Karachay patriarchs in the 19th century |
| Total population |
|---|
| 200,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Russia: 192,182 (2002),[1] Kazakhstan: 995 (2009), Turkey, USA, Syria |
| Languages |
| Religion |
The Karachays are Turkic speaking people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic.
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The Karachays (Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla) are a Turkic speaking people descending from the Kipchaks and probably the Cumans, with some admixture of the medieval Alans and native Caucasians; their Turkic language is the same as the Kumyks from Daghestan. The Kipchaks and Cumans came to the area of the Caucasus in 11th century A.D, the state of Alania established in the Middle Ages had its capital in Maghas, which some authors locate in Arkhyz, the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay (others place it in modern Ingushetia or North Ossetia). In the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur and the decimated population dispersed in the mountains. Timur's intervention to the North Caucasus introduced the local nations to Islam; the name "Karachay" means "Black River".
Various points of view exist in contemporary scholarship regarding the origin of the Karachays. Some think that the primary role was played by the Kipchaks or Polovtsians—groups which, under pressure from the Mongols in the thirteenth century, went into the mountains of the central Caucasus, where the Iranian-speaking Alans were living. Groups of Alans, assimilated by the Turkic Polovtsians, constituted the nucleus of the Karachay people. In the opinion of other scholars it was earlier Turkic-language groups that took part in the formation of the Karachay ethnic group: Huns, Bulgars, and Khazars, who were living in the northern Caucasus in the ninth to twelfth centuries.
Living for centuries in the Caucasus with the natives, made the Karachays and with their close nation the Balkars as Caucasians in folklore and traditions, they adopted the Caucasian way of life and customs, but they kept their Turkic language.
In 1828 the Russian army invaded the area of the Karachay. October 20, 1828 occurred Hasaukinskoe bloodiest battle in which the king's troops (were under the personal command of General Emanuel), equipped with artillery, managed to win. Troops Emanuel lost and injured 163 people, which exceeded the loss of the Russians in the battle with the 30 thousandth shell-Batal Pasha. Karachaevskij elders have taken steps to prevent the massacres of their villages. The day after the battle, when troops are already Emanuel approached to-Dzhurtu, they went to meet the delegation of elders. As a result of negotiations, agreement was reached on the inclusion of Karachi in the Russian Empire. After the annexation has been left intact all the internal self-government Karachi: officials and courts. Proceedings of the neighboring Muslim peoples continued to take place on folk customs and the Sharia. In Karachay even assigned arms, but were taken from Karachai Amanat pledge their loyalty oath.
In 1831–1860, Karachays joined the bloody anti-Russian struggles carried out by Caucasian peoples. In 1861–1880, to escape repression by the Russian army, large numbers of Karachays migrated to Turkey.
Accession (in many ways more formal) Karachi to the empire was considered very important achievement of the king's generals.[2]
In 1942 the Germans permitted the establishment of a Karachai National Committee to administer the "autonomous region" and the Karachais were allowed to form their owon police force and recruit soldiers for a brigade that was to fight with the Wehrmacht.[3] The rather warm welcome of the Germans resulted in November 1943, in the Karachais, being charged with collaboration with Nazi Germany. Most of a total population of about 80 thousand people were forcibly deported and resettled in Central Asia, namely in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In just the first two years of deportation, disease and famine caused the death of 35% of the population. Of the 28 thousand children, 22 thousand (about 78%) perished.
Elders of the Karachai, who were eyewitnesses to these events, described the times as: "Our exile to Central Asia was terrible. The war, the expulsion, the violence and the hunger but, the Karachai were proud and preferred to die rather than to beg, and thus disgrace themselves and their clan". At the same time, many of the Karachai fought in the front lines of World War II against the fascist invaders.
The Karachay nation, as well as its brother nation, the Balkars, took the valleys and foothills of the Central Caucasus in the water gaps of the Kuban, Big Zelenchuk River, Malka, Baksan, Cherek and others.
The Karachays and Balkars are very proud of the symbol of the nations, Mount Elbrus, the highest double-headed mountain in Europe with an altitude 5,642 meters.
The Karachay dialect of Karachay-Balkar language is of the Northwestern branch of Turkic languages, the Kumyk languages is also the same language, Kumyks live in northeast Dagestan. Most Karachay people follow Islam.
Czarist Russian annexation of the Karachay nation led to mass migration to Turkey in the early 20th century. Karachays were also displaced en masse to the then Soviet-controlled Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan after Joseph Stalin's relocation campaign in 1944. Since the Nikita Khrushchev era in the Soviet Union, many Karachays have been repatriated to their homeland from Central Asia. Karachays residing in Turkey have also migrated to numerous Western countries in search of economic opportunity. Today, there are sizable Karachay communities in Turkey (centered around Afyonkarahisar), Uzbekistan, United States of America, and Germany.
The isolated lifestyle among the Caucasus Mountains was one of the reasons of the establishment of the Karachay's unique character. Karachay people live in communities that are divided into clans and families: Uidegi – Ataul - Tukum – Tiire.
Prominent tukums include: Aci, Batcha (Batca), Baychora, Bayrimuk (Bayramuk), Bostan, Catto, Cosar (Çese), Duda, Hubey (Hubi), Karabash, Laypan, Lepshoq, Ozden, Silpagar, Teke, Toturkul, and many others. There are roughly 32 Karachay tukums. A tukum is basically a family's clan-based lineage.
Karachay people are very independent in their behavior and adherence to their freedom. They have strong historically developed traditions and customs which regulate their lives: the wedding, the funeral, the pronouncement of family decisions, etc. They are fiercely loyal to their immediate family, as well, as their "tukum" or clan. They will never offend a guest. Cowardice is the most serious shame for the male.
"The Karachay is a neutral nation, which lives at the root of Elbrus, and excelling by its loyalty, goodliness and bravery." - Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist and philosopher, Omnibus Edition (anniversary edition), Moscow, Volume 46, page 184.
"The people of the right flank, knowing militancy Karachai and tempered nature, are afraid to touch them and live peacefully with them." - I. Zabudsky, Military Statistical Review of Russian Empire, Stavropol Province. P-Pb, 1851, t.16, ch.1, s.132
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