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Podlachia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Podlachia, Podlesia, or Podlasie is a historical region in the eastern part of Poland and western Belarus. It is located between the Biebrza River in the north and its natural continuation to the south — the Polesie area. The region is called Podlasie, Podlasko or, Podlasze in Polish, Падляшша Padljašša in Belarusian, Підлісся Pidlissja, Підлясіє Pidljasije, Підляшшя Pidlyashya or Підляхія Pidljaxija in Ukrainian, Palenkė in Lithuanian, Подлясье Podljas’e in Russian, and Podlachia in Latin.
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There are two opinions regarding the origin of the name of the region. Some derive it from the Slavic word les or las meaning "forest", i.e., it is an "area near the forest" or "area of forests", making Podlachia synonymous in meaning to adjacent Polesia. Another view suggests that the term comes from the expression pod Lachem, i.e., "under the Poles" or under Polish rule (see: Lechia). A variant of this theory holds that the name originates from the period when the territory was within the Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, along the borderline with the Kingdom of Poland, and hence pod Lachem would mean "near the Poles." The historical Lithuanian name Palenkė has exactly the same meaning.
At present the name of Podlachia is used primarily for the Polish part of the region, which is traditionally divided between the northern (north of Western Bug River) and southern Podlachia. The northern part of Podlachia is included in the Podlachia Voivodship.
Throughout its early history, the Podlachia area was inhabited by various tribes of different ethnic roots. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the area was likely inhabited by Lechitic tribes in the south and Baltic (Yotvingian) tribes in the north. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, Podlachia was occupied by Ruthenian tribes, probably from Volhynia, speaking a form of proto-Ukrainian. Until the 14th century the area was part of Ruthenian states, and was later annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1569, after the Union of Lublin, the western part of Podlachia was ceded to the Kingdom of Poland. Southern Podlachia belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the Third Partition of Poland in 1795.
Podlachia is the land of the confluence of cultures – Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Lithuanian – and is indicative of the ethnic territories limits. Eastward of Podlachia lie ethnicaly non-Polish lands, while westward ethnicaly non-Ruthenian (Ukrainian and Belarusian) and non-Lithuanian lands do. Today, mainly Polish and Ruthenian (Ukrainian and Belarusian) is spoken in Podlachia, while Lithuanian is preserved by the small but compact Lithuanian minority concentrated in the Sejny County.
Until the 19th century, Podlachia was populated by the Polish-speaking gentry, Jews (primarily in towns), and Ruthenian Orthodox and Greek-Catholics speaking a dialect related to modern Ukrainian - the so-called Khakhlak (Chachlak) dialect, which derived its name from a derogatory term for Ukrainians (khakhol or khokhol being the name of the traditional haircut of Ukrainian Cossacks). In the 19th century, the inhabitants of Podlachia were under the rule of the Russian Empire, with southern Podlachia constituting a part of Russian-controlled Congress Poland. After 1831, Russian authorities forbade the Greek-Catholic faith in northern Podlachia and it disappeared from the area. In 1875, Russians forbade this rite in southern Podlachia as well, and all Greek-Catholic inhabitants were forced to accept the Eastern Orthodox faith. However, the resistance of the local people was surprisingly strong and Ruthenian speakers from this area rejected the Orthodox faith. In 1874, Wincenty Lewoniuk and 12 companions were killed by Russian soldiers in Pratulin. In reaction to these measures, the Ruthenians of Podlachia began to identify themselves with the national movement of the Catholic Poles.
In 1912, Russian authorities issued a tolerance edict that made it possible to change confessions from Orthodox to Roman Catholic (but not to Greek-Catholic). A majority of the inhabitants of southern Podlachia changed their faith from Orthodox to Roman Catholic. At present, very few people in Podlachia continue speaking Ruthenian (Ukrainian) and nearly all consider themselves Poles. The counties along the border with Belarus are populated by Belarusians. There is a small Tatar minority as well.