Amjad Jaimoukha
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Amjad Jaimoukha ( Circassian: Жэмыхъуэ Амджэд, ; sometimes quoted as "Амыщ", the Circassian personal name) was a Circassian writer, publicist and historian, who wrote a number of books on North Caucasian – specifically Circassian and Chechen – culture and folklore. According to the ''Circassian Encyclopaedia'', "Jaimoukha is perhaps the most important writer on Circassian issues." He was considered one of the most influential Circassian writers and publicists in the last decade. In particular, he was active in promoting and assisting a new crop of Circassian and non-Circassian writers working on raising the profile of Caucasian issues at the global level.


Principal works

*''The Circassians: A Handbook'' (London and New York:
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
; New York: Palgrave, 2001): It has become the prime reference work on the Circassians. It has been reviewed in more than a dozen international journals." *''The Chechens: A Handbook'' (Routledge, 2005) with contributions from the Canadian writer and poet
JonArno Lawson JonArno Lawson is a Canadian writer who has published many books for children and adults, was born in Hamilton, Ontario and raised in nearby Dundas. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his wife and three children. Career and education Lawson h ...
. The book sheds light on some obscure aspects of Chechen culture and folklore, and includes an account of the ancient native religion and beliefs of the Nakh peoples (Chechens, Ingush, Kist, and Batsbi sova-Tush. According to the publishers it is "the only comprehensive treatment of this subject available in English". *''Kabardian-English Dictionary'', Sanjalay Press, 1997. (Some 22,000 words, 574 pages. Principally based on: Kardanov (Qarden), B. M. (ed.), КЪЭБЭРДЕЙ-УРЫС СЛОВАРЬ. Kabardinsko-russki slovar’ abardian-Russian Dictionary Kabardino-Balkarian Science and Research Institute, Moscow: State Press of Foreign and National Dictionaries, 1957. *''Parlons tcherkesse: Dialecte kabarde'' et's Speak Circassian: Kabardian Dialect (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2009) Co-authored with Michel Malherbe. This book is the only treatment of the Kabardian dialect of Circassian in the French language. *''Circassian Culture and Folklore: Hospitality Traditions, Cuisine, Festivals & Music (Kabardian, Cherkess, Adigean, Shapsugh & Diaspora)'', London: Bennett and Bloom, 2010. *''Circassian Customs and Traditions'', The International Center for Circassian Studies, 2009. *''Circassian Religion'', The International Centre for Circassian Studies, 2009. *''Circassian Bibliography'', The International Centre for Circassian Studies, 2009. *''Circassian Proverbs and Sayings'', Sanjalay Press, 2009. (Has some 3,000 entries in Kabardian n Cyrillic and Latin orthographieswith corresponding English expressions) Jaimoukha published with the following Western publishing houses: Routledge outledgeCurzon Curzon, Bennett and Bloom, Palgrave (Macmillan) t. Martin's Press L'Harmattan. He also worked with Sanjalay Press and the International Centre for Circassian Studies.


International Centre for Circassian Studies (ICCS)

Jaimoukha was director of the International Centre for Circassian Studies (ICCS), an institute specializing in the dissemination of Circassian culture and folklore. The Center is the brainchild of the famous Circassian writer and film producer and director Mohydeen Quandour. The principal aim of the Centre is the development and dissemination of Circassian literature, culture and folklore. There is a particular emphasis on boosting the status of Circassian and to promote its teaching and use. The Centre publishes a bilingual journal (in Circassian and English) "The Hearth Tree". The publications of the Centre can be accessed via its website. Jaimoukha devised a Latin orthography for Kabardian (Eastern Circassian) that is characterised by relative simplicity (considering the complexity of the language). An advantage of this system is that it has a one-to-one correspondence with the current Cyrillic orthography used for Kabardian, and already a software has been designed to render one orthography into the other, making it possible to turn works already published in Cyrillic Kabardian into the new orthography, and vice versa, facilitating transition from one system to the other.


Work at the Royal Scientific Society

Jaimoukha previously held the position of Assistant President of the
Royal Scientific Society The Royal Scientific Society (RSS) is an independent non-governmental, not-for-profit multidisciplinary science institution established by royal charter. Founded in 1970 as a national organisation to actively advise and support the development ...
(RSS) in the period 2003-2007. He published a number of studies and bibliographic tomes during his tenure at RSS, including ''Scientific Integrity'', ''Intellectual Capital Report'', and ''Bibliography of the Publications of the Royal Scientific Society''.


Circassian culture and folklore

Jaimoukha was a strong advocate of the revival of all aspects of Circassian culture and folklore, including obsolete and defunct genres of art and culture. He wrote a number of books and articles in journals and newspapers championing the raising of the status of the Circassian language in both the Circassian republics in the Northwest Caucasus (where about one million Circassians live) and in the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...
(principally in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, US,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
), where some 5 million descendants of the 19th-century Circassian forced immigrants reside. The ultimate survival of the Circassian language and culture is intimately associated with the political fate of the Circassians in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and the re-establishment of Circassia as a viable state, recognized as a full member of the comity of nations. The unification of the Kabardians, Cherkess, Adigeans, and Shapsugh in the Northwest Caucasus in the political and cultural spheres is a requisite step towards enhanced autonomy. Jaimoukha was among the vocal Circassians actively engaged in raising awareness of Circassian issues amongst the Circassians themselves and at a global level. He planned to publish a book on the controversial issue of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, to be held in Circassia. Jaimoukha was a proponent of North Caucasian unity and independence (from
Daghestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
in the east to
Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
in the west). He advocated
Circassian independence Circassian may refer to: * Circassia, a former geographical region located in present-day European Russia, Northern Caucasus ** Circassian coast, on the Black Sea * Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe ...
on a number of media outlets. He referred to the historical lands of the Circassians as "Circassia". Despite the linguistic diversity, the peoples of the North Caucasus share similar traditions, beliefs and culture. His work "Thoughts on North Caucasian Federation" maps a plan of unification of the western part of the region (the historical lands of the Circassians (Adiga), Abkhaz-Abaza pswaand the Ubykh). According to this scheme, the Adiga entities (perhaps with the inclusion of the Abaza) would be united into one independent state that might eventually opt to enter into federative arrangements with the already independent Abkhaz and the Karachai-Balkar state. This would remove the artificial tensions that might flare up into open conflict between the Kabardians and Balkar in Kabardino-Balkaria and the Karachai and Cherkess in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic. The Adigeans would become more secure and more resistant to the Russian drive to undo their fragile republic. It would seem that the logical (interim) step of uniting the Kabardians and Cherkess into one autonomous entity on the one hand and the Karachai and Balkar into another, on the other, is considered taboo by the authorities in the two republics.


Collaborations

Principal literary collaborations included work with
Nicholas Awde Nick Awde Hill (born 29 December 1961 in London, England) is a British writer, artist, singer-songwriter and critic. He is based in London and Brussels. Personal life The son of an international lawyer (who formulated laws that enable container ...
, the editor of the Caucasus World series published by Routledge and co-owner of the publishing house Bennett and Bloom, JonArno Lawson, the writer of a number of fantastic books, and Michel Malherbe, the prolific writer and editor of the ''Parlons...'' series published by the French publishing house
L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...
. A work on the Adigean dialect of Circassian was scheduled to be published by L'Harmattan in 2010. Jaimoukha contributed five articles (on the Circassians, Kabardians, Karachai, Dagestanis, and Jordan) in
Carl Skutsche Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...
's seminal three-volume work ''Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities'', published by Routledge in 2004 in New York. There was a close co-operation with the Circassian writer
Luba Belaghi Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire *Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town o ...
( Balagova; publications in Circassian and Russian) in the framework of the publications of the International Centre for Circassian Studies.


References

*Mamser, M., ''The Circassian Encyclopaedia'', 2009, vol. IV, entry "Amjad Jaimoukha". here are two entries for Amjad Jaimoukha: one concerning his work at the Royal Scientific Society and the other on his career as a writer and publicist


External links


The International Centre for Circassian Studies websitePersonal websiteCircassian Culture and Folklore website"The acclaimed book by Amjad Jaimoukha is available at eBooks.com in several formats for your eReader."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaimoukha, Amjad 1964 births 2017 deaths Cultural anthropologists History of the North Caucasus Nationality missing