Caucasian neopaganism

Last updated

Caucasian Neopaganism is a category including movements of modern revival of the autochthonous religions of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. It has been observed by scholar Victor Schnirelmann especially among the Abkhaz [1] and the Circassians.

Contents

Religions

Abkhaz native religion

The Abkhaz native religion, or Abkhaz Neopaganism, is the contemporary Neopagan re-emergence of the ethnic religion of the Abkhaz people in Abkhazia, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s. [1] The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be solemnly restored from the 1990s onward.

According to the 2003 census, 8% of the population of Abkhazia adheres to Abkhaz Paganism. [2] On the 3rd of August 2012 the Council of Priests of Abkhazia was formally constituted in Sukhumi. [3] The possibility to make the Abkhaz native religion one of the state religions was discussed in the following months. [4]

Circassian Paganism

Circassian Paganism
Habzist wheel.png
A Xabze wheel, representing the articulation of the universe from the center, Tha
ClassificationPagan
TheologyMonotheistic with minor gods with the role of angels
LanguageAdyghe, Kabardian
MembersEstimated 85,000 people still following the Pagan rituals [5]

Circassian paganism, also called Khabzeism, is a pagan faith and one of the abandoned parts of Adyghe Xabze.

Description

An important element is the belief in the soul (psa) of the ancestors, who have the ability to observe and evaluate the affairs of their offspring. [6] The concept of physical pain or pleasure in the Hereafter (Hedryhe) is absent: the soul is granted spiritual satisfaction or remorse for one's chosen path in life in front of himself and his ancestors. [6]

Therefore, the goal of man's earthly existence is the perfection of the soul, which corresponds to the maintenance of honour (nape), manifestation of compassion (guschlegu), gratuitous help (psape), which, along with valour, and bravery of a warrior, enables the human soul to join the soul of the ancestors with a clear conscience (nape huzhkle). [6] The souls of the ancestors require commemoration: funeral feasts are arranged (hedeus) and sacrifice or memorial meal preparations (zheryme) are practiced and distributed for the remembrance of the dead souls. [6]

The Habzist theology is monistic, with utmost prominence given to the god Tha (Тхьэ, tħa), Thashkhue (Тхьэшхуэ, tħaʃxʷa, also known as Theshxwe) or Thashkho (Тхьашхо), who begets the universe. [6] First of all, Tha expresses himself generating the Word or cosmic Law (Khy), the primordial pattern from which all the beings form naturally, developing by internal laws. [6] Enlightenment for men corresponds to an understanding of Tha's Law. [6]

Thashkhue is omnipresent in his creation (coagulation); according to Adyghe cosmological texts, "his spirit is scattered throughout space". [6] In Adyghe hymns Tha (Thashxue) is referred to as "the One everyone asks, but who doesn't ask back", "the multiplier of the non-existent", "on whom everyone places their hope, but who doesn’t place hope on anyone", "from whom the gifts come", "His amazing work", "the One who permits heaven and earth to move". [6]

Everything is one (Псори Зыщ, Psora Zysch, or Псори Хыщ, Psora Hysch), and is one with the Tha. [7] The material-manifested world is in perpetual change, but at the same time there is a foundation that always remains unshaken. That is the originating principle of the world and its Law. [7] The always-changing world and its basis is compared to a rotating wheel (дунейр шэрхъщи duneyr sherhschi, мэкlэрахъуэ meklerahue): although the wheel is constantly rotating (changing), it has its central hub around which it revolves, which remains still. [7] Followers of this worldview, sometimes also Islamised, are found in modern day Turkey. The Xabze beliefs and Sufi-Islamic beliefs are seen as complementary philosophies by Circassians. [8]

After Tha, the supreme god, there are secondary gods and goddess as:

  • Hantseguash: The goddess of Water and rain
  • Hedrikhe: the God of Death
  • Heneguash: The goddess of Sea
  • Hyateguash: the goddess of Beauty and Gardens
  • Kodes: The god of Mountains
  • Mezguash: The goddess of all Fauna
  • Mezytha: The god of Forests, Hunt and Beasts
  • Psetha: The god of Life and Souls
  • Sataney: The goddess of Feminity and Fertiliy, The Mother of the Narts
  • Schyble: The god of Lightning
  • Sozresh: The god of Fertility and family
  • Thageledj: The god of Flora and crops
  • Tlepsh: The god of Fire, Blacksmiths, Steel and weapons
  • Uashkhue: The god of Sky
  • Zekuethash: The god of War

The Narts, demigods mentioned in the eponymous Saga with their mother Sataney. The gods and goddesses are divided into two fundamentally different groups:

  1. Gods without image, cosmogonic (Thashkhue, Uashkhue, Psetha, Schyble).
  2. Anthropomorphic (humanoid) gods (Mezytha, Tlepsh, Thagaledj, etc.).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern paganism</span> Religions shaped by historical paganism

Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or a family of religions which is influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Africa and the Near East. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse and as a result, they do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Scholars of religion often characterise these traditions as new religious movements. Some academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions while others characterize it as a single religion of which different pagan faiths are denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circassia</span> Former country and region in the North Caucasus

Circassia, also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in the North Caucasus along the northeast shore of the Black Sea. It was conquered and occupied by Russia during the Russian-Circassian War (1763–1864), after which 90% of the Circassian people were either exiled from the region or massacred in the Circassian genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circassians</span> Northwest Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia

Circassians, also called Cherkess or Adyghe, are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide perpetrated by the Russian Empire in the 19th century during the Russo-Circassian War, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East, where most of them are today. In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abkhazians</span> Northwest Caucasian ethnic subgroup of Georgia indigenous to Abkhazia

The Abkhazians or Abkhazes are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group, mainly living in Abkhazia, a disputed region on the northeastern coast of the Black Sea. A large Abkhaz diaspora population resides in Turkey, the origins of which lie in the population movements from the Caucasus in the late 19th century. Many Abkhaz also live in other parts of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sosruko</span> Character in the Nart sagas of the Caucasus

Sosruko, Sosruquo, or Sosriqwa, Soslan is a central character in many cycles of the Nart sagas of the Caucasus.

Tlepsh is a mythological figure who appears in some cycles of the Nart sagas of the Caucasus, in which his Ossetian counterpart is the smith Kurdalægon. Tlepsh's name is a borrowing from Indo-European languages into Circassian, cognate with Ancient Greek χάλυψ (khálups) borrowed into Latin as chalybs - 'iron' - Tlepsh is thus the embodiment of the metal with which he works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern Finnish paganism</span> Revival of Finnish polytheism

Modern Finnish paganism, also known as Finnish neopaganism or the Finnish native faith, is the contemporary revival of Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian polytheistic ethnic religion of the Finns. A precursor movement was the Ukonusko of the early 20th century. The main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-Christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition which may be subject to change over time. The primary sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by latter-era Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatuqway</span> Circassian tribe

The Hatuqway are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They were known for their art of war as a warrior tribe. After the Russo-Circassian War, their presence in the Caucasus was destroyed during the Circassian genocide, and their number was significantly decreased and today they exist only in small communities in various diasporas, and their names are not mentioned anymore in Circassian dialectology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadz</span>

The Sadz or Asadzwa, also Jigets, are a subethnic group of the Abkhazians. They are sometimes purported to have originated from the Sanigoi tribe mentioned by the Classic authors. In the 6th century, they formed a tribal principality, which later commingled with the Abasgoi, Apsilae and Missimianoi into the Kingdom of Abkhazia.

Many inhabitants of Abkhazia are Orthodox Christians, With significant minorities adhering to Islam and the Abkhaz neopaganism, or the "Abkhazian traditional religion". The influence of this last has always remained strong and has been experiencing a revival through the 1990s and 2000s.

Ossetian mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Scythian origin, but contains many later elements from Christianity, with Ossetian gods often being identified with Christian saints. The gods play a role in the famous stories about a race of semi-divine heroes called the Narts.

The Vainakh peoples of the North Caucasus were Islamised comparatively late, during the early modern period, and Amjad Jaimoukha (2005) proposes to reconstruct some of the elements of their pre-Islamic religion and mythology, including traces of ancestor worship and funerary cults. The Nakh peoples, like many other peoples of the North Caucasus such as Circassians and Ossetians, practised tree worship, and believed that trees were the abodes of spirits. Vainakh peoples developed many rituals to serve particular kinds of trees. The pear tree held a special place in the faith of Vainakhs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mari religion</span> Ethnic religion of the Mari people

The Mari religion, also known as Mari paganism, is the ethnic religion of the Mari people, a Volga Finnic ethnic group based in the republic of Mari El, in Russia. The religion has undergone changes over time, particularly under the influence of neighbouring monotheisms. In the last few decades, while keeping its traditional features in the countryside, an organised Neopagan-kind revival has taken place.

Abkhaz neopaganism, or the Abkhaz native religion, is the contemporary re-emergence of the ethnic religion of the Abkhaz people in unrecognized Abkhazia, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s. The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be restored in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adyghe Xabze</span> Moral code of the Adyghe (Circassians)

The Adyghe Khabze or Circassian Khabze, also known as Khabzism, is the worldview and moral code of the Circassian people. Circassian society dictates that a Circassian must always live according to rules defined by the Khabze with little exceptions. Tenets of Khabze include special respect for elders and women, a policy of only marrying those from Circassian culture to protect the endangered culture, and the values of truthfulness, honor and bravery. While rooted in thousands of years of tradition, Khabze is evolving and ever-changing, and is reformed to fit the needs of the Circassian community. This is usually led by a themade.

Uralic neopaganism encompasses contemporary movements which have been reviving or revitalising the ethnic religions of the various peoples who speak Uralic languages. The movement has taken place since the 1980s and 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and alongside the ethnonational and cultural reawakening of the Finnic peoples of Russia, the Estonians and the Finns. In fact, Neopagan movements in Finland and Estonia have much older roots, dating from the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assianism</span> Modern pagan religion in Ossetia

Assianism is a folk religion derived from the traditional mythology of the Ossetians, modern descendants of the Scythians of the Alan tribes, believed to be a continuation of the ancient Scythian religion. The religion is known as "Assianism" among its Russian-speaking adherents, and as Uatsdin (Уацдин), Ætsæg Din, Æss Din, or simply Iron Din by Ossetians in their own language. It started to be properly reorganized in a conscious way during the 1980s, as an ethnic religion among the Ossetians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circassian paganism</span> Ethnic religion of the Circassian people

Circassian paganism, also called Khabzeism or Khabzism, is the ethnic religion of the Circassians. It is based on worshipping the supreme god Theshkhue (Тхьэшхуэ) and other minor deities under his rule, to each of whom is attributed an element, action or item of veneration and control. The religion also strongly focuses on the perfection of the soul, developing spiritual maturity and honour until a practitioner may enter the heavens, in union with their ancestors.

Religion in Circassia refers to religious presence in historical Circassia and modern-day Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Krasnodar Krai and Karachai-Cherkessia. The majority of ethnic Circassians today are Muslim while a minority retain Orthodox Christian or pagan beliefs.

References

  1. 1 2 Schnirelmann, pp. 202-206
  2. ↑ Александр Крылов. ЕДИНАЯ ВЕРА АБХАЗСКИХ "ХРИСТИАН" И "МУСУЛЬМАН". Особенности религиозного сознания в современной Абхазии. Portal-credo.ru (2004-03-17). Retrieved on 30 May 2011.
  3. ↑ В Абхазии создана религиозная организация «Совет жрецов Абхазии» Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine . Apsnypress.
  4. ↑ Язычество в Абхазии не станет государственной религией - Paganism in Abkhazia will be the state religion . Newsland, 12-08-2012. Retrieved 24-09-2012.
  5. ↑ "Arena: Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia". Sreda, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Khabze.info. Khabze: the religious system of Circassians Archived 2020-01-16 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. 1 2 3 Khabze.info. What is Khabze? Archived 2020-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Chen Bram (1999). "CIRCASSIAN RE-IMMIGRATION TO THE CAUCASUS" (PDF). In S. Weil (ed.). Routes and Roots: Emigration in a global perspective. pp. 14–15.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.