Teip

Elders from the Zumsoy [ru] teip, c. 1906.

A teip (also taip, tayp, teyp; Chechen and Ingush: тайпа, romanized: taypa [ˈtajpə], lit. family, kin, clan, tribe[1]) is a Chechen and Ingush tribal organization or clan, self-identified through descent from a common ancestor or geographic location. It is a sub-unit of the tukkhum and shahar. There are about 150 Chechen and 120 Ingush teips. Teips played an important role in the socioeconomic life of the Chechen and Ingush peoples before and during the Middle Ages, and continue to be an important cultural part to this day.

  1. ^ Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dictionary, A.G. Matsiyev, Moscow, 1961), also available online: Чеченско-Русский словарь: “схьаIенадала-такхадала” Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine; and Ингушско-Русский словарь (online Ingush-Russian dictionary) Archived 2012-08-17 at WebCite (in Russian)