Mountain Jews

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Mountain Jews
Juhuro
Mountain jews 4.jpg
Total population
2004: 150,000 to 270,000 (estimated)

1959: 25,000 (estimated)
1926: 26,000 (estimated)
Regions with significant populations
Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Dagestan, Israel,
United States, Russia
 Israel 100,000 to 140,000
 United States 10,000 to 40,000
 Russia 20,000 to 40,000
 Azerbaijan 12,000 to 30,000 (according to Mountain Jews community in Baku)
 European Union 3,000 to 10,000
 Kazakhstan[citation needed] 2,000
Languages

Juhuri, Hebrew, Russian, Azeri
Religion

Judaism
Related ethnic groups

Persian Jews, Other Jewish groups, Tats

Mountain Jews, or Juhuri, are Jews of the eastern Caucasus, mainly of Azerbaijan and Dagestan. They are also known as Caucasus Jews, Caucasian Jews, or less commonly East Caucasian Jews, because the majority of these Jews settled the eastern part of the Caucasus. There were some historical settlements in Northwest Caucasus. Despite their name, the "Mountain Jews" or "Caucasian Jews" do not include the Georgian Jews of the Caucasus Mountains.

In terms of ethnic origin, the Mountain Jews and Tats are believed to have inhabited Caucasia for a long time. Their distant forefathers once lived in southwest Persia, the southwestern part of present-day Iran. There they adopted the Middle Persian language. The predecessors of the Mountain Jews settled in Caucasian Albania in the 5th–6th century; from then their history has been related to the mountains and the people of Dagestan.

After fleeing persecution in Persia, they migrated north to mountain villages on both sides of the high peaks between the Black Sea and the Caspian. They still speak a dialect of Persian; few know more than the odd Hebrew phrase. For centuries Qırmızı Qəsəbə (also known as Krasnaya Sloboda in Russian) in Azerbaijan, perhaps the only completely Jewish settlement outside Israel, kept its traditions intact while surrounded by Muslims. In 1991 the fall of the Soviet Union and resulting unrest prompted a mass Jewish exodus. In recent years, the population has plummeted as inhabitants emigrate to Israel, America and Europe. It is the last stronghold of the Caucasus Mountain Jews, or Juhuri.

The number of Juhuri in the Caucasus regions outside Azerbaijan is also declining rapidly. In neighbouring Russia, thousands[verification needed] of Mountain Jews have emigrated from Dagestan because of their perception of threat from Islamic fundamentalism[verification needed] and other violence. In April 2003, vandals desecrated 42 Jewish graves in the region.[1]

Contents

[edit] Ethnic origins and history

Jewish elder, Daghestan c. 1900

In terms of ethnic origin, Jews have inhabited Caucasia for a long time. Their distant forefathers once lived in southwest Persia, the south-western part of present-day Iran. There they adopted the Middle Persian language. The predecessors of the Mountain Jews settled in Caucasian Albania in the 5th–6th century; since then their history has been related to the mountains and the people of Azerbaijan and Dagestan. Some historians believe they may be descended from Jewish military colonists, settled by Parthian and Sassanid rulers in the Caucasus as frontier guards against nomadic incursions from the Pontic steppe.

In the 18th–19th century, the Jews resettled from the mountains to the coastal lowlands but carried the name "Mountain Jews" with them. In the villages (aouls) the Mountain Jews settled in a part of their own, in towns they did the same, although their dwellings did not differ from those of their neighbours. The Mountain Jews adopted the dress of the highlanders. Judaic prohibitions ensured they retained specific dishes, and their faith was still enshrined in the rules for family life.

In Chechnya, the Jews became notably well-integrated into Chechen society. A clan, Dzugtoi, was formed for Chechen Jews long ago, perhaps during the Middle Ages. In Chechen culture, there is an assembly of clans (taips). Of the total 90, 20 were originally founded by foreigners (a new taip can be founded at any time as long as there is a considerable founding group).[2] In founding the new taip, its members pledged eternal loyalty to the Chechen nation, and hence became part of the nation, being simultaneously Chechens and Jews (there are also Polish, Russian, Armenian, Georgian, Turkish and other clans).[2][3] Over time they become more and more integrated, due both to assimilation and to the Chechen populace becoming used to their presence. Interclan marriages were common, so eventually they became largely indistinguishable from other Chechens, except for their faith.[2][3] The original Mountain Jews of Chechnya now speak mostly Chechen.[4]

Some historians believe that the Jews also influenced Chechen culture.[5][6] Many common Chechen names usually attributed to Arabic origin, due to their Semitic roots, have been shown to have existed before the Islamization of Chechnya. According to Andrey Zelev, many Chechen place names show Jewish influence. The Georgian historian Leonti Mroveli, who considers the Khazars a people closely related to the Chechens, and Ruslan Khasbulatov, who stated that Chechens are 30% Jewish, also support the idea of Jewish influence. Their theories are controversial, and have not achieved widespread acceptance.[7]

Mountain Jewish men, c. 1900 (1905-06 Jewish Encyclopedia)

While elsewhere in the Jewish diaspora, Jews were prohibited from owning land (cf. the Jews of Central Asia), at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century the Mountain Jews were farmers and gardeners, growing mainly grain. Their oldest occupation was rice-growing, but they also raised silkworms and cultivated tobacco. The Jewish vineyards were especially notable. The Jews and their Armenian neighbors were the main producers of wine, an activity banned for Muslims by religion. Judaism, in turn, limited meat consumption; and unlike their neighbors, they raised few domestic animals. At the same time, they were renowned tanners. Tanning was the third most important economic activity after farming and gardening. At the end of the 19th century, 6% of Jews were engaged in this trade. Handicrafts and commerce were mostly practiced by Jews in towns.

Jewish cemetery in Nalchik, 1993

The Soviet authorities bound the Mountain Jews to collective farms, but allowed them to continue their traditional cultivation of grapes, tobacco, and vegetables; and making wine. The former isolated lifestyle of the Jews has practically been ended, and they live side by side with other ethnic groups.

Originally, only boys were educated and they attended synagogue schools. With Sovietization, Tat became the language of instruction at newly-founded elementary schools. This policy continued until the beginning of World War II. In 1928, the first native-language newspaper, Zakhmetkesh (Working People), was published. After WWII, Russian was the required language at quba schools, and the newspaper stopped publication. Mountain Jewish intellectuals are active in qubai culture.[citation needed]

[edit] Notable Mountain Jews

[edit] References

Some text used with permission from www.eki.ee/books/redbook. The original text can be found here.

  1. ^ "Life drains away from lost tribe of Mountain Jews", The Telegraph,
  2. ^ a b c http://www.latautonomy.org/TraditionalSocialOrganisationChechens.pdf
  3. ^ a b http://www.shamsali.org/taj/chechnat.html#demo
  4. ^ http://www.chechnyafree.ru/en/article.php?IBLOCK_ID=364&SECTION_ID=0&ELEMENT_ID=60853
  5. ^ see http://www.proza.ru/2007/08/18-98. In Russian
  6. ^ http://www.proza.ru/2009/06/20/608- This is the English version of the above reference, though it is less extensive.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ DJmag.com: Top 100 DJs, 2007 ranking

[edit] External links

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1 Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the border definitions. 2 Transcontinental country.
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