Ingush

Local beliefs. Before the predominance of Islam there existed cults of natural forces, veneration of sacred places, ancestors and patrons of communities. In the records one encounters Dyala, Sela, Tusholi and Myattseli. Sanctuaries and ritual festivals were connected with the agricultural calendar and the structure of society. These traditions changed and did not constitute a single unchanging "religion of the ancient Ingush." Field evidence. B. K. Dalgat in 1891–1892 collected materials among the Ingush, including in the Metskhal society. His observations show the preservation of local rites at the end of the 19th century. The title of his work uses old broad terminology: Ingush material cannot automatically be attributed to modern Chechens, and vice versa. Christianity and ties with Georgia. Medieval Christian influences came through contacts with the South Caucasus. Tkhaba-Yerdy in the Assa valley is the most important material evidence of these ties. Architectural reconstructions and Georgian inscriptions are studied separately from the legends about the origin of the church. The presence of a church does not mean that a single confession was simultaneously established in all mountain societies. Why the change of faith was not instantaneous. Christian elements, local cults and Islamic practices could coexist. Albogachieva's study and its academic review show that different societies adopted new norms in different periods. The history of the 19th-century Orthodox mission also does not coincide with the history of medieval Christian influence. Paths of the spread of Islam. Muslim influences came through neighboring societies, above all Kabarda, Chechnya and Dagestan. Trade, migrations, preaching, education and the activity of spiritual mentors were significant. In the 18th and 19th centuries Islam strengthened gradually: lowland and mountain communities passed along this path not simultaneously. The materials do not establish a single exact date for the conversion of all Ingush. The role of Sufi mentors. In the middle and second half of the 19th century Kunta-Haji Kishiev and the continuers of his Qadiri tradition played an important role. Alongside the Qadiriyya, the Naqshbandi tradition spread. Personal ties between mentors and students, local communities and pilgrimage helped make Islam part of everyday life. Madhhab, tariqa and wird. Among believing Ingush, Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i madhhab predominates. The madhhab is a legal school. The Qadiriyya and Naqshbandiyya belong to Sufi brotherhoods, and wird also designates the circle of followers of a particular mentor. These concepts must not be confused with ethnic groups or considered separate religions. Soviet restrictions and the transmission of faith. The closure of religious institutions, persecution of the clergy and anti-religious policy changed the conditions of communal life. However, the family transmission of knowledge and Sufi ties were preserved, including during the deportation. Religious life in the Soviet period did not disappear entirely. Revival from the end of the 20th century. Opportunities opened for public religious activity and education. Mosques, local institutions and ties with centers of Islamic education developed. Intra-Muslim discussions reflected differences of generations, religious experience and understanding of tradition. The description of research from the beginning of the 21st century is not an assertion that all institutions remain unchanged today. Practices today. Namaz, fasting in Ramadan, Uraza-Bayram and Kurban-Bayram are important for Muslim life. In Sufi communities forms of zikr are preserved, and nazms combine spiritual content with the Ingush verbal tradition. The degree of observance of rites varies; ethnicity does not determine a person's personal convictions.