TATS

:''For Tattoos, also called "tats" see, Tattoo.''
The 'Tat' are an Iranian-speaking ethnic group in the Caucasus. The Muslim Tats are considered an Iranian^[1] ethnic group in the Caucasus and the Jewish Tats have adopted the language of Tati in ancient times. The Tats speak a SW Iranian tongue called Tati, which is also referred to as Tat-Persian by some linguists^[2]. The Tats descend from Persians that moved into the Caucasian mountains in the 5th and 6th centuries. The majority of the Tats of Dagestan (825 as of 2002) live in Kaitag, Magaramkend, Derbent, and Makhachkala. A small number have settled in the North Caucasus (Gorny and Nalchik).
The Tat, according to the official census of the Republic of Azerbaijan number about 10,900 (as of 1999). According to 1897 ethnic census, there were 95,100 Tats living in the Caucasus. ^[3]. According to USSR census of 1926, there was a total of 28,443 Muslim Tats in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan. Together with the Mountain Jews, the number of Tat-speakers was nearly 70000 in 1926.
The Tat of Azerbaijan live in the mountain valleys of the north and north-eastern parts of Azerbaijan, along the Caspian shore, with important concentrations in Absheron, Khizi and Ismayilli. There is some debate on the origin of the Mountain Jews, with some opining that they are not Tat at all but simply Jews that took the Tat language, while others argue that they are the descendants of Tats that converted to Judaism.
The Turkic-speaking peoples originally coined the term ''Tat'' to designate settled groups of non-Turkic origin. Tats speak the Tat language, which is also native to Mountain Jews and the Christian Armeno-Tats. Almost all Tats speak Azeri.
Although the Tat have been an agricultural people from the beginning of their history, they have also developed a strong urban community. Farmers living in the valleys raise wheat, barley, maize, grapes and cattle. Those living in mountain villages raise sheep, bulls and buffaloes. In the north-eastern area, communities consisting of 80 to 120 households are located in mountain settlements built on ledges. The availability of water determines the villages' location, each village contains a religious building, a bath area, a well, as well as family dwellings.
The rural Tat usually live in one or two story homes, which are constructed of rectangular shaped natural stones cemented with clay mortar. The houses feature flat roofs and front porches supported by wooden pillars. Families living in two-story homes use the upper floor for living quarters and the lower floor for working space. The Tat are considered a closed society because they insist on maintaining ethnic purity by allowing marriage only within the tribe. It can be argued that, for such a small ethnic group, this is the only strategy for survival.
''Originally based on an article by Travel-images.com, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, used with permission.''

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Notes

1. Haarmann, Harald, Language in Ethnicity: A View of Basic Ecological Relations,Walter de Gruyter, 1986, pg 72
2. Gernot L. Windfuhr, Persian Grammar: History and State of Its Study, Walter de Gruyter, 1979, pp4
3. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Stefan Sperl, The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview, Routledge, 1992. [1]