Chechens: A Handbook (Causasus World, Peoples of the Caucasus)

This book provides a ready introduction and practical guide to the Chechen people and some little-known and rarely-considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music, and literature. It also narrates Chechen history from ancient times and provides sketches of archaic religions and civilizations. Jaimoukha reveals the esoteric social structure and the peculiar brand of Chechen Sufism, as well as the present political situation in Chechnya. As the only comprehensive guide available in English, this book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya. The Chechens: A Handbook by Amjad Jaimoukha has been published by Routledge simultaneously in both London and New York. The book is hard-covered, 336 pages, with a number of maps and many colour photographs. The only comprehensive treatment of this subject available in English, this book provides a ready introduction and practical guide to the Chechen people, and to some little-known and rarely considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music and literature. This book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya. The ancient Chechen nation has been living in its idyllic homeland in the North Caucasus for thousands of years, building states and forging relations and interacting with other Caucasian and Near Eastern civilizations. The Chechens are thought to be related to the Hurrians and Urartians, builders of seminal civilizations in the Near East (3rd millennium BC to middle of 1st millennium BC), and they themselves established a number of civilizations. The first edition of the book, which was published in early 2005 in both book-form and e- form, received a number of good reviews and was used in a number of documentaries in the West on the Chechens and their culture. It was acquired by more than 200 universities and political research institutions in the USA, and many more across Western Europe and Japan, making it the definitive academic reference work on the Chechens and Chechnya. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 6 Copyright......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Foreword......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 13 Introduction......Page 15 1 People and land......Page 27 2 History from the earliest to the end of the eighteenth century AD......Page 38 3 History from the Russian-Caucasian War to the Second World War......Page 55 4 History from the deportation to the ‘Second’ Chechen War......Page 74 5 Politics and current affairs......Page 88 6 Society......Page 101 7 Economy......Page 115 8 Religion and beliefs......Page 125 9 Customs and traditions......Page 143 10 Folklore......Page 160 11 Arts, crafts and architecture......Page 179 12 Music and dance......Page 196 13 Language and linguistic policy......Page 214 14 Literature......Page 226 15 Media and film......Page 239 16 The diaspora......Page 250 Afterword......Page 260 Proverbs and sayings......Page 262 Appendix 1......Page 273 Appendix 2......Page 276 Appendix 3......Page 279 Appendix 4......Page 282 Notes......Page 284 Bibliography......Page 301 Index......Page 334 List of illustrations Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction 1. People and land 2. History from the earliest to the end of the eighteenth century A.D. 3. History from the Russian-Caucasian war to the Second World War 4. History from the deportation to the 'second' Chechen war 5. Politics and current affairs 6. Society 7. Economy 8. Religion and beliefs 9. Customs and traditions 10. Folklore 11. Arts, crafts and architecture 12. Music and dance 13. Language and linguistic policy 14. Literature (by JonArno Lawson) 15. Media and film 16. The diaspora Afterword Proverbs and sayings (JonArno Lawson & Amjad Jaimoukha) Appendix 1. The Chechen tukhums and taips Appendix 2. The Vainakh Pantheon Appendix 3. Bibliographies and journals Appendix 4. Nakh lexicography Notes Bibliography Index "The only comprehensive treatment of the subject available in English, this book provides a ready introduction and practical guide to the Chechen people, and to some little known and rarely considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music and literature." "This handbook should prove a corrective to the negative stereotypes that have come to be associated with the Chechens and put a human face back on one of the noblest - yet least understood - of nations. This book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya."--BOOK JACKET The Chechens refer to themselves as 'Nokhchii' (sing. 'Nokhchi' or 'Nokhcho'), or 'Nokhchiin qam' ('The Chechen People'), and call their country 'Nokhchichoe' (literally: 'The Chechen Home'), 'Nokhchiin mokhk' ('The Chechen Country'), or 'Daimokhk' ('Fatherland').