From Karachay-Cherkessia to Tulcea

Karachay-Cherkessia, a place unknown that carries a strange difficult to pronounce name, to make it a little easier for everybody, we should start with mentioning that this place is not a sovereign state. So what is it? Karachay-Cherkessia is one of the Russian federal republics from the region of North Transcaucasia. An enigma to many Europeans, this land is the home of the Cherchez people, also spelled Čerkesy. To some Easterners the name of this people rings a bell, and this is not a surprising, do to the fact that the Cherchez people were present in Eastern Europe in the centuries that had past. An interesting account that was taken in regards to their presence is from Romania’s Dobrudja region, were the Cherchez presence was associated with the practice of slavery. Historical documents point out that in the villages from the northern side of the region, those near to the present-day city of Tulcea, were a lot of ethnic Cherchez, the accounts go back around the year 1870 when Dobrudja was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was described the fact that even thou slavery around that period became quite uncommon in the area, the Cherchez were the only group that were still actively involved in the slave commerce. Putting this in to the equation, it is interesting to notice the fact that Dobrudja, in comparison to the other Romanian Principalities, had a more extended history of slavery, in the Principalities slavery was abolished in the years 1843-1854. The Cherchez were the only ethnicity that still owned slaves, even thou the Ottoman Law forbiden it, the slaves themselves were only ethnic Cherchez, they didn’t owned slaves of other ethnic origions then their own.

Little is known about the Cherchez presence today in Romania, and many times, their presence in the area in ignored. The most evident marks of their presence today are two villages that carry their names : Cherchezu, in Constanta county; and Slava Chercheza, in Tulcea county. Their presence in the region was linked to their deportation by the Russians, nowadays things are a little better in regards to the relations between the two parts, even so, tensions and some marks left by the past are still present. Cherchez culture is amazing, it combines elegance and intense feelings, being characterized by complex dances and passionate singing. Femininty in Cherchez culture should not be ingnored, in the past, and even in Dobrudja, Cherchez women were highly demanded as slaves do to their good looks, nowadays their looks only come to compliment their beautiful Transcaucasian cultural heritage. From Karachay-Cherkessia to the coasts of the Black Sea, this little nation made its mark in European history and remains up to the present day a group which is pretty much uknown which stimulates a high interest in regards to their origins and culture.