Mamkhegh
The Mamkhegh or Mamheg were one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag.
Originally, the Mamkhegs lived in the territory between the Belaja and Kurdžips Rivers, in the territory of modern Majkop and environs in the Russian republics of Adygea and Krasnodar Krai. Due to the Caucasian War, the Mamkheghs were forced to leave their territories in the expulsion of the Circassians. Most of the survivors left for the Ottoman Empire. Those
who remained took Russian citizenship and founded a village called Mamxeg, which survives today in the Shovgenovsky District of modern Adygea.
History
Legends say that they moved from the Black Sea coast to the upper reaches of the. At first, Mamkhegs were just three big families: Shnah, Mami, and Tlizhho. When the population significantly increased they moved to a territory between the Belaja and Kurdžips Rivers near modern Majkop, where they remained till 1862 and formed about 16 villages. According to most historians, the number of Mamkheghs in the middle of the 19th century was about 3,500 people. Yet some sources indicate that they were about 15,000 people.Aleksandr D′jačkov-Tarasov reported the following Mamkhegh villages in the 19th century:
- Tlevceževy - on the Kubiok River, a tributary of the White;
- Patukay - six versts from Majkop on the Kuro River;
- Duxxabl′ - less than a verst from the above on the Kurdžips River;
- Hačemzy - on the site of the present village of Tula River;
- Dačehabl′ - between Kurdžips and Belaja Rivers;
- Kural′ - central village mamhegov, on the watershed between the Belaja and Kurdžips.
After a pogrom in 1823, however, the number of villages dramatically decreased as many Mamkheghs sought refuge among Abadzekhs.
Due to the Caucasian War, the Mamkheghs were forced to leave their territories in the expulsion of the Circassians. The majority of the survivors left for the Ottoman Empire. The remaining Mamkheghs took Russian citizenship and founded a village called Mamxeg in the lower part of Fars River. Another group of Mamkheghs joined Circassian villages nearby. In 1884 1,258 Mamkheghs remained in the Kuban region of Russia composed people, 715 of them in Mamxeg village.