Abstract
Realms of Memory Carried from the Caucasus to Uzunyayla: Village Names and Family Histories
Toponyms, that are more than just a description are historical records for communities. Toponyms played the same role for Caucasus region, which is the subject of our investigation, also. Circassian and Abaza landowner families who are at the upper layer of class structuring in Caucasus gave their dynasty names to the villages. If we think about toponyms as social indicators which should always be read in line with the identity from the point of view of the Caucasus geography, Circassian and Abaza communities who live away from Caucasus more than 160 years now gave the names of families to villages in Uzunyayla, just the same as in Caucasus. At this point toponyms became memory spaces that help to tie them with Caucasus. Family stories and topomys that lie from Caucasus to Uzunyayla are directly connected with landowning. This situation directly affects social life of Circassian and Abaza communities. And the Turkish naming of the villages were related to botanical, zoological and landscape knowledge of the place. In this article we would try to explain mutually connecte situation of Caucasus and Uzunyayla based on Pierre Nora’s “realms of memory” theory by investigating the role of scenery, memory and history notions as indicators of identity of the toponyms with the help of questions directed to source people about their villages and dynasties during our site investigations to Abaza, Chechen, Circassian and Karachay villages within Pınarbaşı region of Kayseri.
Keywords
Realms of Memory, Identity, Caucasus, Toponym, Uzunyayla.