Imperial policy as well as the Pan-Slavic and Soviet propaganda have left an impact on both the everyday life and mentality of the Abaza people. Their clothing and household appliances reflect the advance of European culture.
The mass produced factory goods certainly do not bear the imprint of a centuries-long tradition. Homes can be built only according to one of three standardized designs approved by the state. The traditional villages where households were situated haphazardly and sometimes quite far apart have been replaced by Russian-style gridded villages. Religion is retreating before Soviet ideology. Of the traditional rites and customs those connected with funerals seem to display the most resistance. The identity and unity of the Abaza people may soon be endangered by two tendencies that have emerged during the past two decades, notably the growing number of mixed marriages and urbanization. In 1979 people living in towns made up 21% of all Abazians against the near zero figure of the turn of the century.
THE ABKHAZ
Self-designation. The name the Abkhaz call themselves is apsua and their ancient territory they call Ashvy (the land of the Abkhaz). Neighbouring peoples refer to them by different names like aigba and mdauei (Karachays, Kabardians), baskhyg (Ubykhians), mephaz (Svans), aphaza (Megrelians), apkhazi (Georgians), abaza (Turks). The Abkhaz form has gained popularity through Russian. The Abkhaz language belongs to the Abkhazo-Adyghian group of the Caucasian family It has practically the same phonetic and morphological system as the Abaza language. The two have been regarded as separate languages only since the 20th century, mainly because of their territorial separation and the different development of their literary standards. Being extremely rich in consonants (68 according to G. Klimov) the Abkhaz language is considered to be one of the most difficult to acquire of all the languages spoken on the ex-Soviet territory. There are two dialects: Abzhui and Bzyb.
Habitat. The people live in a mountainous region called Abkhazia that is situated on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea. This narrow strip of land is characterized by an extreme variety of natural conditions. There are three different vegetation zones: subtropics, mountain lakes, springs of mineral water and abundant forests. The natural borders of Abkhazia are the Psou river in the west, the Ingur in the east, the Black Sea in the south and the main range of the Caucasus in the north. Administratively Abkhazia belongs to Georgia as an autonomous republic. Abkhazia is divided into five districts, two of which (Gudauta and Otshamthira) are populated mainly by the ethnic Abkhaz.
Population. At the middle of the 19th century the number of Abkhaz was estimated at 130,000 (together with Abazian and Ubykhian peoples). More precise data has been available only since the end of the 19th century:
| native speakers | ||
| 1897 | 72,100 | |
| 1926 | 57,000 | |
| 1939 | 59,000 | |
| 1959 | 65,400 | 95% |
| 1970 | 83,240 | 95,9% |
| 1979 | 90,915 | 94,3% |
| 1989 | 105,308 | 93,5% |
The substantial decrease in the population from 1897 to 1926 and the unnaturally small increase from 1926 to 1939 reflect the consequences of civil war and collectivization together with Stalinist national policies.
In addition there is a small Abkhaz community living in the Adzhar ASSR, Georgia. They have inhabited the place since the Caucasian wars, in the middle of the 19th century. According to the 1970 census statistics the community consisted of 1,361 Abkhaz people, 72.2% of whom spoke their mother tongue, the rest preferring to communicate in Georgian or Russian.
Anthropologically the Abkhaz belong to the West-Caucasian type of the Balkano-Caucasian race. They are characterized by an above-average stature, a slight build, relatively light skin, sharp features and dark eyes.
Religion. Amongst the Abkhaz Christianity mixes with Sunnite Islam and ancient pagan traditions. Contacts with Christianity were made early as the first missionaries reached the place already in the 1st century AD. The first reports of a local Christian congregation date back to the 4th century when Stratophilus, the Archbishop of Pitsunda took part in the first Council of Nicaea held in AD 325. The Abkhaz deserve credit for helping spread Christianity among other peoples of northern Caucasia. One cannot underestimate the role of Christianity in the political and cultural convergence of Abkhazia and Georgia. The 16th century Turkish invasion brought along a spread of Islam that retained its position as a state religion consolidating the central power of Turkey until the beginning of the 19th century. Both religions were first embraced by the nobility. The ruler’s faith was also received by his subordinates, but this was a rather formal act. The country people retained their pagan traditions, slightly accommodated to the prevailing religion, and in this way preserved their place of prime importance in their life and mentality.
Ethnologically the Abkhaz people belong to the aborigines of Caucasia. Their material culture is typical of Caucasia having developed in close cultural and political contact with the Proto-Georgian tribes. The first written mention of the Abkhaz people is believed to be the note on the Abesla tribes living in Asia Minor, found in the records of the Assyrian ruler Tiglathpileser. The Proto-Abkhaz tribes Apsil, Misiman, Abazg, and Svanig were known to the ancient Greek and Roman historians like Hekateus of Miletus, Strabo and Flavius Arrianus. In the 1st century AD the Proto-Abkhaz tribes set up their own principalities that were united with the Cazika Principality in the 4th century. The 7th—8th centuries witnessed the consolidation of the Proto-Abkhaz tribes into the Abkhaz nation. In 740 Abkhazia was separated from Lazika, in 780, Leon II, Prince of Abkhazia united western Georgia into the unitary state of Abkhazia, the capital of which was Kutaisi. In 978 the Abkhazian throne passed into the possession of a dynasty that ruled Georgia. Abkhazia was incorporated in to Georgia until it regained its independence in the 16th century under Prince Shervashidze. During the rule of that dynasty Abkhazia became protectorate of the Turkish Sultanate. At first it meant mainly an obligation to pay a yearly tribute, but in the 18th century Turkey aimed for the political subordination of Abkhazia. The Shervashidzes turned to Russia for help, and in 1810 Tsar Alexander I issued an order declaring Abkhazia a Russian protectorate. The following Crimean and Caucasian wars were very closely connected with the Abkhaz people. Yet, after the final victory in 1864 Abkhaz autonomy became unnecessary for the Russian government. The last Prince Shervashidze was sent into exile, and tsarist power and Russian bureaucracy were established. The Abkhaz people revolted in 1866. As a result of the heavy suppression of the mutiny mass emigration to Turkey ensued (the so-called Manadzhir Movement). About 70,000 people are believed to have left Abkhazia during 1866—1878. This is also when the Adzhar community of the Abkhaz people sprang up. The tsarist government reacted by banning the name Abkhazia and introducing an extensive colonial policy leasing the empty lands to peasants immigrating from Russia. This unsettled the ethnic composition of the region an the extreme which is exemplified by the following list of villages situated in the vicinity of Sukhumi at the beginning of the 20th century: 1 Abkhaz, 6 Russian, 2 German, 5 Megrelian, 10 Greek, 3 Estonian and 1 Bulgarian. .
For the Abkhaz society annexation to Russia meant the final establishment of feudal relations and the consolidation of serfage privileges. Land passed entirely to the hands of princes ( ataua), nobility ( aamsta) and clergy.
The Abkhaz economy is a reflection of the enviroment. On the coast and foothills the main occupation was field cultivation and, to a certain extent, also horticulture. The main crop was millet, but from the 19th century on its place was taken by maize. Cotton, flax and hemp were also grown. The technology of cultivation was quite primitive resulting in low yields. Mountain-dwellers dealt mainly with raising livestock as pastures were abundant. The main stock consisted of sheep and goats; horses were fewer. Apiculture and hunting were highly developed.