Hemshin people: Difference between revisions

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This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed.

The Hemshin are a number of diverse groups of people who in the past history or present have been affiliated with the Hemşin area. ^{[citation needed]} In present literature in English, the designations “Hemshinli” and “Hamsheni” have found the widest use to refer to them. ^{[citation needed]} A recent proposal is to use the word “Hemshin” itself to designate these peoples. ^{[citation needed]}

Due to migrations, distintictive communities with the same generic name have also appeared in the vicinity of Hopa, Turkey as well as in the Caucasus. Those three communities are almost oblivious to one another's existence.^[2] The Hemshinli of Hemshin proper are Turkish-speaking Sunni Muslims who mostly live in the counties (ilçe) of Çamlihemşin and Hemşin in Turkey's Rize Province. The Hopa Hemshinli are Sunni Muslims and mostly live in the Hopa and Borçka counties of Turkey's Artvin Province. In addition to Turkish, they speak a dialect of western Armenian they call "Homshetsma" or "Hemşince" in Turkish.^[3] The Hamshenis or northern Homshentsik are Armenian-speaking Christians who live in Abkhazia and in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. There are also some Muslim Hemshinli living in Georgia and Krasnodar and some Hemshinli elements amongst the "Meskhetian Turks".

The foundation of Hemşin is often related ^{[weasel words]} to a migration which is claimed to have taken place in the 7th to 9th centuries from Armenia to the Hemşin region. ^{[citation needed]} Short passages from the medieval Armenian chronics Ghewond, Asoghik and John Mamikonian form the primary references for the migration, in spite of the fact that there are fundamental contradictions between them with regard to the time and accompanying circumstances of the migration. ^{[citation needed]} Neither of the chronics associate the Hemşin area clearly with the migration. The common element is the mention of a Prince Hamam who was either a leader of the migration or a descendant of the migrants.^{[citation needed]}

Regardless of the ambiguities surrounding this migration, it is generally accepted ^{[weasel words]} that the migrants confessed to the Christian faith and belonged to the Armenian Apostolic Church. ^{[citation needed]} There ara no specific indications with regard to the language and/or other ethnical characteristics of the migrants. ^{[citation needed]} Some Turkish historians deduce ^{[weasel words]} that those were Turks; while many other historians deduce ^{[weasel words]} that those were Armenians.^{[citation needed]}

Even if the migrants have really settled down in Hemşin, whether and by whom Hemşin was populated prior to that migration and what has happened to them is not clear. ^{[citation needed]} There are views ^{[weasel words]} which suggest that the area was uninhabited due to its difficult terrain whereas opposing approaches argue that the area was already influenced by earlier movements of people which possibly include ancient anatolian people as well as caucasian and turkic tribes.^{[citation needed]}

Furthermore there are contradicting views with regard to whether Hemşin remained isolated and inaccessible or whether it was open to further migrations after in the beginning of the second millennium. ^{[citation needed]} This is also due to the fact that there are no historical documents clearly proving either thesis. In spite of the lack of clear documentation it is deduced ^[who?] that Hemşin has been governed by local lords under the umbrella of the greater regional powers changing by the time namely the Bagratid Armenian kingdom, the Byzantine Empire, its successor the Empire of Trebizond, the Georgian Kingdom , the Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu Turkmen Confederations ^[4] until it was annexed in the 15 the century by the Ottoman Empire which collapsed as a result of the WW1 and gave birth to the Republic of Turkey.

The Ottoman era has witnessed two major developments in the Hemsin region: Islamization and population movements. ^{[citation needed]} Islam faith has commenced to spread possibly prior to the Ottoman rule but it has become the general religion not before the end of the 16 th century. A number of population movements (both into and out of the region) are also known to have happened during the Ottoman era. Detailed information regarding the nature of these movements is missing. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted ^{[citation needed] [weasel words]} that:

• there has been some emigration from Hemşin of Hemşinli belonging to the Armenian church to western counties of the eastern Blacksea region during the earlier centuries of the Ottoman rule,
• some emigration by Hemşinli of İslam faith to western Anatolia as well as to the Caucasus has taken place as a result of Turco-Russia wars and the accomponying hardships in the 19 th century,
• there have been some immigration into the area during the Ottoman rule.

The present community of Hemşinli thus surfacing is exclusively of Islam faith and Turkish speaking. This goes for the people living in Hemşin or people still maintaining links to the area although they live all over in Turkey. ^{[citation needed]}

A distinct community settled about 50 km east of Hemşin in villages around Hopa and Borçka call themselves also “Hemşinli” and they are often referred to as the “Hopa Hemşinli”. Professor of Linguistics Bert Vaux at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee refers to this group as the “Eastern Hamshenis”. Hemşinli and Hopa Hemşinli are separated not only by geography but also by language and some features of culture and are almost oblivious to one anothers existence. It is assumed ^{[weasel words]} that this community has its roots in a migration from Hemşin or have been settled in this area by the Ottoman authorities. The estimates for the timeframe of this settlement varies from early 16th to late 17 th century. There are controversial opinions ^{[weasel words]} also on whether this migration took place in one step or whether two waves of migration took place. The Hopa Hemşinli are exclusively of Islam faith as well. Whether they have immigrated from Hemşin proper as moslems or whether they have converted to Islam in their new homeland is another question with controversial ^{[weasel words]} answers. ^{[citation needed]}

The Hopa Hemşinli speak in addition to Turkish a language called "Hemşince" or (“Homşetsi” and/or Homshetsma in some sources). Recent studies claim ^{[weasel words]} that this language is an archaic dialect of Armenian subject to influence from Turkish and Georgian. Hemşince and Armenian are generally mutually not intelligeble. ^{[citation needed]}

In addition to these groups there are people speking Hemşince / Homshetsma in the countries of the former USSR whose ancestors have probably originated from Hemşin and/or Hopa Hemşin in course of the various population movements to the Caucasus.

Those among them who confess to the Islam have been deported from the Adjara area of Georgia at the Stalin era to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. A considerable number of these deportees have moved to Krasnodar Krai since 1989, along with the Meskhetians.

Most of those of Christian faith currently live in Abkhazia and in the Krasnodar Krai region of Russia, in particular, the Sochi area, and Adygeya.

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 şimşir 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.

The filmmaker Özcan Alper, an eastern Hemshinli, made the first motion picture in Homshetsi, Momi (Grandma), released in 2000. As a result, Alper was accused in the Court for State Security of producing material intended to destroy the unity of the state, under article 8 of Turkey's Anti-terror law. This law was repealed in 2003 after EU pressure, and Alper's trial did not go ahead. ^[5] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Mesut Yılmaz, a former Prime Minister of Turkey, was born in Istanbul to a family with partial Hemshin (Western group) origins.^[6] Ahmet Tevfik İleri (who was born in Yaltkaya (Gomno) village of Hemşin), a Deputy Prime Minister and before that, a Minister of Education in Turkey within successive Adnan Menderes governments between 1950-1960 were Hamshenis.^[7] 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. ^[6][8][9] Presently, a major issue in Turkey regarding the Hemshinli 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 ^[10], many of whom are self-styled and unlicensed ^[11] 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 ^[12].

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.^[13]

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.^[14]

In the 2002 Russian Federation census, 1,542 people identified themselves as Hamshenis, two-thirds of whom were living in Krasnodar Krai.

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.

• Armenians in Turkey
• Islam in Armenia
• Chveneburi
• Ajarians
• Pontic Greeks
• Laz people
• Greek Muslims
• Zilkale

• Hamshen.org, a multi-lingual discussion forum on Hamshen topics
• Template:Tr icon "Momi" ve "Hamşetsi" Olmak..... An interview with the director of Momi on the film and Hamshenis
• Template:Tr icon Damardan Hemşin Ezgileri: VOVA News article on Vova
• Template:Tr icon Hamshenis bakers in Russia before 1917
• Hamshen - Armeniapedia.org
• Karalahana.com: Hemşin: 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