Ghalghai

Ghalghai (pl. ГIалгIай,, sg. ГIалгIа, ) is the self-name (endonym) of the Ingush people.

There's no consensus among scholars on the etymology of the ethnonym as there exists different theories and speculations on its etymology. However, it is most often associated with the word "ghalā" (гIала), meaning "tower" or "fortress" and the plural form of the suffix of person, "gha" (гIа), thus, translated as "people/inhabitants of towers". It is also associated by some scholars with the ancient Gargareans and Gelae mentioned in the classical sources.

In Georgian sources, the ethnonym is mentioned in the form of Gligvi as an ethnonym during the reign of Mirian I, as well as the ruler of Kakheti Kvirike III. In Russian sources, "Ghalghai" first becomes known in the second half of the 16th century, in the form of "Kalkans/Kolkans", "Kalkan people".

Morphology
The Chechen linguist, dr. of philological sciences Katy Chokaev, analyzed the internal structure of the ethnonym. According to the linguist: "'In both the Chechen and Ingush languages, the ethnonym is divided into two parts: ghal+gha in the singular form and ghal+ghai in the plural form. The initial sound (gh) is an aspirated, back-lingual consonant, reminiscent of the Ukrainian fricative (g)¹. The same sound is present in the second syllable. The first syllable is stressed with a short middle [ǎ]. The second [ā] is long. The sonorant non-syllabic [th] in the outcome of the plural form is a plural formant.'"

Orthography
The ethnonym is spelled and pronounced in Ingush in its plural form as ghalghai (гӀалгӀай, ), written and spelled in its singular form as ghalgha (гӀалгӀа, ); in declension by cases: ghalghacho/ghalghaicho (гӀалгӀачо/гӀалгӀайчо; ergative case), ghalghachuntsa/ghalghaichuntsa (гӀалгӀачунца/гӀалгӀайчунца; genitive case), ghalghachuntsa/ghalghaichuntsa (гӀалгӀачунна/гӀалгӀайчунна; dative case).

Variants of the ethnonym ghalghai in the languages that neighbor the Ingush:

Etymology
There's no consensus among scholars on the etymology of the ethnonym, therefore different theories and speculations exist on its etymology. Some scholars (e.g. Yunus Desheriev, Ibragim Aliroev) consider that "ghalghai" means "people/inhabitants of towers", while others (e.g. Evgeny Krupnov, Adrienne Mayor) connect the ethnonym to either Gargareans or to Gelae (Ivane Javakhishvili, Arnold Chikobava). Versions connecting ghalghai to the legendary figure Gha/Galga or to the God of Sun/Sky Gal (Vainakh religion) in Vainakh religion are also found.

"People of towers"
A number of scholars (e.g. Anatoly Genko, Yunus Desheriev, Ibragim Aliroev) connected ghalghai to the word "ghalā" (гIала, 'tower/fortress') thus, translating the word from Ingush as "people/inhabitants of towers".

According to this version, ghalghai is combination of two Ingush words, "ghalā" (гIала, 'tower/fortress') and derivational affix "-gha" (гIа) Therefore, ghalghai is translated as "people/inhabitants of towers". Katy Chokaev considers the "-gha" in ghalghai the suffix of person "-gha", while Yunus Desheriev considers it a transformed affix from the Nakh affix "kho". He also notes that in Nakh languages, the sounds "kh" and "gh" often alternate which could have made the transformation of kho to gha. It's possible that in one of the dialects of Ingush language, case affix "-gha" was used instead to form the ethnonym. According to Ibragim Aliroev, the "-gha" in ghalghai is the Vainakh syllable for place, "gha" (cf. ma-ghara, 'up', ēgha, 'down').

Gelae
In the first century AD, the ancient Greek geographer Strabo mentioned the Gelae and Legae tribes in his work Geographica. He mentioned how according to Theophanes of Mytilene, who participated Caucasian campaign of Pompey, the Gelae and Legae lived between the Amazons and Albanians: "'Now Theophanes, who made the expedition with Pompey and was in the country of the Albanians, says that the Gelae and the Legae, Scythian people, live between the Amazons and the Albanians, and that the Mermadalis River flows there, midway between these people and the Amazons.'"

Georgian historian and linguist Ivane Javakhishvili and linguist, dr. of philological sciences Arnold Chikobava have connected the Gelae with the ethnonym ghalghai (Ingush).

Gargareans
Strabo had also mentioned another tribe inhabiting the Caucasus, that is, Gargareans. According to him, the Amazons lived on their borders: "But others, among whom are Metrodorus of Scepsis and Hypsicrates, who themselves, likewise, were not unacquainted with the region in question, say that the Amazons live on the borders of the Gargarians (...)'"

The Gargareans like Gelae, were also connected to the ethnonym ghalghai by a number of scholars like Vasily Latyshev, Evgeny Krupnov, Gamrekeli, Adrienne Mayor.

Gal of the Vainakh religion
The Chechen linguist, dr. of philological sciences Katy Chokaev connected ghalghai with the name of the God of Sun/Sky Gal (ГӀал, Ghal) of the Vainakh religion. Together with plural form of suffix of person "-ghai", it formed the ethnonym which translates, according to Chokaev, as "those who pray to the God of Sun, Gal". He also found a parallel of this etymology with the ethnonym in Mountain Chechen dialects, Ghielaga (ГӀиелага). The cult of Gal was found in Ingushetia, and according to the Ossetian scholar, professor Boris Alborov, originated in Assa Gorge. Alborov noted that, linguistically, with the rise of the initial consonant, Gal could have formed from older Ingush terms Hal(a) and Al(a), both signifying "god" in ancient times.

Ancestor Gha
The Nakh legends recorded in the 19th century are often interpreted by researchers in a historical context, however, such use requires special source study methods and does not allow establishing an exact chronology to describe any events from the life of the ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush. In such legends, ethnonym ghalghai is connected to the legendary ancestor Gha. The Gha's name on the other hand, is explained due to him being supposedly named after leaf's name (ГӀа) as he was born with it in his hand.

Legends recorded by the Dargin ethnographer Bashir Dalgat in mountainous villages (auls) of Erzi and Falkhan mention how once upon a time there lived three brothers, Ga, Orshtkho/Arshtkho and Nakhcho, from whom the Galgai (Ingush), Orstkhoi and Nokhchi (Chechens) descended. The brothers arrived in the mountains from the east and settled in the area of Galga, from where they began to settle throughout the territories of modern Chechnya and Ingushetia. In Chechen legends about the origin of the Vainakhs, other combinations of the brothers' names were also found, for example, Ako/Akho and Shoto (eponyms for the Akkins and Shatois) could be added.

Gligvi


In Georgian sources, in the form of Gligvi, it is mentioned as an ethnonym that existed during the reign of Mirian I, as well as the ruler of Kakheti Kvirike III.

Kalkans
In the Russian sources of 16th–17th centuries, "Ghalghai" was known in the form of "Kalkans/Kolkans", "Kalkan people". Ethnonym "Kalkan" was first mentioned in the article list of Semyon Zvenigorodskiy and Diyak Torkh in 1589–1590. They were sent by Alexis of Russia to Georgia, when it so happened on their way back they were ambushed and attacked by the Kalkans. Later on, Kalkans become reported in many Russian sources of the 16th century, one of which

Toponymy

 * Ghalghai Mokhk (Гӏалгӏай Мохк) or Ghalghaiche (ГӀалгӏайче) — official native name of the Republic of Ingushetia.
 * Ghalghai Niqh (ГIалгIай Никъ) — native name for the Darial Pass, also known as the Ghalghai Military Road or Georgian Military Road; also, the name of the medieval trade and transportation route that passed through the territory of mountainous Ingushetia (including Galanchozh).
 * Ghalghai Koashke (ГIалгIай Коашке) — ancient outposts (stone towers), located in the Terek Gorge, Tarskoye Valley and the Assa Gorge. The outposts in the Assa Gorge of Ingushetia are also known as the Ghalghai Na'arge or Durdzuk Gates.
 * Ghalghai Ārē (ГIалгIай Аре), Ingush lowland, located between Shaami-Yurt and Valerik in modern-day Achkhoy-Martan.
 * Ghalghai-Yurt (ГIалгIай-Юрт), a village that was located near modern-day Valerik; also, the original name of modern-day Kamvileevskoye in the Prigorodny District.
 * Ghalghai-Ch'ozh (ГIалгIай-ЧIож), a mountain corridor connecting Tsey-Loam to the Targim Basin. In some sources, also refers to the Assa Gorge.
 * Ghalghai River (ღლიღვის-წყალი), medieval Georgian hydronym for the Assa River.