Caucasian Neopaganism is a category including movements of modern revival of the

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Fiction * Autochthon (Atlantis), a character in Plato's myth of Atlantis * Autochthons, characters in the novel ''The Divine Invasion'' by Philip K. Dick * Autochthon, a Primordial in the ...

religions of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. It has been observed by scholar

Victor Schnirelmann Victor Alexandrovich Schnirelmann (russian: Виктор Александрович Шнирельман, b. 18 May 1949, Moscow; frequently spelled Shnirelman in his English-language publications) is a Russian historian, ethnologist and a member o ...

especially among the AbkhazSchnirelmann, pp. 202-206 and the

Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

Religions

Abkhaz native religion

The Abkhaz native religion, or Abkhaz Neopaganism, is the contemporary Neopagan re-emergence of the ethnic religion of the Abkhaz people in Abkhazia, a revitalisation which started in the 1980s. The most important holy sites of the religion are the Seven Shrines of Abkhazia, each one having its own priestly clan, where rituals and prayers began to be solemnly restored from the 1990s onward. According to the 2003 census, 8% of the population of Abkhazia adheres to Abkhaz Paganism. On the 3rd of August 2012 the Council of Priests of Abkhazia was formally constituted in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

. The possibility to make the Abkhaz native religion one of the state religions was discussed in the following months.

Circassian Paganism

Circassian paganism, also called Khabzeism, is a pagan faith and one of the abandoned parts of Adyghe Xabze.

Description

An important element is the belief in the soul (''psa'') of the ancestors, who have the ability to observe and evaluate the affairs of their offspring.Khabze.info
Khabze: the religious system of Circassians
. The concept of

physical pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...

or pleasure in the Hereafter (''Hedryhe'') is absent: the soul is granted spiritual satisfaction or remorse for one's chosen path in life in front of himself and his ancestors. Therefore, the goal of man's earthly existence is the perfection of the soul, which corresponds to the maintenance of honour (''nape''), manifestation of compassion (''guschlegu''), gratuitous help (''psape''), which, along with valour, and bravery of a warrior, enables the human soul to join the soul of the ancestors with a clear conscience (''nape huzhkle''). The souls of the ancestors require commemoration: funeral feasts are arranged (''hedeus'') and sacrifice or memorial meal preparations (''zheryme'') are practiced and distributed for the remembrance of the dead souls. The Habzist theology is

monistic Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished: * Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...

, with utmost prominence given to the god Tha (Тхьэ, tħa), Thashkhue (Тхьэшхуэ, tħaʃxʷa, also known as Theshxwe) or Thashkho (Тхьашхо), who begets the universe. First of all, Tha expresses himself generating the

Word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

or cosmic Law (''Khy''), the primordial pattern from which all the beings form naturally, developing by internal laws. Enlightenment for men corresponds to an understanding of Tha's Law. Thashkhue is omnipresent in his creation (coagulation); according to Adyghe cosmological texts, "his spirit is scattered throughout space". In Adyghe hymns Tha (Thashxue) is referred to as "the One everyone asks, but who doesn't ask back", "the multiplier of the non-existent", "on whom everyone places their hope, but who doesn’t place hope on anyone", "from whom the gifts come", "His amazing work", "the One who permits heaven and earth to move". Everything is one (Псори Зыщ, Psora Zysch, or Псори Хыщ, Psora Hysch), and is one with the Tha.Khabze.info
What is Khabze?
The material-manifested world is in perpetual change, but at the same time there is a foundation that always remains unshaken. That is the originating principle of the world and its Law. The always-changing world and its basis is compared to a rotating wheel (дунейр шэрхъщи ''duneyr sherhschi'', мэкlэрахъуэ ''meklerahue''): although the wheel is constantly rotating (changing), it has its central hub around which it revolves, which remains still. Followers of this worldview, sometimes also Islamised, are found in modern day Turkey. The Xabze beliefs and Sufi-Islamic beliefs are seen as complementary philosophies by Circassians. After Tha, the supreme god, there are secondary gods and goddess as: * Hantseguash: The goddess of Water and rain * Hedrikhe: the God of Death * Heneguash: The goddess of Sea * Hyateguash: the goddess of Beauty and Gardens * Kodes: The god of Mountains * Mezguash: The goddess of all Fauna * Mezytha: The god of Forests, Hunt and Beasts * Psetha: The god of Life and Souls * Sataney: The goddess of Feminity and Fertiliy, The Mother of the Narts * Schyble: The god of Lightning * Sozresh: The god of Fertility and family * Thageledj: The god of Flora and crops *

Tlepsh Tlepsh ( Adyghe Лъэпш ) is a mythological figure who appears (as a blacksmith and also a powerful leader) in some cycles of the Nart sagas of the Caucasus, in which his Ossetian counterpart is the smith Kurdalægon. Tlepsh's name is a borrowi ...

: The god of Fire, Blacksmiths, Steel and weapons * Uashkhue: The god of Sky * Zekuethash: The god of War The Narts, demigods mentioned in the eponymous Saga with their mother Sataney. The gods and goddesses are divided into two fundamentally different groups: #Gods without image, cosmogonic (Thashkhue, Uashkhue, Psetha, Schyble). #Anthropomorphic (humanoid) gods (Mezytha, Tlepsh, Thagaledj, etc.).

References

Bibliography

* Schnirelmann, Victor:
“Christians! Go home”: A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia
'. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2002. * Т. М. Катанчиев. ''Адыгэ кхабзэ как кабардинское обыхное право''. Эль-Фа, 2001

External links

Habze Portal

Circassian Association of California Adyghe Khasa
{{Neopaganism *