Center for organization of the Jewish museum in St. Petersburg
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V.A.DymshitsEXPEDITION TO AZERBAIJAN IN JUNE 1997SummaryIn June 1997, due to financial support of Amsterdam Jewish Museum, we made a field research trip to Azerbaijan. It included two stages, (1) ethnographic studies in the village of Privolnoye in the Southern Azerbaijan and (2) visit to Red Sloboda, a Jewish suburb of the city of Kuba in Northern Azerbaijan. Grigory Manuk, professional cameraman and film director, and Elena Razumovskaya, a Conservatoire professor and a folk scholar, took part in the first stage. Then Vladimir Dmitriev, curator of Russian Museum of Ethnography, and a group of scholars from Center for Jewish Art, Jerusalem University, Dr. Alisa Koen-Mushelin, Boris Haimovich, Zoya Varshavskaya, joined the expedition. Studies in ethnography, folklore and art were conducted, 4 Synagogues fully described; expedition materials amounted to photography, 15 hrs video recording and 40 hrs audio recording. As our studies covered two separate spheres, the Geres and the Sabbathians on one hand, and Mountain Jews on the other, I will divide my presentation into two parts.
PRIVOLNOYE VILLAGEThe village of Privolnoye is located in Jelalabad region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, formerly Lencoran Province of Baku Region, at the Northern range of Talysh mountains, 300 km from Baku, the capital of the Republic, and 20 km from the Iranian border. Privolnoye is one of the largest villages in a cluster of Russian settlements in the Southern part of Azerbaijan, midway from Jelalabad and Lenkoran, on the fertile lands of sub-tropical mountain area. Most of the population of the villages are descendants from the sect members who were evicted by the Russian government in the early 1840s for their religious beliefs. Thus, 4 km from Privolnoye a large village of Prishib is located, until recently predominantly populated by the Molokans. Members of a religious movement termed by the Russian Tsarist authorities zhidovstvujushchie (Judaic; the term is derived from zhid, a deprecating Russian term for a Jew ) live in Privolnoye. For lack of a better one, I have to use this ugly generic term. In truth it means that the villagers of Privolnoye are not Christian: some preach the normal, Talmud, Rabbinical Judaism and call themselves the Geres (Gery) Until recently, Russian populated predominated in Privolnoye and the neighboring villages (yet, 'the Russians' is not a very accurate ethnic nomination for residents of Privolnoye). Ca. 5.000 Russians resided in Privolnoye and Navtlug, overall there were no less than 15.000 Russians in the area. Presently, due to the difficult political, national and ecomonic situation, most of the Russians left Azerbaijan. There are no more tham 500 Russians in Jelalabad area, about 170 of them reside in Privolnoye, more than anywhere else; only 20-25 of over a 1000 Russians still reside in Navtlug. Houses in Privolnoye are being bought by the Azerbaijanians. A typical feature of the time is the sign 'FOR SALE' which is to be seen at many houses. Two families left Privolnoye during our short stay (about a fortnight). Most of the other villagers also plan to move to Russia. Unfortunately, this exceptional ethnic and cultural phenomenon is about to vanish. Seems that the prophesy of the local Rabbi, a scholar and a Kabalist, Rabbi Daniil Abramenkov (his grave has been preserved) that 'the Geres would preserve for two hundred years' is coming true. Yet, here we have a unique experiment set up by the history. The dwellers of Privolnoye have retained, on one hand, their beliefs, their Judaism or Karaimism, to a much higher extent than any other ethnic group of the Soviet Union, even the Soviet Jews; on the other hand, being ethnically isolated, they have preserved the language, the folklore, the rituals and the rites of the old Russian countryside better than any Russian village. Our work was complicated by the fact that we had to deal with the remains of the community, with not very elderly and not very educated people. Thus, the last Gere who spoke Hebrew left Privolnoye three years ago. The spiritual leader of the Subbathian community left the village during our stay.
The sources. The sources on history and ethnography of the Judaic are scarce. I have not come across any systematic studies on the subject. Miscellaneous articles on the Judaic in the old Russian periodicals can be divided into three groups: reports on the measures taken by the authorities nad the police against the sect-members; articles in the Russian Orthodox mass media devoted to the struggle with the sect-members as heretiques; scattered observations by odd travellers. I have by now covered most of these publications.
Origin of the Judaic sect. The question of the origin of the sect and its split is still insufficiently studied. We can just state with certain probability that
1. Though first vague notions of the Judaic date back to the early 18th cent., this movement spread over only in the end of the century, in the times of Catherine II. 2. It has not been proved that the genesis of the Judaic sect is in any way related to the Novgorodian 'Jewish Heresy' of the late 15th cent. 3. We believe that the Geres started to segregate from the mass of the Sabbathians in the mid-19th cent.; they were not an independant, unrelated phenomenon - this statement is totally groundless. 4. It is not clear, when and how the Sabbathians came to the idea of Karaimism, and whether they had contacts with real Karaimists. 5. It is obvious that some of the Judaic segregated from the Molokan sect, one of Russian Protestant sects. 6. The influence of the Jewish missionaries is undisputable, though our knowledge of these missionaries is very limited. 7. It is certain that the genesis of the Judaic cannot be explained in full just by these two reasons. Much is still unclear in the genesis of the religious movement of the Judaic, specifically because the members of the movement do not remember the real history of the community's origin.
History of Privolnoye Village By 1820s, the Judaic had become a mass phenomena. According to the police data (deliberately reducing the numbers) in 1824 they numbered 20.000. Their main habitat were the Downstream Volga Area (Saratov, Astrakhan, Simbirsk and Samara Regions), the Central Russia (Voronezh, Tambov, Orel, Moscow Regions), Siberia, the Northern Caucasus and Kuban, the area of the Don Army. The authorities tried to suppress the Judaic by forcing them into repentance, recruiting the leaders into the army and evicting them to Siberia and the Northern Caucasus, trying to cut off thier contacts with the Jews. These measures did not succeed, the movement kept on growing. In 1839-41 the government decided to exile the Judaic, same as members of other sects, to the Transcaucasian area. That's how the village of Privolnoye was founded. Having exiled the sect members to the Transcaucasia, the authorities not only left them alone, but also granted them some land, and, reportedly, for a period of time liberated from taxation and recruitment (that's where the name of the village, meaning, 'Free', comes from); the other members of the sect were willing to follow. Most of the villagers are descendants of the people from the Downstream Volga, predominently Saratov Region, but some originally came from Siberia, Stavropol and from the Kuban Cossacs. Privolnoye was the center and the largest settlement of the Judaic in the Transcaucasian Area and, probably, the largest community within the Russian Empire. Apart from Privolnoye, the Geres and the Sabbathians lived in Lencoran and in numerous Molokan villages of the Southern Azerbaijan; yet, everywhere besides Privolnoye, they were a minority. It's important to add that, apart from the Judaic, some 20 families of the Mountain Jews have settled in Privolnoye since the beginning of the 20th cent. They were quickly assimilated, mostly through mixed marriages.
Economy and Life of Privolnoye Villagers of Privolnoye are agricultural workers, mostly growing grain (wheat, rye) and grapes. Besides, they naturally keep cattle and fowl, plant vegetables and fruit on private allotments. Once flax for local needs was grown in the village, rural crafts were flourishing: smithery, carpentry, joinery, coopery, wheel-making, cobblery; there were several tile- and brickmaking works. In the households, a lot of remarkable ethnographic pieces are still preserved: spinning-wheels, weaving devices, old clothes, ornate handmade towels and tablecloths with embroidery etc. Until recently, the village have always been very well off. Despite the fact, noted both by the aurthors of the old articles and the villagers, that the Geres were mostly wealthier than the Sabbathians, there seems to be no significant difference between the two types of household. Historically Privolnoye is divided into four districts, or ends: Balashov, Cherkes, Buluklej (or Balakley) and Mazon. The districts are listed from the drive-in into the village on. The villagers are well justified in supposing that the names are derived from the birthplaces of their ancestors. Thus, in the early 19th cent. the centers of the Sabbathians in Saratov Region were the villages of Balashov Province. Balakley is a village in Astrakhan Province. Two other names have not so far been identified. The Geres and the Sabbathians live more or less together, yet, the Geres predominated in Balashov and Bulukley, while the Sabbatians did in Cherkes and Mazon. Mazon, same as the neighboring Navtlug, is populated by the Sabbathians of the strictest order, closest to Karamaism. According to the locals, the pronunciation of the Sabbathians from Mazon and Navtlug differs from the one of the other Privolnoye dwellers. Privolnoye seems to be built according to a unified plan: three parallel streets stretch the length of about 5 km on a flat terrace above the Geok-Tepe river. They are linked by side streets. The cleanliness and well-maintained pavements of Privolnoye were noted even by the travelers of the previous century. The houses stand in one line, with flowerbeds and front gardens facing the streets. Cypresses grow in the streets, referred to by the locals as 'fir-trees'. There are hardly any fences. A massive stone fence normally indicates that the house was bought by an Azerbaijanian family. The houses are all built of oak planks, on a high base, necessary because of the damp, rainy winters. The roofs are two-slope, red-tiled ones. The houses face the street with the narrow facade, which reminds rather of a town or a schtetl, than a village. Most houses consist of one clean room, with a ceilling and a large Russian stove with a flat elevation to sleep on. The room is called izba
The Geres. The Geres who constitute 35-40% of Privolnoye population follow strictly all the canons of Talmud Judaism in its Ashkenasi version. It is not clear, how exactly Judaism was adopted by the Russian peasants, still, by the early 20th cent. the Geres were a relatively well-educated (in the Jewish sense of the word) and commited community. They invited teachers of Hebrew to their children and sent the young men to Yeshivas of Russia (Vilna, Minsk) as well as Jerusalem, purchased religious literature on a large scale, both in Hebrew and with a Russian translation. Each household would still have the Sidurs and the Mahzors with parallel Russian texts. The most popular one is the 'House of God' Sidur, published in Vilno in the beginning of the century. When a girl would get married, she was given a Sidur as a traditional gift. All men (and some women) prayed in Hebrew and the majority could read not only the Prayer book, but the Torah scroll also, as well as understand what they were reading. There were two wooden Synagogues in the village, the Balashov and the Bulukley ones. Next to each there were a Miqua and a Mazzah bakery. Besides, there were private Miquas in some wealthy houses. One more Synagogue, a brick one, was built in the early 20th cent., but never used for its purpose. The building of Balashov Synagogue has been preserved, now used as a cattlefarm. We listed the measurements of the building. Both Synagogues were closed down in 1936, Torah scrolls and the books distributed into the families. Some families still preserve the standard annotated Warsaw and Vilna editions of the Torah. Privolnoye had its own Ravies, Shoihets and Soifers. Some 10 years back, when the community started to decline, 28 Torah scrolls were sent from Privolnoye to the Ashkenasi Synagogue of Baku. It does not seem appropriate to discuss here which commandments of Judaism the Geres followed and how, for here we deal with the full ritual of Galaha with all the distinctive features of the Ashkenasi ritual, including such details as the typical set of festive dishes, such as Latkes for Hanukkah and Shalakhmones for Purim, 12 fasts or, for instance the ritual of trimming the nails. I will just mention some ritual features specific for the Jewish community of Privolnoye. Sukka is normally placed on the gallery, with tiles being removed from the roof (the same was common for certain shtetls of the Ukraine); fruit were attached to the top of Sukka to decorate it. Men would fire into the air on the day of Purim, 'shooting down Aman'. Lag ba-Omer is called 'child festival', though no one could explain what exactly it means. Tu bi-Shwat is the 'female festival', the beginning of haying; men go haymaking, and women get together for a chat. (Overall, with the climat of Privolnoye being very similar to the one of Erez-Israel and local people being involved in agriculture, the agricultural meaning of all the Jewish festivals is well emphasised). Quidush is uttered facing the South, i.e. Jerusalem. Second day of Shvues is the commemoration day for the parents. Visiting the cemetery, the locals leave not a stone, but a clove of garlic at the parents' tomb. Certain traditions and rites are forgotten or semi-forgoten, but it is obvious that they have once existed. Some aspects of the Geres life is a unique synthesis of the Russian and the Jewish lifestyle. Thus, I saw and old male shirt of homemade canvass, a real Russian kosovorotka with embroided collar and hem, which had the fastening on the female side, as common for the Jews. In the house of a Gere, which looks exactly like a typical Russian peasant home, there is a mezuzah on each doorway. Children of Privolnoye would go to the river on the Shwues and place the flower wreaths into the water - this ritual is called kumeniye. This ritual of a Pagan origin is very popular in the Russian villages and takes place on the Trinity Day (Fiftieth Day). It seems that the only relevant and hard-to-explain distinction from the Ashkenasi tradition is a belief we've heard of that the man who was a firstborn in four generations at a stretch, becomes a Kohen, or, according to another version, a Levite. Besides, I was told that there used to be a tombstone at the cemetery, decorated with the image of a jar, i.e. a Levite one. Unfortunately, the tombstone has not been preserved. Most of the Gere terms pertaining to religious life are Jewish, or rather Ashkenasic. Thus, the Geres refer to their community as kagal. All the terms are pronounced in Ashkenasi transcription, e.g. Shvues, gavdula, shabes, sheikhet. Some of the Jewish terms were reduced, sort of 'Russified', e.g. yurtsa instead of Yorzeit, tfilmy instead of tfilin etc. Jewish words in the Gere speach are declined according to the Russian pagadigm (Himashof - genetive plural; zmirosa - genetive single etc.). Certain terms are doubled because of parallel use of the Russian and the Hebrew synonims, e.g. Peisah and Paska (Russian for 'Passover'), Shwues and Pyatidesyatniza (Fiftieth Day), and sometimes even Troitsa (Trinity Day). There are some, though few, local terms, ryasno Overall, Gere speach contains a lot of borrowings, not only from Hebrew, but from Yiddish as well, e.g. Gut Shabes. There are double terms for nomination of kinship, e.g. zeide - grandfather, feter - uncle. The older the informant, the more Jewish words in his speech. A remarkable fact is penetration of non-confessional traits of everyday life into the life of the Geres; primarily the cuisine with the related words: stuffed fish, sour-sweet meat, kikhly cookies, i.e. kikhelah, krepelky, i.e. krepleh, kigel, i.e. kugl were mentioned. Geres, naturally have Russian surnames, e.g. Zhabin, Klochkov, Danilov, Borisov, Sapunkov, Dolgopolov, and mostly Biblical given names, some in Russian, some in Jewish transcription. Speaking of the elders, the ancestors, they mostly use names in the Hebrew transcription, e.g. 'my grandfather Itsik-Duvid Gorbunov, or 'my father Moishe ben reb Haim'. Some names have been modified, e.g. Estra, Rahilya, Bentsien, Elyugi. Some names are never used in the Russian transcription, probably because the Russian equivalent is not visualised as such, e.g. Hanna, not Anna, Hava, not Eva. Younger generation of the Geres has two names, a Russian and a Jewish one, with the Russian mostly being consonant to the Jewish. A peculiar feature of the Gere culture is the considerable decline of Russian folklore, especially as compared to the Sabbathians. Their folk singing has been reduced to the primitive popular songs of 'Has-Bulat udaloi' type. It is explained by the fact that Russian songs have been substituted by Zmirot, or, as they put it, by Zmirosy. Most of the latter have been lost together with Hebrew tradition, while the attitude to the Russian songs as something of little importance has been preserved, that's why the Geres hardly ever sing at all. Still, certain hymns are still popular, e.g. Adon Alam, Shevez Ahim, Izmah Moishe. Ashkenazi presence in Privolnoye was always small. A certain Polish Jew, Kreitskopf, locally pronounced Kreitsov, is mentioned: having done his military service in the Caucasus, he married a Gere woman and settled in Privolnoye. A rav Ratner came to the community from Minsk before the Revolution. I did not come across any other testimonies to Ashkenasi presence in the village. Yet, the contacts must have been more extensive: penetration of Ahkenasi rituals and expressions into the Gere society testifies to that. Though in the early 1930 the Synagogues were closed down and systematic teaching of Hebrew was no longer practised, the Geres (same as the Sabbathians) retained very high level of religious self-identification. Judaism as a religion is too complex a structure to be supported just by a tiny isolated community with a collapsed education system and no connections with other communities. Yet, the older generation is still very strict in observing Kashrut, uses three sets of kitchen utensils: meat, milk and Passover, or, in their own words, miasnaia, skoromnaia and pasheshnaia. There's no shoikhet in the village, one of the Geres slaughters poultry the best he can. Still, not long ago the elders were still alive who would not eat meat for 20-30years, after the last licensed shoikhet died. First there was Red Partizan kolkhose in Privolnoye, then a sovkhoze, but even in the Soviet days no one in this sovkhose would work on Saturdays or on festive days. Still, in the last years the process of community disentegration is going fast. The last Hebrew-literate Gere left Privolnoye three years ago. It is more and more difficult to gather Minian, now it is only done for the festivals. We attended two Gere prayers, on the first and the second night of Shavuot. The service was conducted by a volonteer cantor (pushed into volunteering by his wife, very pios and well-educated woman) Leonid (Solomon) Klochkov. He wore a tales, but the entire service, exept for Shma, was conducted in Russian. The prayer took place in the lounge of the house of Estra Danilova, the keeper of the Torah scroll. Women stayed in the adjacent room and watched the men pray. After the prayer the cantor said Quidush on the homemade wine, then each man emptied three (!) glasses of wine with bisquits, kikhly, baked by the hostess. After all Hebrew-literates were gone, the Geres switched to reading all prayers in Russian, exept for Kadish and the main Brakhot, which are written down in Russian transliteration, besides, many know Brakhot by heart. The more devoted ones pray three times a day. The chief preservers of the tradition are ladies, who, as in most dying-out Russian villages, are more energetic, reasonable and numerous than men. Suffice to say that the last Torah scroll of Privolnoye is kept in the house of two sisters, Estra and Raya (Rachel) Danilova, who keep it in a special room with improvised aron-kodesh. Naturally, they never go into the room and never touch the scroll, for it should be done, and is done, exclusively by men, no less than three at a time. Judging by ets-haim design, the scroll comes from Lithuania. All the Torah scroll of Privolnoye were, to my knowledge, imported. Local soifers would just write mezuzas, tfilin and Megiles. A parokhet and a shofar are kept together with the scroll. Two godeses, one handmade, one from Betsalel workshops of the early 20th cent., as well as a khupa, are also kept in the Danilova household. Women spend Fridays cleaning the house, watering the garden in advance, tending the poultry, heating the steam baths, baking bread. Prior to baking bread (used to be khala loaves, now ordinary ones) a woman would necessarily 'separate the khala'. Then, just before the Sabbath, the lady of the house would take a bath, lit up, or 'bench' the Sabbath candles and immediately afterwards would take a walk around the house, kissing every mezuza. Parsha, the weekly part of the Five Books is necessarily read on a Sabbath. Privolnoye Geres are cultured people, they enjoy reading, try to educate their children well, which was always hard for peasants. At the same time, they readily believe in magic, evil eye, use amulets. They claim their former raves to be not only wise men, but also Kabalists and almost sorcerors. 1920-30 attack on religioun hit hard the Jewish community of Privolnoye. Community leaders had to seek refuge. Thus, in 1928 two Geres, under the threat of arrest, clossed illegally the Soviet-Iranian border, heading for Palestine. (I should mention that aliia was a common thing for the Geres and the Sabbathians, starting with 1880s). One of the Gere Rabbies from Privolnoye had to go to Pyatigorsk shortly before the World War II, to escape prosecution. He was executed by the Germans, together with other Jews of Pyatigorsk. (It's remarkable that the Geres are very well informed of the Holocaust, though getting information in the Soviet times was not at all easy). In the last decades the Gere community was disentegrating, and the process was dramatically accelerated by mass emigration after 1991. Leaving Privolnoye, the Geres spread all over Russia. Older people went, and still go, to live with their children. There are very few people under 50 in the Jewish community of Privolnoye. The last wedding took place in 1994. This was the last instance when khupa was staged and ktuba written in Privolnoye. The situation of the Geres in Russia is pretty hard. Scattered over the small provincial towns, often living in dormitories and hostels, they have to conceal their Jewishness, to stay away from trouble. The Geres have repeatedly complained of anti-Semitism they experienced in Russia. At the same time, the secular Soviet Jewery is not in a hurry to take the Geres for their own. Outside Privolnoye, the Geres are 'the new Maranes' of sort. The temptation to conceal their Jewish background is made stronger by the fact that their passports state their nationality as Russian. Still, traditional upbringing prompts the Geres to observe at least certain traditions. Thus, the couple that got married in 1994 lives now in a hostel in Sosnovy Bor, a suburb of St.Petersburg. For the last Pesakh, the wife baked clandestinely something like Mazza on the gas stove. Before the Revolution, the Geres were listed as 'Judaic'
The Sabbathians. The Sabbathians are followers of a non-Christian Old Testament sect, similar to Karaimism. They follow the commandments of Five Books, but do not accept Talmud. The Sabbathians circumsize the boys on the eighth day, observe the Sabbath, but do not lit the candles for it. They do not add an extra day to the holidays, as other Jews of the Diaspora. They do not drink wine on Pesakh, do not use vinegar, sorrel, or anything that contains fermentation products or acids. The do not eat meat and dairy products together, but do not use separate sets of crockery (that's why a Gere would never eat in a Sabbathian house). They pay special attention to the ritual cleanliness, for it is described in the Bible: this specifically pertains to the dead and to women in the state of ritual uncleanliness. A dead corpse or a menstruating woman can even pass their uncleanliness via an object. A dying person is taken out into the courtyard, disregarding the weather, together with the bed, for otherwise it is very hard to purify the house. As all the other houses and people are fouled by contact with the dead, for the Sabbathians they are all unclean, or, in their term, zamertvye. Pios Sabbathians would not thus go into a Gere house, or shake hands with the Geres. For a ritually unclean woman there's a special corner in the house, a separate set of crockery, a separate door handle. Still, the Sabbathians do not have, and never had, a Miqua, they purify themselves through pouring water over themselves in the bath house. The Sabbathians subdivide into two groups. Those following the Karaimism in a stricter fashion and even calling themselves the Karaims, use only the Bible, the Psalms and the Karain Prayer Book (Sidur and Makhzor) "The Voice of Jacob", published in Russian in the early 20th cent. They live in Mazon and Navtlug. Ther main distinction from the other Sabbathian group is that they celebrate the Fiftieth Day on a Sunday (the Geres say deprecatingly, 'just like the Orthodoxes'), counting down fifty days from the Saturday after Pesakh, following the tradition formerly observed by the Saddukians and still observed by the Karaits. They are very rigorous: would not let a zamertoj into the house, would not shake his hand. They refuse to have their pictures taken, taking the prohibition for images literally. They criticize the Jews 'who invented Talmud, a set of lousy inventions to stay away from the strict law that Moses got on the Sinai'. The less rigorous and much more numerous group of the Sabbathians has borrowed a lot from the Geres: they celebrate Shavuot according to the Jewish calendar, they lit Hanukka candles, they use Jewish Sidur, same as the Karaim one. They have a mezuza, though only one, at the entrance into the izba. They admit that they have borrowed many rituals from the Geres. Sabbathian prayer is a collective singing of the Psalms, not in the Church Slavonic, but in the Russian language. The recitation of Psalms is done to a rather archaic tune, resembling the traditions of the Old Russian Apparition tune. Men and women mix during the praying sessions, now mostly only women are present. The responsibilities of the community leader are largely reduced to those of conducting the service. The community leader is called 'the First' (pervyj), 'the Elder' (starshoj), Rabbi, or even 'the Priest' (pop). It's normally a man, but can be a woman. After the community leader moved away, a woman became the head of the Sabbathians of Privolnoye. Unfortunately, we did not have sufficient time to study in detail the religious theory and practices of the Privolnoye Sabbathians, this challenging problem of considerable interest demands future research. Despite a minimal presence of Hebrew in the religious practices of the Sabbathians, their culture as a whole has always existed in Russian only. Because of that, the Sabbathian community came to be the treasury of priceless and very little studied wealth of verbal and musical folklore: Psalmes, lamentations, spells, spiritual poems, wedding songs, folk verse etc. Our expedition was the first one to record the musical heritage of the Sabbathians. The Sabbathians are less numerous and better organized than the Geres, there are people of middle and younger age in the community. Even the immigration of the Sabbathians from Privolnoye was of an orderly nature: they moved into two new Sabbathian villages in the Northern Caucasus. There' s still a probability that the history of this community will go on. Cemeteries of Privolnoye. Privolnoye is elongated in shape, two cemeteries are located on the opposite sides of the village and bear the names of the adjacent parts, Balashovskoe and Mazonskoye. Each cemetery is divided into two sections, the Gere and the Sabbathian. The cemeteries look very much like the Jewish cemeteries of the Ukraine, though more spacious. The oldest tombstones date back to the late 1840s. The tombstones are made of limestone and hardly differ in shape from the traditional Ashkenasi ones: a vertical stealer with a square, triangular or semi-circular crown. There also are ones shaped as the stone 'trunks', resembling the Jewish tombstones in Turkey. The epitaphs of the Gere tombs are done in the regular Hebrew, in the fine square Ashkenasi script. They differ in three details from the regular Ashkenasi ones: the formula 'ger tsedek' (Fair proselyte) in the beginning of the inscription, the formular 'halekh lebeit olamo' (passed to the house of eternity) and the dates of the deceased's life, which is not typical for the traditional Jewish cemeteries. The date of death is given according to the Jewish calendar. More than often the epitaph is also given in Russian, sometimes only the Russian name and the surname of the deceased are added up to the Hebrew inscription, sometimes the epitaph is just in Hebrew. The oldest inscriptions, complying with the standards of Ashkenasi ephitaphs, date back to the 1851, which most probably proves that some of the pioneers had initially been the Geres. Starting with 1930s, Hebrew on the Gere tombstones had started to be substituted by the Russian. It's noteworthy that many tombstones feature an attempt to copy in Russian the typical Jewish abbreviations, e.g. the widespread initiation 'z.p.t.' (zdes' pokoitsia telo - here lies the body) is a copy of a Hebrew abbreviation. Images of Magendavid and menorah are often to be seen on the Gere tombstones. Sabbathian tombstones are more plain. Only the oldest ones have a Hebrew epitaph with the formular 'ish karai' (Karaim). Most of the tombstones have only Russian inscriptions, the formula ' follower of Moses'Law' is repeatedly found.
The Geres and the Sabbathians. Having lived in the same village for 150 years, the Geres and the Sabbathians feature two totally different psychotypes, almost two different ethnic groups. The Geres are wealthier and better educated, less emotional, more 'urban'. It is quite typical that their favorite musical instrument was the violin. The Sabbathians are of simpler, more natural, more spontaneous, 'folk' nature. Until 1930s, they had few contacts. In the Soviet times, mixed marriages started to occur: Geres would sometimes marry the Sabbathian women, in which case the bride had to undergo giur. The opposite situation was very rare. Privolnoye dwelleres share deep interest in the problems of theology and the foundations of their religion. The high level of theologic reflexion made it possible for each group to formulate the complaints about the other. From the Sabbathian point of view, 'the Jews violated the Moses Law'. From the Geres point of view, the Sabbatians 'followed the Jews, but not far enough', or 'do not understand that the Bible is the holy history, and Law comes from the wise ones'. Mass conversion of the Russian peasants into Judaism and Karaimism deserves special attention and studies, as well as trips to the former (and possibly present) habitat of the Judaic, working in the archives. Once this work is done, one of the most remarkable pages in the Jewish history will be open.
MOUNTAIN JEWSThe second part of our expedition was dedicated to the Mountain Jews; it was a continuation of studies done in 1994. We re-visited the Jewish community of Baku, the jewish suburb of Kuba, Red Sloboda, the Mountain Jewish communities around Kuba and the Tate village of Shuduh in the Kuba area.
Baku European Jews, until recently constituing the Jewish majority, emigrate very quickly. This is quite natural, for the 'Russian' population leaves the national frontiers, and the Russian-speaking Ashkenasi Jews belong to this group.; For the first time in decades we encounter the situation when the Mountain Jewish community dominates the Jewish life of Baku. The Mountain Jewish Synagogue located in the center of the Jewish quarter is very active. A lot of young people come there. We videotaped the service and the arrival of Torah in this Synagogue. Red Sloboda. Red (former Jewish) Sloboda is a settlement on the bank of the Kudial-Chai river opposite to the city of Kuba, in fact, it's a Jewish suburb of Kuba. The unique feature of this settlement is that it is almost uninational, inhabited exclusively by the Mountain Jews. Kuba is located on a highly advantageous spot, on a busy traderoot, at the junction of the valeey and the mountains, in the center of a highly furtile agricultural area. In the mid 18th cent., in the days of Hussein-Ali-Khan and his son Fatali-Khan Kuba Kingdom lived through its peak. It controlled the entire North-Eastern Azerbaijan from Derbent to Lenkoran. It was back in those days that the Kuba Khans created a Jewish settlement next to their capital, granting the jews a plot of land and guaranteeing their safety. The Jews that settled in the Sloboda came from the adjacent highland and valley villages of Kulgat, Kusary, Chipkend, Karchag, Shuduh, Kryz etc. In 1780s Jews from the Persian province of Gilan moved to the Sloboda. Newcomers from each area would find their own quarter, mahalla, in the Sloboda, same as ther own Synagogue. Thus, the quarter for those coming from Gilan, mahalla Gilyaki, is located in the center of the Sloboda. Even nowadays people of the Sloboda remember distinctly which quarter they come from, and consequently wherefrom there ancestors came. In the only active Synagogue of Red Sloboda there is an ample collection (about 70 items) of kulmoses from all the Sloboda Synagogues. In their shape and decor they feature the number of types equal to the number of quarters in the Sloboda and, consequently, the former number of the Synagogues. In the end of the 19th century the population of the Jewish Sloboda was no less than 7.000 people. Besides, Jews from the Sloboda would constantly move to other cities, e.g. the major part of the Mountain Jewish community of Baku are descendants from the Sloboda. Presently ca. 5000 Jews reside in the Sloboda. Kuba area is the world-renowned center of carpet making, and several merchant families from the Sloboda would buy the carpets from the Highland Tates who produced them and would distribute the carpets all over the world, from Paris to Istanbul. People of Sloboda were also involved in selling textiles, many of them were petty traders selling small items in the villages. Several of the Sloboda people were gardeners owning their own land. Yet, Mountain Jews had very little land of their own, thus the major and poorerart of the Sloboda population would hire themselves out to the peasants of the neighboring villages, mostly for the harvesting. It looks like the population of the Sloboda had once been formed of two groups, not only territorial, but professional: highland peasants on one hand, and Iranian traders on the other. In 1920s a kolkhose was organized for the Sloboda dwellers on the land confiscated from the former landlords, and a carpet-making workshop was opened in the Sloboda. Trading traditions have been preserved in Red Sloboda even in the Soviet times. The Sloboda Jewss would be involved in selling Azerbaijanian fruit in the Moscow markets. The trading businesses have flourished in the recent years. Men from Red Sloboda carry out large-scale supplies of Chinese goods through Kazahstan to Moscow and other Russian cities, spending six months and more away from home. This thading ensures very high living standards of the present-day Red Sloboda. It's quite natural that under the conditions emigration to Israel in going on very slowly, if at all, and as the birth rate is still very high, there was hardly any decline in population in the last three years (1994-1997). On the contraty, Jewish population starts to grow gradually, for Mountain Jews families move to Red Sloboda from the neighboring villages of Kusary, Hachmas, Hudat, and even Baku. Costruction is going on everywhere in the settlement: old houses are pulled down and new deluxe ones are built. The owners try to show both their wealth and their Jewishness: the walls and the roofs are decorated with Magendavids, menorahs etc. The cemetery and the only active Synagogue have been restored, the restoration of the largest of the surviving Synagogues, Kusar, is almost completed; it will be turned into a community center. Wedding Palace decorated with jewish symbols has been built recently. Unfortunately, the new houses gradually destroy the old, highly picturesque Jewish Sloboda. It was built mostly in the 1890-1910. Narrow streets, overhung with covered balconies remind of the old Baku or Tbilisi. Synagogue buildings are the architectural dominants of the village. Overall there used to be 11 Synagogues in the Sloboda, buildings of the seven have been preserved. They are all built of brick, the larger ones decorated with onion dome. The largest Synagogue, in Kusar quarter, has as many as six decorative domes. Overall the Synagogues resemble the Mosques built in Kuba in the same period. It is quite remarkable that we happen to know the name of the architect who designed the Synagogues of Red Sloboda. He was born locally ,his name was Gilel ben Haim. Residential buildings he designed in the sloboda have also been preserved. The name and the patronymic in huge Hebrew letters layed out in brick decorate the facade of each Synagogue. This aurthor's signature of sorts is almost the only decoration of the rather modest Synagogue facades. We recorded architectural measurements of two cupola Synagogues, and thus completed the research in the Synagogues of Red Sloboda, started in 1994. The dwellers of Red Sloboda are not concerned about the education of their children. Boys get involved in trading rather early, girls tend to get married even earlier. The newly-founded Sunday Hebrew school has not so far gained much support. It's quite remarkable that recently considerable funds have been spent in Red Sloboda on the upkeep of the cemetery, but not to support the local Hebrew school In fact, for the Mountain Jews commemoration of the dead relatives is now the main, and for some almost the only sustained religious activity, which has substituted all the other forms of community life. A lot of Moutain Jews would only know one prayer, the commemoration one.The 9th of Ave (locally termed Soroni Despite the drastic changes in the lifestyle of the Jews from Red Sloboda, they largely stick to the traditional lifestyle. We managed to record the rituals of the annual and the life cycle, a wedding, details of household arrangements and traditional dress. There are several elders who got religious education in 1920s and thus know very well all the religious traditions. During our stay in Kuba, we had a remarkable throw-back to the first stage of our expedition occured. We were told that in the 1940s some 15 families of the Geres moved to Red Sloboda from Voronezh Region, thinking righteously that in the mononational environment of Red Sloboda it would be easier to follow all the laws of Judaism. The could not go to Privolnoye, for until the last year is was considered a border zone. In 1970s the Geres from Red Sloboda moved to Izrael. We learned from the inhabitants of Red Sloboda that some of the locals come from the highland Tate village of Shuduh that the Jews had abandoned long ago. German traveller of the 18th cent. Herbert mentioned the Jews living there. We visited the village and found out that one of the clanes of the Tate, i.e. Moslem, population of Shuduh is called Israili. Members of the clane still remember the Jewish background of their ancestors. Until 1946, there was a Jewish cemetery in the village. It is noteworthy that the Moslem Tates of Shuduh believe the Jews from Red Sloboda to be their 'kin' and treat them with special appreciation. Obviously, at a certain point (we do not know when) some Jews from Shuduh accepted Islam, and the others had to leave the village and settle in the newly-founded Jewish suburb of Kuba. The Tates of Shuduh and the Jews of the Sloboda still sustain a kind of fraternity. The Tates sell their carpets through the Sloboda. We were told that in the years of starvation during the World War II people of the Sloboda helped the villagers of Shuduh. It is a known fact that the Moslems, the Jews and the Grigorian Christians speak the Tate language. The studies of this ancient, highly unique and very little known civilization of the Tate-speaking people of the Eastern Caucases, who preach three different religions and still retain the internal peace is a most challenging task still to be solved. |
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