Mazkhab (ARABIC) The school of sharia law in Islam.
Miurid (ARABIC) Broadly, representatives of one of the movements of Sufism. In the Caucasus, however, the word was used to refer to participants in the national liberation movement of mountain militants fighting for liberation from the Russian Empire.
Muchalas (DARGIN) Traditional Kubachi water pitchers.
Mujahid (plural: Mujahideen) (ARABIC) The term for one engaged in jihad.
Munafiq (ARABIC) A hypocrite, keeping the tenets of Islam while harboring doubts or disbelief.
Murtad (ARABIC) Apostate.
N
Nafs (ARABIC) In Islam, the animal passions in man that prompt him to do evil.
Naib (ARABIC) A second in command.
Namaz (ARABIC) In Islam a canonical prayer performed five times a day at strictly stipulated times. One of the pillars of Islam.
Niqab (ARABIC) A women’s garment, usually black, that completely covers the face, with a narrow opening for the eyes. Does not fall under one of the mandatory dictates of Islam.
Nikiakh (ARABIC) Marriage within Islam.
P
Pandur (DAGESTANI) A Dagestani two-stringed musical instrument.
Papakha (TURKIC) Sheepskin or astrakhan fur headgear widespread among the peoples of the Caucasus, the Cossacks, and in Central Asia; worn as part of military attire.
Q
Qadi (ARABIC) A sharia judge.
R
Reduktorny – A district in Makhachkala.
S
Sabur (ARABIC) Patience.
Sadval (LEZGIAN) Unity.
Sag’rai (LEZGIAN) Good-bye; be healthy.
Sahk (AVAR) A measure of weight equivalent to four kilograms.
Sakhl-i (AVAR) An exclamation during toasts, the equivalent to “to your health.”
Salafi (ARABIC) Derived from As-Salaf-As-Salih; a representative of a radical movement in Islam that calls for a renunciation of innovation and a return to the way of life of the Prophet and his followers.
Salallakhu alaikha vassalam (ARABIC) Peace be upon him. One of the standard, complimentary invocations to the Prophet Muhammad that must be spoken when his name is said aloud.
Sura (ARABIC) A chapter of the Koran.
Shahada (ARABIC) Islamic creed testifying to a believer’s faith in Allah as the only god, as well as the prophetic mission of the Prophet.
Shaitan – In Islam, an evil spirit, hostile to Allah and to human beings.
Shamil, Imam – Leader of the long-lasting resistance to the Russian Empire in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century; ruler of Dagestan and Chechnya. Ultimately, the mountain dwellers themselves turned him over to the Russians, in 1859, because of his severe policies and imposition of sharia law.
Shamkhals, nutsals, and utsmis – Feudal titles used in different regions and among different peoples of Dagestan.
Sharia (ARABIC) Islamic religious law.
Shirk (ARABIC) Polytheism.
Subhanallah (ARABIC) Allah be praised.
Sunna (ARABIC) The path, the way. The words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.
Sunnat (ARABIC) Circumcision.
Sura (ARABIC) A chapter in the Koran.
T
Tagut (ARABIC) Here, a criminal ruler who betrays the laws of Allah. A general term from the Koran, denoting “mutineer,” “criminal,” or “person who transgresses religious and moral boundaries.” Used in the present day to refer to any anti-Islamic person, group, party or authority that supports secular and material Western values.
Takfir (ARABIC) Excommunication from Islam.
Tariq (ARABIC) A popular Sufi teaching order popular among Dagestani Sufis. Preaches a path of spiritual purification and enrichment, most commonly through asceticism, retreat from the world, and mystical practices.
Tashshakhud (ARABIC) A prayer read in a sitting position during namaz.
Tawhid (ARABIC) Monotheism.
Tenglik (KUMYK) Equality.
Tiuz (KUMYK) Right; true.
Tokhta (TURKIC) Stop!
Tukhum – In Dagestan, one’s local community; a clan.
Tsaps (LEZGIAN) Literally, the manure of animals without cloven hooves in Lezgian. Some Lezgian nationalists, however, use the word to refer to Turks and Azeris.
U
Umma (ARABIC) A community of believers.
Uraza (ARABIC) Uraza Bairam, the Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Ustaz (ARABIC) A teacher; specifically, in this context, a teacher of tariq.
Uzden (TURKIC) In Dagestan, a broad class of free people.
V
Vasvas (ARABIC) Possession by evil forces.
Vilayat (ARABIC) The major administrative territorial unit in several countries in North Africa as well as the Near and Middle East.
Vore, vore (AVAR) Come on, come on.
W
Wahhabi (ARABIC) The same as Salafi.
Y
Yo (DAGESTANI) A word used in Dagestan when addressing women.
Z
Zakat (ARABIC) A tax, or form of obligatory charity, consisting of 1/5 of a Muslim’s personal revenue, paid to the poor, to mosques, etc.
Ziarat (ARABIC) Traveling to sacred places; also a term referring to these sacred places.
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Photo by Susanne Schleyer · autorenarchiv.de
ALISA GANIEVA, born in 1985, grew up in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Her literary debut, the novella Salam, Dalgat! won the prestigious Debut Prize in 2009. Shortlisted for all of Russia’s major literary awards, The Mountain and the Wall is her first novel, and has already been translated into seven languages. Ganieva lives in Moscow, where she works as a journalist and literary critic. Her second novel, Bride and Groom, was published in Russia in spring 2015.
CAROL APOLLONIO is Professor of the Practice of Russian at Duke University. Her most recent translation is German Sadulaev’s The Maya Pill (Dalkey Archive, 2014). As well as an accomplished translator, Dr. Apollonio is also a scholar specializing in the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Chekhov and on problems of translation. She is the author of the monograph Dostoevsky’s Secrets (2009).