Gorani

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2009)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2009)

Goran

Total population
84,000[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Kosovo: 18 villages1  Albania: 9 villages  Macedonia: 2 villages
Languages
Gora dialect, Serbian, Macedonian, Albanian
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
“Slavic Muslims”, Pomaks and Torlaks

The Gorani, with meaning Highlanders, are a Slavic ethnic group, which inhabits the Gora region, located between Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Another autonym of this people is "Našinci" with literally meaning "our people". They are also known among the neighbouring Albanians with several exonyms ,^[1][2] "Torbeshë" and "Poturë".^[3] They speak the Gora dialect, which is known by many Gorani as "Našinski". The Gora region comprises Dragaš municipality in Kosovo and Shishtavec municipality in Albania. They are adherents to Islam and have a rich and varied folk culture. They have been claimed by Bosniaks, Serbs, Bulgarians and Macedonians, but the general view is that they should be treated as a distinct minority group.^[4][5] Part of these people are already albanised.^[6] By the last censusses at the end of 20th century in Yugoslavia they have declared themselves to be Muslims by nationality.^[7] In Republic of Macedonia their identity is also based mainly on their religion.^[8]

Etymology

The word Gora is a the traditional term for the region, it means "Mountains" or "Highlands". In the Gora dialect the "Mountain people" or "Highlanders" are known as Goranci (Cyrillic: Горанци), this is often transliterated into English simply as "Gorani" or "Gorans"

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

Gora is the region inhabited by the Gorani, and also that which Slavic peoples (including Gorani themselves) and many Albanians use to identify the native people (Gorani). The region, Gora, is mentioned in 1348 in the edict of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, along with seven other Gorani-populated villages that were subsumed by the Monastery of Saint Archangel at Prizren at that time. The area called Gora was subsequently populated by Slavs during their migration in the 6th–7th centuries. Less than a century later the Bulgars invaded and subsequently settled in the area as well.

In 1455, Gora was conquered from the Serbian Despotate by the Ottoman Turks and became a part of the beylerbeylik of Rumelia, or specifically, the Sanjak of Prizren. The process of natural assimilation into Ottoman society henceforth began, mostly at the end of the 16th century. And following the trend of Balkan peoples, the conversion from Orthodox Christianity through the process of Islamization was rapid, with dozens of mosques springing up across the Gora region (many have had to be rebuilt, a result of the Serb invasions of the late 19th century, which destroyed many of the area's mosques, and also the oppressive conditions in Albania during Hoxha's regime). The Gorani continue to maintain a religious hybridity of sorts — while steadfast Muslims, they observe a number of Christian traditions and holidays, with observance of certain Saint's days and their acknowledging of the Bogomil.

Because of Gora's highly isolated location in and around Albania's mountainous northern region, the difficult terrain aided the Goran in resisting first the Slavic and later the Ottoman invasions. Migrations to escape the Ottoman invasion did occur, as they did in Albania in the 14th century, when many Albanians fled to Italy, Egypt, Syria and the Ukraine. These migrations were repeated several centuries thenceforth when many Goran, hemmed in by both Yugoslav and Albanian authoritarian regimes, fled the region. Many surfaced in America, where a significant diaspora has emerged (primarily in California). Migrations from Gora during the Ottoman era resulted in two significant waves: the first towards Prizren and Sirinić, and the other towards Tetovo. The latter populated the Macedonian settlements of Dolno, Palčište and Tearce. Their descendants still populate that part of the Republic of Macedonia. Gorani colonists have migrated and populated on the eastern side of the Šar Mountains the colonies of Urvič and Jelovjane.

In the First Balkan War in 1912 the Serbian Army seized Gora. A minor part of the Gorani population migrated to the Ottoman Empire as a result. In the 1916–1918 First World War the Gora was conquered by the Central Powers and assigned to the Bulgarian (until May 1916)^[9] and to the Austro-Hungarian (until October 1918) zone. After 1918 they were integrated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The troubles during First World War, as well as the difficult period between 1919-20 were characterized by drought, causing famine and much poverty for the Gorans.^{[citation needed]}, This paradigm also incited migrations to Kosovo's larger city, Prizren and Tetovo in Republic of Macedonia. Disease and hunger in the post-communist era in Albania have caused a general downfall of the Gorani population, mostly due to in-migration out of villages for urban centers like Shkodra and Tirana.

By the decision of the League of Nations however, in 1925, the final border towards Albania was established. In it, over 15,000 Gorans remained in Albania's borders in their 9 villages: Borje, Zapod, Košarište, Novo Selo, Orgosta, Orešek, Pakiša, Crneljevo and Šištevac on demand of Fascist Italy, despite the local Gorani community's desire to remain together undivided.

In 1999 after the NATO bombing campaign on Yugoslavia, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) took over international administration of the Serbian province of Kosovo. Their own municipality was redrawn and Dragaš established, in which now Albanians are in majority. The Gora has received migrations of Albanians from Albania, and reports of killings and mistreatment of the Gorani by Albanian paramilitaries were subsequently recorded, though never verified. In 2007 the Kosovar provisional institutions opened a school in Gora to teach the Bosnian language, which sparked minor consternation amongst the Gorani population, added by the fact that the Principal declares as an Albanian. Many Gorans refuse to send their children to school for threats of assimilation and self-initially founded home schools for their young. In 1999 and over the years altogether, over 6,500 Gorans have fled to Serbia proper along with many Serb and Romani refugees.

Language

A geographical distribution of the Torlak dialect in former Yugoslavia, with marked Gora area.

The Gorani people speak a local dialect known as "Našinski" (Cyrillic: Нашински) or "Goranski" (Cyrillic: Горански). It is considered many to be an intermediary dialect between Macedonian and Serbian and is often called a Torlak dialect. While still remaining a Slavic based language there are numerous loan words in the language, the dialect has been greatly influenced by Turkish, Arabic and Albanian.

According to the last 1991 Yugoslav census, 54.8% of the inhabitants of the Gora municipality said that they spoke the Gorani language.^[10] Goranian has also been classified sometimes as part of the Bulgarian dialect area, as by Bulgarian,^[11] as well as by foreign anthropologists. Some Goranian shcholars define their language as Bulgarian, similar to the Bulgarian dialects spoken in Northwest Macedonia.^[12] Some linguists, including Vidoeski, Brozovic and Ivic, identify the Slavic-dialect of the Gora region as Macedonian ^[13]. According to some sources in 2003 the Kosovo government acquired Macedonian language and grammar books for Gorani school. ^[14]

Media and literature

This section requires expansion.

Gorani scholar Nazif Dokle compiled the first Našinski–Albanian dictionary (with 43,000 words and phrases) in 2007, sponsored and printed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.^[12] In 2008 the first issue of a Macedonian language newspaper, Гороцвет (Gorocvet) was published.^[15]

Population

Former Gora municipality in Kosovo, marked in blue.

The Gorani population numbered some 16,000, in the Gora administrative division, according to the 1991 census. Gorani leaders today estimate that fewer than 10,000 are left in Gora, where large in-migrations to Albania's capital, Tirana, have occurred. Most Goran state that the unstable situation and the economic issue drives them to leave Kosovo. There is also some mention of threats and discrimination.^[16] The UN administration in Kosovo, UNMIK, has redrawn internal boundaries in the province in such a way that a Gorani-majority municipality no longer exists. The Gora was combined with the neighboring Albanian-populated region of Opolje (some 20,000 people) into a new subdivision named Dragaš, which again has an Albanian majority.

Settlements

Below is a list of the traditional Gorani settlements in the Šar Mountains region. In parenthesis the Našinski names in Cyrillic.

Gorani diaspora

The Gora is an underdeveloped region and for almost two centuries, its male inhabitants would go off to more distant regions in order to find work. Due to this, a true Gorani diaspora has come to life with many living in parts of Central Serbia (particularly Belgrade: 3,340), Vojvodina (606), the Republic of Macedonia (particularly the Western parts); Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Greece and Turkey; and following escape from communist Albania and socialist Yugoslavia in the late-1940s, the United States (particularly New York and Los Angeles).

Culture and religion

Like many Balkan peoples prior to the invasion of the Romans and the conversions to Christianity, the existence of many pantheistic sects and worship of the sun god existed. Following the conversion to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, the Goran embraced Islam due to various external pressures while under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire and remain today exclusive followers of the Islamic faith. However, the Goran still tangentially observe some Orthodox traditions (Slava) such as Saint George's Day (Djurdjevdan).

Traditional Goran folk music includes a two-beat dance called "kolo" ('circle'), which is a circle dance focused on the foot movements: it always starts on the right foot and moves in an anti-clockwise direction. Kolo is usually accompanied by instrumental music made often with a Zurle or Kaval and Tapan or Davul, kolos are less frequently accompanied by singing as they are in neighboring ethnic groups such as the Albanians and Serbians.

Notable Gorani

• Fahrudin Jusufi, football player
• Miralem Sulejmani, football player

See also

• Torlaks
• Civic Initiative of Gora (political party)

Notes and references

Notes:

References:

• Нексхат Ибрахими, Първи контакти на исляма с Балканските нации
• Хюсеин Мехмед. Помаците и торбешите в Мизия, Тракия и Македония., С., 2007.

External links

• RadioGora.net "the original Gorani radio"
• NGlove.net "Gorani portal and social network"
• NezavisnaGora.com "Gorani web portal"
• Goranci.info "Gorani portals info - english version"
• Mp3Gora
• RadioGora
• Shishtavec
• Gora Cafe
• Website of Gorani people, self identifying as Bulgarian
• GORA-BROD, "link expired"
• Project Rastko - Gora, E-library of culture and tradition of Gora and Gorani people
• Gorani (Nasencite) (Bulgarian)
• A Travel among Goranis (Bosnian), "link expired"
• Gorani Fear Losing Identity, Adrian Kelmendi, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 21 February 2001
• The minorities within the minority, The Economist, 2 November 2006

Video clips

• Clip of the Gorani film Ofčarče
• Photo presentation with traditional Gorani music
• Another photo presentation of Gorani villages with traditional music PART I
• PART II "Setnja kroz goranske sela"
• Naša Gora — A beautiful photo presentation
• "Snimak iz Brodska Svadba 2007. Ekiba Onlinebrod prestava sa svoje snimci" — A Gorani wedding in Brod

v • d • e Ethnic groups in the Republic of Macedonia according to 2002 census data Over 10,000 people Macedonians (1,297,981) · Albanians (509,083) · Turks (77,959) · Roma (53,879) · Serbs (35,939) · Bosniaks (17,018) Under 10,000 people Aromanians (9,695) · Egyptians (3,713) · Croats (2,686) · Montenegrins (2,003) · Bulgarians (1,417) · Greeks (442) Other groups Torlaks (approx. 150,000) · Shopi (approx. 50,000) · Torbeš (40,000 - 100,000) · Gorani (approx. 2,500) · Megleno-Romanians (approx. 1,000) · Jews (approx. 200) Demographic history of the Republic of Macedonia

v • d • e Ethnic groups in Kosovo Albanians  · Gorani  · Croats  · Jews Montenegrins  · Serbs  · Roma (Ashkali & Egyptians)  · Turks Demographic history of Kosovo

v • d • e Ethnic groups in Serbia Serbia Serbs · Armenians · Bosniaks (Ethnic Muslims) · Chinese · Jews · Roma · Romanians (Vlachs) · Croatians · Montenegrins · Macedonians. Vojvodina Banat Bulgarians · Bunjevci · Croats (Šokci)  · Danube Swabians (Banat Swabians) · Hungarians (and Székelys) · Montenegrins · Pannonian Rusyns · Roma · Romanians · Serbs · Slovaks · Macedonians. Kosovo[a] Albanians · Gorani · Croats · Montenegrins · Serbs · Roma (Ashkali & Egyptians)  · Turks. Demographic history of Serbia / Vojvodina / Kosovo ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The Assembly of Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence on 17 February 2008, a move that is recognised by 63 of the 192 UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan), but not by other UN member states. Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory.