Constructing ethnic identity: Azerbaijani Mountain Jews in late 19th century Caucasian ethnography

The Collection of Materials on the Description of the Territories and Peoples of the Caucasus (SMOMPK) remains one of the most significant ethnographic sources documenting the history, everyday life, and folklore of the peoples of the Caucasus in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Published between 1881 and 1929 in forty-six volumes, the series assembled extensive materials on ethno-national composition, domestic life, ritual practices, settlements, and oral traditions across the region. Among the communities represented in this corpus were the Mountain Jews. This article focuses on the works of Mikhail Bezhanov published in the fourteenth (1892) and eighteenth (1894) volumes of SMOMPK. In his article “Brief Information about the Village of Vartashen and Its Inhabitants” Bezhanov provides detailed observations on the Udins and Jews of the area, drawing on personal experience and local knowledge. His descriptions encompass aspects of material and spiritual culture, including family structure, customs and traditions, wedding and mourning rituals, birth ceremonies, and children’s games. In a subsequent publication devoted specifically to the Mountain Jews of Vartashen (Elisavetpol Province, Nukha District of Azerbaijan), he addresses questions concerning their language and origin. Rather than serving merely as descriptive accounts, these ethnographic texts participated in shaping a structured image of the Mountain Jews within the broader framework of late nineteenth-century scholarly discourse. Through an analysis of narrative strategies and classificatory language, the study demonstrates how ethnic identity was articulated through religious, linguistic, and cultural markers that reflected both academic inquiry and the intellectual paradigms of the period.