Pomaks

Pomaks
Помаци
Pomaklar
Πομάκοι
Flag of the Pomaks.[1]
Pomaks in the early 20th century
Total population
c. half million
Regions with significant populations
 Turkey - 300,000

 Bulgaria - 130,000
 Albania - 100,000
 Macedonia - 50,000
 Greece - 30,000
 Kosovo - 20,000
Languages

Bulgarian as native language,[2][3][4][5]
as second: Turkish, Albanian, Greek.
Religion

Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups

Bulgarians, Slavic Muslims

Pomaks (Bulgarian: Помаци Pomatsi, Turkish: Pomaklar, Greek: Πομάκοι Pomáki) is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.[6][7][8] The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language,[2][3][4][5] also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language,[9] and some are fluent in Turkish, Albanian and Greek as a second language.[10][11] The origin of the Pomaks has been debated,[12][13] but they are today usually considered descendants of native Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans.[14][15][16][17][18] Different members of the group today declare a variety of ethnic identities: Bulgarian,[19][20] Pomak,[21][22][23] Muslim,[24] Turkish, Albanian and others.

Contents

Population

Bulgaria

Main article: Bulgarian Muslims

The Pomaks in Bulgaria are referred to as Bulgarian Muslims (българи-мюсюлмани bălgari-myusyulmani), and under the locally used names Ahryani, Torbeshi, etc. They mainly inhabit the Rhodope Mountains in Smolyan Province, Kardzhali Province, Pazardzhik Province and Blagoevgrad Province. There are Pomaks in other parts of Bulgaria as well. There are a few Pomak villages in Burgas Province, Lovech Province, Veliko Tarnovo Province and Ruse Province.[25] According to the 2001 census there are 131 531 Muslim Bulgarians in Bulgaria.[26] During the 20th century the Pomaks in Bulgaria were the subject of three state-supported assimilation campaigns - in 1912, the 1940s and the 1960s and 1970s which included the change of their Turkish-Arabic names to ethnic Bulgarian ones and in the first campaign conversions from Islam to Eastern Orthodoxy. The first two campaigns were abandoned after a few years, while the second was reversed in 1989. The campaigns were carried out with the justification that the Pomaks as ancestral Bulgarians who had been converted to Islam by force and who therefore needed to be repatriated back to the Bulgarian national domain. These attempts were met with stiff resistance by some Pomaks.[27]

Turkey

Today the Pomaks are present in Turkey, mostly in Eastern Thrace and fewer in Anatolia, where they are called in Turkish Pomaklar and their speech is called Pomakça. According to Ethnologue, there are around 300.000 Pomaks in Turkey.[28]

Greece

Today the Pomaks (Greek: Πομάκοι) in Greece inhabit the prefectures of Xanthi, Rhodope and Evros.[25] with estimated numbers of 30-35,000 [5] Until Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and Population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923 Pomaks inhabited a part of the regions of Moglena[29] – Almopia (Karadjova), Kastoria[30] and some other parts of Macedonia, Greece. German sightseer Adolf Struck in 1898 describes Konstantia (in Moglena ) as a big village with 300 houses and two panes, inhabited exclusively by Pomaks.

"Pomak" (Pomatsko) is a Balkan Slavic language. In traditional dialectology it is considered as an Eastern dialect of the Bulgarian-Macedonian continuum which is separated by the Yat isogloss. The Pomaks of Greek Thrace were exempted from the obligatory exchanges that took place when the Ottoman Empire collapsed. The Lausanne Treaty (1923) declared that Pomaks had the right to a bilingual education, in Greek (the language of the State) and in Turkish (the language of the Muslim community) [31]. A large number of Greek Pomaks no longer transmit the language to the younger generations and have shifted to Turkish.[32] [33] Recently the Community of the Pomaks of Xanthi, represented by Tahir Konte, have announced their request to be treated equally and therefore to have the right of education in Greek schools without the obligation of learning the Turkish language.[34] This was announced to the Greek government in a letter of 17 March 2010, addressed to the Prime Minister George Papandreou and the Minister of Education Anna Diamantopoulou.[35]

Republic of Macedonia

The Macedonian Muslims, or Torbeš, are occasionally also referred to as Pomaks, especially in historical context.[36][37][38][39] They are a minority religious group in the Republic of Macedonia, although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity and are linguistically distinct from the larger Muslim ethnic groups in the Republic of Macedonia, Albanians and Turks.

Albania

Slavic-speaking Muslims, sometimes referred to as "Pomaks", live also in the Albanian region of Golo Brdo. However these people are also referred to as "Torbeš". They speak the Drimkol-Golo Brdo dialect of the Macedonian/Bulgarian language. Part of this people still self-identify as Bulgarians.[40]

Kosovo

The Gorani occasionally are also referred to as Pomaks in historical context.[41][42] They are people who inhabit the Gora region, located between Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. The general view is that they should be treated as a distinct minority group.[43][44] Part of these people are already albanised.[45] By the last censuses at the end of 20th century in Yugoslavia they have declared themselves to be Muslims by nationality.[46]

History

Pomaks are today usually considered descendants of native Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans. They started to become Muslim gradually, from the Ottoman occupation (early 15th century) to the end of the 18th century. Subsequently this people became part of the Muslim community of the millet system, which was closely linked to Islamic rules. At that time people were bound to their millets by their religious affiliations (or their confessional communities), rather than their ethnic origins, according to the millet concept.[47]

It is remarkable that monk Pachomios Roussanos (1508–1553), who visited the mountain area of Xanthi, mentioned that around 1550, only 6 or 9 villages had turned to Islam.[48][49]. Further more the documents show that not only Islam has been spread in the area at that time, but that the Pomaks have even participated in Ottoman military operation voluntarily as is the case with the village of Shahin (Echinos).[50]

The mass turn to Islam in the Central Rhodope Mountains happened between the 16th and the 17th century. According to the Codes of Bishopy of Philippoupolis and the Czech historian and slavist Konstantin Josef Jireček in the middle of 17th century, the Pomak provosts agreed to become Muslim en masse. They visited the Ottoman local administrator to announce their decision, but he sent them to the Greek bishop of Philippoupolis Gabriel (1636–1672). The bishop couldn't change their mind. According to the verbal tradition of the Greeks of Philippoupolis, a large ceremony of mass circumcision took place in front of the old mosque of the city, near the Government House. After that, the villagers became Muslim, too. According to the verbal tradition of the Bulgrians, Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (1656–1661) threatened the Pomaks of Chepino Valley that he would execute them if they didn't turn to Islam. In 1656, Ottoman military troops entered the Chepino valley and arrested the provosts of Pomaks, in order to transfer them in the local Ottoman administrator. There, they converted to Islam.  Grand Vizier Mehmed Köprülü, after the mass Islamization, destroyed 218 churches and 336 chapels in the areas of Pomaks. A lot of Pomaks preferred to die instead of becoming Muslim.[51][52]. According to recent investigations the theory of forced conversion to Islam, supported by some scientists, has no solid grounds with all or most evidence being faked or misinterpreted.[53][54] Muslim communities prospered under the Ottoman Empire, as the Sultan was also the Caliph. Ottoman law did not recognize such notions as ethnicity or citizenship; thus, a Muslim of any ethnic background enjoyed precisely the same rights and privileges.

Meanwhile, the perception of the millet concept was altered during the 19th century and rise of nationalism within the Ottoman Empire begun. After the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Pomaks in the Vacha valley rebelled against Eastern Rumelia and established an autonomous state, called Republic of Tamrash. In 1886 the Ottoman government accepted the Bulgarian rule over Eastern Rumelia and that was the end of the free Pomak state. During the Balkan Wars, at August 16, 1913, an Islamic revolt begun in the Eastern Rhodopes and Western Thrace. At September 1, 1913, the "Provisional Government of Western Thrace" (Garbi Trakya Hukumet i Muvakkatesi) was established in Komotini. The Ottoman administration didn't support the rebels and finally under the neutrality of Greek and Ottoman governments, Bulgaria took over the lands in 30 October 1913. The rebels requested support by the Greek state and put Greek major in Alexandroupoli.[55][56][57][58] Bulgaria, after a brief period of control over the area, passed the sovereignty of Western Thrace at the end of World War I. The Provisional Government was revived between 1919-1920 under French protectorate (France had annexed the region from Bulgaria in 1918) before Greece took over in June, 1920.

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire following the First World War, the religious millet system disappeared and the members of the Pomak groups today declare a variety of ethnic identities, depending predominantly on the country, they live in.

Other theories for the origin of the Pomaks

Genetic origin

A specific DNA mutation, HbO-Arab, which emerged about 2,000 years ago on a rare haplotype is characteristic of the Greek Pomaks. Its frequency increased as a consequence of high genetic drift within this population. This indicates that the Greek Pomaks are an isolated population with limited contacts with their neighbours.[59] According to some Greek researchers, the DNA tree line of Greek Pomaks suggests that they descend from ancient Thracian tribes.[60]

Paulician and Bogomil origin

According to Bulgarian historian Yordan Ivanov, part of the Paulicians converted to Orthodoxy and Islam, the rest - to the Catholic faith during the 16-17 century.[61]

The British historian Edwin Pears wrote in 1912 that the Pomaks might have been Bogomils or Paulicians.[62]

The conversion of the Paulicians to Catholic faith was examined in detail in a doctoral thesis, which was published partly in a book of the Bulgarian historian M. Yovkov. Also, some cases of the conversion of the Paulicians to Orthodoxy and Muslim faith are described in this book: ” Part of the population of the largest Paulician village Bastsevo[63] migrated into Thrace, and another converted to Islam.”[64]

Unknown origin

According to some authors, their precise origins remain unknown.[65]

Notable Pomaks

This is a list of notable Pomaks.

Name Life Notability Pomak link
Arif Sami Agush 1953 Member of the Bulgarian Parliament. Parliamentary Group of Movement for Rights and Freedoms. His ancestor was an Ottoman feudal called Agush Aga. The Agush castle (konak) is situated in the village of Mogilitsa. Born in Sandrovo, Bulgaria
Shefket Chapadjiev 1939 Businessman in Chicago, thought to be the most prosperous person in the US coming from Bulgaria. Escaped from Bulgaria in 1963 and arrived in the US in 1964. Born in Madan, Smolyan Province
Hamid Rusev 1939 Businessman in Chicago. Escaped from Bulgaria in 1963 and arrived in the US in 1964. Born in Arda, Bulgaria
Rita Wilson 1956 Actress, producer. Married to actor Tom Hanks. Born in Los Angeles, California as Margarita Ibrahimoff

See also

References

  1. ^ Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the stateless nations 3, L-R (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn.; London: Greenwood Press. p. 1516. ISBN 9780313321115. http://books.google.com/books?id=u9Lq_8Ozf5cC&pg=PA1516&lpg=PA1516&dq=pomaks+flag&source=bl&ots=zZCJuJ7qNe&sig=IM9ADm5STJPrSTI8EYuPfjQ0RIE&hl=bg&ei=54_VTpe8L-bP4QTX64GtAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=pomaks&f=false. 
  2. ^ a b Ethnologue, Languages of Greece.Bulgarian.
  3. ^ a b Ethnologue: Languages of the World Fourteenth Edition.Bulgarian.
  4. ^ a b Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pomak People.
  5. ^ a b Social Construction of Identities: Pomaks in Bulgaria, Ali Eminov, JEMIE 6 (2007) 2 © 2007 by European Centre for Minority Issues
  6. ^ "Muslim lives in Eastern Europe: gender, ethnicity, and the transformation of Islam in postsocialist Bulgaria", Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, Author Kristen Rogheh Ghodsee, Publisher Princeton University Press, 2009, ISBN 0691139555, p. 38.
  7. ^ Dismembering the state: the death of Yugoslavia and why it matters, Author P. H. Liotta, Publisher Lexington Books, 2001, ISBN 0739102125, p. 246.
  8. ^ Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia, Ethnic Groups of the World, Author Jeffrey Cole, Publisher ABC-CLIO, 2011, ISBN 1598843028, p. 288.
  9. ^ Turan, Ömer (2007). "Pomaks, Their Past and Present". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (Routledge) 19 (1): 69. doi:10.1080/13602009908716425. 
  10. ^ [1] THE POMAKS, Report - Greek Helsinki Monitor
  11. ^ The World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
  12. ^ Vemund Aarbakke, The Muslim Minority of Greek Thrace, University of Bergen, Bergen, 2000, pp.5 and 12 (pp. 27 and 34 in the pdf file). [2]
  13. ^ Olga Demetriou, "Prioritizing 'ethnicities': The uncertainty of Pomak-ness in the urban Greek Rhodoppe", in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1, January 2004, pp.106-107 (pp. 12-13 in the pdf file). [3]
  14. ^ The Balkans, Minorities and States in Conflict (1993), Minority Rights Publication, by Hugh Poulton, p. 111.
  15. ^ Richard V. Weekes; Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey, Volume 1; 1984; p.612
  16. ^ Raju G. C. Thomas; Yugoslavia unraveled: sovereignty, self-determination, intervention; 2003, p.105
  17. ^ R. J. Crampton, Bulgaria, 2007, p.8
  18. ^ Janusz Bugajski, Ethnic politics in Eastern Europe: a guide to nationality policies, organizations, and parties; 1995, p.237
  19. ^ http://www.nsi.bg/Census/StrReligion.htm
  20. ^ Muslim identity and the Balkan State; Hugh Poulton, Suha Taji-Farouki; 1997, p. 102
  21. ^ Interview With Mr. Damjan Iskrenov* and Mr. Shikir Bujukov* from the Village of Kochan – Pomaks from Chech, Western Rodop Mountains (Pirin Part of Macedonia), R. of Bulgaria
  22. ^ READING ROOM 3: Raw deal for the Pomaks
  23. ^ Помаците искат да бъдат признати като етнос
  24. ^ Histories and Identities: Nation-state and Minority Discourses. The Case of the Bulgarian Pomaks. Ulf Brunnbauer, University of Graz
  25. ^ a b Raichevsky, Stoyan (2004). "Geographical Boundaries". Pencheva, Maya (translator). Sofia: Natl Museum of Bulgaria. ISBN 978-954-930-841-9. 
  26. ^ "Structure of the population by religion" (in Bulgarian). Census 2001. National Statistical Institute. http://www.nsi.bg/Census/StrReligion.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-04. 
  27. ^ DIMITROV, VESSELIN: "In Search of a Homogeneous Nation: The Assimilation of Bulgaria's Turkish Minority, 1984-1985", London School of Economics and Political Science, UK December 23, 2000
  28. ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed (2005). "Languages of Turkey (Europe)". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TRE. 
  29. ^ Capidan, Theodor. Meglenoromânii, istoria şi graiul lor, vol. I, Bucureşti, 1925, p.5, 19, 21-22 (Capidan, Theodor. Megleno-Romanians - their history and dialect, Bucharest 1925, vol 1, p.5, 19, 21-22)
  30. ^ Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars, published by the Endowment Washington, D.C. 1914, p. 199.
  31. ^ The Balkan Human Rights Web Pages
  32. ^ Adamou E. & Drettas G. 2008, Slave, Le patrimoine plurilingue de la Grèce - Le nom des langues II, E. Adamou (éd.), BCILL 121, Leuven, Peeters, p. 107-132.
  33. ^ Adamou, E. 2010, Bilingual Speech and Language Ecology in Greek Thrace: Romani and Pomak in contact with Turkish, Language in Society 39/2 : 147-171.
  34. ^ Demetriou, Olga (January 2004). "Prioritizing 'ethnicities': The uncertainty of Pomak-ness in the urban Greek Rhodoppe". Ethnic and Racial Studies (27)., pg. 105–108 [4]
  35. ^ An article in the Greek Newspaper Xronos, printed 17.03.2010
  36. ^ Report of the International Commission to Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars, published by the Endowment Washington, D.C. 1914, p.28, 155, 288, 317, Лабаури, Дмитрий Олегович. Болгарское национальное движение в Македонии и Фракии в 1894-1908 гг: Идеология, программа, практика политической борьбы, София 2008, с. 184-186, Поп Антов, Христо. Спомени, Скопje 2006, с. 22-23, 28-29, Дедиjeр, Jевто, Нова Србиjа, Београд 1913, с. 229, Петров Гьорче, Материали по изучаванието на Македония, София 1896, с. 475 (Petrov, Giorche. Materials on the Study of Macedonia, Sofia, 1896, p. 475)
  37. ^ Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE). Muslims of Macedonia. p. 2, 11
  38. ^ Лабаури, Дмитрий Олегович. Болгарское национальное движение в Македонии и Фракии в 1894-1908 гг: Идеология, программа, практика политической борьбы, София 2008, с. 184, Кънчов, Васил. Македония. Етнография и статистика, с. 39-53 (Kanchov, Vasil. Macedonia — ethnography and statistics Sofia, 1900, p. 39-53),Leonhard Schultze Jena. «Makedonien, Landschafts- und Kulturbilder», Jena, G. Fischer, 1927
  39. ^ Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage: ihre entestehung und etwicklung bis 1908., Wiessbaden 1979 (in Bulgarian: Аданър, Фикрет. Македонският въпрос, София2002, с. 20)
  40. ^ Urgent anthropology Vol. 3 Problems of Multiethnicity in the Western Balkans. Fieldwork Edited by Antonina Zhelyazkova, ISBN 954-8872-53-6.
  41. ^ „Българите в Македония. Издирвания и документи за тяхното потекло, език и народност с етнографска карта и статистика“, Българска Академия на Науките С.,1917; стр. 21.
  42. ^ Nova Evropa,Published by Tipografija, 1927, Item notes: v. 16, p. 449-450
  43. ^ Kosovo: the Bradt travel guide, Gail Warrander, Verena Knaus, Published by Bradt Travel Guides, 2007, ISBN 1-84162-199-4, p. 211.
  44. ^ Historical dictionary of Kosova, Robert Elsie, Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8108-5309-4, p. 70.
  45. ^ Bulgarians in the region of Korcha and Mala Prespa (Albania) nowadays, Balkanistic Forum (1-3/2005), South-West University "Neofit Rilski", Blagoevgrad, Pashova, Anastasija Nikolaeva; Issue: 1-3/2005, Page Range: 113-130.
  46. ^ Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo by Gerlachlus Duijzings, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, ISBN 185065431, p. 27.
  47. ^ Ortaylı, İlber. "Son İmparatorluk Osmanlı (The Last Empire: Ottoman Empire)", İstanbul, Timaş Yayınları (Timaş Press), 2006. pp. 87–89. ISBN 975-263-490-7 (Turkish).
  48. ^ Greek newspaper "Kathimerini", Column "Exploring the Pomak villages", Athens 12th December 2009
  49. ^ Pomak newspaper "Nat Press", Article "The verbal tradition of Pomaks in Rodope", Komotini 6th September 2009
  50. ^ Цветкова, Бистра (1972) (in Bulgarian). Турски извори за българската история. Том 3:2. София: Българска академия на науките. pp. 416. ISBN 043901834X. OCLC 405458491. 
  51. ^ Pomak newspaper "Nat Press", Article "People's traditions, proverbs and enigmas of Pomaks", Komotini 6th September 2009
  52. ^ M. G. Varvounis Folk tales of Pomaks in Thrace, Athens 1996
  53. ^ Горчева, Даниела (2009-02-01). "Балканите: съжителство на вековете" (in Bulgarian). Либерален Преглед (21). http://www.librev.com/index.php/bg/component/content/article/article/23-discussion-bulgaria/457-2009-06-16-06-32-51. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 
  54. ^ Тодорова, Мария (2009-02-04). "Ислямизацията като мотив в българската историография, литература и кино" (in Bulgarian). Либерален Преглед (21). http://www.librev.com/index.php/bg/component/content/article/article/23-discussion-bulgaria/460-2009-06-16-06-32-27. Retrieved 2009-12-12. 
  55. ^ in turkish: Biyiklioglou Tevfik, "Trakya' da millî mücadele" Ankara 1956
  56. ^ in German: Peter Soustal, "Thrakien (Thrake, Rodope und Haimimontos)" Wienn 1991
  57. ^ in greek: General Administration of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, "Thrace" Komotini 1994
  58. ^ in turkish: Aydinli Ahmet, "Bati Trakya faciasinin icyuzu" Istambul 1972
  59. ^ HbO-Arab mutation originated in the Pomak population of Greek Thrace, Haematologica, Vol 90, Issue 2, 255-257, 2005 by Ferrata Storti Foundation
  60. ^ The origin of Greek Pomaks is based on HbO-Arab mutation history
  61. ^ (Bulgarian language) Йордан Иванов. Богомилски книги и легенди, С., 1925 (фототипно изд. С., 1970), с. 36 (Jordan Ivanov. Bogomil Books and Legends, Sofia, 1925, p. 36: http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/ji/ji_uvod_5.htm or in: Ivanov, Ĵ. Bogomil Books and Legends. Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose, 1976
  62. ^ Edwin Pears. Turkey and its People. New York, George H. Doran Comp., 1912, p. 151 - 152. In: http://www.archive.org/stream/turkeyitspeople00pearrich/turkeyitspeople00pearrich_djvu.txt
  63. ^ Other names for this village: Muslim Pavlikian, Dolno Pavlikeni, now Goran in northern Bulgaria.
  64. ^ Милчо Йовков. Павликяни и павликянски селища в българските земи XV-XVIII в. Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", София, 1991, c. 109. Translated from Bulgarian: Milcho Yovkov. The Paulicians and the Paulician towns and villages on the Bulgarian lands in the XV-XVIII c. “St. Kliment Ohridski” University Press, Sofia, 1991, p. 109.
  65. ^ Fred de Jong, "The Muslim Minority in Western Thrace", in Georgina Ashworth (ed.), Muslim Minorities in the Eighties, Sunbury, Quartermaine House Ltd., 1980, p.95

Further reading

External links

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