Culture
Adyghe society prior to the Russian invasion was highly stratified. While a few tribes in the mountainous regions of Adygeya were fairly egalitarian, most were broken into strict castes. The highest was the caste of the "princes", followed by a caste of lesser nobility, and then commoners, serfs, and slaves. In the decades before Russian rule, two tribes overthrew their traditional rulers and set up democratic processes, but this social experiment was cut short by the end of Adyghe independence.
The main Adyghe tribes are: Abzekh, Adamey, Bzhedugh, Hakuch, Hatukuay, Kabardey, Kemirgoy, Makhosh, Natekuay, Shapsigh (Shapsugh), Yegerikuay, Besleney. Most Adyghe living in Caucasia are Bzhedugh, Kabarday and Kemirgoy, while the majority in diaspora are Abzekh and Shapsigh (Shapsugh). Standard Adyghe language is based on Kemirgoy dialect.
Read more about this topic: Circassian People
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“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
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“The best hopes of any community rest upon that class of its gifted young men who are not encumbered with large possessions.... I now speak of extensive scholarship and ripe culture in science and art.... It is not large possessions, it is large expectations, or rather large hopes, that stimulate the ambition of the young.”
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“Unthinking people will often try to teach you how to do the things which you can do better than you can be taught to do them. If you are sure of all this, you can start to add to your value as a mother by learning the things that can be taught, for the best of our civilization and culture offers much that is of value, if you can take it without loss of what comes to you naturally.”
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