Clans and tariqahs in Chechnya -2

Traditional Chechen society is going through a difficult process of integration into existing in the 19th-20th centuries, ethnic and social processes. Transformation, often heavily influenced from outside, inevitably destroys and leaves in the past the historical forms of existence of the Chechen people, their most interesting internal communications. "Vestnik Kavkaza" tells about some features of the organization of Chechen (more widely – Vainakh) societies, which will inevitably be lost in the coming century.

Continued. The first part is Clans and tariqahs in Chechnya -1. It is necessary to remember about the particular religious structure of Vainakh society, which remains predominantly Sufi. In Chechnya, the process of Islamization has been much slower than in Dagestan, that is basically connected with the peculiarities of tribal relations. As a result, the Vainakh, along with the ethno-social hierarchy, formed a parallel ethno-religious system, which seriously affected the entire structure of the ethno-political communities of Chechnya.

Researchers described the ethno-confessional structure of Chechen society as follows:

-          rural ummah (murids), one wird led by a Mullah

-          a wird headed by an Ustaz (Sufi ustaz - this is not a mullah and not a priest. Most likely a saint, literally: enlightened, God's chosen, for a murid he is an intermediary between him and God and a defendant before God for his exemplary behaviour, murid);

-          Tariqa - Commonwealth of several wirds led by a Sheikh;

-          the unified Muslim Ummah.

Ustaz are revered in Sufism as saints, holy. People praise them in the zikrakh (prayers), visit them ziyarats (burial places). This is fundamentally different from the Sufi branch of Islam, the so-called pure Islam (Wahhabism is the quintessence), the exclusive cult of saints, and brings it closer to the Chechen people's beliefs. Also during their lifetime intervirds communications were very strong. Two main Sufi tarikats presented at Vainakh - Naqshbandiyya and Qadiri. More common - Naqshbandiyya - named after its founder, famous Sufi master Bahaudina Naqshbandi (1318-1389). His followers practiced the so-called silent zikr – a prayerful act which takes place hidden from the uninitiated. The home formula of "quiet" Zikr - countless repetition of God's name to himself. It is considered that the believer shouldn't parade his devotion. That is why a zikr is a sacrament hidden from the eyes. Thus the collective zikr takes place once a week. However it is considered, loudly said prayer loses its  religious importance. At the root of the Tariqa Qadiri was a prominent Islamic scholar, Abd al Qadir al Jilani (1077-1166). Ordinary kadiriyets make loud zikrs. They are performed in a circle and can be accompanied by various actions of the head and arms. Some wirds, making loud zikrs, also use various musical instruments, such as zhirgu (tambourine) and ad hokhu Pondar (a kind of violin). Thus, the head of one of the Qadiri wirds was the most famous religious leader of Chechnya, Kunta Haji Kishiyev.

Thus, the Vainakhs special ethno-religious structures were created, in which the religious community was no less weak than kinship ties.