Шапсыгъ | |
---|---|
Total population | |
c. 807,882 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Turkey | 800,000 (approximation) |
Israel | 4,000 |
Russia
| 1,914 (2021 census)[2] 3,882 (2010 census)[1] |
Languages | |
Circassian language (West Adyghe dialect) (Shapsug sub-dialect, Hakuchi sub-dialect), Russian, Turkish, Hebrew and Arabic | |
Religion | |
Predominantly: Sunni Islam[3] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Circassian tribes |
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The Shapsug (Adyghe: шапсыгъ [ʃaːpsəʁ], Russian: шапсуги, Turkish: Şapsığlar, Arabic: الشابسوغ, Hebrew: שפסוגים) (also known as the Shapsugh or Shapsogh) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes.[4] Historically, the Shapsug tribe comprised one of the largest groups of the Black Sea Adyghe (Причерноморские адыги). They inhabited the region between the Dzhubga (in Adyghe: Жьыбгъэ means "Winds" or "The Valley of Winds") River and the Shakhe Rivers (the so-called Maly Shapsug, or Little Shapsug) and high-altitude mountainous areas of the northern slopes of the Caucasus range along the Antkhir, Abin, Afips, Bakan, Ships, and other rivers (Bolshoy Shapsug, or Greater Shapsug). In Russia, the remaining Shapsug population mainly live in the Tuapsinsky District (Tuapse) of Krasnodar Krai, Lazarevsky City District of Sochi, and in the Republic of Adygea (mainly in District of Takhtamukaysky and District of Teuchezksky), which were a small part of historical Circassia.
However, today the major Shapsug communities are found in Turkey, Israel (Kfar Kama), Jordan (Amman, Na'our, Marj Al-Hamam, Wadi Al-Seer), Lebanon (Tripoli, Berkayel-Akkar), Iraq, Syria, Western Europe and the United States of America. The first Circassians to settle in Amman were from the Shapsug tribe, and as a result the Shapsug's neighbourhood is considered the oldest neighbourhood in the Capital Amman and was the down town of it;[5] however, other Circassians from the Kabardian, Abadzekh, and Bzhedug tribes also settled in Amman afterwards. Today, the Shapsug are the third-most numerous Circassian tribe in the world, after the most numerous Kabardian and second-most numerous Abzakh tribes. The Shapsug are the most numerous Circassian tribe in Israel, third-most numerous in Turkey where the majority of them live, and the fifth-most numerous one in Russia. In Jordan, after the Abzakh, the Shapsug and Kabardian tribes are the most numerous Adyghe tribes.
The Shapsug speak a sub-dialect of the Adyghe language.[6] According to some indirect data, there were over four thousand Shapsug in Russia in 1926, but the Shapsug people were not enumerated as a separate group in Russian Censuses until 2002, when the population was recorded at 3,231. The Shapsug who live in the Adyghe Republic were enumerated as an Adyghe in general instead of Shapsug in particular, as they are an Adyghe (Circassian) tribe, rather than a separate ethnic group.
In District of Takhtamukaysky a reservoir which was built in 1952 was named after the Shapsug tribe (Russian: Шапсугское водохранилище) since the area was inhabited by this tribe for thousands of years and was considered to be part of historical Shapsugia, a region in historical Circassia.
The 12 Circassian tribes: Abadzeh Besleney Bzhedug Yegeruqay Zhaney Kabarday Mamheg Natuhay Temirgoy Ubyh Shapsug Hatukay. The twelve stars on the Adyghe Flag also refers to the twelve tribes.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official Website of Amman