Life of the Avars. Oh, these strange Avars...

The majestic, strict Caucasus is an original nature, breathtaking landscapes, austere mountains and flowering plains. The peoples inhabiting its territory are as strict as strong-willed and at the same time poetic and spiritually rich. One of these peoples are people whose nationality is Avars.

Descendants of ancient tribes

Avars are the Russian name for a people who mainly inhabit the north of Dagestan. They call themselves “maarulal”, which translates very simply and accurately: “highlanders”. The Georgians called them “leks”, the Kumyks called them “tavlu”. Statistics include more than 900 thousand Avars, including 93% of them living in Dagestan. Outside the region, a small part of this people lives in Chechnya, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. There is an Avar community in Turkey. Avars are a nationality that is genetically related to Jews. According to the chronicle, the sultan of ancient Avaria was the brother of the ruler of Khazaria. And the Khazar khans, again according to the chronicle, were Jewish princes.

What does history say?

In the first mentions in historical manuscripts, these North Caucasian tribes are presented as warlike and powerful. Their settlement high in the mountains contributed to a number of successful victories over the Khazars, who settled on the plains. The small kingdom was called Serir, later renamed Avaria after the name of the king, respected in the area. The accident reached its peak in the 18th century. Subsequently, the Muslim nationality of the Avars created the theocratic state of the Imamate, which existed in this form before joining Russia. Nowadays it is an independent Republic of Dagestan with its own cultural, political and religious characteristics.

Language of the people

Avars are a nationality with their own separate language, which belongs to the Avar-Ando-Tsez subgroup of the Caucasian group. The southern and northern regions of the territory of residence are characterized by two dialects of their own, differing in some phonetic, morphological and lexical characteristics. Both dialects have a number of dialects characteristic of individual regions of the republic. The literary Avar language was formed by the merger of two main dialects, although the influence of the northern one still became significant. Previously, the Avars used an alphabet from the Latin script; since 1938, the Avar alphabet has been letters based on Russian script. The majority of the population speaks Russian fluently.

Avarian nationality: characteristics of the genotype

The isolation of the place of residence, the spread of warlike tribes throughout the East European Plain, right up to Scandinavia, led to the formation of external characteristics of the Avars, significantly different from the main population of the Caucasus. For typical representatives of this mountain people, it is not uncommon to have a purely European appearance with red hair, fair skin and blue eyes. A typical representative of this people is distinguished by a tall, slender figure, a wide, medium-profile face, and a high but narrow nose.

Strict natural conditions of survival, the need to conquer arable land and pastures from nature and other tribes have shaped the persistent and warlike character of the Avars over the centuries. At the same time, they are very patient and hardworking, excellent farmers and artisans.

Life of the mountain people

Those whose nationality is Avars have lived in the mountains for a long time. The main occupation in these areas was and still is now sheep breeding, as well as all trades related to wool processing. The need for food forced the Avars to gradually descend to the plains and master agriculture and animal husbandry, which became the main occupations of the lowland population. Avars build their houses along turbulent mountain rivers. Their structures are very interesting and unusual for Europeans. Surrounded by rocks and stones, the houses look like an extension of them. A typical settlement looks like this: one large stone wall stretches along the street, making it look like a tunnel. Different height levels mean that the roof of one house often serves as a yard for another. Modern influences have not bypassed this nationality either: today’s Avars build large three-story houses with glazed terraces.

Customs and traditions

The religion of the people is Islam. Avars belong to the Sunni Muslim religious denomination. Naturally, Sharia rules dictate all traditions and family rules, which the Avar strictly adheres to. The people here are generally friendly and hospitable, but they immediately defend their beliefs and customs and issues of honor. Blood feud in these places is commonplace to this day. The beliefs of the local population are somewhat diluted by some pagan rituals- this often happens in territories whose peoples for a long time led an isolated lifestyle. The husband is the head of the family, but in relation to his wife and children, his duty is to show respect and provide financially. Avar women have a persistent character that they do not hide from their men, and they always get their way.

Cultural values

Every Avar, whose people are very attached to their national traditions, honors his ancestors. Cultural traditions go back centuries. In the mountainous expanses, unique melodic songs were born, fiery dances and wise tales of Caucasian centenarians. Musical instruments of the Avar people are chagchan, chagur, lapu, tambourine, drums. Traditional Avar culture is the source and fundamental basis for modern Dagestan art and painting. Living in a remote location, far from trade routes and centers, the residents of Avaria made household items, clothing, and decorations for themselves and their homes with their own hands, from scrap materials. These handicrafts became real masterpieces, the basis for today's masters.

Avars(self-name - avaral, ma'arulal)- largest nation modern.

They inhabit most of the mountainous part of Dagestan, and partly the plains (Buinaksky, Khasavyurt and other regions). In addition to Dagestan, they live in and other subjects, as well as in (mainly Belokansky and Zagatala regions), (Kvarel Avars) and. Outside of Russia, the largest Avar diaspora is the diaspora in Turkey (approximately 20 settlements). The original area of settlement of the Avars in Dagestan is the basins of the Avar and Andiyskoe Koisu and Karakoisu rivers.

Language

Within Russia, it is widespread among Avars (by the beginning, more than 60% of Dagestan Avars spoke Russian). The Avars of the Khasavyurt and Buinaksky regions of Dagestan, as a rule, speak fluently in . The ability to speak and understand Turkic among the Avars can be traced, in part, beyond these regions, since the Turkic language in lowland Dagestan for many centuries acted as a macro-intermediary language. Ethnic Avars living in Turkey and Azerbaijan speak Turkish and Azerbaijani at the native level, respectively.

Religion

Believing Avars are predominantly Sunnis of the Shafiite persuasion. However, as is known from numerous sources, the Avar state (VI-XIII centuries) was predominantly Christian (). In the mountains of Avaria there are still preserved ruins of Christian and. The most famous Christian landmark is the temple in the village of Datuna (Shamilsky district), built in the century. Near the villages of Urada, Tidib, Khunzakh, Galla, Tindi, Kvanada, Rugudzha and others, archaeologists discovered typically Christian burial grounds of the 8th-10th centuries. Starting in the middle of the century. first steps on the territory of Dagestan, in the Derbent region, the Islamic religion slowly but systematically expanded its area of influence, covering one possession after another, until it penetrated into the. to the most remote areas of Dagestan. According to historical legends, some insignificant part of the Avars professed Islam before converting to Islam. A certain Žuhut-khan (that is, “Jewish khan”), who supposedly ruled in Andi, is also mentioned. Dagestan scientists regard this vague and fragmentary information as echoes of memories of long-term contacts with the Khazars. Among the samples of stone carving in Avaria one can occasionally find “stars of David”, which, however, cannot serve as evidence in favor of the fact that the mentioned images were made by Judaizers.

Origin and history

Hunz- Caucasian Huns of the “Land of the Throne”

Perhaps one of the ancestors of the Avars were the Silvi and Andak tribes, who lived in the era on the territory of modern Dagestan, including where Avaria was localized in the medieval period. At least, it is these ethnonyms that most correctly convey the names of the later Avar tribal groups and political associations. In the literature there is also an opinion that the Avars descended from the Legs, Gels and Caspians, but these statements are speculative. Neither the Avar language nor the Avar toponymy contain any lexemes that could be associated with the Legs, Gels or Caspians, and the Avars themselves never identified themselves with the listed tribes. As for, for example, the word “leg”, in the Avar language this means “dependent, slave class” ( lag- “slave, serf”). In addition, the Legs have direct descendants - Dagestan. The Caspians, according to ancient sources, lived not in the mountains, but on the coast of the Caspian Sea. At the same time, throughout the history of the Avar people, its political, spiritual and cultural center was the territory of the current Khunzakh region, with the same name populated area, which is translated from Avar as “among the Huns.” Khunzakh is the capital of the “land of the throne” (“ard as-sarir”) and the “province of Avar” (“wilayat Avar”) of medieval sources.

Anthropology

According to A.G. Gadzhiev, most of the Avar-Ando-Tsez are characterized by the western version of the Caucasian Balkan-Caucasian (Pamir-Alpine). Distinctive features of the Western Caucasian variant are: long body length, wide face, high and medium profile, high nose height with small width, convex profile shapes of the nasal dorsum predominate, the tip of the nose and base are represented predominantly by a pubescent variant. The hair is predominantly dark brown, with a small admixture of dark brown and red hair. The color of the iris is dominated by mixed shades. There is a significant percentage of light eyes. The skin is very light. Data from age-related anthropology indicate that the Avar-Ando-Tsez population had more than high percentage the presence of chestnut, red and light brown hair than in adolescence.

Some scientists consider the Caucasian type to be the end result of the transformation of the Caspian type in conditions of high mountain isolation. In their opinion, the formation of the Caucasian type in Dagestan dates back to BC. Considering the problem of the origin of the Caucasian type, the academician noted: “Theoretical disputes around the problem of the origin of this type led to a more or less unambiguous solution to the issue and its antiquity: it was formed autochthonously as part of the local population of the central foothill Caucasian ridge no later than in the Bronze Age, and maybe to be, and at an earlier time." However, there is another, more substantiated and widespread point of view, according to which the Caspian anthropological type does not have direct relationship to the Caucasian, being somewhat depigmented as a result of mixing with the Caucasian offshoot of the Indo-Pamir race. It should be emphasized that in Dagestan, starting from Soviet period the official ideological stance (reminiscent of the Dagestani version of “Yugoslavism”) reigns supreme, which boils down to the active propaganda of the “exceptional closeness” (in a deliberately exaggerated form) of all Dagestanis to each other, which often serves as a convenient justification for the suppression of national identity and the associated desire to revive the lost ethnostatehood. The same Alekseev V.P., for example, testified: “The Caspian combination of characteristics is not expressed in pure form among any of the Dagestan peoples; we can only talk about its more or less noticeable admixture, mainly among the peoples of the group and. In his opinion, the territory of Dagestan was not included in the formation zone of the Caspian population group; Apparently it spread from the south along the coast through the plains and foothills of Dagestan, and only along the Samur and Chirakh-Chay valleys did representatives of this group penetrate high into the mountains.

Debets G.F. testified to the similarity of the Caucasian anthropological type with the ancient population of the East European Plain and further up to, expressing the idea of the penetration of the ancestors of the Caucasian type into their areas modern settlement from North.

About the meaning of the ethnonym Avar

Ma"arulal

According to the Caucasian linguist K. Sh. Mikailov, the identification of the ethnic term ma"arulal with an Avar word me"er“mountain” does not stand up to criticism and is nothing more than a fruit of folk etymology. A widespread and unconditionally accepted opinion by many is, writes Kazbek Mikailov, “that the basis of MagIarulal comes from the Avar MegaIer"mountain" and MagIarul-al“Avars,” they say, naturally means “highlanders,” “dwellers of the mountains.” Forgetting, however, at the same time that the neighbors of the Avars are Highlanders are the same people as they are. There are Laks, Andean and Tsez peoples, Archins, and Dargins. That is, everything - Highlanders. This means that the sign of residence, living in the mountains for this case is not relevant, distinguishing, contrasting, important.” In turn, Abdullaev I. Kh., based on a detailed structural and morphological analysis of the Lak ethnonymic term for the Avars - “yarussa”, comes to linking the root element yar< *ял с понятием „верх, верхний“ именно в социальном значении, то есть «хунзахцев стали называть по правителемя („верховные“), резиденция которых была в Хунзахе, а возникшее местное название Yarttashi, the appearance of which is associated with the supreme rulers and their location, over time became associated with the Khunzakh people, their society and the village itself. Subsequently, a parallel, but more ethnonymous form appears tier, passed on to all Avars.” The historian B.M. Ataev completely agrees with him.

Continuing the same theme, researchers of the North Caucasian isoglosses express serious doubts about the correctness of the Turkic etymology of the element dag ( dağ, dag) in the name “Dagestan”. In their opinion, Dag-e-stan initially had no connection with Turkic (Oghuz) dag“mountain” and evidence of this are the following lexical correspondences: Avar tIoh (t.oχ) “roof, cloth top of a headdress, peak” (t.ałhi “dominance, supremacy”), Chechen tkhov (tχov), Tsakhur dakha (daχa) " roof"; here - the ancient Greek thakos "throne, seat, dwelling", Latin tektum, German Dach "roof", Dekke "tire, cover, ceiling", tag crown, tağ "dome, vault", taχt "throne". For the above Nakh-Dagestan lexemes in Caucasian studies, there is their proven primordial nature, and therefore there can be no talk of their possible borrowing from Turkic languages. The Arabic medieval designation for Avaria is also “Land of the Throne”, and not at all “Country of Mountains”.

State entities

The territory inhabited by the Avars was called Sarir (Serir). The first mention of this property dates back to the 6th century. In the north and northwest, Sarir bordered with the Alans and Khazars. The presence of a common border between Sarir and Alanya is also emphasized by al-Masudi. Sarir reached its peak in the centuries, being a major political entity in the North-Eastern Caucasus. Its rulers and the bulk of the population during this period professed. An Arab geographer and traveler (10th century) reports that the king of Sarir is called “Avar” (Auhar). From the 10th century close contacts between Sarir and Alania can be traced, which probably developed on the basis of An agreement was concluded between the rulers of the two countries, and they mutually gave their sisters to each other. From the point of view of Muslim geography, Sarir as a Christian state was in orbit. Al-Istakhri reports: “...The state of Rum includes the borders of... Rus, Sarir, Alan, Arman and all others who profess Christianity.” Sarir's relations with the neighboring Islamic emirates were tense and rife with frequent conflicts on both sides. However, ultimately, Sarir managed to neutralize the danger emanating from there and even interfere in the internal affairs of Derbent, providing support, at his own discretion, to one or another opposition. By the beginning, Sarir, as a result of internal strife, as well as the formation of a broad anti-Christian front in Dagestan, which entailed an economic blockade, collapsed, and Christianity was gradually supplanted by Islam. The names of the kings of Sarir that have come down to us, as a rule, are of Syrian-Iranian origin.

The territory of Avaria, unlike the rest of Dagestan, was not affected by the Mongol invasion. During the first campaign of the Mongol troops led by Jebe and Subudai to Dagestan (city), the Saririans took an active part in the fight against the enemy of the Mongols, Khorezmshah Jalal ad-Din and his allies -. The events associated with the second campaign took place as follows: in the spring of the year, a strong detachment under the command of Bukday separated from the huge army that was besieging the capital in the foothills of the Central Caucasus. Having passed through Northern and Primorsky Dagestan, he turned into the mountains near Derbent and by autumn reached the village of Richa. It was taken and destroyed, as evidenced by the epigraphic monuments of this village. Then the Mongols entered the lands of the Laks and in the winter captured their main stronghold - the village of Kumukh. Further, according to Rashid ad-Din, it is known that the Mongols reached the “Avir region” - this is the Avar land. However, there is no information about the hostile relations of the Bukday Mongols towards the Avars. According to a modern researcher, the rulers contributed to the expansion of the borders of Avaria, entrusting it with the role of collector from numerous peoples conquered in the Caucasus: “The initially established peaceful relationship between the Mongols and Avaria can also be associated with historical memory Mongols. They obviously had information about the warlike Avar Khaganate, which formed in the 4th century. on ancient territory... Perhaps the consciousness of the unity of the ancestral homeland of the two peoples determined the loyal attitude of the Mongols towards the Avars, whom they could perceive as ancient fellow tribesmen who found themselves in the Caucasus long before them... Obviously, the sharp expansion of the borders of the state and development noted in the sources should also be associated with the patronage of the Mongols economic activity in the Avaria... This can also be judged from the reports of Hamdulla Qazvini, who notes the rather extensive extent of the Avaria at the beginning of the 14th century. (allegedly a one-month journey), uniting flat and mountainous regions.”

Expansion of the XVI-XVII centuries.

XVI-XVII centuries are characterized by processes of strengthening feudal relations in the Avar Nutsalstvo. Territorially, it was quite extensive: the southern border ran along the Avar Koisu River, and the northern border reached the river. During this period, the intensive resettlement of Avars to Dzharo-Belokan continued. Taking advantage of the favorable moment of weakening, and then the collapse of the Shamkhalate, the Avar khans subjugated the neighboring rural communities of Bagvalians, Chamalins, Tindins and others to their power, due to which they significantly expanded their territory. Greatest success This was achieved by Umma Khan of Avar (nicknamed “Mad”), who ruled in 1774-1801. Under him, the Nutsaldom expanded its borders both through the subjugation of the Avar “free societies” and at the expense of the neighboring Chechen territory (primarily the Cheberloy society). During the reign of Umma Khan, the Avar Khanate was paid tribute by the Georgian king, the Derbent, Cuban, Sheki, Baku, and Shirvan khans, as well as the Turkish vassal Pasha of Akhaltsikhe. During hostilities, societies allied with the Khunzakh Khan were obliged to supply troops and provide them with everything necessary. Speaking about Umma Khan, Kovalevsky S.S. notes that he is a man of great enterprise, courage and bravery. His own possessions were small, but his influence on the surrounding peoples was “very strong, so that he represents, as it were, the ruler of Dagestan.” According to Y. Kostenetsky, “Avaria not only owned many societies that were now dependent on her, but she was also the only ruler in this part of the mountains, and all her neighbors were in awe of her khans.

Joining Russia

End of the Holy War

Tsarism did not fail to learn from its failures and radically changed its tactics, temporarily abandoning the policy of harsh colonial oppression. In such conditions, Muridist slogans about the need to wage a “holy war” with Russia until the last teenager capable of holding a weapon in his hands, without taking into account any victims or losses, began to be perceived by the mountaineers as extravagant and disastrous. The authority of Shamil and his leaders began to fade. Shamil often had to fight not only with the Russians, but also with his “frontiers”. Thus, part of the Avars (primarily the Khunzakhs and Chokhs) fought on the side of Russia in units of the mountain militia and the Dagestan cavalry regiment. After Shamil's capitulation, all Avar lands were included in the Dagestan region. In the city, the Avar Khanate was liquidated, and the Avar District was formed on its territory. In fairness, it should be noted that despite the cruel, inhumane methods of the tsarist command that they used in the course of suppressing the national liberation movement of the mountaineers of Dagestan and Chechnya, royal Russia However, as far as possible, in general, it did not touch the national-religious traditions of these peoples. In relation to the Avars in Dagestan, there are numerous facts indicating that they are endowed with such benefits and privileges that even the overwhelming majority of the Russians themselves were deprived of. In particular, this concerns the rapid provision of high military awards, titles, and ranks. The captured Shamil was given maximum honors by the Tsar. The tsarist administration and Russian military leaders spoke very highly of Shamil as a courageous and decent person, emphasizing his extraordinary talent commander and politician. Under the emperor, the Avars were part of the Life Guards units of the royal convoy, including serving as guards in the palace chambers of the royal family.

By the beginning of the Caucasian War, about 200 thousand Avars lived in Dagestan, and more than 150 thousand Chechens lived in Chechnya. The wars with the Russian Empire led to the fact that by the end of the Caucasian War less than half of the Avars and Chechens remained. In 1897, 18 years after the end of the war, the number of Avars reached only 158.6 thousand people. In 1926, there were 184.7 thousand Avars in Dagestan. Researchers have calculated that if there had been no Caucasian War, colonial intervention and genocide on the part of the Russian Empire, then by 1860 the number of Avars would have been over 600 thousand people, and the current number could have been reached by 1895. One of the consequences of the Caucasian War was also the emigration of Dagestanis to the Ottoman Empire. At first, the tsarist administration even encouraged this phenomenon, but after emigration began to take on the character of a massive and even complete exodus of the Avar people to Turkey from year to year, they quickly began to prevent it. Tsarism, on the one hand, could not populate the Avar mountains, and on the other hand, it witnessed the use of the North Caucasian ethnic element by the Ottoman Empire as shock military formations against its internal and external enemies.

As part of the USSR

Traditional way of life

The basis of the social organization of the people was the rural community, which consisted of consanguineous associations - tukhums; community members were private owners, but at the same time co-owners of community property (pastures, forests, etc.). The average community included 110-120 households. The head of the community was an elder (from the end - elder), elected at a village gathering (jamaat) by the entire male population over 15 years of age. Towards the end, the role of rural communities in the life of the Avars noticeably decreased; the foremen were under strong pressure from the Russian authorities.

The traditional settlement of the Avars is one consisting of houses closely adjacent to each other (stone, with a flat roof, usually two or three stories high) and battle towers. All settlements are oriented to the south. In the center of settlements there was usually a square, which was a public gathering place; This is where, as a rule, it was located. The life of an Avar family almost always took place in one room, which was significantly larger in size compared to other rooms. The most important element of the room was the hearth, located in its center. The decoration of the room was also a pillar with an ornament. Currently, the interior of Avars’ homes is close to city apartments.

The most popular and typically Avar symbols in Dagestan are swastikas, primarily spiral-shaped and with rounded curved edges, as well as Maltese crosses, which are found in large numbers on carved stones, antique carpets and women's jewelry. It is also worthy of mention that the Khunzakh khans often used state emblem(including on banners) the image of a “wolf with a standard”, and the Andians - “an eagle with a saber”.

In the 20th century, zonal specialization of agriculture intensified; Thus, the importance of agriculture fell in the mountains. Avars are also employed in industry and the service sector.

In the past, the entire Avar people, with the exception of the dependent class, were represented by “bo” (< *bar < * "war) - armed militia, people-army. This circumstance placed high demands on the spiritual and physical training of each potential “bodulav” (that is, “liable for military service”, “militia member”), and, naturally, affected the cultivation among Avar youth of such types of martial arts without weapons as “khatbay” - a type of sports fight , who practiced palm strikes, “meligdun” (fights using a pole, coupled with striking leg techniques) and belt wrestling. Subsequently, all of them were supplanted, mainly by freestyle wrestling and martial arts, which became truly national and very prestigious sports for the Avars.

Outstanding Avars

One of the most prominent figures in the history of the Avar people is a native of the village of Gimry, Untsukul region of Avaria (1797-1871). The following persons are also worthy of mention as outstanding Avars: rulers Surakat, Umma Khan “Fair” and Umma Khan “Mad”, imams Gazi-Muhammad and Gamzat-bek, naibs of Shamil Haji-Murad and Muhammad-Amin Asiyalav, general of the royal army , Arabic scholars Muhammad Musalav-Kudutlinsky, Abubakar Aimakinsky, Sheikh Uzun-Hadji Saltinsky, grandson of Imam Shamil Said Shamil, Field Marshal of the Ottoman Empire Fazil Pasha Dagestanly, Imam Nazhmudin Gotsinsky, artist-political emigrant Khalil-Bek Musayasul ( Halil Beg Mussayassul, who earned enthusiastic praise in Nazi Germany as a talented creator of “truly Aryan art,” was personally acquainted with and ), Colonel General Soviet army Magomed Tankaev, Turkish hero of the Korean War of 1950-1953, awarded high awards by the US Department of Defense and gratitude from the US Government, - Haji Altiner (whose portrait is depicted on postage stamps), Turkish general Mehdi Sungur, Turkish theologian Sherefeddin from Kikuni, Omer Ziyaudin Binatli, Turkish Minister of State Security Mehmet Golhan, KGB Major General Omar Murtazaliev, Soviet Army General Magomed Gitinamagomedov, professional Greco-Roman wrestlers Magomed-Mama Makhtilaev “Sali-Suleiman” from Teletl (nicknamed “Lion of Dagestan”, champion world) and 207 centimeter athlete Osman from Kikuni (winner of Ivan Poddubny), five-time world champion in freestyle wrestling Ali Aliyev, gold medalists Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling Mustafa Dagestanly (also a four-time world champion), Zagalav Abdulbekov, Khadzhimurad Magomedov, Murad Umakhanov, Sagid Murtazaliev, Mavlet Batyrov, world champion in judo Abdulgadzhi Barkalaev, two-time world champion in professional wrestling Magomedkhan Gamzathanov (“Wolf Khan” ), Olympic gold medalist in boxing Gaidarbek Gaidarbekov, world champion among professional boxers Sultan Ibragimov, world champion in Thai boxing Magomed Ismailov, world champion in ultimate fighting Ibragim Magomedov, test cosmonaut MAP of the USSR and honored test pilot of the Russian Federation Magomed Tolboev , poets Begilav from Gergebil, Eldarilav from Ruguca, Canka from Batlaic, Gamzat from Tsad, Adallo Ali, Turkish journalist and prose writer Ertugrul Şevket Avaroglu.

Literature

References

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PEOPLES OF RUSSIA

A wolf with a standard is a symbol of the Avar khans

"Our environment online"— Avars - self-name maarulal (magIarulal), literally “highlanders” - are one of the most significant peoples of Dagestan. In total there are 912,090 people, including 850,011 in Dagestan. The Avar language belongs to the Avar-Ando-Tsez group of the Dagestan branch of the Caucasian languages. The area of distribution of the Avar language stretches from north to south in a strip dividing Dagestan into two parts. The length of this strip is about 170 km to the south, and its greatest width is about 70 km.

The structure of the Avar language is characterized by a complex system of consonants, the presence of nominal classes, numerous local cases, and ergative construction. Phonetics is characterized by movable stress, which plays a meaningful role.
The Avar-Ando-Tsez group, in addition to the Avar language itself, also includes Andean and Tsez languages. The population of Avaria speaking them is related to the Avars not only in language, but also in the main features of culture and way of life, and is currently united with the Avars themselves. The basis of the literary Avar language is the so-called military language - Bolmats, which has long been used in oral communication between the Avarians and Ando-Tsezians.

The first version of Avar writing on a Cyrillic basis was created by Baron Pyotr Karlovich Uslar in 1861 in Tiflis. In 1928, it was decided to translate the Avar language into the Latin alphabet, and in 1938 it was introduced new alphabet on Russian graphic basis.

The village of Khunzakh, once the capital of the Avar Khanate

The history of the appearance of the Avars is complex and has not yet been fully elucidated. One of the ancient Georgian chronicles tells the biblical version of the birth of this people: it names the great-great-grandson of Noah, Lekos, as the first ancestor of all the highlanders of Dagestan. One of the sons of Lekos, Khozonikh, founded a city in a mountain gorge and named it by his own name, Khozanikheti. It is believed that this is a distorted word Khanzakh - the ancient capital of the Avar khans.

If you do not delve into the complex vicissitudes of the history of numerous nomadic peoples who lived on the territory of Eurasia thousands of years ago and constantly formed new ethnic groups, then the history of the Avars can be briefly told as follows. Thousands of years BC, the ancestors of the Avars were nomads, but around the third millennium BC. they began to lead a sedentary life, raise livestock and engage in agriculture. The life of the Avar tribes (ancient sources mention the Savar tribes, who, most likely, were the ancestors of modern Avars) took place in the mountains, in relative isolation from other tribes and peoples, which made it possible to preserve not only the language and distinctive external features of the people, but and many traditions and customs.

In the first millennium AD, the kingdom of Sarir is mentioned in Arab chronicles, and in its place a little later the Avar Khanate was formed. It was a union of independent tribes and societies that united under the leadership of the khan only in case of military necessity. The Avar Khanate existed until the 18th century, being dependent on neighboring Iran for the last several centuries. By the time the Khanate annexed Russia in 1813, the Avars had their own written language, similar to Arabic, and professed Sunni Islam. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Avars took part in the war, in which, under the leadership of Shamil, the mountaineers tried to defend their freedom. However, the Avars began to actively consolidate as a people after the formation of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921.

The leading sectors of the Accident economy in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. were in the highlands - cattle breeding, lower in the mountains, as well as in river valleys - agriculture (field cultivation and gardening).

Co second half of the 19th century V. Trade is especially developing in Avaria. In every village of any significance there was a local merchant - a bazaargap, who bought goods from fellow villagers and resold them in Temir-Khan-Shur, Petrovsk, Kizlyar and other cities. The usual house of Avar peasants was a quadrangular building with a flat roof. Its walls were made of untreated stone various shapes, and sometimes a solution of local soil was used as a fastening material. The house was built either on a foundation or on rocky ground. One or more beams were placed on the steppes, on top of which boards or poles were laid, and brushwood, hay were laid on them, and a thin layer of earth and clay was poured. The main beams of the ceiling were supported by special pillars. The earthen flooring was carefully compacted with a roller. This roof needed to be rolled down after every rain.

In some houses, in the middle of the room, on a clay floor, there was an open hearth, above which hung a chain for the boiler. The place near the fireplace was considered the most honorable in the house; there was a wooden carved sofa - the place of the eldest in the family, on which the guest was usually seated. The fireplace divided the room into four parts: in right side men were placed, women were placed on the left, children were placed between the pillar and the hearth during meals; the space between the hearth and the outer wall of the house was intended for storing firewood and brushwood. In the old days, such a house was the home of a large family, which was designated by the same term tso ruk'alul gIadamal as a group of related families. At the beginning of the 20th century. it already housed a small family.

Today, the absolute majority of Avars are Sunni Muslims. It is interesting that the already mentioned medieval state of Sarir in the Caucasus chose Orthodox Christianity as its official religion. There is an opinion that before the adoption of Islam, a small part of the Avars’ ancestors professed Judaism, but there is no sufficient evidence for this. Be that as it may, Islam began to penetrate the territory of modern Dagestan already in the 7th century AD, and finally settled here around the 15th century.

The centuries-old history, as well as the freedom-loving nature of the Avars, allowed them to preserve their own customs and traditions. In many ways they are similar to the traditions of other Caucasian peoples. But there are also some features that are unique to them, relating, first of all, to ethics of behavior.

Addressing elders with respect is the main ethical tradition of the Avars. Moreover, elders still play a dominant role at public gatherings when making any decision. The more authoritative the elder, the more opportunities he has to make his vote decisive.

In addition, the customs include strict adherence to etiquette when communicating. For example, if Avar men talk to each other, they comply with certain age requirements. The younger person, having greeted the older one, must take two steps back and maintain this distance throughout the conversation. If a woman communicates with a man, then this distance becomes even greater and reaches two meters.

Avar traditions are quite chaste in everything related to communication, and the representatives of the ethnic group themselves are courteous. At the same time, folk traditions do not bypass the celebration of various holidays - here the already mentioned chastity and politeness are emphasized by the brightness of costumes and festive rituals.

The most common men's outerwear is the beshmet, in winter time it was insulated with a lining. A shirt is worn under the beshmet, and a large hat serves as a headdress. As for women's costumes, they are quite diverse. Avar women wear clothes decorated with local ethnic elements - by the decorations, colors of the scarves, and patterns, you can guess what village the woman comes from. At the same time, married and older women prefer clothes in muted colors, but girls are allowed to dress up in more bright colors.

It’s worth visiting an Avars’ wedding to be convinced that this is one of the most colorful spectacles. Traditionally, residents of the entire village gather here. During the first day, the fun takes place in the house of one of the groom's friends, and the guests must organize the table. Only on the second day does the wedding take place in the house where the groom lives, and in the evening the bride, wrapped in a wedding veil, is brought here. On the third day, gifts are given and traditional dishes are eaten, which includes the obligatory porridge.

By the way, the Avars have a wedding custom of kidnapping, but here they kidnap not the bride, but the groom. This is carried out by the bridesmaids, so the groom's friends must vigilantly ensure that he is not kidnapped.

Like other Dagestanis, Avars still adhere to the custom of blood feud. Of course, today this tradition is becoming a thing of the past, but in remote mountain villages it can still be practiced today. In old times blood feud captured entire clans, and the reason could be kidnapping, murder, or desecration of clan shrines.

At the same time, Avars are hospitable people. The guest here is always the main person in the house, and they are always ready for the arrival of even unexpected guests, leaving them food for lunch or dinner.

The Avars made a great contribution to the culture of the Caucasus and Russia. First of all, this is folk art. Performances of national groups always enjoy great success from the audience. The songs of the Avars are very poetic and melodious. The rich possibilities of the language and the national musical flavor are equally widely used here. Therefore, a lot of listeners always gather to listen to them sing.

National holidays are no less colorful. Each such festival becomes a brilliant spectacle. Here there are songs, dances, and bright costumes - everything merges together. It is worth mentioning that the Avars, like other local peoples, know how to amuse themselves and others. They are quite sharp-tongued and well aware of the peculiarities of their mentality. Therefore, according to experts, jokes about the Avars are composed by representatives of this people themselves.

Their language, which belongs to the Nakh-Dagestan group of languages of the North Caucasus, is bright, melodious and full of poetic phrases. At the same time, it contains many local dialects. In many ways, this phenomenon reflects the peculiarities of Avar history, when free societies of mountaineers arose.

However, even though they live in different parts of the world, they can always understand each other. There are also common linguistic and cultural traditions that are identical for the entire Avaria. For example, many are interested in why Avars treat wolves with special reverence. This is because among them the wolf is considered a symbol of courage and nobility. Therefore, the image of the wolf is repeatedly sung both in folklore and in literature.

Rasul Gamzatov

Famous Avar writers made a great contribution to the culture of Russia. Among them, of course, Rasul Gamzatov is one of the most famous poets Dagestan. It was he who created a kind of anthem, composing the poem “Song of the Avars.” Since then, this work has become the unofficial anthem of the people. The poetess Fazu Aliyeva also brought glory to the Avars.

The achievements of athletes are also known - first of all, Jamal Azhigirey, a master of sports in wushu, 12-time European champion, as well as Khabib Nurmagomedov, a professional UFC fighter (he is a world champion).

Today, the Avar nationality speaks volumes. They are a proud and independent people who, over the course of many centuries of their development, have repeatedly proven that they know how to fight for their own freedom. Despite the fact that they were once considered warlike, the Avars developed cattle breeding, agriculture, and various crafts. At many national festivals, exhibitions of traditional carpets, boxes, dishes, and jewelry are created.

Sources and photos: tanci-kavkaza.ru/avarcy/, www.anaga.ru/avarcy.htm, etokavkaz.ru/nacionalnosti/avarcy

The name “Avars” was given to this people by the Kumyks, from whom the Russians adopted it. The Turkic words “Avar”, “Avarala” mean “restless”, “anxious”, “warlike”, etc. The mountain neighbors really caused the Kumyks a lot of trouble. The Avars themselves call themselves differently, depending on where someone comes from. However, they also have a common self-name “maarulal” - according to one version, “highlanders”, according to another, “supreme” (in the social sense).

The historical connections of the Avars with the medieval Avars, the creators of the Avar Khaganate, are unclear. As archaeological research shows, the Avar burials on the territory of modern Hungary mostly contain Caucasians, but a small layer, apparently the dominant one, has pronounced Mongoloid and so-called Turanian (Central Asian) types of skull structure. Taking into account these data, it seems most likely that the Avar tribal association was formed from the ruling elite - the Mongoloid Avars and the Iranian-speaking ethnic groups subordinate to them, possibly with the participation of some Turkic-speaking groups.

The Caucasian Avars have not been sufficiently studied by geneticists (no paternal line data, Y-DNA) to judge how genetically related they may be to the Eurasian Avars. The results of mtDNA (maternal DNA) analyzes of the Avars confirm that they are closer to the Slavs than to other peoples of Dagestan. According to A. G. Gadzhiev, most Avars are characterized by the Western version of the Caucasian anthropological type of the Balkan-Caucasian race.

In any case, the historical legends of the Avars go back only to the 9th century - the time of Arab rule in Dagestan. Subsequently, in the 10th-14th centuries, eastern authors described the owner of the historical region of Sarir, where the Avars lived, as “the strongest of the princes of Dagestan,” who collected tribute from the surrounding residents in money, grain, sheep, fabrics, fruits and other products, even chicken eggs. At that time (until the beginning of the 13th century), the Avars were Christians, but then converted to Sunni Islam. The first reliable mention of the ethnonym “Avars” dates back to 1404 (in the message of John de Galonifontibus, who wrote that “Circassians, Leks, Yasses, Alans, Avars, Kazikumukhs” live in the Caucasus). The Avar ruler Andunik in his will of 1485 called himself “emir of the Avar vilayat.”

In 1741, the Avars, with the help of other mountaineers, defeated the hordes of the invincible Iranian commander Nadir Shah, who, in revenge, ordered a mountain of human eyes to be built in Derbent.

Khunzakh-capital of the Avar Khanate

Shamil

Russia has established ties with the Avars since the 16th century, and in 1803 the Avar Khanate voluntarily became part of Russia. But the fatal mistakes of the tsarist administration and the outbreak of the Caucasian War divided our peoples for a long time. The accident became the basis of the Shamil movement. Shamil himself was an Avar by origin - he was born in 1797 in the village of Gimry. However, Avaria did not immediately completely submit to Shamil: the then ruling Khansha Pahu-Bike and her two sons were killed for disobedience, and many villages were ruined. The Imamate, put together by the iron hand of Shamil, became a state with unlimited secular and spiritual power of the imam, with its own administration, taxes, rewards, etc. All supporters of Russia were declared “atheists” and “traitors,” and the tsarist administration “conductors of a slave system, humiliating and insulting to true Muslims.”

For almost 25 years, Shamil with his naibs and murids fought against the vast Russian Empire. In August 1859, Russian troops stormed the high-mountain village of Gunib and captured the imam.

Aul Gunib. Modern view (panorama)

He and his family were evicted to Kaluga, from where he bequeathed to the mountaineers to faithfully serve the Russian Tsar. His call was heard. Under Emperor Alexander II, Avars were part of the Life Guards units of the royal convoy, including serving as guards in the palace chambers of the royal family.

Shamil in Kaluga with his sons, sons-in-law and Russian officers.

The Avars are the largest people of modern Dagestan. In Soviet Dagestan, the Avars were even called the titular nation.

According to the results of the All-Russian Population Census of 2002, the total number of Avars in Russia is 814 thousand people (an increase of 4 times over the century) - this is 9th place after the Russians.

There are many among them famous people- for example, Hero of Russia test pilot Magomed Tolboev.

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The Avars are a working people. The lands they occupy are harsh and inhospitable.

There is practically no arable land here. However, the slopes of the mountains are indented with ledges, which, like a patchwork quilt, covered all the slopes and hillocks. These are terraced fields. There is almost no mountain in Avaria that is not crossed by terraced areas. And each such field is a hymn to human labor. To make the smallest terrace, you need to level the slope, free it from stones, strengthen the edges and carry soil or fertilizer on your back. And only then live in hope that the field will not be washed away by the rain, will not be destroyed by a landslide, and it will produce a harvest.

House in the Avar village of Batsada.

Difficult survival conditions developed great mutual assistance among the Avars.

Avars in traditional clothes

If a spark of fire remains in the hearth of one Avar, he will pass it on to his neighbor, and from this spark the fires will blaze together in all the hearths of the aul. In difficult moments, the mountaineers, forgetting strife, always shared a piece of cheese and a handful of flour.

Prayer carpet - namazlyk. XIX century Avar work.

Avars, as a rule, speak several languages. More than 60% speak Russian fluently, and approximately the same number speak the Kumyk language, which for many centuries acted as an intermediary language in Dagestan.
The outstanding Dagestan poet Rasul Gamzatov spoke very well about the greatness of the nature of Avaria and the spiritual beauty of the Avar people in his work.

I’ll end it with the poem “Mother Tongue”:

So I lay and died in powerlessness,
And suddenly I heard not far away
Two people walked and talked
In my dear Avar language.

And vaguely hearing the sound of my native speech,
I was coming to life. And the moment came
When I realized what would cure me
Not a doctor, not a healer, but a native language.

The land is dear to me, blooming and free,
All from the Baltic to Sakhalin.
I will die for him, anywhere,
But let them bury me in the ground here.

So that at the gravestone near the village
The Avars sometimes remembered
An Avar word from fellow countryman Rasul
The successor of Hamzat of Tsada.

Well, God grant that our native speech and native culture will help us heal our souls.

Avars - self-name maarulal (magIarulal), literally “highlanders” - are one of the most significant peoples of Dagestan. In total there are 912,090 people, including 850,011 in Dagestan. The Avar language belongs to the Avar-Ando-Tsez group of the Dagestan branch of the Caucasian languages. The area of distribution of the Avar language stretches from north to south in a strip dividing Dagestan into two parts. The length of this strip is about 170 km to the south, and its greatest width is about 70 km.
The structure of the Avar language is characterized by a complex system of consonants, the presence of nominal classes, numerous local cases, and ergative construction. Phonetics is characterized by movable stress, which plays a meaningful role.
The Avar-Ando-Tsez group, in addition to the Avar language itself, also includes Andean and Tsez languages. The population of Avaria speaking them is related to the Avars not only in language, but also in the main features of culture and way of life, and is currently united with the Avars themselves. The basis of the literary Avar language is the so-called military language - Bolmats, which has long been used in oral communication between the Avarians and Ando-Tsezians.
The first version of Avar writing on a Cyrillic basis was created by Baron Peter Karlovich Uslar in 1861 in Tiflis. In 1928, a decision was made to translate the Avar language into the Latin alphabet, and in 1938 a new alphabet on a Russian graphic basis was introduced.
Avars inhabit mainly the mountainous part of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic: Khunzakh, Gunib, Kakhib, Gergebil, Gumbetovsky, Charodinsky, Botlikh, Tsumadinsky, Tsuntinsky, Akhvakhsky, Kazbekovsky, Tlyaratinsky districts. The Buinaksky, Levashinsky and Kizilyurt districts, as well as one village in the Rutulya district (Kusar), are partially inhabited by Avars. In addition, Avars live outside of Dagestan - in the Zagatala and Belokansky regions of the Azerbaijan SSR. The main territory of settlement of the Avars is limited on all sides by almost closed ridges: Andisky, Salatau, Gimrinsky, etc. Inside it is dissected by tributaries of the river. Sulak - four Koisu (Avar, Kazikumukh, Andi and Kara), as well as many mountain ranges - spurs of the Main Caucasus Range. The inaccessible natural boundaries between different parts of the Avaria and the dominance of subsistence farming were one of the main reasons for the long-term isolation in the past of the peoples of the Avar-Ando-Tsez group and the preservation of a large number of languages, dialects and dialects among them.
In the early Middle Ages, Avaria was part of the Khazar Kaganate, and after the defeat of Khazaria by our glorious ancestors, it became part of the Jewish principality of Zhugut, which arose in one of its fragments, with its center in the first capital of Khazaria, Semender - next to the current village of Shelkovskaya, now located in Chechnya. From the 13th to the 19th centuries there was an independent Avar Khanate. In the 18th century it reached the peak of its power - the Dzharo-Belokan society, Derbent, Cuban, Sheki, Baku and Shirvan khans were in vassal dependence of the Avar khan. Even the Chechens paid tribute to the Avars. Even earlier, the Avar Kaganate existed, but the Avars have nothing to do with the Avars who inhabited it, although the Dagestan historian Mamaikhan Aglarov tries to deduce from the consonance of two exonyms the relationship of the Avars with the current Avars.

From a genetic point of view, Avars are related to Jews - 67% of Avars are carriers of the Jewish haplogroup J1. The majority of the rest are carriers of haplogroup J2.

According to the Chechen chronicle “Chronicle of the Nakhchu Tribe,” the Avar khans were of the same origin as the Khazar Khagans: “Surakat and Kagar, Jewish princes. Surakat settled in Avar (Surakat... lived in the mountains, in Khunzakh), and Kagar in Chir-yurt.” The chronicle “History of Irkhan” states that the Sultan of Avaria is the brother of the Khagan of Khazaria.

At the end of the 15th century, the Avar language became the language (Bolmats) of interethnic relations for all Western and highland small nationalities and ethnic groups.
At the beginning of the 19th century. The Avar Khanate and individual societies joined Russia. The Avar khans refused to support the Imamat of Chechnya and Dagestan in their anti-Russian war. Temporarily installed as the ruler of Avaria, Aslan Khan Kazikumukhsky asked to send Russian troops to defend Khunzakh, and Baron Rosen agreed to his request due to the strategic importance of the fortress. True, another famous Avar Shamil was proclaimed imam of Chechnya in 1840. In 1841, unrest broke out in Avaria, stirred up by one of Shamil’s naibs, Hadji Murad, who betrayed his oath to our king, and in 1943, the capital of Avaria came under the control of Shamil.

In 1859, Khunzakh was occupied by the Russian army and in the same year the Avar Khanate was restored, and, at the request of Prince Baryatinsky, a relative of the former Avar khans, Ibrahim Khan Mehtulinsky, who ruled the Khanate autocratically until 1863, was appointed khan. due to mental disorder. After this, the Avar Khanate, with the annexation of part of the Avar society Hindalal to it in 1865, was transformed into the Avar District. As for the Avars of Azerbaijan, the territory of their settlement, according to the administrative division that existed before the revolution, was part of the Zagatala district.
The leading sectors of the Accident economy in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. were in the highlands - cattle breeding, lower in the mountains, as well as in river valleys - agriculture (field cultivation and gardening).
The folk experience of Avar pastoralists told them the composition of the herd that was most appropriate for local conditions (about 70% were sheep, about 20% were cattle, the rest were horses and donkeys). However, cattle breeding was extensive in nature (hay procurement was carried out on a small scale). With rare exceptions, the Avars did not have their own winter pastures on the plane and were forced to rent them from the Tarkovsky princes (descendants of the Shamkhal) and other large landowners, as well as in Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Unfavorable climatic conditions and backward agricultural technology limited the range of cereals cultivated by the Avars. The most typical for Avar grain farming at the beginning of the 20th century. there was a special kind of wheat, the so-called “magar”, millet “corsair”, which differs from the ordinary one in that it grows in an ear rather than a cluster, and black peas. In addition, the Avars sowed rye, naked barley, spring wheat, corn, as well as flax and hemp.
Primitive methods of farming, backward technology, land shortage - all this made farming an unusually labor-intensive process. An Avar spent more than a month cultivating one dessiatine of land, while on the ground one dessiatine was cultivated in just five days.
From the second half of the 19th century. Trade is especially developing in Avaria. In every village of any significance there was a local merchant - a bazaargap, who bought goods from fellow villagers and resold them in Temir-Khan-Shur, Petrovsk, Kizlyar and other cities. The usual house of Avar peasants was a quadrangular building with a flat roof. Its walls were made of untreated stone of various shapes, and a solution of local soil was sometimes used as a fastening material. The house was built either on a foundation or on rocky ground. One or more beams were placed on the steppes, on top of which boards or poles were laid, and brushwood, hay were laid on them, and a thin layer of earth and clay was poured. The main beams of the ceiling were supported by special pillars. The earthen flooring was carefully compacted with a roller. This roof needed to be rolled down after every rain.

On the lower floor of the house there were utility rooms - a barn, a hayloft, a storage room - and a winter living room. An external stone staircase led to the upper floor. There were living rooms there - in the houses of wealthy Avars there were usually three, in the poor - one, less often - two. From each room there was access to a gallery hanging over the first floor or overlooking the roof of the lower house. The roof of the gallery was supported by several pillars. The gallery usually contained a wooden carved sofa and several small benches.
In some houses, in the middle of the room, on a clay floor, there was an open hearth, above which hung a chain for the boiler. The place near the fireplace was considered the most honorable in the house; there was a wooden carved sofa - the place of the eldest in the family, on which the guest was usually seated. The fireplace divided the room into four parts: men were placed on the right side, women on the left, children during meals between the pillar and the hearth; the space between the hearth and the outer wall of the house was intended for storing firewood and brushwood. In the old days, such a house was the home of a large family, which was designated by the same term tso ruk'alul gIadamal as a group of related families. At the beginning of the 20th century. it already housed a small family.
The national costume of the Avar consisted of a tunic-like shirt, trousers, beshmet, Circassian coat, burka, hood and papakha. The Avar fur coat is unique, having a small collar and narrow false sleeves. This fur coat was worn saddle-back.
The main element of the women's costume was, like other peoples of Dagestan, a tunic-like dress-shirt (gorde). Gorde was worn over long pants or directly on the body. It was sewn from straight panels of fabric dark colors(black, blue, less often dark red), had a round neckline and straight sleeves with cuffs fastened at the wrist. In the Kakhib region, the gord was belted with a wide cloth belt in the form of a towel; rich women wore a metal belt with a beautiful buckle or a leather belt with metal decorations. In the Khunzakh, Botlikh and other regions, on holiday, rich women wore a habalo over their pride - a cut silk dress, gathered in gathers at the waist, with sleeves with a slit from the elbow to the wrist (Kumyk type clothing).
The main element of the Avarka's headdress was the chukhta (among the Avars proper - chukht1o) - a bag for braids connected to a cap. The chukhta was worn low on the forehead and was firmly secured to the head with the help of ties. Rich Avars sewed it from silk. Chukhta in many Avar villages had its own characteristics. In a number of societies in the Gunib region, the frontal part of the chukta had a chukhtar - a square on which metal decorations were hung or artistic embroidery was done with gold threads. In the Kakhib region, the chukta also had round temple plaques: large for girls, somewhat smaller for married women and small for old ones. On special occasions, a scarf or shawl was worn over the chukta in the Khuizakh region. Preserving to this day, chukta has its own specific characteristics in different areas. The Chukhtas of the Andians, Botlikhs, Tindals and other ethnographic groups of Avars are distinguished.
Footwear included leather boots (chakmabi), felt boots (kvasul khital), which were worn mainly in winter, and woolen socks with thick soles, especially common in the Tlyarata and Tsumadinsky regions. In summer, soft boots were most often worn.
Serfdom in Avaria, as in most regions of Dagestan, was abolished only in 1913. The feudal nobility, despite the abolition of the Khan-Bek administration in the 1860s, retained its privileges. 4As in most other regions of the North Caucasus, in Avaria the feudal-dependent peasantry consisted of two main groups: personally free community members (uzdens) and serfs (rayats). There were also domestic slaves in Avaria. The secular feudal lords included khans, beks and chanks.