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Andis

Total population
c. 40,000 (highest est.)
Regions with significant populations
Russia	16,758 (2021 census)[1]
Languages
Andi language
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Northeast Caucasian peoples

TheAndis (къӀваннал in Andi,ГӀандал inAvar) are one of the indigenousDagestan peoples ofNorth Caucasia. Their territory is included in theBotlikhsky District (raion) of Dagestan. The Andis are Sunni Muslims.^[2]

The Andis live in western Dagestan. Their neighbors to the northwest are theChechens; to the southeast, the small ethnic groups speaking other Andian languages and theAvars. The principal area of settlement, Andia, is a vast valley bordered by the Andi ridge and its spurs. The snow-covered steep ridge forms the entire northern boundary and exercises a moderating influence on Andia's climate by sheltering it from cold winds. In the past, access to Andia could be difficult: the roads linking it to the outside world were guarded on the south by theMynin Tower and on the north by the fortress of Butsurkha. At present, however, all of the Andian villages are linked by automobile routes. The village of Andi was an important location during the campaign of theBattle of Dargo (1845) and at other times during theMurid War.

In 1938 the Andis numbered 9,750. By 1990 the population had grown to 10,600. The density of settlement is 39-40 persons per square kilometer. About half of the Andis have emigrated to the Daghestanian lowlands (Khasavyurt,Babayurt, andKizilyurt districts). Although they were counted as a separate nationality in the 1926 census, the Andis, along with the seven other small communities speaking languages of the Andian Subgroup (see "Linguistic Affiliation"), have been counted as Avars in more recent Soviet censuses. In 2002 the Andis numbered 21,808.

TheAndi language belongs to theAndic subgroup of theAvar–Andic languages, itself a branch of theNortheast Caucasian language family. Linguists have described nine Andi. The speech of women and men are distinguished by certain phonetic, lexical, and stylistic features (noted in the village of Andi).

The term Andi is extended to:

• The village of Andi (42°47′02″N46°15′00″E / 42.784°N 46.250°E /42.784; 46.250)
• TheAndi language
• TheAndi Koysu River south of Andi, which flows east to meet the Avar Koysu and form theSulak River
• The Andi Gates, which extend east from Andi up to the Salatau Plateau
• The Andi Ridge, which separates the basin of the Andi Koysu basin from that of theTerek River to the north

• Ethnic groups in Dagestan
• Muslim communities of Russia
• Muslim communities of the Caucasus
• Indigenous peoples of the North Caucasus

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