Gagauz is the most widely accepted singular and plural form of the name,[11] and some references useGagauzy (from Ukrainian)[10][12] orGagauzi.[12] Other variations includingGagauzes andGagauzians appear rarely.
Before the Russian Revolution they were commonly referred to as "Turkic-speaking oldBulgars".[13] Gagauz agricultural settlers in Uzbekistan called themselves "Eski Bulgarlar" (meaningOld Bulgars) in the 1930s.[13][14][15]
Older ethnographic works such as Pees (1894) andJireček (1891)—both covering the Gagauz in Bulgaria—mention that only their neighbors used the ethnonym Gagauz, partly as an insult. The Gagauz themselves did not use this self-designation; indeed, they considered it offensive. Both Pees and Jireček mention that the Gagauz inBulgaria tended to register either as Greek because of their religion (clearly an outcome of theOttoman millet-system) or asBulgarian because of the newly emerging concept of nationalism. According to Pees informants from Moldova, the Gagauz there called themselves Hristiyan-Bulgar (Christian Bulgar), and Gagauz was used only as a nickname (Pees 1894, p. 90). The etymology of the ethnonym Gagauz is as unclear as their history. As noted above, they are not mentioned—at least not under that name—in any historical sources before their immigration intoBessarabia. Therefore, we have no older versions of this ethnonym. This, combined with the report that the Gagauz felt offended when called by this name, makes the etymology somewhat dubious.
The Gagauz people are one of the largest ethnic minorities inMoldova. During the Russian colonization of southernBessarabia (Budjak), in the early 19th century, the Gagauz people moved from the easternBalkans, beginning to stabilize their presence on the future territory of the Republic of Moldova. The Gagauz are not equally distributed on the territory of Moldova, living primarily in the southern part of the country, particularly in theAutonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. They follow a primarily rural lifestyle.
The Gagauz are the third minority ethnic group in the Republic of Moldova, counting 126,010 people according to the 2014 census, i.e. 4.57% of the total population (without Transnistria). Their share in the ethnic composition of the country is gradually increasing.[17] They are the majority of Gagauzia's population (83.8%), while inTaraclia District, which is inhabited primarily by Bulgarians, they comprise 9.0% of the total population. In Bessarabsky District they are 7.4% of the district's population, but gradually declining. In Cahul district, they have a small presence (2.7% of the district's population). In the rest of Moldova their share is lower than 1%. The internal migration of Gagauz in Moldova is low. Most Gagauz who leave Gagauzia migrate to Russia.
Due to their concentration in the areas around the border between Moldova and Ukraine, modern Gagauz people marry primarily with other Gagauz; thus keeping a high degree of ethnic stability. However, in the recent past, the situation was somewhat different. In the early 20th century, the ratio of Gagauz and Bulgarians in the population ofComrat was approximately 2:1. In the late 20th century, due to assimilation and higher fertility rates within the Gagauz, the ratio was 1:14.[18] Nowadays, similar ratios between Gagauz and Bulgarians are preserved in some villages. For practical reasons, a contemporary Gagauz usually speaks at least two languages. In their daily life they useGagauz andRussian, but many can speakRomanian as well.
The origin of the Gagauz is obscure. In the beginning of the 20th century, a Bulgarian historian counted 19 different theories about their origin. A few decades later the Gagauz ethnologist M. N. Guboglo increased the number to 21. In some of those theories the Gagauz people are presented as descendants of thePechenegs, theCumans-Kipchaks[19] or a clan of Seljuk Turks or a mix of all. Others doubt altogether that the Gagauz are of Turkic origin at all and claimed that they are ofTurkifiedBulgarian orGreek origin.[15][20] The fact that their religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity may suggest that their ancestors already lived in the Balkans before the Ottoman conquest in the late 14th century.[8]
According to the 15th-centurySelçukname narrative, in 1261 TurkomandervishSarı Saltık accompanied a group ofTurkomans intoDobruja, where they were settled by theByzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos to protect the northern frontier of the empire. However, Dobruja was occupied by Tatars in the same period. The same source places him in Crimea after 1265, among the Turkomans transferred there byBerke,khaghan of theGolden Horde, and after 1280 mentions him leading the nomads back to Dobruja.[21][22] After the death of Sarı Saltık, part of the Turkomans returned to Anatolia and became the ancestors of theKaramanlides, while others remained and became Christians.[23] According to A.F. Bajora, this event was a myth brought into Dobruja by theTatars and not a true historical event.[24] The Seljuk theory has been criticized because archaeologically no "secular and compact" presence of Seljuks has been confirmed. It is also hard to believe that Seljuk Muslims converted to Christianity when their fellow MuslimTatars lived in the North.[24]
TheSteppe hypothesis suggests that the Gagauz may be descendants of other Turkic nomadic tribes than Seljuks:Bulgars andCumans-Kipchaks from the Eurasian steppes. In the 19th century, before their migration toBessarabia, the Gagauz from the Bulgarian territories of theOttoman Empire considered themselves Bulgarians. Ethnological research suggests "Gagauz" was a linguistic distinction and not ethnic. The Gagauz at that time called themselves "Hasli Bulgar" (True Bulgarians) or "Eski Bulgar" (Old Bulgarians) and considered the term Gagauz to be demeaning[why?] when applied to them by theSlavic-speaking Bulgarians.
The Gagauz called their language "Turkish" and claimed descent from then-Turkic-speakingBulgars who in the 7th century established theFirst Bulgarian Empire on theDanube.[25] Indeed, one modern Gagauz surname isQipcakli.[26][27] TheRussian Empire Census of 1897 did not distinguish the Gagauz as a specific group, but it reported the existence of 55,790 native speakers of a "Turkish language" (presumably theGagauz language) in theBessarabia Governorate.[28] According to historian A.F. Bajora, although this theory has many convincing arguments, the main counter-argument to this theory is that theCuman language and the Gagauz language were languages belonging to different branches of Turkic.[24]
According to a version of this hypothesis, the Gagauz immigrated to the Balkans fromAnatolia and, while they kept theirGreek Orthodox religion, they were linguistically assimilated (Turkified).[29] According to another version, the Ottomans found a nativeGreek population inDobruja in the 14th century and, due to their population being lower than the number of Turkish settlers, this Greek population, too, kept their Greek Orthodox religion but got linguistically assimilated (Turkified).[24] In this vein of linguistic assimilation, the Gagauz have been compared to theKaramanlides.[24][30]
An argument that favors the Greek hypothesis is given by genetic research, which shows that the Gagauz are genetically European.[29] Additionally, during theGreek War of Independence the Gagauz inBessarabia andBulgaria enlisted in the armies ofAlexander Ypsilantis and fought for the Greek side in the war.[29] The Greek hypothesis was favored most notably byKonstantin Jireček, among others.[31]
Bulgarian sources argue that the Gagauz are Turkified Bulgarians because most of the Gagauz people in Bulgaria consider themselves natives ("Erli") meaning real natives.[24] According to this theory, the Gagauz are either direct descendants of the MedievalTurkicBulgars, or ofSlavicBulgarian origin, being no different than the rest of the Bulgarians, before theTurkic language spread among them.[24] According to A.F. Bajora this theory has many strong arguments, but states that the fact that Ottoman Turks did not force their subjects to accept their language and only compelled them to convert to Islam, and that not all Gagauz in Bulgaria consider themselves Bulgarians, are strong counter-arguments.[24]
Between 1820 and 1846, theRussian Empire allocated land to the Gagauz and gave them financial incentives to settle in Bessarabia in the settlements vacated by theNogai tribes. They settled in Bessarabia along withBassarabian Bulgarians, mainly inAvdarma,Comrat (orKomrat),Congaz (Kongaz),Tomai,Cișmichioi and other former Nogai villages located in the centralBudjak region. Originally, the Gagauz also settled in several villages belonging toboyars throughout southern Bessarabia and thePrincipality of Moldavia, but soon moved to join their kin in the Bugeac. Until 1869, the Gagauz in Bessarabia were described as Bulgarians. During theRomanian rule of southernmost Bessarabia (1856–1878), they supported Bulgarian schools in their settlements and participated in theBulgarian national movement. Therefore, some ethnologists (Karel Škorpil,Gavril Zanetov (himself a Gagauz), Benyo Tsonev) claim Bulgarian origin for the Gagauz.
In the 1860s, some Gagauz resettled to the vicinity of Berdiansk on the Sea of Azov coast, and in 1908–1914 to Central Asia.[10]
With the exception of a six-day independence in the winter of 1906, when a peasant uprising declared the autonomousComrat Republic, the Gagauz people have mainly been ruled by the Russian Empire, Romania, theSoviet Union, andMoldova.[citation needed]
The wave ofStolypin agrarian policies carried some Gagauz to Kazakhstan between 1912 and 1914, and later yet another group settled inUzbekistan during the very troubled years of initial collectivization. So as not to lose their civil rights, they called themselves Bulgarians in the 1930s; the Gagauz of the village of Mayslerge in the Tashkent District retain that designation to this day.[13]
In 1970 the total population of the Gagauz reached 156,600 in the USSR (26,400 of them lived in the Ukrainian SSR and 125,000 in the Moldavian SSR). In 1979, about 173,000 Gagauz lived in the USSR.[10]
Gagauz nationalism remained an intellectual movement during the 1980s but strengthened by the end of the decade as both elites and opposition groups in the Soviet Union began to embrace nationalist ideals. In 1988, activists from the localintelligentsia aligned with other ethnic minorities to create the movement known as the "Gagauz People" (Gagauz:Gagauz halkı). A year later, the "Gagauz People" held its first assembly which accepted the resolution to create an autonomous territory in the southernMoldavian SSR, withComrat designated as capital. The Gagauz nationalist movement increased in popularity whenMoldovan was accepted as the official language of the Republic of Moldova in August 1989.[32] In November 1989, the Gagauz ASSR within Moldova was declared.
In August 1990,Comrat declared itself as theGagauz Republic, an autonomous Soviet republic separate from the Moldavian SSR, but the Moldovan government annulled the declaration as unconstitutional. The Gagauz were also worried about the implications for them if Moldova reunited with Romania, as seemed increasingly likely. Support for the Soviet Union remained high, with a local referendum in March 1991 yielding an almost unanimous "yes"[quantify] vote to stay in the USSR; Moldovans in Gagauzia, however,boycotted the referendum. Many Gagauz supported theMoscow coup attempt, further straining relations with Chişinău. However, when theMoldovan parliament voted on whether Moldova should become independent, six of the twelve Gagauz deputies voted in favor. Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union, Gagauzia became ade facto independent state.
In February 1994,PresidentMircea Snegur, opposed to Gagauz independence, promised a Gagauzautonomous region. Snegur also opposed the suggestion that Moldova become afederal state made up of three "republics": Moldova, Gagauzia, and Transnistria. In 1994, the Moldovan parliament awarded "the people of Gagauzia" the right of "externalself-determination" should the status of the country change. This means that in the event that Moldova decided to join another country (by all accounts this referred to Romania), the Gagauz would be entitled to decide whether to remain or not a part of the new state by means of a self-determination referendum.[citation needed]
As a result of a referendum to determine Gagauzia's borders, thirty settlements (three towns and twenty-seven villages) expressed their desire to be included in the Gagauz Autonomous Territorial Unit. In 1995, Gheorghe Tabunșcic was elected to serve as the Governor (Bashkan) of Gagauzia for a four-year term, as were the deputies of the local parliament, "The People's Assembly" (Halk Topluşu) and its chairman Petru Pașalî.[citation needed]
The prospects for the survival of the Gagauz national culture and the existence of the Gagauz as an independent people are tenuous. They have the lowest ratio of persons with a higher education in Moldova, a virtual absence of an artistic intelligentsia, a very weak scientific intelligentsia, and an acute lack of intellectuals in general. In 1989 less than half as many Gagauz were admitted to the state university and the polytechnical institute as in 1918. Accordingly, the Gagauz are weakly represented in administration, the professions, and the service industries. There is an acute shortage of building materials, and the environment is in a state of crisis. Analysis of this situation led to the Gagauz movement for national regeneration. On 12 November 1989 an extraordinary session of representatives to the Moldavian Supreme Soviet adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of a Gagauz ASSR within the Moldavian SSR. Three days later, however, the presidium of the Moldavian Supreme Soviet failed to confirm this decision, thus trampling on the principle of national self-determination of the Communist party of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the Moldavian press opened a campaign of anti-Gagauz propaganda. Despite a series of declarations about a renaissance of the Gagauz, the absence of the necessary conditions, including national-territorial autonomy, will make their realization difficult, and the people appear doomed to assimilation.[13]
InDNA comparisons, the Gagauz were found to be more closely related genetically to neighboring southeasternEuropean groups than to linguistically relatedAnatolian populations.[33] More considerable distinctions in the distribution ofY chromosome components appeared between the Gagauz and otherTurkic peoples.[9]
After a genetic comparison between the populations of the Balkans, Anatolia, and Central Asia, the results showed that the Gagauz are part of the Balkan genetic group.[38][9]
TheGagauz language belongs to theOghuz branch of the Turkic languages, which also includes theAzerbaijani,Turkish, andTurkmen languages. The Gagauz language is particularly close to the Balkan Turkish dialects spoken in Greece, northeastern Bulgaria, and in theKumanovo andBitola areas of North Macedonia. The Balkan Turkic languages, including Gagauz, are a typologically interesting case, because they are closely related to Turkish and at the same time contain a North-Turkic (Tatar orKypchak) element besides the main South-Turkic (Oghuz) element (Pokrovskaya, 1964). The modern Gagauz language has two dialects: central (or "Bulgar") and southern (or maritime).[39]
The traditional economy centered onanimal husbandry (particularlysheep raising) andagriculture that combinedgrain andmarket gardening withviticulture. Even in the recent past, despite the cultural similarity of the Gagauz to the Bulgarians ofBessarabia, there were important differences between them: the Bulgarians were peasant farmers; although the Gagauz also farmed, they were essentiallypastoralist in outlook.[13]
There have been a number of attempts from the 1930s into the 21st century to tie theTurkish Orthodox Patriarchate with the ethnically Turkic, Greek Orthodox Gagauz minority in Bessarabia.[43]
For Gagauz, Moldova was characterized by the predominance of mono-ethnic marriages: out of 100 marriages prisonered in 1970, mono-ethnic were 73, and out of 100 marriages concluded in 2003 were 77.[44] In 2003, Gagauz men of Moldova married with women of their ethnicity (78%), less often with Moldavians (9%), Russians (4%) and Ukrainians (3%).[44] For Gagauz women of Moldova in 2003, these indicators amounted to respectively: 75%, 8%, 5%, 4% and 5%.[44] For Gagauz, Chisinau is characteristic, on the contrary, mainly national-mixed marriages, which in 2000 accounted for 97% of all marriages of the Gagauz of both sexes.[44] For 2018, the number of mono ethnic marriages decreased.
The Gagauz name consists of a personal name, patronymic and surname. The most recognizable form of a name usually consists of a given name and a surname. Such a system was established among the Gagauz in the second half of the 20th century. Modern personal Gagauz names belong to different eras. A large part of them is ofGreek origin (Лія - Lia, Анатолій - Anatoly, Александр - Alexander, Ірина - Irina, Варвара - Varvara), ofHebrew origin (Марія -Maria,Семен -Semyon,Анна -Anna,Іванна -Ivanna, etc.), ofRomance origin (Домна -Domna,Константин -Constantine). Sometimes they can also be ofSlavic origin (Віра -Vira,Володимир -Vladimir) and ofBulgarian origin (Марин -Marin).[45] Recently, the Gagauz have been increasingly borrowing foreign names.
The name of the child is given in two ways:
named after grandparents
by the name of godparents
Gagauz surnames are of Balkan origin. Mostly they are from the Gagauz, Bulgarian, Greek languages. In addition, surnames come from professions, street nicknames, and the father's name. When concluding a civil marriage, women take the surname of their spouse.[citation needed]
The staple food ofGagauz cuisine is grain, in many varieties. A series of family holidays and rituals was connected with the baking ofwheatbread, bothleavened loaves (e.g.,kalaches) and unleavenedflatcakes.
The favorite dish was a layeredpie stuffed with sheep's milk cheese and soaked withsour cream before baking. Other delicacies were pies with crumbledpumpkin and sweet pies made with the first milk of a cow that had justcalved. The traditional ritual dish calledkurban combinedbulgar wheatporridge with a slaughtered (orsacrificed) ram and is further evidence of the origins of the Gagauz in both the Balkan world and thesteppe-pastoral complex. Peppered meatsauces are especially important: one combinesonion and finely granulated porridge, while another istomato-based. Ared house wine is served with dinner and supper.Head cheese is an indispensable component of holiday meals.[citation needed]
Toward the end of the 19th century, in good weather, a Gagauz woman's costume consisted of acanvas shirt, a sleeveless dress, asmock, and a large blackkerchief. In winter, they donned a dress with sleeves, a cloth jacket, and a sleeveless fur coat. Required features of female dress were earrings, bracelets, beads, and, among wealthy Gagauz, a necklace of gold coins. "So many of their decorations are hung about," wrote a pre-Revolutionary researcher, "that they cover the entire breast down to the waist."[citation needed]
Traditional male clothing included a shirt, cloth pants, a wide red sash or belt, and a hat. The winter cap wasmade of Karakul sheep wool. The shepherd's costume was the usual shirt combined withsheepskin pants with the fleece turned in, a sleeveless fur coat, and a short sheepskin jacket, the latter sometimes decorated with red-on-green stitching.[citation needed]
Ethnic map of Budjak, a Ukrainian territory where Gagauz people liveDistribution of the Gagauz language in the Odesa Oblast according to the 2001 census
In the Odesa region, the Gagauz make up 1.1% of the region's population. The number of Gagauz in the period between the1989 and2001 censuses increased by 0.9%, and the share of residents of the region - by 0.1%. A notable Ukrainian Gagauz was Mykola Palas (born 1980), who served as a colonel during theRusso-Ukrainian War and is a recipient of theHero of Ukraine award.[48]
Gagauz live in the south and southwest of Odesa region inBolhrad (18.7%),Reni (7.9%),Bessarabske (6.0%),Kiliia (3.8%), andArtsyz (1.8%) areas. The number of Gagauz increased inIvanivka (+100.0%),Ovidiopol (+100.0%),Bolhrad (+0.7%) districts and the city ofIzmail (+14.3%), slightly decreased inKiliia (−14.8%),Artsyz (−10.0%),Bessarabske (−6.9%), andReni (−5.9%) districts.
The Gagauz also traditionally lived in the south of theZaporizhzhia region, where they moved fromBudzhak with Bulgarians and Albanians after theCrimean War. There the Gagauz population was present in the villages ofDmytrivka, Oleksandrivka,Kotlovyna, Vynohradivka, and Stari Troyany.
^abcLipka, Michael (22 May 2022)."The Gagauz: 'Christian Turks' between two worlds". TRT World.The Gagauz, a Turkic-Orthodox Christian people, have lived in the Balkans for hundreds of years, managing to preserve their language and culture.
^abMenz, Astrid (2006). "The Gagauz". In Kuban, Doğan (ed.).The Turkic speaking peoples. Prestel.ISBN978-3-7913-3515-5.
^Wittek, Paul (October 1952). "Yazijioghlu 'Alī on the Christian Turks of the Dobruja".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.14 (3):648–649, 659.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00088595.S2CID140172969.
^Norris, H.T. (1993).Islam in the Balkans: Religion and Society Between Europe and the Arab World. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 146–47.ISBN978-0-87249-977-5. Retrieved31 December 2023.Yazicioğlu 'Alī, who wrote during the reign ofMurad II (1421-51), says that Izz al-DīnKaykā'ūs II, who was threatened by his brother, found refuge with his followers at the court of the Byzantine emperor. He fought the latter's enemies, and as a reward the latter gave them the Dobrudja. The Turkish clans were summoned, and with Ṣarī Ṣaltiq as their leader, they crossed over fromÜsküdar and then proceeded to the Dobrudja.
^Wittek, Paul (October 1952). "Yazijioghlu 'Alī on the Christian Turks of the Dobruja".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.14 (3): 666.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00088595.S2CID140172969.
^Boĭkova, Elena Vladimirovna; Rybakov, R. B. (2006).Kinship in the Altaic World. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 47
^MacDermott, Mercia (1998). Bulgarian Folk Customs. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 27.
^Russian 1897 Census data - breakdown by region and language. Besides "Turkish", the only other Turkic languages reported by the Census of 1897 as spoken in Bessarabia were the "Tatar" (777 native speakers), Turkmen (405), and Chuvash (73).
^Nasidze, Ivan; Quinque, Dominique; Udina, Irina; Kunizheva, Svetlana; Stoneking, Mark (2007). "The Gagauz, a Linguistic Enclave, are Not a Genetic Isolate: The Gagauz, a Linguistic Enclave".Annals of Human Genetics.71 (3):379–389.doi:10.1111/j.1469-1809.2006.00330.x.PMID17147693.S2CID21390260.
^Varzari, Alexander; Kharkov, Vladimir; Stephan, Wolfgang; Dergachev, Valentin; Puzyrev, Valery; Weiss, Elisabeth H.; Stepanov, Vadim (2009). "Searching for the Origin of Gagauzes: Inferences from Y-Chromosome Analysis".American Journal of Human Biology.21 (3):326–336.doi:10.1002/ajhb.20863.PMID19107901.S2CID13952729.
^Varzari, Alexander; Kharkov, Vladimir; Stephan, Wolfgang; Dergachev, Valentin; Puzyrev, Valery; Weiss, Elisabeth H.; Stepanov, Vadim (2009). "Searching for the Origin of Gagauzes: Inferences from Y-Chromosome Analysis".American Journal of Human Biology.21 (3):326–336.doi:10.1002/ajhb.20863.PMID19107901.S2CID13952729.
Vanya Mateeva, 2006 Sofia,"Гагаузите - още един поглед" ["The Gagauz - yet another view"]
Dimitris Michalopoulos, “The Metropolitan of the Gagauz: Ambassador Tanrıöver and the problem of Romania’s Christian Orthodox Turks”,Turkey & Romania. A history of partnership and collaboration in the Balkans, Istanbul: Union of Turkish World Municipalities and Istanbul University, 2016, p. 567-572.ISBN978-605-65863-3-0
Shabashov A. V., 2002, Odesa, Astroprint,"Gagauz: terms of kinship system and origin of the people", (Шабашов А. В.,"Гагаузы: система терминов родства и происхождение народа")
Mikhail Guboglo, 1967,"Этническая принадлежност гагаузов".Советская этнография, No 3 [Ethnic identity of the Gagauz. Soviet ethnography journal, Issue No 3.]
Dmitriev N. K., 1962, Moscow, Science,"Structure of Türkic languages", articles"About lexicon of Gagauz language","Gagauz etudes","Phonetics of Gagauz language", (Дмитриев Н.К.,"Структура Тюткских Языков", статьи"К вопросу о словарном составе гагаузского языка","Гагаузские этюды","Фонетика гагаузского языка")
Mihail Çakır, 1934,Basarabyalı Gagavuzların İstoryası ["History of the Gagauz people of Bessarabia"]
Kowalski, T., 1933 Kraków,"Les Turcs et la langue turque de la Bulgarie du Nord-Est". ["The Turks and the Turkic language of North-Eastern Bulgaria"]
Škorpil, K. and H., 1933 Praha,"Материали към въпроса за съдбата на прабългарите и на северите и към въпроса за произхода на съвременните гагаузи". Byzantinoslavica, T.5
1 Central Asian (i.e.Turkmeni,Afghani andIranian)Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e.Iraqi andSyrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. formerOttoman territories).
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