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’Generally, what makes people Circassians is their family names not more, and not appearances or racial attributes, because there are high-levels of intermarriage now. However, there exists a stereotype that all Circassians are white, and blonde, and so on. But, generally, what makes someone Circassian is the family name and those who know the family name could tell whether someone is Circassian or not’ (Husam, 23, male).

Husam’s statement about family names is based on the fact that Circassians in Jordan carry hereditary surnames, given through the fathers, and not the mothers, that they see as having been passed down for thousands of years. Circassian family names represent the clan from which the family originates. Each Circassian family name in Jordan has a significant meaning in Adygei language. The pronunciation of the names is totally different from Arabic language, and in Jordan they are written in Arabic letter, but still the words do not originate from Arabic—making Circassian family names significantly different from those who have Arabic family names. Despite the fact that family names may change under various conditions, interviewees referred to their family names as part of their ethnic identity, and as a part that will never change. One interviewee put it,

’In our lives, myself, my children, and their children, we will never feel that we are Arabs… because they would never carry the family name of a native Jordanian family, they will never be part of those—there is history, there are names and there are family names’ (Thuraya, 38, female).

By native Jordanians, Thuraya explained that she meant the people descending from the Bedouin tribes, which were nomadic on the land of Jordan before the establishment of the state, and whose family names originate from Arabic language. Ironically, the Circassians were also present prior to the establishment of the Jordanian state, but they neither regard themselves, nor are regarded by others, as native Jordanians. However, the importance of family names to interviewees is

determined by the context of Jordan. There are several factors that influence this ethnic narrative that are related to the interviewees’ views of themselves in comparison to the ‘other’, or as the ‘other’. Therefore, drawing on the family name as a marker of ethnicity is deeply rooted in the tribal nature of Jordanian society, which emphasises the importance of the family name. In other words, it is important to highlight that what distinguished Circassian family names in Jordan from other family names, is the fact they are not ‘Arab’ names.

In Jordan, surnames are given by birth, and ‘the use of tribal names as family names’ is not only common, but is often a way of categorisation (Alon, 2007: 157). In Jordan, family names allow one to tell where a person is from, and may even help in determining the neighbourhood from which an individual may originate. Instead of asking ‘where do you come from?,’ people in the Middle East, particularly in Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories, commonly ask ‘what is your family name?’ When asked about a family name, an individual is directly placed within a certain group, and may even be classified according to the socioeconomic status of that group. For Circassians in Jordan, the concept of the family name is more significant than it is for Circassians in Turkey, due to the tribal nature of Jordanian society and the associated use of family names (Shami, 1998).

The tribal nature of Jordanian society makes the issue of family names a significant marker of Circassian group identity. However, this does not only apply to the society, as the state is not innocent of reinforcing such a concept either. For example, Rana said:

’In the records of the department of Civil Affairs, they document that I am Circassian, according to my family name, but on the ID they only write ‘Jordanian.’ Nonetheless, I am registered as Circassian in their records’ (Rana, 36, female).

For Sharabi (1988), this emphasis on the importance of family names and tribes by states in the Middle East represents neopatriarchy, and he states,

’Tribalism is a basic characteristic, without which it is impossible to account for the specific nature of Arab neopatriarchy… the essence of tribal practice is expressed in the individual’s identification with the tribe’ (Sharabi, 1988: 28- 9).

Barakat (1993: 39) also argues that many ‘Arab’ nation-states ‘use tribalism to advance their causes’ and that they derive their sovereignty from tribalism. Massad (2001) argues that tribalism represents a great part of Jordan’s national identity, and the monarchy denounces any attempt to criticise tribalism. Additionally, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is named after the Hashemite family, the so-called descendents of the prophet, which makes the narrative of the family name even more powerful amongst Circassians in Jordan.

It is very important to note here that family names are given by fathers in Jordan, and the patrilineal kinship system means that ethnicity is transferred through the father’s side of the family. One carries a father’s surname, the name of the tribe the father belongs to, unless he/she were born to unknown fathers. So Circassian women married to ‘Arab’ men cannot by law pass on their family names or their ethnicity to their children. Hiba, born to a Circassian mother and a Palestinian father said,

’I am not Circassian, even if it is nice to have a mother from Circassian origin; she has a Circassian family name, but I do not. This is how these things are, we follow our fathers. It is not the mother who decides. I have an Arabic Palestinian family name, and I cannot say that I am Circassian, even if I have Circassian blood in my veins’ (Hiba, 28, female).

This does not only show that women do not have the right to transmit their names, and thus part of their ethnic narratives to their children, but also that the state’s reinforcement of tribalism forces and maintains the patrilineal tribal structure as part of its nationalist narrative and ideology; this is discussed in chapter five.

Moreover, the fact that all tribal family names in Jordan come from Arabic language makes Circassian family names unique and different in the Jordanian context. This makes the Circassians a distinct group, which does not share the traditional form of family names in Jordan. However, this is also dependent upon the context in which Circassians are placed. In other words, for interviewees family names are inherited and exist but their significance depends on the context. Whereas Jordan’s tribal system influences how such self-representations are received, interviewees themselves find pride in their heritage through family names, and use it as a way to identify with each other and to define themselves as Circassians. For example, Asad says,

’Family names and their preservation are very important. We live in tribal societies; your family name represents who you are, and where you come from. Here in Jordan, we want to keep our family names, because of their significance. We carry Circassian family names and we are proud of them’ (Asad, 22, male).

However, this form of group representation does not show the extent to which members of that group have a sense of belonging towards it. For example, some interviewees explained that their family names are different from ‘Arab’ names, and so ‘Arabs’ would tell that they are not ’Arabs’, regardless of how Circassian they feel. One interviewee said

’For me, what makes me Circassian does not necessarily mean that I am 100 per cent Circassian. But basically, my family name shows that I am Circassian’ (Muna, 22, female).

She adds,

’I believe that belonging is measured depending on practices, and so many may think that I am not very Circassian as others might be. But, for me, I belong to the Circassian community because of my family name’ (Muna, 22, female).

For interviewees, family names represent the ‘obvious’ difference between them and ‘Arabs’ during their interactions.

Holding different family names, in the case of Circassians, allows other people to view them as ‘different,’ and highlights their position as ‘non-Arabs’. On

the one hand, family names can override the disappearance of the ethnic identity of the Circassian community in Jordan. On the other hand, between Circassians themselves being Circassian means much more than holding a family name; it is the set of cultural practices and the extent to which they value them, as part of what they expressed to be ‘changing’ markers of their identity.

Although interviewees showed pride in their family names, they also reported incidents they went through because of their family names. An example of such incidents was when one of the interviewees was stopped by police for an ID check, and while these ID checks should not take more than five minutes, he was held for almost 15 minutes, because the policeman was trying to figure out where his family name originates from, as it does not represent any Jordanian city or tribe. He expressed his feelings by saying,

’This incident made me realise that I am different, I hold a different family name and it made me want to tell people more about the existence of Circassian people, their origins. I want the world to become aware of our existence’ (Qasim, 22, Male).

Family names hold history, and this history makes Circassians in Jordan different from ‘Arabs’, and any other. All interviewees stressed the importance and significance of family names in terms of identifying them as a group, and as individuals who are members of that group. Moreover, they also stressed this concept’s impact on determining their roots and origins, as behind each family name there is history. However, this history remains [his] story, as family names are inherited through fathers, rather than mothers. Nonetheless, the role of mothers in transmitting narratives of ethnicity is very important. Muna (22, Female) said that she does not feel that she is very Circassian because her mother is Palestinian, and they never had Circassian upbringing. When speaking about family names, most interviewees said that they carry Circassian names they inherited from their fathers or grandfathers, not mothers or grandmothers. One interviewee answered, when asked what makes you a Circassian,

’What makes me a Circassian is my culture and traditions, my behaviours, my name, my father’s name, my family name, my culture and my history, all of those make me Circassian. I can prove that I am a Circassian by the names I hold; my father’s name is Nart, my grandfather’s name is Hasawa, my other grandfather’s name is Qway, and my family name is Abida. Those names cannot be anything but Circassian… you cannot find Arab names like that’ (Tariq, 22, male).

The emphasis on family names by interviewees is understandable in the context of the Middle East. The emphasis on the family name as part of the ethnic narratives is related to the fact that Circassians have ‘non-Arab’ Circassian names and that the concept of the family name and tracing roots through patrilineality is important in Jordan. Family names seemed the major way research participants distinguished themselves from others. They are, for them, the most ‘obvious’ way to prove their roots and origins, which also appear to be viewed as a ‘non-changing’ part of their ethnic narratives. The following section examines the importance of roots and origin for respondents.