Shahdagh people

Shahdagh people (also spelt Shah Dagh, Shakhdag, Shakhdagh and Shadag; Şahdağ in Azerbaijani orthography) is a generic term for several small ethnic groups living in the vicinity of Mount Shahdagh in northern Azerbaijan, particularly in three major villages of the district of Konakhkent (Quba) near the Daghestani border.[1] The Shahdagh ethnic groups generally speak Samur languages of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family.

Ethnic groups

Several ethnic groups are included within the term "Shahdagh people". The name of each ethnic group's village has historically corresponded to the name of the ethnic group:

History and culture

The supposed ancestors of these peoples are the Caucasian Albanians, and each group has its own specific traditions, culture and language.

Shahdagh peoples have specific characteristic family and cultural traditions. It is possible to find many similarities and varieties between the wedding and mourning traditions of Shahdagh people and those of other historical groups, especially Oghuz Turks.[13]

The economic lifestyle of the people of Konakhkent (Quba) district is based on animal husbandry (sheep and goats in the highlands, cattle in the lowlands), gold and silver smithing, weaving, pottery and rug manufacturing. Because of the need to trade goods within the region of Dagestan, many Shahdaghs had to learn to speak Azeri.[8]

Traditionally, the Shahdaghs were governed by rigid endogamous patriarchal clan systems, in which young people were encouraged to marry first or second cousins. That sense of clan cohesion was strengthened by the fact that all land was owned communally by the extended family unit. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet government also succeeded in establishing cooperatives and collectivising many Shah Dagh herds and pasture lands; this policy aroused resentment among the local people.[8]

Even though many Shahdaghs are still aware of their heritage, the Budugs, Khinalugs and Dzheks did not appear in the Soviet censuses of 1959, 1970 and 1979. Ever since the 1920s, they have listed their nationality as Azerbaijani, even though they spoke their own native languages. The fact that they were bilingual in Azeri and were surrounded and vastly outnumbered by Azerbaijanis contributed to their assimilation. Most Russian ethnologists today believe that the Shahdaghs have been all but completely assimilated by Azerbaijanis.[8]

  • Jek people, 1880[14]
  • Jek people, 1880[15]
  • Jek people, 20 August 2012
  • Khinalug residents of the village of Quba, Azerbaijan
  • Khinalugs in the village of Khinalug, Azerbaijan
  • Khinalug resident of the village of Quba, Azerbaijan
  • Khinalugian Suleyman 2007
  • Khinalug resident of Quba District
  • Budukh women from the village of Buduq
  • Buduq village at the beginning of the 20th century

References
  1. Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1 January 1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 590. ISBN 9780313274978.
  2. (in Russian) Будухцы. '''www.terra.su'''. Terra.su. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  3. "Tərxan Paşazadə. "Azərbaycanın milli etnik nümayəndələri – ceklilər", "Azərbaycan Müəllimlər İnstitutunun Xəbərləri", № 1, Bakı, "Müəllim" – 2009, səh.35–43."
  4. Əlhəddin Cekli və Tərxan Paşazadə, «Biz CAN deyirik! Yəni Ceklilər Azərbaycan Naminə!», «Kamal» jurnalı, № 3 (7), iyun 2010, səhifə 44–48.
  5. Большая Энциклопедия в 62 томах: Джеки Archived 27 July 2012 at Archive.today. Soyuzkniga.ru. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  6. (in Russian) Джеки. '''www.terra.su'''. Terra.su. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  7. "ТЕРРА - TERRA (under Хапутлинцы / Haputlintsy)". 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1 January 1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 591. ISBN 9780313274978.
  9. Большая Энциклопедия в 62 томах: Хиналугцы Archived 27 August 2011 at Archive.today. Soyuzkniga.ru. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  10. (in Russian) Хиналугцы. '''www.terra.su'''. Terra.su. Retrieved on 21 January 2012.
  11. Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1 January 1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 383. ISBN 9780313274978.
  12. "ТЕРРА - TERRA (under Ергюджцы / Ergyudzhtsy)". 6 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. "Shahdagh people: wedding habits, mourning ceremonies" (SUMMARY), "Dövlət və Din" İctimai fikir toplusu, (№ 5 (19)), Azərbaycan Respublikası Dini Qurumlarla İş üzrə Dövlət Komitəsi, Bakı – sentyabr-oktyabr 2010, səhifə: 46–56.
  14. Ермаков Дмитрий Иванович. Группа мужчин и мальчиков из селения Джег. Джеки.
  15. Ермаков Дмитрий Иванович. Группа девочек и старуха из селения Джег. Джеки.
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