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The Maronites of Cyprus: from Ethnicism to Transnationalism

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The Maronites of Cyprus: from Ethnicism to Transnationalism GAMER, I, 1 (2012) s. 61-72 THE MARONITES OF CYPRUS: FROM ETHNICISM TO TRANSNATIONALISM Areti Demosthenous* Özet Maruniler ve Kıbrıs: Etnisizmden Ulus-Ötesiciliğe Bu makalenin amacı, tüm dünyaya yayılmış birçok ülkede çoğunluk nüfus ile birlikte yaşayan, fakat kendi ülkelerine sahip olmayan Marunileri tanıtmaktır. Buna ek olarak, makalede ulus-aşırı nitelikli bu topluluklar hakkında yapılan çalışmaların, Avrupalı ve diğer milletlerde var olan bölgesel çatışmalar ve milliyetçilik tarafından tetiklenen savaşlara karşı, milletlerin bir küresel köy oluşturması amacında alternatif bir arada yaşama modelleri yaratma ve kapalı ulus devletleri aşma yolunda örnek teşkil etmesi de amaçlanmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Marunilerin kimlikleri, özgün Maruni kültürü ile olan iletişimleri ve kimliksel ötekileri ile kültürlerarası çatışmaları hakkında bilgi vermeyi amaçlar. Ayrıca, modern Marunilerin göç yolları, yeni kültürlere adaptasyon yöntemleri ve sorunları da tartışmaya açılacaktır. Son olarak, makalede üzerinde durulacak diğer konu ise azınlık topluluklarının kendi sivil toplumlarını nasıl organize ettikleri ve birer üyesi olmadıkları çoğunluk gruplarının vatandaşlık tartışmalarına nasıl katkıda bulundukları olacaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Maruni, azınlık, sivil toplum, kimlik *Director, Institute of Historical Research for Peace, Nicosia CYPRUS. Areti Demosthenous Abstract This article intends to introduce the Maronites, a nation which although spread all over the world, co-exists with the majority population groups in many countries, without having their own state. Moreover, it aims at presenting the research regarding the transnational characteristics of these communities, who might well, be of example for European and other nations, which at a time where regional conflicts and wars instigated by increased nationalism take place, look for alternative models of coexistence and models of transition from the closed nation state to the world global village. This study will shed light on the identity these people have, show their connectivity to the original Maronite culture and present current tensions of intercultural relations with the others. In addition, this article will address the reasons of how modern Maronite migrations took place, and discuss methods and problems of adaptation to new conditions. Besides, it will shed light on how small communities organize their civil society and contribute to the development of the country of citizenship even without belonging to the majority group of people. Key Words: Maronite, minority, civil society, identity Introduction: Initially a Religious Community The Maronites got their name from Saint Maron (350-410 A.D.) who lived near Mount Taurus situated in the region of Apameus in "Syria Secunda", an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire.1 Great crowds were attracted by Saint Maron’s gift of healing and many of them joined him, seeking to lead a life of prayer and mortification under his spiritual guidance. St Maron’s sainthood became known throughout the Byzantine Empire. St John Chrysostom sent him a letter around 405 A.D. expressing his great love and respect, and asked St Maron to pray for him. After his death in 410 A.D., a church was built and dedicated to his memory. His disciples formed the nucleus of the Maronite Church and they founded a monastery named after him. This monastery grew rapidly 1 Guita Hourani, “A Reading in the History of the Maronites of Cyprus from the , I, 1 (2012) , I, 1 (2012) Eighth Century to the Beginning of British Rule”, Journal of Maronite Studies, vol. II, No 3, 2f. Also see Nicholas Coureas, The Latin Church in Cyprus 1313-1378, Texts and Studies in the History of Cyprus, vol. LXV, Cyprus Research Centre, Nicosia, 2010, GAMER 19f. 62 The Maronites of Cyprus: from Ethnicism to Transnationalism and became the head of a body of monasteries, which spread over Syria and Lebanon. "Maronitism" meant the Christian movement inspired by St Maron, his disciples and his monasteries, which were a source of edification for many of the faithful. “Maronitism” was not a political movement; it was a group of people united under the same religious values. Maronite Exodus to Cyprus Between the eighth and the thirteenth centuries Maronites moved to Cyprus from the ancient territories of Syria, the Holy Land and Lebanon in four principal migrations. According to the tradition, the first group immigrated to Cyprus simultaneously with the Maronite migration to Lebanon in the eighth century. This exodus took place mainly due to the Islamic conquest and the inter-Christian rivalries between the Jacobites and the Byzantines.2 The second major migration followed the destruction of Saint Maron ’s Monastery on the Orontes River in Apameus around the year 938 A.D., which led to the transfer of the Maronite patriarchal residence to Mount-Lebanon. The third Maronite migration occurred upon the purchase of Cyprus by Guy de Lusignan towards the end of the twelfth century. The fourth occurred at the end of the thirteenth century with the defeat of the Crusaders in Tripoli and the Holy Land.3 Available historical documents confirm that the Maronites were an active community in Cyprus before 1192 A.D. According to Hourani (op. cit., 3) the oldest manuscript accessible in this regard dates to the twelfth century and it is the Syriac Manuscript Vat. Syr. 118 fo 262 r of the Vatican Library. This manuscript contains a handwritten inscription in Syriac, which gives information about Maronite monks living in Cyprus on that time. Maronites in the World. Ethnographic data. In the mediterranean region most Maronites (Syriac Marunôye; Arabic Mawarinah) are to be found in Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt. Those living in Lebanon, form nearly five-eighths of the population of that vilayet and the main constituent of the population in four out of seven kaïmakats, viz., those of Batrun, Kasrawan, , I, 1 (2012) 2 J. Cirilli, Les Maronites de Chypre, Cyprus 1898, pp. 4-6. 3 P. Dib, History of the Maronite Church, translated by Seely Beggiani, Detroit, 1971, p.24. GAMER 63 Areti Demosthenous Meten, and Gizzin (the Orthodox Greeks predominating in Koura, the Catholic Greeks in Zahlé, and the Druses in Shûf). They are of Syrian race, but for many centuries have spoken only Arabic, though in a dialect which must have retained many Syriac peculiarities. In the mountain districts manners are very simple, and the Maronites are occupied with tillage and cattle-grazing, or the silk industry; in the towns they are engaged in commerce. Bloody vendettas, due to family and clan rivalries, are still kept up in the mountain districts. The population increases very rapidly, and numbers of Maronites emigrate to the different provinces of the Ottoman Empire, to Europe, particularly France, to the French colonies, but most of all to the United States. The emigrants return with their fortunes made, and too often bring with them a taste for luxury and pleasure, sometimes also a decided indifference to religion, which in some instances, degenerates into hostility. The exact worldwide Maronite population of today is not known, although it is at least 3 million according to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.4 Based on a 2007 report, approximately there are 930,000 Maronites in Lebanon where they constitute up to 22% of the population. According to an agreement between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the president of the country must be a Maronite. Syrian Maronites total 51,000 and they follow the archdioceses of Aleppo and Damascus and the Diocese of Latakia. There is also a Maronite community in Cyprus, which speaks Cypriot Maronite Arabic. They are a recognized religious minority on the island and the community elects a representative to sit in the House of Representatives to voice their interests. They are descended from those Maronites who accompanied the crusaders, although more recent Lebanese immigrants are often included as part of the community, which numbers 10,000. A noticeable Maronite community exists in northern Israel, numbering 7,504. The two residing eparchies in the United States have issued their own "Maronite Census", designed to estimate how many Maronites reside in the United States (215,000). Many Maronites have been assimilated into Western Catholicism as there were no Maronite parishes or priests available. The "Maronite Census" was designed to locate these Maronites. There are also eparchies at São Paulo in Brazil (550,000), in Argentina (750,000), Australia (150,000), , I, 1 (2012) , I, 1 (2012) 4 GAMER http://www.maronite-heritage.com/LNE.php?page=Statistics 64 The Maronites of Cyprus: from Ethnicism to Transnationalism Canada (85,000) and Mexico (160,000).5 In Venezuela there are around 25,000 Maronites, and in Cyprus 6,500. Besides, there are organized Maronite communities in Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Egypt, Belgium, Sweden, and Jordan. Maronites, Crusaders, Ottomans and the British in the Middle East It was late in the 11th century when the Crusaders made their way to the lands of the Levant to overthrow Islamic rule; on their way, they passed through Lebanon, where they came across the Maronites. The Maronites had been largely cut off from the rest of the Christian world for around 400 years. The Church in Rome had been unaware that the Maronites were still in existence. The Crusaders and Maronites established ties and from this point on they provided each other with mutual assistance.6 However, with the Latin Rule of Cyprus (1191-1571), they must have sustained many natural and man-made disasters, as evidenced by the fact that between 1224 and the Ottoman conquest of 1571, the number of their villages was reduced from 60 to 33. The reasons behind the degeneration of the Maronite presence in Cyprus could be many including the greed and oppression of other religious orders of the time, plus the recurring natural and epidemic disasters. With the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, the Maronites had 33 villages and their Bishop resided in the Monastery of Dali in the district of Carpasie.7 By 1596, about 25 years after the Ottoman conquest, the total number of Maronite villages had been reduced to 19.
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