title: The Rite of Passage among Karaite Turks: Birth
abstract: The word Karaim is derived from the Aramaic-Hebrew kara meaning to read with the plural suffix im. In Hebrew, םיארק karaim means “those who read the scriptures”. Over time, Karaite became the name of a Turkish tribe. Historical data indicates that the Karaites, descendants of the Khazar state, adhered to the Karai sect of Judaism, which recognized only the Torah. Consequently, due to their adoption of a distinct belief system, it is natural for the Karaites to exhibit differences in the rituals 
journal: Folklore Electronic Journal of Folklore