Representatives of the Dargin nationality live in the territory of the modern Republic of Dagestan. It is one of the largest peoples in these places. They belong to the Caucasian type of the Caucasian race. The faithful representatives of this nation profess Sunni Islam.
Nationality in Dagestan
A significant number of residents of the Republic of Dagestan, which is part of Russia, belong to the Dargin nationality today. According to the results of the last census, almost 600 thousand representatives of this nationality live in our country. In Dagestan there are most of them - about 16.5%, or about half a million people.
Mostly they live in the Caucasus mountains. Their villages are crowded, the houses are terrace-shaped, settle more freely in the foothills, have large and spacious courtyards.
Appearance
The character and appearance of the Dargins to most Russians can resemble the classic representatives of the Caucasian peoples.
They have a strong and strong-willed face, a prominent nose, a square chin. Often, men of Dargin nationality prefer to wear beards.
Traditional costume
The national costume of the Dargins is a clothing of the general Dagestan type. Men prefer long pants, a tunic shirt, a Circassian coat, a beshmet, sheepskin coats, cloaks, fur hats, felts, felt and leather shoes. A mandatory attribute of the national costume is a long and wide dagger.
This is the nature of the Dargin people. Like most of those who live in the east, they are extremely impulsive and hot-tempered. The tradition of walking with a dagger for self-defense was born in antiquity, when this was required by the turbulent situation in the Caucasus.
For a woman, the Dargin national costume is the so-called shirt dress (she is in the shape of a tunic and her waist is cut off). In some places, the dress can be oar, then it is called an archaluk. Wide or narrow trousers, felt or leather shoes are welcome. A usual female headdress is a chukh, there should also be a white or black cover made of calico or linen, in solemn occasions silk is used. In some areas, such as Kubachi or Kaitag, border and embroidery are used.
Nowadays, Dargins who live in cities wear ordinary modern clothes, not standing out from the rest. In traditional costumes, you can see the elderly or those who live in the countryside.
Diaspora
Representatives of the Dargin nationality live in completely different regions of Russia. Their largest diaspora outside of Dagestan itself exists in the Stavropol Territory. In recent years, their numbers in this region have increased significantly. If in 1979 there were about 16 thousand Dargins, then during the perestroika - almost 33 thousand people, and according to the latest data - 50 thousand.
Also, large diasporas of this nationality can be found in the Rostov region (more than 8 thousand people), Kalmykia (about 7.5 thousand people), Astrakhan region (more than 4 thousand), about three thousand representatives of the Dargin community live in Moscow.
It is noteworthy that several hundred representatives of this people have long settled away from their historical homeland - in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The first Dargins appeared here in the 30s of the last century. In the 2000s, there are almost 400 people here. Basically, they settled in Krasnoyarsk itself, as well as in Norilsk, Sharypovo and the region of the same name.
In the countries of the former Soviet Union, a very small group of Dargins live. Relatively noticeable, they can be considered only to Kyrgyzstan. There are almost three thousand representatives of this nationality, which is one tenth of a percent of the total population in the country. About one and a half thousand Dargins live in Turkmenistan.
Ethnonym
The word "dargin" itself is derived from the concept of "darg", which means "inside", that is, a person who opposes himself to the external environment. According to philologist Ageeva, who studied this problem, the ethnonym "Dargins" appeared relatively recently. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. representatives of this people were part of disparate political entities.
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Soviet ethnographer Boris Zakhoder, carefully studied the notes of the Arab writer al Bakri. It turned out that the medieval formation, which he described, had the name "dairkan", which could also be the self-name of the Dargins.
Before the October Revolution, this nationality was known under other names. First of all, as Hurkilintsy and Akushinians.
During the Soviet Union, the Darginsky districts became part of the created Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and since 1991 they are part of the Republic of Dagestan. During this period, part of the Dargins moved from the mountains to the plain.
Origin
The nationality belongs to the Caucasian race, the caucus type. Regarding the origin of the Dargins, two versions are expressed.
The first is called the hypothesis of prolonged autochthonous development. It implies a certain level of isolation, in which the people were in conditions of inaccessible highlands. This confirms a number of finds made in these areas. A supporter of the hypothesis, archaeologist and anthropologist Valery Pavlovich Alekseev believed that the Caucasus group formed on the territory that it currently occupies. This happened as a result of the conservation of the anthropological characteristics of the ancient population that lived in these places. Perhaps it was formed in the era of the Upper Paleolithic or Neolithic.
The appearance of the ancient Dargins is described in the Arab geographer from Shirvan al-Bakuvi. The researcher, who lived at the beginning of the 15th century, noted that there lived tall people, blond and with sharp eyes.
The second hypothesis is migratory, it was proposed by the doctor of biological sciences, anthropologist George Frantsevich Debets.
The peoples of Dagestan
The ethnic composition of the Republic of Dagestan is considered one of the most mottled throughout Russia. There are 18 fairly large diasporas living here. The uniqueness of this provision lies in the fact that none of the nationalities has a majority, and some, except in Dagestan, are almost never found anywhere else.
The peoples of Dagestan are distinguished by their diversity. For example, it is difficult to find somewhere else the territory where Lezgins, Laks, Tabasarans, Aguls, Rutulis, Tsakhurs live.
Most of the Avars live in Dagestan, but even they do not have the majority. There are about 850 thousand people, which is approximately 30% of the total population. Dargintsev - 16.5%, Kumyks - 14%, Lezgin - 13%, the number of other nationalities does not exceed 10%.
Culture
It is noteworthy that until the 20th century written Dargin literature simply did not exist. Previously, all works existed only verbally. The first poetry collections in Dargin were published in the 1900s. In linguistic and grammatical terms, they remained semi-Dargin and semi-Arab, contained works of exclusively religious content.
After the October Revolution, Dargin literature began to develop rapidly. At first, monuments of the oral art of this people were collected and recorded, in 1925 the first newspaper in the Dargin language, called "Dargan", began to be published.
In 1961, on the basis of the first Dargin studio opened at the Art and Theater Institute in Yerevan, the first professional drama theater of the Dargins appeared. He received the name of the founder of Dargin literature, a poet who lived in the 19th century, Omarl Batyray.
Tongue
Interestingly, representatives of this people speak Dargin languages that belong to the Nakh-Dagestan branch. This is a North Caucasian language family.
The Dargin language itself breaks up into a large number of dialects. Among them, one can distinguish Urakhinsky, Akushinsky, Kaytagsky, Tsudahar, Chirag, Kubaching, Sirgin, Megeb.
The modern literary language of this people has developed on the basis of the Akushin dialect. Also among the Dargins, the Russian language is very common.
The first information about their own language among the Dargins dates back to the second half of the 18th century. In the 1860s, a description of the Urakhinsky dialect appears. Over the past century, the basics of writing have changed twice. In 1928, Arabica was replaced by the Latin alphabet, and since 1938, Russian graphics began to be used. In the modern alphabet, the Dargins have 46 letters.
Music
Nowadays, Dargin songs are very popular. There are a large number of musicians and professional singers with the appropriate repertoire.
One of the most popular performers of Dargin songs is Rinat Karimov. In his repertoire there are works “For You, Dargins”, “Isbakhs”, “Love Will Come”, “My Darginka”, “Understand My Heart”, “Spring of Love”, “Dream”, “Black-eyed”, “Beautiful”, “ Be happy ", " I can not live without you ", " Wedding ", " Comic ".
Dargin traditions
On the traditions of this people, you can make a certain idea, based on the folklore of this people. He is replete with curses and good wishes, so that the principles of the mentality of this people become clear. Interestingly, the worst Dargin curses illustrate which customs dominate their hierarchy of values.
If you carefully study what the Dargins want to friend or foe, you can understand that here they respect the elders, family traditions and are always happy to see guests. For example, it is common among Dargins to threaten old age to be useless to anyone, broken bones of someone who does not like guests, relatives crumbled like beads with a torn thread.
One of the main virtues of this Caucasian nationality is the veneration of age. It is customary for the elder to always give way, and when he begins to speak, young people must necessarily listen to him standing up. At the table, the dish of the oldest person will be filled first, inattention to old age is condemned in society.
Almost also reverently in the traditions of the Dargins, they relate to guests. As elsewhere in the Caucasus, it is customary to always be prepared for the fact that a traveler may appear on the doorstep of the house, who must be surrounded with appropriate honors.
For the guest in the house arrange the perfect order, provide the best place. It must certainly be treated, so the Darginians at home always keep an untouchable supply in case a traveler appears in the house. Even young children know this, so when they find sweets, they always ask their parents if they are intended for guests. When strangers appear in the house, it is not customary to tidy up, fuss, everything should be leisurely and dignified.
