Od „dzikiej hordy” do „naszych Tatarów”. Z dziejów popularyzacji wiedzy na temat ras ludzkich w piśmiennictwie polskim przełomu XIX i XX wieku

Abstract

Tatars used to settle in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the early 14th century. Their presence in the Polish-Lithuanian lands drew attention of both travellers and scholars: historians, ethnographers and anthropologists who investigated their origins, compared the Tatars with other peoples, studied their customs and traditions. First of all, it was noted that the Tatars maintained their confession – Islam. They differed from the Polish population in many aspects; accordingly, their cultural and physical difference was emphasized. The Polish academia as well as journalism were under a strong influence of Western thought. The 19th century, connected with a development of natural sciences, brought a new perspective as to how the humanity originated. This period not only witnessed academic inquiry into human races but also spread knowledge on races – this knowledge today is outdated altogether. The term “race”, which appeared in the Polish writings already in the early 19th century, was used inconsistently. Its synonyms were such notions as “tribe” and “people”, while with respect to the Tatars, “horde”. This terminological arbitrariness means that these authors’ attitudes cannot be termed rasist in a contemporary meaning of this word. Moreover, discussions about differences between races emphasize a dominant role of cultural factor in shaping human communities. In the Polish writings, however, various racial classifications were promoted, presented by European scholars. In this article they are discussed in the context of reflection on the yellow race, to which the Tatars apparently belonged. Moreover, the analysis includes the terminology used with reference to this population, alongside the relevant information published in a number of Polish encyclopedias; finally, Polish scholarly approach to this question on the basis of Julian Talko-Hryncewicz’s works is presented.