One of the peoples that for centuries have preserved their ethnic characteristics, languages and traditions located in the north of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the foothills of the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, are Jecks. The village of Jeck is located 35 km south-west of the city of Guba, on the banks of the Gudyalchay River.
The customs and traditions of the Jecks, one of the aboriginal peoples of Azerbaijan and one of the ancient Albanian tribes, are closer to the traditions of the Oghuz Turks. They are associated with other peoples, especially with the national ethnic groups living in Azerbaijan, and especially with the peoples of the “Shahdag group” Buduglu, Alikli, Haputlu, Khinaligli, Kyrgyz, Yerguchlu and they have very broad kinship ties.
Historically, the main occupations of the nomads were animal husbandry agriculture, and weaving.Men were mainly engaged in sheep breeding, while women were engaged in weaving carpets, palazs, rugs, socks and shawls. “Jeck carpets” belong to the mountainous part of the Guba group of Azerbaijani carpets. As in other Shahdag settlements, the village of Jeck has a large number of more than 25 ancient shrines and places of worship.Thus, the mosque of Abu Muslim and Ateshgah still operates today. It should be noted that the mosque of Abu Muslim is found in both the villages of Khinalig and Gryz.
The policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide purposefully pursued by the Armenian Dashnaks in the lands of Azerbaijan also affected the Jecks. Thus, during the genocide committed by Armenians in April-May 1918, one of the villages damaged and looted in Guba district was Jeck . This fact, like other Shahdag people, had a serious impact on the demographic development of the Jecks.
