By Vestnik Kavkaza, Vesti FM, the History Department of MSU
The Ingush are Vainakh peoples in the North Caucasus. According to the National Population Census of 2010, there are 444 thousand Ingush, the majority of them live in Ingushetia and North Ossetia. They speak the Ingush language of the Nakh group of the North-Caucasus family. The Classical Greek geographer Strabon mentioned the North-Caucasus peoples as the “Gargarians”, who lived close to Amazons in his book “Geography” (I century A.D.)
The ethnonym of “Gargarians” has Huriyet roots and sounds like Ingush self-designation – Ghalghai. The Ingush are Muslims of the traditional Sufi taricat (spiritual path) which is based on the taricat of Sheikh Abd al Kadir al Jilani and Sheikh Bhauddin Nakshbandi. In the pre-Islamic period, heathenism and Christianity were spread in Ingushetia.
The first Christian missionaries, according to the historian Bashir Dalgat, appeared in Ingushetia in the 10th century, along with Georgia’s golden ages, and they were Georgians. Christianity was widespread in Chechnya and Ingushetia; at the moment there are many archeological, historic, and architectural monuments which confirm the centuries-long history of Christianity among the Ingush and the Vainakh in general on the territory of Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia.
The Ingush culture is based on Ezdel – a code of the unwritten moral and ethical rules of behavior of the Ingush, which covers all spheres of life of any member of the society, starting with childhood. Exdel is a code of honor and behavior, which is passed from generation to generation by parents and society. The Ingush possess a varied culture of traditions, legends, epics, tales, songs, proverbs and sayings. Music, songs and dance are particularly highly regarded. The Ingush are mentally interconnected with their tower culture. This fact is confirmed by their self-designation – Ghalghai – which is translated as “people of towers.” Ingush towers were build in the 10th-17th centuries. They are mostly situated in the Dzheirakh Region of Ingushetia; a few of them are situated in the Sunzhen Region of Ingushetia. There are three types of towers: residential, semi-military (semi-residential in some sources) and military towers. The main food products of the Ingush cuisines are lamb meat or poultry. Ingush cuisines are easy on the digestion. Hot spices, garlic, pepper and onions are most important components of many Ingush cuisines.
The program was prepared with the assistance of the History Faculty of Moscow State University and the information portal Vestnik Kavkaza.
