Karachays
Encyclopedia
The Karachays are Turkic
speaking people of the North Caucasus
, mostly situated in the Russia
n Karachay-Cherkess Republic
.
speaking people descending from the Kipchaks
and probably the Cumans
, with some admixture of the medieval Alans
and native Caucasians; their Turkic language is the same as the Kumyks
from Daghestan. The Kipchaks and Cumans came to the area of the Caucasus
in 11th century A.D, the state of Alania
established in the Middle Ages had its capital in Maghas
, which some authors locate in Arkhyz
, the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay (others place it in modern Ingushetia
or North Ossetia). In the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur and the decimated population dispersed in the mountains. Timur's intervention to the North Caucasus
introduced the local nations to Islam
; the name "Karachay" means "Black River".
Various points of view exist in contemporary scholarship regarding the origin of the Karachays. Some think that the primary role was played by the Kipchaks or Polovtsians—groups which, under pressure from the Mongols
in the thirteenth century, went into the mountains of the central Caucasus, where the Iranian
-speaking Alans were living. Groups of Alans, assimilated by the Turkic Polovtsians, constituted the nucleus of the Karachay people. In the opinion of other scholars it was earlier Turkic-language groups that took part in the formation of the Karachay ethnic group: Huns
, Bulgars
, and Khazars
, who were living in the northern Caucasus in the ninth to twelfth centuries.
Living for centuries in the Caucasus with the natives, made the Karachays and with their close nation the Balkars
as Caucasians in folklore
and traditions, they adopted the Caucasian way of life and customs, but they kept their Turkic language.
In 1828 the Russian army invaded the area of the Karachay. October 20, 1828 occurred Hasaukinskoe bloodiest battle in which the king's troops (were under the personal command of General Emanuel), equipped with artillery, managed to win. Troops Emanuel lost and injured 163 people, which exceeded the loss of the Russians in the battle with the 30 thousandth shell-Batal Pasha. Karachaevskij elders have taken steps to prevent the massacres of their villages. The day after the battle, when troops are already Emanuel approached to-Dzhurtu, they went to meet the delegation of elders. As a result of negotiations, agreement was reached on the inclusion of Karachi in the Russian Empire. After the annexation has been left intact all the internal self-government Karachi: officials and courts. Proceedings of the neighboring Muslim peoples continued to take place on folk customs and the Sharia. In Karachay even assigned arms, but were taken from Karachai Amanat pledge their loyalty oath.
In 1831–1860, Karachays joined the bloody anti-Russian struggles carried out by Caucasian peoples. In 1861–1880, to escape repression by the Russian army, large numbers of Karachays migrated to Turkey.
Accession (in many ways more formal) Karachi to the empire was considered very important achievement of the king's generals.
In 1942 the Germans permitted the establishment of a Karachai National Committee to administer the "autonomous region" and the Karachais were allowed to form their owon police force and recruit soldiers for a brigade that was to fight with the Wehrmacht. The rather warm welcome of the Germans resulted in November 1943, in the Karachais, being charged with collaboration with Nazi Germany. Most of a total population of about 80 thousand people were forcibly deported and resettled in Central Asia, namely in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In just the first two years of deportation, disease and famine caused the death of 35% of the population. Of the 28 thousand children, 22 thousand (about 78%) perished.
Elders of the Karachai, who were eyewitnesses to these events, described the times as: "Our exile to Central Asia was terrible. The war, the expulsion, the violence and the hunger but, the Karachai were proud and preferred to die rather than to beg, and thus disgrace themselves and their clan". At the same time, many of the Karachai fought in the front lines of World War II against the fascist invaders.
While not documented, the Soviet politician Mikhail Suslov
(one of the main perpetrators of repression against North Caucasian peoples) had a personal dislike of the Karachai. According to eyewitnesses, Suslov was present at a wedding in Karachae, where, during the feast, he assaulted one of the elders, for which he was severely beaten by young mountain people. This, among other others, was the source of subsequent difficulties in the process of repatriation of the Karachay people. After 14 years of exile, in 1957 during the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev
, the Karachai were repatriated home.
, took the valleys and foothills of the Central Caucasus in the water gaps of the Kuban
, Big Zelenchuk River, Malka
, Baksan
, Cherek
and others.
The Karachays and Balkars are very proud of the symbol of the nations, Mount Elbrus
, the highest double-headed mountain in Europe with an altitude 5,642 meters.
is of the Northwestern branch of Turkic languages
, the Kumyk
languages is also the same language, Kumyks
live in northeast Dagestan
.
Most Karachay people follow Islam.
in the early 20th century. Karachays were also displaced en masse to the then Soviet-controlled Central Asia
n states of Uzbekistan
, Kazakhstan
, and Kyrgyzstan
after Joseph Stalin
's relocation campaign in 1944. Since the Nikita Khrushchev
era in the Soviet Union
, many Karachays have been repatriated to their homeland from Central Asia
. Karachays residing in Turkey
have also migrated to numerous Western countries in search of economic opportunity. Today, there are sizable Karachay communities in Turkey
(centered around Afyonkarahisar
), Uzbekistan, United States of America, and Germany
.
was one of the reasons of the establishment of the Karachay's unique character. Karachay people live in communities that are divided into clans and families: Uidegi – Ataul - Tukum – Tiire.
Prominent tukums include: Aci, Batcha (Batca), Baychora, Bayrimuk (Bayramuk), Bostan, Catto, Cosar (Çese), Duda, Hubey (Hubi), Karabash, Laypan, Lepshoq, Ozden, Silpagar, Teke, Toturkul, and many others. There are roughly 32 Karachay tukums. A tukum
is basically a family's clan
-based lineage.
Karachay people are very independent in their behavior and adherence to their freedom. They have strong historically developed traditions and customs which regulate their lives: the wedding, the funeral, the pronouncement of family decisions, etc. They are fiercely loyal to their immediate family, as well, as their "tukum" or clan. They will never offend a guest. Cowardice is the most serious shame for the male.
, Russian novelist and philosopher, Omnibus Edition (anniversary edition), Moscow, Volume 46, page 184.
"The people of the right flank, knowing militancy Karachai and tempered nature, are afraid to touch them and live peacefully with them." - I. Zabudsky, Military Statistical Review of Russian Empire, Stavropol Province. P-Pb, 1851, t.16, ch.1, s.132
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
speaking people of the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
, mostly situated in the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Karachay-Cherkess Republic
Karachay-Cherkessia
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic , or Karachay-Cherkessia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: -Geography:*Area: *Borders:**internal: Krasnodar Krai , Kabardino-Balkar Republic , Stavropol Krai ....
.
History
The Karachays (Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla) are a TurkicTurkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
speaking people descending from the Kipchaks
Kipchaks
Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation...
and probably the Cumans
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
, with some admixture of the medieval Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
and native Caucasians; their Turkic language is the same as the Kumyks
Kumyks
Kumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...
from Daghestan. The Kipchaks and Cumans came to the area of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
in 11th century A.D, the state of Alania
Alania
Alania may refer to:*Alania, the medieval state of the Alans or Alani people in the North Caucasus*The short name of the modern North Ossetia-Alania, one of the Caucasian republics in the Russian Federation...
established in the Middle Ages had its capital in Maghas
Maghas
Known exclusively from Arabic sources, Maghas or Maas was the capital city of Alania, a medieval kingdom in the Greater Caucasus. Its location is uncertain, with some authors favouring North Ossetia and others pointing to Arkhyz in modern-day Karachay-Cherkessia, where three 10th-century churches...
, which some authors locate in Arkhyz
Arkhyz
Arkhyz is a mountainous region in the vicinity of the eponymous aul sitting at an altitude of 1,450 meters in the valley of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk river, in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, Greater Caucasus, Russia, about 70 km inland from the Black Sea shore. The modern village was founded in...
, the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay (others place it in modern Ingushetia
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
or North Ossetia). In the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur and the decimated population dispersed in the mountains. Timur's intervention to the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
introduced the local nations to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
; the name "Karachay" means "Black River".
Various points of view exist in contemporary scholarship regarding the origin of the Karachays. Some think that the primary role was played by the Kipchaks or Polovtsians—groups which, under pressure from the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
in the thirteenth century, went into the mountains of the central Caucasus, where the Iranian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
-speaking Alans were living. Groups of Alans, assimilated by the Turkic Polovtsians, constituted the nucleus of the Karachay people. In the opinion of other scholars it was earlier Turkic-language groups that took part in the formation of the Karachay ethnic group: Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
, and Khazars
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, who were living in the northern Caucasus in the ninth to twelfth centuries.
Living for centuries in the Caucasus with the natives, made the Karachays and with their close nation the Balkars
Balkars
The Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. They are possibly Bulgars or are descended from them...
as Caucasians in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and traditions, they adopted the Caucasian way of life and customs, but they kept their Turkic language.
In 1828 the Russian army invaded the area of the Karachay. October 20, 1828 occurred Hasaukinskoe bloodiest battle in which the king's troops (were under the personal command of General Emanuel), equipped with artillery, managed to win. Troops Emanuel lost and injured 163 people, which exceeded the loss of the Russians in the battle with the 30 thousandth shell-Batal Pasha. Karachaevskij elders have taken steps to prevent the massacres of their villages. The day after the battle, when troops are already Emanuel approached to-Dzhurtu, they went to meet the delegation of elders. As a result of negotiations, agreement was reached on the inclusion of Karachi in the Russian Empire. After the annexation has been left intact all the internal self-government Karachi: officials and courts. Proceedings of the neighboring Muslim peoples continued to take place on folk customs and the Sharia. In Karachay even assigned arms, but were taken from Karachai Amanat pledge their loyalty oath.
In 1831–1860, Karachays joined the bloody anti-Russian struggles carried out by Caucasian peoples. In 1861–1880, to escape repression by the Russian army, large numbers of Karachays migrated to Turkey.
Accession (in many ways more formal) Karachi to the empire was considered very important achievement of the king's generals.
In 1942 the Germans permitted the establishment of a Karachai National Committee to administer the "autonomous region" and the Karachais were allowed to form their owon police force and recruit soldiers for a brigade that was to fight with the Wehrmacht. The rather warm welcome of the Germans resulted in November 1943, in the Karachais, being charged with collaboration with Nazi Germany. Most of a total population of about 80 thousand people were forcibly deported and resettled in Central Asia, namely in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In just the first two years of deportation, disease and famine caused the death of 35% of the population. Of the 28 thousand children, 22 thousand (about 78%) perished.
Elders of the Karachai, who were eyewitnesses to these events, described the times as: "Our exile to Central Asia was terrible. The war, the expulsion, the violence and the hunger but, the Karachai were proud and preferred to die rather than to beg, and thus disgrace themselves and their clan". At the same time, many of the Karachai fought in the front lines of World War II against the fascist invaders.
While not documented, the Soviet politician Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Suslov
Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1965, and as unofficial Chief Ideologue of the Party until his death in 1982. Suslov was responsible for party democracy and the separation of power...
(one of the main perpetrators of repression against North Caucasian peoples) had a personal dislike of the Karachai. According to eyewitnesses, Suslov was present at a wedding in Karachae, where, during the feast, he assaulted one of the elders, for which he was severely beaten by young mountain people. This, among other others, was the source of subsequent difficulties in the process of repatriation of the Karachay people. After 14 years of exile, in 1957 during the premiership of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, the Karachai were repatriated home.
Geography
The Karachay nation, as well as its brother nation, the BalkarsBalkars
The Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. They are possibly Bulgars or are descended from them...
, took the valleys and foothills of the Central Caucasus in the water gaps of the Kuban
Kuban River
The Kuban River is a river in Russia, in the North Caucasus region. It flows mostly through Krasnodar Krai but also in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea....
, Big Zelenchuk River, Malka
Malka River
Malka River , also known as Balyksu River , is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, Terek's left tributary. The length of the river is 210 km. The area of its basin is 10,000 km². The Malka originates in the glaciers on the northern slopes of Mount Elbrus. Its main tributary is the...
, Baksan
Baksan River
Baksan River, also known as Azau is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, a right tributary of the Malka River . The length of the Baksan is 173 km, the area of its drainage basin is 6,800 km². The Baksan originates in the glaciers of the Elbrus. The towns of Tyrnyauz and Baksan are located on...
, Cherek
Cherek River
Cherek River is a river in Kabardino-Balkaria in Russia, a right tributary of the Baksan River . The length of the Cherek is 76 km, the area of its drainage basin is 3070 km². The Cherek is formed by the confluence of the Cherek-Balkarsky and Cherek-Khulamsky Rivers, both of which originate in the...
and others.
Mount Elbrus
Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...
, the highest double-headed mountain in Europe with an altitude 5,642 meters.
Language and religion
The Karachay dialect of Karachay-Balkar languageKarachay-Balkar language
The Karachay-Balkar language is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars. It is divided into two dialects: Karachay-Baksan-Chegem which pronounces two phonemes as and , and Balkar, which pronounces the corresponding phonemes as and .- Alphabet :Modern Karachay-Balkar Cyrillic...
is of the Northwestern branch of Turkic languages
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
, the Kumyk
Kumyk language
Kumyk is a Turkic language, spoken by about 365,000 speakers in the Dagestan republic of Russian Federation....
languages is also the same language, Kumyks
Kumyks
Kumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...
live in northeast Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
.
Most Karachay people follow Islam.
Diaspora
Czarist Russian annexation of the Karachay nation led to mass migration to TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in the early 20th century. Karachays were also displaced en masse to the then Soviet-controlled Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n states of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
after Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's relocation campaign in 1944. Since the Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
era in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, many Karachays have been repatriated to their homeland from Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Karachays residing in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
have also migrated to numerous Western countries in search of economic opportunity. Today, there are sizable Karachay communities in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(centered around Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along the Akarçay River. Elevation...
), Uzbekistan, United States of America, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Character of the nation
The isolated lifestyle among the Caucasus MountainsCaucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
was one of the reasons of the establishment of the Karachay's unique character. Karachay people live in communities that are divided into clans and families: Uidegi – Ataul - Tukum – Tiire.
Prominent tukums include: Aci, Batcha (Batca), Baychora, Bayrimuk (Bayramuk), Bostan, Catto, Cosar (Çese), Duda, Hubey (Hubi), Karabash, Laypan, Lepshoq, Ozden, Silpagar, Teke, Toturkul, and many others. There are roughly 32 Karachay tukums. A tukum
Tukkhum
Tukkhum an alliance of teips, unrelated by blood but united in a higher association for the joint solution of common problems - the protection from enemy attack and economic exchange...
is basically a family's clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
-based lineage.
Karachay people are very independent in their behavior and adherence to their freedom. They have strong historically developed traditions and customs which regulate their lives: the wedding, the funeral, the pronouncement of family decisions, etc. They are fiercely loyal to their immediate family, as well, as their "tukum" or clan. They will never offend a guest. Cowardice is the most serious shame for the male.
Quotations
"The Karachay is a neutral nation, which lives at the root of Elbrus, and excelling by its loyalty, goodliness and bravery." - Leo TolstoyLeo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, Russian novelist and philosopher, Omnibus Edition (anniversary edition), Moscow, Volume 46, page 184.
"The people of the right flank, knowing militancy Karachai and tempered nature, are afraid to touch them and live peacefully with them." - I. Zabudsky, Military Statistical Review of Russian Empire, Stavropol Province. P-Pb, 1851, t.16, ch.1, s.132