Difference between revisions of "Adat (Chechnya)"

''Adat'' is a term used to describe a system of Chechen customary laws and norms practiced in the North Caucasus amongst ethnic ''Vainakh'' and the diaspora. Although variations of the practice exist between different clans, in essence ''adat'' encapsulates what it means to be Chechen (''nokhchalla''). Heroic tales of war and the struggle for independence are an inseparable part of Chechen culture (Johnson 2008). ''Adat'' traditions influence several aspects of social life and inform practices of hospitality, relations between men and women, and the custom of blood revenge ([[ch’ir]] – see entry in this volume). While today Chechens feel their Chechen-ness and ''adat'' are under attack by Wahhabist influences and the power of Russian rule, ''adat'' remains paramount in defining Chechen social and cultural norms (Souleimanov 2015<ref>Souleimanov, E.  2014. An ethnography of counterinsurgency: kadyrovtsy and Russia's policy of Chechenization. Post-Soviet Affairs, 31(2): 91–114</ref>, Gendron 2009<ref>Gendron, R.  2009. ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution in the North Caucasus’, Caucasian Review of International Affairs, 3(4): 333–341.</ref>).