LAZ POPULATION IN DÜZCE AND THEIR SELF-PERCEPTION

Abstract

Muhajirism – this term refers to one of the most tragic events in Georgia’s history of the second half of the 19th century, connected to the Russo-Ottoman War of 1877–1878 and the lives of the people who were displaced as a result of this war. Within the field of Georgian studies, the examination of the muhajir Georgians—their way of life, cultural memory, and historical experiences—has emerged as one of the principal directions of contemporary research. Georgian scholars and public intellectuals have consistently  demonstrated an interest in the fate of compatriots who were estranged from their homeland. For many years, however, this subject remained a taboo, silenced for a variety of reasons.

Since the 1890s, when a new stage in relations between Turkey and Georgia began, the aforementioned attitude has also undergone change. Today, there exists both the willingness and the possibility to undertake scholarly inquiry into all issues connected with the muhajir Georgians and their descendants. To this end, for several years now, academic expeditions have been organized both in historical Georgia and in various regions of Turkey settled by Georgian-Laz communities. Based on the materials collected, a number of noteworthy studies have been produced, authored either individually or collaboratively.

With the goodwill of the Turkish state, programs in Georgian language and literature have been established at four major universities—Kars, Ardahan, Rize, and Düzce. These programs provide students with the opportunity to acquire academic knowledge in the fields of Georgian language, literature, history, culture, and art, as well as to engage with current issues in Georgian studies. Students are also enabled to master the Georgian literary language, which, in the fair judgment of Prof. Revaz Sherozia, should more appropriately be termed the „Georgians’ literary language,“ as it inherently encompasses the linguistic heritage of speakers from all regions of Georgia.

The modern Turkish state grants its Georgian and Laz citizens (among others) the opportunity to study their own past, recognizing that accurate and scholarly information serves to strengthen cultural relations. At Düzce University, where the program in Georgian language and literature has been functioning for more than a decade, students engage in scholarly research and produce academic works dedicated to these subjects.

It must be noted that the modern Georgian literary language does not, of course, entirely coincide with either the Adjara dialect spoken by Georgians of that region or with the Laz language. These ancient lexical and morphological forms, preserved orally from generation to generation, remain in urgent need of systematic study and documentation. This task is rendered all the more pressing as such elements gradually fade from living memory over time, surviving only as part of the cultural heritage.

Düzce University (Turkey), Department of Caucasian Languages and Cultures, Program in Georgian Language and Literature. Düzce represents a significant region for us, as it is home to a large number of muhajir Georgians—or more precisely, the descendants of muhajir Georgians. Since more than a century and a half has passed since the tragic events known as muhajirism, the first-generation witnesses of this history are, naturally, no longer alive. Only a small portion of the second generation remains. Our respondents are predominantly representatives of the third generation, who possess certain knowledge about their past and origins, and who, to varying degrees, continue to preserve their historical linguistic heritage.

By muhajir Georgians, we refer to the Gurjs and Lazs who currently reside in the Republic of Turkey. They are loyal citizens of this country; a significant portion of them takes an active interest in their ethnic origins and, in various ways, seeks to establish or maintain connections with their historical roots.

The subject under investigation is profound and inexhaustible, multidimensionally interesting and significant, particularly when it concerns the Laz language, way of life, and history. This is due to the fact that this area remains relatively understudied, a circumstance which contributes to the gradual alienation of the Laz people from their native Georgian roots. However, this process has been ongoing for a long time. The patriotic scholar Zakaria Chichinadze, when recounting the historical past of Lazeti, emphasized that „the Laz people are obliged to learn and fully understand that they belong to the Georgian nation, that their homeland is Georgia, that their mother tongue is the source of the Georgian language, and that the alphabet of their mother tongue is the Georgian script, not the Turkish or Arabic scripts, as was propagated to them by the Ottomans“ (Chichinadze 1927).

“During the administration of the Empire of Trebizond, the Georgian language and literacy were used everywhere. The Georgian language and script were so highly esteemed that even the chief bishop of Lazistan in Trebizond was called the Bishop of Khalt’a, which evidently meant ‘Bishop of Kartli.’ We cite this information here to demonstrate the strength of Lazistan’s national spirit and the loyal service rendered to Georgia, for which the Laz people were richly rewarded“ (Chichinadze 1927).

In the present study, we aim to present the historical memory and self-perception of the Laz living in Turkey, focusing on a specific region—the Laz of Düzce.