The Nakh peoples are a group of North Caucasian peoples identified by their use of the Nakh languages and other cultural similarities. These are chiefly the ethnic Chechen, Ingush and Bats peoples of the North Caucasus, including closely related minor or historical groups. The ethnonyms "Vainakh" and "Nakh" "Nakh peoples" and "Vainakh peoples" are two terms that were coined by Soviet ethnographers such as the Russian linguist and Ingush ethnographer . The reasoning behind the creation of these terms was to unite the closely related nations of Chechen and Ingush into one term. The terms "Vainakh" (our people) and "Nakh" (people) were first used as a term to unite two peoples in 1928. It was subsequently popularized by other Soviet authors, poets, and historians such as Mamakaev and Volkova in their research. According to the historian Victor Schnirelmann, the terms "Vainakh" and "Nakh" were introduced more actively during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. The first documented collective term used to refer to the Nakh peoples in general, "Kists" was introduced by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in the 1770s. Julius von Klaproth believed the term Kists only applied to the Kistin society of Ingushetia, and instead used the Tatar term "Mizdschegi" to refer to the Nakh peoples.
The ethnonym "Nakhchi" The term Nakhchiy (in the form of Natschkha, Nakhchui and Nacha) at the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th centuries was mentioned as the name (i.e. exonym) that the Ingush gave to the Chechens and not as the self-name of the Ingush. Starting in the second half of the 19th century, the term was used by some Russian officers, historians and linguists for both the Chechen and Ingush nations (and sometimes for the Batsbi, notably by Peter von Uslar). Today, the term is in its modern lowland version of "Nokhchi" and is only used by Chechens and Pankisi Kists. In 1859, Adolf Berge was the second one to use this term for both the Chechens and Ingush. The famous Russian linguist Peter von Uslar, who studied the North Caucasian languages, also referred to both nations in 1888 as "Nakhchuy"/"Nakhchiy". This classification was also used by Potto, , , and many others during the 19th century.
According to Umalat Laudaev, the first Chechen ethnographer and historian, Nazranians (a subgroup of Ingush) used this ethnonym occasionally:
However, it was mentioned by Peter Simon Pallas in the late 18th century that a clear distinction between self-designation of the Ingush and Chechens had already existed:
The 19th-century historian published several works about Chechen and Ingush ethnography. He proposed to use the term "Nakhchuy" for both the Chechens and Ingush. This, however, had no fruition in Caucasology, mainly due to the fact that the Ingush commonly referred to themselves as "Ghalghaï", while the Chechens called themselves "Nakhchoy" or "Nokhchoy".
The oldest mention of Nakhchiy occurred in 1310 by the Georgian Patriarch Cyril Donauri, who mentions the "People of Nakhche" among Tushetians, Avars and many other Northeast Caucasian nations. The term Nakhchiy has also been connected to the city Nakhchivan and the nation of Nakhchamatyan (mentioned in the 7th-century Armenian work Ashkharhatsuyts) by many Soviet and modern historians. Chechen manuscripts in Arabic from the early 1820s do mention a certain Nakhchuvan (near modern-day Kagizman, Turkey) as the homeland of all Nakhchiy.
Etymology of the ethnonym Nakhchi The etymology of "Nakhchi" is believed to have come from "Nakh" (people) + "-chi" (suffix) or "Nakh" (people) + "Chuo" (territory). Chechen researcher claimed that the terms "Nakh" and "Nakhchi" are not the same, and have different foundations and different origins.Ахмад Сулейманов. «Топонимия Чечено-Ингушетии.» Грозный, 1978. Many historians such as Potto, Berge, Gan, Dubrovin believed that it meant "the nation". Linguists like Arbi Vagapov have also pointed out that similar terms are found in other Northeast Caucasian languages such as Rutul where "Nukhchi" translates to "Tribesman".
Chechen ethnographer Umalat Laudaev offered a different etymology for the origin of the ethnonym Nakhchi:
This version has been criticized by many authors including the Chechen linguist who believed the etymology made no sense. Linguists and historians such as Shavlaeva and Tesaev, however, believed the etymology confused "Nakhch" (cheese) with the Chechen term "Nakhch" (processed), which has the same root. In their version, the etymology would mean "the processed ones" (i.e. the people who are accepted in society due to their qualities and lineage). Authors such as Berge mentioned also that the term "Nakhchi" could mean "the people of excellence".
Historical mentions of Nakhchi + Historical mentions Name Author Source Date Nakhche Archbishop Cyril Donauri Historical document 1310 Nakhshai Sala-Uzden Prince Adzhi Historical letter 1756 Natschkha Peter Simon Pallas "Travels through the southern provinces of the Russian Empire in the years 1793 and 1794" 1793 NakhchuiJulius Klaproth "Description of trips to the Caucasus and Georgia in 1807 and 1808" 1807 Nacha Semyon Bronevsky "News of the Caucasus" 1823 Nakhchoy Chechen Manuscript "Migration from Nakhchuvan" 1828 Nakhche Adolf Berge "Chechnya and Chechens" 1859 Nakhchoy Kedi Dosov "Nakhchoyn Juz" 1862 Nakhche Nikolai Dubrovin "History of war and domination of Russians in the Caucasus" 1871 Nakhchoy Umalat Laudaev "The Chechen Tribe" 1872 Nakhche Kerovbe Patkanian "Armenian geography of the 7th century AD" 1877
The ethnonym "Ghalghaï"
Ghalghaï (, ) is the self-name of the Ingush, a Caucasian people,: that is most often associated with the word "ghāla" (гIала) – meaning "tower" or "fortress" and the plural form of the suffix of person – "gha" (гIа), thus, translated as "people/inhabitants of towers", though according to some researchers the ethnonym has a more ancient origin. Some scholars associate it with the ancient Gargareans and Gelaï mentioned in the 1st century in the work of the ancient historian and geographer Strabo. In Georgian sources, in the form of Gligvi, modern researchers mention them living in the Darial Gorge at the time of the deployment of Mirian I's forces into the Darial Pass in the 1st century. They are also mentioned in the 18th century edition of Georgian Chronicles during the reign of Kvirike III. In Russian sources, "Ghalghaï" first becomes known in the second half of the 16th century, in the form of "Kolkans"/"Kalkans", "Kolki"/"Kalki", "Kalkan people". The famous Georgian historian and linguist Ivane Javakhishvili proposed to use Ghalghaï () as a general name or classification for the Ingush, Chechen and Bats languages:
History Antiquity
Earliest mention of the Nakh people was the Malkh Kingdom by Greco-Syrian writer Lucian. 9th–12th centuries An association of clans called Durdzuks (Durdzuki) is mentioned by the Persian writers Ibn al-Faqih and Al-Baladhuri in the 9th to 10th centuries, stating "the construction of Chosroes Anushirvanom (VI) in Durzukia 12 gates and stone fortifications".Волкова Н. Г. Ук. соч., page 135. 1239 Destruction of the Alania capital of Maghas (both names known solely from Muslim Arabs) and Alan confederacy of the Northern Caucasian highlanders, nations, and tribes by Batu Khan (a Mongol leader and a grandson of Genghis Khan). "Maghas was destroyed in the beginning of 1239 by the hordes of Batu Khan. Historically, Maghas was located at approximately the same place on which the new capital of Ingushetia is now built." However, there are many other theories as to where Maghas was originally located, such as in Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria or North-Ossetia. 13th–14th centuries Independence wars against Tatar-Mongol hordes and the army of Tamerlane. 14th–16th centuries The State of Simsir was a union of Vainakh teips. They started a national struggle of liberation from the Golden Horde. After the Mongol invasion, Islam started its spread in the region.Хизриев X. А. Чечено-Ингушетия в период феодальной раздроб- ленности (ХШ-XV вв.). История Чечено-Ингушетии, 7 8 кл., Грозный, 1991, page. 41. The spread of Islam seems to have started in the lowland part of the Vainakh states at this time, associated with the advent of the Arabic language and Arabic writing. Inscriptions on monuments from this time, preserved in some Vainakh villages, also testify to this.Эпиграфические памятники Северного Кавказа (XVTII-XIX вв.), part. 2, М, 1968, page. 28. 17th century – present Ongoing struggle over the independence of Chechnya; Ingush remain less openly rebellious, but still have a particularly problematic conflict with the Ossetes; Batsbi and Kists are considered Georgians and are part of Georgia (living mainly in the Tusheti region). 1829–1859 Caucasian Imamate 1917–1922 Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus 1919–1920 North Caucasian Emirate 1921–1924 Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Russian SFSR
Social structure
Traditionally, Nakh peoples were known as a society with a highly developed and complex clan system. Individuals are united in family groups called "Tsa" – house. Several Tsas are part of the "Gar" -branch or "Nekh"-road, a group of Gars is in turn called a teip, a unit of tribal organization of Vainakh people. Teip has its own Council of Elders and unites people from the political, economic and military sides. Teips leave all cases to the democratically elected representatives of houses i.e. "Tsa". The number of participants of Teipan-Kheli depends on the number of houses.
Some believe that most teips made unions called shahars and tukkhums, a military-economic or military-political union of teips. However, this has been heavily disputed by several historians and ethnographers, including Dalgat who claims that most Chechens never used tukkhums. He also claims that they were only used by some societies in the lowlands.
The national scale issues were addressed through Mehk-Khel, the People's Council. Representatives of the Council were elected by each Teip Council and had an enormous influence on the destiny of the people. They could start a war or prohibit and prevent any teip from starting one. Mehk-Khel could gather in different places at different times. It used to gather in Terloy-Mokhk and Akkhi-Mokhk's Galain-Chozh region. A gigantic Mehk-Kheli stone still stands in Galain-Chozh, around which Mehk-Kheli members solved issues.
Political structure Chechen-Ingush society has customarily been egalitarian, unstratified, and classless. Traditionally, there was no formal political organization and no political or economic ranking. Many observers, including famous Russians such as Leo Tolstoy, have been very impressed by the democratic nature of the indigenous Chechen governments prior to Russian conquest. According to the Western Ichkerophile Tony Wood, the Vainakh peoples, in particular the Chechens (as the Ingush and the Batsbi have fallen under foreign domination much more frequently and as a result, the indigenous system and democratic values are less deeply ingrained), could be described as one of the few nations in the world with an indigenous system highly resemblant of democracyWood, Tony. Chechnya: The Case for Independence (others cited are often Scots, Albanians and Basques; notably, all three, much like the Vainakh peoples, are mountain dwelling peoples with a clan-based social organization and a strong attachment to the concept of freedom). In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a couple of Circassian tribes overthrew their traditional aristocracy and established a democratic, egalitarian society, with some adoptions from the Nakh system. This advance, which may have spread eventually to all of the Circassian tribes, was halted by their political state being annihilated by Russian conquest, a fate later shared by the rest of the Caucasus.