MYTHOLOGIES OF THE HEMSHIN TRIBE

The Hemshin tribe (Armenian: Համշէնցիներ, Hamshentsiner; Turkish: Hemşinliler), also known as Hemshinli or Hamshenis or Homshetsi, are a bilingual small group of Armenians who practice Sunni Islam after they had been converted from Christianity in the beginning of the 18th century and are affiliated with the Hemşin and Çamlıhemşin districts in the province of Rize, Turkey. They are Armenian in origin, and were originally Christian members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but over the centuries evolved into a distinct community and converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the region by the Ottomans during the second half of the 15th century. For centuries, the ongoing migration from the geographically isolated highlands to lowlands made Hemshin people settle in the areas near Trabzon, Artvin and in the Western part of the Black sea coast. Thus, is a significant Hamsheni population were formed in Trabzon, Artvin and Western part of the Black sea coast.

The Hemshin people of Turkey live in the northeast region of the country near the shores of the Black Seas. A smaller population of Hemshin lives in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Many scholars believe that the Hemshin were ethnic Armenians whose ancestors converted to Islam to escape death and the severe persecution perpetrated by Muslim Turks. The Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1922) was one of the longest lasting empires in history. In 1922 Turkey became a secular parliamentary republic with Kemal Ataturk as its first leader. Turkey is one of most prosperous and stable predominantly Muslim countries in the world. The present community of Hemshin is Muslim and Turkish speaking. Some of the older members of the Hemshin community still speak the ancient Anatolian (western) Armenian dialect. The Hemshin are well-known for the clever jokes, riddles and stories they tell. The traditional occupations of the Hemshin are cultivating tea, fruit, vegetables and maize. They also raise livestock and engage in beekeeping. Tea and honey are their cash crops. Hemshin tend to marry within their group. Families arrange marriages with the consent of the young people. Parents tend to have large families as many children is seen as the blessing of Allah. Many Hemshin youth are leaving the traditional villages to live in Turkish cities where they will have better educational and economic opportunities.

The Caucasus region as well as the wider Middle East and Central Asia are not like Europe. There are no clear cut identities. Europe spent 500 years ethnically cleansing itself until supposedly homogenous peoples and borders matched. The Hemshin are a perfect example of a group of people who don’t quite fit into the European idea of the nation-state. The nation-state and nationalism have been devastating for the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The ongoing war between Armenia and Azerbaijan breaks my heart because Russia really fostered the hatred between these two ethnic groups. Armenians and Turkic peoples have lived side by side for over 1000 years. Sure there has been conflicts like raids and wars throughout the centuries but Armenian kings and warlords fought each other with Turkish allies and Turkish amirs and sultans relied on their Armenian mountain lord allies to fight their civil wars too. There has been trade between the groups, intermarriage and religious conversions between. The nationalists of Armenia and Azerbaijan have tried to erase the complex history of the region to have this eternal rivalry between Armenians and Turks. That is NOT true. This is not an eternal hatred but a conflict of who gets to live in Nagorno-Karabakh AND political elites exploiting their citizens to stay in power. Azeris and Armenians should get to live IN FREEDOM and PEACE in Nagorno-Karabkh and Azeris need to understand that even if they ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabkh of Armenians, it will not help them be any better off under the cruel dictatorship of Aliyev.

Towards the eastern reaches of the Black Sea region, near the borders with Georgia and Armenia, lies a mountainous and mysterious area, inhabited by a people who call themselves Hamshentsiner in Armenian and Hemşinliler in Turkish —, who have only in recent decades begun to attract the interest of the Turkish public. According to various historical records and sources the Hamshen people are ethnic Armenians who were Christians and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church but over the centuries were either forcibly or voluntarily converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the region by the Ottomans in the mid-15th century and during the Armenian genocide in 1915, evolving into a “distinct ethnic group.” Where exactly is Hemshin or Hamshen? Who are these Hemshin people? Are they Armenian? How do they define their identity? What is the definition of “Hemshinli identity”? What are the distinctive features of Hemshin culture? Are there any similarities with Armenian culture?

The Hemshin people (Armenian: Համշէնցիներ, Hamshentsiner; Turkish: Hemşinliler), also known as Hemshinli or Hamshenis or Homshetsi, are a bilingual small group of Armenians who practice Sunni Islam after they had been converted from Christianity in the beginning of the 18th century and are affiliated with the Hemşin and Çamlıhemşin districts in the province of Rize, Turkey. They are Armenian in origin, and were originally Christian members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, but over the centuries evolved into a distinct community and converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of the region by the Ottomans during the second half of the 15th century. For centuries, the ongoing migration from the geographically isolated highlands to lowlands made Hemshin people settle in the areas near Trabzon, Artvin and in the Western part of the Black sea coast. Thus, is a significant Hamsheni population were formed in Trabzon, Artvin and Western part of the Black sea coast.

The reason that the Hemshin community converted to Islam, as you might suspect, was largely under various degrees of duress, but it was not always entirely Islamized, not did Ottomans always accept that conversation was complete and honest. This is perhaps best exemplified in the mid-1800s when it was decreed that Christians of the Empire would be considered equal to Muslims, and in turn saw some attempts to convert back, which were repressed by Ottoman authorities. Relatedly, Christian Hemshin faced forced deportations and massacres in the 1860s, most of those who survived ending up in Russian Georgia (although they would face new deportations by Stalin a few generations later). By the 20th century, the Hemshin mostly thought of themselves as Turkish, and in the persecutions of Armenians in the late 19th and early 20th century, they often could be found as participants, at least partly motivated specifically by the desire to differentiate themselves from Armenian communities, and this was also true during the genocide of 1915, taking the opportunity to plunder the property left by their Armenian neighbors. At the same time of course, it should be stressed that other members of the Hemshin community acted to hide their neighbors from authorities, able to use their cultural closeness to very effectively provide cover.

The Hemshin, also called Hemshinli, include both Muslims and Christians, and speakers of dialects of Armenian as well as those who only speak versions of Turkish or other non-Armenian languages influenced by the Armenian language. They have a long and complicated history, during much of which they lived in isolation from mainstream Armenian society and faced great oppression, and they themselves have conflicting notions concerning their identity. Today numbering as many as 150,000 according to some estimates, they live in Turkey, Russia, and Georgia, as well as in some diaspora communities in the west…. Historical Hamshen lies between the Pontic mountain chain in the south and the Black Sea to the north, today part of the Turkish province of Rize. Hemshinli also live further to the east in Artvin province of Turkey in the region around Hopa. Unlike their Laz neighbors, the Hemshin tend to live among the higher mountains, not immediately around the coast. Thanks to the Pontic mountains overlooking the Black Sea, Hamshen is not only fairly inaccessible, but also one of the most humid areas of Turkey, with an average of 250 days of rain per year creating a semi-tropical climate. A quasi-permanent fog covers the area. The Armenians there were always in close proximity to the sea, even when their political borders did not quite reach it. Musical instruments associated with the Hemshia are the Tulum (a special bagpipe), and the Pontic Kemenche.

The western Hemshinli follow a very pragmatic version of Islam, and still drink alcohol, sing folksongs, and dance in mixed company…. Attempts to prove the Hemshinli to have Turkish origins fit in with broader historiographical and linguistic approaches in Turkey, which in the 1930s went to the extreme of proclaiming that all languages derived from Turkish, and all civilizations were either Turkish in origin or influenced by the Turks historically.” Homshetsi is a spoken language amongst the Eastern Hemshinli, also known as the Hopa Hemshinli, who live in a small number of villages in Turkey’s Artvin Province and Central Asia. The Western or Rize Hamsheni are a related, geographically separate group living in Rize Province, who spoke Homshetsi until sometime in the 19th century. They now speak only Turkish with many Homshetsi loanwords.[1] A third group, the northern Homshentsik, who live in Russia, Georgia (Abkhazia), Armenia, also speak Homshetsi. Homshetsi (Armenian: Հոմշեցի, romanized: Homshetsi lizu; Turkish: Hemşince) is an archaic Western Armenian dialect spoken by the eastern and northern group of Hemshin peoples (Hemşinli), a people living in northeastern Turkey, Abkhazia, Russia, and Central Asia.

Hamshen Armenians (as opposed to the Hemshin) are the descendants of Armenians who refused to convert to Islam and fled Hamshen from the end of the Seventeenth Century onwards. These refugees took mainly refuge in the Canik (i.e. Samsun), Ordu and Trabzon regions. From there they moved from the 1860s on to Abkhazia and to the Sochi region of southern Russia where their descendants are now settled. The general location of the Hamshen villages in Abkhazia and Southern Russia can be seen at the center left hand corner of this MAP. They are shown as “a)” in the purple Abkhaz area and in one location immediately to the North-West.

Hamshen (Համշէն) Armenians or Hamshenis (Համշենի) are a group of Armenians who inhabit the Black Sea coastal areas of Turkey, Russia, and Georgia. Most adhere to either Sunni Islam or Armenian Apostolic Christianity. Leontius the Priest wrote that in the 8th century, the Armenian princes Hamam and Shapuh Amatuni, who lost their domains in Artaz to Arabs, moved to the Byzantine Empire with 12,000 of their people. They were given the town of Tambut in the mountains (S of Rhizaion). The town was immediately renamed Hamamashen, which evolved to Hamshen (the Armenian and local name for it) or Hemşin (the official and Turkish name today). This pocket of Armenian people prospered in the Pontic Mountains, and, virtually cut of from other Armenian populations, developed it’s unique dialect of Armenian. In the 18th century, these Armenians who formed the diocese of Khachkar, began to convert to Islam. They retained their dialect however, and speak it to this day. These people also retained independence until the 19th century, ruled by their own derebeys (valley lords), all under the voivode (general chief). The biggest population is still centered in Hemşin, most live in the Futuna (Greek: Pordanis) River valley between Pazar (was Atina) on the coast, and the peak of Kajkar (origin of name is the Armenian Khachkar) Mountain, in the villages of Hemşin, Torasil, Pertewan, Ayren, Tredzor (Dzimla), Yeghiovit (near where St. Khachig Monastery was) and Artashen at their easternmost settlement. Hamshen Armenians also settled in other areas, some Muslim and some Christian. To the west they reached as far as Samsun, where they live in the village of Khurchunli (near the mouth of the Iris or Yeshil River) among others. To the east and the north they settled in places as far as Sukhumi in Abkhazia (mostly Christian Hamshen), as well as in two villages near the town of Artvin, in Eastern Turkey. In the area of Ardala town there are speakers of a Hamshen subdialect as well. In the district of Hopa, Hamshen form the majority of the population in and around the town of Kemalpaşa. Some Muslim Hamshen who settled in Georgia were exiled to Kazakhstan in Stalin’s time. There are still problems regarding their return. Hamshen are known for their folklore – tales, proverbs, jokes, riddles. A motion picture, Momi (Grandma) was filmed in the Hamshen dialect in 2000. Many (especially younger) Hamshen identify themselves as Armenians. Many of the easternmost Hemshinli villages in Turkey preserve their original Armenian dialects, commonly referred to as Homshetsma or Homshetsnak by their speakers.

We need to look at how the Hemshinli living in Turkey define themselves, and the second is to have the ethnic root perspective. From the first perspective these people met with Islam centuries ago, they were islamised and became part of the Muslim society and today being Turkish and Muslim is part of their identity. At least that’s what the majority of the Hemshinli living in Turkey think. From this historic perspective, the Hemshinli are described as an islamised Armenian community living in Hemshinli region under the Ottoman Empire in the 1700’s. Of course, nationalists reject this historical information. They claim that the Hemshinli are of Turkic origin and they have some linguistic are cultural convergences due to the fact that they lived on the same territory with Armenians. Democratic, leftist and socialist Hemshinlis are more fond of the idea that the Hemshinli are an islamised Armenian community. But this is only a historic information for most of them, even for them it is impossible to talk about  Armenian consciousness as a feeling. We might say very few people have this consciousness of being Armenian. One way or another it is difficult to say that all people calling themselves Hemshinli have the same ethnic root. Both those who settled down due to the Ottoman population policy and other people who settled there before the Ottoman era lived in the region. Although it is said the Hemshinli are of Armenian origin historically and ethnically, it would not be realistic to claim this for all.

In the 18th-13th centuries BC, the southeast coast of the Black Sea (the modern Black Sea coast of Turkey) has been part of the state of Hayasa. In the 13th-8th centuries BC, 60 small principalities have appeared on the site of the disintegrated state of Hayasa. In particular, along the Black Sea coast, the principality of Chaldia has appeared. The Hayasa tribe of the Chaldoi people were the direct ancestors of the modern Hemshin people. In the 8th-7th centuries BC, Greek colonists from Macedonia have settled in Chaldia, founding several Greek port cities (the largest of which was Trebizond) in its coastal areas. In the 6th-2nd centuries BC, Chaldia has been part of Lesser Armenia. In the 2nd-1st centuries BC, the whole Lesser Armenia (including Chaldia) has been part of the Greek Pontic kingdom. In the 1st-5th centuries AD, Chaldia has been part of the Roman Empire.

Information and short dates about Hemshin:  Rising to 3972 metres, Kaçkar forms the highest peak of the Black Sea Mountains. The isolated valleys on its northern foothills form the region of Hemshin – a district of spectacular wilderness, deeply forested and under a semi-permanent cover of raincloud. For many travellers, it is the most memorable part of a Black Sea Journey. Some hiking is reguired to take in the full magic of the region. Roads (except for the newly paved Çamlıhemşin-Ayder drive) are poor. The climate is unpredictable, and so are local attitudes to time. The best advice is to reserve two full days at least, and to be prepared for unplanned extensions. Out of such isolation has emerged a unigue breed of highland people, the Hemşinlis. Their origins are a matter of debate – usually conducted in sotto voce, as modern Turkish opinion would rather leave suck matters undiscussed. Most sources agree that the inhabitants of Hemşin spoke Armenian until about 200 years ago, and were Christians, of a sort, until some point in the 17. th century. They may have been Armenians who travelled over the mountains at some early date; just as possibly they were a native people (perhaps the Heptacometes af ancient authors) who were mixed with and accultured by their southern neighbours. There is no sign that a church ever existed in the district; there seems to have been no mosgue, either, prior to the mid-20 century.

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