Re: Kabardian, Circassian, and Adygh

argunb2_at_hotmail.com
Date: 12/13/04 

Date: 12 Dec 2004 17:00:27 -0800

Hi,

Here are some good starting points:

ADYGH:

Adyghs (more properly -Adyghes-) are a North-West Caucasian nation.
They are close relatives of two other neighbouring nations, Abkhazians
and Ubykhs.

The etymology of the word is not certain. Some claim it comes from
A-Dyghe (a proto Adyghe-Abkhazo-Ubykh word?) meaning -Our Sun-, or -Our
Power- or -Ours/Our people-.

Today, Adyghes living in the Adyghey (Adygheya in Russian) Federal
Republic of the Russian Federation are -officially- called as Adyghes.

ADYGHE LANGUAGE:

National language of Adyghes. Adyghes call their language Adyghabze;
Adyghe + bze. Bze means -language- in -Adyghabze-.

Adyghabze was originated from a proto Adyghe-Abkhaz-Ubykh language
about some 1000+ years ago but they are not mutually intelligible
today.

KABARDIANS:

Kabardians (-Kabardey- in Adyghabze; -Kabardin- in Russian) are not a
separate nation but (probably the biggest) tribe of Adyghes speaking
Kabardian dialect of Adyghabze which is more or less mutually
intelligible with other dialects of Adyghabze such as Besleney,
Shapsugh, Abkzakh.

I dont know much about the etymology of the word -Kabardey- but
it probably comes from a tribal (?) name -Kabard- because the suffix
-ey- actualls means -land- in Adyghabze. Today the word Kabard+ey means
both a tribe and the territory they live on.

Today, Adyghes that are living the Kabardino-Balkarian Federal Republic
of the Russian Federation are -officially- named as Kabardians.

* singular: Adyghe, Kabardey
plural: Adyghe+her, Kabardey+her in Adyghabze.

CHERKESS:

A variation of the word -Circassian-.

Cherkess is used for:

1- A kind of second national name for referring to Adyghes. However,
the word Cherkess/Circassian is not an -Adyghabze- word.

2- Adyghes + Abkhazians + Ubykhs

3- Adyghes + Abkhazians + Ubykhs AND even Ossetians, Chechens,
Karachais, Dagistanis. (used mostly in North Caucasian Diaspora
involving Adyghe diaspora)

Today, Adyghes that are living the Karachai-Cherkess Federal Republic
of the Russian Federation are -officially- named as Cherkess(es).

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD -CHERKESS-:

Several views:

Some claim it is a Turkic/Mongolian word meaning (1) cut+head
[cher+kes] or (2) skillful rider.

or

A word derived from an ancient Adyghe tribe called the Kerkets

or

A Greek word referring to Adyghes probably originating from the word
-Kerket-.

SO, WHY ALL THIS TROUBLE ABOUT THESE NAMES?

1- Adyghes have some strong tribal divisions.

2- These tribal divisions have been abused by the divide-and-rule
policies of the Tsarist/Soviet/RF Russian rulers.

3- Artifically imposed national (!) names like Kabardian and Cherkess
are used/promoted to divide, assimilate and compete with the original
Adyghe identity.

4- Above mentioned political practices were/had to be adopted by the
scholarly literature of Tsarist/Soviet/RF academicians.

5- Western scholars follow the above mentioned -artificial-,
ethnic/linguistic classification dating back to Tsarist/Soviet times.
The result is just confusion.

A QUICK NOTE ON ADYGHE HISTORY:

Adyghes, just like the Abkhazians and the Ubyks, have first appeared in
the North West Caucasus, originating from a single proto
Adyghe-Abkhazo-Ubykh nation.

A long history of stateless, loose/monarchless co-habitance of
tribes...a long history of resistance against the invasions from
several directions (Romans, Turks, Mongolians, Khazarians)...trade &
cultural affairs with Greeks, Italians, Byzantines via the Black
Sea....times of Adyghe paganism, then Christianity (and even a little
Judaism?) and then Islam...destructive wars with the Tsarist Russia
beginning roughly in late 17th century till late 19th century
(Russo-Caucasian Wars)...final invasion of Adyghey and the rest the
rest of North Caucasus (see Imam Shamyl) around 1859-1864...forced mass
exile to the Ottoman Empire and some other regions of the world...death
of hundreds of thousands....today +/-700.000 Adyghes
(Adyghe+Kabardian+Cherkess+Shapsugh) live in the North West Caucasus
(Adyghey Fed.Rep., Kab-Bal.FR, Karac-Ch.FR, Krasnodar, Stavropol); 2-3
(?) millions in the Adyghe diaspora (mostly in Turkey; the rest Israel,
Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt..., USA, Europe; some went/were taken to
even South America after the great exile).

KARACHAIS AND BALKARS:

Karachai and Balkars are non-Adyghe Turkic nations. (or just tiny
tribes of a greater Turkish/Turkic body streching from Central Asia to
Caucasus and Anatolia.)

best regards,

Mesej Argun

H.M. Hubey wrote:
> Nahali wrote:
> >
> > I am a bit confused about the classification of these three
languages. In
> > Kenneth Katzner's book on languages, he has a section dedicated to
Kabardian.
> > In this section, he says that the Kabardian language is composed of
three
> > dialects: Kabardian, Circassian, and Adygh. In Ruhlen's book
Kabardian and
> > Adygh are listed as seperate languages. I know that Circassian is
also called
> > Cherkess, and that the Kabardian and Circassian languages are
called
> > Kabardin-Cherkess. The Circassians and the Kabardians are
different people,
> > but are Cherkess and Kabardian identical? I have found seperate
sources on
> > Adygh but never just on Cherkess.
>
> The words "cherkess" or "circassian" are used to refer to a
group/nation.
>
> I don't think anyone knows what the words mean or where they come
from.
> In 1991 when I was there, an old Russian archaeologist claimed that
the
> word "cherkess" means "cut the head and throw it away". I think he
was
> pulling my leg. "kes" does mean "cut" in Turkic languages, and "cher"
> does seem to have some connection to Ottoman "Yenicheri" (new
soldiers)
> and possibly has some connection to "cherig" (soldier?). If I recall
> correctly, "cherig" shows up in old Turkic (Clauson).
>
> The people who are designated under these words call themselves
"adighe".
> The "adighe" people have subgroups. The person whose books you should
> read are Hewitt. The Adighe/Abkhaz are said to linguistically belong
to
> the same family. There are some Abkhaz north of the Caucasus in the
> Karachay-Cherkessia republic. These got there apparently after the
14h
> century and are called "Abaza".
>
> Now, there is a people called "Iazyg" (allegedly Iranian) somewhere
around
> the Carpathian mountains ((Pannonia) circa 200 CE. The Kabardians are
not found in
> their present place until very late and they were semi-nomadic. Now,
> Kabars were a subtribe of the Khazars who migrated to Pannonia.
Malcolm
> has shown that Rumanians (related to Vlachs) moved to Romania
starting
> around 1200s. So maybe they drove the inhabitants of that region
(Iazygs)
> away and they bounced around (nomads) until they found an empty place
to
> settle. But the Alan state (allegedly Iranian) in the North Caucasus
> was destroyed by Timurlane around 1390s. So this is probably the
empty
> space that these nomads found to settle in. It fits.
>
>
>
> --
> Regards, Mark
> /\/\/\/\/\....I love humanity. It's people I can't
stand...../\/\/\/\/\
>
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