Adyghe, A Caucasian Tribe
The real Caucasians - Circassan indigenous tribes' struggle for autonomy and cultural integrity.
The Adyghe people are one of many indigenous tribes of the Caucassus region, displaced by Russian invaders. Caucasian doesn't mean "white". Meet the real deal.
The Adyghe tribes are only recognised as a nation in western history as late as10 A.D., but there are many earlier references to their society in ancient texts. They were invaded initially by Mongols, Avars, Pechenegs, Huns and Khazars.
However, they still managed to maintain their independence until the late 1700’s, when they were colonised by Russia. They are in a region known as the Caucasus, whose many tribes Russia also colonised. These included the peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan. All these tribes of the Caucasus were subjected to wholesale dispossession and removal, much the same as native tribes the world over.
The pre-colonial Adyghe were warriors in a matriarchal society where women and men fought side by side. Since Russian colonisation the matriarchy has been destroyed, although elements of it still remain in Adyghe culture and society, in which women are highly respected and honoured.
Before the Russian colonisation two of the tribes had established democratic governance. This ended when they lost their sovereignty to the invaders. Now most Adyghe tribes are Muslim. These tribes include the Abzekh, Adamey, Bzhedugh, Hatukuay, Kemirgoy, Makhosh, Natekuay, Shapsigh and Zhane.
The Adyghe indigenous people have still retained their language, which they call Adygebze or Ad?gabza, referred to in the west as Adygean or Circassian.
There are at least 300,000 speakers of this language around the world today, as multitudes of the displaced Adyghe have been forced to seek refuge in strange lands across the globe.
