The Tsez (also known as the Dido or the Didoi) are a
North Caucasian
ethnic group. Their unwritten language, also called
Tsez or Dido, belongs to the
Northeast Caucasian group with some 15,354 speakers.
[Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance & Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994), ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', p. 199. Greenwood Publishing Group, .] For demographic purposes, today they are classified with the
Avars with whom the Tsez share a religion,
Sunni Islam, and some cultural traits. They are centered at the
Tsunta district of the
Republic 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 C ...
,
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-eigh ...
. The term “Dido” is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to the Tsez as well as the
Bezhtas,
Hinukhs
The Hinukh ( Hinukh: гьинухъес ''hinuqes'', av, гьинухъесел , translit=hinuqesel) are a people of Dagestan living in 2 villages: Genukh, Tsuntinsky District - their 'parent village' and Novomonastyrskoe, Kizlyarsky District ...
,
Khwarshis and
Hunzibs
The Hunzibs are an indigenous people of Dagestan, North Caucasia living in three villages in the Tsuntinsky District in the upper regions of the Avar-Koysu river area. They have their own language, Hunzib, and primarily follow Sunni Islam
...
, which are also categorized as Avar subgroups.
According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 15,256 self-identified Tsez in Russia (15,176 in their homeland), notated as an "Avar subgroup", though the real number is probably slightly greater.
Culture
The Tsez traditionally engaged in raising livestock and limited cultivation. In more recent times, some Tsez have migrate to industrial centers for work.
The Tsez adhere to Sunni Islam. Islam became the majority faith of the Tsez by the 17th and 18th centuries though elements of pre-Islamic customs are still present.
References
Ethnic groups in Dagestan
Muslim communities of Russia
Peoples of the Caucasus
{{Caucasus-ethno-group-stub