Karaim community in Lithuania: rich history, cultural heritage and safeguarded traditions
The Karaims of Lithuania are a people of Turkic origin professing Karaism, the faith being based on the Old Testament. Despite their small number (currently about 200 ethnic Karaims live in Lithuania), Karaims have preserved their Karaim language, also traditions, religion, family rituals.
The Karaim language belongs to the West Kipchak group of the Turkic language family with the closest languages being Kumyk, Karachay and Balkar, Crimean Tatar, and now extinct Kuman languages. It existed in several varieties, namely Northwest Karaim (or Trakai Karaim spoken in Lithuania), Southwest Karaim (or Luck-Halych Karaim spoken in Galicia and Volhynia), and East Karaim (or Crimean Karaim spoken in Crimea) differing just in phonetic and vocabulary aspects. Yet over the 19-20 centuries, the Crimean and Luck-Halych varieties lost their native speakers, and, currently, only the Trakai Karaim can still be considered, although heavily endangered (and listed as such by UNESCO), yet a living language supported and used by its native speakers in everyday life, liturgy and during religious and home ceremonies. Today, ethnic Karaims of Turkic origin outside Lithuania still live in Poland, Ukraine and Russia.
Karaim history in Lithuania starts in Trakai town where, at the end of the 14th century, several hundred Karaim families were settled between the two castles of the Grand Duke of Lithuania. They were brought to Trakai from Crimea by Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas in 1397-1398, in pursuit of his state policy to settle the empty lands of Lithuania, to build and develop towns and castles, and to stimulate the state's economy.
Having settled in Lithuania, Karaims formed a separate community called Džymat. Its legal status used to be determined by the privileges of the rulers. The first surviving such act is the Privilege of ruler Casimir Jagiellon of 27 March 1441, affording the Karaim community of Trakai, which was separate from the Christian part, the rights of Magdeburg, i.e. self-government. They granted Karaims independent economic and administrative governance, and the right to elect from among themselves the highest administrative and legal authority, Vaitas (i.e. the Chief of the community), who was directly accountable to the country’s ruler. The Karaim communities that later had formed in Northern Lithuania (in Biržai, Pasvalys, Naujamiestis, Upytė) were subordinate to the Vaitas of Trakai.
Karaims enjoyed self-governance until 1795 ‒ until the third division of the Republic of the Two Nations. In 1850, The Russian tsarist authorities, in response to the request of the community, allowed the formation of a Karaim spiritual board in the Crimea (Yevpatoria) and the election of a religious leader, Hakhan. Since 1869, the Karaims living in the territory of Lithuania had a separate spiritual board and the post of highest clergyman in Trakai. With every change of political conditions, the relationship of the Karaim community with the territorial states of the time used to be redefined. However, Trakai has remained the administrative and spiritual center of the community to this day. Since 1992, Lithuanian law has recognised the Karaim community as a traditional ethnic and religious group.
Karaim way of life was not much different from that of the local population. They were dealing with gardening (famous for their cucumbers), animal husbandry, crafts and trade. Military traditions have also been alive among Karaims, as evidenced by, inter alia, images of a double-end lance (“senek“) and a shield (“kalkan“) in the Karaim coat of arms. There are many famous Karaim theologians, poets, philosophers, mathematicians, artists, doctors, teachers, scientists, diplomats and politicians.
In Trakai, there is a unique Karaim nation museum, named after its founder, orientalist scholar Prof. Khaji Seraya Khan Shapshal. In Vilnius and in Trakai two kenesas, the Karaim temples/houses for prayers, are functioning to this day. Karaim culinary heritage (‘kybyn’) is cherished around the country, traditional architecture and other tangible heritage is being admired in Trakai, Vilnius and Panevėžys region.
Karaim community is an open-minded entity in its activities. Quite an active Karaim cultural life is ongoing in Lithuania, such as publishing books, various audio and video material online, arranging festivals, meetings, youth camps, presentations, running a traditional dance ensemble, etc. It participates also in various types of Lithuanian state led projects, among others in several editions of European heritage days and many other events targeted at a society at large in Lithuania and abroad. Several publications on Karaim culture were supported by a State Department of Cultural heritage of Lithuania. A website of the community is to be consulted for further info www.karaim.eu
Author of artcile: Karina Firkavičiute
Leader of Caraim community of Lithuania
Photo: Kenesa trans) in Trakai