Andis - Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. In the medieval period Andi society had a many-layered class structure. The upper stratum consisted of patricians and feudal families ( rekhedol ), among which the Shamkhalol lineage (referred to as the "shamkalate") enjoyed a special social hegemony throughout Daghestan, extending from the introduction of Islam in the fifteenth century up to the seventeenth century. Especially prominent in Andi society was the free peasantry ( uzden ), comprising more or less prestigious tukhums of noble origin. After the Russian Empire annexed Andia in the nineteenth century, a military elite was also recognized within Andi society. The lower class included freedmen ( lagi ), descendants of captives or individuals involuntarily sold into slavery. The numerous lagis, after their emancipation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and especially during the Soviet period, were almost completely integrated into general society—although their earlier status is still remembered and is taken into consideration in the contracting of marital alliances.

Political Organization. Andia has been referred to as a "federated republic" (S. Bronevski) comprising seven self-governing communities: Andi, Gukhna, Gagatl, Rikvani, Ashali, Zilo, and Chanko. The villages of Muni and Kvankhidatl were part of a neighboring political entity ( tekhnutsal ). The Andian alliance was once the strongest in western Daghestan, particularly in the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, at the time of the shamkhalate, the authority of which extended to neighboring Avarian and Chechen communities. Administrative and judicial powers were exercised by governors ( hilatabul ) and a council of elders ( jamati ) representing the populace. The most general powers and functions were delegated to the government of the federation. The governors were selected and sworn in annually. The police function was fulfilled by appointees of the council of elders ( dorghaqol ), and military matters devolved upon the seduqan (leaders).

Social Control and Conflict. The courts based their decisions on the traditional code of laws ( adat ), custom, and Sharia. Justice (according to Sharia) and spiritual authority were carried out by the qadis (judges), present in each village, from among whom was chosen the chief qadi of the federation. (One such social and religious figure was the fifteenth-century qadi Ali Mirza al Andi, who bore the title "Sheikh-ul-Shyukh.") Because of this juridical pluralism, a plaintiff could choose from among judicial systems. Public opinion exerted an important regulatory constraint, as did the maslaat (mediatory) courts. In many instances the parties settled matters without resort to the courts, on the basis of tradition and negotiation. During the time of the imamate (mid-nineteenth century) and annexation to Russia, an Andian naibate (part of the Andi okrug ) replaced the earlier federation and was subsequently liquidated with the establishment of Soviet power. At the present time village soviets administer local authority.