Hatuqwai

The Hatuqwai were a western Circassian tribal princedom whose homeland lay along the banks of the Kuban River. The Hatuqwai people lived mostly in the mountains between the lower valleys of the Pshish River and the Belaya River.[4] Due to their small size and closeness to Temirgoy tribe, they were considered as one of the subgroups of Temirgoy. Their neighbours were Bzhedug (West), Abadzekhs (South) and, naturally, Temirgoys (East).

In the time before the Russian invasion, the Hatuqwai were known as a powerful and warlike tribe that fought many wars mostly against the Crimean Tatars.

Turkish explorer Evliya çelebi compiled the oldest detailed description of the Hatuqwai tribe, he wrote:

Temirgoy

Temirgoy

Adamey

Yegeruqwai

Makhosh

Besleney

Kabardian

Kuban Kabardian

Hatuqwai

Bzhedug

Adele

Zhaney

Natukhai

Natukhai

Abdzakh

Abdzakh

Ubykh

Shapsug

Shapsug

Mamkhegh

Shegak

Abazin

Tapanta

Abkhaz

Anapa-----

Novorossisk-

Gelendzhik-

Tuapse-----

Sochi-----

Gagra-----

Approximate location of Circassian princedoms, Tsutsiev's Atlas

Hatuqwai: The name of their prince is Jangiray, or Janbe Giray. This Hatuqwai prince is rich, he owns many animals and 8 thousand armed soldiers. Since this province was a large, fertile and beautiful homeland, it's people slaughtered the son of the king of Moscow and bravely fought against the infidel Kalmyks. They are very loyal, savvy, armed and valiant soldiers. Even among the Circassian tribes, the villages are hostile to each other. So there is no shortage of constant internecine wars and strife. Nevertheless, they, communicate and trade with each other. And beyond the mountains live Abkhazians. In general, all the Abkhaz tribes are hostile towards these nomadic Circassian tribes. So, in the end, they do not have a single day free from battles and clashes - every day enemies come from different directions.

In the whole world, there are no such beauties worthy of praise and love like this people. Also there are purebred Arabian horses here. They are famous in the mountains: martens, similar to sables, wild cats, wild chickens, partridges.

They have no temples, no shopping malls and bazaars, no inns and baths. All wanderers and travelers stay with them for the night. And if you are staying as a guest in someone else's home, you will not be harmed. No matter how enemy you are for the owners, all the same, the owner of the camp, together with the neighbors living nearby, will do everything only for your well-being. You will not be blamed for a single mistake. If you ask your owner of the camp or the owner of the house for a chicken, he will show diligence, take a loan; if only he realizes that you need something, he will certainly do everything for you. If you are going to leave feeling embarrassed in something, he will give you, as if the whole world is in his hands.

I wrote and spoke very well in all one hundred and forty-seven languages, but I could not write this Circassian language, which is like a magpie shout.

— Evliya Çelebi, the Seyahatnâme

After Imperial Russia's conquest of the Caucasus in the 1860s the tribe's homeland was occupied, and its members were scattered among the other Circassian tribes, resulting in the Hatuqwai effectively ceasing to exist as a separate entity.

Today, the Hatuqwai have several villages in various diasporas. The Hatuqwai dialect is one of the Circassian languages in big danger of extinction.

The widely accepted theory is that the names derives from Prince Inal the Great's son Temruk's son Hatko, who was prince of the Taman Peninsula. His principality is called Hatuqwai (Place of Hatko) and the people of the principality are described as "From Hatuqwai". Thus the name of the principality became the name of the tribe.

Another outdated theory about the origin of the name 'Hatuqwai' is that it is from Хьаты ("Hatti") + Къуэ ("son"); meaning "Hattic son". 'Hatti' is an ancient name, originally referring to a non-Indo-European people of ancient Anatolia. Some researchers have claimed there may be links between Circassians and Indo-European-speaking communities,[5] and some have argued that there are connections between Circassians and Hatti, who are from ancient Anatolian peoples,[6][7][8] but these theories have not been addressed further and is not widely accepted. This Circassian tribe may preserve this name. This name also occurs elsewhere in the Caucasus in an Ossetian Nart saga wherein the hero Batradz is said to speak in Hattic.

Traditional Hatuqwai culture is part of the Circassian culture. The Hatuqwai were engaged in agriculture, cattle and horse breeding. Before Islam, the Hatuqwais worshipped Jesus as well as the gods of Circassians such as Shibla (god of lightning and thunder), Sozeresh (god of fertility), Yamish, Ahin and Hakustash.

The Hatuqwai speak the Hatuqwai dialect of Adyghe, which is in the Circassian language branch of the Northwest Caucasian Languages. Nowadays, the number of speakers of this language has decreased considerably and it could not find a place in the literary language as there is no Hatuqwai left in the Caucasus.

Some Hatuqwai villages (Adyghe: къуаджэ, romanized: quadje) in Turkey.

Some of the Hatuqwai clans (Adyghe: лъакӀо, romanized: tlak'o) in Turkey.