Kumyks - Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities . The Kumyk economy has been based on agriculture since ancient times. The Kumyks knew the three-field system of crop rotation and artificial irrigation. Land was periodically left fallow. Exploitable land was of four kinds: plow land, hay fields, woodlands, and pasture. The next most important branch of the economy was animal husbandry, the development of which was facilitated by the presence of plentiful fodder. Sheep and cattle were raised for milk and meat. Cattle were also used as draft animals, whereas horses were primarily for riding. Water buffalo were also bred. Livestock were driven to distant pastures: the inhabitants of Mountain Daghestan rented winter pastures in the plains from the Kumyks, whereas the latter used the summer pastures of the mountaineers on the same rental basis. These regulated, centuries-long traditions greatly facilitated the formation of a communality of the economic interests of the Daghestanians and a rational division of labor. Long before the nineteenth century in Kumykia, communal property in land had yielded place to feudal land use. In the nineteenth century there already existed three kinds of land use: private, state, and ecclesiastical ( waqf —the land belonging to the mosque). Private landownership was subdivided into large feudal holdings and small, privately owned plots of land. After the establishment of Soviet power, land was nationalized. Favorable natural conditions, proximity to the sea, and the presence of rivers contributed to the emergence of fishing. The extraction of salt and oil also had some significance in the economy; the Kumyks supplied the larger part of Mountain Daghestan. Owing to the division of labor between the plains and mountains of Daghestan, and also to the relatively early diffusion of Russian manufactured goods, different aspects of arts and crafts developed early among the Kumyks. Together with this, many branches of cottage industry and crafts continued to play an important role: the preparation of woolen and cotton textiles; working in leather, wood, metal, and stone; rug weaving; pottery and the manufacture of arms. The most important trade routes of the eastern Caucasus (including the Silk Route) passed through Kumykia, which served as the main breadbasket for many regions of Daghestan—all of which brought about and continues to promote the significant role of trade. The economy of the Kumyks was on the whole quite complex: the feudal system was relatively highly developed in the lowlands, as were capitalistic relations in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Clothing. The light underclothing of men consisted of a tunic-shaped shirt and pants; riding breeches became popular at the start of the twentieth century. Over the shirt the Kumyk wore a quilted coat ( qaptal ) sewn of dark textiles (in winter and for work) or light-colored textiles (summer)—wool, silk, or cotton. The quilted coat was gradually replaced by the Caucasian shirt, over which was worn a collarless Caucasian coat (which in the case of the wealthy upper class of Kumyk society was sewn of white camel skin but, more usually, of imported cloth or cotton of various colors). Rows of little cartridge pockets were sewn on both sides of this coat, which was donned when receiving guests and in public places. In the winter a sheepskin coat was worn on top of the Caucasian shirt or coat. Coats for the most important occasions were made from the white skins of young lambs, everyday coats from ordinary sheepskin. The Kumyk feudal upper class and bourgeoisie wore sable, ermine, ferret, and beaver coats made of imported Russian furs. The burka (Caucasian felt coat) served as an outer garment, a defense against rain, cold, and wind. Male footwear included socks of spun wool, light shoes of morocco leather, work shoes from entire pieces of buckskin, and slippers and galoshes of morocco or fine leather (but with a thick sole). In the nineteenth century prosperous Kumyks began to wear fashionable boots with long tops and high heels. The Kumyk headgear was usually a sheepskin hat or a cowl. After the unification of Daghestan with Russia, imported city dress of the European type began to enter the Kumyk milieu.

In the Middle Ages Kumyk warriors wore coats of mail consisting of a metal shirt with short sleeves, an iron or steel helmet, an iron shield, and a quiver; in battle they carried bows and arrows, spears, sabers, and poles with wedge-shaped bayonets; most wore daggers ( kinzhal ) . In the seventeenth century the Kumyks also used firearms: unrifled guns, pistols, and cannon. Arms were both of local manufacture and of Turkish, Russian, and English make.

Women's attire, to a greater degree than men's, had many local variations. The inner layer of clothing included a long tunic with a front opening; a second part consisted of a close-fitting top attached to a long, wide skirt, gathered at the waist and wide trousers. Outer clothing included an open dress with a long, wide skirt and sleeves that were sewn only to the elbows, below which they hung loose; a closed dress with a fitted and lined top and a long, wide skirt with normal cuffed sleeves; and a ceremonial dress like the open dress but with an insert sewn in and separately cut double sleeves. Women's sheepskin coats had large gores and (unlike men's) were fastened with buckles or clasps; they were longer than the men's but sleeves came down only to the elbows. Female footwear was primarily woolen socks, Caucasian slippers, and leather boots—distinguished from the men's by more decoration, more refined manufacture from more select materials, and brighter color. On their heads the Kumyk women wore a fillet ( chutqu ) in the form of a sack that opened toward the top and the bottom, sewn from satin or wool, which held their braided hair. Over this fillet they tied a large handkerchief of silk, tulle, or calico. These handkerchiefs were varied, selected with regard to age and situation (holiday, mourning, and so forth). Decorations, hanging free or sewn to clothing, included silver decorated with filigree, embossed buckles in the form of small long fish, small sequins, and all sorts of buttons, usually of silver, which were sewn onto the sleeves, the belt, or the front. Adornments worn separately included a broad silver belt, sometimes with a gold or gilded mounting for precious stones, or, for the less wealthy women, of galloons with several rows of sewn-on silver coins; a special type of close-fitting necklace that consisted of twenty to twenty-five small gold or silver plates strung on two strings; ornaments in the form of long, narrow gilded-silver buckles sewn onto a breast cloth of velvet or plush; beads shaped like barley kernels attached to gold or silver plates or coins; corals; earrings; rings; and bracelets. All these decorations were made of gold or silver, often richly ornamented and decorated with precious stones. Mostly they were produced in Daghestan, but some were imported.

Food. Kumyk cuisine included khinkal, a wheat-flour dumpling lightly boiled in a rich meat bouillion and served with a gravy of sour cream (or sour milk, tomatoes, nuts, etc.) and garlic; a dumpling of maize meal; various kinds of soup (with beans, rice, spaghetti, groats, and the like); kyurze, a kind of ravioli stuffed with meat (with curds, pumpkin, pluck, nettles, etc.); a kind of pie of the same ingredients; dolma, grape or cabbage leaves stuffed with sausage and rice; pilaf; shashlik; a kind of scrambled eggs; meat sauce; rice porridge; maize or wheat porridge cooked in milk or water; a thin porridge of wheat flour browned in butter or fat; halvah of flour and sugar in hot fat or butter; halvah with nuts; and other types. This is far from a full list of the Kumyk national dishes; many local variations could be added. There also were pies, breads, fritters, preserves, beverages, and so on. Tea, coffee, cocoa, and many alcoholic beverages are among the borrowed or imported beverages.

Division of Labor. Among the Kumyks there was a fairly clear-cut division of labor by age and gender: men took care of the sheep, goats, and working livestock and their pasture, as well as the bulk of the fieldwork and tasks such as making hay, and collecting firewood; women took care of milk animals but in general were more concerned with the domestic economy, the care of the home, and many domestic industries (sewing, weaving, etc.). Children learned the tasks pertaining to their gender. Public opinion censured adult children if their elderly parents engaged in heavy physical labor.