A
Tour de Force of Circassian Intellectualism:
A “Choice Review” Highly Lauds Circassian
Culture and Folklore
Amjad
Jaimoukha’s 560-page opus Circassian Culture and
Folklore [London: Bennett and Bloom, 2010] is reviewed by Dr. B. K. Beynen of Philadelphia University in CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, vol. 48, no. 11, July 2011, p. 2145(1). Beynen perspicaciously connects the latest of Jaimoukha's publications with the earlier work, The Circassians: A Handbook [London and New York: Routledge, 2001], and considers them as a complementary pair. This review could
be viewed as an antidote to the often-touted charge of diminished intellectual resources
pertaining to Circassian issues.
“Choice: Current Reviews for Academic
Libraries” is a publication of the Association for College & Research Libraries,
a division of the American Library Association.
It reviews
significant current books and electronic media of interest to those in higher
education and is the leading review source for academic and research libraries.
Start of review…
Jaimoukha
(director, International Centre for Circassian Studies) supplements his The Circassians: A
Handbook [reviewed by Prof. L.K.D. Kristof,
in CH, Dec'01,
39-1955 (CHOICE,
vol. 39, no. 4, Dec. 2001, p.667{1}): “This exceptionally
comprehensive handbook maintains throughout the highest scholarly rigor ... a
fundamental reference.”] with texts and essays; together they provide
English-language scholars with a solid basis for the study of the Circassians.
Circassian–consisting of Kabardian and Adygean–forms the Northwest Caucasian
language group with Abkhazian and Ubykh. With extensive sections on folklore
and religion, the book’s most important part is its historical section, which
chronicles the Circassians' long struggle for independence from the point of
view of the oppressed. The book's largest section is devoted to recipes.
Circassian literature is mostly represented by songs; Jaimoukha provides
originals along with a transliteration and sometimes a translation. One section
provides songs with notes, with translations in Russian only; a companion CD
contains "about 200 songs, chants and melodies," not examined. Many
songs are about the Narts, a mythical tribe whose adventures figure prominently
in Circassian literature. The author concludes with a short section on the
Narts, which should be supplemented by John Colarusso's Nart Sagas from the
Caucasus (2002). Two bibliographies (one for dictionaries) and a
discography conclude this extremely useful book. Summing Up: Highly
recommended. Academic and public libraries, all levels.
End of review.
Copyright American Library Association.
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