The Kaszubs--Then and Now (excerpts)
by Jozef Borzyszkowski
The Kazubs represent the most distinct regional, ethno-cultural group
in Poland today. They
constitute the native population of Pomerania--the remnant of the old
Baltic Slavs.
The etymology of the name Kaszuby (kasz. Kaszebe, lat. Cassubia) has not
yet been satisfactorily
explained. Linguists and historians continue to dispute the group's
origins, from where it originally came,
and the exact territory it occupied.
Just as problematical is the question of the lands the Kaszubs first
settled in Pomerania. It is most
generally accepted, however, after the example of Professor Gerard
Labuda, that the Kaszubs
(Kaszebi is how they call themselves) arrived in Pomerania at the dawn
of history. They originally
settled the lands stretching from the Baltic to the Notec and Warta
Rivers, and from the Vistula to
the lower Oder. Later, in the thirteenth century, their name spread
westward across the Oder. Their Slav kinsfolk, the Wieleci and Obodryci settled the lands lying farther
to the west, as far as the
Elbe. To the east, the Pomeranian Kaszubs shared a common border with
Baltic Prussians.
The period between the early Middle Ages and 1945 was marked by a
gradual eastward process of
voluntary and enforced Germanization of the Baltic Slavs as a whole,
including the Kaszubs. Only
the Kaszubs succeeded in preserving their Slavic identity and language,
a measure of their cultural
distinctiveness, an awareness of their Kaszub identity and a lively
sense of their connection with
Polish nationality. At the same time, i.e. from as early as the early
Middle Ages, similar Polonizing process took place from the south, particularly along the
Vistula. Polish settlements
originating from Kujavia, Mazovia and Greater Poland (Wielkopolska)
hastened the process. As a
result, a distinct -region, Kociewie, and Krajna to the south,
formed in the eastern part of
Pomerania.
Today, most Kaszubs live within the borders of the new province
(wojewodztwo) of Pomerania, in
the area between Gdansk and the line described by the towns Slupsk,
Miastko and Bytow to the
west, and Chojnice and Czluchow to the south. In the late nineteenth
century, Stefan Ramult
calculated the Kaszub population in Pomerania at around 200 thousand,
with an additional 100
thousand living abroad, mostly in North America. According to present
studies and estimated of
the Kaszub population in Poland, there are around half a million persons
who are aware of their
identity; of these, 300 thousand use the Kaszub tongue on a daily basis.
A significant number of
Kaszubs continue to live abroad, mainly in Germany, Canada and the USA.
The folk culture of the Kaszubs shows uniformity both its material and
spiritual aspects. It is connected with the group's
former dominant rural occupations of farming,
fishing, forestry and
cottage industry. Besides sharing elements in common with Polish, or, more broadly speaking, Slavic folk culture, it shows the influence of other cultures as well,
especially German and
Scandinavian. This is only to be expected in view of the peripheral
character of the land and its
people. Their spiritual culture is particularly rich, and in many ways
distinct from that of other
Polish regions. German and Polish scholars of the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries have
documented a wealth of Kaszub beliefs, customs, supernatural beings and
myths. Nowadays, apart from the Protestant Kaszubs known in literature
as
the Slovince (Slowincy) the
only groups to enjoy a special distinctiveness are those found in
southern Kaszuby, e.g. the
Gochowianie and Zaborowianie, and the Beloce in the north.
Since time immemorial, the mythical griffin, part eagle, part lion,
has been the most important
crest and emblem of the Kaszubs, and of all Pomerania. It was from this
creature that the Gryfici,
that dynasty of dukes ruling Western Pomerania until the seventeenth
century, derived their name.
Historians have shown that the oldest tribal centres of the Kaszubs were
precisely the walled towns
of Western Pomerania: Szczecin, Wolin, Kamien, Stargard, Bialogard,
Kolobrzeg, Slawno and
Slupsk. The name Kaszuby is contained in the princely title of Barmin
I of Szczecin
(1226-1278). The first undisputed record of the name Cassubia dates
back to the year 1238. It
appeared in a papal document ratifying the possession of Stargard on the
Ina by the Knights of St.
John of Jerusalem. Prince Boguslaw I (d. 1187) had endowed it to the
order half a century earlier.
In subsequent papal documents concerning the Dominicans and Franciscans,
the name Cassubia
is used consistently to denote West Pomerania. At times, however, the
scope of the term is widened
to include Meklenburg as well, also known as Slavia.
The Christianization of the Pomeranian Kaszubs took place between the
tenth and twelfth centuries.
Arriving in Gdansk in 997, Saint Adalbert (Wojciech) baptize das is
written in his life a great
many inhabitants of the city and surrounding countryside." Otto of
Bamberg went on to bring about
the Christianization of Western Pomerania, after the region had been
subjugated by Prince Boleslaw
Wrymouth.
The political fortunes of the Pomeranian territory have always been very
complex. Since the early
Middle Ages, the region has served as a lightning rod for the clashing
interests of Poland, Denmark,
Brandenburg and Germany. During the reigns of Miesko, Boleslaw the Bold
and Boleslaw
Wrymouth, the entire region found itself under their supreme authority.
By the thirteenth century,
the two parts of Pomerania had become independent principalities of
duchies. Before long, West
Pomerania fell into the political orbit and world of German culture.
1282 marked the signing of the
Treaty of Kepno (1282) between Msciwoj II, the last Duke of Gdansk,
and Przemysl II, Duke of
Greater Poland. As a result, upon the death of Msciwoj in 1294, East
Pomerania became a region
of the restored Polish Kingdom. In 1308 the territory was occupied by
the Teutonic Order under
whose monastic rule it was to remain until 1466. After that, it was
incorporated into the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, preserving its autonomy as Royal
Prussia. As for West
Pomerania, upon the death (in 1637) of the last of its dukes, Boguslaw
XIV, the region was divided
up between Brandenburg and Sweden under the provisions of the Treaty of
Westphalia (1648).
Finally, following the First Partition of Poland in 1772, and then the
Congress of Vienna in 1815,
the Kingdom of Prussia took possession of the entire Pomeranian region
for over a hundred years.
A significant turning point in the history of the Kaszubs, and Pomerania
in general, was the
Reformation. By the sixteenth century, Protestantism had become the
state religion in West
Pomerania. Some pastors tried to introduce the Polish language and a
significant admixture of
Kaszubism into their liturgy and sermons. This led to the appearance of
the first translations of
liturgical texts into Polish, complete with Kaszub glossaries. This, in
turn, contributed not only to
preserving the language but also to raising the ethnic awareness of its
practitioners. The Protestant
Church soon became an instrument of the state in advancing its policy of
Germanization. During
the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Kaszubs inhabiting
the
eastern province of West
Pomerania,the so-called Slovince,resisted this Germanization, but the
process advanced with
relentless momentum. By the beginning of the twentieth century only a
handful of Protestant
Kaszubs were left in the vicinity of Slupsk, Leba and Smoldzino.
Although their descendants saw
themselves by this time as largely German, they showed no desire to
leave Poland after W.W.II, but
fresh persecution, this time by the Polish Communist authorities and the
new settlers, prompted
them to abandon Pomerania and Poland for good during the fifties and
seventies.
Today, like any other group in Poland, the Kaszubs take full advantage
of the freedom won in 1989.
They enjoy more than adequate representation in both local government
(about 150 councillors in
the Province of Pomerania) and the national Parliament (7 MPs). In
addition, they have numerous
groups of leaders in the fields of scholarship, literature and culture.
Since 1996, the Kaszub
Institute in Gdansk has provided a centre for scholars interested in
Kaszub research. The monthly
magazine Pomerania is the Kaszub-Pomeranian Association's display
case the first up-to-date
source of information on the past and present history of the Kaszubs as
well as of other groups and
inhabitants of the Pomeranian region. Kaszub issues are covered in the
columns of many other local
publications, including the weekly Norda, a supplement of the Baltic
Daily, and the weekly Glos
Kaszeb, a supplement of the Pomeranian Voice. Functioning since 1962,
under the auspices of the
Kaszub-Pomeranian Association, is the Pomerania Student Club which
brings together the youth of
Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. There is also the Kaszub Student Club attached
to the Seminary College
in Pelplin. It harks back to the days of the Circle of Kaszub Scholars
which was formed in 1908.
Taking full advantage of its restored freedom, the Kaszub community
continues to maintain its
identity, building new institutions of collective life, and developing
its own regional culture. Apart
from state institutions (such as the universities) and social
organizations (such as the Kaszub-
Pomeranian Association) there are also private individuals and
commercial law companies working
to advance the cause of the Kaszub language and the ethno-cultural group
as a whole. The Kaszub
tongue and the Kaszub culture have become commercial commodities as
well. Kaszub votes in the
local and parliamentary elections often decide the success or failure of
a considerable number of
candidates who appeal to their Kaszub roots. With a new, sovereign
Poland entering the European
community, the Kaszubs with their institutions in Pomerania represent an
important partner in
developing international contacts on the local and regional level.
Particularly important is the
presence and role of the Kaszubs in maintaining contact and a spirit of
cooperation between ethnic
minorities and nationalities, as well as between Poland and Germany,
both in the fields of scholarly
research, cultural exchange and in the resolution of socio-political
issues.
In the past, the name Kaszub was often used pejoratively in both
Germany and Poland. This is
now rare. The Kaszubs, as a regional community and ethno-cultural
group, and Pomerania, their
tiny homeland which straddles national borders, are now in a positions
to act as important
protagonists in this euro-region and to serve as valuable partners in
various kinds of cooperative
endeavour.
Professor Doctor Jozef Borzyszkowski teaches at the University of
Gdansk. He is the author of numerous books and articles, as well as a
sought-after speaker.
The translation was commissioned by The Polish Heritage Institute,
Kaszuby, Ontario, Canada
Translated by Christopher A. Zakrzewski, © 2001