Archi people

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Archi
Аршишттиб
Map of the Archi language and Archi villages.
Total population
5,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
 Russia12[2]
Languages
Archi
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Northeast Caucasian peoples

The Archi people (Archi: аршишттиб, arshishttib, Lezgian: Арчияр, archiyar) are an ethnic group who live in eight villages in Southern Dagestan, Russia. Archib is the 'parent village' of these, because three months a year the whole community used to reassemble in Archi to engage in communal work.[3] Their culture is one of the most distinct and best-preserved of all the cultures of Dagestan.[4]

They have a total population of about 1,200, and speak their own language. Their habitat is about 2,000 meters above sea level in the Kara-Koisu basin of a range of the Caucasus.[3]

History

The origin of the Archi people is unknown. Their name was first mentioned in the historical chronicles written by Muhammed Rafi from

Avar community Dursakh (or Rissib) and from time to time paid tribute to the Gazikumukh Khanate.[6] They became subjects of the Russian Empire after Dagestan was annexed by Russia in 1813. According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary there were 802 Archis in Gazikumukh Okrug in 1886.[7] Since 1899 they were part of the Gunib Okrug, Dagestan Oblast.[5]

In 1921 they became part of the

2010 Russian Census there were only 12 Archis.[11]

Language

Main article: Archi language

The Archi language is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is colloquial, unwritten, and spoken only in several villages. Avar and Lak are widely spoken.

The first information about Archi language was a letter from Peter von Uslar to Franz Anton Schiefner dated June 11, 1863, which was published in the "Grammar of the Lak language" book as an appendix.[6] Peter von Uslar tells an Archi legend about their language:

The God created nations and peoples; there were much less languages than peoples. The God was giving one shared language to several peoples, but all peoples were refusing to accept the most difficult language in the World, which finally became the language of the least numerous people in the World: Archi language and Archi people.[12]

Culture

The

Avars
in all Soviet censuses, and are still considered to be so in Russian censuses.

The Archi people are overwhelmingly

Kufic script suggests that they converted to Islam not later than the 10th century.[13]

Famous Archi people

  • Maksud Sadikov – a professor in international relations and Islamic economics

References

  1. ^ Ethnologue entry for Archi
  2. ^ Russian Census 2010: Population by ethnicity Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  3. ^ a b The Peoples of the Red Book: Archis
  4. ^ The Archi language dictionary
  5. ^
    ISBN 5-87444-033-X
    .
  6. ^ a b Микаилов, К.Ш. (1967). Арчинский язык (Грамматический очерк с текстами и словарём) (in Russian). Махачкала. pp. 8–9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Казикумухский округ (in Russian). Брокгауз-Ефронarchiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/66FdPoN1R?url=http://gatchina3000.ru/big/046/46756_brockhaus-efron.htm.
  8. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам республик СССР (in Russian). «Демоскоп». Archived from the original on 2012-02-10.
  9. ^ Аварцы (in Russian). БСЭ. Archived from the original on 2011-08-18.
  10. ^ Перечень имен народов, выделявшихся при разработке материалов Всесоюзных/Всероссийских переписей 1926 - 2002 гг., и их численность (in Russian). «Демоскоп». Archived from the original on 2014-02-01.
  11. ^ Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 г. Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации (in Russian). «Демоскоп». Archived from the original on 2012-05-21.
  12. ISBN 5-87444-149-2
    .
  13. ^
    ISBN 5-02-008808-0
    .
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