Recently, the Nogais have been remembered mainly in connection with the land issue in Dagestan. What kind of people they are and what is happening to the ethnos now "NatsAkcentu" was told by the deputy director of the Astrakhan branch of the RANEPA, Ph.D. Eldar Idrisov.
Origin of the Nogais
The formation of the Nogais as an ethnic group took place in the space of the Eurasian steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube. Among their ancestors are the medieval nomadic Turkic and Mongol-speaking tribes who came during the Batu invasion.
Researchers have different opinions about the original place of residence. Some consider the Nogai ulus Temnik Nogai in the region of the Dnieper and Dniester rivers to be the "homeland" of the Nogai at the end of the 13th century. Others - the Embo-Ural interfluve, in which in 1391 Beklyaribek Edige (beklyaribek is an administrative position in the Golden Horde, in terms of functionality similar to the modern prime minister - ed.) Founded the Mangyt yurt. The epos "Edige" is dedicated to the deeds of the Beklyaribek - the founder of the dynasty of rulers of the Nogai Horde.
History of the Nogais
The stories about the origin of the ethnos are often superimposed on unscientific ideas and folk mythology, which often interpret the events of the past from a position that is advantageous in a particular period of time. It is customary to emphasize the antiquity of the people and argue about its past unshakable power. The stories of the Nogai in this respect are rich in speculation. It so happened that after the collapse of the Nogai Horde, nomadic groups became part of the Kazakhs, Middle Volga Tatars, Bashkirs, Turkmens and Karakalpaks. Thus, the cultural heritage of the medieval Nogai was "diffused" among all these peoples. It is not surprising that now each of them seeks to give history its own interpretation, including it in their ethnopolitical construction.
This is how the concept of the "divided people" of the Nogays and Kazakhs appeared, and the view of scientists from Tatarstan on the Nogais as part of the Tatar nation. To this must be added the modern division into ethnoterritorial groups of the Nogai: representatives of the people live in several historical and cultural zones in the North Caucasus and in the Lower Volga region.
The Nogai Horde, which finally took shape as an independent nomadic state at the beginning of the 15th century, became the last large independent association of nomads on the territory of Russia and existed until the beginning of the 17th century. The development of the state was determined by the laws of self-organization of large nomadic associations: a wing-based management structure was formed, the past Golden Horde heritage in the form of "Yasa" and the norms of the Islamic religion were used.
In 1489, diplomatic relations were established with the Moscow principality, extensive dynastic and socio-economic ties with the Turkic states of the Black Sea region, the Volga region and Central Asia developed.
In the middle of the 16th century, an internal cataclysm occurred in the Nogai Horde, which coincided with the widespread advancement of the Muscovite state in the North Caucasus and the Volga-Ural region. In the conditions of civil strife, in connection with the murder of biy Yusuf, the system of traditional nomadism collapsed, and plague spread in the steppe. The initial disintegration of the Nogai Horde began, which continued until the beginning of the 17th century. The scattered uluses that had seceded from the power of the supreme biy were no longer able to resist the movement of Kalmyks from Northern China towards the Lower Volga region.
The process of the entry of the Nogai nomadic groups into the Russian Empire was not easy. Finding themselves at the junction of the geopolitical interests of Russia and Turkey, the Nogais fell not only under political, but also under military influence from both sides. And in 1783, in the battle of Kermenchuk, troops under the command of Alexander Suvorov dealt a tangible blow to the Black Sea Nogai.
In Soviet times, during the period of the "indigenousization" policy, the Nogays were unable to form an ethno-territorial entity.
In 1957, by decree of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, the territory of their traditional residence in the North Caucasus was divided between three subjects: the Stavropol Territory, the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
In the early 1990s, the Birlik Nogai social movement tried to challenge this decision, but to no avail.
Consolidation attempt
In Russia, Nogays, in addition to their main place of residence - Dagestan - live in the Stavropol Territory, Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya. Since the 1990s. quite a significant number of representatives of the people migrate to the north, to the cities of the Ural Federal District.
The first attempts to create a common Ethnocultural movement were made in pre-revolutionary times. At the end of the 19th century, a whole galaxy of figures of Nogai culture appeared in Astrakhan. One of the most notable was Abdrakhman Umerov, a student of the Tatar scholar Shagabutdin Mardzhani, a collector of Nogai folklore and a prominent religious figure. Umerov adopted and adapted the ideas of his teacher about nation-building for the Nogai ethnic group. The main work of Abzhrakhman Umerov is "The History of the Astrakhan Nogai", the scientist devoted almost his entire life to writing it. Alas, the manuscript was lost during the Soviet era.
Umerov's followers and associates are Abdul-Khamid Dzhanibekov, Basyr Abdullin, Bulat Saliev, Najip Gasri (Mavlemberdiev) and others. Some of them, after the revolution, continued their activities in the North Caucasus. So, Abdul-Khamid Dzhanibekov became one of the developers of the norms of the modern literary Nogai language, participated in the translation of the alphabet from Arabic to Latin and from Latin to Cyrillic.
Restructuring and self-awareness of the people
During the perestroika period, there was a surge of Nogai self-awareness on the territory of the Astrakhan region. Historically, several groups of Nogais have formed here - Yurts, Karagash, Kundra and mornings... In Soviet times, they were all classified as ... Tatars, and in general, the idea of including the Astrakhan Nogai people in the Tatar ethnos prevailed. However, in the 1970s, linguistic and ethnographic studies were carried out by Leonid Arslanov, Viktor Viktorin and other scientists, which proved the preservation of the Nogai features of the language and culture in the above groups.
The democratization of society and a joint attempt to solve the environmental problems that arose in connection with the work of subdivisions of the Astrakhan Gazprom near the villages of the Nogai-Karagash, gave rise to an independent ethnocultural movement of the Astrakhan Nogays. The Karagash and Kundra people, who to the greatest extent preserved the Nogai self-consciousness, were especially actively involved in this process.
As a result, from the All-Union census of 1989 to the last All-Russian census of 2010, the number of Nogays in the Astrakhan region has doubled - up to 8 thousand people.
Number of Nogais
In total, according to the official data of the 2010 census, 106,000 Nogays live in Russia. Groups of Nogais live in Romania, where they ended up as a result of a great migration at the end of the 15th century, the formation of the Belogorodskaya Horde and subsequent migration. Another large group lives in Turkey. Its formation took place during the period of "muhajirism" - resettlement during the Caucasian War.
In Kazakhstan, in the border regions with Russia, in the Atyrau and Ural regions, as well as in the Saratov and Volgograd regions of Russia, there lives a large group of "Nugai-Cossacks", formed during the migration of the Nogais in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. Now they are considered a separate genus within the Kazakhs, but they remember their Nogai roots.
An integral part of the Crimean Tatars is the nogai sub-ethnic division, which was formed from people from the Nogai Horde. In the process of ethnocultural development, as well as as a result of the deportation of the middle of the 20th century, internal integration processes intensified, as a result of which the Nogais, along with the Tatami and Yaylybolins, practically merged with the local Turks as part of the Krymly community.
Today in the world about 300,000 people are carriers of the Nogai ethnic identity.
New time
Since the late 1980s, Russia has developed a practice of holding interregional events. The central all-Genogai event was the celebration in 1990 of the 600th anniversary of the Edige epic in the regional center of the Nogai region of the Republic of Dagestan with. Terekli-Mekteb. The first large scientific conference "Historical and geographical aspects of the development of the Nogai Horde" was also held there.
Since 1991, the Dzhanibekov readings have been held in the Astrakhan region, dedicated to the activities of the Nogai educator, ethnographer-folklorist Abdul-Khamid Sharshenbievich Dzhanibekov. And in 2018, in Astrakhan, a monument will be unveiled to him at the house where he was born.
In 2004, the First International Festival "Nogai El" was held in Makhachkala, which brought together Nogai people from all over the world. In 2006, St. Petersburg hosted the International Conference "The Current Situation and Development Prospects of the Nogai People in the 21st Century." Every two years since 2014, the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Nogai: 21st century. From the origins to the future. History. Culture. Language" has been held.
In 2013, the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of the Nogai of the Russian Federation "Nogai El" ("Nogai people") was registered. Its founders were the regional offices of Dagestan, Stavropol Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia. On the one hand, the form of national-cultural autonomy is well suited for coordinating the nationwide ethnocultural movement, on the other, the Nogai El leadership has not yet formed such a development program that would take into account the ethnic and cultural interests of all territorial groups of the Nogai.
The word of youth
Several independent Nogai ethnocultural organizations operate in the regions. Youth organizations stand apart: student associations - the "Union of Nogai Youth" in Moscow and Urengoy, and in Astrakhan - the Youth Center of Nogai Culture "Edige".
An interesting youth interregional project was the "Steppe Bogatyrs" freestyle wrestling competition. The venue of the tournament changes annually. Starting in Dagestan, since 2007 it has been held in all subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District and the Southern Federal District, where the Nogays live. In 2018, the competition will be held for the second time in the Chechen Republic.
The problem of preserving the native language for the Nogai is urgent. It is especially acute in Dagestan. The Nogai intelligentsia sees prospects in new methods and technologies, the development of a system of additional education. The "Ethnoschool" school of "online" language learning has proven itself well.
Territorial features
Today, each of the regions where the Nogai live has its own "specialization."
In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in 2007, a municipal entity "Nogai District" appeared. But in general, Karachay-Cherkessia is the center of Nogai research activities. It is here that the Nogai branch of the Institute for Humanitarian Research of the KChR operates .
The Astrakhan Region is a recognized center for education and successful youth projects.
Due to regional socio-political processes, Nogai ethnicity is often politicized, and from time to time there is even talk of territorial autonomy.
In Russia and in the world
Nogai people actively communicate with each other not only within Russia, but also with foreign diasporas. In addition to Turkey and Romania, representatives of this people today live very compactly in Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. Ethnic groups that have developed on a Kypchak basis in Hungary are increasingly gravitating towards the Nogais.
The musician from Karachay-Cherkessia Arslanbek Sultanbekov made a great contribution to the consolidation of the Nogais around the world. His composition "Dombra" gained international popularity, and the song "Nogai El" became the unofficial anthem of the Nogai people.
- Neftekum district: 12 267 (per. 2002)
- Mineralovodsky District 2 929 (trans. 2002)
- Stepnovsky district 1 567 (trans. 2002)
- Neftekumsk: 648 (translated from 2002)
Ukraine: 385 (2001 census)
Nogays(self-name - nogay, plural - nogailar) - a Turkic-speaking people in the North Caucasus and the Volga region. They speak the Nogai language, which belongs to the Kypchak group (Kypchak-Nogai subgroup) of the Turkic languages. The literary language was created on the basis of the Karanogai dialect and the Nogai dialect. The writing is associated with the ancient Turkic, Uigur-Naiman writing systems; from the 18th century until 1928, the Nogai alphabet was based on the Arabic script, from 1928-1938. - in the Latin script. Cyrillic has been used since 1938.
The population in the Russian Federation is 103.7 thousand people. ().
Political history
In the middle of the 16th century, Gazi (son of Urak, great-grandson of Musa) took some of the Nogai who were nomadic in the Volga region to the North Caucasus, where there were traditional old nomadic camps of the Mangyts, founding Malye Nogai.
The Nogai Horde between the Volga and Emba fell into decay as a result of the expansion of the Moscow state in the Volga region and wars with its neighbors, of which the war with the Kalmyks was the most destructive. The descendants of the Nogai, who did not migrate to Malye Nogai, disappeared among the Bashkirs, Kazakhs and Tatars.
Anthropology
Anthropologically, the Nogais belong to the South Siberian small race, transitional between the large Mongoloid and Caucasian races.
Resettlement
Currently, Nogays live mainly in the North Caucasus and Southern Russia - in Dagestan (Nogaysky, Tarumovsky, Kizlyarsky and Babayurtovsky districts), in the Stavropol Territory (Neftekumsky district), Karachay-Cherkessia (Nogaysky district), Chechnya (north of the Shelkovsky district) and Astrakhan region. The name of the people gives rise to the name Nogai Steppe - an area of compact settlement of the Nogays in the territory of Dagestan, Stavropol Territory and the Chechen Republic.
Over the past decades, large Nogai diasporas have formed in other regions of Russia - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.
Language
Musical and poetic art occupies the main place in the cultural heritage of the Nogai. There is a rich heroic epic (including the poem "Edige")
Religion
Nogai girls in national costumes. The beginning of the XX century.
clothing
Dwelling
History
Nogai is one of the few peoples of modern Russia with centuries-old traditions of statehood in the past. Tribes from the state associations of the Great Steppe of the 7th century took part in the long process of Nogai ethnogenesis. BC NS. - XIII century. n. NS. (Saki, Sarmatians, Huns, Usuns, Kangly, Keneges, Ases, Kypchaks, Uigurs, Argyns, Kytai, Naimans, Kereites, Kungrats, Mangyts, etc.).
The final formation of the Nogai community with the supra-tribal name Nogai (Nogaily) took place in the XIV century as part of the Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde). In the subsequent period, the Nogai ended up in different states that were formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde - the Astrakhan, Kazan, Kazakh, Crimean, Siberian khanates and the Nogai Horde.
Nogai ambassadors first arrived in Moscow in 1489. For the Nogai embassy, the Nogai courtyard was allocated across the Moskva River not far from the Kremlin in a meadow opposite the Simonov Monastery. In Kazan, a place was also set aside for the Nogai embassy, called the "Mangyt place". The Nogai Horde received tribute from the Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs, some Siberian tribes, played a political and trade-intermediary role in the affairs of neighboring states. In the 1st half of the 16th century. The Nogai Horde could exhibit more than 300 thousand soldiers. The military organization allowed the Nogai Horde to successfully defend their borders, help the warriors and neighboring khanates, the Russian state. In turn, the Nogai Horde received military and economic assistance from Moscow. In 1549, an embassy from the Turkish Sultan Suleiman arrived in the Nogai Horde. The main caravan road connecting Eastern Europe with Central Asia passed through its capital - the city of Saraichik. In the first half of the XVI century. Moscow went to further rapprochement with the Nogai Horde. The exchange of goods has increased. The Nogays supplied horses, sheep, livestock products, in exchange they received cloth, ready-made clothes, fabrics, iron, lead, copper, tin, walrus bone, and writing paper. The Nogays, fulfilling the contract, carried out cordon service in the south of Russia. In the Livonian War, the Nogai cavalry regiments under the command of the Murz - Takhtar, Temir, Bukhat, Bebezyak, Urazla, and others acted on the side of the Russian troops. Looking ahead, we recall that in the Patriotic War of 1812 in the army of General Platov there was a Nogai cavalry regiment that reached Paris, about than A. Pavlov wrote.
Crimean period of the 17th-18th centuries
After the fall of the Golden Horde, the Nogais wandered in the lower Volga region, but the movement of the Kalmyks from the east in the 17th century led to the migrations of the Nogais to the North Caucasian limits of the Crimean Khanate).
As part of Russia since the 18th century.
The Nogays scattered in scattered groups across the Trans-Kuban region near Anapa and throughout the North Caucasus up to the Caspian steppes and the lower Volga. About 700 thousand Nogais left for the Ottoman Empire.
By 1812, the entire Northern Black Sea region finally became part of Russia. The remnants of the Nogai hordes were settled in the north of the Tauride province (modern Kherson region) and in the Kuban, and forcibly transferred to a sedentary lifestyle.
Nogologists
Notes (edit)
- Official site of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census. Information materials on the final results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census
- All-Russian population census 2010. National composition of the population of the Russian Federation 2010
- All-Russian population census 2010 National composition of Russian regions
- Ethnic composition of the population of Dagestan. 2002
- Ethnic composition of the KChR population. 2002
- Ethnic composition of the population of Chechnya. 2002
- All-Ukrainian population census 2001. Russian version. Results. Nationality and mother tongue.
- Minahan james One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. - Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000. - P. 493-494. - ISBN 978-0313309847
- The peoples of the world. Historical and ethnographic reference book. Ch. ed. Yu.V. Bromley. Moscow "Soviet Encyclopedia" 1988. Article "Nogays", author N.G. Volkova, p. 335.
- KavkazWeb: 94% of respondents are for the creation of the Nogai region in Karachay-Cherkessia - the results of the referendum
- Nogai district was officially created in Karachay-Cherkessia
- Nogai district created in Karachay-Cherkessia
- Nogai district was created in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
- Esperanto news: Conference on the future of the Nogai people
- Traditional clothes and uniforms of Terek, Kuban Cossacks
- Nogays
- Nogays
- Russian military and diplomats on the status of Crimea during the reign of Shagin-Girey
- Vadim GEGELYA. Mastering the Wild West in Ukrainian
- V. B. Vinogradov. Middle Kuban. Compatriots and neighbors. NOGAYS
- Vladimir Gutakov. Russian way to the south (myths and reality). Part two
see also
Links
- IslamNGY - Blog of the group "Nogays in Islam". Islamic analysis of the history of the Nogai, the call of the Nogai preachers, articles, poems, books, video and audio about Islam and the Nogais.
- Nogays.ru - Information site dedicated to the Nogays. History, Information, Forum, Chat, Video, Music, Radio, E-books, Poems, and much more about Nogai.
NOGAYTS (self-name - Nogai), a people in the Russian Federation (75 thousand people), mainly in Dagestan (28 thousand), Stavropol Territory, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya and Ingushetia. The Nogai language of the Kynchak group of Turkic languages. The believers are Sunni Muslims.
Ethnonym
The emergence of the ethnonym "Nogays" and the formation of the core of the Nogai people are associated with the name of the Golden Horde Khan Nogai (13th century). The ethnonym became more widespread during the reign of Khan Edigey (late 14th - early 15th centuries) and his successors, when the Nogai Horde was created as an independent state. The first information about the appearance of the Nogays in the North Caucasian steppes, including the lower reaches of the Terek and Sulak, dates back to the end of the 15th century. In the second half of the 16th century, after the collapse of the Nogai Horde and the formation of two uluses - Big and Small Nogai - the North Caucasian steppes became the main habitat of the Nogai people. The eastern regions of the North Caucasus were developed by immigrants from the Malaya Nogai Horde, and the lower reaches of the Sulak and Terek - from the Big Nogai Horde. At the end of the 17th century, a significant part of the Nogays from the lower reaches of the Terek and Sulak migrated to the Mozdok steppe, laying the foundation for a group of northeastern Nogays known as the Karanogays.
After the inclusion of the Nogays in Russia, the state formations were liquidated. Subsequently, the administrative-territorial affiliation of the Nogai steppe changed several times. Since 1957, it has been divided by the administrative-territorial boundaries between Dagestan, Chechnya and the Stavropol Territory.
Occupation and life
The traditional occupations of the Nogays are nomadic and distant pasture cattle breeding (sheep, goats, cattle), horse breeding, camel breeding. Along with cattle breeding, the Nogays were to a small extent engaged in agriculture (millet, oats, wheat), melon growing and gardening. They also bred poultry (chickens, geese, ducks). Hunting and fishing (hares, saigas, foxes, etc.; herring, barbel, sturgeon, salmon, etc.) should be classified among the ancient traditional occupations of the Nogai.
The most developed of the crafts were the production of cloth, processing of leather, sheepskin, wood, the production of felt, from which they made burqas, boots, hats, and arbabash carpets. The most important trade routes in the Eastern Caucasus, including the Great Silk Road, passed through the Nogai steppes, which determined the significant role of trade among the Nogai people.
Traditional accommodation
A typical type of Nogay settlement is nomadic auls: spring-summer, summer-autumn (yaylak and yazlav) and winter (kyslav); at the same time, winter roads (among the Kuban Nogays from the second half of the 18th century, among the rest of the Nogays from the middle of the 19th century) turned into settled permanent settlements (yurts, aul, shahar, kala).
Traditional dwellings - a kibitka (yurt) and a house (uy), which are adapted respectively to the nomadic and sedentary way of life; yurts should be considered the more ancient dwelling of the Nogai people.
The Nogai yurt - large (terme) and small, portable (otav) - was a round-shaped wagon typical of nomadic peoples. Sedentary Nogays lived in semi-dugouts (erma kazy) and ground turluch and adobe houses with a sloping gable roof. The house had a kitchen-entrance (ayatuy) and bedrooms (ichyuy); as the sons got married, new rooms were added to the house. An open hearth was used to heat the yurt in cold weather and prepare food; there was also a tripod. Stationary dwellings had wall-mounted fireplaces; at the beginning of the 20th century, iron furnaces appear.
clothing
Traditional men's clothing consisted of a tunic-like undershirt, pants with a wide step, an outer shirt, sleeveless jackets (kyspa), a caftan (elen), beshmet and cherkesska (for the rich), burka (yamyshy), shoes made of skins, morocco, chrome , hats, hats made of felt, fabric, fur (fight), waist belt. In winter, they wore fur coats made of sheepskin (poor) or of wolf, fox, squirrel skins and astrakhan fur (rich). Men's clothing was complemented by weapons and military armor: bow and arrows, ax, spear, armor, helmet, shield, chain mail, dagger, saber, and from the middle of the 17th century, firearms: guns and pistols of various types. 
The cut of a woman's suit is close to that of a man's; it included a dress-shirt (ich koylek), various types of dresses (zybyn, kaptal, etc.), fur coats (tone), hats made of fur or fabric, scarves, scarves, shoes made of wool, leather, morocco, as well as belts and various types of jewelry. At present, the young and middle generation of women wear urban, and the older, especially rural, often wear traditional clothing.
The culture
Folklore is developed: heroic poems (Akhmed son of Aislah, Koplanly batyr, Edige, Mamai, Manasha, Amankhor, etc.), ritual poetry (maternity, wedding, labor and other songs, lamentation songs), lyric destans (Boz yigit, Kozy- Korpesh, Boyan Slu, etc.), Cossack songs (kazak yyrlary), fairy tales, legends, anecdotes, proverbs, sayings, riddles.
Musical folklore, choreography, as well as folk games and sports (wrestling, horse racing, etc.) have developed greatly. A folk calendar has been developed, folk medicine and veterinary medicine have been developed. Elements of traditional beliefs associated with nature cults were retained.
Their ancestors were the Turkic-Mongol tribes that were part of the population of the ulus of the Golden Horde temnik Nogai. At the very end of the XIII century, this ulus separated from the Golden Horde into an independent state, occupying a huge territory from the Irtysh to the Danube. The inhabitants of the ulus of the powerful temnik began to call themselves "people of the Nogai ulus."
Nogai defeats Tokhta on the banks of the Don
In the 15th century, the Nogai Horde split into the Big and Small Hordes. Around the same time, the ethnonym "Nogais" appeared in Russian documents.
For centuries, the Nogais were the striking force of the Crimean horde and the main opponents of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. However, the struggle of the Russian state against the nomads, of course, would have ended in victory much earlier if the support of the powerful Ottoman Empire had not been behind the Nogai.
In 1783, after the successful end of another Russian-Turkish war, Catherine II issued a manifesto abolishing the statehood of the Black Sea hordes, and they themselves were ordered to move to the Trans-Urals. This caused unrest among the Nogai, and the legendary commander Suvorov was sent to suppress them. On October 1, 1783, Russian troops attacked the main nomad camp. According to an eyewitness, “the Nogais were slaughtered with malice and died in masses. In impotent rage, they themselves destroyed their jewels, killed their children, cut women so that they would not be captured. " However, for those Nogais who did not take part in the uprising, a grandiose feast was arranged, at which 100 bulls, 800 rams were eaten and 500 buckets of vodka were drunk. Some Nogai princes Suvorov conquered exclusively by the power of the charm of his personality, and with one of them he even became twinned.
By 1812, the entire Northern Black Sea region finally became part of Russia. Everyone was allowed to move to Turkey. The remnants of the Nogai hordes were transferred to a sedentary lifestyle.
The Nogais who remained in Russia were not mistaken in their choice. A contemporary of Pushkin, a Russian officer, writer and educator of the Nogai people, Sultan Kazy-Girey wrote with conviction: "Russia has become my second fatherland, from the benefit of Russia only the benefit of my native land can expire."
Indeed, the Nogai survived as a people only in Russia. Their total number today is about 90 thousand people.
Nogai people carefully preserve their national traditions. They are based on one common quality, which the Nogays call "ademshilik", which means "humanity" in translation.
In the upbringing of men among the Nogais, military training was of paramount importance. The following were considered the main articles of military ethics: one should not attack the sleeping, bound, unarmed enemy; you can not kill the one asking for mercy; a weak enemy must be given the right to the first shot or strike; the hero himself must get out of a difficult situation (captivity, imprisonment, etc.).
But, along with military prowess, education was also highly valued. An old Nogai proverb says: "Men have two arts: one is to shoot and knock down the enemy, the other is to open and read a book."
In conversation, the Nogai adhere to a certain etiquette. The younger ones never call the older ones by their first name. It is considered completely unacceptable to speak with a grin, arrogantly, speak and gaze intently at the interlocutor or examine the details of his clothes. It is not allowed to talk with crossed arms or akimbo. If two are talking about something of their own and at this time a third approaches them, then after shaking hands, he should ask permission to join them.
Women's speech is replete with various kinds of good wishes. But curses are used exclusively by women in their speech.
If a man wants to say something that violates public decency, then he must first utter the etiquette phrase: "I am very ashamed, but I will say."
When we have nothing to do, we play cities, and the Nogays play songs. Here is a sketch from the 19th century researcher Moshkov: “10 couples were sitting around the hut. The first guy on the right should sing to his girlfriend some song that suits her in the best light. Then he gets up from his place, lifting the girl with one hand and supporting with the other, and makes a full turn with her in place and lets her go. At this time, the second begins. So everything until the first, and he again. If one of the guys fails to sing the song, then he must appoint another instead of himself. And so all night. "
I wonder how many people will be able to win the song contest against the Nogais?
Turkic-Tatar states of Eastern Europe through the eyes of Europeans. Part 1
Yaroslav Pilipchuk continues a series of articles devoted to the key stages of Turkic history. Today Realnoe Vremya publishes the first article from the cycle of the Turkic-Tatar states of Eastern Europe through the eyes of Europeans. It is dedicated to the Nogais.
Three peoples in Western sources
One of the most interesting aspects of the history of Eastern Europe is the history of the Turkic-Tatar states (Nogays, Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars). Coverage of the history of the Crimean Khanate in Western European sources requires a separate essay. The history of Astrakhan, Kazan and the Nogais is known mainly due to Russian and Eastern sources. Meanwhile, descriptions of the history of the Nogai, Kazan and Astrakhan Tatars are also in European sources.
Michalon Litvin (Ventslav Nikolaevich) considered the Nogais to be one of the Tatar hordes - nagai ( outdated.). Alexander Gvanini (1538-1614) pointed out that the Nogai live closest to the Kazan Khanate and live on the Volga and Yaik rivers. The Nogai Horde consists of three hordes - Sharai, Yaik, Kamma. The Nogays are free and cruel people who do not know the law and give superiority to the strong. Kazlimurza is in charge of them, but they do not always listen to him.
They are not farmers, and their wealth is measured by the number of livestock. A person can have several hundred sheep, several dozen horses and about a dozen camels. They drink mare's milk and eat the meat of horses and rams. Nogays dry and dry meat. They are constantly on the move and do not have permanent homes. They fight against Moscow, and when they are defeated and their property is taken by the Muscovites, a great famine begins among them.
Sigismund von Herberstein, a diplomat of the Holy Roman Empire, on his map of Muscovy, published in 1549, places the Nogai Tatars (Nagayske Tartare) in the lower Volga on both banks (see the lower right corner of the map). Photo baarnhielm.net
The information of Alexander Gvanini in itself does not represent any historical value, but it was correctly noted that the khans did not rule over the Nogais, and the horde itself was divided into a number of uluses. With regard to the attacks of the Nogays on the Russians, this applied to the Small Nogai Horde, as well as to those Nogays who were in opposition to Ismail and his descendants. The Big Nogai Horde has long been an ally, not an enemy, of the Russians.
The reason for the assertion by the Russians of the hostility of the Nogai was that the Nogais sent the Nogai Mirza Akhpolbei to the Mari. Since the book of Gvanini was published in 1582, it is obvious that the activities of Urus-biy fell into the field of view of the chronicler, although he did not mention such a leader of the Nogais. Maciej Mekhovsky (1457-1523) called the Nogai Nogai Tatars or Okkass. Okkas is the twisted name of biy Vakkas. The Nogai were considered a newly formed horde. According to the Polish historian and geographer, it arose in 1447 near the Saray castle. Maciej Mekhovsky noted that the Nogais were the most numerous and powerful in his time, that they were ruled by the sons and grandsons of Okkas. They do not use coins and exchange slaves and cattle for different things. On the eastern side, they adjoin Muscovy and often attack them. It must be said that in the work of the Polish historian and geographer, the Nogais were described according to a template, and their description was copied from the Tatars. Speaking about the attack of the Nogai on the Russians, they meant the attacks on the Russian lands by the Nogai as part of the troops of the Great Horde. In addition, the Nogai, led by the Tyumen khan, raided Kazan, which was then a vassal of the Great Moscow principality.
"The Duke of Muscovites keeps cavalry units in Astrakhan, Kazan and Vyatka"
Sigismund Herberstein (1486-1566) identified the Nogais as one of the Tatar hordes and considered them Muslims. Pavel Iovy (1483-1552) noted that behind the Shiban Horde (nomadic Uzbeks) is the Nogai Horde, which is famous for its wealth and military prowess. It is ruled by wise elders and brave men. Zhagatai (Timurids) live in the south of them. There are anachronisms in his message. By the time Pavel Ioviy's treatise was written, nomadic Uzbeks had already settled in Central Asia, migrating from Desht-i Kypchak. By that time, the Timurids left for Afghanistan and India. Alberto Campenze (Dutch by origin, but worked in Italy, 1490-1542) noted that the possessions of the Russians were devastated by the constant attacks of the Kazan Tatars and Nagays. That is, the campaigns of Sahib-Girey and Safa-Girey fell into the writer's field of vision. The Nogays mentioned by him are not the Nogai Horde, but the Nogays who were under the citizenship of Mehmed-Girey and Sahib-Girey. With a greater degree of probability, it can be argued that Alberto Kampense had in mind the campaign of 1521 and the participation in it of the Nogays of Alchagir and Agish, who for some time were expelled to the west by the Kazakhs.
Nogays in Astrakhan, engraving from the book by A. Olearius "Description of the journey to Muscovy", 1634. Photo istoriia.ru
Francesco Tiepolo (16th century) pointed out that the Duke of the Muscovites keeps cavalry units in Tsitrakan (Astrakhan), Kassan (Kazan) and Vyatkan (Vyatka) to prevent the raids of the Nogai and Tatars. It was reported that during the war in Livonia, the Nogai attacked the Muscovites and, with large booty and many prisoners, came to the Volga, not content with this, they invaded again with a large army and were defeated by the Duke of Moscow, who lured them into an ambush. It is obvious that Francesco Tiepolo wrote according to a template set earlier in European sources. Until the 70s of the 16th century, the Nogai Horde, and then the Big Nogai Horde, was friendly to the Russians. The Malaya Nogai Horde and the Crimean Nogays occupied a hostile position. Considering that his work was written around 1560, the only real reason for this statement could be information about Akhpolbei. However, biys Ismail and Yusuf did not support the rebellious Tatars and Mari in the First Cheremis War. Everything was limited to a small contingent of volunteers. However, the history of the Volga region in Europe was not known in such detail. The presence of Russian troops in Kazan, Astrakhan and Vyatka was primarily aimed at maintaining control over these territories. The troops in Vyatka could react to the attacks of the Mari and Mansi, as well as the Tyumen khans. Marco Foscarino noted that the Nogai Tatars are rich and have a large army. They do not have a single ruler, but experienced men rule, as in Venice. They are civilized and they have fortresses. Obviously, information leaked to the west that the conditional capital of the Nogai Horde was Saraichik, as well as that they were ruled by Mirza and Biy. At the time of writing the composition of Marco Foscarino, the Nogai Horde was at the height of its power, and this explains the data on its wealth. Emidio Dortelli d "Ascoli (end of the 16th - first half of the 17th century) described the Nogays as opposed to the Crimean Tatars. He describes the Nogays as Mongoloids, and the Crimean Tatars as Caucasians. Crimean Tatars live sedentary, and the Nogais are nomads, but they also have palaces with settlements. Nogays can endure hunger for a long time, but when they have food, they engage in gluttony. The Italian described the activities of Cantemir Mirza and his confrontation with the Crimean khans, we will talk about this in more detail in another article. In general, Emidio Dortelli d "Ascoli described the Nogays of Budzhak and Crimea as part of the Crimean Khanate. The Mongoloid nature of the Nogais and their nomadic lifestyle were correctly noted. Emidio Dortelli d "Ascoli was an eyewitness to the events. Jean de Luc (Giovanni da Luca, XVII century. ) noted that the Nogays put 50 thousand soldiers in the field, of which 15 thousand are the Budjak Horde, which borders on Wallachia and where the main city is Akkerman.
Enmity between Nogais and Kalmaks over pastures
The Dutchman Isaac Massa (1586-1643) reported that during the capture of Hadji-Tarkhan by the Russians, two princes from Nagai (Nogai Horde), Ediger and Kaibula, the sons of one of the powerful Nogai Akkubek, arrived. They wanted to convert to Christianity. The Dutchman rightly noted the relocation of a part of the Nogai aristocrats to Russia and their allied relations. Nicholas Witsen (1641-1717) wrote that the lands of Nagaya are located east of the Volga to the Yaik River, they also live on the other side of the Volga to the Niper (Dnieper) and Tanais (Don) rivers. They can collect 50 thousand riders. The Nogai are Muslims, but they do not know the laws and do not follow them. They eat meat and drink kumis. The Nogays move from place to place, and when they stop, they protect themselves and their livestock from the Circassians and Crimeans, as well as predators. They usually stop at the camp on the banks of the rivers. The Nogai have a lot of livestock, they have no coins, and they barter trade, exchanging livestock for fabrics and trinkets. In addition, they sell slaves and oil. The Dutchman portrays the Nogais as Mongoloids and notes their ugly appearance.
Nogai Tatars. Christian Geisler. 1804. Photo nogaici.ru
The court is ruled by their head. They don't kill for crimes. The only exception is for kills. The Nogai are divided into Small and Big Nagai. Those who live near Crimea are considered the bravest. In 1595, Great Nagaya was divided among three brothers. Sheydak owned the Saraichik. Kossum is a land between the Volga, Kama and Yaik. Their clothes are animal skins, chintz shirts. The ransom is paid for the bride. There is enmity between the Nogai and Kalmaks over pastures. Prince Bulat ruled the Pyatigorsk Nogais, and Prince Shefkal ruled the Nogais near the Cherkasy mountains. The Nogays are gardening and are starting to settle. In 1690, the Kalmyk prince Monshak held a part of the Nogais under his control. Maly Nogai is a desert area between Astrokan (Astrakhan) and Tyumen (Caucasian Tyumen). This country borders on Cherkasy and Azov. Big Nagaya is a desert region between Astrokan (Astrakhan) and Siberia. On the whole, Nicholas Witsen correctly described the way of life, the anthropological type and the division into hordes of Nogai. However, their chronology was confused, and there was also an inadequate idea of the Nogais in the 17th century. The Pyatigorsk Nogais became subject to the Kabardians, another group was subject to the Kumyk shamkhal, and the third was subject to the Kalmyk tayshes. The hordes living near the Crimea are not yet several hordes of Nogais, but Crimean Nogais. In general, the formal recognition by the Big Nogai Horde of its vassalage from the Russians, and of the Small Nogai Horde from the Crimean Khanate is correctly displayed. True, for a long time their vassalage was nominal. Confused, however, the lands of the Great Nogai Horde before the Kalmyk invasion and during this process.
Richard Chancellor (1521-1556) wrote that Ivan Vasilievich held 60 thousand cavalry against the Nogai Tatars. This is a very big exaggeration, since the large army of Ivan IV Vasilyevich in the campaign against Livonia amounted to 20-25 thousand, and the entire army during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich hardly exceeded 60 thousand people. Information about the danger from the Nogai was probably connected with the fact that the Nogais sent Mirza Akhpolbey to the Mari to restore the Kazan Khanate, as well as with the fact that Gazi Urakov took an anti-Russian position. It should be noted that he was in Russia in 1553-1556, but did not leave a detailed description of the events. Anthony Jenkinson (1529-1610) reported that the land on the left bank of the Volga - from the Kama to Astrakhan and along the Caspian Sea coast to the Tatar-Turkmens - is called Mangat and belongs to the Nogais. When the Englishman was in Astrakhan in 1558, these lands were seized by a pestilence and 100 thousand people died. Russians are at war with the Nogais. After the pestilence, the land of the Nogai turned out to be uninhabited to the delight of the Russians. The Nogay people were headed by a murza, and they consist of hordes, each of which was headed by its own murza. They have no cities or houses and they lived in the fields. During their migrations, their dwelling was tents on carts. Nogai are Muslims and have four or five wives. The Nogai people are rebellious and prone to murder. They do not use coins and exchange livestock for clothes. They eat meat and drink kumis, which they get drunk with. They are skilled in the military and despise fortresses. On the whole, the Englishman correctly characterized the Nogais. There were three big troubles in the history of the Nogai Horde. They were and remained nomads, fought in the field and did not take fortresses, ruled by Mirza. Regarding the war with the Russians, this, as mentioned above, was more related to the Small Nogai Horde, since the work of Anthony Jenkinson was written already in 1562. Jiles Fletcher (1548-1611) wrote that the Nogai were similar in their way of life, appearance and management to the Crimean Tatars, but differ only in name. John Perry spoke about the Kuban Nogais, mentioning the boar Tatars. They are proportionally built and similar to other Tatars. They live in the west of the Volga and constantly attack the Russian lands, burn down settlements, take the population into captivity and take away livestock. John Perry (Englishman, 18th century) spoke about the Kuban Nogais, who were headed by the serasker Bakhty-Girey in 1715-1718. In most cases, the territories of the suburban Cossack regiments were devastated, and 1717 was marked by the so-called Kuban pogrom, when the Nogais invaded deep into the Middle Volga region and inflicted heavy losses on the Russians. Moldovan Grigore Ureke (1592-1647) mentioned that there is the Nogaya Horde in Desert Tartary. It is located by the Caspian Sea and the Volga and Yaik rivers.
Nogai horde on the map. Photo cont.ws
"The most terrible warriors were the Black Nogais"
The Frenchman Jacques Margeret (1550s, after 1614) noted that the Turks besieged Astrakhan with the Tatars, called the Nogai, and the Pyatigorsk Cherkas (whom he considered Georgians). These Nogays were the Crimean Nogays and the Small Nogai Horde. Guillaume de Levasseur de Beauplan (1595-1673) described the Budjak Tatars (Nogais) as Mongoloids, similar to the American Caribbean Indians. He also noted that they were taught archery from childhood. Tatars are divided into Nogais and Crimeans. The Nogays are divided into the Big and Small Hordes, which roam between the Don and the Kuban. Small Nogays are subjects of the Crimean Khan, and big Nogais are subjects of Russians. Crimean Tatars live on the Crimean peninsula and the Nogais are not as noble as the Crimeans, and the Crimeans are not as brave as the Budzhaks. The Frenchman as a whole correctly characterized the citizenship of small and large Nogais, as well as the territory of their settlement during the Kalmyk expansion. The Mongoloid type of the Nogais is noted, which has been confirmed in our time by archaeological research.
In the work of Aubry de la Motre (1674-1743) it is said that Nogais lived around Ackerman, Ochakov and Azov. They are described as Muslims and nomads living in tents and traveling in carts. They drank Boza and ate Chorba. They were led by mirzahs and judged by qadis. In fact, the Frenchman left a description of the life and customs of the Nogai. Ferran (almost nothing is known about him) noted that the Nogays paid tribute to the khan in 2 thousand sheep and sent four main murzas to the khan on the holiday of Great Bayram. They give him horses and a couple of birds of prey. He also gives them expensive clothes. The Nogays have no settlements and live in tents. They eat chorba (millet in water) and horse meat. They drink booze and carry out the trial of criminals themselves. They are obliged to send 40 thousand soldiers to the war, but usually they send 60 thousand. However, every thirteenth year is considered unfortunate for them, and this year they do not want to fight.
The Nogai raided Cossackia and took people prisoner. The Muscovite tsar complained to the khan about this, and the Crimean ruler ordered the return of the prisoners to the tsar. However, the Nogais indicated that they had no other crafts, except for war, and although they respect the khan, they could not return the full. The most terrible warriors were the black Nogais, and the least warlike people were the Circassians. On the whole, the dependent status of the Nogai and their belligerence were correctly characterized. The Cossack country mentioned in the source was the land of the Don Army. The nomadic way of life is described correctly.
Yaroslav Pilipchuk
reference
Yaroslav Pilipchuk graduated from the National Pedagogical University. M.P. Dragomanov in Kiev in 2006 with a degree in History and Law. In 2010 at the Institute of Oriental Studies. A.Yu. Of the Crimean National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine he defended his thesis on the specialty “World history. Mongolian conquest of Desht-i-Kipchak in the XIII century ”.
