The Budukhs ( Budukh: Будад, ''Budad''), () are an ethnic group primarily from the mountainous village of Buduq in northeastern

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, one of the Shahdagh peoples. They speak the Budukh language, which is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. The

Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani ( ; , , ) or Azeri ( ), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (, , ), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language from the Oghuz languages, Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, Azerbaij ...

is widely spoken.

History

The area where the Budukh inhabit was part of the Shirvanshah. The Budukh served in the military for the Shah but were given tax and tribute exemptions. In the early 18th century, the Budukh participated in a Sunni-Shia conflict taking place in Shirvan. However, the conflict soon transformed into a revolt against the Shah which also gained the attention of the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. During the late 18th century, the Budukhs were part of the Khuba Khanate but then became incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1806. The Budukhs participated in the Murid War during the mid-19th century. In the Soviet era, the Budukh were faced with

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

and various socio-political policies that negatively affected their traditional way of life and beliefs.

Culture

The Badukhs traditionally engage in raising sheep and cattle. The Badukhs also engage in trading and some limited farming, mainly cultivating barely and rye. The Budukh people are overwhelmingly

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

History

Culture

References

Further reading