Kashubia, Kashebe and Kashubians. . .

I was wondering, what is the general impression of Polish people about Kashubians?

My impression is very positive. Last year we went to Kashuby region for summer holidays and it was great. Yes, it`s true they have their different language, but the culture seems more or less the same.

Besides, I remember from the books I have read about WW2 that most Kashubians considered themselves Polish and refused to become Volksdeutsche.

Most of them sided with the Polish in WWII and at lot of them paid a heavy price for it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasnica_Wielka

Unfortunately, their traditional homeland was slap bang in the middle of the Polish Corridor, and this territory was always historically disputed between Prussia (Germany) and Poland. However, there were a few kashubs, like Gunter Grass who did fight with the Nazi's.

I think for sure that they consider themselves both Polish and Kashubian. The language is an interesting mix though, with definitely some Germanic influences.

Regarding cultural differences, breaking lots of glass the night before a wedding and beating each other with birches at Easter rank as good ones!

Yes, we were there too and saw the monument.


You mean, they fought on Nazis` side. But Gunter Grass seems a true German to me, doesn`t he? Did he ever consider himself Kashub?


I didn`t know about those customs.

I believe so


muzeum-kaszubskie.gda.pl/eng.html

Beating eachother with birch? For fun?

Ladies and gentlemen! We have found Europe's kinkiest region.


The Kashubian language usually seems to be defined as a language, ranking it alongside Polish, Sorbian, Czech and Slovak rather thn just a dialect. How many people actually speak it though? How many now speak Polish, and how many German as their main language?

It seems that the Polish language has Germanic influences too - at seemingly every available opportunity, Polish has been influenced by Germanic, Latin, French, English...

So what is so kinky about striking each other with birch branches, As long as I can remember that we too struck our ciotkas with willow branches on Easter monday ( DYNGUS). For this we rec eived a few pennies.. I was taught that this was a common practice in Poland.

I live in Minnesota and this is a place where many Kashubians came. There is a book available entitled The Kashubian Community of Southeast Minnesota.

Being a coastal people, does the salt of the sea run through Kashub veins?

Here's a map for your educational enjoyment.

that's actually an old pagan tradition not just kashubian. they retained it better then others.

sweet map osiol

Very positive. I've been in Gdynia and Gdansk during the summer and found some Kashubian station in the radio. I was listening the station for the next hour trying to understand what they are talking about.. Didn't work out.

As I heard our prime minister is Kashubian.

Anyone know do they use Kashubian language on the public signs out there?

I've seen conflicting opinions about this. I think it was someone on PF who said that his family originally came from the old east of Poland. The Holy Wikipedia claims he is Kashubian. Holy in this case is an abbreviation of "not wholly accurate".

They should have some representative in the government.

I noticed that some Gerries hide their Gerrism and call themselves Kashubian, Pommeranian, Silesian etc.


50-100k but It's hard to say for how many of them that's really the main language. Even in Kashubia It is something like Irish in Ireland.


? They vote like any other citizens. Why should they have any special rights ?

In an ideal democracy, they would naturally have a similar proportion of representation in government to their proportion of the population as a whole. It's only when minorities are repressed or seriously dwindling that these sorts of ideas normally become an issue. I see it as preferable that no group needs "positive discrimination".


New word added to Osiol's English dictionary.

What about Jewism ? I thought It exists but some say It doesn't...

Can't say I've really heard of it. Let's stay on topic though. Neither have I heard of Kashubism. Gerrism has a certain ring to it though.

It's a bit odd how -ism can have two opposing meanings. I think it stems from racism, stemming from racialism, meaning the belief or practice of racially-based thinking or policy.

Anyway, Kashubs Kashubs Kashubs... I like Kashub nuts. Very tasty - like a high quality peanut.

More seriously, a little history wouldn't go amiss here. Poles of the sea?

Kashubs were one of groups, which created Poland but later for long time were outside of the mainstream and also under Germanic influence, so now have a bit different culture, customs and seriously different language. Vast majority think about themselves as a sub-group of Poles but some as a separated nationality...

I spent a few days around Kościerzyna some years ago. All I heard anyone speak was Polish (local variety but obviously Polish). A book store had exactly one book in Kaszubian which looked like Polish with some simple modifications.

A friend who'd lived in the area said that a lot of the time people (in Polish) used a weird past tense ( IIRC byłem pojechany instead of pojechałem for example).

Also an article on ethnic separatism I read a couple of years ago mentioned the Kashubians as an unsuccessful example. Although some locals tried to create a separate ethnic identity the Kashubians mostly rejected it, preferring to be Polish. Moravians in the Czech republic are another example of a group that declined to become a separate ethnic group.

Juniper, to be precise. And you absolutely rock if you wake up early enough to slap bare feet of sleeping family members with juniper birches :D


Try this:
csb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prz%C3%A9dn%C3%B4_starna

Znóny lëdze pòchôdający z Kaszëbsczi (w dzysdniowëch greńcach), abò z nią zrzeszony

* Günter Grass - runita
* Gerard Labuda - dzejownik
* Czesław Lang - kòłownik
* Paul Nipkow - wënalôzôrz
* Janusz Reiter - diplomata
* Danuta Stenka - aktorka
* Donald Tusk - pòlitikôrz
* Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński - socjologa
* Andrzej Wroński - bartkòwnik
* Rafał Mohr - aktór
* Józef Rogala Wybicki - ùsôdzca słowów "Mazurka Dąbrowskiego" (pòlsczégò nôrodnégò himna)

* Andrzej Lepper - pòlitikôrz
* Ryszard Krauze - biznesman
* Marta Żmuda-Trzebiatowska - aktorka
* Maciej Miecznikowski - spiewôk
* Roman Paszke - żéglôrz
* Jarosław Sellin - pòlitikôrz
* Sylwia Gruchała - florecëstka
* Klemens Bronk - pòlitikôrz, zakłôdôrz TOW Gryf Kaszubski /Gryf Pomorski
* Andrzej Bronk - filozófa z KUL
* Thomas Kantzow - runita, dzejopisôrz

Yeah, you're right. That was stupid.


I must say I understand that text fully! It's much easer to understand Kashubian reading it them than listen to them.. ;)

I am 100% Kashubian and lived in the Kaszuby area for 25 years :)
Maybe some people beat other with birch twigs for easter but i have never experienced it myself. And yeah, the one before a wedding everyone gathers at the bride's place to break some glass on her house's doorstep. It's followed by a small party, full of food and vodka and is always loads of fun :)

You cannot find it in any other regions of Poland.
Kashubian has lots of German influence as it had been a part of Prussia for years.
Kashubians however have always thought of themselves as Poles and never attempted to create a separate country.
In some places road signs are written both in Polish and Kashubian, and the language is being taught at school as well.
If you have any qs, feel free to ask :)

Just found this site , great information .

Hello littlemissbossy , I LOVE bossy women , & Kashubbies are the boss !hahah
I'm not fluent in Polski or kashub but I try ,.......
Dahme Buji (?) przynosić dużo piwo i pocałunki (?)

& Yeah those Kashub pagan customs are kind of wild .
My 3 brothers & stepfather are half-Kashub/Pomeranes and they have a different variation from the customs you all mention above . They FIRST decide to have a party (for any occasion or holiday or misfortune or sports game or when the sun goes down ) - Then AFTER they drink lots of Vodka , they break a lot of glass , and THEN they beat each other & anyone else around with birch , juniper , myrtle , oak , pine , it doesn't matter - they'll beat you with any kind of wood they can find . ( It's that Goth blood !! ) Then they climb into their sled & the reindeers fly them home .

(means : the police come & take everyone away !)

NA ZDAROVY !!!!!!