Russia is |
Peoples of Russia
Kumyks
People in the Russian Federation. Their self-designation is Qumuq. The traditional territory of their dispersion is the Terek-Sulak lowland and the submontane regions of Dagestan. There is also a Kumyk diaspora in Turkey.
Language
The Kumyks speak the Kumyk language, which belongs to the Northwestern (Kypchak) group of the Turkic branch of the Altai language family. The Kumyk language is divided into the Buynak, the Khasavyurt, the Kaytag, the Submontane and the Tersky dialect. The standard language was formed on the basis of the Khasavyurt and the Buynak dialects. Before 1928, a Dagestani writing system on the basis of the Arabic script (adjam) had existed. Since 1938, the writing system is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. From 1928 to 1938, it was based on the Latin alphabet.
Society
The traditional Kumyk family – a familial community of up to 30 people – had almost disintegrated by the early 19th century. Since 19th century, the nuclear family prevails, but the patrilineal kinship is still significant (patrilineal kinship group – tukhum). The property within the family was common. Women had personal property consisting of their dowry. When a family fell apart or split, the dowry was not divided. The bride had a bride-price (kalym) paid for her. Children were brought up by women alone. Public demonstration of parental feelings was forbidden. The upbringing for boys and girls was very different but similarly strict and ascetic. Boys were often fostered in a different family (the atalyk system).
Dwellings
The traditional dwelling is a multi-room stone house or an adobe house on a stone foundation. On the flatlands it was usually one-storey, and in the mountains, two-storey. The largest room in the house was the kitchen, there were many bedrooms and storage rooms, a room for the guests.
Food
Meat and baked food are widespread, as well as fried eggs and milk-based porridges. The popular dishes are: khinkal, shorpa, dolma, shashlyk.
Occupations
The Kumyks’ traditional occupation was agriculture. Also well developed were the animal breeding (cattle breeding, horse breeding), the crafts (carpet weaving, leatherwork, weapon decorating, etc.), trade.
