Udins

They call themselves udi. Nation in the Caucasus: in Azerbaijan, in Vartashen (town Vartashen) and Kutkashen (village Nij) districts, and in Georgia, in Kvareldistrict (village Oktomberi). They moved to Georgia from Vartashen in 1922. According to the census of 1989 their population is 8,6 thousand people. They belong to the Balkan-Caucasus race of the big European race. They speak Udin language of the Lezghin sub-group of the Nakh-Dagestan group of the North Caucasus family. Dialects: Nij, Vartashen . Russian, Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijanian languages are also common. Religious people are Christians (Monoficits and Orthodox).

The culture of Udins was greatly influenced by the culture of Armenians and Azerbaijanians. By the beginning of the 20th century their main occupations were agriculture (wheat, barley, millet), growing rice and silkworm breeding.

The family is nucleus, the marriages are strictly exogamic (it was forbidden to marry the cousins up to seven times removed); they often marry different nationalities.

In the past the dwelling was mainly one-floor and was built of stone or raw bricks with a straw of tile roof. In Georgia the main construction material was wood; the roofs were made of boards or tiles.

Traditional costume of the Udins is similar to that of the Karabakh Armenians. Men wore shirts, long trousers, arkhaluk, charikhi, boots, papakhas. Female clothes - bright Tunic-shaped shirts, long trousers, arkhaluk, charikhi, boots and an obligatory belt. The female head gear - dagta is an original complicated ?construction? consisting of several elements. First they put a round scull-cap gatar, over it - chelebend - two fabric triangles connected by a tape and tied its ends under the chin. That was dagta, over it they tied a white triangle kerchief yaligat, then a small kerchief tepelik, its ends were also fixed under the chin. On top of all that there came a turban - dinaya - a big black kerchief.

The base of traditional food was wheat bread, dishes made of rice, beans, meat (beef, pork), poultry, fish; they ate fried and boiled chestnuts, walnuts.