Andis - History and Cultural Relations



Archaeological evidence from the Kuro-Araxes culture (fourth to third millennia B.C. excavated on Andian territory near the villages of Gagati and Ashali, along with linguistic evidence, links the Andis with the Caucasian world. In addition there is a tradition, based on ninth-century B.C. sources, that the Andis, after having been routed by the Assyrian King Sargon II, migrated to the Caucasus from the Near East (I. Aliev, 1960, p. 26). There is reliable testimony from Pliny the Elder (first century A.D. ) that at the beginning of the Christian era the Andis were already settled in the eastern Caucasus. According to toponymic evidence the Andis once occupied a wide expanse of territory below the Andiskoe Koysu River, but evidently they were assimilated by an Avar-speaking population. Another segment of the Andi people, along the middle and upper Andiskoe Koysu, later subdivided into seven ethnic groups, each with a distinct language: the Botlikhs, Ghodoberins, Akhvakhs, K'arat'ins, Bagvalals, Ch'amalals, and Tindals.

Historical accounts and chronicles record the incursion of Tamerlane's troops into Andia and their destruction of the home of Khan Yoluk at Gagatl and of the establishment of Islam there at the same time. Documents describe Andi society as having an established political system. In the seventeenth century the Andis won a decisive victory in the battle at Akhkhulatly over the militia of the Avar nutsal Turulava, who had disputed the right of the Andi lords to collect tribute and exercise control over the neighboring communities of Avaria and Mountain Chechnia. The Andis became Russian subjects in 1731, but shortly afterward they broke away to support the Chechens against the Russian General von Frauendorf. The Andis participated in the victorious pan-Daghestanian campaign against the forces of the Persian ruler Nadir Shah in 1741. The Andi cavalry took an active part in the Caucasus Wars (1817-1864) from the beginning and distinguished themselves for their bravery. Among the better-known participants in this fight for independence were the Andi naibs Gaziyav and Labezan; the latter fought alongside Shamil, the imam of Daghestan and Chechnia, at Gubinskoy fortress. After the civil war and the establishment of Soviet authority in 1924, the Andis were integrated into the political and socioeconomic structure of the USSR. Among the more profound changes subsequent to this were the collectivization of village agriculture and the granting of winter pasturelands in the Daghestanian lowlands for the permanent use of Andi farmers. Schools were opened in all villages.


Language and Literacy. A script has been developed for the Andi language, which is used for local communications and correspondence but not in publications. In addition, folklore and literary works have been written in Andi. The official written languages before the Revolution were Arabic (for clerical and religious matters) and Avar (literature, press, religion). In the 1930s Avar became the medium of instruction in primary schools, with subsequent education being conducted in Russian. The Arabic script was used until 1928, when a Latin-based alphabet was promulgated, followed by the introduction of a Cyrillic orthography in 1937. The Andis have long been a polyglot people: most have a good command of Avar, and some speak Chechen. Since the 1960s the majority can speak Russian as well. Andi folklore and literature is marked by bilingualism (Andi and Avar).


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