Mountain Jewish People: A History of a Culture

Mountain Jews are Jews of the eastern Caucasus, mainly of Azerbaijan and Dagestan region. It does not include Georgian Jews of the Caucasus Mountains. Mountain Jews is one of the oldest ethnic groups in Caucasus region. The Jews speak Juhuri, or Judeo-Tat language, it belongs to the Iranian division of the Indo-European languages. The traditional religion of the Mountain Jews is Judaism. But today, The great majority of Mountain Jews today are nonbelievers.

Mountain Jews live in Daghestan, in the cities of Derbent, Makhachkala, Buinaksk, and Khasavyurt. Then in the villages in southern and northern Daghestan-Majalis, Nyugdi, Mamrach, Tarki, Endreyaul, Kostek, etc. Today, Dagestani Jewry boasted more than 40,000 members.This community has lived in Dagestan since the fifth century. Most Moslems in Dagestan, however, reject the Islamic extremists and there is no problem with anti-Semitism there. But, today some Jews fear Russia will lose the Caucasus to militant Islam. That is the reason for the migration to Israel.

While in Azerbaijan, they live in Baku, Krasnaya Sloboda, Quba, and Vartashen; in the northern Caucasus. Krasnaya Sloboda was a self-contained Jewish town that boasted 11 synagogues (before the arrival of Communism). In 1979 the overall number of Jews in Azerbaijan was 35,000. Over the years, they borrowed customs from their amiable Muslim neighbors, but never assimilated. They usually spoke fluent Azeri.

Until the end of 1920th the Mountain Jews were living by a big family (they have many children) with three or four generations and number of members of 70 persons and more. The father was the head of the big family, after his death the eldest son became a head of the family. The birth of the first boy is marked by hospitality and the distribution of gifts. The Mountain Jews had the customs of hospitality, mutual aid and blood feud. It has similarity with the custom of their neighbour, or other ethnics in Middle East (Such as The Kurds). Mountain Jews knew the value of self-defense and carried and owned many weapons. The Mountain Jews observe the religious traditions. They also consume ritually suitable food (Kosher).

If elsewhere in the Jewish diaspora it was forbidden to own and till land, but at the beginning of the 20th century the Mountain Jews were farmers and gardeners growing mainly grain. They planted rice, tobbaco and vine. Every vineyard was also planted with mulberry, fig, pomegranate, almond, apricot, and other fruit trees. The Jews and their Armenian neighbours were the main producers of wine.

Today Mountain Jewish intellectuals are active in the Dagestan cultural scene. But, in Azerbaijan, All Mountain Jewish activities are supressed by flourishing Azerbaijani chauvinism.