Identity, Nationalism, and Cultural Heritage under Siege Balkan Studies Library Editor-in-Chief Zoran Milutinović (University College London) Editorial Board Gordon N. Bardos (Columbia University) Alex Drace-Francis (University of Amsterdam) Jasna Dragović-Soso (Goldsmiths, University of London) Christian Voss, (Humboldt University, Berlin) Advisory Board Marie-Janine Calic (University of Munich) Lenard J. Cohen (Simon Fraser University Radmila Gorup (Columbia University) Robert M. Hayden (University of Pittsburgh) Robert Hodel (Hamburg University) Anna Krasteva (New Bulgarian University) Galin Tihanov (Queen Mary, University of London) Maria Todorova (University of Illinois) Andrew Wachtel (Northwestern University) VOLUME 14 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bsl Identity, Nationalism, and Cultural Heritage under Siege Five Narratives of Pomak Heritage—From Forced Renaming to Weddings By Fatme Myuhtar-May LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Pomak bride in traditional attire. Ribnovo, Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria. Photo courtesy Kimile Ulanova of Ribnovo. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Myuhtar-May, Fatme. Cultural heritage under siege : five narratives of Pomak heritage : from forced renaming to weddings / by Fatme Myuhtar-May. pages cm. — (Balkan studies library, ISSN 1877-6272 ; volume 14) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-27207-1 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-27208-8 (e-book) 1. Pomaks—Bulgaria—Social conditions. 2. Pomaks—Bulgaria—Social life and customs. 3. Pomaks— Bulgaria—Case studies. 4. Pomaks—Bulgaria—Biography. 5. Culture conflict—Bulgaria. 6. Culture conflict—Rhodope Mountains Region. 7. Bulgaria—Ethnic relations. 8. Rhodope Mountains Region— Ethnic relations. I. Title. DR64.2.P66M98 2014 305.6’970499—dc23 2014006975 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1877-6272 isbn 978 90 04 27207 1 (hardback) isbn 978 90 04 27208 8 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Contents Acknowledgements viii List of Tables and Figures ix 1 Heritage of Pluralism or Having Cultural Agency: An Introduction 1 Making Sense of the Past 1 Having Cultural Agency 4 The Role of Heritage Brokers 9 Heritage as Identity 14 1 Heritage as Vernacular (Dissenting) Identity 15 2 Heritage as National (Dominant) Identity 20 Five Case Studies 23 In Conclusion 26 2 Nationalism and Violence: The Case of Pomak Christianization (Pokrŭstvane) in Bulgaria, 1912–1913 32 The Nationalism Premise 33 The Pomaks 40 War and Pokrŭstvane (Conversion) in 1912–1913 47 1 The Balkan Wars 48 2 The Pokrŭstvane 51 2.1 The Killings in Oral History 64 2.2 The Killings Documented 71 2.3 Humanity and Survival Along the Way 75 2.4 The Pokrŭstvane of Muslim Prisoners of War (POWs) 82 2.5 The Tide is Turning 85 3 War and Pokrŭstvane No More 91 Conclusion 93 3 The Vŭzroditelen Protses: Identity Crisis and the Forced Renaming of the Pomaks (1944–1989) 96 Policy and Ideology of the Vŭzhroditelen Protses 96 Bringing about Identity Crisis 104 From Pokrŭstvane to Vŭzhroditelen Protses 110 1 The Rebirth of Organization Rodina 110 2 Mission: “Revival” 120 Turmoil in the (Western) Rhodopes 126 Economic Opportunities in the Vŭzhroditelen Protses 131 vi contents Conclusion 136 1 External Pressure, Internal Turmoil, and the “Big Excursion” 136 2 The End Is Near or Is It? 138 3 Implications for Pomak Heritage 142 4 A Pomak Life of Dissent Amidst Cultural Oppression in Communist Bulgaria 144 Meeting Ramadan 144 Ramadan’s Vŭzhroditelen-Protses Ordeal 145 Trouble in Kornitsa 148 Trouble in Exile 154 Bloody Revival in the Rhodopes 156 Prison Tribulations 161 1 Arrest, Detention, and Trial 161 2 Tortured Prisoner 164 3 Release and Re-imprisonment 168 “Take the Passport or Die” 171 Conclusion 172 5 The Ribnovo Wedding: A Pomak Tradition 175 Introduction 175 Ribnovo: Place and People 178 Colorful Fairytale Ribnovo 181 The Cheiz 199 The Essence of the Ribnovo Wedding 201 Marriage: “The Key Turning Point in . Adult Life” 203 Asserting Identity through Custom 208 6 Preserving Historical Heritage: The Case of Salih Ağa of Paşmaklı, the Pomak Governor of the Ahı Çelebi Kaza of the Ottoman Empire (1798–1838) 214 Finding Salih Ağa 215 Salih Ağa and His Time 219 Who Wrote about Salih Ağa 223 Salih’s Family Tree 228 Salih, the Family Man 230 1 Mustafa Adzhi Ağa 230 2 Salihağovitsa (the Wife of Salih Ağa) 236 Salih, the Public Man 240 The Death of Salih Ağa 242 Conclusion: Salih Ağa’s Heritage 248 contents vii Appendices 2.1 Report of Pazardzhik Activists for Pomak Conversion to Archbishop Maxim 252 2.2 Excerpts from the Carnegie Report on the Balkan Wars, 1914 255 3.1A Applications for Emigration Submitted by Pomaks 257 3.1B Number of Passports Issued to Pomaks 258 3.1C Statistics on Pomak Immigration 259 3.2 Statistics on Zagrazhden Municipality 260 6.1 Ballad about the Killing of Salih Ağa 267 Bibliography 270 Index 275 Acknowledgements In life, one often needs good guidance and sincere encouragement. I am fortunate to have generously received both from Dr. Brady Banta, Dr. Clyde Milner, Dr. Carol O’Connor, Dr. Erik Gilbert, and Terry Thomas. A number of people and institutions deserve special recognition, including Ivan Terziev, Fikriye Topova, the Rahim family of Istanbul, Mehmed Boyukli, Kimile Ulanova, Feim “Foxi” Osmanov, Kŭdrie and Feim Hatip, the “Safet” Studio, Dŭrzhaven arkhiv-Plovdiv, Dŭrzhaven arkhiv-Smolyan, lostbulgaria.com, Ramadan Runtov- Kurucu, Ismail Byalkov, Havva and Mehmed Cesur, Melike Belinska, Mehmed Shehov, Mehmed Dorsunski, my colleagues and friends at the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (especially Dr. Krassimir Kanev), and many others. My sincerest gratitude also goes to Balkan Studies Library’s editor-in-chief Professor Zoran Milutinovic, Brill’s Slavic Studies editors Ivo Romein and Arjan van Dijk, and the two anonymous referees, whose comments and suggestions greatly improved this work. I am forever indebted to my parents, Sanye and Mehmed Myuhtar, my husband, Michael, and my in-laws, Joe and Carolyn May, for everything they have done for and meant to me. List of Tables and Figures Table caption 2-1 Pomak Population within the Provinces of Thrace and Macedonia at the Time of the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 52 3-1 Number of Pomaks with Censored Attire and Changed Names by Villages and Towns 115 Figure caption 2-1 Map of the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria 56 2-2 Pokrŭstvane in the Village of Devin, 1912–1913 61 2-3 Pokrŭstvane in the Village of Banya, 1912–1913 62 2-4 A Pokrŭstvane Wedding 63 2-5 A Commemorative Water Fountain in Vŭlkossel 67 2-6 A Commemorative Marble Plaque Next to the Fountain 68 3-1 Broken Tombstones from the Old Cemetery in Vŭlkossel 103 3-2 Broken Tombstones from the Old Cemetery in Vŭlkossel 104 4-1 Ramadan Runtov 145 4-2 Ramadan with His Family, circa 1959–1960 152 4-3 A Commemorative Monument in the Village of Kornitsa 158 4-4 At Ismail’s 160 5-1 Ribnovo 179 5-2 Kŭdrie and Feim Hatip from Ribnovo as Bride and Groom in February 2005 182 5-3 A Happy Bride 182 5-4 Young Women Hold Gifts at Kŭdrie and Feim’s Wedding 183 5-5 The Wedding Begins 184 5-6 Live Music 185 5-7 Kŭdrie’s Father Lifts the Bayrak with One Hand and Drops a Bill to the Bearer with the Other 186 5-8 Kŭdrie’s Mother and Father Carefully Assist Her Out on the Way to Her New Life as a Wife 187 5-9 Kŭdrie Wearing Full Bridal Make-up 188 5-10 A Ribnovo Bride Fully Clad in the Traditional Way 190 5-11 Sanie and Mehmed Myuhtar 193 5-12 Wedding of Fatme Aguleva of Kornitsa, Western Rhodopes, 1967 194 5-13 Wedding of Atie Hadzhieva of Vŭlkossel, 1971 194 5-14 Wedding of Atidzhe and Mustafa Chavdarov of Vŭlkossel, 1972 195 5-15 Wedding of Sadbera and Izir Chavdarov of Vŭlkossel, 1968 196 x list of tables and figures 5-16 Wedding of Nadzhibe and Natŭk Dermendzhiev of Vŭlkossel, Early 1970s 197 5-17 Cheiz Display 200 6-1 The Konak of Deli-Ali Bey in Smolyan 217 6-2 Melike Belinska 218 6-3 The Konak of Salih Ağa in Paşmaklı, circa 1916 227 6-4 Family Tree 231 6-5a–b Salih Ağa’s Seal 232 6-6 Scene from the Play Salih Ağa 240 6-7 Scene from the Play Salih Ağa 241 6-8 The Sycamore in Smolyan 243 CHAPTER 1 Heritage of Pluralism or Having Cultural Agency: An Introduction Making Sense of the Past I grew up in the Western Rhodopes during the 1980s, the last decade of com- munist rule in Bulgaria. One of my fondest memories from these years is my father’s telling stories by the flickering candlelight and the gentle crackling of the fire in the woodstove of my childhood home. His storytelling usually took place in the fall and winter, when the busy tobacco-harvesting season had ended and before the new planting season had begun.