The Bagvalal (also called Bagulal, Kwantl Hekwa, Bagolal, Kwanadi, Bagulaltsy, Kvanadin, and Kvanadintsy) are an Avar–Andi–Dido people of

Dagestan 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 ...

, speaking the

Bagvalal language The Bagvalal language (Bagulal) is an Avar–Andic language spoken by the Bagvalals in southwestern Dagestan, Russia, along the right bank of the river Andi-Koisu and the surrounding hills, near the Georgian border. It is fairly similar to ...

. Since the 1930s they have been largely classed as and assimilated by the Avars. However there were still some people reported separately in the 2002 census. The Bagvalals are

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Geography

The Bagvalal live in mountain villages in the

Tsumadinsky District Tsumadinsky District (russian: Цумади́нский райо́н, Tsumadínsky rayón; av, Цӏумада мухъ, Ⱬumada muӿ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district ( raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dag ...

. The names of the Bagvalal villages are: Kvanada, Gimerso, Tlisi, Tlibisho, Khushtada, and Tlondada.

Demographics

In 1926 there were 3,054 Bagvalals.

References

Sources

*Wixman, Ronald. ''The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook''. (Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 1984) p. 19. {{Peoples of the Caucasus Peoples of the Caucasus Ethnic groups in Dagestan Muslim communities of Russia