ON AN ETHNOCULTURAL COMPONENT OF ETHNOGENESIS OF THE BASHKIRS: THE TRIBES OF DAIK (JAYIQ)
Having analyzed written and archaeological sources on the ancient history of the South Urals, the author came to the conclusion that the tribes of Daik (Jayiq) were a leading ethnic group inhabiting the region during the Early Iron Age. And this was reflected in the names of the region's major and many small rivers. The tribes in question and medieval and modern Bashkirs are connected by the place of their inhabitation, toponymic, ethnonymic, and folklore evidence as well as by the heroic epic "Ural-Batyr". All these facts lead to the conclusion that the tribes of Daik (Jayiq) were the most ancient direct descendants of the Bashkir people.