Kavkaz - forum
 

Contacts

 

DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2026.34.27.011

RESEARCH MATERIALS OF B. PLECHKE AND OSSETIAN ETHNOGRAPHY.

Tuallagov, Alan A.
Kavkaz Forum. 2026. Issue 27.
Abstract:

The article is devoted to the analysis of the ethnographic materials of B. Plechke’s research «Chechens». The relevance of research lies in its authentic observations of various aspects of the material and spiritual culture of the Chechen people, which have not yet undergone radical transformation. The study’s novelty lies in its provision of a wide range of materials on the historical and cultural heritage of this people, which have previously been only briefly mentioned by Russian scholars or were completely unknown to them. The purpose of this article is to expand the source base on the historical and cultural heritage of the Ossetian people using the data presented in B. Plechke’s work. In the course of the study the methods of textual research were used, while adhering to the principles of concreteness, historiographical tradition, and systematic presentation. In the course of studying the materials collected by B. Plechke, his anthropological observations stand out, which supplement the data on the Ossetian ethnic group and, unlike his predecessors, raise the question of differentiated approaches. Comparative data on traditional tripod tables now appear much broader and allow for the determination of their origins. There are also parallels with other examples of Ossetian material culture that have remained outside the field of view of ethnographers. Special attention is drawn to the description of methods for treating headaches among the Chechens, which are partially comparable to those among other Caucasian peoples. At the same time, they describe manual and other treatments in more detail, pointing out a comparable «custom» among the Ossetians. This brief remark significantly expands our understanding of relevant treatment methods that are still unknown to researchers or limited to a single element. In general, the materials collected by B. Plechke confirm other observations that a common habitat and close mutual contacts developed largely similar social and cultural phenomena and traits among the peoples of the North Caucasus.


Keywords: Bruno Plechke, ethnography, material and spiritual culture, Chechen-Ossetian parallels.
Language: Russian Download the full text  
For citation: Tuallagov, A.A. Research materials of B. Plechke and Ossetian ethnography. KAVKAZ-FORUM. 2026, iss. 27 (34), pp. 172-188. (in Russian). DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2026.34.27.011 DOI 10.46698/VNC.2026.34.27.011
+ References


← Contents of issue

 
 
© 2026 Kavkaz forum