101 Customary Lawyoung men, for example, of gathering at the hut of newlyweds to lis-
ten in on their activities frequently ended in violence, as when Kalau
Daurov fired his pistol through the wall of his dwelling to disperse
the assembled group, injuring Taga Biataev in the leg.^70 Sometimes
the problem at hand appeared to be a simple and immature lack of
control. Abdukham Gichakaev, for example, while dancing at the
wedding of a close friend, in celebration intended to fire his pistol in
the air but instead wounded two girls.^71 Escalating violence was a
more serious problem. In November 1868 in the Ingush village of
Ekazhev the minor theft of grain resulted in seven wounded from
dagger assaults; in Gaustkhi, another Ingush village, a battle over
grazing lands prompted Esa Arzhivarov to stab to death Mustobi
Kuzhgov, whose brother, Sustobi Kuzhgov, then shot the uncle of
Arzhivarov. In despair his sister then plunged a dagger into her own
stomach. Another woman present at this scene, the report informs us,
removed the knife but seriously cut her hand in the process.^72 The
presentation of these bloody events in succession is almost comic, but
in the nineteenth century they must have confirmed for Russian read-
ers their assumptions about the unrestrained savagery of the moun-
taineer. The results of these conflicts, of course, were extremely
serious. A dispute between two families over grain in Tulizm, Kazi-
Kumukh okrug (Dagestan), led to a stone-throwing fight that left
nine wounded, including a young pregnant woman, Zaza Gasan, in-
jured in the stomach and back. She died twenty-two days later.^73
The absence of restraint and self-control that Russians associated
with mountaineer culture apparently made North Caucasus peoples
more susceptible to dramatic suicide. Suicide in response to unre-
quited love was only one of the better known varieties.^74 Alai
Akhmed-oglu, of the village of Urari in Dargin okrug (Dagestan),
wanted to marry his fiancée but was opposed in the match by his
strong-willed mother, who repeatedly reminded her son of her opposi-
tion. Alai Akhmed resolved the issue by proclaiming to his mother, “If
you will not leave me in peace, then I’ll do it myself,” and he shot him-
self in front of her.^75 The mountaineer home was presented as the site
of irrationality. In October of 1869 a father and son argued in Kulidzh,
Kaitak-Tabasaran okrug (Dagestan). The father refused the boy’s re-
quest for forgiveness and forbade him from entering the family home.
The young Murtuzali killed himself at the doorstep, and in despair his
father stabbed himself to death.^76 The drunken Rabadan-Popala-Mag-
omed-oglu, of Khodzhal-Makhi in Dargin okrug, repeatedly warned
by his fellow villagers of the dangers of excessive drinking, finally de-
clared, “If my stomach cannot make it without vodka, then I will have
to punish him,” and he too stabbed himself to death.^77 Magomed