The Tsez (also known as the Dido or the Didoi) are a North Caucasian

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

. Their unwritten language, also called Tsez or Dido, belongs to the Northeast Caucasian group with some 15,354 speakers.Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance & Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994), ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', p. 199. Greenwood Publishing Group, . For demographic purposes, today they are classified with the Avars with whom the Tsez share a religion,

Sunni Islam 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 disag ...

, and some cultural traits. They are centered at the Tsunta district of the

Republic of 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 C ...

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-ei ...

. The term “Dido” is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to the Tsez as well as the Bezhtas, Hinukhs, Khwarshis and Hunzibs, which are also categorized as Avar subgroups. According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 15,256 self-identified Tsez in Russia (15,176 in their homeland), notated as an "Avar subgroup", though the real number is probably slightly greater.

Culture

The Tsez traditionally engaged in raising livestock and limited cultivation. In more recent times, some Tsez have migrate to industrial centers for work. The Tsez adhere to Sunni Islam. Islam became the majority faith of the Tsez by the 17th and 18th centuries though elements of pre-Islamic customs are still present.

References

Ethnic groups in Dagestan Muslim communities of Russia Peoples of the Caucasus {{Caucasus-ethno-group-stub