The Tushetians , or Tush , are a subgroup of Georgians who mainly live in

Tusheti Tusheti ( ka, თუშეთი) is a historic region in northeast Georgia. Geography Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan to the north and eas ...

. Tsova Tushetians speak the Tsova Tushetian language and Chagma Tushetians speak the Chagma Tushetian dialect of Georgian. Tushetians (Merzbacher, 1901)

Subgroups

The Tush divide themselves into two groups, the Chagma-Tush, who speak the local

Georgian dialect Georgian (ქართული ''kartuli'') is a Kartvelian language spoken by about 4 million people, primarily in Georgia but also by indigenous communities in northern Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the diaspora, such as in Russia, Turkey, Iran, E ...

and the Tsova-Tush, also known as Bats or

Batsbi The Bats people ( ka, ბაცი, tr) or the Batsbi (ბაცბი), are Nakh-speaking Tushetians in the country of Georgia. They are also known as the Ts’ova-Tush (წოვათუშები) after the Ts’ova Gorge in the historic Geo ...

, who speak the

Bats language Bats (also Batsi, Batsbi, Batsb, Batsaw, Tsova-Tush) is the endangered language of the Bats people, a North Caucasian minority group and is part of the Nakh family of Northeast Caucasian languages. It had 2,500 to 3,000 speakers in 1975. There ...

, a Nakh language. Most Bats also speak Georgian, to which there is a continuing trend of linguistic assimilation.''The Red Book of Peoples of the Russian Empire''; Bats section.
/ref> Despite differences in language and culture (to a degree), both Chagma- and Tsova-Tush consider themselves to be part of the larger group of Tush, which in turn is considered a subgroup of Georgians.

Appearance

Anthropologically Tushetians have an Eastern Georgian type of face, with light colored eyes and hair color ranging from blonde to brown.

Culture

Traditionally, the Tushs are

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

herders. Tushetian Guda cheese (Not to be confused with European

Gouda cheese Gouda (, , ; nl, Goudse kaas, "cheese from Gouda") is a sweet, creamy, yellow cow's milk cheese originating from the Netherlands. It is one of the most popular cheeses worldwide. The name is used today as a general term for numerous similar ...

, with which it shares neither the features nor the making technique) and high quality wool was famous and was exported to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Even today sheep and cattle breeding is the leading branch of the economy of highland Tusheti. The local shepherds spend the summer months in the highland areas of Tusheti but live in the lowland villages of Zemo Alvani and Kvemo Alvani in wintertime. Their customs and traditions are similar to those of other eastern Georgian mountaineers, such as the Khevsurs and Pshavs. Like most Georgian groups, they are mainly Georgian Orthodox Christian in religion.

Origins

The origin of the Tush themselves is a mysterious and debatable matter, with numerous theories regarding the origin of Tsova-Tush and of the Chagma-Tush. It also is uncertain whether the two groups have a common origin or not. Theories regarding the origin of the Tsova-Tush include involving descent from South Caucasian Nakh tribes in ancient times (or a Nakh people inhabiting areas of Kakheti and Tusheti), North Caucasian Nakh tribes in the 16th century, or Old Georgian tribes who were influenced by or intermixed with the Nakh. Anthropological studies on the Tsova-Tush found them to be somewhere in between the Chechen-origin Kists and the Chagma-Tush of the region, but significantly closer to the Chagma-Tush. Theories regarding the origin of the Chagma-Tush all include descent from Georgian tribes (possibly pagans fleeing Christianization in the 4th century CE), but variously involve influence or admixture from South Caucasian Nakh, Dagestani peoples, or none.

History

The region of Tusheti was first mentioned by its name in the 4th century BCE. The lands of the Tush have variously been under the rule of Caucasian Iberia, the medieval united kingdom of Georgia, the

Kingdom of Kakheti The Second Kingdom of Kakheti ( ka, კახეთის სამეფო, tr; also spelled Kaxet'i or Kakhetia) was a late medieval/ early modern monarchy in eastern Georgia, centered at the province of Kakheti, with its capital first at Grem ...

(which eventually fell under heavy influence from Persia), the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and then independent united Georgia.

References

External links

*
www.batsav.com
a site mainly dedicated to the Tsova-Tush with significant information on the Chagma-Tush as well as their neighbors in addition {{DEFAULTSORT:Tushetians People from Georgia (country) by ethnic or national origin