Tao's Onomastics in Ottoman Sources 5

Abstract

The study “Onomastics of Tao in Ottoman Sources – 5” constitutes the concluding section of an extensive research project devoted to the onomastics of Tao as attested in Ottoman chronicles (particularly toponymy and male names and surnames"). The chronicles were compiled in 1595 and 1835. The 1835 chronicle includes, among other data, a detailed description of the population of Ersisi. Evidence from this source indicates that by the 1830s, the majority of Ertsisi’s inhabitants bore "ოღლი" ending surnames. It has been observed that surnames formed with "ოღლი" occur predominantly in the Chorokhi River basin—that is, in Adjara, Shavsheti, Klarjeti, Tao, and partly in Speri—as well as in Lazeti. This distribution suggests that the emergence of -ოღლი–derived surnames in Ottoman-Turkish onomastics followed the structural analogy of Georgian family names containing the components –shvili (“child of”) and –dze (“son of”). In the chronicle, individuals are recorded either in a two-element form (given name + surname) or in a three-element form (surname + given name + father’s name). Such evidence indicates that in these surnames, the component „ოღლი“ is most often attached to the name of the senior male head of the household, thereby generating a hereditary identifier, nonetheless, this designation does not constitute a surname in the modern sense but rather a household name—in Taoan terminology, the name of the hut. „ოღლი“ formations derive from occupational appellations (e.g., ქეფჩეჯიოღლი ალი) and indications of origin (e.g., ისპირლიოღლი მუსტაფა ძე ჰასანისა). In certain instances, the Georgian toponymic element has been preserved(e.g. ოლთისელი თასაფი, ღარიბოღლი მუსტაფა ძე აბდურაჰმანისა) which demonstrates that among the inhabitants of Ersisi, the memory of the Georgian linguistic heritage remained alive. Further valuable data are provided by the extensive chronicle of the District of Artanuji (1595), which contains an enumeration of the population of Aspisheni (present-day Kinalicham). According to this source, by the late sixteenth century the settlement was predominantly Georgian, though it also hosted a minor presence of other ethnic groups, primarily Armenians. The chronicle thus confirms the Georgian character of Aspisheni at that time. According to the 1835 census, Aspisheni is populated by Muslim Georgians, and it is mentioned throughout the Otkhta Church, Nikhakhi, and other villages. The Ottoman chronicles represent a precious source for the study of Georgian onomastics and for  the ethnic composition of the population within the Chorokhi River.