Tsakhurs - Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities . Among the Daghestanian Tsakhurs the leading occupation was livestock raising (primarily sheep, but also cattle and horses). Thick-wooled sheep, adapted to high mountains, were bred for meat and milk. Winters the sheep were driven from Daghestan into Azerbaijan (the Zakatal sheep region); summers they were herded in the mountains. More than half the population of the mountain villages migrated with their flocks six or seven months out of the year. In the mountains they sowed winter and spring barley, maize, spring lentils, winter rye, and wheat. Their own grains did not suffice for the whole year; they would buy additional grain in Azerbaijan. Among the Tsakhurs of Azerbaijan the basis of the economy was agriculture; the three-field system predominated; they also raised cattle, sheep, and domestic fowl. They sowed barleycorn, maize, wheat, rice, and millet using artificial irrigation. Farm implements included the heavy plow (hitched to two or three pairs of oxen), iron harrows, and horse-drawn mowing machines. Profitable branches of the economy among the Azerbaijan Tsakhurs included gardening, truck farming, and also sericulture and tobacco growing. In Soviet times all branches of the economy have continued to develop, provided with a new technology and increasing scope.

Clothing. The traditional male clothing combined general Daghestanian and Caucasian traits: a tunic-formed shirt; pants that narrowed toward the bottom; over this a quilted coat unfastened, perforated, and tailored to hug the body; a belt with metallic pendants; a sheepskin coat; and a felt coat. Footwear was low-cut and of leather, high-cut and of knitted wool with turned-up toes, shoes without counters (worn with woolen socks), or soft, leather boots. Headgear consisted of a high conical sheepskin cap for everyday use and, for holidays, a lower hat or a cowl. The woman's clothing included a tunic-shaped shirt, pants, and a wide skirt over the shirt tails; over this was worn a long dress like a man's quilted coat ( beshmet ). Other items included an apron, a sheepskin coat, knitted socks and footwear, shoes without counters, Caucasian-style slippers, a headdress surmounted by a kerchief, and (in some villages) a small hat like a nightcap covered with silver ornaments, stones, and embroidery. Women's ornaments included a pendant on the breast (with silver chains, coins, and bosses sewed on), adornments for the head (rows of silver chains), leather belts, rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. The children's clothing reproduced that of adults in its cut and its constituents. The contemporary clothing is of the European type but preserves certain traditional elements (the fur cap, kerchief, skirt, and felt coat).

Food. The basis of the Daghestanian Tsakhur diet was meat, milk products, and grains; in Azerbaijan the diet included fruits and vegetables. In the mountainous regions the bread was unleavened (of rye or barley); in the lowlands it was more often wheat, less often maize or barley. In winter they prepared flour from roasted barleycorn. In Tsakhur cuisine there were many dishes from fresh beans and lentils (bean soups); herbs were also used as stuffing for pies (to which were added cheese, curds, and eggs). Meat, both fresh and jerked, was boiled and roasted and used for soups with fresh beans, onions, shashlik and rissole (fishballs made with breadcrumbs) rolled in cabbage leaves and fried. There was pilaf with mutton and also chicken broth. Every day in the mountainous region they used to prepare dumplings of wheat—less often maize—with meat or homemade sausage and a garlic sauce. Dairy products included cheese, milk, curds, and sour cream. A soup with rice and herbs was made with milk (eaten both hot and cold). Alcoholic drinks and tea appeared in the beginning of the twentieth century. Fruit juices, sherbet, honey water, and dry wine were known to the Azerbaijan Tsakhurs. At present many traditional dishes are still prepared, and techniques for preserving fruits and vegetables and for making jams and pickles have improved.

Industrial Arts. Traditionally, both kinds of Tsakhurs worked wool and wove textiles from wool combined with silken threads on horizontal looms: felt coats, jackets for shepherds, bedding, socks, and so on. Other traditional crafts included rug manufacture, the knitting of woolen socks and footwear, woodworking, leatherworking, and metalworking (blacksmiths, tinsmiths, and armorers, some of them working in other areas of the Caucasus). In Soviet times knitting and rug making have been maintained.

Trade. The Daghestanian Tsakhurs bartered with Azerbaijanian Tsakhurs and Azerbaijani Turks, particularly during the season of winter migrations. The Tsakhurs purveyed the products of animal husbandry and wool working and bought grain, fruits, and domestically produced arts and crafts. Relations with other districts of Daghestan were limited. In the villages, both in the mountains and on the plains, there were stores and shops with a selection of textiles, footwear, and dishes and plates. A large range of wares was offered by Armenian merchants who came from Daghestan and Azerbaijan. Trade was interrupted during the winter because of the difficulty of traversing the mountain roads.

Division of Labor. The women played the chief role in domestic production. Many additional obligations were laid on the womenfolk when the man of the house went off to earn money in other places. The woman was responsible for weeding, the collection of the harvest, the processing of wood, and local crafts; she also tended the cattle, made hay, stored up firewood, was in charge of the preparation of food, and raised the children. The man saw to the pasturing and upkeep of the sheep and heavy agricultural jobs (plowing, the repair of farm implements). Work habits were instilled in the children from the earliest years. According to the norms of customary law, the boy had to assist his father in all economic activities, especially in the pasturing of livestock, just as the girl had to help her mother.

Land Tenure. Both Tsakhur communities recognized several forms of ownership: the feudal, the communal (pastureland, forests), ecclesiastical (land owned or inherited by mosques), and private (landed pertaining to peasant housholds). With the establishment of Soviet power the nationalization of the land took place and collective and state farms were organized.