The Adyghe (Circassian) Nart Epic: The People’s Age-Old Memory, by Asker Khadagatl

Асker Хьэдэгъалlэ (Asker Khadagatl)

Нартский эпос и кавказское языкознание - The Nart Epic and Caucasology

23-25 November 1992, Maykop, Republic of Adygeya

Proceedings of the VI International Maykop Colloquium of the European Society of Caucasian Studies

Maykop, 1994, pp. 15–25.
Published by the Government of the Republic of Adygea.

Translated into English by AbkhazWorld.

The Adyghe (Circassian) Nart Epic (Nartkher): The People’s Age-Old Memory

State and Prospects of Study

Summary
The Nart folk epic, a cultural treasure of the highest importance, is an ancient monument of the Zakh-Meotic-Adyghe peoples. This Caucasian epic is characteristically multi-ethnic and is also found among the Nakh, Dagestani, and Abazin-Abkhaz peoples. The Adyghe Nart epic is well-known among the Adyghe both in Circassia and abroad, particularly in the Near and Middle East and in America.

In recent decades, extensive collection and research work on the Nart epic has been undertaken, resulting in significant publications in Moscow, Maykop, and Nalchik. These works have laid a foundation for comprehensive studies of the heroic epic by both local and international scholars.

The Nart epic represents an archaic, complex, and distinctive creation of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. Scholars from the region and beyond have produced substantial and original studies on the epic, and it continues to exert a strong and positive influence on popular culture.

Лъытэныгъэ ин зиlэ гущахьэр, тхьэмэтэхэр!

Dear colleagues!

First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to all who have come to the VI Maykop International Colloquium of the European Society of Caucasian Studies, and to all who supported our initiative to hold this symposium in the Republic of Adyghea. Allow me also to express—here before an international assembly of scholars from Europe and beyond—my deepest appreciation to President Aslan A. Djarimov and members of the Government of the Republic of Adyghea for making possible the idea of holding this forum here, in the Caucasus, on the ancient land of Adyghea, the homeland of the heroes of the epic «Нартхэр» ('The Narts').

This idea—indeed, a dream—was prompted by the international resonance that followed the publication in Maykop of our seven-volume edition of «Нартхэр», the Adyghe national monument in its original language. The very fact that the European Society of Caucasian Studies has convened its international congress of scholars in Maykop is a clear confirmation of the significant importance European scholarship accords to 'Nart affairs' undertaken here in the Caucasus, in Adyghea.

We extend our sincere thanks for such special attention to the ancient culture of the Caucasus to the President of the Society, Professor Donald Rayfield, who, quite remarkably, travelled all the way from London to Maykop, and ably presided over the work of this forum

Understanding the Epic

By the heroic epic «Нартхэр» (‘The Narts’) of the Adyghe (or Zikhi-Meoti-Adyghe), we understand the totality of Adyghe songs, пщынатль (pshynatl — a traditional epic song form), and legends concerning the Narts. The epic narrates the deeds of the Narts; hence we call it 'Nart-like.'

The Zikhi-Meoti-Adyghe include today’s Abkhazians and Besleney, Kabardians and Shapsughs, Khakucheans and Hatukay, and the Mamkhegh. Their villages lie within the Republic of Adyghea, Kabarda, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and the Black Sea Shapsugh region. Notably, among our guests from abroad are philologists who both study and possess command of these languages. I am pleased to name among them Catherine Paris (Paris) and Monika Hölig (Berlin).

It would be fascinating to hear their reports in the Adyghe language

Origins and Linguistic Context

The Adyghe (self-designation) or Circassians (exonym) are aboriginal to the Caucasus. Ancient and later authors knew them under the names Meoti, Zikhi, Kosogs, and Keshaks.

Information on Meotian tribes appears in fragments of Geography by Hecataeus of Miletus (6th century BCE).

Within our country, Adyghe primarily reside in the Republic of Adyghea, in Black Sea Shapsughia (Shapsughs and Khakucheans), in Kabardino-Balkaria (Kabardians), and in Karachaevo-Cherkessia. Their language belongs to the Abkhaz-Adyghe branch of the Caucasian language family and is spoken by more than half a million people in the former Soviet Union. Beyond this, Adyghe live in forty-five foreign countries (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the United States, etc.), where the songs, пщынатли and legends of the Nart epic also flourish.

A distinctive feature of this epic is that Nart legends are also preserved among numerous Caucasian peoples—the Abaza and Abkhaz, Balkars and Karachays, Chechens and Ingush, Ossetians, the peoples of Dagestan and Georgia. In this sense, the 'Narts' constitute a pan-Caucasian epic.

The epic «Нартхэр» is an original and ancient creation of the Adyghe (Circassian) people. Born of lived experience, it shows how people lived, contended with the hardships of nature, championed courage, goodness, and humanity. As Professor V. N. Chicherov rightly observed:

'At its inception, the epic of the Narts was the creation of the people, containing their knowledge of the surrounding world, serving as a code of conduct for the tribes from which nations later formed; it was a repository of knowledge and a guide to action, possessing immense educational force.'¹

Language and Structure

The songs and пщынатли of «Нартхэр» were created in deep antiquity in the living dialects of Zikhi-Meoti-Adyghe tribal unions. The epic is perhaps the most valuable folklore monument of ancient culture, demonstrating that the Adyghe (Circassian) language has changed relatively little over many centuries.

The poetic language of the epic—unlike the prose legends—has preserved much of its 'standard', stable form due to its embedding in the traditional formulas of ancient Adyghe verse. The archaic text remains understandable today; only a few words require comment.

TTo illustrate this point, we present the opening lines of a пщынатль (epic song) dedicated to Сэтэнэйко and Саусырыко (Satanay and Sosryko)::

Саусырыкъоу сикъан,
Саусырыкъоу синэф,
Пчы-мэлъуфор зашыу,
Ашыӏорэиджэнэкокl,
Пчыкlэрэпэпэлъошыу,
Ешыгурзачат,
Пызыкlьутрэр — зипчышъхь,
Зышхьэр эбрэ пмужьу,
Зныитlур жъогъо швый!..

Here, not a single word is obscure to an Adyghe speaker. Words such as «пчы», «мэлъу», «ашlо», «чатэ» refer to weapons of the ancient hero (spear, shield, mail shirt, sword).

Form and Evolution of the Epic

Scholars believe that the epic originated in verse before later evolving into a mixed poetic-prose form. Mukhtar Auezov, in his study of the Kyrgyz heroic epic Manas, suggested a model that applies here as well:

'Initially the heroic poem consisted of a single cycle with a small number of songs; then the constant demands of listeners compelled performers to expand and diversify the narrative, adding new scenes based on familiar situations.'³

Thus, the earliest core was likely a cycle of songs about Сэтэнэй-гуашэ (Satanay Guashe), Саусырыко (Sasryko), Шэбатынько (Shabatynko), Ащэмэзэ (Ashemez), and Пэтэрэзэ (Pataraz), later surrounded by additional cycles. As the epic accompanied the people throughout history, it accrued song and prose layers, developing and refining itself.

Modern performers still sing a piece about a Nart hero and then explain it in detail—evidence that the sung texts are primary.

As V. Y. Propp wrote about the Russian epic:

'One of the chief features of the epic is that it is sung and intended for musical performance; works that are not sung cannot be called epic.'⁴

The core Adyghe epic likewise is sung—the songs and пщынатли of Орзэмэджэ (Orzemedz), Сэтэнэй-гуашэ, (Satanay Guashe) Саусырыко (Sosryko), Щэбатынько (Shabatnyko), Пэтэрэзэ (Pataraz), and Ащэмэзэ (Ashemez) confirm this.

Heroic Ideals and Social Meaning

The ideal Nart is steadfast, fearless, devoted to truth and justice, protector of the weak, defender of human freedom. These values constitute a distinctive moral code, formed by the Zikhi-Meoti-Adyghe over thousands of years. That is why Adyghe songs about the Narts reflect various stages of societal development.

The heroes of the epic are stern warriors. They do not fear hardship, they endure every trial, ready to face any challenge while defending human honour, liberty, and happiness. Their exploits include wanderings, duels, battles with the dark forces of nature, the mastery of fire, forging iron, making weapons and tools, cultivating crops…

In the Adyghe epic «Нартхэр», heroes act within the conditions of primitive collectivism. Events described in the strict traditional epic style are presented with faith in objective reality. The epic monumentally portrays what is constant, enduring and ancient — for all to see and recognise — 'what was acknowledged long ago, in antiquity, in the ancestral past, and what remains binding in the present.'⁵

The Nart hero is a hero precisely because he is free of trivial, purely personal traits — he is inseparable from the life of the people or the tribe. This is what makes the Nart hero the protagonist of an epic of fundamental significance.⁶

The Adyghe epic vividly reflects diverse aspects of early periods of social development and the characteristics of life, customs, philosophy, and ethics of the Meoti-Zikhi-Adyghe.

The Narts cultivate the land, plough, plant millet, tend fruit trees and vineyards, keep bees. Production and consumption are collective. The Narts of the epic profess neither Christianity nor Islam. Traces of Muslim elements should be viewed as later accretions from contemporary Muslim storytellers.

Ancient Origins and Cultural Value

The heroic epic «Нартхэр» of the Adyghe (Circassian) people, though containing imaginative elements, is essentially anonymous — as anonymous as all of prehistoric history:

'It knows neither authentic faces nor historical figures nor specific dates. Yet it is imbued with true heroism — the heroism of the vast anonymous creators of ancient folk culture.'⁷

The Meoti-Zikhi-Adyghe, living since antiquity on the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and the slopes of the Caucasus, constantly repelled enemy invasions aimed at seizing their native land. In such harsh circumstances, 'war and the organisation for war became normal functions of social life.'⁸ This explains the epic’s theme of constant readiness to repel foes — and why a cult of heroism developed. The heroic spirit of the epic thus shaped Adyghe culture.

Destructive wars obscured many works of the oral-poetic creativity of the Adyghe — songs, пщынатли, and legends. Much of the epic «Нартхэр» has not reached us. Yet what survives, recorded and published in multi-volume scholarly editions in the original language, attests to the people’s creativity and wisdom, and to a high and ancient Nart culture among the Adyghe (Circassians).

On Dating the Epic

Much has been written about the age of the epic’s songs, пщынатли, and legends. But is it possible to determine the exact date of emergence of particular genres of archaic folk epic, the collective creation of many generations? We believe that academic I. A. Orbeli, one of the most gifted scholars of the Armenian epic «Давид Сасунский», offered a convincing response:

'Is not the attempt to determine the precise date of the emergence of the folk epic as futile as trying to define — based on observing the flow of a river, the colour and taste of its water — the moment when the first spring began its course, which later became a mighty river flowing to the great salt sea?'⁹

Nevertheless, given that people compose their songs and пщынатли under the immediate impression of events, one can, albeit approximately, determine the era reflected and the time of their birth.

Aesthetic Features of the Epic

Художественные особенности и поэтическое своеобразие меото-зихо-адыгского (черкесского) эпического памятника «Нартхэр»
The poetics of the Adyghe folk epic answer many questions of Nart studies. They illustrate the richness and lexical capacity of the Adyghe language, in which unique epic songs, пщынатли, and legends were created.

All texts recorded across the Adyghe ethnic groups must be brought into scholarly analysis. When identifying geographical concepts, the original language must be cited (not 'Volga', but «Индылъ»; not 'Don', but «Тэнэ»; not 'Kuban', but «Псыжъ»). In Adyghe epic texts, there is no 'Volga', 'Don', or 'Kuban'.

The ancient illiterate people found poetic devices, systems of verse organisation, and stable formulae (models) that ensured the epic’s survival over many centuries.

Recording and Publication in the 19th–20th Centuries

Among the Adyghe the heroic epic lived in oral tradition. Scholars became concerned. Thus, V. Kusikov wrote in 1860 that Circassians, absorbed by European ideas after losing independence, might forget their best national qualities:

'When the time of national awakening comes, many of their finest monuments will have vanished, leaving a void in their history.'

In 1865 linguist P. K. Uslar, upon recording Kaziy Atazhukin’s пщынатль about Сосыркъо (Саусырыко), noted that the poem represented a fragment of a great Nart epic known across the Caucasus.

The last decades of the 19th and early 20th centuries saw publication of Adyghe epic texts recorded (or edited) by L. G. Lopatinsky, P. Ostryakov, and A. N. Dyhachkov-Tarasov. Special studies began only later, aside from remarks in L. G. Lopatinsky’s Notes on the songs he published.

The Soviet era brought systematic collection, publication, and scholarly study in Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachaevo-Cherkessia.

In the 1940s–60s, many works on the Narts appeared in Adyghe and Russian by Alim Keshokov, Tembot Kerashev, Dmitry Kostanov, Khachim Tseyunov, Askerbi Shortanov, Zarina Kumakhova, Alla Alieva and Adam Gutov. Conferences in Ordzhonikidze (1956), Sukhum (1963), Tbilisi (1972) and Makhachkala (1977) stimulated research.

The Seven-Volume Edition and the Expansion of Nart Studies

Alongside major organisational efforts, the number of publications grew significantly. In Adyghea, between 1968 and 1971, the seven-volume Adyghe folk epic «Нартхэр» appeared — for the first time in the language of the singers and storytellers, with extensive introductory essays, full documentation, information about performers and narrators, and dictionaries. This edition contained 705 texts and 40 musical notations with accompanying recordings of songs and пщынатли (pshynatl songs) Forty пщынатли were published for the first time. This monumental publication was rightly called the 'Archimedean point' for elevating the Adyghe folk epic to scholarly prominence.

Work continues today on preparing a three-volume edition of selected texts of the Adyghe (Circassian) epic «Нартхэр» in two languages (Adyghe and Russian). The Adyghe Scientific-Research Institute thereby seeks to acquaint the wider public with this unique monument of Zikhi-Meoti-Adyghe (Circassian) antiquity.

Influence on Literature and the Arts

The works of the Adyghe epic «Нартхэр» have exerted a profound influence on the development of Adyghe literature in the North Caucasus. Adyghe poets, prose-writers, and dramatists draw on the epic for themes. Academician V. Bazanov emphasised the significance of classical folklore:

'Classical folklore represents the most valuable national heritage. Folk epic is history written by the people themselves, a creative synthesis of the most important events of national life. The Nart epic, like other folk poems and tales, is a monument of world significance. It is an autograph received from the hands of the people themselves.'¹¹

Adyghe writers study in the epic the craft of the word, adopt its ideological and aesthetic principles, its system of artistic thinking, and its devices for portraying character. Thus emerged literary works imbued with folk wisdom and Nart tradition: the novella «Дочь шапсугов», «Аббрек», «Месть табунщика», «Испытание мужества», «Урок жизни», and the novels «Дорога к счастью» and «Одинокий всадник» by Tembot Kerashev; the novels «Белая кувшинка», «Слияние рек», «Шеуджэн Мос», the novella «Песня обретает крылья», the stories «Думы Маруха», «Песня» and «Пщыпый» by Dmitry Kostanov; the novella «Путь открыт» and the novel «Ожбаноковы» by Yusuf Tlyusten.

Adyghe poets Asker Evtikh, Iskhak Mashbash, Khamid Bereitar, Nalbiy Kuek and Ruslan Nekhay use the lexical wealth of the epic and its traditional techniques (comparisons, epithets, metaphors). Nart motifs inspired works by Kabardian authors Khachim Teyuchev, Alim Keshokov, Askerbi Shortanov, Adam Shogentsukov and Zalimgan Aksirov; and by Cherkess writers Abdulakh Okhtov, Khusin Goshokov, Alim Khanfenov and Kurmena Tuguzeh.

The national poet Bekmurza Pachev, in his verse, compares the Nart heroes with participants of the Civil War and the Great October Socialist Revolution. Cherkess poet V. Abitov often turns to the image of the fiery Nart Сосыркъо (Саусырыко) [Sosriko].

+ On the Question of the Time and Conditions of the Origin of the Nart Epic, Zurab Anchabadze

+ Characteristics of the ‘Shepherd’ Image in the Abkhaz Nart Sagas, by Vladislav Ardzinba

+ Abkhazian Cult of Thunder and Lightning and its North Caucasian Parallels, by Viacheslav Chirikba

+ Aetiological Remarks And Legends In The Context Of Abkhazian Nart Epic

Echoes in Modern Poetry

A poem by Innа Kashezheva is dedicated, with deep love, to the heroes of the Meoti-Zikhi-Adyghe epic:

«О нартэ!..»

И в небе легенд непомершем
Витает загадочный дым,
И пламя, раздутое Тлепшем,
Пылает рассветом моим.
Адыги прожили без бога,
Без вас прожить бы не могли.
Сосрыко и ты, Бадыно,
Отважные предки мои!
Без вас было б мне одиноко
В поэзии, в жизни, в любви,
Сосрыко и ты, Бадыно,
Отважные предки мои!¹³

And in the sky of undying legends
A mysterious haze still drifts,
And the flame fanned by Tlepsh
Glows with the light of my dawn.
The Adyghe lived without a god,
Yet without you they could not have lived.
Sosryko, and you, Badyno,
Courageous ancestors of mine!
Without you I would be alone
In poetry, in life, in love —
Sosryko, and you, Badyno,
Valiant forebears of my people!

Another poet writes:

Я не был и по сей час
Моей прабабушки рассказ:
Обманутый врагами,
Живым закопан богатырь —
Он лег под тяжкий камень!
И нарт шептал: — На девять дней
Дохнуть бы полной грудью,
Тогда я победил бы зло
Вернул бы счастье людям!¹²

I have not, even to this day,
Forgotten my great-grandmother’s tale:
Betrayed by enemies,
A mighty hero buried alive —
He lay beneath a weighty stone!
And the Nart whispered:
If only I could breathe freely for nine days,
Fill my lungs once more with life —
Then I would vanquish evil
And return happiness to humankind!

On the Need for Continued Scholarship

In many works, and especially in the poem «Земля молодости», the beneficial influence of Nart traditions on the creative work of talented Kabardian writer Alim Keshokov is clearly seen. Kh. Beretar in «Сказ об ауле» portrays his heroes in the style of epic Nart warriors. The epic «Нартхэр» is an inexhaustible source of spiritual culture and the centuries-old memory of the Adyghe (Circassian) people.

Final Appeal by the Author

At this point, the text switches to Adyghe; as per your instruction, I preserve it verbatim.

ХьэдэгъэлIэ М. Аскэр,
Khadagatl M. Asker,
Адыгэ республике, къ. Мыекъуапэ
Republic of Adygeya, Maykop

АДЫГЭ ЭПОСЭУ «НАРТХЭР»

Зэфэхысхысхъ кIэлI

Адыгэхэу, е адыгабзэ зэшIэу лэкIыб къэралмэ къарыкIыгъэхэр!

Сэ урысыбзэкIэ сыкъызэтегущIыгъэр адыгэ лъыхъужь эпосэу «Нартхэр» зыщIэр ары. АщI цIыфлэпкIыр зыфэдэр (ищIылэкIэ-псэукI, иxа-бызэхэр, идунэееплъыкIэхэр, щIалэкIэм илъэнкIо зэфIыцхъафхэр) итIэ-кIотыгъэу къызэрригъэлIагъорэр ары. Нартмэ яхъылIэгъэ адыгэ орэд-хэм, псыналIэхэм, хьыщIтэхэм, пслъэжэхэм ягъоюжхынрэ тхылIым ягъэкIугъэу якIыдырэтIэкIызэхыр. Адыгэ хьэкуми, Къэбэртэамеи, Черкесиеми, ащI адагълоу, лэкIыб къэралIыбзэху адыгээхэр зырысхэм ІофIы зыра-гъэщIэлэу зэрадэлэжIапIэхэр, къызэрэщIадагъэкIыгъэхэр ары сэ анахэу хэгъэтуэнэфыкIыгъэхэр.

АщI фэдэу илIэсыбэхэм цIыфIымэу чIыпIабэм къащаугоижьыгъэ IорылIатэхэр зэфэхысхысхъгъэу, гущIлапи гущIэ пэуIэ итIэ-кIотыгъэ ялэу, цикл-циклэу зэкIлIыжькIохоу, къэзэIуагъэхэр, зытхIыжы-гъэхэр, архиву е тхыIлIэу зыIэдцIыхэр комментариехэм къащIэгъэлIэгъуагъэу, ижьыра псалъэхэм ягъущIалIы ягъусэу, орэлIышэхэр нотэкIэ тхыIгъэхэр адэтэху, урысыбзэкIэ, францызбзэкIэ, англиыска-бзэкIэ резомэхэр ягъусэхэу адыгэ лъыхъужь нарт эпосым итэкстхэр, экIь къызэраIохыгъэ бзэм зэрэтэтэу, томиблым и нэкIубго 2424-рээм ягъэкIугъэу, «Нартхэр» ^14 щIэу апэрэу Мыекъуапэ 1968-71 р. илIэсыбэ кIэщIылIэджIэкIыгъэхэр.

Томиблыр къыздэкыIгъэм илIэс 20 ехьу тешIагъ. Ар нэпэ къызIэ-кIэгъэхьажын плъэжьнэу тIэкIыныэу щIытэп. Мы тхылIыблым тИХэгъэгуи, лэкIыб къэралхъэми арыс адыгэхэр зэрэгъэгъотыIэмэ ашIолигъэу къыкIэлIэлIэIух. Эпосэу «Нартхэр» зыфIиорэ томиблыр ятIонэрэу, итхылIыпIэкIи исурэтхэмкIи нахъ егутIыгъэу Мыекъуапэ къыхьщыдагьэкIыIжьэкIиIрэу гутIэгъэу сылы-гъэр тIиIэшхъэтетIэхэм ясIокIыгъ. ЯгуIапэуи аштагъ.

ЦIыфлъэпкIыбэмэ абзэкIэ адыгэ нарт эпосыр зэдзэкIыщьыгъэн фае: французыбзэкIэ, англиискабзэкIэ, итальянскабзэкIэ, тыркъубзэкIэ, арабыбзэкIэ, — нэмыкIыбзэхэу тилъанетэ иIэхэмкIэ адыгэ нартхэр къэгъэгущыIэнхэ фае.

Мэхъанэшхоу иIэм тидэплъызэ, Нарт эпосым и сектор, е и отдел адыгэ институтхэм къащызэIуахын фае. Ахэмэ нарт эпосыр зэгъэщIэгъэнымкIэ, мыкIосэнымкIэ яшIуагъэ къэкIощт. ЕтIанэ — тауж къэкIырэмэ Нарт эпосым и Институт зэхэщIапхъэу алъытэнкIи хъун.

ТынчIэу сигущыIэ щIукъедэлIугъ.
ТхьащIуегъэпсэу!

Footnotes

[1] Chicherov V. N. Voprosy genezisa i razvitiya drevnikh form narodnogo eposa v osveshchenii fol'kloristiki i nekotorye problemy nartskikh skazaniy (Questions of the Genesis and Development of Ancient Forms of the Folk Epic in the Light of Folklore Studies and Certain Problems of the Nart Tales). — Nartskiy epos: Materialy soveshchaniya (The Nart Epic: Conference Proceedings). Ordzhonikidze [Vladikavkaz —Ed.], 1957. — p. 13.

[2] Nartkher. Adyghe epos (Nartkher. The Adyghe Epic). — Myekʾuape, 1969, vol. II. — p. 82.

[3] Auezov M. Kirgizskaya narodnaya geroicheskaya poema 'Manas' (The Kyrgyz Folk Heroic Poem 'Manas'). — In: Kirgizskiy geroicheskiy epos 'Manas' (The Kyrgyz Heroic Epic 'Manas'). Moscow, 1961. — pp. 25–26.

[4] Propp V. Ya. Russkiy geroicheskiy epos (The Russian Heroic Epic). — Moscow, 1958. — p. 6.

[5] Losev A. F. Gomerovskiy epos (The Homeric Epic). — In: Antichnaya literatura (Classical Literature). Moscow: Prosveshcheniye, 1973. — p. 46.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Kosven M. O. Ocherki pervobytnoy istorii (Essays on Primitive History). — Moscow, 1957. — p. 12.

[8] Marx K., Engels F. Sochineniya, vol. 16 (Works, vol. 16). — pp. 139–140.

[9] Orbeli I. A. Predislovie (Preface). — In: David Sasunskiy (David of Sasun). — p. IX.

[10] Uslar P. K. Koe-chto o slovesnykh proizvedeniyakh gortsev (Some Remarks on the Oral Literature of the Highlanders). — Sbornik svedeniy o kavkazskikh gortsakh (Collection of Materials on the Caucasus Highlanders). Tiflis, 1868, issue 1.

[11] Bazanov V. G. Epos — avtograf naroda (The Epic as the Autograph of the People). — Sovetskaya Abkhaziya newspaper, Sukhumi, 15 November 1963; Nartkher, vol. VII. — p. 419.

[12] Slovo o Lenine (A Word about Lenin). Translated by A. Yalmarov.

[13] Kashezheva Inna. O narty!.. (O Narts!..). — In: Siniye gory Kavkaza (The Blue Mountains of the Caucasus). Nalchik, 1985. — pp. 382–383.

[14] Nartkher. Adyghe epos (Nartkher. The Adyghe Epic). Tomibl khʾure tekst ugʾoingʾæxær. Zefæxysxysyzxʾwi zexezgʾæushafær, ublæpʾæ ocherkymræ kommentariyexæmræ zythygʾær Khʾedægʾælʾæ Asker. Adyghe NII-m i Uchenæ Sovet unashʾokʾlæ kʾyxæuty. Editorial board: Kæstagʾ D. G. (editor-in-chief), Mærætʾykʾo Kasim, Khʾut Shʾamsudin. Myekʾuape, 1968–71. — sheet 2424.

(Nartkher. The Adyghe Epic. The text prepared with linguistic notes, introductory essays and commentaries by Khadagatlé Asker. Published under the auspices of the Adyghe Scientific Research Institute and the Academic Council.)