 Since the early 19th century, the Shapsug are primarily Sunni Muslims (Hanafi).Historically, the Shapsug tribe used to make up one of the biggest groups of the Black Sea Adyghe (Причерноморские адыги).They inhabited the region between the Dzhubga (in means "Winds" or "The Valley of Winds") River and Shakhe Rivers (the so-called Maly Shapsug, or Little Shapsug) and high-altitude mountainous areas of the northern slopes of the Caucasus range along the Antkhir, Abin, Afips, Bakan, Ships, and other rivers (Bolshoy Shapsug, or Greater Shapsug).