The Budukhs ( Budukh: Будад, ''Budad'') are an ethnic group primarily from the mountainous village of Buduq in northeastern

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, one of the Shahdagh peoples. They speak the

Budukh language Budukh or Budugh (Будад мез, ''Budad mez'') is a Samur language of the Northeast Caucasian language family spoken in parts of the Quba Rayon of Azerbaijan. It is spoken by about 200 of approximately 1,000 ethnic Budukhs. Budukh is a s ...

, which is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. The Azerbaijani language is widely spoken.

History

The area where the Budukh inhabit was part of the Shirvanshah. The Budukh served in the military for the Shah but were given tax and tribute exemptions. In the early 18th century, the Budukh participated in a Sunni-Shia conflict taking place in

Shirvan Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...

. However, the conflict soon transformed into a revolt against the Shah which also gained the attention of the Ottomans and

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

. During the late 18th century, the Budukhs were part of the Khuba Khanate but then became incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1806. The Budukhs participated in the

Murid War In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...

during the mid-19th century. In the Soviet era, the Budukh were faced with

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

and various socio-political policies that negatively affected their traditional way of life and beliefs.

Culture

The Badukhs traditionally engage in raising sheep and cattle. The Badukhs also engage in trading and some limited farming, mainly cultivating barely and rye. The Budukh people are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims.

History

Culture

References

Further reading