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Cultural reification in circassian diaspora: stereotypes, prejudices and ethnic relations

2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 31; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1369183042000305717

1469-9451

Ayhan Kaya,

Turkey's Politics and Society

Abstract Contemporary diaspora identities differ to a certain extent from conventional forms of diasporic formations in the sense that the former are no longer characterised by the overwhelming wish to return. Contemporary diasporas are built upon two principal pillars: modern communicative circuitry, and acts of exclusion by receiving societies. Deported by the Russians from their homeland in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Circassian tribes were welcomed by the Ottoman Empire for practical reasons. Since then they have been subject to several acts of both inclusion and exclusion by the Turkish Republic. They were also treated differently by their local neighbour groups. This paper claims that Circassian groups in diaspora have generated distinct ethnic and cultural identities depending on how they were recognised, or unrecognised, both by their neighbours and by the Turkish state. Cultural reification, or essentialisation, becomes common practice among diaspora groups, providing them with a safe haven against misrepresentation, prejudice, exclusion and discrimination. Cultural reification not only adds to the construction of a sense of communality, but also serves as a way of doing politics for the Circassians in diaspora. Culture, then, not only remains a heritage, but also becomes a political strategy. Keywords: CircassiansDiasporaIdentityCultural ReificationTurkeyStereotypes Acknowledgments I am grateful to my students, Umut Aksoy and Yenal Bilgici, and their families for their support and hospitality during the fieldwork. I also thank the Population Council ME Awards in Cairo for their financial support without which I could not have conducted the research. I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the Democratic Circassian Platform for their support throughout the whole journey. And last but not least, I thank Catherine Campion, Emre Işık, Bianca Kaiser, Jacqueline Stevens and Harry Tzimitras for their valuable remarks and critiques of this work. Notes Ayhan Kaya is Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Centre for Migration Research, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. The journey was made into a documentary film by Şehval Şenyurt and Bülent Arınlı, who accompanied the team throughout the entire journey. The name Cherkess is probably a Turkic corruption of the Greek name ‘Kerxetai’, or it may mean ‘bandit’ (Jaimoukha Citation2001: 12). My trip to the Caucasus was very beneficial in revealing how the repatriates from Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Kosovo encountered the homeland, and to what extent their expectations about the homeland have come true. As the main concern of this work is not repatriates, I will just make some general remarks about returnees in the Adygei Republic, Karacay-Cherkesk, and Kabardino-Balkar Republic. The total number of returnees in Maykop is around 500 people (200 from Turkey, 160 from Kosovo, 120 from Syria and Jordan, and others); around 1,000 in Nalchik (300 from Turkey, 600 from Syria and Jordan, and others). There are almost no returnees in Cherkesk. In both Maykop and Nalchik, the returnees have developed their own social networks since they are excluded by the local Adygeis. The locals label the returnees according to the country from which they have come: Turkish, Syrian, Kosovar, Jordanian, etc. The returnees, perceived as distinct and different by the locals, complain of their lack of belonging, both in the homeland and diaspora: ‘Circassian’ in diaspora, ‘Turkish’ in the homeland. There is a visible difference between the returnees in Maykop and Nalchik. Those in Maykop are usually those who considered the return to be an ideological struggle, whereas the ones in Nalchik are generally those who are more business-minded people. The number of Adygei-speaking people in the capital cities of the Circassian Republics is as follows. The approximate population in Maykop is 170,000 (22 per cent Adygei), Cherkesk 150,000 (15 per cent Adygei), and Nalchik 330,000,000 (55 per cent Adygei and Abkhazin). Maykop is an agricultural city, Cherkesk industrial, and Nalchik is both agricultural and industrial. Relatively speaking, living standards are highest in Nalchik, and lowest in Cherkesk where deprivation prevails. For further information about the Circassian diaspora in Jordan and the returnees, see Shami (Citation1995), (Citation1998), (Citation2000). Ethnic associations play an instrumental role in the processes of construction and articulation of Circassian diasporic identity. They also serve as what Diane Crane (Citation1972) calls ‘invisible colleges’ functioning as informal scientific institutions whereby individuals add more to their accumulation of knowledge. Circassian associations as well as many other ethnic associations fit very well into the category of ‘invisible colleges’ where Circassians reproduce their cultural continuity in the urban space along with Circassian customs and traditions. Zekes literally means gatherings, which usually last until the early morning hours with games, music, dances and courtship (Ertem Citation2000: 328–35). Many of these groups are indigenous entities of Anatolia. However, there are also several groups migrating to Turkey such as Circassians, Balkan Muslims, White Russians, Iranians, Iraqi Kurds, and Afghans. For a detailed explanation of the migration to and from Turkey, see Özbay and Yücel (Citation2001). During the founding years of the Turkish Republic, there were both royalist and republican Circassian groups in Anatolia. The Royalists were highly concentrated around the southern districts of the Marmara region. The reason why Abkhaz groups in the region still have a concrete Abkhazian identity is partly due to their historically defined peculiarities, which set them apart from their kin living outside the region. Having a rather royalist and religious identity in the past and comprising a homogenous Abkhazian population in the region, these groups do not identify temselves as ‘Circassian’. Their primary identity is Abkhazian as opposed to the other Abkhaz groups I encountered in Samsun, Amasya, Çorum and Kayseri. The North Caucasus was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire between the mid-sixteenth century and mid-nineteenth century. The Ottomans never attempted to force Islam on the Circassians, preferring to convert them through evangelism. However, the Ottomans did not have a direct relationship with the Circassians at the time Crimea was annexed by the Russians in 1783. The Ottomans preferred to control the Circassians through the Crimean Khans, who were of Turkic origin. Hence, after the Crimea was taken by the Russians, the Ottomans themselves had to control the Circassians. For a detailed account of the history of the Ottomans in the North Caucasus, see Gökçe (Citation1979). One of the main earlier destinations for the Circassian diaspora was Rumelia. Circassians were settled in Constance, Varna, Sofia, Pristina, Kosovo, Plevne and surrounding regions (Pinson Citation1972). Yet, after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–78 was lost, most of the Circassians re-migrated from Rumelia to Anatolia (mostly to the southern Marmara region) and to the Middle East (mostly to the Golan Heights). Circassian migration to the Middle East gained acceleration when there was no land left in Anatolia and Rumelia for settlement. The first Circassian settlement in the region dates back to 1871. These migrants were accommodated in Aleppo and the province of Damascus; subsequently, the newcomers were located around the Golan Heights and Amman. The numbers increased especially after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877–78, arriving in two major groups. One group came by boat to Turkey's Black Sea ports before continuing overland to Syria with a stop-over in Kayseri (Uzunyayla). The other group was withdrawn from Rumeli due to the ongoing war. Recent figures show that there are approximately 60,000 Circassians in Jordan (mostly Shapsugh, Chechen and Kabardian), 40,000 in Syria (mostly Abzekh, Kabardian and Abkhaz), and 3,000 in Israel (mostly Shapsugh and Akbhaz). Religious beliefs in the North Caucasus had until the early nineteenth century been centred round a backbone of polytheism, paganism and animism with some Christian and Muslim influences. For more information on Circassian religion and Nart mythology, see Jaimoukha (Citation2001: 137–55). Khabze is a Circassian word which refers to rule, tradition and/or custom. Haynape is a Circassian word which is used to refer to those unmannerly and disgraceful acts not ethically and religiously acceptable in the community: not standing up when someone comes into the room is haynape; or interrupting an older person speaking. Thamade is a Circassian term which refers to the older men in the community, who deserve special respect for their age, wisdom and experience. Düğün is a Turkish term which refers to parties signifying a man and woman's union in marriage. The term is used more broadly among the Circassians to refer to all occasions bringing young men and women together. See Ertem (Citation2000: 327). Kashen, or psetluk, refers to a young man who expresses his interest in a young woman. A Kashen relationship does not necessarily result in marriage; nor does it entail an intimate relationship in the form of a boyfriend–girlfriend relationship. It is rather a verbal and emotional practice, which intimates flirtation by giving male competitiveness the upper hand in its implementation. For further information about the term, see Ertem (Citation2000). Semerkho refers to the gendered interactions, games, conversations and courtship in the form of joking or teasing. It is usually undertaken by unmarried men and women to expose one's interest, attraction and desire towards the other through ritualised acts. ‘Istanbulako’ or ‘psishxo yicijj’ has become a very popular form of music developed and vocalised by the people in exile. ‘Istanbulako’ refers to the act of crossing the Black Sea on the way to Istanbul, the mythical capital of the Islamic world from which the Circassians were expecting aid. This journey was vocalised with many melodies before and after the act of journeying itself. For instance, when Sultan Abdulaziz decided to accommodate the Kabardians in Uzunyayla (Kayseri), he encountered strong resistance from the Turcomans who had previously settled there. The resistance resulted in many casualties among the Circassians. For further information see Habiçoğlu (Citation1993: 167–9). Mübadil (exchange) is an Arabic term used to refer to those migrants of Turkish origin from Greece exchanged with people of Greek origin from Turkey after the Lausanne Treaty in 1924. For further explanation see Aktar (Citation2000). Muhacir is also an Arabic term used to refer to the Turkish migrants coming from the Balkans. Interviews indicate that the average marriage age for Circassian women in Turkey is 25–30, for men 30–35 in cities, younger in rural areas. These age intervals are higher than the other groups in Turkey. Such a pattern is only true for the Turkish Circassians, but not for the Circassians in the homeland or those in Jordan, Syria and Israel. Gönül Ertem (Citation2000) has similar findings in her ethnographic work specialising in the Circassian community networks in Eskisehir, a city in mid-west Turkey. Zurna is a kind of authentic Middle Eastern musical instrument having a flute-like body with shrill pipe usually accompanied by a drum. In her ethnographic research comparing migrants of Turkish origin from Crete and Bulgaria, Belkıs Kümbetoğlu finds that orientation to ‘patrie’, ‘flag’, ‘religion’ and ‘language’ becomes essential for those newcomers to be recognised and accepted by the Sunni Muslim Turkish locals. See Kümbetoğlu (Citation2001). Christianity actually preceded Islam in the regions starting from the reign of Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Primarily, the Greek Orthodox Church and later in the fifteenth century the Catholic Church became influential, especially in the western coasts of the region. The first association, Dost Eli Yardimlasma Dernegi, was established in 1946 in collaboration with Azeri Turks. This was at a time when the Caucasian aspect was being underlined by the Circassian elite. During the Cold War period, these associations gained an anti-Sovietic character. Nevertheless, having a culturalist discourse, Kuzey Kafkasya Kültür Derneği (Northern Caucasia Culture Association), which was established in Ankara (1964), distinguished Circassian identity from the Turkish ethnic legacy. Kafkas Derneği (Kaf-Der, Caucasian Association) established in 1993 as an umbrella organisation, constitutes the largest Circassian associational network in Turkey. Kaf-Der has 34 branches in many cities throughout the country and its headquarters are located in Ankara. Kaf-Der goes beyond traditional culturalist discourse by committing itself to different projects such as political representation of the Circassian diaspora in Turkey and their adaptation to urban life. Kaf-Der has a liberal-nationalist discourse and places special emphasis on Circassian identity. There are two other major associations founded in 1995, Kafkas Vakfı (Caucasian Foundation) and Birleşik Kafkasya Derneği (United Caucasian Association). These two associations are Islamic-oriented and pursue the idea of establishing an Islamic confederation in the Northern Caucasus. They are also engaged in the Chechen independence movement against the Russian authorites. It should also be noted that these organisations are recently more passive as the official policy of Turkey towards the Chechen issue has partly shifted at the expense of the Chechen side. Thus, the activities of these associations are under the strict supervision of Turkish official bodies. In addition, there are approximately 80 different associations throughout the country. For a detailed explanation concerning Circassian ethnic associations see Taymaz (Citation2001) and Toumarkine (Citation2001). Additional informationNotes on contributorsAyhan Kaya Ayhan Kaya is Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Centre for Migration Research, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey.