The Avdhela Project ( rup, Proiect Avdhela; ro, Proiect Avdhela), also known as the Library of Aromanian Culture ( rup, Biblioteca di Culturâ Armâneascâ; ro, Biblioteca Culturii Aromâne), is a
digital library
A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital m ...
and cultural initiative developed by the Predania Association. The Avdhela Project aims to collect, edit and open to the public academic works on the
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and c ...
based on a series of specific principles. It was launched on 24 November 2009 in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania. Public events, the promotion of cultural works and the publication of audiovisual material are other activities carried out by the Avdhela Project in support of
Aromanian culture
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...
.
History
Foundation and objectives
The Avdhela Project was launched on 24 November 2009 at the Peasant Club of the
Romanian Peasant Museum in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania. The ceremony began at 18:00
EET and was attended by figures such as the
Aromanian essayist and poet George Vrana, the anthropologist and director Ionuț Piturescu and the director Aleksander Zikov. The films ''Balkan's Digest'' by Piturescu and ''Calea Eschibaba'' ("
Eschibaba Road") by Zikov were screened there.
The Avdhela Project is an independent
nonprofit initiative
developed by the Predania Association, and it aims to "identify, edit and offer" artistic and scientific works on
Aromanian culture
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...
and make them free of charge and easily accessible to any potentially interested researcher or individual through its
digital library
A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital m ...
. The project claims to be constructed on the principles of coherence, using the
orthographic proposal for the
Aromanian language of the Aromanian linguist for the preservation and edition of Aromanian works; and the principle of openness, meaning the development of cultural links between the Aromanians and the rest of the
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the wh ...
nations but also with the rest of world heritage.
These objectives are projected through activities such as public events, research projects, the publication of photographic and audiovisual material and the promotion of cultural projects for young Aromanians.
The Avdhela Project has a
Facebook page of its own; in 2010, it was the second page dedicated to the Aromanians with the most members in Romania, having 1,200 members and being only behind ''Limba armânească'' ("Aromanian language"), with 1,579 members. The Facebook page includes discussions and posts on both Aromanian and
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
in equal proportion, with announcements by the page being bilingual. It has a section with the description of the group and its principles, rules and values in six languages in the following order: Aromanian, Romanian,
Greek,
English,
French and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
.
Activities
In 2012, the Avdhela Project supported a financing campaign for ''Iho'', a documentary about four Aromanian octogenarians from
Cogealac
Cogealac is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.
The commune includes six villages:
* Cogealac (historical names: ''Domnești'', tr, Kocalak)
* Gura Dobrogei (historical names: ''Câvârgic'', tr, Kıvırcık)
* Râmnicu de ...
, interpreters of
Aromanian polyphonic music
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
(that is, music with two or more performers), who go and perform several concerts with the Romanian musician
Grigore Leșe after meeting him, with an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
of their music later being published. In 2013, the Predania Publishing House published a book on the traditional life of the Aromanians by Iotta Naum Iotta, an Aromanian scholar and professor who wrote the book in 1961 but died five years later. He did not manage to publish the book before his passing and it was kept in his family for fifty years until Iotta's granddaughter Mioara handed it over to Maria Pariza, an Aromanian scholar from
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
(), Romania. From her, the book reached the Avdhela Project. Another initiative of the project is ''O pagină pe zi pentru cultura aromână'' ("A page a day for Aromanian culture"), an online campaign encouraging volunteers to help collect works relevant to the Aromanians.
The Avdhela Project is also noted for various public events. On 15 January 2012, on the Romanian
National Culture Day, it organized a session of debates and readings on the relationship between the famous Romanian poet
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active ...
and the Aromanian people. To honor the poet, the project published several books and studies related to him. The event was attended by Aromanian figures such as the journalist Aurica Piha, the historian and philologist and Vrana.
On 23 March 2019, the Avdhela Project commemorated the memory of four Aromanians, including the priest , who were killed in 1914 in
Korçë (, or ) by ethnic
Greek troops for supporting Aromanian identity in the region. The Avdhela Project claimed that a total of 1,000 Aromanian,
Megleno-Romanian and
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
priests, professors and teachers and also simple students were murdered for similar reasons. On 7 May of the same year, the Avdhela Project helped organize a conference at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the
University of Bucharest on religious aspects of the Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians. This was done in collaboration with the
Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society Macedo-Romanians or Macedo-Romanian may refer to:
* The Aromanians, an Eastern Romance people inhabiting the Balkans, including the region of Macedonia
** The Aromanian language, the language of the Aromanians
* The Megleno-Romanians, another East ...
.
The Avdhela Project's library includes a large number of books digitized page by page from Aromanian authors such as Caragiu Marioțeanu,
Tache Papahagi
Tache Papahagi (October 20, 1892 – January 17, 1977) was an Aromanian folklorist and linguist.
He was born into an Aromanian family in Avdella (), a village that formed part of the Ottoman Empire's Manastir Vilayet and is now in Greece. He att ...
or , as well as from Vrana himself.
Also included are poems by Aromanian poets such as
Nushi Tulliu Nushi Tulliu (April 23, 1872–April 8, 1941; ro, Nuși Tulliu) was an Aromanian poet and prose writer.
He was born into an Aromanian family in Avdella, a village that formed part of the Ottoman Empire's Manastir Vilayet and is now in Greec ...
; the Avdhela Project has also written an analysis on Tulliu's importance for
Aromanian literature
Aromanian may refer to:
*Aromanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Aromanians in Albania
**Aromanians in Bulgaria
** Aromanians in Greece
**Aromanians in North Macedonia
**Aromanians in Romania
**Aromanians in Serbia
sr, Аромун� ...
. Another original work of the project is ''Exiyisiri la Tatălu a nostru'' ("Interpretation to Our Father"), one of the few works covering the
Christian identity and spirituality of the Aromanians.
See also
*
Avdella
Avdella ( el, Αβδέλλα; rup, Avdhela) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been a municipal unit of Grevena. It is a seasonal Aromanian vi ...
(), the village in
Greece the Avdhela Project is named after
References
External links
* of the Avdhela Project
*
{{Aromanians
Digital library projects
Romanian digital libraries
Aromanian culture
Aromanians in Romania
2009 establishments in Romania
Geographic region-oriented digital libraries