As the land occupied by the Kumyks used to be called. Kumyk settlements. How did the Kumyks live and what did they do

KUMYKS (self-name - kumuk), people in Russian Federation(277.2 thousand people), in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia. The Kumyk language of the Kynchak group of Turkic languages. Believers are Sunni Muslims.

Ethnonym

The first mentions of the ethnonym Kumyks are found among the ancient authors Pliny the Elder, Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD) and others. The formation of the Kumyks as an ethnic group dates back to the 12th-13th centuries. On the territory of the Kumyks there were a number of early state formations.

Story

There is no unity among scientists about the origin of the Kumyks. Bakikhanov wrote that “the Kumyk people probably descended from the Kemak, for Ptolemy calls the Kumyks “Kam” and “Kemak”. V.V. Bartold, in turn, believed that “in addition to the Nogays, the Kumyk people formed from the Turkicized Lezgins,” meaning the ethnonym “Lezgins” of the highlanders of Dagestan. Connecting the origin of the Kumyks with the Kypchaks, S. M. Bronevsky believed that the Kumyks appeared in Dagestan in the 12th-13th centuries. together with the Kipchaks.

According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 32,087 Kumyks lived in Dagestan. According to the information of 1891, published in the Alphabetical List of Peoples Living in Russian Empire”, Kumyks lived on the territory of Dagestan and Terek regions with a total number of 108,800 people

Since 1921, the Kumyks have been part of the Dagestan ASSR. The first Soviet census of 1926 recorded 94,549 Kumyks in the USSR. In 1989, the socio-political organization Kumykskoe was formed in Dagestan. People's Movement"Tenglik" (KND), which took a course towards achieving the national-territorial autonomy of the Kumyk people. According to the census of the same year, 281,933 Kumyks lived in the USSR. At the II Congress of the CPV, held in November 1990, the "Declaration on Self-Determination of the Kumyk People" was adopted, setting the idea of ​​creating the Kumyk Republic within the RSFSR. On January 27 of the following year, the II Congress of the Kumyk people was held, at which he was elected governing body nation - Milli Majlis.

Classes

Traditional occupations: arable farming (wheat, barley, millet, rice, corn); cattle breeding, including transhumance (cattle, sheep, horses), as well as horticulture, horticulture, viticulture, fishing, beekeeping, trade, salt and oil extraction, and hunting. Home trades and crafts: cloth-making, cotton weaving, carpet weaving (traditional women's occupations), leather, metal, wood, stone processing (men's occupations), etc.

Family

In the 19th century, remnants of patriarchal-tribal relations (tukhum, taipa, kavum) were still preserved. The main type of family is a small one with subordination to an older one (a man, less often a woman), although the family council played an important role in solving important issues. In addition to kinship ties, the institutions of atalyk and kunachestvo were developed.

The layout of villages is horizontal. Traditional housing: ground turluch, adobe with a flat gable roof and stone with a flat roof (one-story, one-and-a-half-story, two-story of various layouts).

traditional clothing

National costume: male - shirt, trousers, beshmet (kaptal), cherkeska (chepken), fur coat (ton), cloak (yamuchu), papakha (papakh, burk), leather shoes; female - shirt dress, pants (shalbar), various dresses (polsha, arsar, kabalai), scarves, chutku, leather chuvyaks, shoes, galoshes without a back. The costume, especially for women, was complemented by various decorations.

Folklore

Ritual poetry: songs for calling rain (Zemire, Sutkatun), sun (gyun chyk), harvesting (Gyudyurbai), Navruz; wedding (toi) and funeral poetry (yaslar, vayakhlar). Epic poetry consists of heroic epic (in particular, about the Narts), heroic-historical and historical songs; folk prose - from fairy tales, legends, traditions, anecdotes, etc.; aphoristic genres - from proverbs, sayings and riddles. Musical folklore, choreography (a kind of "lezginka"), as well as folk games, etc., have received great development.

Beliefs

The traditional beliefs and mythology of the Kumyks have been transformed. Rudimentary ideas about the god Tengiri, the spirits of the earth, water, forest, house, demonic creatures Albasly, Kylychtyosh, Suvanasy, Basdyrykye, etc., have been preserved.

With someone's light hand, Dagestan is now called the "country of mountains", but this statement is clearly erroneous. Mountain birds fly only over half of the territory of the republic. Above the other half - to the north and east of the mountains, especially over the Kumyk plain - steppe eagles soar in the sky.

Of course, this is a geographical allegory, but it very accurately defines the area where the Kumyks live - the northern foothills of the republic and the entire steppe Dagestan.

The Kumyks are a Turkic-speaking people, whose history, unfortunately, still retains many white spots. Which, by the way, is also characteristic of other peoples who have lived in the steppe zone of Europe and Asia since ancient times: very few traces of the material culture of the steppes are known to historians and archaeologists.

According to one version, the Kumyks are the surviving Cumans. However, this statement does not apply to all Kumyks.

The fact is that the Kumyk society in Dagestan is traditionally divided into two, and the “watershed” has long been along the Sulak River.

Differences are observed not only in the language, but also in the appearance of the northern and southern Kumyks. Northern Kumyks, those that come from the Polovtsy, are usually fair-haired and blue-eyed (blue-eyed). Their appearance is consistent with the original meaning of the old Russian word "Polovtsian" - yellow, straw, the color of chaff.

The southern Kumyks are more like the Kipchaks, their faces have more characteristic Asian features, they are usually dark-haired and dark-eyed, with eyes of a “Mongolian” section.

The history of the Kumyks is the history of the south of our country. As Arab travelers noted back in ancient times: “Dasht-i-Kipchak was a country that stretched in length for 8 months of travel, and in width for 6 months of travel. Allah knows best!” "Dasht" means "steppe".

Work, work, work all your life... A real aksakal is one who has something to bequeath to his descendants.

"Dasht-i-Kipchak" - the land of the Turkic-speaking. Or "Polovtsian Field", as they later talked about it in Rus'.

It so happened that the steppes, the Polovtsians, entered the history of Russia with the reputation of "wild nomads", "backward people". Is she deserving? In Arabic and Byzantine sources, the Polovtsy are spoken of as a developed and cultured people.

It would also be reckless to reduce the interaction of ancient Russian and Polovtsian cultures to mere violence and confrontation. The depth and complexity of ancient connections is evidenced by at least the fact that more than 300 familiar Russian surnames are of Turkic origin. Including such: Suvorov, Kutuzov, Turgenev, Chaadaev, Aksakov...

The current Kumyks are Muslims, Sunnis. But it was not always so. Before the conquest of the Caucasus by Russia, Christianity dominated among the peoples of Dagestan. There was a time when a Catholic bishop was appointed from Rome in the Caspian region. The remains of temples are still preserved, crosses are found in the places of ancient cemeteries.

Khristianstao began to spread in the Caucasus from about the 3rd aek, and among the peoples of Desht-i-Kipchak - a little later. This was especially facilitated by iconoclasm, which in the 8th century stirred up Byzantium and led to flows of iconodules to neighboring states, mainly to the north.

The religious situation of the Turkic-speaking peoples has changed more than once throughout their history. Under the onslaught of the Arab caliphate in the middle of the VIII century, Islam (the Shiite branch) began to spread, but it did not take root in the Christian environment. Through the Polovtsians in the 10th century, Christianity, apparently, came to pagan Rus'.

The XIII century was fatal for the ancestors of the Kumyks - then the Mongol invasion began. The state of Desht-i-Kipchak, not bound by the unity of spirit and faith, split: Catholics and Orthodox, Old Believers and Dukhobors, Shiites and pagans united around their gods in the face of impending danger.

It was in the 13th century, according to traditional science, that the Polovtsian people "disappeared", and - that it still does not explain in any way! - there were other peoples. In Crimea - Crimean Tatars; in the Danubian steppe - Cumans, Kumaks, Gagauzes, Kuns; in the North Caucasus - Karachays, Balkars, Kumyks.

The Encyclopedia of the 19th century wrote the following:

“The Kumyk songs reflect the moral image of the Kumyk - reasonable and observant, with a strict concept of honor and fidelity to a given word, responsive to someone else's grief, loving his land, prone to contemplation and philosophical reasoning, but who knows how to have fun with his comrades. As a more cultured people, the Kumyks have always enjoyed great influence on neighboring tribes..

It is unlikely that such a characterization could be given to the descendants of a wild, backward people.

Kumyk life to this day keeps features reminiscent of the traditions of their ancestors. For example, the description of cooking among the Polovtsy is curious (Arab travelers told about it). Any Kumyk today recognizes his national dishes in these recipes.

For example, roll out the dough thinly, cut into small squares, and then boil in broth and eat, pre-flavored with sour milk and garlic. This dish is called khinkal among the Kumyks. And it is prepared in exactly the same way as a thousand years ago.

Kumyks also bake bread like the Polovtsy - in the oven, from sour dough. None of the peoples of Dagestan makes such bread. Thousands of years ago, the steppe people prepared a miracle - this is still the name of a special Kumyk pie with cottage cheese or cheese or grass. For its manufacture, as before, "nothing is needed except water, salt and dough."

The Kumyk national cuisine is very simple and satisfying, the way of life in the steppe required from people just such - Spartan - cuisine.

Kumyk villages have a strict "quarterly" layout. Each quarter is inhabited by either one clan, or people of the same class, or of the same nationality. At least that was the case until recently.

Among the northern Kumyks, the villages were called “yurt”, and among the southern ones - “kent” (on the maps of Dagestan, the old history is still preserved: Khasavyurt, Babayurt, Kayakent, Yangikent ...). They had Jewish and Talysh quarters. The Jews were engaged in trade and small handicrafts, and the Talish have always been considered the best gardeners in the Caucasus.

The so-called one-sided building prevailed, the streets were laid straight and even. It was customary to place outbuildings in the depths of the courtyard, and either the house itself or the garden came to the fore. Kumyk villages looked exceptionally neat.

True, the Kumyks have never been distinguished by sophistication in architecture. Main building material the northern Kumyks had adobe - an unbaked brick made of clay and straw. The southern Kumyks used natural stone, which was usually used unprocessed.

The only exception, perhaps, was the village of Tarki - the capital! - where the Kumyk shamkhal, the supreme ruler, used to live.

Unfortunately, modern barbarians have destroyed all the beautiful buildings that until recently led to the admiration of people. Such buildings of the 17th-19th centuries as the palace of Shamkhal-Shah-Wifi, the Khan's palace and other works of architects can only be judged by the enthusiastic reviews of contemporaries.

The interior decoration of the Kumyk courtyard, both before and now, indicates that practicality and convenience are in the first place in everyday life, and only then - beauty.

The house was divided into two parts. The first, working, was called "tavchu", it was cleaned without fuss. A copper cauldron hung over the hearth, they stoked it in a black way, so a hole was supposed to be in the ceiling of the house - a chimney. And under this hole it was customary to put a basin of water at night so that the attacker would not throw a burning brand or enter the house.

Now in Kumyk houses, the tavchu is completely different - modern, but the habit of putting a basin of water at night or leaving the lights on in some places, they say, has been preserved. Just in case!

It was customary to put ovens for baking bread in the yard. Such “uy pech” in the villages laid out one for several families, but families were necessarily only from their own quarter.

The other half of the house was reserved for housing. And the larger the house was, the larger was this half, in which the best room was called Kunatsky. This is the age-old tradition, which drew the attention of Arab travelers in the Middle Ages.

Previously, carpets were laid on the floor, usually thin, lint-free, which in Dagestan were made only by Kumyk craftswomen. On the floor, the Kumyks both ate and slept. In each house there was a whole ritual of laying out beds, laying mattresses, blankets and pillows. Only women did this.

In general, household duties were always divided very strictly. As a rule, everything that is done outside the house and outside the yard fell on the man. Everything inside the house is the lot of a woman. Especially dishes, which were previously given an almost cult significance.

The house was equipped with special shelves for dishes. Separately for porcelain - festive and everyday - and for copper. In simple families, it was copper utensils that were considered a symbol of wealth, sometimes it replaced money: the more it was, the more respected the family became. The bride was judged by the number of copper utensils. On the wall in the house, sometimes all kinds of copper items hung from floor to ceiling. It was also customary to decorate dwellings with weapons ... Only by the end of the 19th century did it begin to penetrate into the life of the Kumyks European culture and changed her life beyond recognition.

It is useless to search now, for example, even elements national clothes at the Kumyks. Unless women, especially middle-aged ones, still kept something in their clothes from former times. For example, scarves. Kumyk national scarf is finest work art. Just like a hat, the shape of which, the finish could tell a lot dedicated person about the owner ... Now all this is history, like discreet jewelry, like daggers, which were previously mandatory for any self-respecting man.

Desht-i-Kipchak - the Polovtsian Field - finally ceased to exist after the Azov campaigns of Peter I. Then the mass Russification of the Polovtsians began, painful, like all processes of this kind.

Descendants of the ancient Kipchaks - that is, a significant part of the modern population Central Russia- live unaware of their recent history (only two centuries!), of their cultural and genetic roots, which fed and always feed any nation.

Candidate of Economic Sciences M. ADZHIEV

The Kumyks are one of the indigenous peoples of the Republic of Dagestan, belonging to the oldest in the North Caucasus Caspian anthropological type of a large Caucasoid race in some groups with an admixture of the Caucasian type. They speak the Kumyk language, which is one of the old written literary languages ​​of Dagestan. It is included in the Kipchak subgroup of the Turkic languages, however, it also contains more ancient elements of the language of the Scythians (VIII-III centuries BC), Cimmerians (VIII century BC), Huns (IV century AD), Bulgars, Khazars (V-X centuries) and Oghuz (XI-XII centuries), indicating that the Kumyk people is one of the historical successors of these ethnic groups, formed on a local autochthonous basis. The Kumyk language has the following dialects: Buynak, Kaitag, foothill, Khasavyurt and Terek, the latter is also represented in Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Literary language developed on the basis of the Khasavyurt and Buynak dialects. 99% of Kumyks consider their native language to be their native language (1989). The Russian language is also widespread (74.5% of Kumyks are fluent in it).

The tribes that played a certain role in the ethnogenesis of the Kumyks, to one degree or another, used the Albanian and runic ancient Turkic graphics. There is evidence that writing for the Dagestan Huns (Savirs) was created by Byzantine-Armenian missionaries, in the Khazar period - a new writing based on Greek alphabet, in addition, the kagans - the leaders of the Khazars - used the Hebrew alphabet in correspondence. In connection with the Arab conquests, the penetration of Islam and Islamic culture into the region from the VIII-X centuries. the Arabic script is gradually spreading here, which has undergone a reform, adapted to the sound system of local languages, including Kumyk (adjam). In 1929, the Kumyk language was translated into Latin script, and since 1938 - into Russian. At the end of the nineteenth century. the first printed books in the Kumyk language are published. However, the handwritten Arabicographic tradition has a much earlier distribution; its monuments include, for example, “Derbend-name” (late 16th century) - one of the first original sources on the history of the peoples of Dagestan.

Kumyks live in their original territory - the Kumyk Plain and in the foothills adjacent to it from the Terek River in the north to the Bashlychay and Ulluchay rivers in the south. They are the largest of the Turkic ethnic groups of the North Caucasus and the third largest among the peoples of Dagestan, accounting for 13% of the population of the republic. The total number of Kumyks in Russia and the CIS countries is about 350 thousand people, incl. in Dagestan 278.6 thousand people. (as of 01.01.2001). The natural increase over the last decade is about 15%. More than half (52%) of the Kumyks are settled in 8 rural administrative districts of the Republic of Dagestan. In the Kumtorkalinsky district, there are 67.5% of them, in Karabudakhkent - 62%, Buynaksky - 55%, Kayakent - 51%, Babayurt - 44%, Khasavyurt - 28.5%, Kizilyurt - 13.6%, in Kaitag - 9% of the population of the districts. In Makhachkala they make up 15% of the population, in Buynaksk - a third, Khasavyurt - a quarter, and Kizilyurt - a fifth of the population. In Izberbash - 17% and Kaspiysk - 10%. In Derbent, Kumyks are less than one percent. Some of the Kumyks are settled in urban-type settlements: in Tarki - 91% of the population, Tyube - 36%, Leninkent - 31.3%, Kyakhulai - 28.6%, Alburikent - 27.6%, Shamkhal - 26.8%, Manaskent - 24.9%.

Outside of Dagestan, more than 20% of all Kumyks are located in the CIS. Relatively large groups, numbering more than 10 thousand people, Kumyks live in the Gudermes and Grozny regions of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the Mozdok region of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. A small part of the Kumyks settled in Stavropol, Tyumen region(more than 3 thousand people), as well as in the republics of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan (about 4 thousand people in total), in Turkey, Jordan and some other countries of the world.

Starting approximately from the Khazar time to the first third of the XX century. the language of the future Kumyks, and then the Kumyk language itself, which developed back in the pre-Mongol era, served as the language of interethnic communication in the North Eastern Caucasus. The Kumyk language was, moreover, official language correspondence with the Russian tsars, representatives of the Russian administration, he studied in the gymnasiums and schools of Vladikavkaz, Stavropol, Mozdok, Kizlyar, Temir-Khan-Shura, etc.

The ancestors of the Kumyks, obviously, were part of the state associations of the Scythians, Cimmerians, Huns, Savirs, Barsils, Bulgars; Khazars and Kypchaks played a particularly important role in the history of the Kumyks.

The formation of the Kumyk people with its current Kypchak language dates back to the 12th-13th centuries. Kumyks already in the second half of the nineteenth century. were a relatively highly consolidated people with developed ethnic characteristics: the spread of a single endoethnonym (reflecting high level self-awareness and self-identification according to the principle “we - they”, as well as the degree of intra-ethnic cohesion) and language, the presence of a single cultural core, the regularity of trade, economic and cultural relationships, etc. The process of ethnocultural consolidation did not eliminate the division into ethnographic groups (Bragun, Buynak, Kayakent, Mozdok, Khasavyurt Kumyks) and sub-ethnic groups (Bashlyns, Kazanischens, Endireevs, etc.), which retained some specific features in culture, life, language, folklore, etc. The traditions of statehood that developed in the medieval period were continued in the subsequent time, when in the XVIII-XIX centuries. there were such political formations as the Tarkov shamkhalate, the Mekhtulin khanate, the Zasulak Kumykia - the Endireev, Kostek and Aksaev possessions, in present-day Chechnya - the Bragun principality; the southern Kumyks were part of the Kaitag Utsmiystvo. A special place was occupied by the Tarkovsky shamkhal (shavkhal), whose sovereignty was recognized by other Kumyk and other rulers. IN social relations Kumyk society also consisted of nobles, bridles of various categories, peasants of varying degrees of dependence, etc.

After the final annexation of Kumykia to Russia, the supreme power is concentrated in the hands of the tsarist military command.

From the 16th century close trade and diplomatic relations of the Kumyks with Russia are recorded, which intensified with the construction of the Terek town (1589) at the mouth of the Terek. At the beginning of the XIX century. Kumykia was annexed to Russia. After the formation of the Dagestan region (1860, the center of the city of Temir-Khan-Shura) is actually liquidated political power shamkhal, khans and biys; instead of the former possessions, districts were created: from the Kaitag utsmiystvo and Tabasaran, the Kaitago-Tabasaran district was formed, from the Tarkovsky shamkhaldom, the Mekhtulin khanate and the Prisulak naibdom, the Temir-Khan-Shurinsky district of the Dagestan region; on the territory of the Endireevsky, Aksaevsky and Kostek possessions, the Kumyk (later Khasavyurt) district of the Terek region is formed. Kumyks made up the main population (more than 60%) of the Temir-Khan-Shurinsky and Khasavyurt districts, and in the Kaitago-Tabasaran district - approx. 15% of the population. In 1920 when the Dagestan ASSR was created, the Khasavyurt district became part of the republic, i.e. the administrative unity of most of the territory of the Kumyks was restored (with the exception of the Bragun and Mozdok).

Since ancient times, the leading branch of the Kumyk economy has been agriculture, especially grain. The Kumyks knew a three-field system of agriculture with alternating crops; applying artificial development, they received horticulture, melon growing, horticulture and viticulture. The second largest industry National economy was animal husbandry, the development of which was facilitated by the presence of a good fodder base. Animal husbandry was predominantly stationary. Residents of Nagorny Dagestan rented winter pastures on the plain (kutans) from the Kumyks, while the Kumyks used the summer pastures of the highlanders on the same lease terms. These regulated centuries-old traditions largely contributed to the formation of a community of economic interests of the inhabitants of Dagestan, a rational division of labor, and the exclusion of interethnic conflicts based on land claims.

The most important trade routes in the Eastern Caucasus, in particular, the Great Silk Road, passed through Kumykia. The Kumyk Plain was the main breadbasket for many regions of Dagestan - all this led to a significant development of trade and the economy of the Kumyks; the processes of involving lowland Dagestan into the all-Russian market and the penetration of capitalist relations are intensifying.

The main type of settlement among the Kumyks is a village - yurt, gent, avul; the last term is more often referred to as quarters. On the territory of Kumykia there were many ancient and medieval cities (Semender, Belenger, Targu, Enderi, etc.), most of the Dagestan cities of the modern type are located here (Makhachkala, Buynaksk, Khasavyurt, etc.). As a result of large-scale resettlement activities carried out by the leadership of Dagestan in the 1950-1970s, more than 350 thousand mountaineers were resettled from the mountains to the plains, in addition, some of the mountaineers (more than 100 thousand people) moved on their own. All this led to the fact that the Kumyks lost a significant part of the land on their original territory, lost their compactness of residence, turned into an ethnic minority, which faces the problem of self-preservation as an ethnic group.

In the 19th century The main type of Kumyk family was a small family, although in some places undivided families or family communities of up to 25-30 people remained. All members of the family were subordinate to the head, who, as a rule, was a man, older in age and enjoying unquestioned authority; however, in deciding important issues, the main role was played by the family council, which included all adult men and some older women.

From the 8th-12th centuries, Sunni Islam with all its inherent features became widespread among the Kumyks. There is evidence that before this period, Christianity gained some distribution, and among the top of the Khazaria - Judaism. Obviously, the early penetration of Islam into the region is due to the fact that the pagan beliefs of the Kumyks are relatively poorly preserved, the institution of shamanism as such is practically not recorded, although the rudiments of similar institutions (halmach, etne) have been preserved. Folklore and ethnographic material allows us to talk about the worship of the Kumyk tribes to the supreme god Tengiri, deities and spirits of the Sun, Moon, Earth and Water, etc. Visits, oral stories, ritual songs, and others about demonological creatures have been preserved - Al-basly (an ugly woman), Suv-anasy (Mother of Water, she can drown bathers), Temirtyosh, Baltatesh, Kylychtyosh (they have an ax or saber blade sticking out of their chest), Syutkatyn (obviously, a goddess, the spirit of rain and fertility), Basdy-ryk (in a dream it can suffocate people), Sulag (a gluttonous creature), etc. Muslim mythology has become widespread among the Kumyks, which partially overlapped with pagan beliefs and transformed them “to please themselves”. So, in funeral rituals and poetry, along with Muslim regulations (especially in the process of burial), ideas about afterlife, and the elements pagan beliefs, as well as some rituals and songs: shagalai - a kind of lamentations and a ritual “dance” around the deceased, a rite of passage to a dead horse, etc. At present, there is an increase in the role of Muslim, partly pagan beliefs and rituals.

Ornamental art reached a significant level among the Kumyks. So, in old houses great importance was attached to carved ornament, which decorated the wooden parts of the house and the gate.

Kumyk tufted and lint-free carpets, felt carpets, mats, saddlebags were distinguished by their originality and high artistic qualities. The Kumyk people created highly artistic samples of folklore. The heroic epic includes “Yyr (song) about Minkyullu”, dating back to ancient times and in a number of characteristics similar to the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, “Yyr about Kart-Kozhak and Maksuman” - a monument of the Kumyk Nart epic, “Yyr about Javatbiye”, which, like in the Oguz epic about Grandfather Korkut, tells about the struggle of the hero with the angel of death Azrael, and others. The Nart epos also became widely spread. The “Tale of the Battle of Anji” reflects the period of the Arab-Khazar wars.

The calendar-ritual poetry is represented by songs calling rain (Zemire, Syutkatyn, etc.), autumn songs (Gyudyurbai, Gyussemey, etc.), songs of welcoming spring (Navruz), etc.

The Kumyk dance, which had about 20 variants, belongs to the Lezginka type, it is distinguished by a number of features characteristic of a developed choreography.

Kumyk literature began to take shape in the 14th-15th centuries. (Ummu Kamal, Baghdad Ali, Muhammad Awabi, etc.), however, it reached a significant level in late XVIII-XIX centuries, when such great poets as A. Kakashurinsky, Yirchi Kazak, M.-E. Osmanov and others appear. big development educational and revolutionary-democratic literature receives (N. and Z. Batyrmurzaev, G.B. Beibulatov, A. Akaev, K. Jamaldin, A. Dadav, etc.). A.-P. Salavatov, Yu. Gereev, A. Magomedov, B. Astemirov (one of the founders and the first chairman of the Writers' Union of Dagestan), A. G. Ibragimov, A. Akavov, A.-V. Suleimanov, A. Adzhamatov, A. Adzhiev, A. Kurbanov, Kh. -S. Yakhyaev, M. Atabaev and others. The outstanding Russian poet Arseny Tarkovsky and his son, the world-famous film director Andrei Tarkovsky, go back to the Kumyks on the paternal side.

The Kumyk theater, which is the first of the national theaters of Dagestan, was founded in 1930, such outstanding Dagestan actors as People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the Stanislavsky Prize B. Muradov, People's Artists of the RSFSR and DASSR A. Kurumov, T. Gadzhiev, G. Rustamov and others played on its stage. I. Kaziev makes a significant contribution to the development of Dagestan cinema.

T. Muradov, I. Batalbekova, Z. Aleskenderov, G. Bekbolatov, B. Ibragimova, B. Elmurzaeva, U. Arbukhanova and others were and are very popular among the masters of performing arts. Masov, Kh.Batyrgishiev and others.

Speaking about sports, it should be mentioned that the world-famous wrestler and circus performer Al-Klych Khasaev (Rubin), who defeated Ivan Poddubny, as well as Sali Suleiman Kazanischensky, Ali Kazbek, N. Nasrullaev, A. Nasrullaev, S. Absaidov, M.-G. Abushev, Z. Gaidarbekov, A. Por Sukov, etc.

During the years of Soviet power, Dagestan medicine achieved significant success, highly qualified personnel grew up (corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences R.P. Askerkhanov, dozens of doctors and candidates of sciences among the Kumyks).

Astronomical knowledge was also quite well developed among the Kumyks, as evidenced by the presence of the names of many planets and constellations, a number of which served practical purposes: determining the cardinal points, seasons, days, etc.

Speaking about the contribution of the Kumyks to the development of science, we note such prominent scientists as: Muhammad Avabi (author of “Derbend-name”), Alikulikhan Valeh Dagestani (1710-1756, compiler of the anthology “Garden of Poets”, containing information about 2594 poets of the X-XVII centuries), Ahmed-Saib Kaplan (1859-1920, politician, author of more than 10 mono on the history and politics of Turkey), Abu-Sufyan Akaev (1872-1931, an outstanding educator, scientist, poet, book publisher, public figure), Gaidar Bammatov (1890-1967, a major political figure, author of the fundamental work on the history and culture of the Muslim world “Faces of Islam” and numerous other works), Muzhaetdin Khangishiev (1905-1971, major aircraft designer, head of a department at the Tupolev Design Bureau, twice winner of the USSR State Prize), Murad Kaplanov (1915-1980, chief specialist in space technology, chief expert in color television technology, twice winner of the State Prize of the USSR), N. Bammatov (scientist-coordinator for world culture at the UN), T.-B. Turkic history, one of the leading historians of Turkey, the author of numerous monographs on the history of the ancient Caucasus and the Middle East), Yashar Aydemir (professor at the University of California, a prominent physicist), S.Sh. Hajiyeva (a major ethnographer, author of many fundamental works), etc.

For many centuries, the Kumyks, like other peoples of Dagestan, had to fight for independence and the preservation of their statehood, their lands. This activity was led by outstanding sons of the Kumyk people, among whom it should be noted, for example, Sultan-Mut of Endireevsky, the prince, who, in particular, inflicted a crushing defeat on the troops of the royal governor Buturlin in 1604, about which N. Karamzin wrote that “this battle ... cost us from 6 to 7 thousand soldiers and erased the traces of Russian possession in Dagestan for 118 years”; Ahmed Khan Dzhengutayevsky, who led the struggle of the Dagestanis against the Iranian Shah Nadir (XVIII century); Khasaikhan Utsmiev, general of the Russian army, friend of M.-F. Akhundov, A. Dumas, A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, who resolutely protested against the humiliation and colonization of the Caucasus and was eventually forced to commit suicide ...

In the turbulent years of the revolution and civil war, such prominent figures who were at the helm of the events of that time, such as U. Buynaksky, J. Korkmasov, G. Bammatov, N. Tarkovsky, S.-S. Kazbekov, Z. Batyrmurzaev, and others often found themselves on opposite sides of the “barricades”.

In battles with fascist invaders from among the Kumyk people (on the eve of the war there were only 100 thousand people), six were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union(including Abdulkhakim Ismailov - Hero of Russia, who, together with two comrades, was the first to hoist the Banner of Victory over the defeated Reichstag), two Kumyks became full Knights of the Order of Glory, many thousands of Kumyks were awarded other high awards for the heroic defense of their homeland.

Kumyk settlements

Before cities appeared on the Kumyk plain, the main settlements of the Kumyks, as well as other peoples of Dagestan, were villages. They carried in their name a binding to the location. So, among the northern Kumyks, their names ended in yurt(Khasavyurt, Babayurt, Botayurt, Adilyangiyurt, Sultanyangiyurt, Karlanyurt, etc.), the southern Kumyks have "kent" and "gent" (Bashlykent, Kayakent, Yangikent, Usemikent, Alhodzhakent, etc.). The Kumyks also have a word aul(Endireyaul, Kandauraul, Chontaul, Nutsalaul, Halimbekaul, Muslimaul, Agachaul, etc.).

Botayurt became the most famous village of Kumyks in agricultural terms after the construction of the Sulak-Yuzbash Canal in 1874-1875 - Koysuv tatavul- (Koisuv ditch.) This canal, 60 miles long, passed in the middle of the village of Botayurt.

Its presence gave the Bota-Yurt residents the opportunity to keep moisture-loving animals in the courtyard: draft buffaloes and dairy buffaloes. The draft buffaloes delighted the cabbies with their mighty strength. They carried heavy loads from Botayurt to the city of Khasavyurt, from there to the city of Kizlyar and back.

A similar occupation of cabbies arbachs called to carry kire(cargo), and peasant cabbies were called kirechi. They harnessed buffaloes, oxen and horses, depending on what kind of cargo they carry where. Gamish arba- a cart drawn by buffaloes, ogyuz arba- a wagon drawn by oxen at arba- horse carriage. Kirechi were hired by wealthy entrepreneurs and received money for their work, unlike plowmen - sabanchy who worked in the field. Sabanchy- plowman, arbachy-cab, suvchu- waterer, bavchu-gardener, Tuvarches-shepherd, koichu-shepherd were the main professions of the Bota-Yurt people.

The most interesting Kumyk settlements - farms also had their own names depending on the place of foundation - flock among the Khasavyurt Kumyks (Germenchikotar, Chagarotar, Adilyotar, Kachuvotar, etc.) and mahi all other Kumyks. The inhabitants who settled here were residents of nearby large auls, who bred cattle and sowed grain on the "Otar" lands.

Gradually, large settled farms grew out of temporary small farms in 5-10 households, losing dependence on those auls from where the farmers had once moved. This is how large villages were formed from small farms, retaining their origin in the name.

Since the 1950s, in Soviet time, these settlements grew so much that many of them did not differ from other large settlements either in the number of inhabitants, or in the type of buildings, or in cultural appearance, although they continue to bear the old names to this day flock.

And the large, large villages of the Kumyks, in turn, also consisted of the so-called quarters. So, in Endirey there were 8 quarters that exist to this day: Borag'anaul, Ariberiaul, Tyumenchogar, Aydemirchog'ar, Temirchog'ar, Adilgereichog'ar, Salaaul, Mukhaul.

In one of the oldest villages in Dagestan, the original capital Khazar Khaganate, in the past, the second most important military-strategic and trading point of Dagestan (after Derbent) and once the capital of the largest feudal principality in Dagestan - the shamkhalct of Tarkovsky - the village of Tarki, there were 8 auls: Choggaraul, Dorgeraul, Utgchulakaaul, Bazaraul, Gyuntymesaul, Tebebashaul, Bakaaul, Issisuvaul .

Each quarter had its own head, the princely family, who ruled and looked after the order on their territory.

The development of capitalism rapidly changed appearance Kumyk villages. New neighborhoods, streets, new shopping arcades began to appear. Visiting the cities of Russia, rich Kumyks: merchants and landowners - adopted the experience of building residential buildings and commercial premises and already built their houses and trading establishments in an urban fashion.

On the main street stood the Juma mosque with a high minaret, where everything was usually decided important questions villagers. This street is always called ulluoram(among the northern Kumyks) or ulluelchi(among the southern Kumyks). It was always a little wider than the other secondary streets, and lined with the best houses.

These transformations were especially clearly manifested in the example of the ancient Kumyk village of Aksai (Yakhsai).

The village of Yakhsay consisted of quarters: Alekeyaul, Zagyaul, Kamaraul, Oruskhanaul, Pokluaul, Sabanaiaul, Tobenaul, Tyumenaul, Chagaraul. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new quarter appeared in the village, named after the founders - the German colonists, Nemis-kyutyur (that is, a German farm).

Pre-revolutionary Yakhsay became known as one of the craft centers of the North Caucasus. At the beginning of the 20th century, in the villages Yakhsay had about 50 commercial, industrial and handicraft enterprises: leather manufactories, workshops, factories for firing bricks and tiles. Merchants of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd guilds lived in the village, through whose efforts foreign goods also got here.

By the end of the XIX century. Yakhsay becomes a fairly large settlement for that period, having the main stone-paved street Tash-oram (stone street). Tash-Oram ran past the bridge over the Yakhsaysuv River to the square with the Juma Mosque, opened in 1856, and the madrasah. On both sides of the street there were a school, a pharmacy, a chain of stores, a hotel, as well as one-two-story stone, tiled houses.

In 1879, an elementary Russian school was opened in Yakhsay. The villagers at their own expense repaired 18 rooms of the state-owned building, transferred to the society for the opening of the school.

As a result of many years of communication as neighbors with the Russian people - the Terek Cossacks and peasant peasants in the houses of the Yakhsay people next to kyoruk oven a Russian stove appeared in the courtyard in the house, a bed - instead of tahtamek, table, chairs, samovar, kerosene lamp - instead of sham chirak.

In the same years, several Muslim schools operated in the village, where Arabic and Turkish languages, arithmetic, history, geography, logic and other subjects were studied. Yakhsay has also been known since the 19th century as one of the religious centers of Dagestan. The best experts in the Arabic-speaking sciences were involved in teaching in the rural madrasah.

The most famous of the teachers of the madrasah is sala-uzden Yusup-kadi (Haji-Yusup) Klychev, better known as Yusup Yakhsaysky. He was a prominent theologian, Arabic scholar and author of works on philosophy and logic, knew medicine well, and was considered one of the prominent religious opponents of Imam Shamil. Yusup Yakhsaysky in the fight against muridism was supported by Said Arakansky, Mama-Gishi-Bek Endireysky, Mirza-tagi-mullah of Derbent, Ayub-kadi Dzhengutai, Nurmagomed-kadi Khunzakhsky, Barka-kadi Kakamakhinsky, Zukhum-kadi Akushinsky, Aslan-kadi Tsudakharsky and others.

In 1887, for the first time in the history of this Kumyk village, a state census was conducted here. According to it, there were 1182 households in Yakhsay, where 6610 people lived. Of these, there were 6200 peasants, 135 biys and chanks, 216 artisans, 39 clergy. In those years, 758 lived in Yakhsay zhuvut(Jews), 131 tinkers (Laks), 23 michygysh(Chechens). Shops - stalls ( putkalar) there were 50, mills - 11, mosques - 10.

Such a rapid production growth of Yakhsay marked the beginning of cultural and educational growth. To this day it is called the village of generals, poets and ministers. So, the ranks of generals in pre-revolutionary times were awarded to 5 Yakhsai. In Soviet times, 18 natives of the village received military rank colonel. In 1918, Yusup Hajiyev was appointed Minister of Finance of the Provisional Government of Dagestan. In Soviet times, this village gave three more ministers: Akhmed Ozdeadzhiev - agriculture, Khalit Magidov - education and Kandaur Akavov - agricultural machinery.

The poets and writers of Yakhsay are represented by the names of Magomed-effendi Osmanov, Manai Alibekov, Abdulla Magomedov, Alim-Pasha Salavatov, Bagavdin Astemirov, Abdul-Vagab Suleimanov, Sharip Alberiev, Sirazdin Tokbolatov, Murad Aji and others, in the field of art - Hamida Rustamov, Baisoltan Osaev, Biymurzy Man Taev, Nariman Akavov and others. Many scientists, well-known doctors, athletes, etc. also came out of Yakhsay.

The ancient Kumyk village of Erpeli is located in a picturesque, amazingly beautiful area. Excellent natural and climatic conditions, soft mountains with dense herbage, stretching from south to west, make it possible to keep here tens of thousands of cattle and small cattle, herds of horses. There are numerous springs, and at the foot - age-old forests. The mountains of Ismailtau, Apke, Tavyol, Yassy-but, Madigin, Salatau, Belbuvgan, Zhangere and others are the pride of the Erpelins. Brown bears, wild boars, gazelles, hares, badgers, foxes, wolves, squirrels and many other wild animals and birds lived in the forests. In the forests, the Erpelins prepared firewood for the winter, building materials.

Now the forests are under strict protection. Gas is now used for heating. Three rivers flow from the foot of the mountains: Chernaya - Karaozen, Belaya - Akyozen and Severnaya - Artozen, cutting the village into three parts.

There are also inexplicable miracles... On the left slope of the mountain called Buzluyurek (Ice Heart), nature dug a tunnel, the end of which no one has yet seen. There is always water in this tunnel. In summer it turns into strong ice, and in winter it melts, but does not flow anywhere!

But Erpeli is famous not so much for nature as for its hospitable and friendly people. For a long time, in the lower reaches of the Erpelin mountains, Avars lived in 3 or 5-7 houses, feeding at the expense of household plots and livestock. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Erpelins invited them all to the village, gave them the best irrigated lands for farming on the western edge of the village, helped them settle down in a new place, and accepted them into the collective farm. Now their houses alternate with the houses of the Erpelins, and they themselves intermarried with the locals as a result of marriage unions. Erpeli is one of the largest international villages in the Caucasus. Armenians, Iranians (Persians), Karachays, Tatars, Russians and representatives of almost all nationalities of Dagestan live here.

Therefore, it is not surprising that on such a land and in such conditions, dynasties of famous statesmen imperial Russia, the mighty USSR and today's Russia. This can be seen in the example of the Apashev-Beksultanov family.

Daniyal Apashev (born in 1870 in the village of Erpeli, Temir-Khan-Shurinsky District) was a major public and political figure in Dagestan in 1914–1920. Commandant of the city of Temir-Khan-Shura, Chairman of the Parliament of the Mountain Republic (1919–1920). Shot by the Cheka.

Suyunchgirey Apashev is the eldest son of Daniyal Apashev, a volunteer of the legendary Wild Division (Dagestan Cavalry Regiment). He died in Austria in 1915. Buried at home, in the village. Erpeli.

Magomed Apashev is the youngest son of Daniyal Apashev. At the age of 14 he was forced to run away from home. When the Cheka officers came for Magomed, he was already far from Temir-Khan-Shura. From Baku, his father's kunaks transported him to Central Asia, to Tashkent. In 1926–1931 studied at the Central Asian Institute of Mechanization (Tashkent), where he graduated with honors and became a specialist in internal combustion engines. From 1933 he worked at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant - the famous ChTZ. In 1939 - postgraduate studies at the Moscow Automotive Institute. Recognition of the scientific achievements of Dr. technical sciences Magomed Daniyalovich Apashev was appointed in 1950 as the head of the department for engines for launching rockets at the Institute of Engines of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He formed scientific school out of 19 doctors and more than 30 candidates of sciences, published more than 200 scientific papers, 2 textbooks for high school, according to one of them, students of a number of universities, including foreign ones, are successfully studying today.

M. D. Apashev received more than 15 patents for inventions in the field of rocket science and spacecraft. Almost all of it scientific work are still strictly classified.

Abdulzagir Beksultanov is an energetic, tireless worker who transferred all his savings during the Great Patriotic War - 25,000 rubles - to the State Bank to help the Red Army, for which he received thank you letter from the Supreme Commander I.V. Stalin. The letter was published in the newspaper "Dagestanskaya Pravda", No. 43 (6569) dated March 1, 1944, is located in the National Library. R. Gamzatova.

Kamil Apashev is the uncle of the Beksultanov brothers. During the Great Patriotic War he was a battalion commander. He died a heroic death in the battles for Sevastopol.

Beksultanov Aburagim Abdulzagirovich - older brother, long years successfully headed the largest, multinational Khasavyurt district.

Beksultanov Abdulbasir Abdulzagirovich - the honored builder of the republic, at the head of the PMK, in a short time rebuilt the village of Pervomayskoye, destroyed as a result of an attack by militants in 1996.

Beksultanov Beksultan Abdulzagirovich is a courageous, cheerful person, director of the College of Finance and Economics (Makhachkala).

Beksultanov Kamil Beksultanovich - Director of the Financing Department government programs And accounting Ministry of Regional Development of Russia. Lives and works in Moscow.

Ancient Kumyk villages, located near caravan routes, were often invaded and destroyed by numerous conquerors - Tamerlane, Genghis Khan, Nadir Shah, tsarist army times of imperial Russia and even their warlike neighbors.

Among them, a special place is occupied by the village of Aksai, destroyed by order of Yermolov in 1818, the village of Endirey, destroyed in 1722 by the army of Peter the Great, in 1877 the South Kumyk village of Bashly was burned. The people composed a song in which there are such lines:

Auls of fat-bridles were razed to the ground,

Black beards turned white.

The men were nice

Now they are trampled on by the unworthy.

The Mahdi case is ruined

His own naibs.

Glorious was the city of Bashly,

Now there are only cliffs around it.

After six years of hard hardships spent in forest huts and dugouts, the Bashlins were amnestied, but they were forbidden to restore one common village. At first, the tsarist authorities were going to settle them in six places, then, at the request of the population, a decision was made to found three villages. At the same time, each tukhum (kind), by decree of the district administration, was divided into three parts, each of which was allocated a certain place in one of the auls, but it was strictly forbidden for the whole family to settle compactly.

Struggling with the memory of the uprising and going even to ban the restoration of Bashly, the tsarist administration did not take into account one thing - the ancient city, destroyed to the ground, perished, but did not submit.

In total, representatives of 2852 families participated in the uprising in the Kaitago-Tabasaran district. For the purpose of their additional punishment, they began to collect a penalty fee of three rubles from the yard annually. Considering that a cow in those years cost from 6 to 8 rubles, then it was a lot of money.

The Caucasian war, and then the land decrees of the tsarist administration, were also the reason for the division of the once entire territory of the Kumyk plain. Thus, several Kumyk villages were assigned to the Terek region. Now these villages are located on the territory of present-day Chechnya - Braguny, Darbankhi - New Braguny, the city of Gudermes, Gudermes district, with. Bammatyurt (Grape) Grozny rural area; in Ossetia settlements Kizlyar (Bekish-yurt / Bekovichi / Kuchuk-yurt), Borasuvotar, Malgobekotar.

In the Mozdok district, the village of Kuchukurt, the director of the secondary secondary school For many years Rasul Aliyev has been selflessly engaged in the preservation and promotion of the cultural and historical heritage of the Kumyk people, contributes to the placement of gifted children - school graduates in universities in Moscow and Dagestan, finds patrons for the sports teams of the village, so that the connection between generations is not interrupted even for a minute ...

Kumyks also live in the city of Malgobek in Ingushetia. Here, near the village of Plievo, is located Borga Kas– Mausoleum of the Bragun Khans, a sacred place – ziyarat with an inscription on the walls, sayings from the Koran on Arabic, dated 808 AH, i.e. 1405–1406, and the name of the buried (last) - Bek-Sultan b. Slim-over.

Great trials with fire and sword fell to the lot of the Braguns - Terek Kumyks, as they are called now. The huge hordes of the Mongol-Tatar commander, the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh and the Central Asian conqueror Tamerlane - Aksak Temir left their terrible mark on the memory of our people. And the most terrible misfortune of that time, which overtook our ancestors and almost all North Caucasus, became a plague (bubonic plague - black death). But the people did not disappear. The survivors of our ancestors, one by one and in groups, gathered and again restored their villages. Braguns defended their land - a tribe of Borgans, descendants of the Barsils. In the most difficult conditions of hostilities and terrible diseases, the Braguns survived and live in these villages now, on their native Tersko-Sulak plain.

The power of the Braguns was inherited. The Hudaynad dynasty ruled them until the end of the 19th century, until the establishment Soviet power in the North Caucasus. The last prince of the Braguns was Umalat Taymazov, a descendant of Khudainad. He built a mosque in the village. Braguns at that time. Now the mosque has been restored and is functioning. The imam here is a student of Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov Magomed - Sharip-Khadzhi Mur-tazaliev.

During the Great Patriotic War, the braguns all stood up to defend their homeland: militia men at the front, women and old people in the rear at work on the construction of fortifications in front of the fascists advancing on the Caucasus. 180 people from the Braguns went to the front, 86 of them did not return. Four: Aliev, Huseykhanov, Mamaev and Mezhidov were awarded the highest soldier's awards - the Order of Glory. In 1946, for participation in work on the labor front, they were awarded medals "For Victory in the Great Patriotic war 1941-1945" 97 people - old people, women, teenagers, 9 braguns were awarded the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus".

The harsh mountains of the Caucasus,

Embraced by eternal war

Rattles and roars majestically

Your voice is so disobedient.

Here women are like men

They throw themselves on the trunk,

Here old people and children

Ready to join the fight.

The sea is wearily splashing,

Rushing to the steep shore.

People live in the Caucasus

Fortified by the friendship of centuries.

Interlinear translation from the Kumyk language by M.Atabaev ("Boragunts")

One can support the words of Akhmat Khubiev, a history teacher from the villages. The braguns of the Gudermessky district of Chechnya: “I think the main thing is that the braguns currently live in peace, are confident in their security, feel the strength and justice of the authorities, and this is a great achievement, this is the result of the activities of the presidential team headed by Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov. Every inhabitant of the ancient Bragun tribe thinks so.”

During the Caucasian War, large, well-defended auls also got it. So it happened with the village of Tarki, which was heavily devastated by the raids of the first Imam of Dagestan, Kazi-Magomed, and later by the Murids, Imam Shamil. In order to protect the people from extermination and slavery, Shamkhal Abu Muslim Khan of Tarkov at the height of hostilities in Dagestan prophetically urged the Kumyks to remain faithful and devotion to Russia. Imam Shamil, towards the end of his life, repented that he had been at war with such a strong power as Russia for 25 years.

The wars that swept across the Kumyk Plain and throughout Dagestan caused serious damage to the economy and economy of the region, depleted material and human resources, and halted the development of the Land of Mountains.

Only in alliance with a strong and powerful European state with a developed economy and advanced culture did the peoples of Dagestan see their future and in the middle of the 19th century finally became part of Russia.

The Kumyks are one of the largest indigenous peoples of Dagestan. They speak the Turkic dialect, although anthropologically they are Caucasians.
There is no single point of view on the origin of the Kumyks. According to some scholars, they are the descendants of the Khazars (one of the Kumyk tribes is still called "Shezars"). Others believe that the Kumyks are the Turks who migrated to the Caucasus (the ethnonym "Kumyk" ("mobile, moving") is in an obvious connection with the Turkic ethnonym "Kimak" - in the early Middle Ages, this people created the powerful Kimak Khaganate). The Kumyks themselves consider themselves Tatars by origin, although in manners, customs, and clothing they are more like mountaineers.

The Kumyk ethnos was formed at the end of the Middle Ages. At the end of the 16th century, some Kumyk princes recognized the power of the Moscow tsars. At this time, the first Russian fortresses arose on the Sunzha and its environs.
But in 1604, the Kumyks rebelled and, uniting with the Circassians and Lezgins, forced the governor Buturlin to retreat beyond the Terek. Nevertheless, the Kumyks continued to maintain friendly relations with Russia until 1722, when Peter I undertook a campaign in Persia. Then the Kumyks rebelled again, attacked the Russians, but were defeated. As punishment for their betrayal, the king ordered to plunder the large settlement of Enderi, in which there were then up to three thousand houses.

Since that time, the Kumyks have been invariably loyal to the Russian government. Some of the Caucasian parts of the Life Guards were formed from them.

From the 17th century to the first third of the 20th century, the Kumyk language served as the language of interethnic communication in the Northeast Caucasus. In addition, the Kumyk language was the official language of correspondence with the Russian tsars, representatives of the Russian administration, it was studied in gymnasiums and schools in Vladikavkaz, Stavropol, Mozdok, Kizlyar and other cities. Today, the language of their people is considered native by 99% of Kumyks. Four out of five Kumyks are fluent in Russian.
The Kumyks are the largest Turkic people in the North Caucasus (and the second in the Caucasus after the Azerbaijanis). During their stay in Russia, the number of Kumyks increased almost seven times. Today there are over 422 thousand people. In Dagestan, the Kumyks are the third largest people, accounting for more than 14% of the total population of the republic.

Kumyks have been respected in the Caucasus and Russia since ancient times. The famous Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron says about them like this: “The Kumyk songs reflect the moral character of the Kumyk - reasonable and observant, with a strict concept of honor and loyalty to this word, responsive to someone else's grief, loving his land.”

Until the 20th century, the Kumyks held in high esteem a person, not his wallet. Only a person with a broad soul was called a rich man, in which there is a place for relatives, friends and a guest. The prince could be poorer than a shepherd, and this did not bother anyone. He is a prince, a descendant of a noble family, a son and grandson famous people. And that says it all.
Most of all, the Kumyks were not afraid of poverty - shame.
In the Kumyk auls, society was strictly divided into estates. The princes were surrounded by bridles - professional soldiers, who were also forbidden to work, in peacetime they protected the princely person from all sorts of troubles.

To sit in a cart, the owner of which is of a low class, was revered as the greatest shame. Or - in the presence of others to sit near his wife. Or - enter the kitchen ... And here there was a whole set of unwritten laws and rules.
God forbid, if the prince, even by accident, does some housework or housework - there were whole classes of slaves for this. The shame fell primarily on them, who failed to help the prince in time, who had his own duties to the people.
And here's what's curious - among the Kumyks, it was considered the biggest shame to sell, to do business, as they would say now. Even touching money was forbidden, especially for children. For monetary settlements, the Kumyks invited Jews to their auls. And the cattle were grazed by hired highlanders - tavlu.

For a self-respecting Kumyk prince, the ability to get war trophies was considered a good thing. To rob a passing caravan, steal a herd of horses from the Cossacks - this is a worthy occupation for a self-respecting man.
True, then it was customary to give the loot right and left - to guests, friends, relatives, until the owner had nothing left.
The ancient custom is still alive today. When communicating with a Kumyk, be prepared to give and receive gifts.

Republic of Dagestan Tourism is rapidly developing, offering extensive opportunities for recreation and sightseeing. Tourists are attracted by numerous monuments of nature, architecture and history, as well as the culture of the ethnic community. The republic is located in the northeastern part of the Caucasus, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. The world's largest lake has been called the sea because of its size. It has become one of the most popular holiday destinations on the island due to its warm climate and magnificent sandy beaches. Tourist bases, hotels and sanatoriums are constantly being upgraded, so vacation in Dagestan in 2019 year were almost full.

Tourist opportunities in Dagestan

The unique monument of nature is also the Karadakh gorge, called the "Gate of Miracles". Tourists are also recommended to visit the Sulak Canyon, the Tobot waterfall, the Sary-Kum sand dune, etc. Dagestan Tourism allows visitors to the republic to get acquainted with numerous objects cultural heritage. There are more than 6,000 monuments of culture, architecture and history on the territory. Going to Kaspiysk in Dagestan, rest can be organized on the coast of the Caspian Sea, as well as get acquainted with the sights of the city. Tourists will also be attracted ancient city Derbent, impressive architectural and landscape ensembles.

Choice of travel routeDagestan