We Are the Same but Different. The Processes of Identity Construction in the Case of Polish Tatars

Polish Tatars are a group with a specific cultural background and history in the Polish society. They are the descendants of the Tatars who came into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later into Poland in the fourteenth century. The number of Tatars has never been great and now it does not exceed several thousand. Their religion—Islam—has always been an important cultural trait, which has determined their cultural distinctiveness in the Polish social environment. It can be argued that origin and religion have always been the most important elements defining the symbolic boundaries of the Tatar community. But according to the visions shared by contemporary Polish Tatars, a third component constitutes the identity of the group, their Polishness. Thus, the group’s ethnicity is composed of three interrelated elements Tatar origin, religion—Islam—and Polishness. This identity construction is dynamic and fluid. Depending on the social relations at a given moment and place, one element becomes the most important while the others are hidden. Negotiations over the Polishness of the group are the most interesting. In this chapter, following a general description of the history and culture of Polish Tatars, I discuss their identity strategies, including the striving for recognition of the identity status quo by a dominant group, the interplay between sameness and distinctiveness, and negotiation over indigenous status.