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The village of Shaitli in a green mountain valley by a river, documentary photograph by Asharitdag
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North Caucasus · Dagestan

Tsez (Didoi)

Tsez

The Tsez, or Dido: the history of the communities of Western Dagestan, language, settlement and culture. Former beliefs, Christian influence and the gradual spread of Islam, a detailed chronology and scholarly materials.
Regions:Dagestan
Shaitli · Asharitdag, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Language

Tsez (Didoi)

Family

Nakh-Daghestanian family · Tsezic branch

Population

14,881 identified as Didoi in Russia (2021)

History

The Tsez and the Dido. These are names of one people of Western Daghestan. The self-designation is connected with the form "tsez"; the name "Dido" became widely established in scholarly literature. The historical region of Dido could have a broader meaning in various materials.
A separate people and related languages. The Tsezic group includes the Tsez, Ginukh, Khwarshi, Bezhta and Hunzib languages. Not all their speakers should automatically be called Tsez-Dido.
The mountain homeland. The main historical area is connected with the high mountains of the Tsuntinsky District, the upper reaches of rivers and the pass routes to Georgia. Farming supplemented the predominant livestock breeding.
Communities and unions. Dido societies maintained village self-government and united to handle common affairs. The history of such a union differs from the history of the modern administrative district.
The Caucasian War. In the early 1840s the Tsez societies joined Shamil's movement. After the establishment of Russian administration, district subordination and the system of local administration changed.
The study of culture. A. K. Serzhputovsky's expedition of 1910 preserved descriptions and photographs of dwellings, clothing, occupations and local people. These materials allow specific villages and eras to be compared.
The administrative district. The Tsuntinsky District was formed on 25 December 1930, abolished in 1944 and restored in 1955. These dates relate to the administration of the territory.
The 2021 census. In Russia 14,881 people who indicated Dido identity were counted, of whom 14,770 in Daghestan. In the Rosstat table the Dido are included in the category of Avars; adding them again to the Avar total would result in double counting.

Settlement and local communities

Mountain communities. Kidero, Asakh, Mokok, Shaitli and other villages preserve local dialects. The boundaries of dialects and the administrative divisions do not always coincide. Language group. The Ginukh, Khwarshi, Bezhta and Hunzib peoples have their own languages. The historical widespread use of the name Dido does not cancel these differences. Migrations and diaspora. Tsez speech is also present on the plain of Dagestan, in Tivi in Georgia and in communities in Turkey. The geography of the people is wider than the mountain core.

Language

Tsez, or Dido, is an independent language of the Tsezic branch of the Nakh-Daghestanian family. It is not a dialect of Avar. The name "Tsuntinsky" is also found in linguistic literature.
On the Russian Academy of Sciences resource, the Tsez proper and Sagada dialects are distinguished; within the first, the Asakh, Kidiro, Shaitl, Shapikh and Elboko varieties are described. Scholars' schemes of dialect division differ.
There is as yet no single officially adopted writing system or stable literary norm. Publications use a Cyrillic basis with rendering of the features of Tsez speech. Family communication and local varieties retain an important role.
The annotated corpus contains texts collected by A. K. Abdulaev and I. K. Abdullaev and published in 2010. The electronic version adds morpheme markup and English translations.
Modern linguists study cases, agreement and complex sentences. Maria Polinsky's 2015 work analyses the transmission of reported speech and the behaviour of pronouns in Tsez subordinate clauses.

Faith and history of religions

Early beliefs. They are studied through folklore, vocabulary, ethnographic observations and old descriptions. The reconstruction does not form a complete ancient doctrine. Ts'ob and Beched. Researchers describe these names among former deities. White stones and offerings were associated with the veneration of Ts'ob. Mountains and spirits. The Budalabi were imagined as inhabitants of mountains and caves. In weather rites, earlier beliefs over time combined with Muslim prayers. Christian influence. Luguev and Magomedov connect it with missionary activity from Georgia in the Middle Ages. The authors note the incompleteness of its spread and the long survival of earlier cults. Early contacts with Islam. An academic survey dates the beginning of the process to the 15th century. This is not the date of a general conversion of all Tsez villages. The 17th–18th centuries. Luguev and Magomedov connect the strengthening of Islamization with the rivalry of Khunzakh and Gidatl with Georgian rulers for the border societies. Political and religious influence developed together. Uneven conversion. Published legends about Asakh and Akdi tell of a clash between venerators of stone shrines and Muslims as late as the 19th century. These are local testimonies. How Islam took hold. Mosques, religious education, qadis and inter-community ties integrated the new religion into public life. Local norms and rites changed gradually. The Sunni tradition. A modern Russian Academy of Sciences reference work characterises Tsez believers as Sunni Muslims. The beliefs and degree of religiosity of individuals vary. Saints and ziyarats. In Kidero the ziyarat of Akhmed-Dibir is described. In legends about him, Muslim sanctity combines with local ideas about weather. Fire and Igbi. Historical descriptions connect the festival with the winter calendar, bonfiresand a communal meal. The seasonal festival should be distinguished from the Islamic lunar calendar. Soviet restrictions. State policy changed the possibilities of religious institutions and education. Family forms of transmitting practices continued under general pressure on religion. The revival of the late 20th century. Public religious institutions and education were restored. For Daghestan this process was accompanied by discussions about traditions and the admissibility of local rites. Historical folklore today. Stories about spirits, white stones and weather magic do not mean identical beliefs among all modern Tsez. Their significance varies by village and generation.

Verified information

Language

  • Tsez (Dido) is an independent language of the Tsezic branch.
  • The Tsezic group includes five related languages.

Settlement and population

  • 2021 census: Russia 14,881 Dido; Daghestan 14,770. Counted within the category of Avars.

Culture and daily life

  • A spindle from Kidero of the early 20th century is held in the REM under number 1896-116.

History

  • The Tsuntinsky District was formed on 25 December 1930.
  • Studies describe the local survival of earlier cults in the 19th century.

Detailed chronology

  1. Pre-Islamic heritage

    Stones, mountains and former deities
    Reconstructed from later descriptions and field records.

  2. Middle Ages

    Christian influence from Georgia
    Researchers note its incomplete spread.

  3. 15th century

    The early stage of Islamization in an academic essay
    This refers to the beginning of a long process.

  4. Late 17th–early 18th century

    Strengthening of Islamization
    Political influence of neighbouring centres is combined with religious changes.

  5. 18th century

    Unions of rural societies
    Communities preserve local forms of governance.

  6. 19th century

    Preservation of former cults
    Legends about Asakh and Akdi describe resistance to the abandonment of stone shrines.

  7. Early 1840s

    Participation in Shamil's movement
    The military and political position of local societies changes.

  8. Second half of the 19th century

    District administration
    Tsez villages are incorporated into the new system of governance of Dagestan.

  9. Late 19th–early 20th century

    Documentation of mountain life
    Travellers and ethnographers describe economy and culture.

  10. 1910

    Serzhputovsky's expedition
    Objects, photographs and field records are collected.

  11. 1917

    Publication of the journey to Mountain Dagestan
    Serzhputovsky's work with ethnographic observations is published.

  12. 1926–1927

    The work of K. P. Danilina
    Materials on clothing, dwelling, food and rites are collected.

  13. 25 December 1930

    Formation of the Tsuntinsky District
    Created on part of the territory of the Tsumadinsky District.

  14. 1936

    Study of the sound system
    A work by I. V. Megrelidze is published.

  15. 1940

    Description of declension
    Megrelidze publishes a study of Dido declension.

  16. 7 June 1944

    Abolition of the district
    The territory was transferred to the Tsumadinsky District.

  17. Soviet period

    Restriction of religious institutions
    The conditions of education and public religious life are changed.

  18. 15 October 1955

    Restoration of the district
    The Tsuntinsky District is re-established with its centre in Bezhta.

  19. 1959

    The book by E. A. Bokarev
    The work "The Tsez (Dido) Languages of Dagestan" is published.

  20. 1963

    Comparative description of the language
    A work by D. S. Imnaishvili on Dido, Ginukh and Khwarshi is published.

  21. 1 February 1963

    A rural district
    The administrative status changes.

  22. 12 January 1965

    Transformation into a district
    Another administrative reform is completed.

  23. Late 1980s–1990s

    Religious revival
    The open activity of communities and religious education expand.

  24. 1990s

    Development of written publications
    Literary materials in Cyrillic script appear.

  25. 1999

    Tsez-Russian dictionary
    The dictionary by M. Sh. Khalilov is published.

  26. 2000

    Historical and ethnographic monograph
    A study by Luguev and Magomedov is published.

  27. 2010

    Publication of Tsez folklore
    Texts by A. K. Abdulaev and I. K. Abdullaev are published.

  28. 2015

    Study of complex sentences
    A work by Maria Polinsky is published.

  29. 2016

    Mythology and Islam
    Seferbekov and Magomedov publish a study of Tsez beliefs.

  30. 9 June 2016

    Documentary photograph of Shaitli
    A photograph by Asharitdag is used on the page.

  31. 1 October 2021

    Census reference date
    14,881 Dido people counted in Russia, 14,770 in Dagestan.

  32. 2023

    Study of language vitality
    Z. M. Khalilova examines the Tsez group on Lingforum.

  33. 2024

    Publication of a museum photo album
    The REM presents expedition photographs from 1910.

Cuisine

  • Khinkal

    In historical descriptions, it was prepared from various types of flour and served with broth, meat, and seasonings. The shapes of the dough and the methods of serving varied.

  • Stuffed dishes

    Under the local names khinkala, products with meat, nettles, and cheese, close to kurze, are described. These are records of a specific food tradition.

  • Dairy products and baked goods

    Milk, cheese, butter, flatbreads, porridges and pies are linked to pastoral and agricultural economy. The family cuisine changed together with trade connections.

Adats and traditions

  • Mutual assistance

    Help to relatives and neighbours is especially important during farm work and natural disasters. Historical descriptions note the connection between the volume of support and the degree of kinship.

  • Igbi and the mummers

    In local variants of the festival, youths in costumes and wolf masks take part. The festival combines collective play, music and rural sociability.

  • Winter fire

    M. K. Musaeva describes bonfires, round dances and fire amusements at the beginning of February. This is an ethnographic description of the past, not an instruction to reproduce the rite.

Clothing

Women's costume included shirt-dresses, trousers, headdresses and kerchiefs; men's included a shirt, a beshmet, a cherkeska and sheepskin items. Season, age and wealth influenced the set. Old clothing was not the same in all villages.
Museum photographs from 1910 preserve specific variants of clothing of the inhabitants of Dido villages. The pictures must be read together with the place and time of shooting.

Dances

  • Festive round dance

    Round dances around the fire are mentioned in historical descriptions of Igbi. The dance is linked to collective calendar action.

  • Mummers and stage performance

    Masks, movements and music form a festive performance. A modern ensemble programme may rework rural forms.

Music

Materials of the House of Folk Art describe the ensembles "Dido" and "Tsezi", the performance of Tsez and Avar songs, the making of the pandur and zurna. These are examples of the local musical environment.
Oral culture includes fairy tales and other stories. The corpus of Tsez texts allows them to be read with translation and the speech features of the performers to be studied.

Crafts

  • Spinning

    A spindle from Kidero of the early 20th century is kept in the Russian Ethnographic Museum. The wooden crosspiece and woollen threads document domestic work with fibre.

  • Wool, wood and stone

    Domestic crafts provided clothing, utensils and construction. Their forms are linked to the available materials of mountain economy.

  • Dwelling and farm buildings

    Serzhputovsky's photo collection shows houses, sheds, granaries and canopies, allowing the study of construction techniques in specific villages.

Memorable Places

  • Kidero

    The historical centre of local societies. Its inhabitants and household items are represented in museum collections of the early 20th century.

  • Shaitli

    A Tsez village with a local dialect. A documentary photograph shows its buildings and the mountain valley in June 2016.

  • Asakh and Akdi

    Villages with which published legends about the white stones and the change of religious life are connected.

  • Tivi and communities outside the mountain area

    A resource of the Russian Academy of Sciences notes Tsez speech in Tivi in Georgia, as well as in resettlement villages of Dagestan and in the diaspora.

Names: examples of usage

Men's

    Women's

      People and cultural memory

      • A. K. Serzhputovsky

        An ethnographer whose 1910 expedition preserved descriptions, objects and photographs of the culture of the Dido people.

      • S. A. Luguev and D. M. Magomedov

        Authors of a historical and ethnographic study of the Dido people, based on written and field materials.

      • A. K. Abdulaev and I. K. Abdullaev

        Collectors of Tsez folklore texts included in the 2010 edition and the annotated electronic corpus.

      • M. Sh. Khalilov

        Compiler of the 1999 Tsez-Russian dictionary used in the study of the language.

      Media

      Photo gallery

      The village of Shaitli, Tsuntinsky District. Asharitdag · 9 June 2016 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 InternationalAsharitdag · CC BY-SA 4.0 International · converted to WebP · CC BY-SA 4.0 International; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/; Asharitdag, 9 June 2016; converted to WebPPhotograph

      Authorship and licenses are indicated in the image captions.