Traditional Culture of the Pomaks of Edirne (Turkey) According to the Ethnolinguistic Expedition of 2025

Abstract

The paper presents data on the traditional culture of the Pomaks, a minority ethno-linguistic and cultural-religious group of Slavic Muslims living in Turkey, including their linguistic and cultural polyglossia and the influence of Turkish culture. The data were collected during an ethnolinguistic expedition to the Edirne region of Turkey in February 2025. The Pomak population of this region is represented by different groups of Slavic Muslims who migrated to present-day Turkey from Greece and Bulgaria in the 19th and 20th centuries. The expedition to the Edirne Pomaks continued a series of studies that have been conducted by the research group since 2018 in various places where Slavic Muslims live in the Balkans. According to the survey data, the traditional culture of the Pomaks of Edirne is preserved quite well, but is limited mainly to the sphere of family rituals, which have been subject to noticeable Turkish interference, while calendar rituals are represented by the pan-Balkan holiday of Ederlez (May 6), associated with the beginning of the cattle-breeding cycle, and the Muslim holidays of Kurban Bayram and Sheker Bayram. The native language, called Pomak (Pomakcha) here, is used in family and everyday communication by older people, while middle-aged people and young people demonstrate passive knowledge of the language. The dominant language of communication is Turkish.

Received: 14.03.2025.
Revised: 17.03.2025.
Accepted: 18.03.2025.

Citation
Klimova K. A., Uzeneva E. S. Traditional Culture of the Pomaks of Edirne (Turkey) According to the Ethnolinguistic Expedition of 2025 // Slavic Almanac. 2025. No 1‒2. P. 297–308 (In Russian). DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2025.1-2.13