Editing Samogitians

{{Short description|Lithuanian ethnic group}}
{{infobox ethnic group
| group            = Samogitians
| native_name      = žemaitē
| native_name_lang = [[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]]
| image            = Paysans des environs de Samogitie et des Gitans (1ère partie du XIXème siècle).jpg
| image_caption    = Samogitians in the first half of the 19th century
| pop              = {{circa}} 500,000 in Lithuania (estimated)
| popplace         = [[Samogitia]]
| rels             = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
| langs            = [[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]], Standard [[Lithuanian language]]
| related          = [[Aukštaitija|Aukštaitians]], [[Curonians]]
}}

'''Samogitians''' ([[Samogitian dialect|Samogitian]]: ''žemaitē'', {{langx|lt|žemaičiai}}, {{langx|lv|žemaiši}}) are the inhabitants of [[Samogitia]], an [[Ethnographic regions of Lithuania|ethnographic region of Lithuania]]. Many speak the [[Samogitian language]], which in [[Lithuania]] is mostly considered a [[Lithuanian language#Dialects|dialect of the Lithuanian language]] together with the [[Aukštaitian dialect]].<ref name="TrueLithuania">{{cite web |title=Samogitia (Northwest Lithuania) |url=http://www.truelithuania.com/samogitia-northwest-lithuania-241 |website=TrueLithuania.com |access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref> The Samogitian language differs the most from the standard Lithuanian language.<ref name="TrueLithuania"/>

Whether Samogitians are considered to be a distinct ethnic group or merely a subset of [[Lithuanians]] varies. However, 2,169 people declared their ethnicity as Samogitian during the Lithuanian census of 2011, of whom 53.9% live in [[Telšiai County]].<ref>[http://www.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Lietuviai_priskyre_save_zemaiciams.xls/df1bd36b-be99-4992-b4d5-51e2dc9bac8f Statistics (in Lithuania)].</ref> The political recognition and cultural understanding of the Samogitian ethnicity has, however, changed drastically throughout the last few centuries as 448,022 people declared themselves Samogitians, not Lithuanians, in the [[Russian Empire Census|1897 Russian Empire census]].<ref>[http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97.php 1897 Russian Empire Census]</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Eldership of Samogitia|Grand Duchy of Lithuania}}
On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians decisively defeated the joint forces of the [[Teutonic Knights]] from [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] and [[Livonian Order]] from [[Livonia]] in the [[Battle of Durbe]]. Some 150 knights were killed, including [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword#Masters of Livonia (within the Teutonic Order)|Livonian Master]] [[Burchard von Hornhausen]] and Prussian Land Marshal [[:de:Heinrich Botel|Henrik Botel]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis  |author-link=Zenonas Ivinskis |title=Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties |year=1978 |location=Rome |publisher=Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija |pages=184–188 |lccn=79346776 |language=lt}}</ref>

[[File:1662 Samogetia is Lithuania.jpg|thumb|left|Samogitia in the 17th century]]
Samogitians lived in western Lithuania and were closely related to [[Semigallians]] and [[Curonians]]. In 1413, they became the last group of Europeans to convert to Christianity. Samogitians lived in the [[Duchy of Samogitia]] within the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. In 1857, there were 418,824 people of Samogitian roots and 444,921 persons declared the Samogitian language as their mother tongue in 1897 in [[Kovno Governorate]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Petrulis |first=Valdas |year=2005 |url=http://www.geo.lt/geo/uploads/media/163-175.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722150819/http://www.geo.lt/geo/uploads/media/163-175.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-22 |title=Žemaitijos etninės savimonės regiono erdvinė struktūra |journal=Geografijos metraštis |volume=38 |pages=163–175 |issn=0132-3156 }}</ref> Currently Lithuania does not allow for declaration of Samogitian nationality in passports as it is not a recognized ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lrytas.lt/?data=20070604&id=11809569051179205596&view=4 |title = Žemaičio tautybė - vos porai dienų |access-date = 2007-11-23
|author = lrytas.lt |date = 2007-06-04 |language = lt}}</ref> In list of [[Ethnic groups in Russia|ethnic groups of Russia]] there is one person who declared himself with "Zhemaijty".<ref>[http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_P1.doc Perepis.ru] (in [[Russian language|Russian]])</ref>

==Exonyms==
Samogitians call themselves ''žemaitē'', although exonyms are used in different languages.

{| class="wikitable"
! Language
! Samogitia
! Samogitians
|- 
| [[Samogitian language|Samogitian]]
| Žemaitėjė
| žemaitē
|- 
| [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]
| Žemaitija
| žemaičiai
|- 
| [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]
| Жамойць, Жмудзь
| жамойты, жмудзіны
|-
| [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]
| זאַמעט (Zámet)
| זאַמעטער (Zámeter)
|- 
| [[Estonian language|Estonian]]
| Žemaitija
| Žemaidid
|- 
| [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| Samogitië
| Samogitiërs
|-
| [[French language|French]]
| Samogitie
| samogitiens
|-
| [[German language|German]]
| Schameiten
| Schameiten
|- 
| [[Italian language|Italian]]
| Samogizia
| samogizi
|- 
| [[Latvian language|Latvian]]
| Žemaitija
| žemaiši
|- 
| [[Polish Language|Polish]]
| Żmudź
| Żmudzini
|- 
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| Samogícia
| samogícios
|- 
| [[Russian Language|Russian]]
| Жемайтия
| жемайты
|- 
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| Samogitia
| samogitios
|- 
| [[Swedish language|Swedish]]
| Samogitien
| Samogitier
|-
| [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
| Жмудь
| жмудини
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://samogitia.mch.mii.lt/ISTORIJA/samogit.en.htm Short history of Samogitia]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204923/http://www.istorija.lt/le/pakalniskis2001en.html Samogitian self identification during centuries]

{{InterWiki|code=bat-smg}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Lithuania]]
[[Category:Samogitia]]