All-Russian media project "Russian Nation" - all ethnic groups of Russia as inseparable parts of a single Russian nation. Chechens are a brave and resilient nation

CHECHENS, Nokhchiy(self-name), people in Russian Federation, the main population of Chechnya.

According to the 2002 Population Census, 1 million 361 thousand Chechens live in Russia. According to the 2010 Census, 1 million 431 thousand also live in Ingushetia, Dagestan, Stavropol Territory, Volgograd Region, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Saratov, Tyumen Region, North Ossetia, Moscow, as well as in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, etc.

Ethnonym

In Armenian sources of the 7th century, Chechens are mentioned under the name "nakhcha matyan" ("speaking the Nokhchi language"). In documents of the 16th-17th centuries there are tribal names of Chechens ( Ichkerin residents, Okoks, Shubuts, etc..). The name Chechens was a Russian transliteration of Kabardian "sheshei" and came from the name of the village of Bolshoi Chechen.

Language

Chechens speak the Chechen language of the Nakh group of the Nakh-Dagestan branch of the North Caucasus language family. Dialects: flat, Akkinsky, Cheberloevsky, Melkhinsky, Itumkalinsky, Galanchozhsky, Kistinsky. The Russian language is also widespread. Writing after 1917 was first based on Arabic, then Latin script, and since 1938 - based on the Russian alphabet.

Religion

Believing Chechens are Sunni Muslims. There are two widespread Sufi teachings - Naqshbandi and Nadiri. The main deities of the pre-Muslim pantheon were the god of the sun and sky Del, the god of thunder and lightning Sel, the patron of cattle breeding Gal-Erdy, hunting - Elta, the goddess of fertility Tusholi, the god the afterlife Estr. Islam penetrates Chechnya in the 13th century through Golden Horde and Dagestan. Fully Chechens converted to Islam in the 18th century. An important element of Chechen society are Sufi communities-virds together with clans (teips), although priority social role currently played by ordinary civil institutions.

Traditional activities

Agriculture and cattle breeding. The Chechens raised sheep, cattle, and thoroughbred horses for riding.. There was economic specialization between the mountainous and lowland regions of Chechnya: receiving grain from the plains, the mountain Chechens sold their surplus livestock in return. Jewelry and blacksmithing crafts, mining, silk production, and bone and horn processing were also developed.

Cloth

Traditional Chechen men's clothing - shirt, trousers, beshmet, cherkeska. Men's hats are tall, flaring hats made of valuable fur. The hat was considered the personification of masculinity; knocking it down would lead to blood feud.

The main elements of Chechen women's clothing are a shirt and pants. The shirt had a tunic-like cut, sometimes below the knees, sometimes to the ground. The color of clothing was determined by the status of the woman and differed among married, unmarried and widowed women.

However, the origin of the Chechens continues to cause debate, although we point out that they have been the indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasus for two thousand years. But this question arises by itself even according to the Batsbians, who say that they are fyappies from Vabua, and where is Vabua... The oral traditions of all Vainakhs say that their ancestors came from somewhere beyond the mountains and then settled from Galanchozh district. This is the history of the Chechen people in the oral tradition of the Chechens.

It is necessary to pay attention to how quite different the stories are in different Chechen communities, and this despite the fact that legends in Chechnya are usually passed on without the slightest changes. Apparently, individual communities actually had different ancestral paths, i.e. They came from different places, but all to gather in the Galanchozh region. Being descendants of the Aryans, the Chechens are truly descendants of aliens, like the Aryans themselves, whose branches came to the region of the Armenian Highlands and brought more high culture of your civilization. In the dialects of the Armenian language, the word arii means to come, and hajr as father and Hajrarat as the country of fathers.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge after the Great Flood, and in this world Roman (inverted) law and rulers were established, who were constantly destroying any mention of Aryan civilization and their special popular government, instead of which the dominance of new newcomers with an aggressive mentality, with a lower culture and an ugly form of minority power with a whole arsenal of suppression and subjugation was established.

Only the Vainakhs, apparently thanks to the military system and strict adherence to the laws of their ancestors, were able to preserve until the 19th century moral norms and beliefs of the Aryans and the form of social structure with popular government inherited from their ancestors .

In his previous works, the author was the first to point out that the essence Chechen conflict consists in the clash of two different ideologies of public administration and in the special siliconity of the Chechens, who do not completely submit to any losses.

In this unequal and cruel battle that the Chechen people inherited, the Chechens themselves have changed and have lost a lot over the past three centuries of what their ancestors had cherished for thousands of years.

The Sasens left their mark not only in the North Caucasus. The Sasinid dynasty in Iran, removing the “new newcomers” from power, restored Aryan moral standards and the religion of Zoroastrianism (Zero - zero, the origin of reference, aster - star, i.e. the stellar origin). In Greater Armenia, the descendants of David of Sasso bravely fought against the troops of the caliphate in the 8th-9th centuries, and the regular Turkish army and bands of Kurds in the 19th-20th centuries. As part of the Russian corps, the Chechen detachments of Taimiev (1829) and Chermoevs (1877 and 1914) stormed the Armenian city of Erzurum three times, liberating it from the Turks.

One of the modified names of the Chechens is Shasheny, in the Karabakh dialect of the Armenian language sounds like “special to the point of madness and brave to the point of madness.” And the name Tsatsane clearly indicates the peculiarity of the Chechens.

Chechen Nokhchi believe (apparently at the call of blood) Nakhchevan named by their ancestors as the settlement of Nokhchi, although the Armenians understand this name as a beautiful village. The slender, white, blue-eyed warriors on horses among the dark-skinned and short peasants were truly beautiful.

There are traces of Nokhchi in southeastern Armenia in the region of Khoy (in Iran) and Akki in western Armenia in the area between the Greater and Lesser Zab rivers south of Erzurum. It should be noted that Chechen people and in terms of its component Vainakh communities, it is heterogeneous and includes a dozen separate branches, with different dialects.

When studying Chechen society it seems that you are dealing with the descendants of the last defenders of the fortress, who gathered in the citadel from different places. Moving for various reasons, the great-ancestors of the Chechens did not go further than a thousand km from Mount Ararat, i.e. they practically remained within the region.

And the great-ancestors of the Vainakhs came from different places - some quickly and with great losses, while others gradually and more safely, for example, like the Nokhchi from Mitanni. Even if in those times (more than three thousand years ago) it was long and stretched over tens and hundreds of years. Along the way, they left the settlements they founded, and some of them moved on, moving north for a reason that is now inexplicable to us, and those who remained merged with the local population.

It is difficult to find traces of the ancestors of the Chechens because they really did not come from one place. There were no searches in the past, the Chechens themselves were content with an oral retelling of the path of their ancestors, but with Islamization there were no Vainakh storytellers left.

Nowadays, the search for traces of the great-ancestors of the Vainakhs and archaeological excavations must be carried out on the territory of as many as 8 states during the period of the end of the second millennium BC.

The arrival of former Aryan guards in separate detachments with families and households in the Galanchozh region marked the beginning Chechen tukhums and taips(tai - share). The main taipas still distinguish their sections (shares) on the land of Galanchozh, since it was then first divided by the great-ancestors thousands of years ago.

For many peoples, Gala means to come, i.e. Galanchozh can mean a place of arrival or resettlement from it, which corresponds to reality in both ways.

Both the name of the great-ancestors of the Chechens (Sasens) and the current name of their descendants (Chechens), and their whole history are special. Development of Chechen society differed in many features and in many ways has no analogues.

The Chechens turned out to be very refractory and difficult to change from their ancestors, and for many centuries they retained their language and way of life, and the social structure of their free communities governed by councils, without the assumption of hereditary power. Legendary Turpal Nokhcho, having mastered the bull, harnessed it and taught the Nokhchi to plow, overcame evil and bequeathed to keep the lake, from which the Nokhchi settled, clean, i.e. keep the foundations, language, laws and beliefs received from ancestors pure (without polluting them with alien morals). As long as Turpal's commandments were observed, the Chechens were lucky in history.

Chechens (self-name “Nokhchi”) are one of the ancient peoples world with its own anthropological type and original culture. In the North Caucasus, this is the largest ethnic group (over 1 million people). Their neighbors, the Ingush, are very close to the Chechens in genotype, culture and religion. Together they form the Vainakh people, bound by blood, common historical destiny, territorial, economic, cultural and linguistic community.

Vainakhs (Chechens, Ingush) speak the Nakh language, which is part of the North Caucasian group of the Iberian-Caucasian family of languages. Chechen society was historically formed as a multi-ethnic one; it constantly absorbed various ethnic elements of nomadic and neighboring mountain peoples; this is evidenced by the non-Vainakh origin of many Chechen teips (clans).

Chechens live mainly in Chechnya and Ingushetia. They also live in Dagestan, Stavropol Territory, Volgograd Region, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Saratov, Tyumen Regions, North Ossetia, Moscow, as well as in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, etc.

Believing Chechens are Sunni Muslims.

They speak the Chechen language of the Nakh-Dagestan group. Dialects: flat, Akkinsky, Cheberloevsky, Melkhinsky, Itumkalinsky, Galanchozhsky, Kistinsky. The Russian language is also widespread (74% are fluent). Writing after 1917 was first based on Arabic, then on Latin script, and from 1938 on the Russian alphabet.

Straboia's "Geography" mentions the ethnonym Gargarei, the etymology of which is close to the Tsakh "gergara" - "native", "close". The ethnonyms Isadiks, Dvals, etc. are also considered Nakh. In Armenian sources of the 7th century. Chechens are mentioned under the name Nakhcha Matyan (i.e. “speaking the Nokhchi language”). In the chronicles of the 14th century. the "people of Nokhchi" are mentioned. In Persian sources of the 13th century. the name sasapa was given, which was later included in Russian documents. In documents of the 16th-17th centuries. There are tribal names of Chechens (Ichkerins - Nokhchmakhkhoy, Okoki - A'kkhii, Shubuts - Shatoi, Charbili - Cheberloy, Melki - Malkhii, Chantins - Ch1aintii, Sharoi - Sharoy, Terlois - T1erloy). The ancient Chechens, who mastered not only the northern slopes of the Caucasus, but also the steppes of the Ciscaucasia, early came into contact with the Scythian, and then with the Sarmatian and Alan nomadic world. In the flat zone of Chechnya and nearby areas North Caucasus in the 8th-12th centuries. the multi-ethnic Alan kingdom was formed in the mountainous zone of Chechnya and Dagestan - public education Sarir. After the Mongol-Tatar invasion (1222 and 1238-1240), the steppe beyond the border and partly the Chechen plain became part of the Golden Horde. By the end of the 14th century. the population of Chechnya united into the state of Simsism. In the 16th-17th centuries. The Caucasian Isthmus was the object of constant claims Ottoman Empire(with her vassal -Crimean Khanate), Iran and Russia. During the struggle between these states, the first Russian fortresses and Cossack towns were erected on Chechen lands, and diplomatic ties between Chechen rulers and aul societies were established with Russia. At the same time, the modern borders of Chechen settlement were finally formed. Since the Persian campaign of Peter I (1722), Russia's policy towards Chechnya has acquired a colonial character. IN recent years During the reign of Catherine II, Russian troops occupied the left bank of the Terek, building a section of the Caucasian military line here, and founded military fortresses from Mozdok to Vladikavkaz along the Chechen-Kabardian border. This led to the growth of the Chechen liberation movement at the end of the 18th and 1st half of the 19th centuries. By 1840, a theocratic state was emerging on the territory of Chechnya and Dagestan - the Imamate of Shamil, which initially waged a successful war with Russia, but was defeated by 1859, after which Chechnya was annexed to Russia and included, together with the Khasavyurt district, populated by Aukhov Chechens and Kumyks, in the Terek region . In 1922, the Chechen Autonomous Region was formed as part of the RSFSR. Even earlier, part of the lands taken from them during the Caucasian War was returned to Chechnya. Office work and teaching were introduced in native language, other cultural and socio-economic transformations were carried out. At the same time, which began in the 1920s. collectivization, accompanied by repressions, caused great damage to Chechnya. In 1934, Chechnya was united with the Ingush Autonomous Okrug into the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Okrug, and since 1936 - the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In February 1944, about 500 thousand Chechens and Ingush were forcibly deported to Kazakhstan. Of these, a significant number died in the first year of exile. In January 1957, the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, abolished in 1944, was restored. But at the same time, several mountainous areas were closed to the Chechens, and the former residents of these areas began to be settled in lowland villages and Cossack villages. Chechen Aukhovites returned to Dagestan. In 1992, the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation decided to transform the Chechen-Ingush Republic into the Ingush Republic and the Chechen Republic.

Traditional agricultural crops are barley, wheat, millet, oats, rye, flax, beans, etc. Later they began to grow corn and watermelons. Gardening and horticulture were developed. Arable tools - plow (gota), useful tool (nokh). The three-field system was widespread. Transhumance sheep breeding was developed in the mountainous regions. Cattle were raised on the plains, which were also used as labor. They also bred thoroughbred horses for riding. Between the mountainous and lowland regions of Chechnya there was a specialization of farms: receiving grain from the plains, the mountain Chechens sold their surplus livestock in return. Handicrafts played an important role. Chechen cloth was very popular.

The centers of weapons production were the villages of Starye Atagi, Vedeno, Dargo, Shatoi, etc., and the centers of pottery production were the villages of Shali, Duba-Yurt, Stary-Yurt, Novy-Yurt, etc. Jewelry and blacksmithing, mining, silk production, etc. were also developed. processing of bone and horn.

Mountain villages had a disorderly, crowded layout. Two-story stone houses with a flat roof were common. The lower floor housed livestock, and the upper floor, which consisted of two rooms, housed housing. Many villages had housing and defense towers of 3-5 floors. Settlements on the plain were large (500-600 and even up to 4000 households), stretched along roads and rivers. Traditional home- consisted of several rooms, stretched in a row, with a separate section and exits to a terrace that ran along the house. Yard with outbuildings usually surrounded by a fence.

A distinctive feature of the interior of a Chechen home was the almost complete absence of furniture: a chest, a low table on three legs, several benches. The walls were hung with skins and carpets, weapons were hung on them, and the floor was covered with mats. The hearth, the chain of fire, the ash were considered sacred, disrespect for them entailed blood feud and, conversely, even if the murderer grabbed the chain of fire, he received the rights of a relative. They swore and cursed with the chain above them. The eldest woman was considered the keeper of the hearth. The fireplace divided the room into men's and female half. Woolen fabrics were of several types. Top quality the fabric "iskhar" was considered to be made from the wool of lambs, the lower - from the wool of dairy sheep. No later than the 16th century. Chechens knew the production of silk and linen. Traditional clothing had much in common with the general Caucasian costume. Men's clothing - shirt, trousers, beshmet, Circassian coat. The shirt was tunic-shaped, the collar with a slit in the front was fastened with buttons. A beshmet was worn over the shirt, belted with a belt with a dagger. The Circassian coat was considered festive clothing. Circassian shorts were sewn with cut-off waists, flared downwards, fastened to the waist with metal fasteners, and gazyrnitsa were sewn onto the chest. Pants, tapered downwards, were tucked into leggings made of cloth, morocco or sheepskin. Winter clothing - sheepskin coat, burka (verta). Men's hats were tall, flaring hats made of valuable fur. Shepherds wore fur hats. There were also felt hats. The hat was considered the personification of masculine dignity; knocking it down would entail blood feud. The main elements of women's clothing were a shirt and trousers. The shirt had a tunic-like cut, sometimes below the knees, sometimes to the ground. The collar with a slit on the chest was fastened with one or three buttons. The outerwear was a beshmet.

Since ancient times, Chechens have lived in the Central and North-Eastern Caucasus. The territory of the Chechen Republic is 17,200 sq. km. The population of Chechnya is over a million people. According to researchers, approximately one and a half million Chechens lives all over the world. Most of them live in the Russian Federation. Historians call the Chechen nation “the root part of the Caucasian race.” It is the most numerous of the.

Nakhchoy - Chechen people

The ancestors of modern Chechens appeared in the 18th century as a result of detachment from several ancient clans. The sources contain the name of the people - nakhchoy(i.e. people speaking the Nokhchi language). The ancestors of the Chechens passed through the Argun Gorge and settled on the territory of the present republic. Basic language – Chechen, there are dialect groups (Itumkalinsky, Akkinsky, Melkhinsky, Galanchozhsky and others). The Russian language is also quite widespread in the republic. Chechens profess the Muslim faith.

Folklore mythology was influenced by other ancient civilizations. In the Caucasus, the paths of many nomadic tribes and peoples of Asia, the Mediterranean and Europe crossed. The tragic pages in Chechen history caused enormous damage to spiritual culture. During the ban period folk dances and music, holding national rituals, the creative impulses of the Chechens were constrained by fears of falling into political disgrace. However, no restrictions and prohibitions could break or strangle the Chechen identity.

Chechen traditions

Hospitality

Hospitality among the Chechens it has been elevated to the rank of a sacred duty of every citizen. This tradition has historical roots. Traveling through mountainous terrain is not easy; at any moment, an exhausted traveler could hope for outside help. In a Chechen home you will always be fed, warmed and provided with overnight accommodation free of charge. The owner of the house could give the guest some home furnishings as a sign of respect. In gratitude, travelers presented the owner's children with gifts. Such a welcoming attitude towards the guest has been preserved in our time.

In the Caucasus, they treat their mother with special respect: they respect her, try to help in everything and listen to her advice. Men usually stand up when a woman enters the room.

With special trepidation men take care of your hat. It expressed a symbol of male honor and dignity. It is considered extremely humiliating if a stranger touches the papakha. Such behavior from a stranger can provoke a scandal.

Mountain upbringing

Younger family members behave modestly and do not interfere in the conversations and affairs of their elders. To engage in conversation, you need to ask permission. Until now, in a discussion of any issue, you can hear a Chechen utter the phrase: “Can I tell you...”, as if asking for permission to enter into a conversation. Such automatic behavior is an indicator of persistent and harsh upbringing from time immemorial. Excessive affection, caring for small children and anxiety associated with the whims of a child in public were not approved. If for some reason the child burst into tears, he was taken to another room where he calmed down. Children's crying and pranks should not distract adults from important matters and conversations.

In the old days, it was not customary to leave someone else’s things found in your house. In front of witnesses, the item was given to the village mullah so that he could find the owner. In modern Chechen society, it is also considered bad manners to take away someone else’s thing, even if found.

In a Chechen house

Kitchen

One of the revered delicacies is zhizhig galnysh, simple, but delicious dish. Wheat or corn dumplings are boiled in meat broth. Culinary chores are women's concerns, with the exception of funeral dishes that are prepared for funerals.

Wedding traditions

When a woman got married, she received her husband’s family with special respect and treated them with caring respect. The young wife is modest, quiet, incurious. Without special need, a woman should not start a conversation with older relatives. At a Chechen wedding there is even a funny ritual of “untying the bride’s tongue.” The future father-in-law tries to make his young daughter-in-law talk with jokes and tricks, but she clearly adheres to the people's rules and remains silent. Only after giving gifts to the guests was the girl allowed to talk.

Before the wedding, young Chechen women can communicate with their grooms only in crowded public places. The guy always comes on a date first and only then the girl. Maiden honor is the pride of the groom and the subject of protection by the young Chechen, in whom hot Caucasian blood boils.

The Chechens are considered the oldest people in the world, the inhabitants of the Caucasus. According to archaeologists, at the dawn of human civilization, the Caucasus was the center in which human culture arose.

Those whom we used to call Chechens appeared in the 18th century in the North Caucasus due to the separation of several ancient clans. They passed through the Argun Gorge along the Main Range of the Caucasus and settled in the mountainous part of the modern republic.

The Chechen people have centuries-old traditions, a national language, and an ancient and original culture. The history of this people can serve as an example of building relationships and cooperation with different nationalities and their neighbors.

Culture and life of the Chechen people

Since the 3rd century, the Caucasus has been a place where the paths of civilizations of farmers and nomads crossed, and the cultures of different ancient civilizations of Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean came into contact. This was reflected in mythology, oral folk art and culture.

Unfortunately, the recording of the Chechen folk epic began quite late. This is due to the armed conflicts that shook this country. As a result, huge layers folk art- pagan mythology, Nart epic - were irretrievably lost. The creative energy of the people was absorbed by the war.

The policy pursued by the leader made a sad contribution Caucasian highlanders- Imam Shamil. He saw in a democratic folk culture a threat to his rule. During his more than 25 years in power in Chechnya, the following were banned: folk music and dancing, art, mythology, observance of national rituals and traditions. Only religious chants were allowed. All this had a negative impact on the creativity and culture of the people. But Chechen identity cannot be killed.

Traditions and customs of the Chechen people

Part everyday life Chechens are observing traditions that were passed down by previous generations. They have evolved over centuries. Some are written down in the code, but there are also unwritten rules, which, nevertheless, remain important for everyone in whom Chechen blood flows.

Hospitality Rules

The roots of this good tradition originate in the depths of centuries. Most families lived in difficult, difficult to navigate places. They always provided the traveler with shelter and food. Whether a person needed it, whether he was familiar or not, he received it without further questioning. This happens in all families. The theme of hospitality runs through the entire folk epic.

A custom associated with a guest. If he liked the thing in his host home, then this thing should be given to him.

And also about hospitality. When there are guests, the owner takes a position closer to the door, saying that the guest is important here.

The owner sits at the table until the last guest. It is indecent to be the first to interrupt a meal.

If a neighbor or relative, even a distant one, came in, then young men and younger family members would serve them. Women should not show themselves to guests.

Man and woman

Many may have the opinion that women's rights are violated in Chechnya. But this is not so - a mother who has raised a worthy son has an equal voice in decision-making.

When a woman enters a room, the men there stand up.

Special ceremonies and decorum must be performed for the arriving guest.

When a man and a woman walk side by side, the woman should be one step behind. A man must be the first to accept danger.

Wife young husband First she feeds his parents, and only then her husband.

If there is a relationship between a guy and a girl, even a very distant one, the connection between them is not approved, but this is not a gross violation of tradition.

Family

If a son reaches for a cigarette and the father finds out about it, he must, through his mother, make a suggestion about the harm and inadmissibility of this, and he must immediately give up this habit.

When there is a quarrel or fight between children, parents must first scold their child, and only then figure out who is right and who is wrong.

It is a grave insult for a man if someone touches his hat. This is tantamount to receiving a slap in the face in public.

The younger one should always let the older one pass and let him pass first. At the same time, he must greet everyone politely and respectfully.

It is extremely tactless to interrupt an elder or start a conversation without his request or permission.