”GIalgIai" is a common endoethnonym of Ingush societies of the XVI–XIX centuries: an analysis of historiographical sources

Albogachiev Magomed Mikhailovich ORCID: 0009-0006-3925-1554 Independent researcher Office 302, 7 Zyazikova Ave., Magas, Republic of Ingushetia, 386001, Russia magomed_albogachiyev77@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction.

The Ingush are one of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus, and their self–name Galgiai was first mentioned in Russian sources in 1590 in the form of Kalkants ^{[1, p. 65; 2, p. 154]}. Later, Kalkans were called many Russian documents of the XVII century, in which the forms kalkans, kolkans, kalki, kalkasy are found ^{[1, pp. 62, 66; 2, pp. 154-155]}. The variants kalkan and kalkai are also found in the sources ^{[2, p. 54]}. Their country of residence is designated as Kalkania, Kalkan land, Kalkassky (Kalkan) kabaks ^{[1, pp. 62, 66]}. In our opinion, the term kalki // The Kolkans are a Russian translation of the Ingush self-designation g I alg I ai, and the Kolkans // Kalkans means "inhabitants of Colkaniya // Kalkaniya".

In Georgian sources of the 17th century, there is also a gligvi form, "the earliest mention of which (in the form of gleguda) is found in a letter from King Teimuraz, written in Greek and dating back to 1639 ^{[2, p. 158]}. The gligves are mentioned in sources and in the context of events during the reign of Mirian I (II century BC) ^{[3, p. 25]}, as well as the ruler of Kakheti Kvirike III (XI century AD) ^{[4, p. 31; 5, p. 128-129; 6, p. 30; 2, p. 158]}.

According to E. I. Krupnov, the name has an ancient origin ^{[6, p. 26]}. The author believes that in "Armenian Geography" the Ingush are designated as a bush (k), and in ancient authors they are referred to as gargarei ^{[6, pp. 25, 29]}. Some other scientists also associate the latter ethnonyms with I alg I ai ^{[7, p. 361; 8, p. 222 (note 4)]}. At the same time, a number of historians believe that the endoethnonym Ingush is of the same root as the name of another ancient people, Gela ^{[9, p. 97; 10, p. 30-31; 11, p. 643; 12, p. 489; 13, p. 239]}. In our opinion, both opinions are correct to a certain extent, because we believe that the designation g I alg I ai in ancient times covered both Gels and gargarei. It is interesting to note that according to ancient authors, the Gargarei (Geghars) lived in adjacent territories between the Legi, Albanians and Amazons ^{[8, pp. 221-222]}. We associate kists (bush(k)) with gels ^{[2, pp. 139-140]}, and durdzukov (dzurdzuk, durts(k)) with gargarei medieval Georgian and Armenian chronicles ^{[2, pp. 135-138]}, which were part of the group of tribes of the Caucasus, united in the work of L. Mroveli by the common name Kavkasi //Kavkasians ^{[14, pp. 25, 30]}. However, this is a topic for special research and scientific analysis.

The opinion about the general Ingush meaning of the name hYalgIa has been expressed by researchers before ^{[1, p. 65, 66; 6, p. 38]}. In our opinion, these works do not exhaust the topics of the general Ingush character of the ethnonym g I alg I ai, and some of the theses of respected authors can be adjusted and significantly supplemented. E. I. Krupnov, for example, ambiguously expressed his opinion on this issue. Noting the validity of E. N. Kushev's conclusion about the broader meaning of the name (g I alg I ai) in Russian documents of the second half of the XVI – first half of the XVII centuries, the author writes elsewhere in his work that it was transferred to other Ingush societies over time ^{[6, pp. 24-25, 36]}. In the History of Ingushetia, E.N. Kusheva's conclusion is explained by the process of consolidation of Ingush societies around a single center in the person of the Galgaiche society that probably began during this period (XVI-XVII centuries) ^{[15, p. 152]}. At the same time, the formation of these societies by the authors of this work dates back to the end of the XVI – beginning of the XVII century ^{[15, p. 15]}.

N.G. Volkov includes Tsori in the "land of the Galgai", in addition to Kekelli ^{[2, p. 168]}.

The purpose of this article is to conduct an additional study of historiographical sources to confirm the opinion about the general Ingush character of the endoethnonym g I alg I ai among Ingush societies in the XVI–XIX centuries, as well as to analyze the reasons for the appearance of a version about the local nature of this designation. The chronological framework of the study is due to the fact that the process of formation of the late territorial societies of the Ingush, according to researchers, began in the late XVI – early XVII century ^{[16, p. 34, 56; 15, p. 15]} and ended in the XIX century with the formation of planar societies ^{[15, p. 255]}. The nature of the ethnonym in an earlier period, as noted above, is a topic for a separate study.

The issues of the origin of the peoples of the North Caucasus, including the Ingush, have now become particularly relevant. In our opinion, the medieval history of Ingushetia has not been studied deeply enough, and despite the available work, the problem of having a single name for Ingush territorial groups in the period under review is still an open question among modern Caucasian scholars ^{[15, p. 16]}. The self-designation of a people is directly related to its ethnic identity. The first step in the formation of the national Self-awareness is self-designation ^{[17, p. 46]}. Thus, this issue does not lose its relevance as long as the people themselves exist.

The main works that were used to prepare this article are: geographical and historical research by the Georgian historian and geographer Tsarevich Vakhushti Bagrationi, which provides valuable information about the Ingush people of the middle of the XVIII century and earlier (Vakhushti Tsarevich. Geography of Georgia, 1904. Book XXIV. Issue 5. 224 p.; Vakhushti Bagrationi. History of the Kingdom of Georgia, 1976. 340 p.); a two-volume work by the historian of the Caucasus of the early 19th century, S. M. Bronevsky (Bronevsky S. M. New geographical and historical news about the Caucasus ..., 1823. Part 2. 491 p.; Bronevsky S. M. The latest News about the Caucasus. Vol.1-2, 2004. 464 p.), an original and important source on the ethnography, geography and history of the Caucasus; the work of the famous Georgian scientist A. I. Shavkhelishvili "From the history of relations between the Georgian and Chechen-Ingush peoples (From ancient times to the XV century)" (A. I. Shavkhelishvili 1963. 128 p.), which is an important source on the history of relations between the Nakh and Georgian peoples for many centuries; a collection of works by European authors of the 13th–18th centuries, compiled by V. M. Atalikov, in which the author compiled a separate section of narrative sources containing information about the Ingush (Caucasus. European Diaries ... 2010, p. 305); voluminous work by Ingush scientists M. B. Dolgieva, M. M. Kartoeva, N. D. Kodzoeva, T. H. Matieva (History of Ingushetia 2013. 599 p.), which examines the main stages of the ethnic history of the Ingush from ancient times to the present day.

Valuable sources on the oral art of the Ingush and Chechens are: the collection "Tales, tales and traditions of the Chechens and Ingush", compiled by Ingush folklore scholars I. A. Dakhkilgov and A. O. Malsagov (Tales, tales 1986, 528 p.), as well as the works of prominent Russian scholar of Caucasian studies B. K. Dalgat, as well as U. B. Dalgat who devoted many years to the study of folklore, customary law and the tribal system of the peoples of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia (Dalgat B. K. 1893. pp. 41-132; Dalgat U. B. 1972. 469 p.; Dalgat B. K. 2004. 240 p.; Dalgat B. K. 2008. 380 p.).

The research actively used materials and data from the works of one of the leading Soviet and Russian ethnographers, N. G. Volkova, based on the analysis of statistical material, information from field expeditions and generalization of various types of sources (Volkova N. G. 1973. 208 p.; 1974. 276 p.; 1977. pp. 84-89) N. G. Volkova conducts a thorough analysis of information from the traditions of the Nakh peoples, from which it follows that to a certain extent these traditions have a connection with real events.

A thorough analysis of written sources was carried out in the 1960s by the Soviet historian and Caucasian scholar E. N. Kusheva, at the request of the Chechen-Ingush Institute of History, Language and Literature, the results of which the scientist outlined in his work "The Peoples of the North Caucasus and their relations with Russia: the second half of the XVI - 30s of the XVII century." (Kusheva E. N. 1963. 371 p.).

The meaning of the terms "G I alg I aiche" and "G I alg I ai Mohk".

As noted above, the question of the origin of the Ingush endoethnonym still causes discussions within the scientific community. It is believed that its alleged bearers were only residents of the Targim basin in the Assinovsky gorge of Ingushetia. ^{[2, p. 168; 15, p. 16]}. We are talking about representatives of three villages: Targim, Egikal and Khamkhi, which are called "Galgaevtsy" in science ^{[15, p. 151]}. From this one gets the impression that the terms g I alg I ai and khakhanloi are synonyms.

The administrative policy of the Russian Empire made a special contribution to such ideas. After the end of the Caucasian War, the military administration of the Caucasus Region was liquidated. In 1860, the newly formed Tersk region, which consisted of eight districts, was withdrawn from the Stavropol province. Among them was the Ingushevsky district, which was geographically and administratively divided into four sections. One of them was called Gorsky, which in turn consisted of five societies: Jerakhovsky, Kistinsky, Galgaevsky, Akinsky and Meredzhinsky. The Galgaevsky society was later divided into the Tsorinsky and Khamkhinsky societies ^{[18, p. 1]}. However, the latter, which consisted of three settlements (Khamkhi, Targim, and Egikal with settlements), continued to be called the "Galgaev society" ^{[19, p. 75]}, and its inhabitants were called Galgaevites. Consequently, the Galgaevsky (Khamkhinsky) society is a territorial and administrative unit of the Gorsky district of the Ingushevsky district. For example, Yovli and Ozdik were part of the Tsorin society, but these settlements were not Tsorin in tribal terms. However, an uninformed layman gets the impression that only representatives of the Galgaevsky (Khamkhinsky) society were Galgai.

In other words, Galgaevites and Galgai (ing. g I alg I ai) are different concepts, (as people and tribe are different concepts ^{[20, p. 59-64]}): the first is the designation of the inhabitants of Galgaev society; the second is the common self–designation of all Ingush societies.

From the west, starting from the Daryal gorge, to the east, in the Dzheyrakh, Assinovsky and partially Argun gorges, there were several Ingush societies, such as: Jerakhovtsy, Kistins, Feppins (or Metskhaltsy), Chulkhoi, style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Kekellins (or Khamkhins), Tsorins, Akkintsy, orstkhoevtsy, and to the south of them the Merzhoi and Galai societies. To the south-east of the Tsorin people was the Malkhistin society ^{[15, p. 16, 21, 47, 192-193; 6 36-37; 1, pp. 64-65; 16, pp. 34, 56]}. The Melchistines, as E. writes. By the end of the 19th century, they were classified as Chechens proper ^{[19, p. 76]}.

The term Galgaya // Galgai, found in the scientific literature as a designation of the Galgai country ^{[21, p. 97; 22, p. 84; 23, p. 13-56]}, apparently had a narrow and broad meaning: in a narrow sense, it is the territory of the Assinovo gorge, called by the Ingush G I alg I aiche, (Chechen Republic I alg I aicho); broadly – the entire territory of settlement of Ingush (Galgai) societies ^{[1, p. 65]}. By the way, the expression "Galgaev societies" is found in some sources ^{[24, p. 374; 25, p. 48]}. The names "Kolkan land, Kalkania", etc., were used in the same meaning in Russian article lists of the XVI-XVII centuries ^{[1, pp. 62-67]}.

The term G I alg I aiche (β G I alg I ai che) has the semantic meaning of "the inner (middle) district of Galgai", that is, "the central district". According to N. G. Akhriev, an expert on the Ingush language and everyday life, literally translated, this is the "inside" or "belly of Ingushetia" ^{[6, p. 26]}. By the way, this is the only Vainakh society, in the name of the area of historical residence of which the suffix -che was used. This is probably due to the fact that in the medieval period the main center of Galgai was located here, as a result, Galgayce occupied a central place in terms of importance and location ^{[1, p. 65]}.

Indeed, the main temples of the medieval Vainakhs were located in Galgaich, and this area was also one of their political and religious centers. According to U. B. Dalgat, "the mountain Ingush of the eastern half (Galgaevtsy, Khamkhintsy, Tsorintsy and Akkintsy) had one common place for Tusholi worship near the village of Kartli of the Khamkhin society..." ^{[26, p. 132]}. Since religion has played and still plays an important role in the life of the people, the district gradually acquired the status of a political center. It included such large Galgai settlements as Yovli, Ozdik, Targim, Egikal, Khamkhi, and others ^{[19, p. 75]}. The last three settlements, located at an important transport hub, merged into Kekelli (eng. Kakhaille), which means "Troegradye" (eng. khall – "settlement, city") ^{[27, pp. 238, 247]}. The sources contain the forms khokhalloy ^{[2, p. 168]}, khakhaloy ^{[15, p. 16]}, khakhale ^{[16, p. 56]}, etc.

A. I. Shavkhelishvili calls Galgaiche "the Central Dzurdzuketiya" ^{[28, p. 25]}. "It also seems," writes E. I. Krupnov, "that it is not by chance that the term Galagai is organically connected with the oldest cultural center of Ingushetia in the upper reaches of the river Assi, called Galai–chue. It is this central territory of Galgai that is designated as Gligveti in the work of Vakhushti Bagrationi ^{[29, p. 151]}.

At the same time, their whole country of Galgaya was called Gilgiai Mokhk by the Ingush. For example, in the Nart legend "Beloved Albika", it is said that Seska-Solsa was the head of Gilgiai Mokha, and not GIlgiAyche, as evidenced by the fact that the legend also referred to the territory of the Dzheyrakhovsky and Daryal gorges ^{[30, p. 161; 31, p. 266]}. These gorges are not called G I alg I ayche in any source, but as we can see, they were called G I alg I ai Mokhk. Although Vakhushti does not give this country a single common name, it is clear from the context of the description that Kistia (Feppia), Dzurdzukiya (Ohkari) and Gligvia (Galgayce) are regions of the same country.

In order to distinguish between the inhabitants (or natives of) the Assin Gorge (Gilgayche) from the rest of the Galgai, we want to use in our work: to designate the former, the term Galgayevtsy (or Galgaychintsy); and as a common name for all Galgai societies, the term Galgai.

The first among equals.

In the medieval period, the organization of social life was significantly different from the modern one. The people were divided into various tribes, each of which eventually began to realize itself as an independent entity. At the same time, there were situations when an external threat forced these related tribes to cooperate. As a result, tribal or territorial unions arose. Such alliances allowed small tribes to survive and resist the aggressive actions of larger peoples. They chose a strategically important place as the center of the country. In such situations, the ruling elite (democratically elected, hereditary) feudal society) eventually begins to distance itself from the rest of the people, either by referring itself to another ethnic group, or by not recognizing commonality with representatives of provincial clans from its own people. In our opinion, the medieval Galgai had the latter situation. Galgayce became the central district around which the rest of the Galgay societies were grouped, and Kekelli became the capital. The central position gave its inhabitants a higher social status and a privileged position in relation to other societies, as noted by B.K. Dalgat in his work ^{[32, pp. 102-103]}. That is, the "arrogant" behavior of the Kekellin people in that period in relation to "provincial" societies is not related to class differences, but to the metropolitan status of their settlements.

We see a similar situation in modern democratic countries, where the capital and the metropolitan area are the focus of the political (and not only) life of the country. This leads to the fact that its inhabitants begin to raise themselves a little above the rest of the inhabitants of the country. For example, Muscovites and Petersburgers, as well as residents of the Moscow and Leningrad regions, even today, people from the provinces are sometimes treated as having a lower social status relative to themselves. As N. G. Volkova noted, "this division was influenced not only by territorial differences, but also, apparently, by social differences, although there are currently no ethno-linguistic differences between these groups" ^{[2, p. 169]}. In fact, this is a sign of a democratic (free) society. "Any mass needs to be managed… This role is performed by elite groups, which are the centers of influence and the basis for the formation of a democratic culture" ^{[33, p. 22]}. Despite the privileged position of the Kekellin people, all Ingush were considered equally equal and free ^{[32, pp. 102-103]}. Despite all attempts to raise their status, the Kekellin people were "first among equals" among Galgai societies. They represented the country in relations with the outside world.

The general Lingush character of the ethnonym g I alg I ai.

Not only the Kekelins, but also the majority of Ingush societies, considered themselves Galgai. Otherwise, why would the latter distinguish themselves from the environment of these societies by the designation khakhanloy, if they had already distinguished themselves as g I alg I ai? There are no objective reasons for this. The fact that Gilgai and khakhalloy are not equivalent names is clearly shown in the legend "Egi, Eban and his sons", where there is a clear separation of Galgai and Kekellin ^{[31, pp. 335-337]}.

To. Kokha believed, not without reason, that the Galgaevites retained the ancient common name of Ingush and Chechens ^{[12, p. 489]}. The offshoots of this ancestral people, apparently, began to call themselves by other names. That is why, according to the Ingush themselves, the Galgaevites were "real Ingush" ^{[2, p. 168]}. One group of these branches continued to remember their origin and identify themselves as the Galgai people, while the other began to perceive themselves separately from the Galgai. For example, the Oskanov branch separated from the Albogachiev family name. In a narrow sense, being called Oskanian, at the same time, they recognize themselves as part of the Albogachiev family in a broad sense. That is why the Galgaevite did not call himself fappe, whereas fappe could call himself gIalgIa" ^{[2, p. 169]}, just as a representative of the Albogachiev family would not call himself Oskanov, while Oskanov could call himself Albogachiev or acknowledge his descent from this family. There are also representatives of the Oskanovs who consider themselves to be a separate genus from the Albogachievs, as there are genera that do not recognize their origin from the Galgai root.

In other words, the Galga people have preserved one of the ancient common self-names of the ancestors of the Nakh peoples. Later, the Kekellin people tried to "privatize" this name, denying the right to it as a general designation to other Ingush "provincial" settlements and districts. The latter, in turn, resisted these attempts and fought for their right to be called Galgai. The result of this struggle, in our opinion, was the "assembly of the country," which is mentioned in the folk legend. According to him, the once famous men of Feppin, Chulkhoev, Galgaev and Tsorin gathered at the "Place of the Three Crosses." All of them regretfully said that every Shahar strives to live apart, and there is no agreement between them ^{[31, pp. 322-323]}. The meeting was hardly the result of the Kekellin people's great desire to recognize the right of representatives of other Ingush societies to be called Galgai. At least in history, we are not aware of cases of voluntary abandonment of their privileged position by the political elite. The people had to seek their rights through political or armed struggle. One of the reasons that the capitals made concessions to the rebels was the need for their help in confronting external enemies and developing new territories. The legend of the "Place of Three Crosses" does indeed speak of the concessions of the Galgaevites related to their desire to colonize the flat lands. Realizing that they could not cope with the Kabardian and Kumyk feudal lords who ruled on the plane at that time, the Galgaevites recognized the right of other Ingush societies to the name Galgai. This can be seen, for example, from a speech at a meeting by a representative of the Galgaevites ^{[31, pp. 322-323]}. It is noteworthy that the legend speaks of the assembly of a "country", and not of "countries", while emphasizing the fact that it is divided along territorial and tribal lines. In fact, the Georgian geographer Vakhushti Bagrationi wrote the same thing in 1745: "All these gorges, described by us, initially formed Dzurdzuketi, but now they are divided like this" ^{[29, p. 152]}. Consequently, the divided country that the Galgaev representative speaks about in his speech is Dzurdzuketiya (in Ingush, G I alg I ai Mokhk). And Gligveti (in Ingush, G I alg I aiche) is the center of Dzurdzuketiya ("Central Dzurdzuketiya", in the terminology of A. I. Shavkhelishvili). In this case, the Georgian term dzurdzuki and the Ingush endoethnonym g I style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>russians act as synonyms. E.I. Krupnov also believed that the terms gligvi and Dzurdzuki sounded like synonyms, and sometimes as part of a whole, and covered all Chechen-Ingush societies ^{[7, p. 34]}. And the fact that representatives of other Shakhars of this country defended the right to be called Galgai at the meeting tells us that they considered themselves part of the united Galgai people. It is noteworthy that these are the same societies that Vakhushti Bagrationi divides into Kists, dzurdzukov and gligvov. And they, according to legend, disputed their right to be called Galgai.

The name Durdzuketi prevailed over other names in early Georgian sources, apparently not only because of the closer contacts between Georgians and Dzurdzuks, but also because during this period of history the latter numerically outnumbered the rest of the Nakhon-speaking tribes. This is confirmed by the fact that L. Mroveli calls Durdzuk (the eponymous ancestor of the Dzurdzukes) "the most famous among the sons of Kavkas" ^{[14, p. 25]}. Interestingly, the German researcher J. G. Klaproth in his work, in the section "Mizdzheg languages, noted: "The Georgians have actually called the upper areas of the Kumbalei River, where the Ingush live, Dzurdzuketi, since very ancient times, and they must have received their name from Dzurdzukos" ^{[34, p. 288]}. This is consistent with the fact that the gorges to the east of Khevi (the Terek River gorge), according to Vakhushti Bagrationi, were called Dzurdzuketi, and the gorges to the west of Khevi were occupied by other Kavkassians who obeyed the Dzurdzuk ^{[29, p. 152]}.

E. N. Kusheva notes that the Kist society is not found in Russian sources of the XVI-XVII centuries. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the Georgians (through whom the Russian embassies in Georgia received information about the tribes of the Central Caucasus) by that time used this term as a common name for all mountain Vainakh societies. Perhaps in the later period, the Georgians had more contact with the Kists who lived in the Daryal and Dzheyrakh gorges, as a result of which they extended their name to all Ingush and mountain Chechen ethnic groups.

The Panchua-Dzurdzuk doors are mentioned in ancient Georgian sources. A. I. Shavkhelishvili notes: "The name Panchua-Dzurdzuk doors should be identified with the Assin Gorge because there are no more such "doors" to the east or west of the Daryal Gorge. "Panchua" is probably a Pancheti" ^{[28, p. 23]}. The author further notes that "the only road to Kakheti ran from Central Dzurdzuketi (now the Assinovo Gorge)" ^{[28, p. 25]}. A. N. Genko also believed that these "doors" were located in the Assinovo Gorge ^{[35, p. 712]}. All this indicates that the Assinovo gorge was considered by the Georgians not just a part of Dzurdzukia, but its central region.

Special attention is drawn to the important words in the message of Vakhushti Bagrationi: "divided again" ^{[29, p. 137]}. It follows from this that Dzurdzukiya was previously divided, perhaps, into Dzurdzukiya, Kistia and Gligvia. Moreover, this is said in the context of the events of the III century BC, when the first king of Kartli, Farnavaz, ruled. Therefore, it is not surprising that in Georgian sources the gligvas are mentioned in the context of the events of the II century BC ^{[3, p. 25]} and XI century AD ^{[5, p. 128-129; 6, p. 30]}. The existence of the ethnonym g I alg I ai in those days is also evidenced by the folk traditions of the Georgian highlanders ^{[36, pp. 33-34]}.

Based on the above data, it is logical to assume that Gligveti, Dzurdzuketi and Kisteti were regions of the same country, which in Georgian sources of the XVII-XVIII centuries is called Kisteti, and its inhabitants are Kists ^{[1, p. 67]}. In the same sources of an earlier period, it is called Durdzuketi, and its inhabitants are called durdzukami ^{[14, p. 25; 15, p. 150]}. In Russian sources of the XVI-XVII centuries, this country is called Colkaniya, and its inhabitants are called Kolki / Kalkans ^{[1, p. 67; 15, p. 150]}.

In other words, kists, Dzurdzuki, and Gligvi are ancient ethnonyms, and their bearers were parts of the same ethnic group, which for some reason split up and then reunited. At the same time, the gligvi, as already noted, are the same kists and Dzurdzuki who lived in the central district of the country – Gialgiaiche.

The eponymous ancestor of Galga.

It is noteworthy that according to popular Chechen legend, "the real nokhchiy" (nokhchiy is the self–name of Chechens) are considered only those clans that derive themselves from a Galgaevite named Turpal Nakhcho (the eponymous ancestor of Chechens), and are designated here as "the most honorable Nakhchivan surnames" and "the Uzden estate", i.e. nobles ^{[37, pp. 138-139]}. B.K. Dalgat writes about this: "The closer and more direct the kinship with this founder of the people, Nakhchuo, the more proud these surnames are" ^{[32, p. 61]}.

In general, the idea that it was the Galgai (or their eponymous ancestor) who stood at the origins of the Nakh peoples is steadily fixed in folk legends. For example, according to I. Popov, the Karabulaks and Nazran people in the Ingush district considered themselves descendants of Galgash ^{[38, p. 12 (note)]}. U. B. Dalgat writes that the Tsorins, according to Ingush folk legends, descended from immigrants from the Datikh, Galgaev society ^{[39, p. 43]}. Datikh (modern village of Dattykh, Sunzhensky district of Ingushetia) belongs to the Galgaev society. In this regard, it is interesting that to the north of the Assinovsky gorge, about 5 kilometers from the village. Fourth, the fortress in the Egi-Choch gorge has been preserved, which is a single ensemble with combat and yellow towers. All the towers are in the shape of a truncated pyramid with a door. The architecture of the Egi-Choch and Assinovsky Gorge towers is almost identical ^{[28, p. 24]}. A. I. Shavkhelishvili points out an important feature of the defense system in this tower complex: "The towers were designed so that they could mainly defend against the advancing enemy from the north. This indicates that the population of these places most often expected an enemy attack from the north.… All this indicates the importance of the roads passing through the Assinovsky and Daryal gorges" ^{[28, p. 24]}.

Attention is also drawn to the similarity of the term Egi-Choch with the name of the Egikal settlement in Galgaich. Egi-Choch is translated from Ingush as "Egi gorge", and Egikal – "Egi settlement". Perhaps Egi-Choch was part of the advanced defensive line on the way to Galgaiche, that is, to "Central Dzurdzuketiya", according to A. I. Shavkhelishvili's terminology.

P. I. Golovinsky in the second half of the 19th century, wrote: "The third group consists of the Main Society, Galgai, and the following small ones formed from it: 1) malkhists or cysts (the Pshavo-Khevsurs call all mountain Chechens (the term Chechens is used here in a broad sense – M.A.'s note) by one common name (pussy or cysts); 2) Tsorintsy; 3) Dzhekhari; 4) Gaiters; 5) Galashi and 6) Meredzhoy" ^{[40, p. 244; 32, p. 64]}.

"One can only say," writes F. I. Gorepekin, "that according to the collected legends about the origin of the Chechen-Ingush clans, most of them indicate as the oldest habitat the mountainous areas of Akko, Galgai, Nashakh, from where the descendants of the Ingush and Chechens originated. According to the legends of the settlers, it is not indicated from Nashakh to Galgai and Akko, but from Galgai to Nashakh to the territory of Chechnya there are indications in almost every legend. Thus, Galgai should be recognized as the oldest milestone from which the settlement in present-day Chechnya took place..." ^{[23, p. 20]}. Speaking about the settlement from Galgai to the territory of Chechnya, F. I. Gorepekin, apparently, uses the term Galgai in a broad sense. In the same sense, N. V. Yakovlev writes about the migration of Ingush tribes from the Argun, Assinovsky and Dzheyrakh gorges ^{[41, pp. 197-198]}.

It should be noted that the folk legend also speaks about the settlement of the Nakh societies from the territory of Galgai: "The Galgai people were the first settlers of the mountains. Having multiplied, due to the lack of land, they mostly moved to Akki" ^{[32, p. 64]}. Apparently, they are referring to the mountains where the ancestors of the Vainakh settled after their resettlement from the territory of modern Georgia.

In another legend, the locality of the original settlement is specified: "According to the narrator Ganizh, once there lived three brothers: Ga, Orshto (Arshto) and Nakhcho, from whom all the Galgai, Orstkhoi and Nokhchi descended. According to the Ingush, these three brothers arrived in the mountains from the east and settled in the place of Galga, and from there they spread throughout the Chechen and Ingush lands" ^{[39, pp. 42-43]}. Apparently, the legend refers to that part of the Vainakhs who migrated from the territory of modern Georgia (from Tusheti) through the Argun gorge. For the Ingush of the Dzheyrakh gorge (where the storyteller Ganizh lived), the Argun Gorge is the east. And in the narrator's understanding, the entire territory occupied by these first settlers and from where they later settled in other areas was called Galga.

According to Ingush legends, the ethnarch of Galgai is a man named Ga (eng. G I a) ^{[37, pp.134-135]}. In the legend "Turpal's Descendants", Ga, Nakhcho and Arstkho are descendants of an ethnarch named Turpal (translated as "bogatyr"). Ga is named the eldest brother, and Arstho is the youngest. Ga's son Galga was born [31. pp. 314-315] (here the eponymous ancestor of the Galga people). In Chechen legends, the eponymous ancestor of the Chechens, Turpal Nakhcho, whom we wrote about above, is called a Galgaevite ^{[37, pp. 138-139]}. It is believed that Turpal is not a name, but an epithet meaning "hero". However, the name Turpal was widespread among the Ingush and Chechens. Therefore, it is quite possible that Turpal Nokhcho means "Nokhcho son of Turpal". And as an epithet, this term was used in relation to his father (eponymous ancestor).

Here we note that N. F. Yakovlev also cites a legend about the origin of the Ingush from a certain Turpal, who came to the mountains of Ingushetia from Arabia ^{[42, pp. 39-41]}. According to other sources, the ancestor of the Ingush came from Syria ^{[43, p. 35]}. Another source mentions the name of this ancestor: "The Ingush legend says that the ancestor of the Ingush people, a certain Galga, arrived from Syria in the Caucasus Mountains, the gorge of the river Assi, built the multi-towered village of Ugi-Kal" ^{[44, p. 49]}. The conclusion is that this is the same Turpal Ali from Chechen legends. And the fact that in Chechen legend Ali is associated with the Galgai (descendants of Ga), and the ethnarch Turpal Nokhcho is called a Galgai, indirectly confirms this conclusion.

Ali's name is Muslim and was borrowed after the adoption of Islam by the Vainakhs. Therefore, the name of their eponymous ancestor was different. Judging by the above data, this is Ga or Galga. Ga is indeed called the ethnarch of all the Vainakhs ^{[31, pp. 315-316; 26, p. 21]}. That is, the eponymous ancestor of the Galgai is called the common ancestor for the Vainakhs.

In our opinion, Ga is the same "common ancestor" who received the epithet Turpal (bogatyr). Apparently, after the Chechens adopted Islam, the name Ha was changed to the Muslim Ali, which was the name of the cousin and son–in-law of the Prophet Muhammad (salallah 'alayhi wa salam), his closest associate and the Fourth Righteous Caliph. It is noteworthy that Chechens and Ingush also consider him a hero, and there are many stories about his bravery and valor. Therefore, the epithet Turpal is often attached to his name.

According to one of the folk legends, Chechens are descended from "batsoi", i.e. Batsbians ^{[40, pp. 241-242]}. At the same time, the Batsbians themselves associate their origin with the Galgai (the same opinion is shared by the surrounding peoples). ^{[45, pp. 153-156]}.

All this is consistent with the legend about the settlement of the ancestors of the Nakh peoples from Galgai and confirms F. I. Gorepekin's opinion about Galgai as the oldest milestone from which the settlement of the Vainakhs (or a significant part of them) took place.

The fact that the inhabitants of the Daryal and Jeyrakh gorges were also called Galgai is confirmed by information from the Ingush heroic epic song "Makhkinan". The main character, Cherbyzh, is named here as a Gulet, i.e. a resident of the Daryal Gorge. The Guleti people lived in this gorge and, together with other Gulgai, controlled this passage. Cherbyzh calls himself Galgai directly: "You've already heard my name. And I will tell you who I am, without hiding: I am the purest Galgai" ^{[46, p. 2]}. Referring to this interpretation, N. G. Volkova writes: "Another, more detailed version of the same legend was published in the 90s in the newspaper Kavkaz. In this legend, Cherebysh, who was expelled from the plane by the Kabardian prince and settled "in the mountains of the pre-Galgai mountains", near the Jeyrakh-Airmakhi river, is also called the ancestor of the Gwileti people" ^{[45, pp. 156-157]}.

B. K. Dalgat provides two versions of the legend about the origin of the Dzheyrakhov people, according to one of which, a Galgaevite named Levan is named the founder of this society ^{[32, p. 63]}. The author also notes that the inhabitants of the Dzheyrakhov villages of Tersh, Erzya, Falkhan, Kerbishty (compare with the Akka villages of Volga(n) and Kerbite in the upper reaches of the Gekhi River), Obyn are Galgai ^{[32, p. 68]}. According to DNA studies, people from these villages mainly belong to the Kisto-Dzurdzuk sub-branch of the greater Vainakh branch ^{[47, pp. 179-180]}. These legends were recorded by B. K. Dalgat from the words of the centenarian storyteller Gazbyk Khabiev, a resident of the village of Arzi, and another expert on Ingush folklore, the aforementioned 60-year-old Ganizh Keligov, a resident of the village of Falkhan. Both are Ortsho-Feppins, not Kekelins. At the same time, both themselves and their ancestors were considered Galgai.

Thus, today there are three Nakh peoples: Ingush, Chechens and Batsbians. All of them, according to the above-mentioned legends (and as shown in this article), associate their origin with the Galgai. This indicates the antiquity of the origin of the term g I alg I ai in the minds of representatives of these peoples (they would hardly associate their origin with a tribe of late formation).

Stabbing.

E. N. Kusheva cites an interesting document from the end of the XVI century, which speaks about the Kalkan attack on the Russian embassies in the Daryal Gorge ^{[1, p. 65]}. That is, the attackers were named neither Yerekhans (Dzheyrakhovites), nor Kists (Feppins), nor Dzurdzukes, but Kalkans (i.e. Galgai). But it was Kistov and Dzurdzukov who placed the Vakhushti Bagrationi in this area, while localizing the gligves to the east of them in the Asinovsky gorge.

In 1604, Russian ambassadors passing through the Daryal gorge were "attacked at night by mountain people with a concave battle ... The Sonsky people who came to meet the ambassadors to protect them, the people of Eristava of Aragvi, said that the same people came from the Kalkan mountains" ^{[1, pp. 65-66]}.

Where were these "Kalkan Mountains"? There is information about this in another document: "The way through Daryal and the Assinovo gorge was meant by the ataman of the Grebensky Cossacks, Yakov Gusevsky, who reported in 1614 to the Terek voivodes that the rumor spread that "The Kizilbash Abaza Shah was going to war against them, the Kabardian Circassians, with a "great" army on the direct road through the Kalkan kabaks." ^{[1, p. 66]}. Consequently, there were "Kalkan pubs" in both gorges.

In support of this conclusion, we will point to one more message: "In 1637, Metropolitan Nikifor, the ambassador of the Kakheti tsar Teimuraz, asked Moscow to speed up his departure, "because time has been around for a long time and is already passing, so that the road in Kalkania would not be blocked, and it would be impossible to pass, and that road is for me for custom" ^{[11, p. 66]}. Naturally, we are not talking about the Assinovo gorge, but about the Darial gorge, through which the Russian ambassadors traveled to Georgia, and which is also often closed today due to weather conditions.

Apparently, the Galgai had border outposts in the Daryal gorge. F. I. Gorepekin wrote that "since ancient times, the people of the Galgai mountains had fortified settlements, spreading into present-day Khevsuria and Tusheti. Along the gorges of the Terek River and the Assi River, there were "Galgai" walls. Koazhke" and the watchtowers that closed the passages, the remains of which are still visible" ^{[32, pp. 13-56]}.

It is noteworthy that one of the peaks of the Kazbek-Guimara mountain range was called Kolkhai-Khokh in the first half of the 20th century. (Oct. Kholkhai-hoh) ^{[48, pp. 52, 55; 49, pp. 38-39, 41]}. The famous Kolka Glacier is located in the same area. Kholkha) ^{[48, p. 58; 49, p. 44]}. Kholkha(y), in our opinion, is the Ossetian (dialectal) name of Galgai. In modern Ossetian, Ingush people are called khulga and maekhaelon ^{[50, p. 195; 51, p. 667, 800]}. Kabardians also called them by their last name. Moreover, not all Ingush, but the Feppin Kists ^{[52, l. 858-860]}. Guldenstedt, for example, reports that the Ossetians call the Wappi district "Makarl" ^{[53, p. 241]}, that is, Makal.

Consequently, if the Ossetians called the mountain range in the territory where the Dzheyrakhov and Feppin people lived Galgai, then the logical conclusion from this is that the second name kholkha // khulga covered all Ingush tribes.

The Batsbians are Galgai.

A weighty argument in favor of the pan-Ingush character of the Galgai endoethnonym is the ethnographic data on the origin of the Batsbians // tsova-Tushins (batsbi, unit. – batsav; ing. batsoy) – a small Nakhon-speaking people in Eastern Georgia (Tusheti). According to the legends recorded by N. G. Volkova during field expeditions from the words of the Tushins themselves and their neighbors, the ancestors of the Batsbians came from the area of Wabi (Wappi) in the Gilga country: "Now the Tsovtsy are part of the Tushins, but they came from the other side, from the west, from the Gilga country. When Shah Abbas wanted to make everyone Muslim, the Galga moved to the mountains of Georgia" ^{[22, p. 84]}. Remarkable, that the area of Wabi (i.e., the Dzheyrakh gorge), according to legend, is located in the "land of Gilga," and the settlers themselves were named galga. Consequently, for the Tushins, this territory was part of Galgai, and the settlers were Galgai.

According to N. G. Volkova, the Batsbians were also considered natives of Galgai by the Chechen-Kists living in Georgia ^{[22, p. 84]}. The author also cites the Ingush version of these legends, where it is said that the Batsbians moved out of the Dzheyrakh gorge because of drought and lack of land: "Batsai are Ingush, fappiy. There was little land and drought in our country, and some of the fappies went to Georgia. They used to live in villages. Erzi. Among these migrants, there were many from the Dzaurov family" ^{[45, p. 153]}. This version looks more plausible, since the campaign of Shah Abbas took place at the beginning of the 17th century, and the Batsbians in Tusheti were known at least as early as the 16th century ^{[54, p. 128]}.

In 1892, B. K. Dalgat wrote down a version of this legend from the centenarian old man Kazbyk: "In the oldest of the villages of the Metskhal society, Arzi, according to legend, there lived two Ingush surnames. As a result of a series of crop failures, one family decided to move to the Christians of Batsoy beyond Galgai. When this Surname began to rise in the mountains, one girl felt dizzy... After this miracle, half of the family came back and settled in Arzi..." ^{[21, p. 97]}. According to another legend, recorded by A. N. Genko in 1926 from the words of the old man S. Aldaganov, this surname was given to the Zaurovs in the village of Angusht (now the village of Tarskoye) ^{[35, p. 697]}.

The fact that the settlers were from Galgai was written in 1877 by the military historian of the Caucasus and memoirist A. L. Zisserman ^{[55, p. 236]}. N. G. Volkova, commenting on the words of A. L. Zisserman about the Tsovsk and Pirikiteli tushins as natives of Galgai, writes: "So, in the name of Damakhray, the Chechen mokhk is clearly guessed – land, country, and the name of the Vadua Tsov society is quite comparable with the name of Vabua (Vappua), the name of the Ingush region-vappiy (fappiy), i.e. the Metskhal society. The idea of Wobi (Wabi) as their ancestral homeland is still preserved among the Batsbians. In addition, Wobi is also the Tsova-Tushin name of the Tsovata locality... The Tushin population surrounding the Batsbians considers them to be migrants from Galgai" ^{[45, p. 153]}.

As for the Batsbian language, E. I. Krupnov, referring to N. J. Marr, calls it "Galgai" ^{[6, pp. 39-57]}. The famous Soviet ethnographer S.I. Makalatia notes that "the Tsova-Tushins speak the Tsovo language, which is Galgai in origin and related to the Kist" ^{[56, p. 109]}. I. Tsiskarov, who was himself a Tushin, noted: "The Tushins of the Tsovo society come from the Kist tribe Gilgo. This proves the similarity of their languages and traditions, which are vividly preserved in the memory of the people" ^{[57, p. 197]}. R.D. Eristov wrote that "The Tsov society is a Kist tribe, original, of Galgai origin, which has not yet lost its natural indigenous language. In ancient times, it lived in the Gligva gorge" ^{[58, pp. 80-81]}. The author calls the Tsov people Galgai, and their country Gligvi, although they come from the area that a hundred years earlier Vakhushti Bagrationi called "Kisto-Dzurdzukiya. And this is another argument in favor of the opinion that the entire territory of Gligvi-Kisto-Dzurdzuketi, which in Russian sources of the XVI-XVII centuries is called "Colkania // Kalkania", was one country – GIalgIai Mokhk. At the same time, Vakhushti uses the term Gligveti in a narrow sense, i.e. as a designation of Gialgiaiche.

As often happens, migrants name a new settlement site after their former homeland. In this regard, it is interesting to note that I. Guldenstedt indicates the Kulga district near Tusheti: "Kulga district, or Gdanti, is located in the mountains near Tusheti district" ^{[59, p. 239]}. In our opinion, it was formed by the very same settlers from Galgai, the Batsbians. Since then, the Tushin people have been divided into the Naho-speaking Tsova-Tushin people and the Georgian-speaking Chagma-Tushin people. Apparently, when I. A. Guldenstedt wrote, these two groups of Tushin still lived separately, but in adjacent territories.

Interestingly, in the designation of Tsovtsev, I. A. Guldenstedt cites the Ingush self-designation with the root vowel u, i.e. as Kulga. The Avar sources of the XV century contain the form of this ethnonym gulga ^{[60, p. 148]}. In Russian sources of the XVI-XVII centuries, we also find two variants of the name Galgiai: with the root vowel o – kolkany, and the root vowel a: kalkany, kalkasy, etc.^{[1, pp. 62, 66]}. As we have already written, in the Ossetian language, the self-name Ingush is pronounced with the root short vowel u (o). Western Ingush societies (Feppins and Dzheyrakhovtsy) bordered on Ossetians and were in close relations with them. This leads us to the opinion that the latter borrowed the ethnonym g I alg I ai from the dialects of these societies. That is, the Ossetian kholkha // khulga comes from the Kist (Feppin) pronunciation of the name g I alg I ai. How, for example, the Assin Galgai pronounced the self-designation of the Western kists as fappiy (< fappy), instead of wappy // oboe. In other words, we believe that g I alg I ai is the Gligvo–Dzurdzuk variant of the Ingush self-designation, and Kholg I ai // khulg I ai is the Kist variant. And the fact that I.A. Guldenstedt cites the Kist version of the name Gilgia, speaks in favor of the fact that the ancestors of the Batsbians who migrated from the Dzheyrakh gorge lived in the Kulga district.

"Dganti district" is the name of the Georgian village of Chantio. "After the Batsbians left for Tsovat," writes N. G. Volkova, "they were buried for a long time in Chontio, i.e. in the original place of their settlement in Tusheti" ^{[45, p. 154]}. In other words, the Galgai-Tsov people initially settled next to the Georgian Chantio. Therefore, Guldenstedt calls this district by two names – Kulga (Galga) and Dganti (Chantio).

It should be noted that S. M. Bronevsky also mentions the Kulga-Batsbits, but in one place calls them Gligves in Georgian: "Gligves, a small tribe, seem to belong to the mountain Chechens. But is it fair, as they say, that the Gligva River flows into the peaks of Alazani, then these gligvas should be located on the other side of the snowy ridge on the midday slope" ^{[61, p. 170]}. It is possible that one of the Georgian informants informed S. M. Bronevsky about the Gligv Batsbians living in the upper reaches of the Alazani, and from other sources he had information about the Galgai in the Assinovo gorge.

The name of the Gligva river attracts attention. A river with a similar name is given in the work of Vakhushti Bagrationi – this is Gligvis-tskali, which means "Gligvian river". It is commonly associated with the Assa, but S. M. Bronevsky calls this river the Shadgir and quite clearly distinguishes between the gligves on this river and the gligves on the Gligvi river "on the other side of the snowy ridge": "We know only a few names about other Kist generations or societies that are not part of the Chechen branch: Galgai, at the source of the Kashmir; Galby, at the top of the Sunzha; Gligva, on the Gligva river. According to the testimony, these three societies live at the foot of snowy mountains, in inaccessible places..." ^{[61, p. 170]}. The author calls the Gligvi a "river", while the Assa is a fairly large river. That is, here, apparently, we mean a small river that flowed in the area where the Batsbians who migrated to Tusheti settled.

The localization of the gullies on the Gligvi river "beyond the snowy ridge" and the gullies on the Shadgir River by S. M. Bronevsky coincides with the localization of the Kulga and Galgai districts in the work of I. A. Guldensteth: "Kulga district, or Gdanti, is located in the mountains near the Tush district… The Galgai district (Galga in Georgian) is located in the upper reaches of the Asai, which flows into the Sunzha" ^{[59, p. 239]}. The author apparently did not pay attention to the similarity of the terms Kulga and Galga.

An important evidence that the Gligvas on the Gligva River and Galgai on the Shadgir River are different groups of Galgai is the fact that I. A. Guldenstedt classifies the former as mountain Chechens, and the Galgai in the upper reaches of the Assi as Kists (Ingush). The fact is that at that time, the Nakh tribes living south of Chechnya proper were often classified as Chechens by the authors of that time because of their geographical location.

It is noteworthy that in another place of his work S. M. Bronevsky writes: "Chechnya, divided into districts: Arakhi, Kulga or Dganti, Galgai or Galga, Dzhanti, Chebrilo, Shabet, Chishrikaker" ^{[61, p. 157]}. Moreover, the author places the Kulga district approximately in the same area where he localizes gligov "on the other side of the snowy ridge", next to Andi ^{[61, pp. 178-179]}. That is, Kulga or Dganti are Batsbians and Tushins. It remains to be seen how Galgai district turned out to be among the Chechen societies. Perhaps, S. M. Bronevsky here means "Galgai" gligvov "on the other side of the snowy ridge" on the Gligva river in the upper reaches of the Alazani, apparently unaware that this is the "Kulga district" in the work of I. A. Guldenstedt. The author copied information about the Kulga district from Guldenstedt, and the information he provides about the gullies "on the other side of the ridge" may be the result of his field research. However, we are inclined to believe that we are talking about those Galgai who, according to a 19th-century source, led by Etagai Agishpatoysky (around the end of the 17th century) settled in the interfluve of Argun and Fortanga, having conquered these lands from Nogais and Kabardins ^{[24, p. 374]}. On the left bank of the Argun River, Etagai founds a settlement called Etagu // Atagi ^{[40, p. 243]}. Apparently, by the time S. M. Bronevsky visited the North Caucasus, they were already classified as Chechens, and therefore the author listed these Galgai among Chechen societies.

Thus, we come to the conclusion that the territory of Tusheti, where the Batsbians who migrated from Galgai originally settled, was called Kulga // Gilga, and the river flowing there was called Gligva by the neighboring Georgian tribes. Consequently, at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, we have two hydronyms containing the term gligvi: one in the Pankisi gorge; the second in the Assinovo gorge. There were also two societies outside the territory of modern Ingushetia with the name Galga – in the upper reaches of the Alazan River and between the rivers Argun and Gekhi.

The general Ingush character of the ethnonym "Galgai" on the plane.

The status of the ethnonym Galgai as a common name of the Ingush tribes was transferred to the plane. For example, I. A. Guldenstedt wrote in 1773: "Ingush speak the same language as Chechens and Tushins… They also call themselves khalkha" ^{[53, p. 37]}.

At the end of the 18th century, Simon Pallas wrote: "There is a certain people living in the Caucasus ... their self–name is Lamur..., others call them Galgai (in the original it is written Kolgai – note M.A.) or Ingush. Their closest relatives in language and blood are Chechens, who call themselves Nachkha" ^{[59, p. 278]}.

Guldenstedt and Pallas report that other peoples called Ingush Khalkha /Kolga. Who are these "other nations" if not their neighbors? Ossetians, Georgians, Kabardians, Nogais, Chechens, etc.? B. K. Dalgat wrote: "The Ingush call themselves "galgai" or "lamur"… Kumyks and Chechens also call them Galgai... Now, therefore, the Russian names Chechens and Ingush prevail over the rest, and the folk names Nakhchoy and Galgai" ^{[32, p. 42]}.

S. M. Bronevsky also noted in 1823 that the neighboring peoples called the Kists Galgai separately (without confusing them with the Ingush) ^{[62, p. 179]}. At the same time, the author reports that the rest of the Ingush were also called Galgai ^{[62, p. 180]}. Elsewhere in his work, S.M. Bronevsky notes that both the Kists and the Ingush called themselves Galgai ^{[62, p. 178; 61, p. 153]}.

All Ingush ethnoterritorial formations located along the rivers Kambileyevka, Sunzha, Armkhi and Assa, as parts of one people, are listed in the work of I. A. Guldenshedt ^{[53, p. 242; 62, p. 181]}. N. F. Grabovsky also wrote that the Ingush call themselves galga ^{[63, p. 2]}.

N. G. Volkova, referring to Klaproth, writes: "At the beginning of the 19th century, the Greater and Lesser Ingush, according to Klaproth, included 25 villages, including Galga, Aka, Betsi, Yalkhor, Korbi, Vusha, Golai, Noi, Goi, Tsulai, Meler, Palang, etc."^{[45, p. 160]}. U. Laudaev noted in his work that the Ingush consisted of different societies ^{[64, pp. 77, 79]}.

Interestingly, an author under the pseudonym Galgai wrote in the early 20th century that the name of the "people who call themselves Galgai" was transformed from the village of Ongush into the name "Ingush" due to the misconception of Russians. This historical misunderstanding must be corrected and the Galgai people must bear their own name" ^{[44, p. 50]}.

The "History of Ingushetia" states that the single name of Ingush territorial societies in the period under study was lomara, and the ethnonym g I alg I ai was adopted as such after resettlement to the plane ^{[15, p. 151]}. We share the same opinion about lomaroy. At the root of this ethnonym is probably the word loame // lame – "highlands". The highlands were home to the ancestors of the Nakh people, where they found safe shelter in cases of threatened annihilation by more numerous enemy peoples. Or it was an indication of the indigenous origin of the teip, because it has its own ancestral mountain.

However, it is difficult to agree with the conclusion of the authors of The History of Ingushetia regarding the ethnonym g I alg I ai, given the data provided in this article in favor of the general Ingush character of this name. That is, the ethnonym g I alg I ai did not spread among Ingush societies after the resettlement, but was precisely transferred. In our opinion, in the XVI-XIX centuries, the Ingush designated themselves by three names: lomara // lamora – by place of residence, g I alg I ai – by origin, and vainakh – by common language and culture.

Conclusion.

Judging by the toponymic data given above, in the mountainous regions of the Central Caucasus, names containing the ethnonym g I alg I ai are found at least from the Kazbek massif to the upper reaches of the Argun and Alazan rivers. Based on this, as well as other data presented in this article, we conclude that in the XVI-XVII century. The "country of the Galgai" in a broad sense occupied the area from the upper reaches of the Argun River in the east and the Daryal Gorge in the west, inclusive (not counting those territories occupied by the Galgai led by Etagai between Argun and Kambeleevka ^{[24, p. 374]}, and the territories of the left bank of the Terek, abandoned by the Ingush during the XIV-XVIII centuries ^{[45, p. 143; 65, p. 26]}). At the same time, the entire territory in Georgian sources during the period under study is called Kisteti, and its inhabitants are called kists. In an earlier period, the same territory was designated as "Dzurdzuketi", and its inhabitants were called dzurdzuki. This was one country and there lived one people who called themselves in their language g I alg I ai // kholg I ai.

However, in the course of historical development, branches appeared that gave themselves a second name (from the name of the habitat, or the name of the ancestor, etc.). Then they were divided into tapes and vars (gars). However, not all branches retained the memory of their Galgai origin. Over time, some of them gradually move away from the root and begin to consider themselves separate tribes. These are natural processes in the history of the formation of modern nations. As a result, in the XVI-XIX centuries, the ethnonym normal'>g I alg I ai did not cover all historical Galgai societies and tribes, and the term lomaroy // lamoroy played the role of a common ethnonym for them. But those of them who remembered their origin formed the modern Ingush people.

Thus, in the light of consideration of various historical evidence and field materials, we come to the conclusion that the term g I alg I ai was a common endoethnonym, at least for most Ingush societies, even before the resettlement to the plane. However, the Kekellin families sought to become the sole bearers of this name, which provoked a backlash from some Ingush societies. In the end, the latter managed to defend their right to be called Galgai.

The article is published in the version approved by the reviewers (after receiving a positive review recommending the manuscript for publication) with corrections made by the author (after receiving the editor’s comments, if any).
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