The Bzhedug (Adyghe: Бжъэдыгъу; Russian: бжедуги; Turkish: Bjeduğ) are one of the twelve Circassian tribes and the largest Circassian group in today’s Adygea: 26 of its 48 Circassian villages are Bzhedug. They live mainly in the Teuchezhsky and Takhtamukaysky districts and in Krasnodar, and across the diaspora. Their dialect, with the Temirgoy, is the basis of literary Adyghe.
From the Black Sea to the Kuban
The Bzhedug first lived on the Black Sea coast, around the Shakhe river between Tuapse and Sochi, and later moved north towards the Kuban. Two branches are named in the sources: the Cherchenay, on the Psekups and Pshish rivers, and the Khamysh, on the Afips and Psekups. They bred cattle and grew crops.
Where the Bzhedug live today
Most of Adygea’s Circassians are Bzhedug: 26 of the republic’s 48 Circassian villages are theirs, mainly in the Teuchezhsky and Takhtamukaysky districts, and many live in Krasnodar. Many Bzhedug families live in the diaspora too, in every country with a Circassian community; they descend from families who left the Caucasus for the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, above all in the 1860s. See Adygea, the Circassian homeland.
The Bzhedug Islamey
The Islamey, the fast Circassian dance, is named after a Kabardian village and is danced in a stately Kabardian way and a faster Bzhedug way. More in the Islamey.
Dialect, and which course to take
The Bzhedug speak the Bzhedug dialect of Adyghe, West Circassian. Together with the Temirgoy dialect it became the basis of the modern literary Adyghe language.
So the course to take is Adyghe (West Circassian): learn Adyghe with the Circassian App.
Find other Bzhedug in the app
The Circassian App lets you add your family’s tribe to your profile, in the Origin field. In Search, the Tribe filter (free for everyone) shows people who chose the same tribe, so you can find other Bzhedug, write to them and learn together.
The other tribes
Questions
Who are the Bzhedug?
One of the twelve Circassian tribes and the largest Circassian group in Adygea, where 26 of the 48 Circassian villages are Bzhedug.
Where do the Bzhedug live?
Mainly in Adygea’s Teuchezhsky and Takhtamukaysky districts and in Krasnodar, and in the Circassian diaspora in every country.
What dialect do the Bzhedug speak?
The Bzhedug dialect of Adyghe, one of the two dialects that literary Adyghe is based on. To learn the language, take the Circassian App’s Adyghe (West Circassian) course.
What is the Bzhedug Islamey?
The faster, Bzhedug way of dancing the Islamey, the fast Circassian dance named after a Kabardian village.
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Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Bzhedugs, revision 1373856092.
- Wikipedia (Russian): Бжедуги, revision 154588141.
- Wikipedia (Turkish): Bjeduğlar, revision 36706643.
- Circassian App: the tribe list of the profile’s Origin field (src/data/origins.ts) and the Search filters, October 2026.
- Map: Liptink0, “Blank locator map of Circassia 1820s”, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (after S. Khotko, «Открытие Черкесии. Картографические источники XIV–XIX вв.»).
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