Circassians are one of the indigenous people of the Northern Caucasus. The ancestors of today’s Circassians are known as the Sind-Meot tribes. Findings revealed as a result of archaeological research show that the Sind-Meot tribes are the indigenous people of the Caucasus. There are 9 surviving Circassian tribes and they are Abzakhs, Besleney, Bzhedug, Chemirgoy, Hatuqway, Kabardian, Natukhaj, Shapsug, Ubykh. Also there are 11 destroyed or barely existing Circassian tribes and they are Ademey, Chebsin, Guaye, Hakuchey, Khatug, Khegayk, Makhosh, Mamkhegh, Yegerugway, Zhaney. Circassians’ homeland is Circassia and it is located in the northwest of the Caucasus, between the Caucasus Mountains, the Kuban River and the Black Sea. Circassians speak Northwest Caucasian languages like Adyghe and Kabardian.

What is Xabze?

Xabze is a name used to express the unwritten rules of the Circassians. Xabze culture, which is responsible for all behaviors including greetings, constitutes the spiritual environment of the Circassian society. According to Circassians, there are rules that must be followed in daily life. Complying with these rules means preserving the essence of being a Circassian. An old Adyghe saying actually supports this idea. “Even in the afterlife there is Xabze. Even if the world goes down, do the right thing”. For Adyg people, Adyghe Xabze means their way of living and thinking. Adyghe Xabze; The birth of Adyghe is its morality until it leaves the world. The complexity of the Adyghean Xabze; It has permeated the life of all Adygheans, taking part in the understanding of all generations, at all levels, and in the behavior of all ages, for both genders, regardless of their social status.

Circassian Genocide:

Circassians resisted the attempts of Tsarist Russia to invade their lands for nearly 300 years. On May 21, 1864, the resistance of the Circassians was broken and Tsarist Russia destroyed all the resisters by committing the crime of genocide. The following years continued with forced exile, which was the continuation of the crime of genocide. According to historical records, nearly 2 million Circassian population were subjected to forced exile from their homeland, the North Caucasus. For those who want to stay in their places, Tsarist Russia changed their language, culture and beliefs; Assimilation and exile within the Tsarist lands were imposed.

Religion among Circassians:

• Sunni Islam (y. 1600s–1864)
• Roman Catholicsm (y. 1300s)
• Eastern Orthodoxy (y. 700s–y. 1600s)
• Judaism(y. 652–y. 968)
• Circassian paganism

Where are Circassians now?

Nowadays, there are Circassians living in approximately 40 countries, including the US, Türkiye, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and various European nations. Türkiye is home to about six million Circassians, making up nearly 80% of their population. 10 percent or so reside in what was once known as Circassia. However, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, and Krasnodar Krai are the four administrative regions that currently make up this region.

Ahmet Yigit Bircan

Sources:

youtube: Çerkes Soykırımı | 21 Mayıs 1864 | 32. Gün Arşivi

youtube: 153 Yıl Süren Rus-Çerkes Savaşı | Çerkes Sürgünü

Belleten: Kosova’ya Yapılan Çerkes Göçü ve İskânı (1864-1865)

Wikipedia: Circassian Languages

fikriyat: Çerkes kültürü: Xabze

cerkesfed: Adige Xabzesi, Adige’nin Doğumundan Dünyayı Terk Edinceye Kadar ki Ahlakıdır.

ihd: 21 Mayıs Çerkesler’in 1864’de Uğradığı Soykırım ve Sürgünün Yıl Dönümü

wikipedia: Çerkesya’da din

christiancircassians: WORLD RELIGIONS IN CIRCASSIA

haber46: Çerkesler ne zaman nasıl Müslüman oldu?

Picture of Circassian prince: Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, Wikimedia Commons