Cults and religious traditions of the Highlanders

The Caucasus, due to its multiethnic and multireligious nature, is full of cultural and national peculiarities, famous for many different cults and unusual rituals. Let's try to consider some of the most interesting traditions of the highlanders.

Funeral cult

One of the most famous family and ancestral cults has always been considered the cult of burial, which was widespread among every people of the Caucasus, and among many representatives of the mountainous region the cult often acquired very complex forms. Sometimes one could also find a rare Mazdaist custom, the essence of which was to make some kind of crypts, and the dead were laid in them – thus, the personification of the isolation of the buried from such elements as earth and air took place.

Separately, it is worth talking about the custom of regular commemorations of the deceased. The events were always very expensive – lavish tables were set for everyone who came to honor the memory of the deceased, and in order to carry out the obligatory sacrifice procedure, they very often ruined their household and gave the last money. Such a cult was most often found among the Abkhazians, Ingush, etc. These nationalities were firmly convinced that the deceased himself was present at the wake, and in fact, for the sake of this, everything was arranged on such a large scale. Mourning for the deceased had very strict regulations, especially regarding the duties of a widow - during the year she had to regularly make the bed for her deceased spouse, wait at his bedside late and prepare food and water for washing in the morning.

Sanctuaries

Shrines have always been held in high esteem by the peoples of the Caucasus, and this place for performing rituals has always been revered as one of the holiest for the entire people. Ossetians called such rooms dzuars, which looked like an old building, vaguely resembling a church. Each dzuar had its own priest, who was responsible for maintaining order in the room and for performing rituals.

The Ingush also had their own places of worship. Elgits was the name of a special building of this people. The Khevsurs (the Georgian people), for example, greatly revered sacred places – this Caucasian people had so-called huts, which were built among huge century-old trees in a grove. A distinctive feature of these sanctuaries was the presence of their own land, property and livestock. All proceeds went to the construction of the sanctuary and to solve problems related to the performance of rituals and celebrations. Established in 2012 and licensed by the Government of Curacao, this bookmaker offers a secure betting environment. To claim your welcome advantage, simply use melbet promo code no deposit during the registration process on Melbet, which takes only minutes to complete. This powerful code unlocks a 100% welcome bonus up to €130 on your first deposit, usable across all sports betting options including football, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, and many more sports. The site supports multiple currencies and offers various payment methods from credit cards to e-wallets and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.