Tariel Putkaradze (Kutaisi State University Dialectology ResearchInstitute) and Natia Putkaradze (I.

Javakhishvili State University of Tbilisi)

Some aspects of the national and linguistic identity of descendants of Georgian Muhajirs

‘Descendants of Georgian Muhajirs’ implies descendants of Georgians who migrated from Southern and
South-western Georgia – Achara, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imerkhevi, Tao-Klarjeti, Livana-Machakheli and
Lazeti – to central Turkey in the 19th century, who have preserved an awareness of their Georgian (Gurj
or Laz) identity.
The main aspects of the identity of personal self are: language, ethnic origin, citizenship of a state, way of
conscious and private life (religion, culture, etc.). Our present scope of analysis does not include other
personal features (sex, appearance, character/temperament, education, etc.). However, for a
comprehensive consideration of the problem of our immediate interest they too are surely to be taken into
account, as a particular person’s anthropological and emotive features are not rarely of essential
importance in the analysis of Georgian identity.
As a rule, the main factor in defining national identity is a knowledge of the mother tongue. The
knowledge of the mother tongue is the inherent, immanent awareness of one’s own nationality (this
implies thinking and at least family communication on the basis of either the literary language or any of
its dialects, in the given case: Acharan, Laz, Megrelian, Lashkhian, Lentekhian, Imerkhevian, Samtskhe-
Javakhetian, Livanan, etc.). The problem arises from the viewpoint of national identity under the
conditions of forgetting the mother tongue.
Thus, in a similar case, the Jews survived thanks to their religion. For the Georgian Muhajirs, the
religious feature had already been obliterated before they left Georgia, hence Mohammedanism became
an additional factor on the way to losing their Georgian identity.
To persons living outside their motherland and to those who have found themselves in their territory
under the jurisdiction of the state of a different ethnos, the strength of the mother tongue, awareness of
culture, religion or other aspects of the national identity is not the same as the identity of persons living in
their motherland. Thus, some Georgians living in Turkey no longer have either their mother tongue (the
Georgian
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literary language or the native dialect) or their traditional religion.
However, they still regard themselves as Georgians due to an awareness of their Georgian origin. They
distinguish themselves from others by means of their original dance style, which is different from the
Turkish style, their traditional Georgian cuisine, their habitual manner of loud conversation, and other
such features.
The present-day generation of Georgian Muhajirs who have lost their mother tongue falls into two
distinct groups:
• Turkish-minded people who are ashamed of knowing the Georgian language (regarding this as
provincialism!).
• Those who do not speak their mother tongue and have only a scant knowledge of their historical
homeland, traditional religion and the modern Georgian state, but still consider themselves Georgians due
to a memory and an awareness of their Georgian genetic code.
These people cling to their own ethnic roots and even engage publicly in heated arguments with their
already Turkicized fellow countrymen.

moxsenebis qarTuli varianti

tariel futkaraZe, naTia futkaraZe

muhajiri qarTvelebis STamomavalTa erovnul-enobrivi

1
 TviTgansazRvrisaTvis

muhajiri qarTvelis STamomavalSi vgulisxmobT me-19

saukuneSi samxreT da samxreT-dasavleT saqarTvelodan -
aWaridan, samcxe-javaxeTidan, imerxevidan, tao-klarjeTidan,
livana-maWaxlidan da lazeTidan - gaxiznul qarTvelTa im
memkvidrebs, vinc dRemde Semoinaxa Tavisi qarTvelobis
(gurjobis an lazobis) xsovna.
adamianis pirovnuli TviTaRqmis ZiriTadi waxnagebia: sqesi,
ena, eTnikuri warmomavloba, moqalaqeoba, cnobieri da yofieri
cxovrebis wesi (sarwmunoeba, kultura...); pirovnuli
maxasiaTeblebis meore nawili (garegnoba, temperamenti,
ganaTleba da sxv.) ganxilvis velSi amJamad ar Semogvaqvs,
Tumca, Cveni dRevandeli problemis sruli daxasiaTebisaTvis, isinic
aucileblad gasaTvaliswinebelia, vinaidan Cvens sakvlev velSi
qarTvelad (aWarelad, lazad, imerxevelad...) TviTaRqmis
TvalsazrisiT, araiSviaTad, arsebiTi mniSvneloba eniWeba
konkretuli piris anTropologiur da emociur maxasiaTeblebs.
erovnuli TviTobis (erovnuli TviTaRqmis) ganmsazRvrel
faqtorTagan, rogorc wesi, ZiriTadia dedaenis codna; dedaenis
flobaSi vgulisxmobT, samwignobro enis an dedaenis romelime
kilos (Cvens SemTxvevaSi, aWarulis, lazuris, imerxeulis, samcxur-
javaxuris, livanuris da sxv.) bazaze azrovnebasa da, sul mcire,
saojaxo komunikacias.
winaswar unda aRvniSnoT isic, rom dedaenis, cnobieri
kulturis, sarwmunoebis Tu TviTaRqmis sxva waxnagTa Zala
erTgvarovani ar aris samSobloSi mcxovreb, samSoblos gareT
mcxovreb da sakuTari miwa-wyliTurT sxva eTnosis saxelmwifos
iurisdiqciaSi moxvedril pirTa erovnul da enobriv TviTaRqmaSi;
mag., TurqeTSi mcxovrebi zog qarTvels aRara aqvs dedaena
(daviwyebuli aqvs qarTuli samwignobro enac da mSobliuri kiloc),
arc istoriuli sarwmuloeba, magram Tavs mainc qarTvelad
aRiqvams Tavisi qarTuli warmomavlobis codnis gamo; igi
sxvaTagan Tavs imijnavs an mxolod Tavisi cekviT, an ojaxSi
SemorCenili qarTuli saWmelis tradiciiT Tu sxva analogiuri
Rirebulebis niSniT.…
Sesabamisad, kiTxvaze: "ra aris qarTvelobis pirveli niSani
TurqeTis respublikaSi mcxovrebi muhajiri qarTvelisaTvis"
erTgvarovani pasuxi SeuZlebelia.
TurqeTSi mcxovreb qarTvelebTan urTierTobisas wlebis
manZilze mravali saanalizo da sakvalifikacio faqti damigrovda:
TiTqmis 20 wlis manZilze vakvirdebodi da vswavlobdi muhajir
qarTvelTa metyvelebas (1987 wels davicavi sakandidato
disertacia Temaze "saxelis formawarmoebis Taviseburebani
2
qarTuli enis aWarul, imerxevul da mesxur-javaxur kiloebSi"),
ganwyobas, erovnul TviTSegnebas; TurqeTis saqarTveloSi
pirvelad 1992 wels vimogzaure, bolos ki - 2004 wlis ivlisSi. aqac
xSirad myavs stumrad iqauri qarTvelebi; sul axlaxans ki
vumaspinZle cnobil publicistsa da saintereso qarTvel erovnul
moRvawes - juneit diasamiZes; juneiti suliT xorcamde qarTvelia
(Tqven dagirigdaT amonaridebi misi werilebidan), Tumca, qarTuli
jerjerobiT Zalian cudad icis…
CemTvis mTavari, Tumca, zogadad, ar axali, daskvna
aseTia:
arsebiTi gancda rac samSoblodakargul adamians aqvs, aris
"miusafroba ucxoobaSi"; man icis, grZnobs, rom misi mxedvelobis
areSi mcxovreb sazogadoebaSi is aris sxva.
roca aris codna, an daskvna, rom "me var sxva", iqve
Cndeba kiTxvebic:
ra aris Cemi ganmasxvavebeli sazogadoebriv-erovnuli
Tviseba (niSani, markeri)? rogori Tviseba-niSania is?
rogorc wesi, adamiani cdilobs es gansxvavebuloba
upiratesobad warmoaCinos; Tuki es ar gamouvida, Seecdeba
"waiSalos" es sxvaoba. aseT SemTxvevaSi igi jer "Ramurad"
iqceva bolos ki, misi STamomavali saerTod kargavs eTnikur
mexsierebas.
TurqeTSi mcxovreb qarTvelTaTvis, bunebrivia, erovnuli
TviTgamijvna jer xdeba eniT; sul axlaxan, taos maRal sofel
xevaiSi mcxovrebi ZirZveli qarTveli aziz yurSuni didi siamayiT
misabuTebda Tavisi dedaenis - qarTuli enis leqsikur simdidres
TurqulTan SedarebiT; misabuTebda da Tan gancdiT eloda Cems
dasturs, vinaidan icoda Cemi profesia.
muhajir qarTvelTa sruli umravlesoba zomieri mahmadiania,
amdenad, erovnuli TviTobis aspeqtiT religias raime rols ver
mivaniWebT:
fanatikos muslimans erovneba ara aqvs; magaliTad:
adafazaris raionSi, sofel mejidieSi, sadac ZiriTadad Suaxedvidan
gadasaxlebuli qarTvelebi cxovrobdnen, ramdenime kaci Tavs
Turqad Tvlida Tavisi muslimanobis gamo, ramdenime Riad
acxadebda, rom qarTvelia da Tuki saqarTvelo da TurqeTi odesme
erTmaneTs iaraRiT daupirispirdeba, saqarTvelos jarSi Caewereba;
umravlesoba ki amboboda, rom qarTvelia, magram TurqeTic
uyvars, vinaidan axla TurqeTSi cxovrobs; Sesabamisad, omis dros
isini neitralitets daiWeren da ori xalxis Serigebaze izruneben.
dedaenis floba TavisTavadi, imanenturi codnaa sakuTari
erovnulobisa. probleba Cndeba dedaenis daviwyebis pirobebSi,
aseT dros, mag., ebraelebisaTvis gadamrCeni aRmoCnda religia;

3
muhajirebisTvis es niSani waSlili iyo jer kidev saqarTveloSi
yofnisas…
tao-klarjeTSi xSirad SexvdebiT klasikuri qarTveluri
garegnobis adamians, ggonia Zmas Sexvdi, magran mas Seni ar
esmis da Sen misi; samwuxarod, mas warmodgenac ki ara aqvs
Tavisi qarTuli warmomavlobis Sesaxeb; SeiZleba marTlac ar aris
warmoSobiT qarTveli?
sxva saqmea, roca man icis rom misi winapari qarTveli iyo;
Tumca, Tavad arc qarTuli icis, arc qristiania, arc saqarTvelo
unaxavs (zogjer Tuki arsebobobda saqarTvelo, esec ki ar icodnen
me-20 saukunis dasasrulamde!).
aseTi donis codnis flobis pirobebSi muhajirTa STamomavlis
TvalSi wina planze iwevs TurqTa naklulovani mxareebi da
aqtiurdeba aqcentireba TavisTavSi Semonaxul iseT sxva
qarTvelur niSnebze, rogoricaa:
cekva (simRera enasTan erTad kvdeba, cekva ufro
gamZlea!), qarTvelisTvis damaxasiaTebeli anTropologiuri niSnebi,
bunebis siyvaruli, xmamaRali laparakis Cveva, fiqriani
gamometyveleba da sxva. aseTi qarTvelebi Tavis dedaenad
mainc Tvlian daviwyebul qarTuls; isini gansakuTrebiT ewafebian
TavianTi gadasaxlebis istoriis codnas, zogadad, qarTvelTa istoriis
codnas. ganaxlebuli tkiviliani mexsiereba asevdianebT maT,
Tumca, es sevda ufro umZafrebT srulfasovani qarTvelobisken
swrafvas, rac, pirvel rigSi, gamoixateba deda enis SeswavlaSi,
bolos ki marTlmadiudeblurad monaTvlaSic, Tumca monaTvla ufro
formaluri ritualia maTTvis, vidre aucilebeli maxasiaTebeli; isini
samarTlianad Tvlian, rom erovnulobis aucilebeli saxea ena.
qarTvelobis gancda erTia, da qarTvelobisaTvis brZola
meore.
muhajir qarTvelTa didi nawili sakuTari qarTvelobis
gadarCenisTvis ibrZvis (saqarTvelos xelisufleba jerjerobiT didad
ver exmareba maT!); muhajirTa mxolod mciredi nawili Tu ibrZvis
sxva qarTvelTa gadasarCenad. aRsaniSnavia is, rom amgvari
qarTvelebis paTosi - iliasebri paTosi ikvebeba tkiviliani
warmomavlobis gaazrebuli codniT; es codna maT mudam
aanTebT sabrZolvelad. magaliTad, maT kargad ician ra winaparTa
muhajirobis mizezebi, kerZod, rom es iyo ruseTis imperiisa da
somexi liderebis garigeba (mag., arzrumis somexTa episkoposisa
da mTavarmarTebel bebuTovis mimoweris Sesaxeb ix.,
z.WiWinaZe, 1912, gv. 68-69).
muhajirTa es nawili Tavis winapars danaSaulad uTvlis
samSoblos datovebas; magaliTad, Cemi respodenti juneiT
diasamiZe TiTqmis lanZRavda Tavis im winapars, vinc rusebis
SiSiT miatova maWaxlis xeoba, kerZod, sofeli maradidi.
4
 Sdr., fragmenti z.WiWinaZis wignidan:
"me darwmunebuli var, rom qarvel mahmadianTa Svilebis
umetesi nawili dRes Tu ara xval, Tvals aaxels, igini gamovlen
moqalaqeobis asparezzed da mas mere moikiTxaven Tavisi
samSoblo qveynis istorias da gardasaxlebis cnobebs da maSin
igini gacecxlebiT savseni daSTebian Tavis mama papaTa
Secdomebzed, amodola xalxis gadasaxleba-daRupvazed"
(z.WiWinaZe, 1912, gv. 60).
aqve aRvniSnavT imiasac, rom muhajirTa meore nawili
sevdiT ixsenebs Tavis qarTvelobas, magram Tavs qarTvelad ar
aRiqvams; miT umetes, amgvari fiqris ganwyobas ar uqmnis arc
codna Tavisi warsulisa da arc saqarTvelos dRevandeli duxWiri
yofa
. niSandoblivia, rom maTSi aris mzaoba Tavisi qarTvelobis
aRiarebisa da samSobloSi dabrunebisa, Tuki dedasamSoblos
siZliere mas pirovnul siamayes mohgvris.
muhajirTa dRevandeli Taoba or gamokveTil jgufad iyofa:
a) erTni aqtiurad Turqoben, qarTulis codnac ki ercxvinebaT
(provincializmad miaCniaT!);
b) meore nawili, Tumca ver flobs dedaenas da mciredi
codna aqvs samSobloze, dedareligiasa Tu Tanamedrove
saqarTvelos saxelmwifoze, cdilobs qarTvelad darCenas. visac xeli
miuwvdeba eleqtronul Tu beWdviT mediaze, cdilobs amxilos kidec
karieras gamokidebuli is qarTvelebi, romlebsac qarTveloba aTasSi
erTxel Tu axsendebaT.
TurqeTis sazRvrebSi mcxovreb qarTvelTa cnobierebaze didi
gavlena moaxdina Turqulma saxelmwifoebrivma propagandam,
romelic araiSviaTad fsevdosamecniero Sedegebze dayrdnobiT
xorcieldeba, (am mxriv Cven aq warmodgenili gvaqvs sagulisxmo
dokumenturi masalaa, romelic ukve dagirigdaT).
informaciis gacvlis Tanamedrove pirobebSi irRveva ra
maizolirebeli sazRvrebi Tu Caroebi, muhajirTaTvis problemas aRar
warmoadgens swori informaciis miReba, Sesabamisad,
qarTvelobis gaxseneba Tu am xsovnis SenarCuneba.
amJamad arsebiTia sxva sakiTxi:
saqarTvelos dRevandeli sazRvrebis gareT mcxovrebi
qarTvelisTvis ramdenad prestiJulia sakuTari Tavis identificireba im
kulturasTan, romelsac qarTveloba hqvia?
bunebrivia es kiTxva SemTxveviT ar gavaaqtualureT.
am aspeqtiT, arsebiTia saqarTvelos xelisuflebis,
arasamTavrobo organizaciebisa da individualuri pirebis
moRvaweoba:
Cven unda SevZloT, sxvadasxva saxelmwifoSi gafantul
qarTvelT iolad gasagebi teqstebiT mivawodoT informacia didi
5
qarTveluri warsulisa Tu kulturis Sesaxeb, raTa maTi pirovnuli
Rirseba gamTliandes:
arcerT normalur adamians ar surs gaudiferencirebeli,
uerovnulo warsuli, an Ramurasebri gaoreba.
babilonis godolos misteriidan moyolebuli - mas Semdeg rac
Seiqmna kacobriobis mravalerovani da Sesamabisad
sicocxlisunariani modeli, adamiani intuitiurad eZiebs Tavis
erovnul saxes; Tanamedrove adamiani ufro gaazrebulad
miiswrafvis Tavisi erovnuli me-s Sesacnobad, vinaidan dRevandel
Ria msoflioSi arsebiTi mniSvneloba eniWeba erovnul
TavisTavadobas, romelic aSkarad da gamokveTilad warmoadgens
pirovnul maxasiaTebels.
SeiZleba davaskvnaT:
dedaenisa da dedareligiis velidan gasul -
samSoblowarTmeul individTa - muhajiri qarTvelebis
STamomavalTa - didi nawilis tkiviliani cxovreba-brZola Tavisi
qarTvelobis srulyofisaTvis, eTnikuri fesvebis ukvdavebis kargi
nimuSia. maT ekonomikuri problemebi naklebad aSinebT, Tumca,
angariSs am faqtorsac uweven.

დაიბეჭდა კრებულში, რომლის სათაურია:

Language, History And Cultural Identities In The Caucasusu (June 17-19, 2005),
abstracts, Malmö University, p.38-39

Contents - სარჩევი
Foreword, 6

Hijran Aliyeva: The transit of Caspian petroleum by pipe-line. BAKU (Azerbaijan) – SUPSA (Georgia) – ODESSA
– BRODY (Ukraine) GDANSK (Poland), 8

Nino Amiridze: Mismatches between form and meaning. Reanalysing wish and blessing formulae in Georgian, 9

Marine Beridze and Manana Kock Kobaidze: Ethnic identity features: Creation, loss and revival dynamics. (The
case of Turkish Meskhetians), 13

Tinatin Bolkvadze: On some concepts about the Georgian language and concepts about the Georgian language and
cultural identity in Old Georgia, 15

Mark Bromberger: The Georgian diaspora: A case study of the Georgian community in Israel, 17

Marika Butskhrikidze: The status of the sonorant /v/ in Georgian, 18

Nani Chanishvili: The language situation in Caucasus and national identity, 19

Marina Chumakina: The cultural setting for a XXI century dictionary, 19

Ib Faurby: ‘A small victorious war’: Human rights violations, terrorism and the destruction of Chechen society, 21

Ketevan Gadilia: The history of the translation of the Bible into Georgian, 22
Page 2
6
4
Rebecca Gould: Terrorizing power: Abrechestvo in Caucasian mountaineer culture, 23

Teimuraz Gvantseladze: The language situation in Abkhazia. (Facts without comments), 24

Zaal Kikvidze: Sociolinguistic deficit in the social capital of some ethnic Groups in post-Soviet Georgia, 25

Giorgi Kipiani, Thea Kacharava and Nino Japharidze: The impact of the socio-cultural setting and identity on
childrens’ perceptions of ethnic well-being, 26

Dodona Kiziria: The semiotics of naming: Literary names of streets in Tbilisi, 28

Yasuhiro Kojima: Relative clauses in modern Georgian, 29

Andrea Kuzmich: The continuity of a tradition: A survey of the performance practice of Georgian traditional
polyphonic songs in Tbilisi, 30

Gucha Kvaratskhelia: Conversation manners in Georgian proverbs, 31

Amiran Lomtadze and Manana Tabidze: Some problems of the func-tioning of the Georgian language in Georgia,
31

Märta-Lisa Magnusson: International mediation in intrastate conflicts. Why no settlement in the Karabakh conflict?,
34

Anna Meskhi: Phoenician ‘Aleph and Kartuli Asomtavruli Ani and Khari (Based on complex comparative
linguistic, cultural, paleographic, and esoteric analyses), 35

Florian Muehlfried: Post-Socialist or post post-Socialist? – Continuity and change in contemporary Georgia, 36

Annegret Plontke-Lüning: Research into Armenian and Georgian me-dieval architecture in the 20 th
century, 37
Page 3
5
Tariel Putkaradze and Natia Putkaradze: Some aspects of the nationaland linguistic identity of descendants
of Georgian Muhajirs, 35-37

Kakhi Sakhltkhutsishvili: The semantics of the Georgian tense syste