
* Scoti, a Latin na ...
,
Albanians and
Basques; notably, all three, much like the Vainakh peoples, are mountain dwelling peoples with a clan-based social organization and a strong attachment to the concept of freedom). In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a couple of
Circassian tribes
overthrew their traditional aristocracy and established a democratic, egalitarian society, with some adoptions from the Nakh system. This advance, which may have spread eventually to all of the Circassian tribes, was halted by their political state being annihilated by Russian conquest, a fate later shared by the rest of the Caucasus.
It is notable that the Chechen and Ingush systems, as well as the system later adopted from them by some Eastern Circassian tribes, resembles the typical Western democratic republic. It has a central government with a legislative body (the Mehk-Khel), a body resemblant of an executive branch (the Mehk-Khetasho) as well as a judicial branch (the other councils). The adat and other bodies have served as the constitution. The members of all three of the main national councils of the nation were elected, producing an indigenous democracy of the Nakh peoples.
During the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
period, as well as during the
Ramzan Kadyrov's regime, the Teip-Council system was strongly criticized by the federal and local administration installed in Chechnya and Ingushetia, who viewed it as a destabilizing force and an obstacle to maintaining order. They said that such a system was illustrative of the anarchic nature of the Caucasian ethos.
The democratic and egalitarian nature, the values of freedom and equality of Chechen society have been cited as factors contributing to their resistance to Russian rule (in addition, there was no elite to be coopted by Tsarist authorities, as Wood notes).
Tower architecture
A characteristic feature of Vainakh architecture in the Middle Ages, rarely seen outside Chechnya and Ingushetia, was the
Vainakh tower. This was a kind of multi-floor structure that was used for dwelling or defense (or both). Nakh tower architecture and construction techniques reached their peak from the 15th to 17th centuries.
[Lecha Ilyasov. ''The Diversity of the Chechen Culture: From Historical Roots to the Present.'' ]
Residential towers had two or three floors, supported by a central pillar of stone blocks, and were topped with flat shale roofing. These towers have been compared in character to the prehistoric mountain settlements dating to 8000 BC.
Military ("combat") towers were 25 meters high or more,
with four of five floors and a square base approximately six meters wide. Access to the second floor was through a ladder. The defenders fired at the enemy through
loopholes. The top of the tower had ''mashikul'' – overhanging small balconies without a floor. These towers were usually crowned with pyramid-shaped roofing built in steps and topped with a sharpened capstone.
Buildings combining the functions of residential and military towers were intermediate in size between the two types, and had both loop-holes and ''mashikuls''. Nakh towers used to be sparingly decorated with religious or symbolic
petrographs, such as solar signs or depictions of the author's hands, animals, etc. Military towers often bore a Golgotha cross.
Traditional economy
Agricultural structures
Lack of arable land in sufficient quantities in the
mountainous areas forced Vainakhs to use their territory of residence as efficiently as possible. They leveled the steep slopes, organized
terraces suitable for
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
. On the barren rocky slopes of rocks, which are unsuitable for agriculture, Vainakhs hew foundations for terraces. On carts harnessed donkeys and oxen, they brought
black soil of the
lowland
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of p ...
s, and filled with it artificial terraces. For maximum harvest was organized by the entire irrigation system, which consisted of a small artificial stream canals connected with the mountain rivers, these canals were called Taatol, they also built a small stone canals called Epala, and quite small wooden troughs Aparri. Some scholars notably
I. Diakonov and
S. Starostin proposed that Epala and Aparri may correspond to
Urartian irrigation canal name "pili" and
Hurrian "pilli/a".
Some irrigation structures were built also on lowlands but they were less complicated.
Vehicles
Cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
s and
carriages made by Vainakh masters were highly valued in the region and beyond. Products of Vainakh masters brought power not only to the
Caucasian peoples, but also by such excess power to the established industry of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
. To support non-competitive domestic producers, Russia overlaid Vainakh manufacturers with large fees. At this complaining
Terek Cossacks in their letters to Russian Government, despite the fact that they are a natural enemy of the tree. In 1722 the Russian Army bought 616 vehicles for 1308 rubles, at a time when the annual salary of the governor of the three villages was only 50 rubles.
Carpet weaving
Since ancient times, the Ingush and Chechens have been producing thin felt carpets called ''Istang''. Ingush and Chechen rugs are distinguished by a peculiar pattern and high quality. Jacob Reineggs, who visited the region in the 18th century, noticed that Chechen and Ingush women skillfully manufactured carpets and
fringes. ''Istang'' - in translation into the Ingush language, it literally means "wives", since this was more of a female occupation. Vainakh carpets were divided among themselves into different groups dependent on patterns:
* Сarpet with colorful ornaments ( ce, Khorza istang, italic=yes), ( inh, Khoza isting, italic=yes).
* Rug with fringe ( ce, Khinja yolu istang, italic=yes), ( inh, Chachakh isting).
* Plain rug, without any decorations or ornaments.
* Thick floor rugs ( ce, Kuuz, italic=yes)
* Expensive wall carpet ( ce, Pals, italic=yes)
File:Istang2.jpg
File:Istanga3.jpg
File:Istang4.jpg
File:Istang5.jpg
File:Istang6.jpg
File:Istang7.jpg
File:Istang8.jpg
File:Istang9.jpg
Legends and mythology
Only a few fragments of Vainakh mythology have survived to modern times. These fragments consist of the names of deities personifying elements of animist ideas,
Nart saga
The Nart sagas ( Abkhaz: Нарҭаа ражәабжьқәа; ''Nartaa raƶuabƶkua''; ady, Нарт тхыдэжъхэр, translit=Nart txıdəĵxər; os, Нарты кадджытæ; ''Narty kaddžytæ''; ''Nartı kadjıtæ'') are a series of ...
, cosmogonic tradition, remnants of stock-breeding and landtilling, totemic beliefs and folk calendar.
The greatest samples of Nakh mythology are the legends of
Pkharmat
Pkharmat ( ce, Пхьармат , translit=Pẋarmat , lit=creator of the nation/language/land) is a legendary hero of the Vainakh people who stole fire for mankind, thus allowing them to forge metal, cook food, and light their homes, and uniting ...
, Galanchoge Lake, the epic war of Pkhagalberi (hare riders) dwarves against Narts, Kezanoi Lake, and myths about how sun, moon and stars appeared.
The Nakh myth of the legendary Pkharmat being shackled on Mount Kazbek by God Sela because he has stolen heavenly fire from him shows some parallels with Greek Myth of
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...
and Georgian Amirami.
The legendary war of Pkhalberi (hare riders) dwarves against Narts can be compared to Greek "Crane and Pygmies war" by Said-Magomed Khasiev
The Golden Fleece myth seems to be bound to Nakh 11 years calendar tradition. In such a myth, ram skin was placed in an oak frame "Jaar" for 11 years, and produced golden fleece named "Dasho Ertal".
Legend of Kouzan-Am Lake
This legend has explicit parallels with
Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
,
Grecian Baucis and Philemon, and the
Islamic
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...
Lot. It relates that there once stood a very rich town at the place where now there is only a lake. Despite their great wealth, the people of this town were afflicted with insatiable
greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undes ...
and covetousness. Thus it came to pass that the supreme god Dela sent his representatives in the guise of beggars, to test them. They begged the wealthy citizens to give them food, but were driven away with only blows and curses in return. Only one poor family in the village shared their food with them, keeping only a morsel of burnt bread for themselves, while giving an unburnt loaf of fine white bread to their guests. On leaving the house, the grateful strangers told the family that after some time had passed, water would begin to form puddles outside their front door, and that when this happened they should gather up only the barest of necessities, leave their home, and go to the mountains. The poor family heeded this advice, but, before departing for higher ground, warned the rich of the town of the impending disaster, and begged them to follow them, but, such was the
avarice of the rich folk, that they would not abandon their treasures - not even to save themselves from a watery grave. That evening, the family watched from the mountains as a terrible catastrophe unfolded: they saw the water cover their house and with it the greedy folk who had stayed behind. To commemorate the terrible flood, the Vainakhs named the newly-formed lake Kouzan-am/Kezenoyam ‘lake of sorrow and cruelty’.
Interestingly, the tradition of an ancient settlement associated with the lake is borne out by the archeological record for the area: traces of human habitation dating back as far as 40,000 BC have been found near Kouzan-am. Cave paintings, artifacts, and other archaeological evidence bear witness to continuous habitation for some 8,000 years.
People living in these settlements used tools, fire, and clothing made of animal skins.
Legend of Galain-Am Lake
Legend has it that two women once decided to wash their laundry in the purest water to be found near their village, and that this water proved to be that of the sacred Lake Galain-am, abode of
Tusholi, daughter of the Vainakh supreme deity Dela. The goddess, outraged at such sacrilege, punished the offenders by turning them into two stones. This, however, did not solve the problem of the ritually impure lake and the enraged goddess could no longer bear to dwell in its sullied waters. Emerging from them, she assumed the form of a supernatural bull, and began systematically to destroy the villages that dotted the hillside. This destruction continued until, at last, the bull was tamed in the
aul of Ame in the area named
Galain-Chazh
Galain-Chazh ( ce, Галайн-ЧIаж, "gorge of Galay") is a historical region in the North Caucasus. Today, Galain-Chazh is a part of Galanchozhsky District, Chechnya.
Since the Middle Ages, Galain-Chazh has been known as the historical cent ...
(after the
Galay-
teip
Teips (also taip, teyp; Nakh тайпа ''taypa'' : ''family, kin, clan, tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), ''also available online:'Чеченско-Русский сл ...
, a clan later
deported ''en masse'' to Kazakhstan in 1944). The inhabitants of Galain-Chazh harnessed the energies of the newly-tamed animal, availing themselves of its mighty strength to plough their fields; but the following Spring torrential rain began to fall upon the fields which the sacred animal had ploughed. This pelting rain continued to flood the fields until at last they disappeared beneath the waters of a new lake, into which Tusholi gratefully disappeared, rejoicing in the purity of her newly-formed abode.
Cosmology and creation
In ancient Nakh cosmology, the universe was created by the supreme god Dela. Earth, created in three years, was three times larger than the heavens and was propped up on gigantic bull horns. The realm of the Vainakh Gods lay above the clouds. Ishtar-Deela was the ruler of the subterranean world, Deeli-Malkhi. Deeli-Malkhi was larger than the human realm and took seven years to create. Nakhs believed that when the sun sets in the west it goes to the netherworld and rises out of it in the East. Deeli-Malkhi was not an evil realm of the dead or undead, but not far removed in morality from the upper world - even superior to it in some respects - most notably in its social structures. Unlike in certain other religions, there was no judgment in the afterlife.
Dela-Malkh was the sun god playing a central role in religious celebrations. On 25 December Nakhs celebrated
Sun Festival in honour of the Sun God's birthday.
The names of stars and constellations were also connected to myths:
*
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked ey ...
as the route of scattered straw ( ce, Ča Taqina Tača, italic=yes)
*
Great Bear as the seven brothers’ seven stars ( ce, Vorx Vešin Vorx Seda, italic=yes) meets 7 sons of the god of the universe Tq'a. In the Ingush version of the legend
Pkharmat
Pkharmat ( ce, Пхьармат , translit=Pẋarmat , lit=creator of the nation/language/land) is a legendary hero of the Vainakh people who stole fire for mankind, thus allowing them to forge metal, cook food, and light their homes, and uniting ...
, seven sons of Tq'a were punished by his wife Khimekhninen for help Magal, stealing fire from Tq'a. She lifted them up into the air, far from land that they have become the
seven stars.
*
Gemini ( ce, Kovreģina Seda, italic=yes)
*
Sirius,
Betelgeuse and
Procyon as Tripodstar ( ce, Qokogseda, italic=yes)
*
Orion as Evening star ( ce, Märkaj Seda, italic=yes)
*
Capricornus
Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for "horned goat" or "goat horn" or "having horns like a goat's", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half fi ...
as Roofing towers ( ce, Neģara Bjovnaš, italic=yes)
*
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
depending on daytime as sunset star ( ce, Sadov Seda, italic=yes) and sunrise star ( ce, Saxül Seda, italic=yes). The name of the planet is ''Dilbat''
Religion
During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Vainakh society felt a strong
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
influence that led to the adoption of
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...
in some parts of the country (particularly the mountainous South). However, Christianity did not last long. After the devastation of the country by
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, Christianity was extinguished (due to the temporary loss of contacts between Georgia and Nakh Christians) and gradually the Chechens and Ingush returned to their
native, pagan beliefs (while the Bats were permanently Christianized).
Islam began to spread on Nakh peoples lands from 16th and 17th centuries.
Vainakhs are predominantly
Muslim of the
Shafi`i school of thought of
Sunni Islam.
[ by Johanna Nichols, ]University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. The majority of
Chechens
The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and '' Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "E ...
(approx. 2 million) and
Ingush Ingush may refer to:
* Ingush language
* Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...
(approx. 700,000 people) are Muslim of the Shafi`i school.
Kists
The Kists ( ka, ქისტები ''kist'ebi'', ce, Kistoj, Kisti, Nokhcho, Nakhcho) are a Chechens, Chechen subethnos in Georgia (country), Georgia. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, where ...
(about 7,100 people) are mainly Sunni Muslims with a
Georgian Orthodox minority, while
Bats
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
(approx. 3,000 people) are Christian (Georgian Orthodox).
By rite, most Chechens are
Qadiris, with a considerable
Naqshbandi minority. There is also a tiny
Salafi
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...
minority (Sunni sect). The two main groups (Salafism is more of a modern introduction to the region, and is still considered to be completely foreign) have often had divergent responses to events (for example, the Qadiri authorities initially backing the Bolsheviks who promised to grant freedom to the Chechens from Russia; while the Naqshbandis were more sceptical of the Bolsheviks' sincerity).
However, as is also the case with other Caucasian groups, such as the
Georgians,
Abkhaz, and
Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...
, Islam did not wipe out all traces of the native religion. Many Chechens and Ingush even refer to the God of the Muslim religion (usually "Allah", from Arabic) as "Dela", who is the head god of the original Nakh pantheon (parallel to how Georgians refer to the Christian God as Ghmerti, their original main god). The Nakh interpretation of Sharia often is more resemblant of the adat than of Sharia as practiced in other Muslim countries, though some note that this may actually be closer to the original intent in some ways. There is a saying that "Muhammad may have been an Arab, but Allah is Chechen for sure", emphasizing this attitude towards the restrictive Islam of the Middle East that is often imagined in the West as representing the behavior and culture of all Muslims.
[Wood, Tony. ''Chechnya: The Case for Independence''][Sakwa, Edward. ''Chechnya: From Past to Future''] Despite
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
, most Nakh peoples are often regarded as either "Muslim people" (in the case of Ingush, Kists and Chechens), or as "Orthodox Christian people" (Batsbi). Nonetheless, worship of the original pantheon for the most part has no modern continuity and was replaced by Islam, despite some syncretism (i.e. building mosques consistently near streams, where temples were, reverence for the adat, etc.).
There is considerable tension among Chechens about religion. This largely asserts itself in the conflict between the pan-Islamist/Wahhabi/Salafi creed which vows to "cleanse Islam of impurity and syncretism" (i.e. de-Chechenize Islam in Chechnya to bring it more in line with global Islam), and those who view the indigenous form as superior, or otherwise as a national custom to be defended. Among the claimant governments for the land of Ichkeria, both the Western exiled Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the Russian installed Kadyrov regime are largely hostile to Wahhabism/Salafism, while the reaction of the Caucasus Emirate is considerably more positive, though still at times rather uncomfortable towards it (see certain statements by
Dokka Umarov, for example). The Kadyrov government, meanwhile, opposes Wahhabism in name, but still rules Chechnya with a rather harsh interpretation of Sharia law, including banning of bare-headed women in public, mandatory Qu'ran study in schools (with the interpretation favored by the government promoted), the death penalty for suspected homosexuality and so on. The exiled Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, meanwhile, has consistently stated both that the indigenous interpretation is a national trait (to be preserved) and that Ichkeria should be a secular national state, and while Islam may certainly be a part of the Chechen identity at times, it is certainly neither a requirement nor more important than any other aspect.
This attitude has been largely prevalent (except for in 1998 when Maskhadov briefly allowed Sharia courts to appear due to intense pressure from his opponents, including Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev, in an attempt to find unity by compromise). It is noted by many observers, Chechen, Russian (such as Valery Tishkov) and Western (such as Paul B. Henze, as well as Tony Wood and Anatol Lieven), that often, as seen in countries like Turkey and Albania, nationalist imagery and symbols — particularly the wolf, an animal viewed as
symbolic of the Chechen nation — is given far more importance than religion.
Burial vaults or crypts remained from the pagan period in the history of Vainakhs, before some of them converted to Islam in the 16th century (Islam has spread throughout the entire region only in the 17th century). They were built either a bit deepening into the ground or half underground and on the surface. The latter formed whole "towns of the dead" on the outskirts of the villages and reminded sanctuaries from the outside, with a dummy vaults constructed of overlapping stones. The deceased were placed on the special shelves in the crypts, in clothes and decorations and arms.
The general Islamic rituals established burials with the further penetration of Islam inside the mountainous regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Stone steles, churts, inscribed with prayers and epitaphs, began to be erected at the graves and more prosperous mountaineers were honoured with mausoleums after death. The Borgha-Kash Mausoleum dating to the very beginning of the 15th century and built for a Noghai prince is a good example of this.
Genetics
A 2011 study by Oleg Balanovsky and a number of other geneticists showed that the
Y-DNA
The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes ( allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or ...
haplogroup J2a4b* (a subclade of
J2, located mainly in the Middle East, Caucasus and Mediterranean) was highly associated with Nakh peoples.
J2a4b* accounted for the majority of the Y-chromosomes of Ingush and Chechen men, with the Ingush having a much higher percentage, 87.4%, than Chechens, who had 51–58% depending on region (the lowest being in
Malgobek, the highest in
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North ...
and
Achkhoy-Martan). In their paper, Balanovsky ''et al.'' speculated that the differences between fraternal Caucasian populations may have arisen due to
genetic drift
Genetic drift, also known as allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance.
Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and there ...
, which would have had a greater effect among the Ingush than the Chechens due to their smaller population.
[ The Chechens and the Ingush have the highest frequencies of J2a4b* yet reported (other relatively high frequencies, between 10 and 20 percent, are found in the Mediterranean and Georgia).
]
Hypotheses of origins
The Vainakh have been referred to by various names, including '' Durdzuks'' in medieval Arab, Georgian and Armenian ethnography.
Historical linguists, including Johanna Nichols, have connected ancestral Nakh languages
The Nakh languages are a group of languages within Northeast Caucasian family, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush in the North Caucasus.
Bats is the endangered language of the Bats people, an ethnic minority in Georgia.
The Chechen, ...
and their distant relatives to a Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several part ...
migration from the Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, State of Palestine, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, sou ...
.
Another view, not necessarily contradicting the previous one, posits a migration of Nakh into their present location in the North Caucasus during the classical era, following the collapse of Urartu
Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...
.
Igor Diakonoff and Sergei Starostin have suggested that Nakh is distantly related to Hurro-Urartian, which they included as a branch of the Northeastern Caucasian language family (which were dubbed Alarodian languages
The Alarodian languages are a proposed language family that encompasses the Northeast Caucasian (Nakh–Dagestanian) languages and the extinct Hurro-Urartian languages.
History
The term Alarodian is derived from Greek ''Ἀλαρόδιοι ...
by Diakonoff). Several studies argue that the connection is probable. Other scholars, however, doubt that the language families are related, or believe that, while a connection is possible, the evidence is far from conclusive. Various interpretations of the Nakh-Urartian relationship exist: another, held by Kassian (2011), is that Urartian and Nakh's common vocabulary instead reflects a history of intense borrowing from Urartian into Nakh.
According to Amjad Jaimoukha, the mythological Gargareans, a group who migrated from eastern Asia Minor to the North Caucasus mentioned by Greek writer Strabo,[Strabo. ''Geography''. Pages 1–49] are connected to the Nakh root ''gergara'', meaning "kindred" in proto-Nakh.[Jaimoukha. ''Chechens''. Page 30] However, Jaimoukha's theory is unlikely as Strabo and other ancient Greek writers considered the Gargareans to be Greeks.
List of Nakh peoples
Contemporary
*Vainakh (Chechen-Ingush dialect continuum)
**The Chechen people
The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Cauc ...
are a Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
native ethnic group, they refer to themselves as ''Nokhchiy'' (pronounced ). Their worldwide population is around 2 million, approximately 75% of which live in the Republic of Chechnya, a subdivision of the Russian Federation. Most Chechens are Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
of the Shafi'i school.
**The Ingush people
The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federal republic of Russian Federation. The Ingush are predomi ...
are a Caucasian native ethnic group of the North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. The endonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...
they use for self-designation is ''Ghalghai''. The Ingush people are predominantly Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
and speak the Ingush language
Ingush (; , , pronounced ) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by about 500,000 people, known as the Ingush, across a region covering the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya.
Classification
Ingush and Chechen, together with Bat ...
, which, according to some authors, is mutually intelligible with Chechen, despite popular misconceptions, and they are closely related. Their total population is estimated to be ''ca.'' 1 million worldwide.
**The Kist people
The Kists ( ka, ქისტები ''kist'ebi'', ce, Kistoj, Kisti, Nokhcho, Nakhcho) are a Chechen subethnos in Georgia. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti, where there are approximately 9, ...
are a Chechen sub-ethnos, belonging to Chechen teip
Teips (also taip, teyp; Nakh тайпа ''taypa'' : ''family, kin, clan, tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), ''also available online:'Чеченско-Русский сл ...
s, living in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
. They primarily live in the Pankisi Gorge, in the eastern Georgian region of Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises e ...
, where there are approximately 5,000 Kist people. Majority of Kists are Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
, however, there are still remaining small pockets of Christian Kists in Pankisi, Tusheti
Tusheti ( ka, თუშეთი) is a historic region in northeast Georgia.
Geography
Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan to the north and e ...
and Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises e ...
.
*The Bats people or the Batsbi are a small Nakh
Nakh may refer to:
* Nach (Bible acronym) (NaKh), an acronym for ''Nevi'im'' ''Ksuvim''/''Ktuvim'' (the Prophets and (Holy) Writings of ''Tanach'')
* Nakh languages, a group of languages within Northeast Caucasian, spoken chiefly by the Chechens ...
-speaking community in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
who are also known as the Ts'ova-Tush after the Ts’ova Gorge in the historic Georgian province of Tusheti
Tusheti ( ka, თუშეთი) is a historic region in northeast Georgia.
Geography
Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan to the north and e ...
(known to them as "Tsovata"), where they are believed to have settled after migrating from the North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
in the 16th century. Their population is estimated to be ''ca.'' 3000. Unlike the other Nakh peoples the Bats people are overwhelmingly Orthodox Christians.
Historical
The following is a list of historical or prehistoric peoples who have been proposed as speakers of Nakh languages.
; Sophene
According to Georgian scholars I. A. Djavashvili and Giorgi Melikishvili the Urartu
Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...
an state of Supani was occupied by the ancient Nakh tribe Tzov, the state of which is called Tsobena in ancient Georgian historiography. Sophene was part of the kingdom of Urartu
Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of Va ...
from the 8th to 7th centuries BCE. After uniting the region with his kingdom in the early 8th century BCE, king Argishtis I of Urartu resettled many of its inhabitants to his newly built city of Erebuni. However, Djavashvili's and Melikishvili's theory is not widely accepted.
; Gargareans
Jaimoukha argued that the Vainakhs are descended from the Gargarei, a mythological tribe who are mentioned in the Geographica of Strabo (1st century BCE) and in Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...
(1st century CE). Strabo wrote that "... the Amazons live close to Gargarei, on the northern foothills of the Caucasus mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
". Gaius Plinius Secundus also localizes Gargarei as living north of the Caucasus, but calls them Gegar. Some scholars (P. K. Uslar, K. Miller, N. F. Yakovleff, E. I. Krupnoff, L. A. Elnickiy, I. M. Diakonoff, V. N. Gamrekeli) supported the proposal that Gargarei is an earlier form of the Vainakh ethnonym. Jaimoukha notes that "Gargarean" is one of many Nakh root words - gergara, meaning, in fact, "kindred" in proto-Nakh. If this is the case, it would make Gargarei virtually equivalent to the Georgian term ''Dzurdzuk'' (referring to the lake Durdukka in the South Caucasus, where they are thought to have migrated from, as noted by Strabo, before intermixing with the local population) which they applied to a Nakh people who had migrated north across the mountains to settle in modern Chechnya and Ingushetia.
Despite Jaimoukha's claims, Strabo suggests that the Gargareans were Aeolian
Aeolian commonly refers to things related to either of two Greek mythological figures:
* Aeolus (son of Hippotes), ruler of the winds
* Aeolus (son of Hellen), son of Hellen and eponym of the Aeolians
* Aeolians, an ancient Greek tribe thought to ...
Greeks and locates their homeland Gargara in Troad
The Troad ( or ; el, Τρωάδα, ''Troáda'') or Troas (; grc, Τρῳάς, ''Trōiás'' or , ''Trōïás'') is a historical region in northwestern Anatolia. It corresponds with the Biga Peninsula (Turkish: ''Biga Yarımadası'') in the Ça ...
, in the far west of modern Turkey.
;Tsanars
Tsanareti ( ka, წანარეთი) (alternative spellings: Tsanaria, Canaria, Sanaria, Sanaryia) was a historic district (Khevi) in the early medieval Caucasus, lying chiefly in what is now the northeastern corner in Georgia’s region of Mt ...
and Tzanaria
Tsanareti ( ka, წანარეთი) (alternative spellings: Tsanaria, Canaria, Sanaria, Sanaryia) was a historic district (Khevi) in the early medieval Caucasus, lying chiefly in what is now the northeastern corner in Georgia’s region of Mt ...
The Tsanars were a people of East-Central Northern Georgia, living in an area around modern Khevi. Tsanaria
Tsanareti ( ka, წანარეთი) (alternative spellings: Tsanaria, Canaria, Sanaria, Sanaryia) was a historic district ( Khevi) in the early medieval Caucasus, lying chiefly in what is now the northeastern corner in Georgia’s region of ...
was their state, and it distinguished itself by the decisive role it and its people played in fending off the Arab invasion of Georgia. Their language is thought by many historians (including Vladimir Minorsky and Amjad Jaimoukha) to be Nakh, based on placenames, geographic location, and other such evidence.[Jaimoukha, Amjad. ''The Chechens: A Handbook''. Routledge Curzon: Oxon, 2005.] However, there is opposition to the theory that theirs was a Nakh language. Others claim they spoke a Sarmatian language like Ossetic. The Tsanars, too, eventually were assimilated within Georgiandom.
;Ghlighvi
Ghlighvi has been a historical name for the Ingush, possibly deriving from their ethnonym ''Ghalghaj''. It was first mentioned by Vakhushti of Kartli in 1745, a Georgian noble, who noted that they split off from the Durdzuks.
; Dvals and Dvaleti
Dvaleti ( ka, დვალეთი; also ''Tvaleti - თვალეთი'') was a historical and ethnographic region in medieval Georgia. Territory in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, between Mamison Pass and Darial Gorge wa ...
The Dvals were a historic people living in modern-day South Ossetia and some nearby regions, as well as the southern parts of North Ossetia (South and West of the Gligvs, South and East of the Malkh). They integrated themselves into the Georgian kingdom and produced a number of fine Georgian calligraphers and historians. They also produced an Orthodox saint: Saint Nicholas of Dvaleti. The language of the Dvals is thought to be Nakh by many historians,[Melikishvilli] though there is a rival camp which argues for its status as a close relative of Ossetic.[ Another theory posits that the Dvals were of Karvelian (Georgian) origin.][http://www.nplg.gov.ge/dlibrary/collect/0001/000355/inglisuri%20osebis%20texti.pdf] Various evidence given to support the Nakh theory (Different scholars use different arguments.) includes the presence of Nakh placenames in former Dval territory,[ taken as evidence of Nakh–Svan contact, which probably would have indicated the Nakh nature of the Dvals or of people there before them,][ and the presence of a foreign-origin Dval clan among the Chechens.] The Dvals were assimilated by the Georgians and the Ossetians. It is thought that Dval did not become fully extinct until the 18th century, making the Dvals the most recent Nakh people known to have disappeared.
; Malkhs
The Malkhs were a Nakh people,[ who were deemed to be the westernmost Nakh people, and made an alliance with the Greek Bosporus Kingdom.
; Durdzuks and Durdzuketi
Durdzuk is a medieval ethnonym used mainly in Georgian, Armenian and Arabic sources in the 9th-18th centuries, in which most researchers identify the Durdzuks as the ancestors of modern Chechens and Ingush. Some researchers localize the Durdzuks in the mountainous Ingushetia and identify them with the Ingush, others believe that during the Middle Ages the population of Chechnya was known to the South Caucasian peoples under the name "Durdzuks" (or "Dzurdzuks"), and the population of Ingushetia under the names "Gligvi", "giligii". The Georgian historian V. N. Gamrekeli claims that "Durdzuk" is definitely and, with all its references, uniformly localized, between Didoet-Dagestan in the east and the gorge of the Terek River, in the west.]
The Durdzuks constructed numerous kingdoms, notably Durdzuketi; and they were noted for their exceptionally fierce devotion to freedom and their ability to resist invaders, ranging from the Arabs to the Scythians to Turkic peoples to the Mongolian invaders. They seemed also to have been employed as mercenaries by various parties. They had a written language using Georgian script (It is not known whether they spoke that language however.), but most of these writings have been lost, with only a few pieces surviving. After the 14th-century Second Mongol Invasion of Durdzuketi and the destruction wrought by the two invasions (including, as Amjad Jaimoukha notes, the destruction of their memory of their past), they radically changed their culture.
;Isadiks
The Isadiks were an ancient Nakh people of the North Caucasus who were farmers.[Anchabadze, George. ''The Vainakhs''. Page 20.] They were probably undone by Scythian invaders. A remnant of them may have been absorbed by the Vainakh, as their name can now be seen in the Chechen teip ''Sadoy''.
;Khamekits
The Khamekits were another ancient Nakh people of the North Caucasus who were farmers. They were also probably undone by Scythian invaders. A remnant of them may have been absorbed by the Vainakh, as their name may now be reflected in the Ingush teip ''Khamki''.
;Arshtins
The Orstkhoy, Historical ethnoterritorial society, among the Chechen and Ingush. Homeland - the upper reaches of the Assa and Fortanga rivers - the historical region of Orstkhoy-Mokhk (modern most of the Sunzha region of Ingushetia, the Sernovod ...
Before the 19th century, the Arshtins were a Vainakh tukkhum living in between the Ingush and Chechens, with vague affinities to both groups, along the Sunzha River's middle reaches and its tributaries.[Anchabadze, George. ''The Vainakhs''. Page 29] The Arshtins were mostly known as Karabulaks, which they are called in Russian, from their Kumyk name. They also called themselves "Baloi".[Jaimoukha, Amjad. ''The Chechens: A Handbook''. Page 259.] They were variously considered to be an independent people, a subgroup of Chechens, or a subgroup of Ingush (further complicated by the fact that many in the 19th century, including many Ingush themselves, considered the Ingush to be a subgroup of the Chechens). Their language is thought to have been similar to Chechen and Ingush (not unlike today's Galanchozh dialect spoken by the Myalkhi tukhum).
The Arshtins eventually were wiped out by Russian imperialism. The late 1850s saw the end of the Eastern and Central Caucasian resistance to Tsarist rule; and in 1865, the Deportation of Circassians
The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of 80–97% of the Circassian population, around 800,000–1,500,000 people, during and after the Russo-Circassian War (1 ...
occurred. Although the Russians mainly targeted Circassians for expulsion or murder, the Arshtins also were victims. In May–July 1865, according to official documents, 1366 Arshtin families disappeared and only 75 remained. These 75 families joined (or rejoined) the Chechen nation as the Erstkhoi tukhum.
See also
* Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush
* Peoples of the Caucasus
* Northeast Caucasian languages
*Nakh languages
The Nakh languages are a group of languages within Northeast Caucasian family, spoken chiefly by the Chechens and Ingush in the North Caucasus.
Bats is the endangered language of the Bats people, an ethnic minority in Georgia.
The Chechen, ...
* Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of the Caucasus
*List of Chechen people
This is a partial list of notable Chechen people.
Military personnel
12th–19th century
* Khour Ela, 14th century Chechen king that ruled the Kingdom of Simsir
* Surakat, 15th century Chechen king that ruled the Kingdom of Simsir and A ...
References
*Jaimoukha, A., ''The Chechens: A Handbook'', London and New York: Routledge, 2005.
External links
Vainakh information portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakh Peoples
Peoples of the Caucasus
Chechnya
History of the North Caucasus
Ingushetia