OPENING THE KURDISH AND LAZ
A new constitution is made more priority than every time because of recently developments
in Turkey. This Constitution will mean when it removes the government from the center and
receives citizen to the center (democratic). We are supporting Opening Kurds of Republic of
Turkey Government if it is made for other minorities who are living in Turkey.
The native languages which faced with the danger of extinction in Turkey needs to be not
forgotten with a democratic approach as emergency. And it may be an opportunity for our
country in this context. TRT which is public institution began broadcasting in some native
languages in 2004 in Turkey. This is an important the birth of Christ for Turkey.
Unfortunately, Laz did not take place between the languages which are published at TRT on
the contrary of the news which are in press in spite of our specifically request.
January 2008 was the birth of Christ for us who are Laz who are representative of Colchis
Civilization whose history. Laz Hamid who is an intellectual of Laz from Hopa lived period of
Ottoman Sultan II. Abdülhamit and worked to make written language the Laz. His Works
blocked by “coercion regime”. “Mç’ita Murun3xi” (Turkish name: Red Star) which is the first
Laz newspaper was published in Sukhumi (Georgia) in 1929. Its entry to Turkey was
prohibited with the decision of the Council of Ministers. Children's speech which is in Laz
was blocked in schools, combat arms was established against Laz, even intellectuals were
afraid to teach the Laz to their children. Laz, which is under these conditions, is under threat
of extinction and Laz are indigenous people of the Caucasus and Black Sea geography.
TRT-6 (Turkish Radio - Television Corporation Official) began test broadcast in the last day
of 2008. But, unfortunately there were discrimination and inequality at the point of Laz
broadcast whose followers are us.
We demand that the institution of TRT broadcast in Laz! A public institution which is TRT
should not distinguish between the citizens, should be treated equally to everyone.
Television broadcast have vital importance, it is undisputed.
We demand that our mother tongue is teached in public schools, departments related to Laz
language and culture is opened in universities! Our children should learn our mother tongue
in schools to not forget their mother language; only with the support of the state is passed in
front of death of language. For this, works of Laz should be promoted in universities, Laz
language and literature departments should be opened.
Although the content is not officially, in the Kurdish expansion pack should cover all mother
language at first, coming from diverse backgrounds and cultural structures of citizens and
groups. Otherwise, constitutional rights will have been violated; "equality" principle which
should be will be between citizens will be damaged.
Ensure equality between citizens, respect for differences, and assimilation of pluralism and
even be seen as a part of our cultural richness will make possible that Turkey and the world
are in love and peace.
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POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND HISTORY OF LAZ
It is observed that there is serious academic false information at the level of popularity as
well as the level of written documents (legal documents, academic studies, monuments
having research characteristics). With a clearer definition, there is an important confusion
originating from various sources which cannot be ignored in an academic study about what
is meant by the term Laz and consequently who the Laz are. For understanding who the
Laz are and consequently who they are not, we will first consider the meanings attributed to
the term Laz.
The confusion about the content of the term Laz partly originates from the deficiency of our
historical knowledge about Laz people. While the term Laz is a term defining Pont (Black
Sea) publics for foreigners, its is pointing to the Laz people who had not received sufficient
Byzantine culture for separating them from Pontics (Rhomaioi) who speak Greek and had
been completely Byzantined for the ones living in that region.
The term Laz in Anatolia is a common name defining all groups in Black Sea region. In
Turkey, for many people outside the region this definition expresses a regional unit sensed
different from other locations in Anatolia. “It is clear that , in the view of other Anatolians, the
ones living in Rize region do not look similar to them. Their food, clothes, way of speaking,
houses etc. are all different.” Outside the region, Black Sea people tell that they are Laz as
an exprsssion of identity. But for the ones living in the region, Laz are the ones in the east.
“In İstanbul, all Black Sea people including the ones from Samsun and Sinop are called
Laz.; ones from Sinop call the ones from Samsun Laz , the ones from Samsun call the
ones from Trabzon Laz. The ones from Trabzon call the ones from Rize Laz. ” The term Laz
has many meanings for many and with the way of use in Turkey, “the term Laz provided
hiding the ethnical and linguistics characteristics of the region.” For an average individual in
Turkey, Laz is everybody with Black Sea accent. Minorsky cleared this matter in İslamic
Encyclopedia in the article of Laz.
The term Laz is used in the western parts of Turkey to define the public in the eastern Black
sea region, without consideration. But in fact, the public who calls themselves as Laz and
speaks Laz language are settled in Hopa and Pazar (=Athens) nowadays. The fewer
amounts of Laz people around Batum, were taken into Turkey into Sarp (around Çoruh)
within Turkish borders as required by Turkish-Russian Agreement with date March 16 1921.
But the current confusion about whom or what the term Laz means goes back further. In
Islamic Encyclopedia under the article of Laz, Minorsky states that “There is a historical
confusion as Georgians and Russians (not the Laz themselves) defined Laz as murderers”
and by stating that points the historical depth of the matter. But the confusion defined here
is terminological and does not originate from the different meanings the term Laz contains in
Turkey.
In 1906 Trabzon Provincial yearbooks, it was defined that the term Laz was misused among
public in Anatolia.
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Although the public of this province is called as Laz in other countries, there is no doubt that
this originates from lack of information. Because Laz people discriminate with their
language, traditions and life styles.
The conceptual confusion about the term Laz is not valid for the ones speaking Laz
language. Laz people define themselves as “Lazi” and there is no confusion in naming
themselves. The term “Lazi” has wide utilization among public. Also Laz people call the
language they speak as “Lazuri”.
Beside the way of utilization of the term Laz in Anatolia, there are also differences in the
sensing of this term. The confirmations of Antony Bryerr on this subject are as such:
Like many mountain folks who don’t speak about themselves, Laz had a nearly regular bad
fame since Byzantine age. The vast amount of explorers of the last age mentions the joy,
hospitality and kind attitudes of Laz people. But they became the target of the jokes which
show them as cunning and stupid.
In general view, the most important item which creates the confusion about the the term Laz
is the usage of this term as a regional name, but not as a discriminating ethnical / cultural
category. The term Laz we utilize in this study defines not a regional name but an ethnical
group with different identity and culture. The culture and identity of this ethnical group will be
investigated in detail in the following chapters of this study. In their general characteristics,
the main matters which separate Laz people from the Modern Greek of Black Sea which are
defined as one of the publics said to be Laz are the facts that Laz speak a different
language and the regions where these two publics are definitely able to be separated. Laz
people livein the shore district which goes up to the east of Kemer which rests 25 km wast
of Rize province and the language they speak is member of a language family which is
tottalyy different from the one which Modern Greek speak and which has Ancient Greek
roots. On the other hand, Laz consists of a different group from Hemşin people which
approximately share the same geography and have some cultural similarities. The most
important difference of Laz from Georgian and Svan with whom they share the same
language family is historical. Apart from Georgian and Svan, Laz departed from Caucasian
for 2000 years and continued their existence in an area which was open to different cultural
interactions. As a result of this, Laz belong to Caucasian in language, but belong to Eastern
Black Sea region culturally. This difference can even be observed in the cultural differences
with Mingrels which Laz separated from in VIII. Century which can be considered as late
and which the part of the same ethnical group which stayed in Caucasian.
As a research about the cultural differences of Laz with other publics is large enough to
form a completely different study and as we will fpcus on the social-cultural development of
Laz and investigate their characteristics, we will not go in further detail here. The point we
try to emphasize here Laz are a different ethnical group both for their language and their
culture. The social-cultural development of Laz who form the main theme of our research
shows the existence of this difference and its reasons in detail.
Laz are one of the oldest publics of Anatolia which had continued their language and
cultural existence up to today. In spite of the common idea, Laz have no connection in
generation with Greeks, Armenians or Turks. Lazish (Lazish-Mingrelish) is a member of
southwestern Caucasian language family. Southwestern Caucasian language family of
which Lazish is a member of consists of Svanish and Georgian beside Lazish-Mingrelish.
Southwestern Caucasian language family has connection with neither Indian-European
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languages like English, French and Armenian nor Ural-Altaic languages which Turkish also
belongs to or great language families like Semitic languages. With this structure,
Southwestern Caucasian language family has an isolated position. Once it was claimed that
an original relationship had existed between Lazish-Mingrelish and other Southwestern
Caucasian languages and other Caucasian languages. But this thesis had begun to be
departed. In spite of this, a common genetic relationship before Chalcolithic or Neolithic
ages is not purely out of logic between other Caucasian languages and Southwestern
Caucasian languages, a relationship which is hard to prove with scientific data.
THE SETTLING CHARACTERISTICS OF LAZ
Eastern Black Sea of which Laz are a part of is a geography which has steep slopes
beginning from the shore and is divided by many rivers. Because of this, there is no large
agricultural area in the region. Homes are distributed; fields are of different dimensions and
are parted. The town settlements had been established on the areas where rivers which
have collected along the valley reach the sea and it can be said that the lands which we can
assume as flat are here
The land in these regions is more valuable than other regions of Turkey. Devotion to land is
not solely an economical value but also reflects a social psychology which goes back further
in the past. Because of this, there are not much people selling their land, even in civilized
Laz people.
As valleys are considered to ve safe in many aspects, they have always been common
places for settlement. Yet 30 years before, so less of the Laz living in valleys had
connection with the sea. Men used to go to shore towns to satisfy basic needs like soap and
salt. For the ones who continued their lives in highland, the town, consequently the sea was
foreign environments.
Historian Antony Bryer stated that, Laz had fewer towns and lived on the mountains in
distributed settlements mainly and took their herds to high plateaus in the summer time.
They used the most beautiful and the highest pastures of Anatolia and their lives were
established on a seasonal emigration system following cattle and sheep. Not only the ones
living in high villages, but the ones living on the shore had the tradition pf plateau. But,
agriculture gained importance in time and except th eoınes living in high villages, an
important part of Laz departed plateaus.
Laz, who earn a living from maritime are only the ones who live on the shores. In many
fisherman villages along the shore, while agricultural village life goes on, men spend most of
their time with maritime. There are beliefs, rituals and even feasts of the ones living here
which are related to the sea. On the day of August 14 August (1 Ağustos on Julian
calendar), people wake before the sun rise. Nobody talks and conversations are carried out
only with signals, neighbors inform each other. Even the people in high mountain villages
visit their relatives one day before the feast. People swim without having any breakfast.
After entering the water, everybody wishes a wish; everybody prays to be protected from
disasters and for abundance. Then everybody goes back to the shore and has meal as
group.
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While there are Laz like me who has no relationship with sea, cannot swim or fish, it is a fact
that many Laz had reputation in Ottoman and Republic age for their skills in maritime. We
cannot say we thoroughly know the relationship Laz established with the sea and the culture
they created. The seamanship of the Laz is still a subject which needs research.
As in many places on Earth, with the modernization (!) process in our own geography we
know and live that cultural dissolutions take place, modern livings takes the place of
traditional living and languages began to fade. Kaz are one of the publics who live this
process withal of its negativeness. With the spread of tea agriculture, many traditional things
had been already broken up. Corn which covered the fields once is not planted any more.
Only the names of some plants survived. Textile had gone away with hemp which was the
subject of songs once. The tools used in textile had been deserted in roofs. The new
generation is not aware of such a past. The ones who are aware of such things hardly
understand the use of these tools. The break up of the traditional agriculture broke up also
the traditional life, values and beliefs also. The group working of the planting and harvest
times when younglings know each other, Laz songs were heard and new loves had grown
are memories any more. The children of the generations which wrote poems for his love
twenty years ago and say their poems proudly live in the memories. Who would say that the
poems which were said by everyone twenty years ago would be subject of collection?
We all modernized, we kept all things of old invaluable and did whatever possible to destroy
them. A Laz who lived through the process of transition from traditional architecture to
modern (!) architecture said that “The destruction of old homes was a pleasure to watch”.
Passing from tradition to modernity contains such a taste. The compression of weddings
into halls by carrying from villages is a result of this process.
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MAPS
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Map: Kingdom of Lazica
Source: Dr. Andrew (Andreas) Andersen, http://www.conflicts.rem33.com Atlas of Conflicts
Carsi Mahallesi, Sehitler Caddesi, Eksiler Is Merkezi No: 24, Kat:5/12, 53100 Rize -Turkey
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Map of " Colchis, Armenia, Iberia, Albania &c." by Lea & Blanchard, c. 1830.
UNESCO has expressed in “New edition of UNESCO’ s Atlas of the World's Languages
in Danger1” report which is published by UNESCO one day before the UNESCO
International Mother Language Day (February 21) that 2500 languages are under threat in
the world, tend to forget, even completely forgotten. In this report, “LAZ Language ( Lazca )
is under serious threat” is expressed.
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Bibliography:
Author:UNESCOPRESS, Source:Press Release No.2009-15, Date: 20/02/2009
Carsi Mahallesi, Sehitler Caddesi, Eksiler Is Merkezi No: 24, Kat:5/12, 53100 Rize -Turkey
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