The households along the route poured water on the idol, also exclaiming, ‘Our Lord, let it rain in plenty upon us!’ They donated (uncooked) victuals, such as husked millet, eggs, dried meat, etc, to the procession, which then headed to the river-valley, where the foodstuffs were cooked and consumed whilst prayers were being said. The partakers also performed psixelhafe (псыхэлъафэ), the rite of bathing fully-clothed to call forth the rains. According to Kabardian tradition, the idol was later taken to the village centre, where it was fixed to the ground and the supplicants then performed the dance wij x’wrey (удж хъурей) round it. On that day, it was considered a great sin to appropriate other people’s possessions, and it was strictly forbidden to engage in wineyidzihe (wine-yidzihe; унэидзыхьэ) or k’wese [кIуэсэ], the age-old custom according to which a suitor, with a group of trusted friends, abducted his beloved (with her own assent) from her parent’s house on a set date and time. [2]

    
      The ceremony of worship of Lhepsch consisted of libations over a plough and an axe, symbols of plenty and might, respectively.

    
      For Sozeresh, a pear or hawthorn (кхъужьей е хьэмкIутIей) sapling was cut down in the forest and cleared of all but seven branches (‘seven’ was a particularly significant number in ancient Circassian folklore). Almost all households had such an image. On the day of his festival the effigy was brought inside the house in a grand ceremony (presided over by the newest daughter-in-law) with accompanying music and to cheers from all the members of the family, who complimented him on his arrival after spending the whole year on the surface of the sea. Little candles were stuck to the branches and a piece of cheese was attached to the top. The participants then indulged in revelry in which makhsima (махъсымэ) was had and songs sung. Afterwards, the idol was taken to the yard (and Sozeresh returned to the sea) where it stayed without any mark of reverence until the next holiday.

     The rites of worship of the god of crops, Theghelej, had people of both sexes gather in the early hours of the day and start on a procession to the local sacred grove. They took with them an ample supply of victuals and a number of sacrificial animals. Festivities started when they entered the ancient wood. An effigy of the deity in the shape of a cross was placed near one of the most venerated trees in the wood. Prayer chants were intoned in single voice and chorus. The men and women formed a circle round the idol and the sacred dance, wij, was performed solemnly in much the same way it is done today. Couples moved round the icon holding hands, with music and chant in the background. When the effigy had been circumambulated a few times, a new formation was assumed in which all partakers in the dance faced the icon holding hands and lifting them periodically in supplication.

The festival of Zchegwpathe (Жьэгупатхьэ; Jegwpath [Джэгупатхь], in Adigean), patron of the domestic hearth, was celebrated on the first day of January. [3] This was a strictly familial affair, and the special viands were specifically called ‘Xame’wemixwe’ (ХамэIуэмыхуэ; ‘Missing Strangers’). The role of Zchegwpathe was assumed by the most senior (male) family member. To him was consecrated the most prestigious part of the sacrificial animal – the side (дзажэ; dzazhe), smoke-dried in the hearth flue. To Zchegwpathe was devoted the whole established complex of cults connected with initiation of the new bride into her father-in-law’s hearth, the inauguration and upkeep of the hearth-fire, and funeral feasts, and other rites and ceremonies. These cultic rituals are representations of the conception of the Circassians of the soul of their primeval ancestor, Dade. The cult of Dade is still alive, though mainly symbolically, in the Circassian ethos.

     Prayers were then taken up by the priest, usually the eldest person in the group, who delivered a sermon that included a homily and thanksgiving for blessings rendered by the god. Next the rite of thelhe’w (тхьэлъэIу) took place. The idol was presented with many culinary offerings, including makhsima [махъсымэ], the national beverage. Animals, such as bulls, rams, lambs, ewes, and goats, were then sacrificed in front of the idol for the purpose of propitiation and propagation of bliss. The priest then distributed the flesh among the worshippers, not forgetting the ill and the poor who were unable to attend. The slaughtered animals were then cooked and feasted upon. The occasion merged solemnity with merry-making in a natural and healthy manner.

Ancestor worship

Ancient Circassians venerated their ancestors, believing in the immortality of the soul. They buried the dead with full panoply of arms and other accoutrements near their sacred groves. Feasts were held annually at certain times in honour of the dead, who were presented with fares in the belief that they maintained their bodily functions and were capable of feeling.

     Stemming from ancestor worship was the cult of the hero. Like in Greek religion, some humans of extraordinary abilities were elevated to the rank of gods. Many of the gods associated with the Nart Epos probably started out as human beings. For example, the metallic exploits of Lhepsch engendered universal veneration. Some characters seem to have been stuck between humanity and godliness, having unusual faculties but not really admitted into the Pantheon. In this category may be included Satanay and Sosriqwe. Human and animal bones found in ancient burial grounds provide evidence that the ancestors of the Circassians practised sacrifice, which might have held a special position in ancient proto-religious rites. According to legend, association of human immolation with crop growing, hence bliss, followed the mysterious slaying by Theghelej (Тхьэгъэлэдж) of a man who attacked him and the subsequent sprouting of three corn plants on his grave.

Oaths & vows

Oaths invoking a deity, theri’we (тхьэрыIуэ), were performed in accordance with special rites. Oftentimes these were taken at some wine-drinking festivals, since pledges made facing wine tuns were considered most binding. Contravention of an oath brought everlasting damnation, contempt, and shame, not to say retribution and punishment. In the language of Longworth, if customary law was tyrant, then the oath was the sole monarch to whom all peoples of the Caucasus submitted. ‘His seal it is that confers validity on every compact, social or political. He is the mighty arbiter in all differences...,’ he concluded. In fact, he hinted that the sacredness with which the Circassians held their pledges contributed to some extent towards their downfall at the hands of the more worldly Russians.

Entreaties & toasts

Offerings to deities in form of festive meals, thelhe’w (тхьэлъэIу; entreaty of god), were made to beg for favours, like rain, recovery of the sick, plentifulness, etc. Supplications were incorporated in religious ceremonies.

     Snippets of the old beliefs are also to be found in the toasts that are uttered at certain ceremonies and occasions. Toasts were initially invoked to appease the gods and as supplications, among other purposes. Before an important undertaking, toasts were pronounced that invoked the supreme god, Theshxwe:

Our God,

The Greatest One!

Destine it to be in a trice,

Pronounce it to be profitable,

Let it be started with the right hand,

Let it be finished with the left.

Let us reap its fruit with a whole skin,

And let us have it with your blessing!

Superstitions, jinxes, omens & black cats

The world of the ancient Circassians was replete with monsters, dragons, behemoths with several heads and eyes, one-eyed colossi, giant-killers, wood elves, creatures with canine heads and bodies of oxen, weird crews of witches and warlocks, old women with iron teeth and breasts thrown over the shoulders. The fiendish cast was tempered with knights in shining armour, fairies and belles capable of changing their shapes, plus magic flutes and magical trees. The black arts were thought to have been wielded by demonic creatures and a terrifying assortment of witches and warlocks. Lhepsch, god of the smiths, used to lock his smithy whilst at work, to keep people out, but one day, someone peeped into his workshop, and the magic was gone.

     It was believed that evil spirits, ch’erisch’en (кIэрыщIэн), attached themselves to certain people, who, on this account, could master dark powers to harm unwary victims. One class of witches, wid (уд), were thought to have such contacts and had the uncanny ability to change their human form to that of wolves, dogs and cats, and even go invisible. They had avail of this power only at night. To these creatures were attributed children’s illnesses and headaches, and murrain that smote cattle. They were also suspected of killing their own children. These fiends were supposed to effect these calamities by casting the evil eye on hapless creatures, though there were more elaborate methods.

     There was a popular belief among some tribes that on spring nights these witches flew together astride an assortment of domestic and wild animals to the top of Mount Sibir-’Washh within the limits of Shapsughia. There they revelled all night long. Before dawn, they swept down the mountain and flitted about the houses strewing diseases from their bags. Thus, all spring illnesses were attributed to these sirens.

     Those suspected of witchcraft were subjected to cruel harassment and persecution, oftentimes on mere suspicion and hearsay. One particularly horrible method of torture had a witch placed in ropes between two fires and thrashed with prickly birch-rods. The ordeal went on until she swore to forsake her devilish pursuits.

A sorceress, almesti (алмэсты), having the form of a naked woman with vertical eyes and flowing hair, was also said to have associations with powers of darkness. Her magic resided in her hair, hence the saying, ‘To seize the almesti’s hair,’ meaning the achieving of a longed-for object. Marie-Jeanne Koffmann, a cryptozoologist, believes in the existence of almesti, but only as the local wild man. She claims to have recorded hundreds of sightings in Kabarda.

     There was a plethora of old wives’ tales. Households complaining of paucity of children abstained from doing the laundry on Friday (Day of Mary). The shape of a pregnant woman’s abdomen told the gender of the fetus; a bulging belly predicted a male child, a flat appearance a baby girl. An expectant mother who cast eyes on fish gave birth to an infant with protruding eyes. A sneeze during a conversation was a confirmation of the truth of what was being said. If the sternutation occurred while talking about a dead person, someone had to pat the sneezer on the shoulder to prevent his joining the subject of the conversation. Fingernails had to be clipped in the morning, toe-nails in the evening. Seeing eggs in sleep predicted snowfall. Seeing oneself in sleep standing on a height presaged well.

     A cat stretching in front of a hearth presaged the illness of a member of the household. A cock making his dawn call before the usual time omened the death of the family elder. A hen emulating cock’s morning call foretold a calamity.  Lovers who looked simultaneously in the same mirror separated soon after. Lunar eclipses presaged spread of contagion. Other presages of evil included keeping the dead at home at night, rocking an empty cradle, breaking a mirror, antagonizing one’s neighbours, and talking about the dead while travelling at night.

Augury & astrology

Augury was perhaps the oldest method of divining the wishes of the gods and determining the course of future events. Like pre-Christian Circassians, the Narts used to have soothsayers and fortunetellers, thegwrimaghwe (тхьэгурымагъуэ), who used many devices to pronounce their prophecies.          

     A special sub-class of priests called ‘mamisch’ («мамыщ») told fortunes by reading the shoulder blades of animals, blathe (блатхьэ). According to Longworth, the scapula was held up to the light, and the marks read, the patterns auguring ill or well for the course of impending campaigns, predicting famine and harvest, severe cold and snow and so on. He commented sneeringly on the strength of belief in them. ‘Those infallible sources of information, the mutton bones, were referred to every day, and fleets in full sail were seen approaching the coast in the scapula or shoulder-blades… so convinced indeed were the authors of these prognostications that they would be realised, that they demanded, as a matter of course, the backshish, or gratification, it is customary to make to the bearers of good news [gwf’apsch’e; гуфIапщIэ]’ (Longworth 1840, vol. 2, pp 79-80).

     Haricot beans were thrown to tell somebody’s fortune, mainly by old women. In later times, divination by coffee-grounds, apparently a Turkish influence, became fashionable. Perhaps the closest thing the Circassians had to the Greek Delphi was Zhulat, the holiest sanctuary. Unfortunately, there are no records of oracular rites or of an officiating priestly caste.

     Beyond the primitiveness of looking into animal entrails, star-gazing offered a model of the universe and a more ordered view of how it worked. Since time immemorial, Circassians took guidance from the stars literally and in their spiritual and mundane life. Astrology was named vaghwaplhe [вагъуаплъэ], literally star-gazing. There is some evidence that the cromlechs found in Circassia and Abkhazia served as observation posts of celestial bodies, and were used to predict natural phenomena, including the weather.

     At any rate, the Circassians were aware of most of the well-known heavenly bodies and some celestial phenomena. A comet was called vaghwe abrej (вагъуэ абрэдж), literally ‘star-horseman’, Mars Ax’shem Vaghwe (Ахъшэм вагъуэ), ‘Evening Star’, Ursa Major Vaghwezeshiybl (Вагъуэзэшибл), and the Milky Way Shixw Lhaghwe (Шыху лъагъуэ),literally ‘path of horse-driver’, and so on.

     Besides the scientific endeavours, there was inevitably a corpus of superstitions attached to heavenly bodies. According to the Circassian scholar Askerbi T. Shortanov (Shorten):

Every person had his own star – it was considered as a reflection of his/her soul … It was prohibited to recount stars, for it was said that doing so would cause a rash, or warts to erupt all over the body, with number of warts equal to number of stars counted. The Circassians believed that if an ill person rubbed his eyes with his fingers and saw stars, he was destined to live, otherwise he would meet his doom within 24 hours.