Tushins

Tushins

 

an ethnic group of Georgians living on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus, along the upper course of the Andiiskoe Koisu and the Pirikitskaia and Gometsarskaia Alazani rivers, in Akhmeta Raion, Georgian SSR. The Tushins speak the Tush dialect of Georgian (the Tsova-Tushins, or Batsbiitsy, also speak Batsbi). Their chief occupation is sheepherding. In the past the Tushins were known for several distinctive cultural features, for example, their highly developed architectural style, noted for its use of towers, and their preservation of communal family traditions.