Even though Dagestan is made up of over thirty ethnic groups, they have a common goal; independence from Russia. Dagestan is the Islamic center of the North Caucasus. Its capital, Makchachkala, is home to the Muslim spiritual board of Dagestan and the N. Caucasus.Today Daghestan is having small issues with rebel groups which wish to turn it to an Islamic state, but their version of Islam.. The people of Daghestan are still defiant to the extremist, and they balance Islam and life.
With only a few exceptions, the Dagestani people are indigenous peoples who lived in the mountains. Two groups, the Kumyks and Nogai, hail from Central Asia, live in the steppe regions and speak Turkish. The many Dagestani ethnic groups are further divided into tribes, clans, and villages. The village community is a group of roughly 100 people who claim the same ancestor and are a sub-group of the larger clan. Individual loyalty is strongest to the village community and comes before loyalty to the clan or ethnic group. Thus, Dagestanis live a, primarily, rural and isolationist life by maintaining separation between the various village communities. Marriage between ethnic groups is generally prohibited.
There are roughly 30 different languages spoken in Dagestan. Each is unique and there are virtually no similarities between them. The largest ethnic group is Avar and, thus, this is the language spoken by about 500,000 people in Dagestan. The smallest group and language is Hinukh used by only about 5,000 people. There is no official language in Dagestan. However, Russian is typically used in government communication and documents and is a required course in Dagestan's elementary and secondary schools.
http://www.russianlife.com/blog/dagestan-islamic-center-war-zone/
Listen to some authentic Avar music
Watch this footage
R e k h e n ( avar language flock) / video / 7.21 min., colour, silent / Dagestan / 2009 from Taus Makhacheva on Vimeo.And offcourse the beautiful lezginka dance which till today is danced globally by various groups from kavkaz
Rekhen was shot between the mountain villages of Tsada and Ahalchi, in the republic of Dagestan. It has a simple narrative: a young man is wearing a traditional sheepskin coat called a Timug that is usually worn by shepherds. The man attempts to scramble as close as possible to the flock of sheep. Literal interpretation of this work is concerned with local nature or traditional cultural symbols. It has a supportive function to the content of the work- “What is the goal behind performers actions?”
