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Peoples of Russia
Tabasarans
Their self-designation is Tabasaran or Kabgan, and they are one of the mountain peoples of the Southeastern Dagestan. Small groups of Tabasarans also live in Makhachkala and other regions of the Russian Federation.
Language
The Tabasarans speak the Tabasaran language belonging to the Nakh-Dagestani group of the Northern Caucasus language family. The language of the Tabasarans is notable by its unique case system: it has from 44 to 52 cases. Today’s Tabasaran language has two main dialects: Nitrich (Southern) and Suvak (Northern), each of which unites a group of subdialects. Sometimes an Eteg dialect is also distinguished. The Southern and Northern dialects differ a lot from each other in what concerns phonetics and grammar. The standard Tabasaran language is based phonetically and grammatically on the Nitrich (Southern) dialect. The language also has many borrowings from other Northern Caucasian as well as Turkic and Iranian languages. The influence of the Russian language is significant. The writing system is based on the augmented Cyrillic alphabet. Altogether the Tabasaran alphabet has 56 letters and digraphs. Together with the Russian language, Azerbaijani (in the Tabasaran district) and Lezgin (in the Khiva district) languages are used.
Society
The tukhum kinship groups were the main social unit for the Tabasarans. Kinship is counted to the 7th generation of the patrilinear and matrilinear descent. Marriages between relatives, including through sworn brotherhood and the atalyk system, are strictly forbidden. In the intrafamiliar relationships, respectful attitude to women is characteristic.
Food
The traditional food – plant-based, flour-based, meat- and dairy-based (khinkal, dumplings, pies, cheese, etc.) – is typical for most peoples of Dagestan. Herbs are used widely. The traditional drink is ayran.
Occupations
By their culture and everyday life, Tabasarans are close to the related Dagestan peoples. The majority is occupied in agriculture of the mixed farming and cattle breeding variety. Various crafts are developed: producing wood articles, smithing, pottery, carpet making, etc.
