Cesian peoples or Didoic peoples - a group of peoples living in Russia ( Didoians , Ginukhs , Gunzibs , Bezhintis , Khvarshins ) and Georgia ( Bezhintis and Gunzibs ). They are related to the Avars , as part of which they were taken into account in the censuses of the USSR (except for the 1926 census) and Russia.
They speak Cesian languages , which form a separate group of languages in the Avar-Ando-Tse branch of the Nakh-Dagestan family of languages , in contrast to the Avar-Andean group of the same branch. The differences between the Cesian languages are more significant than between the Andean ones . Most are fluent in Avar . Written in Avar. Believers are Sunni Muslims .
Content
Settlement
The total number (together with the Andean peoples) is 55-60 thousand people (1992, estimate) and 57 498 people. (2002, census). According to the 2002 census, the actual Cesian peoples amounted to 23,111 people. (in the Russian Federation ), including in Dagestan - 22 964 people. [one]
Historically, they live in the southwestern part of Dagestan in the upper reaches of the Andiyskoy Koysu rivers - in the Tsuntinsky district ( tses (Didoites) , Ginuhtsy ), in the south of the Tsumadinsky district ( Khvarshins ), and the Avarskoy Koisu (more precisely, its tributary Khzanor ) - in the Bezhtinsky municipal site ( refugees , Gunzibians ). Many of them are settled in lowland Dagestan .
In addition to Dagestan, they are also compactly represented in the Kvareli municipality of Georgia ( refugees and gunzibs ).
History
First mentioned by ancient authors of the I-II centuries as didors (didoys). Under the name Dido, the Union of Rural Societies was known, uniting many mountain peoples of Western Dagestan . Cappuccino refugees are mentioned in Arabic geographic writings of the 10th century. Georgian chronicles mention Enzebians (Gunzibs) and Huayns (Hvarshins). In the 15th century, the active Islamization of the Cesian peoples began, connected with the increased expansion of the Avar (Khunzakh) khans. Since that time, Dido breaks up into a number of independent unions of rural societies. The process of Islamization was completed mainly by the end of the 18th century. In the mid-1940s, a significant number of families of the Cesian peoples were forcibly relocated to the deserted Chechen territories. In 1957-1958, they were allowed to return to their original places.
Life and Culture
Territorial-related communities (jamaat) united in military-political unions of rural communities ("free societies"). The supreme legislative body of the community was the gathering of men (from the age of 15). The executive and judicial powers were in the hands of the elders. Traditional types of economy are cattle breeding, mainly sheep breeding, agriculture, crafts and crafts. Since the 2nd half of the 19th century, commodity production has been growing. In the last decades of the 20th century, new branches of the economy appeared (gardening, etc.).
The small family prevailed. Undivided fraternal families were preserved occasionally due to economic feasibility. Of great importance were the kinship unions of families - Tukhums. In the jamaat, there could be from 2-3 to 7-8 tukhums (often related to each other). The heads of the tukhumas (most often they are the elders of the community) represented the interests of their tukhum before the community and the union of communities. Tukhum supported his members, gave them recommendations and instructions, within which the choice of marriage partners was preferable. The families were dominated by patriarchal relations.
The villages were located on the slopes of the gorges, had a step-cum-lay-out layout. Access to the village, as a rule, was possible only along one path. In the villages, multi-storey stone battle towers with loopholes were built. Outside, the buildings were facing with blank walls with loopholes. Most often, a mosque was located in the center of the village. In the villages there were several Godekans - places for gathering and spending leisure time for adult men. The main godecan was usually at the mosque. The dwellings are stone, 2-4-storey. The walls of the upper floors were often built of planks or wicker, coated with clay.
Men's clothing is the same with the clothes of other peoples of Dagestan : sheepskin hats , fur coats, cloak , beeshmet , circlet , pants with narrowed trousers, on hold, tunic-shaped shirt without a collar, with long sleeves without cuffs. Mandatory attribute of a man's suit was a dagger. The most common type of shoe is knitted woolen boots with thick quilted wool soles and curved socks.
Women wore shirts (tunic-shaped or detachable at the waist), belted with a cloth belt, trousers tailored from two panels, on hold, fur coats, shawls and shawls. An indispensable headdress for girls and women was the cap-nib chukhtu: a small bag covering the hair from the forehead to the nape and descending along the back to the waist.
The main foods were flour, cereals, butter, dried and fresh meat, fat tail, milk, butter, cheese, fresh and dried fruits. Unleavened and sour bread, cakes, several varieties of khinkalas were prepared from flour; cereals were prepared from flour and cereals; meat was consumed most often boiled, with khinkal, sometimes fried; cakes such as miracle and dumplings ( kurze ) were prepared — with cottage cheese, meat, herbs, etc. Calendar holidays: the day of the first furrow, the day of the meeting of winter, etc. —were celebrated with sports, bonfires, processions of mummers, etc. Pre-Muslim performances, faith were preserved. in devils, genies, witches, brownies, etc. Literature and folklore - in Avar and native languages.