CİRCASSİAN WEDDİNG ! - CİRCASSİAN DANCE ! - ADİGE LAPARİSE -KAFKAS MEDYA

#circassian #circassiadance #caucassian #caucassiandance
-----circassians------
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe: Адыгэхэр, romanized: Adıgəxər; Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: Adıgəxər) are an indigenous ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in the North Caucasus.[31] As a consequence of the Circassian genocide, which was 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 the majority of them are concentrated today.[32] The Circassian languages, a subdivision of the Northwest Caucasian language family, are the shared ancestral languages of the Circassian people.[33] Islam has been the dominant religion among the Circassian populace since its injection into the region in the 17th century through the influence of the Ottoman Empire, although Christianity and the Circassian indigenous faith have maintained themselves as a significant minority.[34] Circassia has been subject to repeated invasions since ancient times; its isolated terrain coupled with the strategic value that external societies have placed on the region have shaped the Circassian national identity to a large extent.

Until the 20th century, the majority of Circassians spoke the Circassian languages, with two main dialects (West Circassian and East Circassian) and numerous sub-dialects. The Circassian languages have been largely sidelined in usage due to assimilation policies and intermarriages with other ethnic groups. Today, approximately 40–50 percent of Circassians speak the Circassian languages; the remaining majority speak Turkish, Russian, English, Arabic and Hebrew. The majority of Circassians are Sunni Muslims.[34]

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated in the early 1990s that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora (in over 50 countries)[35] outside of the titular Circassian republics (meaning that only one in seven ethnic Circassians lives in their homeland) and that, of these 3.7 million, more than 2 million live in Turkey.[35] An additional 700,000 live in Russia; over 300,000 reside in the countries of the Levant (mostly in Jordan and in Syria with a sizable population in Israel) as well as in Iraq; some 50,000 live in Western Europe and in the United States.

The term "Circassian" traditionally includes the twelve historic tribes of Circassia: the Abzakh, the Besleney, the Bzhedugh, the Hatuqway, the Kabarday, the Mamkhegh, the Natukhaj, the Shapsugh, the Chemirgoy, the Ubykh, the Yegeruqway and the Zhaney.[36] Each star on the Circassian national flag represents one tribe.

Historical Circassia has been divided by Soviet and Russian administrations into the modern-day republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Krasnodar Krai as well as southwestern parts of Stavropol Krai. Accordingly, Circassians have also been designated as the following: Adygeans in Adygea, Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria, Cherkess in Karachay-Cherkessia and Shapsug in Krasnodar Krai, although all four are essentially the same people. Today, approximately 800,000 Circassians remain in historical Circassia while 4,500,000 live elsewhere


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