Historical Reports
N.A
Karaulov, Tiflis, 1908
Reports of Arabian geographers on the Northern Caucasus, Armenia and Azerbaijan. SMOMPK, Tiflis, 1908, 54-55 p.
In the 10th
century Arabian geographer Abdul-Hassan al-Massudi after visiting circassian tribes wrote:
“From all the described tribes, one cannot meet other with a fairer skin and face and
prettier women than this one. Women of no other nation has more beautiful and slender
figures and shapes that of this one. Their are renown for the softness of treatment and
address “
***
Interiano
Georgio (second half of 15th-beginning of 16th century)
The land and the lifestyle of Zihs, named Circassians: Adigs, balkars and karachays in
the reports of European authors, Nalchik, 1974
Zihs are by the most part are well shaped and handsome people. In Cairo one can meet many people amongst the emirs with
remarkable looks, the mamluks, who are claimed to belong to these local tribes.
The same can be noted about their women who are also very hospitable
toward foreigners…
***
Amiddio
Dortelli D’askoli (end of 17th-beg.of 18th cen)
Adigas, balkars and karachays in the reports of European
authors, Nalchik, 1974
“Their horses are very beautiful, very light and sizeable but
just as slender and their horsemen. Noble blood, black eyes, round eyebrows, especially of
women, to whom I think one can grant preference over any other women in the world.
Right after the marriage, women for a long time, sometimes years do not show up in front of in-laws living
separately even in the same house and at accidental encounters turn their faces away.
After this term is over, the young women is finally welcomed into the family, though by
this moment she might already have several children. She is treated by the family with a
great dinner and presents, who had previously found out what her preferences could be.
This day on, the young spouse can enter the dining room and stay with the in-laws as a
fully accepted family member“
***
Jan-Batist
Tevernye (1605-1689)
Adigas, balkars and karachays in the reports of
European authors, Nalchik, 1974 73-81 p
This nation, just as in Georgia, possesses healthy blood, especially women that are also
remarkably beautiful. They are well shaped and
retain freshness of looks till 45-50. Women at Pyatigorsk are very virtuous. It is said
that one can meet the prettiest people of the world amongst them. They are so industrious
that excavate iron on their own and then melt it to make various household utensils. They
make a lot of silver and gold embroideries to decorate dresses, saddles, shoes and
scarf’s.
***
Abri De La
Motre (1674-1743)
Adigas, balkars and karachays in the reports of European authors, Nalchik,
1974 , 119-147 p
Their women cover high hats with a
peace of fabric and leave the ends hanging; their hair, mostly black is pulled in two
braids. Eyes of the same color have a beautiful cut. Bodies are free and graceful…
One must note that on the Caucasus it is a very common practice for fathers, mothers,
aunts and uncles to trade or sell children, nephews and nieces. Apart from the financial
benefits, circassians use it as a way to penetrate palaces of powerful Turks and even
sultans. Women become sultanas and princesses. Whether it is a result of their upbringing
or prejudice, but girls leave their homes without tears and regrets while families wish
them good luck and happy journey.
Many women possess good horsemanship skills just as their
men. Many were hunting and shooting with bows along with the men…
***
Peter
Henry Bruss (1694-1751)
Adigas, balkars and karachays in the reports of European authors, Nalchik,
1974
Women are remarkably well-shaped with
very refined facial features, fair skin, black eyes and two black braids that fall off the
both sides of the head. On their heads they wear high hats covered with thin white fabric.
During summers they wear long shirts with deep cuts, their faces are always open (as
opposed to the wide-spread practice of other locals to cover faces). All this, along with
the ease and openness of communication makes them very desirable, however, their women are
renowned for their virtue. Also, it is considered to be a happy manner for a husband to leave the house when somebody
comes to see his wife
***
Ksaverio
Glabani 1724
French Consulate officer in Creamea, Description of Cherkessia 156-173 p
Women wear a peculiar kind of a corset. It originates from a
circassian practice to saw girls of the early age into tight heavy fabric so as to
preserve the slenderness of their figures and prevent the development of their bodies for
it was concidered unappropriate for a girl otherwise.
***
John Cook, 1754c
Journey around Russia, Tataria and Persian kingdom
Before leaving Cherkessia I must note and circassians are really well
shaped and handsome nation. Their women are all very good-looking and very few if any wear
signed of measles on their faces.
***
Karl Peysonel 1770c
Report on Black Sea trade. Cherkessia. 174-178 p.
Slave trade in Cremea is very significant. Thy sell slaves of 4 ethnic
groups: circassians, georgians, kalmiks and abaza. The highest demand is on circassians.
Women of this land are the prettiest and most charming. Beauty
of their looks and natural grace are enchanting.Circassian women are the only women that
share beds of Sultan and tatar princes. Inflow of this beautiful blood erased the ugliness
of the ape-like faces that one can encounter among the noghay tribes that never mingled
with circassians. Truly, the cremea elite has many handsome faces, but the
commoners are ugly.
Georgians, the second class of slaves. Their women are truly very
beautiful but not as graceful and do not pocess the refined manners of circassians.
The men, however, are very robust and sturdy...
***
Peter Simon Pallas. Notes.
Reports on imperial society, history and ancient times at Moscow
University, Moscow, 1885.v I.
Circassian women are renown for their beauty around the world. They
have prolonged faces with correct and expressive facial features, mostly black-eyes with
long eye-lashes...Girls starting from the age of 10 wear corsets that confine the body
inside them and so tight that one cannot see more slender or refined figures than there.To
preserve this slenderness, the diet is very poor. Girls wear braids and married women
often cover their heads with thin white fabric. They often posess lively wit and
imagination, and pride themselves on the exploits of their husbands. If a women is not
from an elite family and cannot afford servants, she will have to bear the heavy burden of
housework alone, for, as it is common among any warlike nation that seeks pride in raids
and virtories, wife is often more of a
slave rather than a partner. The least trouble will she find in the kitchen for the daily
diet of circassians is very simple: plain pies, honey, sour creams and "beer"1.
During significant festivities they eat meat. Dinner is not served at fixed hours, they
eat only when they are hungry.
When there is a guest, they practice a lot more ceremonies. The menu is
as rich as they only can afford, however, eating in front of a guest they concider
inappropriate.
Everybody builds houses in simple way, utilizing plaster, straw and
wood. When house is ready, men chooses a wife, paying at times a very high price,
commensurate with the social standing of her father. A girl is not allowed
to chose a husband for herself, she is expected to listen to the will of the father
unconditionally. Here is one step away from the ancient slave trade by circassians off the
Black Sea.
1. baskima
***
Henry-Julius
Klaprot, 1807-1808.
Journey in the Caucasus and Georgia, Notes, 235-280 p.
Circassian women are the prettiest in the Caucasus. However, I
must note that in-crowd believe that many reside in turkish harems does not have a base:
circassians very rarely sell off their own kind: commonly, only stolen slaves.The largest
number of beautiful women comes to Turkey from Imeretiya and Mingreliya (contemporary
Georgia-J.T.). Circassians mostly sell slaves of male gender...
Circassian women tie themselves with leather jackets so tight that the
bust is kept invisible for the sake of thinness of their bodies.
The women are not as restricted as women of other asian nations.
***
Jack-Victor-Edward Tebu D'Mariny, 1793-1852
Journey to Cherkessia. 291-321p.
The fair sex here is though doomed to do all the heavy labor, but is
not forever confined to homes as for instance among turks. Especially young girls, who are
allowed to participate in all the festivities and their society is shared by men with whom
they communicate with ease and liveliness...on the day of her wedding, a circassian girl
has the waist of a 6 year old.
It is hard to imagine how a nation that values Freedom as much as
circassians, can trade with their own children. A father has such a right toward his
children, a brother toward his sister if they dont have parents, a husband toward his wife
has she commited adultery. Often, when the girl is beautiful and is confident of her
success as a wife in turkish harem, it is her only wish, she prefers leaving her homeland
to staying in Cherkessia.
In about an hour, we were taken to visit the wife of the prince. Sir
Taush, whom I followed kept telling me to repeat everythig after him, so as not to break
the rules of communication with the fair sex. As we entered, all the
women raised. We slowly walked along to opposite wall, rolling down our long sleaves as a
sign of respect toward them. Then we greated them by touching our hats with a right hand.
As we sat down, women of the Indar-Ogl took
their seats of the sofa wheras the women of their entourage remained standing.
Princess-mother was in her 50s and was impressing with her beauty, and especially with a
touch of spirituality on her face. The figures of her daughters were
tightly compressed and their upper dresses were fastened with silver buttons. The two
young princesses were not very beautiful but with handsome features. The name of the
oldest was Gwashe, the youngest Chapsin, the meanings of the names I have forgotten, but I
have seen women whose names meant "Eyes of a lion" and "Waist of a
deer".
If you ask me about the impressions the beauty of circassians left on
me I will have to note that it is hard to tell, being strongly influenced by the european
norms of beauty. Those women who were proportionally shaped were
truly graceful and attractive. Their costumes, especially of married women were very
beautiful. But to grasp the whole beauty of circassians one had to get used to their
norms,looks, names! ...
***
Jan-Charl
D'Bess1829-1830
Journey to Cremea, Caucasus, Georgia and Armenia, Asia and Kostantinopol, 329-352 p.
Circassian women are fairly pretty, but do not deserve the reputation
that is ascribed to them. However, I should admit they have very graceful and light
figures, beautiful eyes with long eye-lashes. The slenderness of their bodies they owe to
the tight belts for men and corsets for women. Girls take off the corsets only in the
first matrimonial night when a spouse cuts the laces off by the blade of his knife.
During the first races (among circassians reces were held during
weddings as well as funerals to commemorate the deceased H.S., I.S.)circassians show
galantness toward the ladies by the prisetakers: they present it to them so as to pay duty
to the beauty of a woman. Truly, circassians display a lot of attention to the fair sex
during a variety of occasions: if a hoursemen encounters a women on his way, he dismounts
and offers her to take his hourse; if she refuses, he escorts the woman all the way to her
destination. This noble attitude, however, does not free women from heavy labor.
These Circassian women are very far from being opressed by numerous
restrictions as it often happens in the East. They are not separated from the society of
men and enjoy full freedom. However, one must say that they never take advantage over this
freedom. Sence of virtue dominates their behavior and is concidered to be a norm, unlike
for instance that of the women of Island Taity. Though, polygamy is part of a tradition
amongst mountaineers, mostly, men have only one wife.
Circassian women enjoy the reputation of the prettiest women, however,
here Europeans are mislead. Of course, amongst circassians one can see extremely beautiful
women but the women of Georgia, Imeretiya and Mingrelia who are christians and maintain
close relationships with refined and elegant russian women surpass circassians in their
attractiveness. With their excessive willingness to be liked and admired, following
european fashion, make-up
tricks, all these add up to the superiority of their appearances.In the opposite, simple
habits of circassians who are bought up in very harsh conditions do not let them compete.
Slave traders were kidnapping very young girls from the Southern
Cuacasus and were introducing them as circassians.
***
Ivan Blaramberg, 1800-1878.
Historical, topographical, statistical, ethnographic and military description of the
Caucasus 353-434p
Circassian girls are married of at the age of 15-16. Unmarried girls
over 18, do not have many chances.
The practice to avoid the sight of their wives has nothing to do with
the contepmt of circassian men toward women. On the contrary, it seems, this practice was
introduced to prolong affections between the spouses, the way partying and hardships of
two lovers prolong their love illusions. Circassian women are free to receive guests,
except for the newly married women who are not allowed to leave their homes for the first
year or two. When wife is busy with her guests, a husband is not allowed to stay and must
leave his home. Girls are permitted to all the celebrations.Inquirying after the health of
a wife or a daughter is concidered inappropriate and is allowed only by the closest family
members of the wife and not in public.
Circassian women have reputation of very pretty and exemplary loyal
women. Also they enjoy a great deal of respect and even revearance that comes from the
moral code of these people. If a women with uncovered loose hair throws herself into the
middle of a fight, the fighting must stop. If a man, hunted by enemies takes a hide inside
quarters of a woman, or touches one of them, he becomes untouchable. In short, no
punishment, revenge, murder can be commited in front of a female. The fight is postponed
till the next time and a different place.
However, amongst men, it is concidered disgraceful to put oneself under
the protection of a woman, and one resorts to this measure only in the most extreme case.
