tribes, though with little success. If asked at what period was made the
first one, the Circassian replies with an air of indifference, _Allah
billeer,--God knows!_ There is an old tradition that the religion of
Jesus was first taught here by St. Matthew, an opinion which may have
had its origin in the fact that the form of cross which is called by his
name is sometimes found in the mountains. Others attribute the first
bringing in of the gospel to the crusaders who, having survived the
disasters of their expedition to the holy land, fled hither for refuge.
For some of the smaller Osetian tribes still wear on their garments the
Maltese cross in red cloth, and paint the figure of the same on their
iron bucklers. At any rate the Christian cross is well known at the
present day, in many parts of the Caucasus, where it is found in stone
erected in solitary places, but oftener of metal suspended from the
branches of oak trees. In this situation it is found accompanied by
numerous votive offerings, and is an object of sincere though blind
adoration. In more recent times the Russians have endeavored to impose
their form of religion on those tribes who have come under the yoke of
their dominion; and since the middle of the sixteenth century the
Tartars, in disputing with the Muscovites for the possession of the
Caucasus, have likewise taken more or less pains to introduce the
doctrines of the Koran. This endeavor has been followed up by the Turks
also, whose missionaries have finally succeeded in converting most of
the tribes to at least nominal Mahometanism. Indeed the mountaineer was
always strongly inclined to accept the fatalistic dogma so generally
prevalent in the East, and now sums up his faith in the saying, "Every
thing is _kismet_, destiny; and a man, whatever his inclinations, must
bow to fate. Such is the will of Allah."
Still, the new faith has taken stronger hold of the chiefs and
magistrates than of the main body of the people, whose heart remains, in
no small degree, pagan. The popular sympathies everywhere cling to the
old superstitions and the time-hallowed ceremonies. Some of the small
tribes on the Caspian, continue to turn with feelings akin to adoration
towards the rising and the setting sun, while on the promontory of
Apsheron the white-robed priests still maintain the sacred service of
their fires. The people like also to keep the merry feasts kept by their
fathers before them. They love their mead and the wine forbidden by the
prophet. The venerable oaks beneath which they have been accustomed to
worship are still looked upon with awe, and in the murmuring of the
boughs of the sacred groves the popular imagination still hears the
footfalls of the divinities as did Adam those of God when in the cool of
the day he walked in the garden of Eden.
XXIII.
OCCUPATIONS.
The Circassians still entertain the ancient nomadic idea that the soil
is common property. Occupancy, however, gives a title for the time
being; and individuals consider the land enclosed or improved by them as
their own. But it is usage that no person shall claim more land than he
can fairly occupy; and at his decease it is either divided equally among
his sons, or is enjoyed by them in common. This, nevertheless, does not
prevent the chiefs and nobles in certain parts of the country from
cultivating considerable tracts by means of serfs and captives, to whom
in many instances are supplied the means and appliances of farming on
condition of their making return of one half of the products in kind.
Nor is the lot of these laborers a hard one; for oftener will they be
seen racing, wrestling, pitching quoits, and sleeping under the hedges
and wattled fences than bending over the short-tailed plough or hoe.
Agriculture, in its season, is prosecuted with such a degree of
diligence, however, as suffices to supply the few simple wants of the
mountaineer. The soil of the valleys and river bottoms, which are
cleared by setting fire to the long grass and brushwood, generally
yields a large increase of every species of grain. Here also cotton,
tobacco, indigo, and the vine are indigenous; many of the fruits of the
most favored climes of Europe are found wild in the woods, as the peach,
the pear, and the cherry; almonds and nuts of various kinds abound; the
olive yields its oil; the mulberry feeds the silkworm; the figtree is
purple with fruit; the pomegranate ripens its crimson pulp; the palm
does not refuse its dates; and, in short, in the vales and slopes which
extend from the level of the steppes up to the snow-line of the
mountains there is almost every variety of grain and fruit which grows
between the tropics and the poles.
But though the soil, watered by innumerable streams and irrigated by the
springs of the mountains, is exceedingly productive, the implements of
husbandry are all of the rudest. The plough with its short and almost
perpendicular handles, its flat and arrow-shaped share, barely scratches
the ground; the coarse but sweet grasses are mown with a stubbed scythe;
and the wains are heard creaking through the hills on revolving axles,
with wheels hewn out of solid pieces of wood, and in every respect as
primitive as those used by Priam and his Trojans. Nor less so are the
sledges for transporting hay down from the upper mountains; for they
consist of a long limb of a tree trimmed on one side, while upon the
branches of the other is reared the conical stack which, when the snow
has fallen in winter, is easily drawn down into the valleys.
Agricultural operations are performed by aid of oxen, mules, and asses,
but not by the horse, this animal being held in too much esteem to be
employed in any way except under the saddle. There is an exception to
this, however, in the case of threshing grain, which, as in patriarchal
times, is done by driving half a dozen horses at full gallop around a
little circular paddock used as a threshing-floor. In grinding the corn,
too, horses are employed to turn the wheel; though the lighter seeds,
such as millet, are generally ground by the women in handmills similar
to those mentioned in the Christian Scriptures.
The Circassians are not only tillers of the soil, but also keepers of
flocks and herds. Indeed they are no less proud of the sheep and cattle
on their thousand hills than were the patriarchs who anciently pitched
their tents between the Tigris and the Euphrates, or in the pleasant
valleys of the land of promise. Multitudes of black, long-haired goats
browse among the rocks; white broad-tailed sheep nibble the plants of
the hill-sides; small oxen of the Hungarian dun color graze in the
valleys; the larger buffaloes wallow in the marshes; and herds of
horses, tame or half wild, roam freely through woods and pastures. The
more wealthy herdsmen count their animals by hundreds; and a few even by
thousands.
The two principal ornamental arts and mysteries in the Caucasus are
those of the armorer and the saddler. Upon the weapons of the warrior
and the trappings of his steed are spared neither pains nor expense.
Beautiful designs are traced on the sword-blades, which also are
unsurpassed for temper; their hilts and those of poniards are mounted
with jewels; the stocks of rifles and pistols are inlaid with gold,
silver, brass, and mother-of-pearl; while saddles and bridles are
wrought with a profusion of nicely set stitches, with precious stones,
and metals, besides being set off with toys and various tinsel.
In addition to the smiths employed in the maintenance and repair of arms
there are but few artificers. For every family constructs its own house
and most of its furniture, which last, excepting the necessary iron pots
and wooden platters for cooking and serving meals, consists simply of a
few stools, benches, chests, small round tripod tables, mattresses,
cushions, coverlets, and mats. In the plaiting of these last the
Circassians especially excel, and while they annually receive many
stuffs from Turkey and Persia, they send back in return considerable
numbers of these articles woven of the flags of the Kuban and the Terek.
The principal foreign trade of the country consists of such imports as
salt, gunpowder, cottons, woollens, silks, silver thread, needles, small
mirrors, drugs, coffee, Turkish soap, dried figs, raisins, lead, steel,
iron, both in bars and manufactured; and of such exports as skins, furs,
wax, honey, chestnuts, tallow, woods, grain, and tobacco. This
interchange of commodities is effected mostly by the way of the two
seas; although strings of camels, piled high with merchandise, the
property of Armenians, may occasionally be seen wending their way
through the mountains, and going on also to gladden the daughters of the
northern steppes with the gay silks, shawls, and carpets of the south.
XXIV.
MANNERS.
The manners of the Circassians are characterized by a remarkable degree
of natural politeness. In social intercourse they rarely indulge in
unseemly levity, or violate their rules, though simple, of goodbreeding
and manly behavior. Even their dances and games are executed with a
certain degree of decorous reserve; and on their warlike expeditions
their habitual sedateness, and proud sense of self-respect, stand very
much in the place of military discipline.
Their mode of salutation is by raising the right hand to the head, and
sometimes lifting their caps. It is also a mark of high respect to kiss
the hand of a stranger of distinction and place it on the forehead. They
strike hands together in token of amity; and females part from each
other by a gentle embrace with their right arms, and then a clasping of
their right hands. While in addressing each other the men make use of
what we call the Christian name, and whatever the difference of rank,
treat each other generally with the familiarity of brothers. Still, they
never fail to do honor to a chief by half rising from their seat on his
entrance into a room, and by standing up erect in case he be of superior
age. If, however, while sitting at meat he at any time decline the
proffered bowl of mead or wine, it will very likely be offered to any
elderly serf who may be standing by, though clothed in rags; nor would
any guest at the feast disdain to add to the gift a portion from his own
dish of meat or pastry.
This respect for age, taking the place of that for rank, runs through
the whole style of Circassian manners. The decision of an aged man
settles all minor controversy; when he speaks in the council ring the
most loquacious keep silence; if in anger he strike a blow even, it is
not returned; wherever he moves the crowd make way for him; in winter
his is the warmest corner by the fireside; in summer the young girls
spread his mat on the verandah and fan his slumbers; it is an honor to
light his chibouque; when he wishes to ride every one is ready to saddle
his steed, and a dozen lads run to help him down on his return. "Doubly
accursed," says the Circassian proverb, "is the man that draweth down
upon himself the malediction of the aged."
In his hospitality the Caucasian vies with the Arab of the desert. A
house, or at least an apartment is kept ready by every man of substance
for the reception of strangers, its door never being closed by day, and
a pile of logs always blazing on the hearth in winter evenings. The
guest of distinction on arriving is assisted to alight by his host, who
says to him on crossing the threshold, "Henceforth consider my father as
thy father and my mother as thy mother." He then with his own hands
relieves the stranger of his arms and hangs them on the wall. As sung
the ancient Grecian bard--
And now with friendly force his hand he grasped,
Then led him in within his palace halls;
His coat of mail and glittering helm unclasped,
And hung the splendid armor on the walls;
For there Ulysses' arms, neglected, dim,
Are left, nor more the conqueror's crown will win.
Only after repeated solicitations on the part of the guest, and when all
others present have taken their seats, will the host consent to sit down
himself; and even then he will crouch down at a respectful distance on
the floor. After the repast, served perhaps by the sons of the house,
water is brought in by maid-servants, that the guest may wash his hands
while they carefully do the same office for his feet. In a corner of the
room, or by the side of the hearth in winter, is spread a silken couch,
with a luxurious pile of cushions and coverlets brought from Turkey or
Persia; while sometimes a member of the family sleeps on guard by the
door way.
Departing, the distinguished guest is accompanied out of the aoul by a
gallant array of horsemen singing in full chorus their war songs; with
perhaps a wandering minstrel to chant the praises of some hero; and it
may be an astrologer or soothsayer to predict a happy termination to the
journey of the guest they speed on his way. With equal comfort, if with
less ceremony, is entertained the humbler traveller, who is entitled to
ask shoes for his feet and a coat to his back of any man who has a
supply of these necessaries; while a party of warriors on their journey
may demand no less freely a kid from the flock or an ox from the herd.
For there are three virtues, says a Circassian proverb, either one of
which entitles the possessor to celebrity--bravery, eloquence, or
hospitality--more literally, a sharp sword, a sweet tongue, or forty
tables.
Though females are bought and sold in Circassia, and are deemed rather
the helpmates than the companions of man, a chivalrous regard for the
sex characterizes this race of warriors; and in no nation perhaps is
woman in circumstances of exposure more certain of receiving respectful
treatment. The warrior may place his arms around the neck of the maiden
and let its steel-clad burden weigh gracefully upon her shoulders, but
the familiarity which is modestly allowed as if it were that of a father
or a brother does not degenerate into insult. And when the fair girl has
once won this violently beating heart, and becomes the warrior's bride,
she turns as coy as a western damsel in her teens. After marriage the
fading of her early maidenly beauty is concealed as much as possible
from the uxorious eye; in her white mantle her form is always graceful;
by the evening fireside her presence never ceases to be a natural
ornament and charm; and thus is kept up through a period of years, in
the absence of confidential social intercourse, at least a certain
portion of the illusion of first love.
But the principal characteristic of the manners of the Circassian
warrior consists in his graceful, manly air and bearing. A strong sense
of personal independence, of superiority even, is expressed in his
looks, motions, and attitudes. Conscious of physical energy and bravery
of soul, he has ever the self-possessed air of a man who knows no fear.
The chivalrous sentiments of war fire his eye, distend his breast, and
give erectness to his figure. His tread is as light as that of an
Apollo; his repose as stately as that of an Aristides. Indeed it could
not be otherwise than that there should be a native grace and dignity in
the port of such lovers of liberty and their country as, for example,
Mansur Bey, who said, "While the soul is in my mouth this country shall
never be given to the Russian; when I die, I can no longer help it." The
Circassian chieftain's blunt honesty and simple love of truth, his
freedom from sordid selfishness and detestation of unmanly indulgences,
give to his manners that stamp of heroism which all men admire in a
Sickingen or a Cid. Even his vices, his hatred of an enemy, his contempt
for a foreigner, his jealousy of rivals, his implacable love of revenge,
have in them a dash of barbaric greatness, and nothing of the petty
meanness of the vices of civilization and the times of peace.
XXV.
HIS PREDECESSORS.--MAHOMET-MOLLAH.
It was several years after Schamyl had taken his place in society as a
warrior of full age, that his name first appeared in the annals of the
Circassian war of independence. This was in connection with the siege of
Himri, where he served as murid or disciple under the chieftain
Khasi-Mollah.
This leader sprang up about the year 1830, and commenced a war of
resistance to Russian encroachment in the eastern Caucasus, which was
destined greatly to exceed in importance that which since the treaty of
Adrianople had been waged by the Circassians proper in the western. For
the latter contest, though a gallant and a successful one, has not down
to the present time amounted to more than a guerilla, often interrupted
by long intervals of quiet, and never prosecuted with any regularity of
plan or permanent union of forces.
In the eastern Caucasus the flame of the war which has now been raging
for a quarter of a century, was originally kindled at the torch of
religious fanaticism. For Khasi-Mollah was a disciple of one
Mahomet-Mollah, who was a cadi in the aoul of Jarach, in the khanate of
Kurin, and who was reputed to be the wisest alim or teacher of Mahometan
righteousness in the territory of Daghestan. The patriotic heart of this
learned doctor had long been burning within him when, in the year 1823,
he was induced, through the representations of one of his former pupils,
to make a visit to another holy man in Schirwan, Hadis-Ismail by name,
who expounded the Sufite doctrine to him more fully, and made a
practical application of it to the political condition of his
countrymen.
"Of what use," said finally Hadis-Ismail to Mahomet-Mollah, "is our
going through the prescribed routine of prayers, our exact performance
of ablutions, our adherence to the letter of the Scharyat, while the
Sufis daily curse the followers of Omar? Let all true believers no
longer contend against each other, but against the infidels. Campaigns
to drive back the Muscovite are better than pilgrimages to worship at
Kerbelah, and prayers to Allah are an abomination unless followed by a
call to arms."
These were the words which Mahomet-Mollah had been waiting for years to
hear spoken; and returning to Jarach he openly preached a crusade in
behalf of freedom and the true faith. Immediately the report of this
calling of all believers to arms against the Giaours spread like
wildfire through Daghestan and the country of the Lesghians. Disciples
came from afar to hear the new doctrine; and catching a portion of the
fanatical zeal of the murschid, who enforced his views by depicting the
barbarities then recently committed by the Russians in the neighboring
district of Kara-Kaitach, they carried his burning words from aoul to
aoul until the fury of the people burst out in a general rising to repel
the advance of the invaders.
At this period the greater part of Daghestan, a territory lying on the
Caspian, and eastward from the Lesghian highlands, had been brought
under the yoke of the Russians. General Jermoloff, then governor-general
of the Caucasus, had been very successful in extending the imperial
dominion and influence, being himself no less a hero than the Circassian
chieftains, possessing a noble form, a soul of bravery, hardy,
persevering, and chivalrous. He secured by his gentle treatment the
respect of those tribes which submitted to his rule, and by his ruthless
severity made a terrible example of those who refused to do so. Going in
advance of his arms, his intrigue penetrated into the fastnesses of the
mountaineers, and taking advantage of the mutual jealousy of the tribes,
fanning the hate of private feuds, widening the breach between the two
hostile religious sects, and tempting all the chiefs by the promise of
imperial honors, the people by the offer of free trade at the forts and
market towns, it succeeded in gradually preparing the way for the advent
of Russian intervention and authority with force of arms throughout all
the less mountainous portions of Daghestan.
When, then, the active and sagacious governor heard that Mahomet-Mollah
was preaching in Jarach a holy war against the Muscovites, and that he
had erected in his house an altar before which the murids who came in
from all the neighboring parts hourly prayed and said, "Moslem war
against the infidel! war against the infidel! death to the Giaour!" he
sent a request to Arslan, khan of the Kasi-Kumucks, in whose territory
was Jarach, that he should seize upon the person of the mollah. But
Arslan, fearing to lay violent hands upon a teacher so venerated by the
people, suffered him to escape into the adjacent territory of Avaria.
There he lived until the recall of General Jermoloff permitted him to
return to his native district; having meanwhile diligently called upon
all believers to forget their sectarian differences, upon the members of
the different tribes to lay aside their animosities, and upon all lovers
of their country to rise in arms and drive back the infidel dogs who had
dared invade the sanctity of the mountains.
"The first great law of our prophet," said he to the people, "is a law
of freedom. No Moslem shall be a slave, much less shall he acknowledge
the rule of the foreigner and the unbeliever. And the second law is like
unto the first. The Moslem shall be a soldier of Allah and his prophet,
an enemy in arms of all infidels. For whosoever will not leave house,
wife, and child, yea all that he hath or hopeth for to draw the sword
for his faith, he shall not pass over the bridge El-Sirat into paradise.
The Moslem shall keep the scharyat; but all his giving of alms to the
poor, all his prayers and ablutions, all his pilgrimages to Mecca are
nothing so long as the eye of a Muscovite looks upon them. Yea, your
marriages are unlawful and your children bastards while there is a
Muscovite in your midst. For who can serve both Allah and the Russian!"
XXVI.
KHASI-MOLLAH.
Among the murids of Mahomet-Mollah the foremost was Khasi-Mahomet,
better known as Khasi-Mollah. After having spent much time sitting at
the feet of the patriotic and fanatical murschid, he returned to his
native aoul of Himri, and began his career as leader of the popular
movement against Russia by sending to the neighboring tribes missives
full of such reproof and exhortation as he had been in the habit of
hearing at Jarach. This he continued to do until it became manifest that
the time for decisive action had arrived, when accompanied by a
considerable body of disciples, among whom was Schamyl, he sallied forth
on an expedition of proselytism, and made his way first to the powerful
aoul of Tcherkei, situated lower down on the Koissu, and in the
territory of the Tchetchenians.
Assembling the warriors in a council ring, Khasi-Mollah said sharply to
them, "Ye men of Tcherkei, ye are too much inclined to evil doing. Ye
are guilty of idleness, of lying, of deceit, even as are others. The
Christians have their gospel, the Jews their talmud, and we the koran;
but in what are we better than others while we keep not the holy
scharyat? There is but one path for us to paradise--it is the war path.
Death to the Muscovites, and to all who are with them! Hate and war
against the red-haired dogs, the unbelievers!"
Thereupon rose up an aged man of Tcherkei and said in reply, "Preach to
us the scharyat; and we will obey it. We will cease from hating and
robbing, and from all the sins you truly lay to our charge. But the
Russians hold our chief men as hostages in Andrejewa; our herds are
pastured in valleys subject to them; we are hemmed in on all sides by
their strong places; every attempt we make to shake off their yoke only
brings down on our heads retribution; and we cannot fight."
"Bide your time," rejoined Khasi-Mollah; "only be ready when I call; the
day of your deliverance is at hand."
Then having received from the people a solemn promise that they would
observe the scharyat, confirmed by a pouring out upon the ground of all
the wine laid by in the aoul, as well as by the breaking of the wine
vessels, he continued on his journey. Aoul after aoul was visited. Where
persuasion failed, threats of fire and sword were resorted to; and in
many instances promises of adherence were guaranteed by hostages sent to
Himri. And so by dint of argument, intimidation, and force, the new
doctrine of political Sufism was in the course of a few months diffused
over the greater part of the Lesghian highlands.