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57Adighis“Adighis” is a Russian term for several ethnic groups living in the western part ofthe North Caucasia (population about 120 000). To Europeans they are more knownunder the name “Cherkesses” (or “Circasians”. Circasians are in fact a small group withinAdighis). Polyphony plays an important role in musical traditions of the Adighis. Dronepolyphony is leading, although among Adighis drone is generally more movable andsometimes has its distinguished melodic line (sometimes it is closer to ostinato). Thetraditional term for the drone is “ezhu” (means “everybody”). Blaeva mentions threetypes of Adighian traditional polyphony: (1) two-part drone polyphony, (2) Responsorialalternation of the soloist and the ezhu, and (3) overlapping alternation of the soloist andezhu (Blaeva, 1988:10). Term ezhu is used among neighboring Balkarians andKarachaevis as well (despite their languages belonging to different family of languages).Two-part polyphony is dominating, although among one of the Adighian groups –Kabardinians three-part singing (with double drones in fifths or octaves) is quite usual.On the other hand, according to the available information, part of Adighis - Abadzekhsand Circassians have monophonic singing traditions and they sing in unison.Many ancient rituals are still present in Adighian traditional culture. The centralfigure of Adighian society and culture is djeguako, who comprises the highly respectedroles of the community historian, composer, and the keeper of the traditional values andinstitutions. The first notions about the Adighian traditional music and polyphonyappeared in the 1850s. The publication of three volumes of the “Folk Songs andInstruments Tunes of Adighis” (Gippius, 1980, 1981, 1986) is considered as one of thebest ethnomusicological publications of the Soviet Union. Together with the Ossetianpolyphonic traditions, Adighian polyphony came to be known the earliest (out of allNorth Caucasian polyphonic traditions) among the Western scholars. (M. Schneider usedthe examples of Kabardinian polyphony in “History of Polyphony”).Ex. 6. Adighis. (Gippius, 1980:128)Ex. 7. Adighis. (Gippius, 1980: 128)