(Redirected from Hamsheni)
The 'Hamshenis' (also known as 'Hemshinlis' or 'Khemshils'; ; ; ;
Laz: ''Sumexi'' (სუმეხი)
[1]) are an ethnic group of
Armenian origin that inhabit the
Black Sea coastal areas of
Turkey,
Russia, and
Georgia (
Abkhazia). A handful also live in
Armenia and some can also be found in
Central Asian countries such as
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, and
Kyrgyzstan after being deported from Georgia in 1944 by
Joseph Stalin. Those in Turkey and the deportees in Central Asia practice the
Hanafi madhhab of
Sunni Islam, while those in Russia, Georgia, and Armenia follow the
Armenian Apostolic Church.
Origins
According to
Ghevont (Leontius the Priest), the Armenian princes
Hamam and
Shapuh Amatuni, who lost their domains in
Artaz to the
Arabs, moved to the
Byzantine Empire in the 8th century with 12,000 of their people. They settled in the town of Tambut in the mountains and it was eventually renamed Hamamashen, which evolved to Hamshen (Õ€Õ¡Õ´Õ·Õ§Õ¶, the Armenian and local name for it) or
HemÅŸin (today the official Turkish name). This group of Armenians prospered in the
Pontic Mountains, and, virtually cut off from other Armenian populations, developed its unique dialect of Armenian.
The majority of these Armenians were Christians, belonging to the diocese of
Khachkar of the
Armenian Apostolic Church. In 1461, the Hamshen area was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire. As a result, in the 16th century and on a larger scale in the 18th century, a significant number of them were forced to convert to Islam. Still, these Hamshenis retained both their dialect and their culture. The Islamic Hamshenis were allowed to remain in situ, and have been left virtually undisturbed since that time.
Those who refused to convert either fled or remained where they were such as those of Elevit (Eliovit). Most fled to farther western parts of
Pontus like
Trabzon,
Giresun,
Ordu,
Samsun, and also in 19th and early 20th centuries, to found settlements in western regions of Turkey like
Adapazarı,
Bolu and in the eastern Black Sea coasts of the
Russian Empire. Due to events such as the
Armenian Genocide and the
Turkish War of Independence, most of the surviving Christian Hamshenis of Turkey emigrated to the Hamsheni settlements under Russian sovereignty. A group of Adapazarı Hamshenis have reportedly taken refuge in Armenia.
[2]
Groups
Hamshenis themselves are divided into three main groups as designated by Professor of Linguistics
Bert Vaux at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee:
★ 'Western Hamshenis' (Hemshinli) of 'BaÅŸ HemÅŸin' primarily reside in the mountainous villages in the
Rize Province. They are
Sunni Muslim by faith and abundantly present in the districts of HemÅŸin and
Çamlıhemşin (which literally means "
piney Hamshen", originally known as Vija) but also in the mountainous interior of
Pazar (Atina),
Çayeli (Mapavri),
ArdeÅŸen (ArtaÅŸen),
Fındıklı (Viçe) districts. Smaller communities of these Hamshenis can be found in farther western regions of Turkey such as
Istanbul,
Sakarya,
Düzce,
Kocaeli, and
Zonguldak. The Western group speaks a peculiar dialect of
Turkish called ''
HemÅŸince'', adopted under Turkic rule. They celebrate the Armenian festival
Vartavar.
[3]
★ 'Eastern Hamshenis' (Hamshetsi) of 'Hopa HemÅŸin' are also
Sunni Muslims and live in the
Artvin Province. They form the majority of the population in and around the town of KemalpaÅŸa (Makriali) in
Hopa and also in Muratlı (Berlivan) village in
Borçka. This group also once comprised a sizeable population in the
Adjara area of Georgia, but were deported by Stalin to Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan. A considerable number of these deportees have moved to
Krasnodar Krai since 1989, along with the
Meskhetians. The Eastern group speaks an archaic dialect of
Armenian, known to its speakers as ''
Homshetsi'' or ''Homshetsi lizu'' ("the Hamshen language"). These Hamshenis are said to be the last to convert to Islam ''en masse'' (probably in the late 19th century).
★ 'Northern Hamshenis' (Hamshentsi) are the descendants of non-Islamicized Hamshenis who fled the Hamshen area following conversions and settled in other regions like
Samsun (KurÅŸunlu in
Çarşamba),
Ordu,
Giresun, and
Trabzon (Karadere valley in
Araklı to the east of
Trabzon). Most of these Hamshenis currently live in Abkhazia and in the
Krasnodar Krai region of Russia, in particular, the
Sochi area, and
Adygeya. Although they are
Christian and belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, they still keep their Hamsheni identity and culture. Like the Eastern group, they too speak the Homshetsi dialect (though they refer to it as ''Häyren'' meaning ''Armenian''). Prof. Bert Vaux refers to this dialect as ''Homshetsma''.
Culture
Hamshenis are well-known for the clever jokes, riddles, and stories that they tell. Some of the anecdotes that the Muslim Hamshenis tell are actually based on older Armenian ones. They accompany dances with their own brand of music using the ''
tulum'' (the
Pontic bagpipe) (for the Western group), the ''ÅŸimÅŸir kaval'' (
flute made of
buxus) (for the Eastern group) or the ''Hamshna-Zurna'' (Hamsheni
zurna) (for the Northern group). The traditional occupations of the Turkish Hamshenis are cultivating
tea and
maize, breeding
livestock, and
beekeeping. The Northern Hamshenis of Russia and Georgia, meanwhile, are primarily known as citrus, corn, tobacco and tea growers as well as
fishermen. Some Hamshenis (both Muslim and Christian) are also active in economic life as expert
bakers,
restauranteurs, and
transporters, and those in
Turkey developed a keen and nationally-renowned expertise in the production of crafted
handguns.
Present situation
Hamshenis in Turkey
The first motion picture in Homshetsi, ''Momi'' (Grandma) was shot in 2000. Hamsheni singer Gökhan Birben (from the Western group) and
Laz singer
Kâzım Koyuncu had also sung in Homshetsi. In 2005, the first music album exclusively of anonymous Hamshen folk songs and sung mostly in Homshetsi, ''Vova - Hamşetsu Ğhağ'' was released.
Older generations of Turkish Hamshenis see the reference "Ermeni" (often used by their Laz neighbours) as an insult but some among younger generations, particularly those with strong
leftist leanings tend to identify themselves as Armenians.
Mesut Yılmaz, a former Prime Minister of Turkey, was born in
Istanbul to a family with partial Hamsheni (Western group) origins.
[4] Ahmet Tevfik Ä°leri (who was born in Yaltkaya (Gomno) village of HemÅŸin), a Deputy
Prime Minister and before that, a
Minister of Education in Turkey within successive
Adnan Menderes governments between 1950-1960, as well as
Damat Mehmet Ali Pasha, the
Ottoman Grand Vizier on the eve of the
Crimean War in 1853 were also Hamshenis.
[5] The community issued other important names in Turkish history and society such as
Murat Karayalçın, current leader of
SHP and a former Deputy Prime Minister and mayor of
Ankara who is from Şenyuva (Çinçiva) village of Çamlıhemşin.
Presently, a major issue in Turkey regarding the Hamshenis is
tourism. The
ecology of the area and local culture are being threatened by the increase of tourists who are drawn to the beauty of areas such as Rize, Hopa, and Ayder. Many Hamshenis are angry with this sudden boost of tourism. "Ayder's degeneration began after it was linked by road to the nearby town of Çamlıhemşin," said Selçuk Güney, a local Hamsheni activist. One of his aims is to ensure that his birthplace, the neighbouring Fırtına (Furtuna) valley, avoids a similar fate.
There are two ongoing projects involving Turkish
NGOs and
EuropeAid,
European Commission's external aid instrument, that touch their issues. The more recently (2007) launched "Ecodialogue Project" (
"''Ekodiyalog''", web site pending) has set itself as goal raising environment consciousness of the region's enterprises and improving the poor levels and quality of the information relayed by local guides
[8], many of whom are self-styled and unlicensed
[9] The other project, started 2004 and involving also the
World Conservation Union, aims to raise the profile and awareness of the
grouse, particularly
black grouse, who visit the region, also with focus on enterprises and guides
[10].
Hamshenis in Russia and the former Soviet Union
Hamsheni baker Şerif Gülaboğlu with his wife Eva (German descent) and sons in Russia (1905).
Interest in Hamshen heritage is rising among Christian Hamshenis in the former Soviet Union. In 2006, the first music album in Homshetsma by the Ensemble Caravan was released in Krasnodar. Hamshen Scientific, Information and Cultural Centre began to work on exclusive projects in order to recover the cultural heritage of the Hamshenis living in the region. The Armenian newspaper published in
Sukhumi carries the name ''Hamshen''.
During the
Mikhail Gorbachev period of the
Soviet Union in the late 1980s, the Hamshenis of Kazakhstan began petitioning for the government to move them to the
Armenian SSR. However, this move was denied by
Moscow because of fears that the Muslim Hamshenis might spark ethnic conflicts with their Christian Armenian brothers.
[11]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, most Hamshenis lived relatively undisturbed. However, those in the Abkhazia region of Georgia had trouble coping with day-to-day life during the
Georgian Civil War.
Since 2000, several hundred of the Muslim Hamshenis in Russia who have settled from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to
Krasnodar Krai (about 1000 total) have repeatedly attempted to formally receive registration from the local authorities. This is similar and related to the problem of the
Meskhetians. These actions have been made difficult by the attitude of the Krasnodar officials. In defiance of the authorities an organisation of their co-ethnics in Armenia have appealed to the Russian ambassador in
Yerevan to get
Moscow to intervene in this case and overrule the regional officials who seem intent on preventing Hamshenis from gaining a status of permanent residency.
[12]
In the 2002 Russian Federation census, 1,542 people identified themselves as Hamshenis, two-thirds of whom were living in Krasnodar Krai.
Recognition by the Armenian mainstream
Whether Christian or Muslim, most Armenians are willing to work with and try to understand their ethnic cousins. From
October 13 to 15, 2005, a Hamsheni international scientific convention was held in Sochi. The conference was organized under the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Russian-Armenian Commonwealth Organization of Moscow (commissioned by the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation) with help from the Armenian Scientific Informational and Cultural Center, "Hamshen" (Krasnodar, Russia) and Russian Armenian newspaper
Yerkramas. It involved scholars from Armenia, Russia, the
United States,
Germany, and
Iran to discuss the past of the Hamshenis. Among the reports presented at the event were "Hamshen: A Historical and Geographic Outline," "Hamshen Armenians," "Pont and Armenia in 1914-1921," "Genocide of Hamshen Armenians in 1915-1923," "Abkhazian Armenians on the Threshold of 21st century," and others. Following the conference, ethnic ensembles of Hamsheni Armenians of the Black Sea coast of
Kuban gave a cultural performance.
See also
★
Armenians in Turkey
★
Islam in Armenia
★
Chveneburi
★
Ajarians
★
Pontic Greeks
★
Laz people
★
Greek Muslims
★
Zilkale
References
★ Bert Vaux, ''
Hemshinli: The Forgotten Black Sea Armenians'', Harvard University, 2001.
★ Mack Chahin, ''The Kingdom of Armenia: A History'', Routledge, London, 2001. (ISBN 0-7007-1452-9)
★ Robert H. Hewsen, ''Armenia: A Historical Atlas'', University Of Chicago Press, 2000. (ISBN 0-226-33228-4)
★ Peter Alford Andrews, ''Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey'', Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1989. (ISBN 3-89500-297-6)
Footnotes
1. Laz-Turkish dictionary at karalahana.com
2. ''Türkiye'de Etnik Gruplar'', Peter Alford Andrews, p. 183, 1992 Istanbul (attention: illegal edition! Unauthorized translation: Mustafa Küpüşoğlu, editor: Cemal Şener, cf. http://www.peterandrews.info/files/Raubedition.pdf)
3. Hemşin Gizemi Bilimin Pençesinde May 18 2002, ''Agos''
4. Lazlar/HemÅŸinler
5. [www.itibarhaber.eu/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=3822 Biography of HemÅŸinli Damat Mehmet Ali Pasha]
6. Hürriyet interview with Karayalçın
7. http://www.karadeniz.nl/modules.php?op=modload&name=My_eGallery&file=index&do=showpic&pid=118&orderby=hitsA Tevfik Rüştü Aras and Murat Karayalçın hail from Hemşin]
8. Ecodialogue Project
9. Bert Vaux himself had as primary Hemshinli informant a young man in his twenties, whose name was changed "to protect the innocent".
10. Improving the conservation status of the Caucasian Black Grouse
11. Hamshenis denied return to Armenian SSR
12. Window on Eurasia: Russian Region Persecutes Armenian Muslims
External links
★
Hamshen.org, a multi-lingual discussion forum on Hamshen topics
★
"Momi" ve "HamÅŸetsi" Olmak..... An interview with the director of ''Momi'' on the film and Hamshenis
★
Damardan HemÅŸin Ezgileri: VOVA News article on ''Vova''
★
Hamshenis bakers in Russia before 1917
★
Hamshen - Armeniapedia.org
★
Karalahana.com: HemÅŸin: A Unique Land
★
Hamsheni-Turkish Dictionary at the ''Voice of Hopa'' website features Hamsheni words and their Turkish equivalents.
★
CD with Songs Having Lyrics in Hamshen Dialect of Armenian Language Released in Krasnodar News article about the release with concise info on Hamshenis
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