In the mountains of Ingushetia, in addition to temples from an earlier cultural period, you will find a number of smaller temples built at a later date. A temple, or temple building, is called “elgac” in Ingush. Each clan had its own temple and its own annual festival. At that time, a semi-pagan cult developed, expressed mainly in solemn collective feasts in which all members of the clan participated. The temple had a clan overseer or guardian, who received a portion of the food brought for the feasts (he should not be confused with the priest, usually the oldest of those present, who recited prayers). The temple also contained images of gods. It is known that even after the adoption of Islam, the Ingush still retained some old pagan customs, and many elderly people still remember pagan prayers and the names of pagan gods. The last Ingush priest at the temple was Elmura-Haji from the village of Shon (Shoan - author's note) near Vladikavkaz. After converting to Islam, he visited Mecca and became a “hajji.” From him and others, it was possible to record entire pagan prayers and find out the names of such pagan gods as: Jerda, the god of the atmosphere; Tusuol, the goddess worshipped by women, the goddess of fertility and spring; then the god Siela, actually the god of thunder; in addition to them, there was also the god of hunting, Jelth, and the supreme god, Dtala; special prayers were dedicated to each of these gods (Yakovlev N.F. Problems in the Study of Chechen and Ingush Culture).

The Ingush believed that certain families, villages, and communities had special patron saints—divine beings or saints. Their names in Ingush are “tsu” or “erdy.” Some of these deities acquired pan-Ingush significance and were equally revered by all Ingush, while others were purely local, family, or clan patrons (Compiled by researchers at the Central Museum of Ethnography, M.G. Levin, M.T. Markelov, and others, under the general editorship of V.K. Nikolsky. Religious Beliefs of the Peoples of the USSR. Collection of Ethnographic Materials. – Moskovsky Rabochy - 1931).

Ethnographic descriptions acquaint us with the most ancient places of worship. For the Ingush and Chechens, these were mountain peaks, sacred caves, and groves, also located on high ground. Later, special religious buildings began to appear and function alongside the former – sanctuaries (Muzhukhoev M.B. Medieval Material Culture of Mountainous Ingushetia. – Grozny, 1977).

In his works, researcher M.B. Muzhukhoev discussed the evolutionary development of sanctuaries. In his opinion, it was as follows: small crypt-like shrines, Christian churches, large Christian shrines, then small pagan shrines again with the walls of the interior covered by two stepped slopes, and finally, pillar-shaped shrines, which completed the development of local religious monuments.