A Transition Period Ritual of the Karay Turks: Death

Abstract

Karaism is a Jewish sect that emerged in the Middle Ages and became the name of a Turkish tribe in time. Its name is derived from “kara- (K-R-A)”, meaning “the ones who can read the sacred scripture” in Aramaic–Hebrew. The Karaites are members of the Jewish Karai sect, which only accepts the Torah. This feature naturally causes many differences. One of the main differences observed is the rituals for an individual in the death transition period, an important phase of human life. In this study, the death-themed core beliefs of the Karaites, which are brought from the roots of the Turkish genealogical tree, and the rituals that are combined with Judaism are analyzed. The differences stemming from geography and contacts with diverse cultures (such as Russian, Lithuanian, Polish, Belarussian, etc.) and the similarities in the rituals at the time of death and afterward stand out, especially funerals, which comprise the mourning traditions performed during and after the funerals belonging to the Karaites living in Crimea and Lithuania. Texts and words compiled from the Karay Turks living in Trakai, Lithuania, and the data acquired via observations are used to determine this information. In particular, the studies of Yuriy Aleksandroviç Polkanov, the head of the Crimean Karaites Association, are used for the data related to Crimean Karaites.