Adyghe Khabze

About the Book

This book "Adyghe Khabze" is about the customs and traditions of the Adyghe (Circassian) people, who are one of the oldest people in the world with a unique language and distinctive culture, appeared larger than life in the historical arena of the world in far distant times, survived the ancient civilizations of the Babylonians, Assyrians and Hittites and contributed to the world culture the Heroic Nart Epics, the Promethean Spirit and the world renowned Maikop Culture. Their rituals, customs and traditions, which are described in this book, are actually their ancient unwritten code of life and honor, Adyghe Khabze, and deal with such vital human qualities as kindness, compassion, honor and conscience. Those who follow them seriously, whether they are Adyghes or not, will certainly become pure in soul and heart, true to their words and will learn to live honestly, without deceiving themselves or others, without interfering in the affairs of others, without subservience and genuflection to the powerful in this world of ours, respecting the opinions of others with a lofty human dignity, understanding their situation, helping and protecting the weak, standing up for the degraded and insulted for the sake of fairness and justice, living by their honest work, without stealing, envy and greed and raising children according to the norms of high moral and spiritual values of Adyghe Khabze, respecting elders and honoring the women, the tender givers of life. In short, my dear reader, I hope you will read this book and find it pleasurable, interesting, informative, wholesome and beneficial.

About the Author

Kadir I. Natho was born in 1927 in Hatramtook, Anapa region, Caucasus. He became a refugee in 1943, survived World War II, escaped the First and Second Forced Repatriations to the Soviet Union in 1945 and 1947 from Austria and Italy, respectively, lived in various European countries, and moved to Jordan in 1948. He emigrated from Amman to the United States in 1956, settled in New York City in 1959, graduated from the School of American Journalism and Henry George School (Science of Political Economy), studied English literature, and took writing courses. His short stories were translated in Turkish and published in Kuzey Kafkasya, one of which was included in the Kafkas Hikaieleri (“Anthology of the Short Stories of the Caucasus”) in Turkey. He published a collection of his short stories, Old and New Tales of the Caucasus, in 1969, and a novel, Nicholas and Nadiusha, in 1978, which was translated and published in Russian and Circassian, in Maikop in 1992 and 1993 under the titles of Otchuzhdionyie and Tsif Lyiekher (Outcasts). A part of this novel was also translated in Kabardian and published in series in the newspaper Adyghe Psale and in the literary magazine Oshhamakho (Elbrus) in 2007 and was included in the Selections of Literature for Reading for 11th grade in 2013. He wrote a three-act play, Medea, in Circassian, for the State Theater of the Republic of Adyghe, the premiere of which was held in Maikop on April 28–29, 2009, which was well received even by Russians. It was performed again and again in Maikop, Krasnodar, Nalchik, and Moscow and received first prize in the North Caucasian Drama Festival in Maikop. He wrote another play, Lyghem Ishapkh, in 2013, at the request of the State Theater of the Republic of Adyghe, which is based on the abduction of the daughter of General Zas during the Russo-Caucassian War (1786-1864). His Old and New Tales of the Caucasus was included in the student literature of the State University of Adyghe in 2007. He published Circassian History in 2009, which was published in Turkish in Turkey and in Arabic in Jordan, in the same year, and in Russian in Maikop, Republic of Adyghe, in 2012, and is being translated in Kabardian, in Cherkessk (2014). He published memoirs in 2010, which was published in Turkish in Turkey under the title Cherkesya’dan Amerika’ya in May 2014 and is translated in Russian in Maikop. In the 1960s, he acquired G. A. Press in New York City and published books and periodicals for Russian and Ukrainian authors and organizations, and his own bilingual magazine, The Circassian Star, in English and Circassian, in order to disseminate Circassian history, culture, and folklore. Additionally, he has devoted his time and energy to helping the Circassian community in the United States and reviving the national consciousness of the Circassian diaspora. He was chairman of the Permanent Council of the Circassian Benevolent Association in Wayne, New Jersey (1987–1991); president of the CBA (1991–1998); and delegate of the CBA in the Congress of the International Circassian Association in Nalchik (1991 and 2000), in Maikop (1993), in Cherkessk (1996), and in Krasnodar (1998). He organized the Institute of Circassian Studies as a branch of the CBA for the study of Circassian history, culture, and folklore and translated the books Heroic Epos, NARTS and Its Genesis, by Asker Gadagatla, and Adighe Khabze, by Prof. Seraby Mafedzev from Russian to English.