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Bzhedug or Bazdug (Adyghe: Бжъэдыгъу Bz̄edyğw /bʐadəʁʷ/; Russian: Бжедуги Bžedugi) are one of the 12 tribal divisions of the Adyghe Circassians.
Contents
Many of them immigrated to Turkey in the 1860s, but there is still a community of Bzhedug on the left bank of the Kuban River (in the vicinity of Krasnodar). The Bzhedug people live in Adygea and Krasnodar Krai, and are well represented in the Adyghe (Circassian) diaspora in all countries of residence. Even in ancient times the Bzhedug people were divided into four tribes.
History
The Bzhedugs originally lived in the area of Shahe River, between Tuapse and Sochi. Later they divided in two groups: those who lived close to the Black Sea (Abhiaskis) and Adygeans (territory of Kuban River). This migration was causes by overpopulation and warlike neighbors to their Black Sea’s territories. Bzhedug were subdivided into Chechenay tribe (Psekups River and Pshish River) and the Hamish tribe (Afips River and Psekups River). They were involved in cattle breeding and agriculture, growing mostly crops and corn.
Language
The Bzhedugs people speak a dialect (Adyghe: Бжъэдыгъубзэ Bz̄edyğwbze) of the Adyghe language.
Bzhedug villages in Adigey
There are 48 Circassian villages in Republic of Adygea, 26 of which are Bzhedug villages (54% of the villages in Adygea).