Tsez people

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (June 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Дидойцы]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Дидойцы}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Tsez

The flag of the Tsez people
Total population
c. 30,000 (highest est.)
Regions with significant populations
Russia	14,881 (2021 census)[1]
Languages
Tsez
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Georgians, Avars and other Northeast Caucasian peoples

The Tsez (also known as the Dido or the Didoi) are a North Caucasian ethnic group. Their unwritten language, also called Tsez or Dido, belongs to the Northeast Caucasian group with some 15,354 speakers.^[2] For demographic purposes, today they are classified with the Avars with whom the Tsez share a religion, Sunni Islam, and some cultural traits. They are centered at the Tsunta district of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. The term “Dido” is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to the Tsez as well as the Bezhtas, Hinukhs, Khwarshis and Hunzibs, which are also categorized as Avar subgroups.^[2] According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 15,256 self-identified Tsez in Russia (15,176 in their homeland), notated as an "Avar subgroup", though the real number is probably slightly greater.

The Tsez traditionally engaged in raising livestock and limited cultivation. In more recent times, some Tsez have migrated to industrial centers for work.^[3] The Tsez adhere to Sunni Islam. Islam became the majority faith of the Tsez by the 17th and 18th centuries though elements of pre-Islamic customs are still present.^[3]

According to genetic studies in 2016, the following haplogroups are found to predominate among Tsez:^[4]

• J1 (99%)

• J2 (1%)

This article about an ethnic group in the Caucasus is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e