Arameanism (Oromoyutho) as the Key to our Future Survival?
Shlomo Bnay Orom [Greetings Children of Aram],
Whenever mention is made of diaspora communities, the first nations that come to mind are the classic diasporas of the Jews, Greeks and Armenians. Each of them has a most inspiring and rich history from which we, Arameans, can learn valuable lessons on our journey to the future.
Arameans as Indigenous People of Southeast Turkey
The uncompromising premise of the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) is that the Aramean (Syriac) people and their Aramaic language are native to Southeast Turkey. Their historical presence in this region spans more than 3,000 years.
The Indigenous Origins of the Arameans of Upper Mesopotamia
The ancient Arameans have traditionally been viewed as “camel nomads”1 who “spread out from the fringes of the Syro-Arabian desert,”2 whence a segment of “the Aramean tribes invaded northern Mesopotamia, and founded there a series of little states.”3
This view, though, emerged from a broader context about the origins of the ‘Semites’.4 Within this group, the Arameans are generally classified as belonging to the (North)western branch; the Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians, for instance, are regarded as East-Semites.
The Hidden Pearl
The Arameans or the Syriacs are a people with a glorious history, but are now in danger of being forgotten as well as being quite frequently misrepresented. The Arameans of Mesopotamia were the first pagans who had accepted the Christian faith.
The Aramean Identity of Tur ‘Abdin and its Native Population
Tur ‘Abdin, which basically denotes “the mountain of the servants [sc. of God]” in Aramaic, is the local name of an erstwhile densely populated Christian region in Southeast-Turkey.
The vast majority of its indigenous citizens have, for obvious reasons, migrated to Western countries in recent decades and the emerging demographic vacuum was swiftly filled by myriads of infiltrating Kurdish tribes from the periphery and beyond.
Aramaic Language and Culture
ARAMAIC & SYRIAC
The introduction of the name ‘Syriac’ has, admittedly, created a certain amount of ambiguity. Not only as regards the Aramaic language and culture, but also with respect to the Aramean people.
Süryani does not mean “Assyrian”, but “Syrian; Syriac” or “Aramean; Aramaic”
In 1983, the current Syrian Orthodox Patriarch rightly wrote in The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch At A Glance: “The Syriac language is the Aramaic language itself, and the Arameans are the Syrians themselves. He who has made a distinction between them has erred.”
The Arameans of Aram-naharaim or The Ancient Syrians of Mesopotamia
The Arameans trace their genealogical lines back to the eponymous ancestor Aram, the son of Shem, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:1, 22)1. In pre-Christian times, notably between 1150-700 B.C., they played a crucial and decisive role in Mesopotamia and ancient Syria2.
