Batsbiitsy

Batsbiitsy

 

(self-designation, Batsbi), a small ethnic group, also called the Tsova-Tushins, which lives in the Akhmet Raion of the Georgian SSR. The Batsbiitsy are descendants of the Ingush and Chechen peoples who migrated to eastern Georgia early in the 19th century. They speak Batsbi (Tsova-Tushin) and Georgian. The latter is used as the literary language. In the culture and life-style of the Batsbiitsy many elements are borrowed from the Georgians, with whom the Batsbiitsy are consolidated.