The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 19 23.08.02 Chechen culture Science Doctor-Herbalist Umar Sanev: Chechnya Has Anything to Have the Pharmaceutical Industry Developed Nature has been gracious to the Chechen Republic, and the relatively small area in the North Caucasus,- slightly over 17,000 square kilometres,- boasts all geographical zones and a climate that ensures the growth of the best known and more popular medicinal herbs. A well-known Chechen doctor-herbalist Umar Sanev has been gathering and studying medicinal herbs for more than 12 years now. He says that at first he was just an amateur wishing to learn about medicinal herbs and ways Chechen folk medicine was different from that of other nations. Back in the 19th century the famous Russian doctor Nikolai Pirogov wrote in his memoirs that he admired the phenomenal abilities of Chechen herbalists who cured a good many Russian soldiers during the Caucasus war. Nikolai Pirogov also pointed out that Chechen healers were known both in the Caucasus and other eastern countries, Iran in particular. It was largely under the influence of Pirogov's memoirs that Umar Sanev developed an interest in herbal medicine. As anyone making a trail-blazing effort he found it very hard at first to learn everything by himself. But when later he gained a large following and had an Association of Herbalists formed in Chechnya, he became quite prominent in the republic. True, it is hard to gather herbs in Chechnya now that military action has just drawn to a close there. But Umar Sanev is certain that peaceful life will be back by all means. He feels that a pharmacological committee should be set up in the republic to coordinate efforts to that end. Pharmaceutical companies could be established without delay, and investors will have their expenses compensated within a very short spell, because conditions are good in Chechnya for such companies to operate successfully. And then the Chechen Republic will have both ecologically pure production facilities and more new jobs created. (more ... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=cscienceng&row=1) Famous Chechens Public figures Tashtemir Eldzhurkayevich Eldarkhanov (1870 - 1934) Educator, writer, member of the 1st and the 2nd State Dumas (1906-07) T.E.Eldarkhanov was a very prominent Chechen figure around last century's turn. Significantly, he felt responsible for entire Russia and Russian democracy as well as his mother people, the Chechens. His speeches in the legislature and articles in the press portray him as backer of political and economic unity with Russia of all ethnic and geographical entities in the North Caucasus. He believed all ethnic groups within the Russian Empire shared common problems, including how to adopt civilization, education and humane approach to fellow humans. T.Eldarkhanov was born on January 1st 1870 into a mid-holder peasant family in the village of Gekhi in Chechnya. He finished a Russian school in Grozny, a vocational school in Vladikavkaz and a teachers college in Tiphlis (Georgia). In Tiphlis, he experienced the formative influence of progressive-minded Russian and Georgian instructors and lecturers. Eldarkhanov saw his mission in bringing enlightenment and education to people. During his student years in Vladikavkaz and Tiphlis, he combed libraries and archives for samples of Chechen folklore. He translated several Chechen legends into Russian and published them in a collection of ethnographic articles about the Caucasus (out in 1900). In the 1890s, Eldarkhanov taught at schools in Maikop and Grozny. He compiled the first Chechen ABC book, publishing it in Tiphlis in 1911. Eldarkhanov's work as educator won him wide acclaim in the North Caucasus and a seat in the 1st State Duma in national elections in 1906. His speeches there castigated the Tzarist policy towards the Caucasus and stimulated the growth of ethnic self-awareness among highland peoples. "Honorable Deputies, -- he told the opening session -- I represent the small highland peoples of the Terek Region, the Ingushes, the Kabardins, the Osetians, the Chechens and the Kumyks. It's half a century now since we submitted to rule by Russia. Unfortunately, our hopes of finding rest, peace, prosperity and happiness under the aegis of this great empire have gone disastrously wrong. ... No wonder, there is plunder, robbery, murder and mayhem everywhere in the Caucasus, taking their toll on the highlanders themselves as well as Russians in neighbouring areas. ... The root cause of all this is a disastrous lack of education and unbearable economic hardship." In a speech at a Duma sitting on the 23rd of June 1906, Eldarkhanov showed great concern for ethnic peace between the highlanders and the Russians. He told the deputies the people in his constituency were strongly opposed to proposals to raise armed units in their areas for quelling anti-government protests in Russia. Eldarkhanov's vision and thinking showed their greatest in his speeches to the 2nd State Duma. Remarkably, he spoke about glaring inequalities in the land and wealth distribution across Russia as well as in the highland areas in the North Caucasus. Following the dissolution of the 2nd State Duma in 1907, Eldarkhanov went back to Grozny only to discover he was under an official ban to hold teaching positions in the Terek Region. He moved to Baku in Azerbaijan and taught at schools and colleges there up to the February Revolution in 1917. After the end of the Civil War in the North Caucasus in 1920, he was elected to head the Revolutionary Committee of Chechnya and then the Regional Executive Committee. Later on, he briefly worked with the North Caucasus provincial government in Rostov-on-Don (as curator of ethnic affairs) and then returned to Grozny in 1929 to take up a senior job with the state oil company GROZNEFT. Throughout his career, Tashtemir Eldarkhanov spared no effort to put into practice the noble ideas he preached. (more about famous chechens... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=famouseng) Multi-ethnic Chechnya Ethnic Russians in Chechen history A page of century old history: 7-19 century Lately-found data suggest that Grand Prince Mikhail of Tver was killed on orders from Golden Horde Khan Uzbek on the left bank of the Sunzha River, on Chechen-Ingush territory, in 1318. A chronicle says that servants advised him to flee the Golden Horde the night before he was killed: "repair to the mountains, oh Lord, horses and people who know the way are waiting for you, flee for your life!" Prince Mikhail could, indeed, have reached the mountainous villages of freedom-loving Chechens and Ingushis and safety, in the nick of time. Quite a number of captured Russians might have found refuge at the foothills of the Caucasian mountains. Russian chronicles of the 13th and 14th centuries show amazing knowledge of the topography and cultural traditions of the Northern Caucasus. The battle of the Kulikovo Field gave a boost to the Russian and Chechen quests for the liberation from the Mogol yoke. It was not until the Mogol defeat at the Kulikovo Field that the high- and flatland Veinakhs could form one nation. And, Professor V.B.Vinogradov says, stubborn resistance, by the North Caucasians, to the advance of Tamerlane's hosts explains, in a way, the failure of Tamerlane's plans to invade Rus. Starting to form alliances with Russia. The weakening of the last strongholds of the Golden Horde - the Nogai Horde and the Crimean Khanate - was equally hailed by the Caucasians who regained land, and the Russians who gained access to the Black and Caspian Seas. The Kabardians, the Adygis and the Circassians were the first to define their geopolitical interests and to form alliance with Russia. The Chechens launched political contacts with Moscow in 1567. Chechen Prince Ushurma wins credit for this. (more... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=metheng&row=2) Chechen diary 23 August 2002 Kaluzhsky special force policemen are angels sent by Allah The situation in Chechnya will remain unchanged if the Russian authorities fail to attract local residents to rule the republic. In an interview the Moscow-based daily Kracnaya Zvezda the commander of the Russian forces in the North Caucasus Lieutenant-General Sergei Makarov made this statement. He said Chechnya had been under the full control of the Russia forces. There is no question that militants will step up activity since they have no strength to withstand them. Concerning a possible crossing of militants onto the Russian territory from Georgia Sergei Makarov said that Russian forces were ready to repulse any intrusion. According to the commander, selective checks and detention and intelligence operations have mainly helped to normalize the situation. Russian forces have ended an operation in the Vedeno district during which bandits in the outskirts were killed. Now police are working actively with the involvement of military commandants. According to Sergei Makarov, they work successfully and detain culprits who committed crimes in and outside the republic. Concerning the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya, the commander said that if such an order was issued military would carryout it. After the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya local law enforcement agencies will maintain the law and order. Sergei Makarov believes that this will happen when Chechen police can really withstand militants. He emphasized that it was impossible to say a fixed date because it would take time to train police and gain experience. He spoke highly of relations between military and the Chechen administration. According to Sergei Makarov, the two sides have close contacts and work under a single plan to achieve the result and the situation prompts them to work together with the local administrations to solve many tasks. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 22 August 2002 State farm of Goryacheistochnensky ends harvesting ahead of time State farm of Goryacheistochensky has ended harvesting campaign ahead of time and named its winners. According to its director Salman Akhmadov, Aslan Temirsultanov won the first place. He threshed 400 tons of grain. Ruslan Anciev came second and his result was 350 tons. And Imran Shamaev won the third place with 330 tons of grain. 28 machine operators work at the state farm and youth groups worked in five harvesters replacing each other. This time the farm gathered a good harvest of 1 541 tons which is stored in warehouses. 120 tons singled out as seeds. The farm has a sown area of about 900 hectares. Salman Akhmadov says that another 750 hectares have been captured by people for their private use. But he hopes that the Justice Ministry will investigate the matter since the farm has submitted necessary documents to prove its ownership and help to get the land back. At present the farm is preparing the land for sowing autumn crops and it has already ploughed 100 hectares. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 22 August 2002 Pension boost for Chechens Pensions of all Chechen retired will certainly be increased. The Deputy chief of the Chechen department of the Russian pension fund Nurid Aduev said this in an interview with our correspondent. Documents required for pension rise have been received from the federal center, including the new governmental accounting rules and documents on how to precede a fresh account. All the guidelines have been sent to all department of the pension foundation of 18 Chechen regions. There have been specials seminars for the departments official who will make recalculations of the pensions. According to the management of the Chechen department of the Russian pension fund, recalculation is to be completed in the next few days in Grozny, Gudermes and the Nadterek region where a computer database is functioning. As for the Chechen mountain regions, the operations are to be conducted manually; hence, the recalculation will take al least two weeks. At the moment 189 thousand Chechens get pensions. For many families the money is the only source of living. Mr. Aduev stressed there are no pension debts in the republic. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 21 August 2002 The Chechen prosecutors office has prepared documents needed for the extradition of militants from Georgia The Prosecutors office in Chechnya has prepared documents needed to organize the extradition of militants detained in Georgia and suspected of involving in terrorist attacks in the Itum-Kale district early this month. The Prosecutor of Chechnya Nikolai Kostyuchenko said that these documents had already been submitted to Russias Prosecutor-Generals office in Moscow. He said that these documents included evidence concerning the detained militants given by the arrested terrorists who involved in the attack in Itum-Kale. He added that another analytical report on the crimes committed by the arrested terrorists in Russia had been prepared for the Georgian law enforcement agencies. According to Nikolai Kostyuchenko, Russian law enforcement agencies have evidence that confirms these militants have committed number of crimes. The extradition of the militants and further investigation will help to throw light to many crimes, especially abduction of people committed in Chechnya in recent times. Nikolai Kostyuchenko said that the documents would be handed over to the Georgian officials shortly on the border between North Ocetia and Georgia. At the same time the prosecutor of Chechnya said that the criminal situation in the republic had significantly improved in the first seven months of the year. During this period 3 400 crimes were committed and this is 11 percent less than that in the same period last year. Half of them are family quarrels. But the main task of the prosecutors office is to search for missing people. According to the prosecutors office about one thousand people have been abducted in the past two years. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechen traditions Modern customs and traditions The male's code of conduct Nokhchallah sets the basic rules of behavior for the Chechen male - cf. Part 1. Age-old customs and traditions make it clear how a man is supposed to behave under different sets of circumstances. Norms of behavior are also revealed in Chechen proverbs and sayings. The heads of Chechen families, husbands and fathers should be taciturn: ""I don't know" makes one word, but "I know, I've seen" make a thousand words." They should think well before taking action: "the fast-flowing brook has failed to reach the sea." They should think twice before pronouncing a judgement on a neighbor or simply saying something: "a saber wound has healed but a wound inflicted by a word of mouth has not." Restraint is most appreciated: "lack of self-control exhibits foolishness, patience demonstrates good manners." The Chechen male is to show utmost restraint under all and any kinds of circumstances. Tradition demands that he avoid smiling at his wife and holding up his children in the presence of other people. But he ought to make sure that his wife never bear more than the woman's part of the family burden: "the hen who pretended to be a rooster burst up." The use of unprintable words, in particular those that make mention of the woman, revolt the Chechen because a woman of loose morals is the biggest disgrace of her family. A few women of loose morals have been lynched in the Chechen Republic. A handsome man should be tall, slim but broad-shouldered. He should have a thin waist and a lively gait. Folk wisdom says that the manner of walking reveals the qualities of character. The mustache bears a very special significance: "shave off your mustache if you don't behave as becomes a man." One other thing. When 19th century rebel leader Shamil went to surrender to the Russians, he was hailed several times by one of his comrades-in-arms. But he would not turn around to answer. When someone asked him why he would not turn around, Shamil explained he would have been killed if he had. "We Chechens never shoot a man in the back,"- he said. (more about traditions... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=traditionseng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Religion Paganism and Christianity in Chechnya At different times forefathers, forebears and ancestors of Chechens and Ingushes (Veinakhs, Nakhs) had different religious beliefs. Apparently, male and female names Khalad, Anu, Ashura, Alalu, Ashtati, Nanna, Diki, Kibela, Nuba-dit, Aruba and Kuzhukh date back to early paganism, the times of Hurri-Urartu states. Between 3000 and 1000 B.C. the names were used to call various gods. As a rule, every natural phenomenon or heavenly body had ts own god. Depending on the nature of the wish offerings were made to this or that god, be it the god of sun, rain, war, love or fertility. Religious traditions are the most lasting ones in the culture of an ethnic group. They stay on even after conversion to another faith. In the Chechen community you can still hear vows such as Tsu dashochu malkhor (Swear by golden sun), Tsu lyattor (Swear by earth), Tsu byapkor (Swear by bread). People pronouncing vows of this kind will be deeply hurt if they are told that by doing so they depart from Islam and commit a grave sin. The pagan and Christian past of ancestors and forefathers of Chechens and Ingushes is reflected in legends, folklore, ancient and medieval cultural monuments and archaeological discoveries. The Assinovsky gorge is known to have three Christian temples (Tkhaba-Yerda, Albi-Yerda and Targimsky). Similar temples and churches, according to legends, were also in other parts of the mountain chain but Tkhaba-Yerda was the biggest, occupying more than 100 square meters. Rich Christian burial places were discovered under the churchs floor and by its walls. The temple, experts say, was built no later than the 10th century A.D. by Georgian architects, who wanted it to be the biggest church in Central Caucasus. According to researchers (M.B.Muzhukhoev. The Spread of Christianity among Veinakhs), Tkhaba-Yerda Temple was erected on the site of a heathen temple devoted to Tkhaba deity. Today the name is etymologized on the basis of Nakh languages and is compared to the ancient pagan deity Tkhya.The process of christianizing Chechens and Ingushes got further development during the reign of the Georgian Tsarina Tamara. Indications of that were the appearance of two new churches around Tkhaba-Yerda. Evidence of the Christian past of Chechens and Ingushes is seen not only in churches, burial places and folk legends. In many areas Christian crosses have been discovered. The Chechen name for the cross Zhaar is similar to the Georgian Dzhavari, which testifies to Christianity penetrating the North Caucasus through Georgia. There are a lot of written monuments of the Christian period, such as handwritten psalm-books, where the Georgian alphabet was used. In addition, Chechens still use notions borrowed from the Georgian Christian calendar to denote some days of the week. All that is evidence of the time (10th-13th centuries), when Georgia actively spread the new religion among mountaineers of the Caucasus. Another confirmation of christianization of Veinakhs living in the mountains is psalm-books discovered on the territory of Chechen-Ingush Republic. One of the psalm-books, kept in Tkhaba-Yerda Temple, was discovered in the late 19th century. Another manuscript of this kind was discovered in Mago-Yerda sanctuary in the mountain part of Ingushetia in the early 20th century. The influence of Christianity is felt through a number of words borrowed by Veinakh languages from Georgian Orthodox religious terminology: Cross Dzhavavar, Hell Dzhozhakhati, Paradise Yalsamani. In addition, names for days of the week, such as Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, were borrowed from Georgian too. Apparently, that took place when Christianity came to the territory of Chechen-Ingush Republic. There is an assumption that the names of Adam, Haron and Hava (Eve) made their way into the Veinakh society under the influence of the religion. During the christianization of the region local masters built sanctuaries in honour of local saints (for one, Tamysh-Yerda, which bears some of the features of St.George). Their design carries a clear imprint of the influence of Christian architecture. But traditional pagan beliefs were never abandoned completely. The bulk of mountaineers were slow to pick up the ideas of Christian Church. Besides, the spreading of Christian dogma from Georgia was short-lived. In the 13th century Tatar hordes struck a crushing blow on Georgia. The missionary activity of Georgian church among Caucasian mountaineers was temporarily suspended. The newly-built churches were left to the mercy of fate. The Tatar invasion had a negative effect on other peoples of the Caucasus, including Chechens and Ingushes. Locked in difficult of access mountain gorges, they found themselves cut off from flat country and the whole of the outside world and were doomed to hard labour in the mountains in overcrowded conditions. (in detail... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=religioneng&row=1) Copyright CHECHNYA FREE.RU http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=news.media.chechnyafree http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com