The Hemshin

[Joseph]

*
THE HEMSHIN
History, Society and Identity in the Highlands of Northeast Turkey
Hovann Simonian, University of Southern California, USA

The Hemshin are without doubt one of the most enigmatic peoples of Turkey and the Caucasus. As former Christians who converted to Islam centuries ago yet did not assimilate into the culture of the surrounding Muslim populations, as Turks who speak Armenian yet are often not aware of it, as Muslims who continue to celebrate feasts that are part of the calendar of the Armenian Church, and as descendants of Armenians who, for the most part, have chosen to deny their Armenian origins in favour of recently invented myths of Turkic ancestry, the Hemshin and the seemingly irreconcilable differences within their group identity have generated curiosity and often controversy.

The Hemshin is the first scholarly work to provide an in-depth study of these people living in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. This groundbreaking volume brings together chapters written by an international group of scholars that cover the history, language, economy, culture and identity of the Hemshin. It is further enriched with an unprecedented collection of maps, pictures and appendices of up-to-date statistics. The Hemshin forms part of the Peoples of the Caucasus series, an indispensable and yet accessible resource for all those with an interest in the Caucasus.
*
Contents
Part I: History
1. Morale, cohesion and power in the first centuries of Amatuni Hamshen *Anne Elizabeth Redgate
2. Hamshen before Hemshin: the prelude to Islamicization *Hovann H. Simonian
3. The manuscript painting of Hamshen *Christina Maranci
4. Hemshin from Islamicization to the end of the nineteenth century *Hovann H. Simonian
5. Ottoman political and religious élites among the Hemshin: the mid-nineteenth century to 1926 *Alexandre Toumarkine
6. Interactions and mutual perceptions during the 1878-1923 period: Muslims of Armenian background and Armenians in the Pontos *Hovann H. Simonian
Part II: Geography, economy and architecture
7. Notes on the historical geography and present territorial distribution of the Hemshinli *Hagop Hachikian
8. Social and economic structures of the Hemshin people in Çamlihemsin *Erhan Gürsel Ersoy
9. Hemshin folk architecture in the Akbucak, Ortayol and Ugrak villages of the county of Pazar in Rize *Gülsen Balikçi
Part III: Language
10. Homshetsma: the language of the Armenians of Hamshen *Bert Vaux
11. Armenian in the vocabulary and culture of the Turkish Hemshinli *Uwe Bläsing
Part IV: Identity, state and relations with neighbours
12. Some particulars of Hemshin identity *Hagop Hachikian
13. The Hemshin People: ethnic identity, beliefs and yayla festivals in Çamlihemsin Erhan Gürsel Ersoy
14. Hemshinli-Lazi relations in northeast Turkey *Ildikó Bellér-Hann
15. Turks and Hemshinli: manipulating ethnic origins and identity *Rüdiger Benninghaus


December 2006: 234x156: 452pp
Hb: 978-0-7007-0656-3

For further information, or to order this book, please click here: http://www.routledge.com/shopping_ca...0700706563&pc=

Part of the Caucasus World: Peoples of the Caucasus series: http://www.routledge.com/asianstudie...t.asp?series=6

[bell-the-cat]

I have a copy of it, but have not had the chance to read much of it yet. It's quite a substantial volume, with chapters contributed by many authors (Hovann Simonian is the book's editor, as well as being the author of several of the chapters).
The book concentrates mainly on the history, linguistics, and ethnic identity of the Hemshin, going into that in great detail. So I found the "Hemshin folk architecture" chapter to be a bit superficial by comparison. The book's b+w photos are also of rather poor quality - dark and lacking detail (but since I've got plenty of my own photos that's not important for me anyway ).

[Joseph]

Issue #9 (228), March 02, 2007
(March 02, 2007)

A Different Tradition: Hamshen Armenians struggle for identity and recognition


By Julia Hakobyan
ArmeniaNow reporter


They seem like a lost branch of the family, dispersed throughout the world long before the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey that created today’s Diaspora of seven million.
The Hamshen Armenians (Hamshentsi) are descendants of Armenians from the region of Hamshen, now in Turkey.

{ai204002.jpg|left}Founded in the 8th Century by the Armenian princes Hamam and Shapuh Amatuni, Hamshen (first called Tambut then Hamamashen) was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1489. By the 17th Century part of the Hamshen Armenians had been forcibly converted to Islam, while the majority escaped to maintain the survival of their Christian faith.

Some historians call the Hamshentsi a unique Armenian group since it contains both Christians and Muslims. While some Christian Hamshens do not know Armenian, some among the Islamized Hamshentsi speak a dialect of Armenian as their native language.

Both Muslim and Christian Hamshentsi live in Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Armenia and Central Asia. Some historians estimate that there are several hundred thousand Hamshen Armenians in the world, while others speak of several thousands.

Sergei Vardanyan, a historian and journalist who is vice-chairman of the “Hamshen” charitable-compatriotic organization in Yerevan, says there is no way to know exactly how many Hamshen Armenians there are.

“The study of Hamshen Armenians should not proceed from the desire to create a sensation by publishing some fabulous data about a million new Armenians. My research shows that in some Hamshen families people themselves did not know whether they are Hamshentsi or not. ”

Vardanyan’s research over many years shows that at least some 20-30,000 Hamshentsi Muslims who speak Armenian live in Turkey as well as some 100-200,000 Hamshentsi Turkish speakers. In Armenia, there are some 10,000 Hamshentsi.

“Both Christian and Islamized Hamshentsi now have a common problem - preserving their national identity, since they know their history only at the level of folklore. While Hamshentsi in the former Soviet republics states know something of the history of Armenia, in Turkey they have no access to this.”

Hamshentsi Armenians form the majority of the Armenian population in the Krasnodar territory of Russia. Many settled also in Abkhazia. By the middle of the 20th Century Hamshentsi had founded some 140 Armenian schools in Krasnodar and 128 Armenian schools in Abkhazia. However, the national schools declined during the Brezhnev era and they were many fewer by early 1980s.

In 1944, on the orders of Josef Stalin, Islamized Hamshen Armenians who had settled in six villages in southern Adjaria near the border with Turkey were expelled to Central Asia. Forty years later when Vardanyan was traveling through Central Asia, he met some of the survivors.

Most of the 3,000 Islamized Hamshen Armenians he saw were blue-eyed and blond. Some said that they did not know their nationality – their passports stated “Hemshil” or “Turkish”.

Vardanyan recalls that when a group of Hamshentsi decided to introduce him to their mullah Khemdi, they told him that the visitor claimed that they were Armenian. The mullah replied: “That’s true.”

{ai204001.jpg|right}“How do you know?” the residents asked.

“My language tells me,” replied the mullah, explaining that they all spoke the Hamshen dialect of Armenian. Khemdi also said that he had a copy of the Koran in which someone had written by hand that the Armenian Christians had become Muslims.

Vardanyan says that there are dozens of stories like that, demonstrating that each generation of Islamized Armenians knows less and less about their origins. In 1984, Vardanyan made an effort to resettle one of the derelict villages in Lori with 150 families of Hamshen Islamized Armenians from Krasnodar and Abkhazia.

However, the program was not realized, partly because of official apprehension of conflicts between Armenians. Vardanyan says he is very disappointed at the indifference of the authorities towards issues of settlement and migration.

“Some say that Armenian society is not ready to accept Islamized Armenians, but I am not sure this is the only point. Armenia’s citizens were not happy to accept the refugees from Azerbaijan, Christian Armenians, either. Instead of creating opportunities to attract as many Armenians as possible, it seems that the authorities do the opposite and create conditions that make people leave the country.”

Vardanyan is the author of several books on Armenian history and Editor in Chief of “Hamshen Voice” newspaper. It is published in Yerevan once a month with support from private donations and the 1,000 free copies are circulated in Abkhazia, Krasnodar, Beirut, the United States and Turkey.

Vardanayan says the newspaper is an attempt to create a tie between Hamshen Armenians and their roots. It is popular not just among Hamshen Armenians, since the articles refer to the history, culture and traditions of Armenians generally.

Vardanyan says people often wonder why he spends so much effort on this one group of Armenians and ask whether he himself is Hamshentsi. He says he does it from a sense of national duty, since he does not believe that the Hamshen Armenians will succeed in keeping their identity without help.

“I feel responsibility towards the Hamshentsi simply because I am Armenian. With the help of the law on dual citizenship or any other law, Armenia should encourage a national gathering and bring together Armenians around the world to preserve it as a nation with good prospects for the future.”

[Hovik]

This is a very very interesting development, I had never heard of it until reading it here. Thank you for sharing. I should say that it reminds me of the "lost tribes of israel". I'm sure this isn't the only group we will learn about. It also puts a big hole in the Turkish justification of keeping illegally obtained Armenian land on the basis that Armenians don't live there anymore...

Either way it'll be interested to keep up with the developments of the Hamshen. It's the Diaspora and the republic's responsibility to make sure they know we support them.

[Joseph]

This is a very very interesting development, I had never heard of it until reading it here. Thank you for sharing. I should say that it reminds me of the "lost tribes of israel". I'm sure this isn't the only group we will learn about. It also puts a big hole in the Turkish justification of keeping illegally obtained Armenian land on the basis that Armenians don't live there anymore...

Either way it'll be interested to keep up with the developments of the Hamshen. It's the Diaspora and the republic's responsibility to make sure they know we support them.

There was actually an article about the Hamshen in the Economist early last year. I'll try to find it for you.

[Hovik]

There was actually an article about the Hamshen in the Economist early last year. I'll try to find it for you.

I'll look forward to that, thank you.

[Steph]

Hovik,
If you google "hemshin" and look at Armeniapedia.com, you'll find quite a lot of information about these folks including the article from The Economist.

[Joseph]

From Armeniapedia.org


Hamshen
(Redirected from Hemshin)
"Hamshen Armenians" call themselves Hamshentsi (Turkish Hem?inli(ler)) - they are a distinct ethnic group (of Armenian origin) in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
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 Hem?in (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 Hem?in, 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 Hem?in, 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 Kemalpa?a.
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.
The following is an article that should be stripped for it's facts and used either in this, or a seperate entry:
Window on Eurasia: Russian Region Persecutes Armenian Muslims
Paul Goble Paul.Goble @ ecs.ec.ut.ee
Tartu, May 11 - Officials in Krasnodar kray, a Russian region in the north Caucasus, have refused for the fourth time to register the cultural organization of the Khemshils, a small group of Armenian speakers who practice Sunni Islam and who were among those deported by Stalin to Central Asia at the end of World War II.
That has prompted an organization of their co-ethnics and co-religionists in Armenia itself to appeal to the Russian ambassador in Yerevan to get Moscow to intervene in this case and overrule the regional officials who seem intent on preventing the Khemshils from gaining official registration and thus being able to live a normal life.
As a result, this case, involving an ethnic community that numbers no more than 1600 according to the 2002 Russian Federation census, threatens to spill over into an international one involving not only Moscow and Yerevan but quite possibly the leaders of traditionally Muslim countries among the post-Soviet states.
The current situation has been described by the Regnum news agency whose report was expanded upon by the Islam.Ru website last week (http://islam.ru/press/rus/2005-05-06/). The facts of the case appear to be the following:
Since 2000, the Khemshils of Krasnodar have tried four times to
register with the authorities. Each time they have been refused with officials explaining that they have made mistakes in their application. In the most recent case where the authorities gave this excuse, their refusal was handed back to the Khemshils on May 3rd but dated May 4th.
The Hamshen organization in Armenia, which unites the Khemshils
there, decided to appeal to the Russian ambassador there to have Moscow to help out. But neither they nor the Khemshils in Krasnodar appear to be very optimistic about their chances for success via this channel.
Indeed, they suspect, according to the words of the appeal published by Regnum, that „by such actions, the representatives of the Main Administration of the Federal Registration Service for Krasnodar kray are creating a precedent for the appearance of yet another people who left Russia as political refugees' and thus lack rights that other residents have.
And one indication of the level of their despair is the fact that the Khemshils of Krasnodar kray are even now working with the International Migration Organization to organize their resettlement to the United States just as the IMO is currently working toward for Meskhetian Turks and Kurmandzh-Kurds living in the Kuban region.
Should the Armenian Muslims of Krasnodar in fact emgrate to the United States, that would be only the latest twist in their complicated history. For more background on this group and its problems, see the report on the status of ethnic minorities in Krasnodar at http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/print/anal...id/592494.html.
Armenians who converted to Islam called themselves „Hamshinli' („Hamshentsi'), and those of them living in Central Asia and the Russian Federation, identify themselves as „Emshil' - which according to the rules of Russian phonetics becomes „Khemshil.'
According to the Kars peace treaty of 1921, several villages in Khopsk kray where the Khamshils lived were joined to Adzharia in what is now Georgia. Then in 1944, Stalin deported them along with other groups in the region to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from which they returned only in the late 1950s.
Since that time, some 1500 Armenian-speaking Sunni Muslims have been living in the Apsheron and Belorechensk districts of Krasnoyarsk kray, perhaps their last stop on the territory of what was once the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union before they move on to the United States.
Turkish tourism
How green is their valley
Aug 25th 2005 | CAMLIHEMSIN, TURKEY
From The Economist print edition
A remote hideaway could thrive on, or be wrecked by, eco-tourism
THEY used to be one of Turkey's best-kept tourist secrets: the scented plateaus of the Pontic mountains, with their wild flowers and exuberant dancers. For the handful of travellers who came this far east, few landscapes were as enticing as the Hemsin valleys in the province of Rize, a place where many locals speak a dialect close to Armenian, practise moderate Islam and are agnostic about their origins.
More recently, news of this area's beauty has been spreading. A new breed of eco-tourist, many of them from Israel, has begun to head for the yaylas, or meadows, with their roaring rivers and stone bridges. But the very attractions that draw in these green wanderers could be destroyed if clumsy developers and opportunistic local politicians get their way.
To see the aesthetic hazards of unregulated tourism, go no further than Ayder, a yayla overlooking one of the Hemsin valleys that was once renowned for its tranquillity and hot springs. Thanks to a stream of Turkish and foreign visitors, the air is thick with smoke rising from barbecues. Mournful Arabesque music blares from tour buses and cars. Garish motels and handicraft stands obscure the view.
Many Hemsinlis are furious. Ayder's degeneration began after it was linked by road to the nearby town of Camlihemsin, says Selcuk Guney, a local activist. One of his aims is to ensure his birthplace, the neighbouring Firtina valley, avoids a similar fate. So far it is virtually untouched; that is partly because access is by dirt track.
Mr Guney insists that if the region's unique way of life is to be preserved, and well-managed eco-tourism is to flourish, the footpaths leading to yaylas must not be replaced with paved roads; and tour buses "that leave nothing but trash behind" must be restricted. Mustafa Orhan, a crusty old bee-keeper who led a successful campaign against a planned hydro-electric dam on the Firtina river, suspects that the government's unspoken aim in building roads is to help commercial logging. Locals have long used electric pulley-carts, running along steel cables, to bring food and other supplies to their yayla homes. So, instead of roads, Mr Orhan asks: "Why not build electric cable-cars to carry people?"
Locals of his persuasion have found an ally in Rize's governor, Enver Salihoglu; he too opposes further road construction in the valleys. Smart development could avoid ruining this Shangri-la, he believes. In Camlihemsin, for example, there could be more emphasis on bees, trout farming and organic tea. Of course, not every Hemsinli is so conservation-minded. "I want cable television and a fridge," says Muazzez Yildiz, an elderly lady whose cottage has a gorgeous view of the Firtina valley. The question is how to help her without wrecking the place for those who will pay a premium for its virgin enchantments.

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HAMSHEN AND HAMSHEN ARMENIANS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN SOCHI
Pan Armenian 04.10.2005 10:19
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians international scientific conference will be held in Sochi October 13-15, reported the Yerkramas, the newspaper of Armenians of Russia. The conference will be organized under the auspices of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia with active support being provided by Sevan Armenian Cultural Society of Sochi. The conference comprises scholars from Armenia, Russia, the US, Germany, Iran. Hamshen: a historical and geographic outline, Hamshen Armenians, Pont and Armenia in 1914-1921, Genocide of Hamshen Armenians in 1915-1923, Abkhazian Armenians on the threshold of 21st century, Pont legacy in culture of Hamshen Armenians and Hemshils, Armenian ethnic and religious element in Anatolia (1991-2005), Important evidence of 1786 about Armenian Muslims of Hamshen and other reports will be presented at the event. At the end of the conference ethnic groups of Hamshen Armenians of the Black Sea coast of Kuban will give a performance.

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'Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians' conference concludes in Sochi YEREVAN (Yerkir)--A three-day conference about Hamshen and Hamshen Armenians ended on October 15 in the southern Russian city of Sochi, home to over 100,000 Hamshen Armenians. Currently a part of Turkey, Hamshen was a historic Armenian region that was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1491. Some Hamshen Armenians adopted Islam, while others emigrated to the Russian Empire. The conference was organized by the History Institute of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's (ARF) Moscow Armenian Affairs office, with the support of Hamshen Union of the Krasnodar region, and Yerkramas Armenian news center located in southern Russia. Scholars from Armenia, Russia, Iran, and the United States, including UCLA Professor Richard Hovannisian, participated in the conference. ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian, ARF Bureau member and National Assembly Vice-speaker Vahan Hovhannisian, ARF's Moscow Armenian Affairs Office Director Yura Navoyan, European Armenian Federation Chairwoman Hilda Tchoboyan, and ARF Bureau's Armenian and Political Affairs Office Director Giro Manoyan, also participated. The reports of the conference will be published in Armenian, Turkish, Russian and English. Organizers and participants noted that the event holds not only scientific significance but that it also served as a bridge between Hamshen Armenians, Armenia, and diaspora Armenians. There are currently 400,000 Hamshen Armenians, half of which are Muslims. Most Christian Hamshen Armenians reside in Abkhazia and the Krasnodar region of Russia.
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[edit]
Reference Material
Much of this information comes from Armenia: A Historical Atlas by Robert Hewson (ISBN 0226332284)
[edit]
External links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamshenis

[ardakilic]

And a book (doctoral thesis) about Hemshin Armenians:
Hemşin Ermenileri (Hemshin Armenians), Aliye Alt, Belge Yayınları, 2005.
ISBN:9753443366

[Joseph]

http://www.hairenik.com/armenianweekly/com05050702.htm

Muslim Armenians: A Bit Ethnocentric, but Interesting

By Nayiri Mgrditchian


Hamshen has historically been an Armenian region, but it now survives within Turkey’s borders. During the 8th century, under pressure from the Arab Caliph, 12,000 Armenians, under the leadership of Prince Sh. Amadouni and his son Hamam, left the homeland and migrated to present-day Drabizon and Khoba (which belonged to Byzantium). There, Prince Hamam founded a new city and named it Hamamashen (built by Hamam), which later became known as Hamshen, and its inhabitants Hamshen Armenians. Later the fiefdom of Hamshen gained independence from Byzantium but was periodically subjugated by Dayk. After the latter’s fall, Hamshen sustained a semi-independent state, thanks to its freedom-loving population and strategic position. The Seljuk Turks attacked Armenia during the second half of the 11th century and they were followed by the Mongols in the 13th century; in the 15th century Armenia was occupied by the Turkmen Koyounlu tribes. Hamshen retained its semi independence during all those centuries without bowing even to the neighboring Drabizon’s Greek kingdom. But in the 10th and 11th centuries, being part of the Byzantine Empire and for political reasons, a number of Hamshen Armenians converted to Orthodox Christianity.

In 1498, the Ottoman Turks succeeded in conquering Hamshen and ended its 700-year autonomous existence. During Turkish reign, when the whole of Western Armenia was living under catastrophic circumstances, the population of Hamshen was also subjected to political and religious persecution. Christians were forced to pay extremely high taxes; this policy caused serious racial and religious changes. Despite heroic resistance up to 1923, part of the Hamshen Armenians converted to Islam.

However widespread, Islamization did not succeed in defacing the character of the Armenians of Hamshen. Despite converting to Islam, they remained deeply aware of and faithful to their national origins.

The number of Hamshen Armenians is currently estimated to be around 400,000. The Muslim half lives in Turkey and considers itself Turkish Hemshils or just Hemshils, who have applied to Turkey’s Ministry of Religion to be re-registered according to their original nationality (Armenians). Other ethnicities making similar demands include some Greek, Kurds and Alewis. Until 1943, as implied by one Turkish regulation, if previously Islamized ethnic minorities made attempts to return to their national origins, they would face long prison terms. That law is not in force anymore, and Turkish authorities have found themselves in a dilemma as a result of the current atmosphere of freedoms—statistics revealed that 37-42 percent of the population in Turkey does not consider itself Turkish. This creates a difficult situation for Turkey. It is worth mentioning that Islamized Armenians living in the southern parts of Western Armenia, from Bitlis to Diarbekir, have safeguarded our cultural monuments, because they have not forgotten their roots and have regarded the Church as “God’s house.” On the other hand, in Turkish populated regions, such as the Erzroum plain, Armenian monuments can no longer be found. This is evidence that Islamized Armenians preserved their identity in very subtle ways by preserving vestiges from the past and historical names of locations.

Today, according to unofficial reports, 1,350,000 ethnic Armenians live in Western Armenia and nearby regions; 700,000 of these Armenians still remember their national origins; 200,000 to 300,000 Armenians, particularly in Hamshen, are a much more active ethno-religious community and are ready to speak out about their national origins. They still celebrate many Armenian traditional holidays like Vartavar. According to studies, thanks to newly published documents translated to Turkish, many Armenians living in historic Hamshen who were hesitating on their identity and their religious affiliation understood that religion does not define ethnicity. By becoming more aware of historic details, the urge to return to their national roots is growing stronger in them. One of the interesting facts is that Muslim Armenians preserve a purer version of the Armenian language than the Christian Hamshen Armenians; having lost the religion, they remained strongly attached to the language to underline their identity. Christian Hamshen Armenians use many more Turkish and Russian words in their communication compared to the Muslim Hamshen Armenians.

During the 1870s, a significant portion of Christian Hamshen Armenians migrated to the shores of the Black Sea, mainly the districts of Batoum, Abkhazia and even Crimea, where they could re-awaken the Christian lifestyle and other aspects of their national identity. Today, more than 100,000 Hamshen Armenians reside in the Sochi district. They moved there out of necessity and succeeded in preserving and developing their culture and becoming regular citizens of a new state. They speak their native language and have erected crossstones commemorating the Armenian genocide in a few villages. The Sochi Armenians devote much attention to cultural life and athletic education. Every year, they organize a cultural festival, and in 2005 alone, five young Armenian athletes from the region won international championships in five different sports. The area’s Armenian community has constructed the St. Sarkis Church. In Sochi, education plays an important role in the preservation of national identity. The local Armenian community has seven schools teaching both Russian and Armenian. The main difficulty the schools face is the availability of textbooks on Armenian language and literature. These books are purchased through contributions from parents. The Hamshen Armenian community of Russia is numerous, too, and has succeeded in preserving its national and religious identity, though they have just started organizing themselves.

Tens of thousands of Hamshen Armenians reside in Armenia. According to a census conducted a decade ago, the number of Hamshen Armenians living in Armenia was 14,000. In 1992, the “Hamshen Armenian Association” was created, and publishes a free newspaper, circulated also to Armenians in Abkhazia and the district of Krasnodar. The paper prints 1,000 copies per issue and contains articles on the history of Hamshen in Armenian and Russian.

We are slowly reaching the conclusion that the Muslim Armenian is also Armenian, and has embraced Islam under pressure. Hamshen Armenians are also starting to overcome their internal psychological barriers, and some cases of marriage between Christian and Muslim Hamshen Armenians have been documented.

Naturally, certain factions within our nation still rebel against the concept, considering the factor of religion. But no doubt that with time, they will reach the same conclusion that a hand must be extended to the Armenian who was compelled by fate to convert to Islam.
After all, they are our compatriots.

Note: The Hamshen Armenians are referred to in English as Hemshils and their dialect is subject to extensive research by many linguists.