A descriptive investigation of Hemshin identity -

Abstract

This study investigates the contested identity of the Hemshin, a group of people inhabiting the northern highlands of Eastern Turkey. In recent scholarship, this group has been regarded as a group of islamicized Armenians, but such claims about the Hemshin’s Armenian identity are not universally agreed upon. This thesis serves as a descriptive study of how and where Hemshin identity is being located within the historical narrative of a Turkish-Armenian binary. Included in this analysis is a look at how and why understanding the identity of the Hemshin as Armenian is contested internally and externally. The conclusion that this study draws is that much of the contestation that arises from Hemshin identity is a product of the separate historical experiences of three main groupings, or factions, within the broader Hemshin group. Their distinctions make each group unique to the degree that, while they share common origins, it is difficult to constitute them as one singular group, especially within the tense context of a Turkish-Armenian binary. In addition to the conclusion, this study engages in a discussion related to the possibility that there are clear boundaries for each identity, and discusses the ways in which the Hemshin may or may not be able to be interpolated within these parameters. For each of the three groups, the possibility for location on a Turkish-Armenian binary varies due to the distinctions and characteristics of each faction within the broader Hemshin identity, the most important of those distinctions are language and religion.