The Gorani (, ) or Goranci (, ), are a Slavic Muslim
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
inhabiting the
Gora region—the triangle between
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
, and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. They number an estimated 60,000 people, and speak a transitional
South Slavic dialect, called ''
Goranski''. The vast majority of the Gorani people adhere to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...
.
Name
The
ethnonym
An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and us ...
''Goranci'', meaning "highlanders", is derived from the Slavic toponym ''
gora'', which means "hill, mountain".
Another
autonym of this people is ''Našinci'', which literally means "our people, our ones".
In
Macedonian
Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia.
Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to:
People Modern
* Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
sources, the Gorani are sometimes called
Torbeši
The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group ...
, a term used for Muslim Macedonians.
In the
Albanian language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Eur ...
, they are known as ''Goranët''
[ "Goranët jetojnë në krahinën e Gorës, që sot ndahet mes shteteve të Shqipërisë, të Kosovës etë Maqedonisë, krahinë nga ku e marrin edhe emrin."] and sometimes by other
exonyms, such as ''Bulgareci'' ("Bulgarians"), ''Torbesh''
("bag carriers") and ''Poturë'' ("
turkified
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
", from ''po-tur'', literally not Turk but, "turkified", used for Islamized Slavs).
Population
Some of the local Gorani people have over time also self declared themselves as
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
,
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...
,
Macedonians,
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzeg ...
, Muslim
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...
,
Turks, or just as
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, due to geopolitical circumstances and in censuses.
In Kosovo, the Gorani number 10,265 inhabitants,
[ which is drastically lower than before the ]Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
. In 1998, it was estimated that their total population number was at least 50,000.
Settlements
In Albania, there are nine Gorani-inhabited villages: Zapod
Zapod is a village and a former municipality in Kukës County, northeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Kukës. The administrative unit of Zapod contains the villages of Orgjost, Koshar ...
, Pakisht, Orçikël, Kosharisht, Cernalevë, Orgjost, Oreshkë, Borje and Shishtavec
Shishtavec is a village in Kukës County in northeastern Albania. It was also the seat of the former municipality of the same name. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kukës. The administrative unit of Shishtav ...
.
/ref>
In Kosovo, there are 18 Gorani-inhabited villages: Baćka, Brod, Vranište, Globočice, Gornja Rapča, Gornji Krstac, Dikance, Donja Rapča, Donji Krstac
Dragash or Sharr ( sq-definite, Dragashi or ''Sharri'') or Dragaš ( sr-cyr, Драгаш), is a town and municipality located in the Prizren District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Dragash has 1,098 inhabitants, while t ...
, Zli Potok, Kruševo, Kukaljane, Lještane, Ljubošta, Mlike
Dragash or Sharr ( sq-definite, Dragashi or ''Sharri'') or Dragaš ( sr-cyr, Драгаш), is a town and municipality located in the Prizren District of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Dragash has 1,098 inhabitants, while t ...
, Orčuša, Radeša, and Restelica, plus the town of Dragaš.
Following 1999, Dragaš has a mixed population of Gorani, who live in the lower neighbourhood, and Albanians in the upper neighbourhood constituting the majority of inhabitants.
In North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, there are two Gorani-inhabited villages located in the Polog region: Jelovjane and Urvič.[ "Данашњи становници Урвича и Јеловјана на супротној, полошкој страни Шар-Планине, пореклом су Горани. Много су више утицале на исељавање Горана политичке промене, настале после 1912 године. Тада се скоро четвртина становништва иселила у Турску, за коју су се преко вере и дуге управе били интимно везали. Још једна миграција јаче је захватила Горане, али не у нашој земљи, него оне који су остали у границама Арбаније."]
History
Contemporary
The Gora municipality and Opoja region remained separated during the Milošević period. After the war, the Gorani-majority Gora municipality was merged with the Albanian inhabited Opoja
Opolje ( sq, Opoja/Opojë, sr, Опоље) is a region in the southern part of the municipality of Prizren in southern Kosovo. The region has 19 villages mainly inhabited by Kosovo Albanians.
Settlements
The region of Opoja includes 19 settlemen ...
region to form the municipality of Dragaš by the United Nations Mission (UNMIK) and the new administrative unit has an Albanian majority.
In 2007 the Kosovar provisional institutions opened a school in Gora to teach the Bosnian language, which sparked minor consternation amongst the Gorani population. Many Gorani refuse to send their children to school due to societal prejudices, and threats of assimilation to Bosniaks or Albanians. Consequently, Gorani organized education per Serbia's curriculum.
Gorani activists in Serbia's proper stated they want Gora (a former municipality) to join the Association of Serb Municipalities, causing added pressure on the Gorani Community in Kosovo.
In 2018 Bulgarian activists among Gorani have filed a petition in the country's parliament demanding their official recognition as a separate minority.
Most Gorani state that the unstable situation and economic issues drive them to leave Kosovo. There is also some mention of threats and discrimination by ethnic Albanians.
Apart from the multiethnic town of Dragash, the Gorani of Kosovo continue to live in villages primarily inhabited by their community and relations with Albanians remain tense. Mixed marriage between both communities do not occur with the exception of a few Gorani families that have migrated to Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
.
Culture
Religion
In the 18th century, a wave of Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurr ...
began in Gora.[Бурсаћ 2000, pp. 71-73 (Орхан Драгаш)] The Ottoman abolition of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid and Serbian Patriarchate of Peć in 1766/1767 is thought to have prompted the Islamization of Gora as was the trend of many Balkan communities. The last Christian Gorani, Božana, died in the 19th century – she has received a cult, signifying the Gorani's Christian heritage, collected by Russian consuls Anastasiev and Yastrebov in the second half of the 19th century.[
]
Traditions
The Gorani are known for being "the best confectioners and bakers" in former Yugoslavia.
The Slavs of Gora were Christianized after 864 when Bulgaria adopted Christianity. The Ottomans conquered the region in the 14th century, which started the process of Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurr ...
of the Gorani and neighbouring Albanians. However, the Gorani still tangentially observe some Orthodox Christian traditions, such as Slavas and Đurđevdan
George's Day in Spring, or Saint George's Day ( sr, Ђурђевдан, Đurđevdan, ; bg, Гергьовден, Gergovden; mk, Ѓурѓовден, Ǵurǵovden; russian: Егорий Вешний, Yegoriy Veshniy, or russian: Юрьев ден� ...
, and like Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
they know their Onomastik or saint's days.
Although most Gorani are Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
, Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality ...
and in particular the Halveti
The Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (''tariqa''). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. The o ...
and Bektashi Sufi orders are widespread.
Traditional Gorani folk music includes a two-beat dance called " oro" ('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. The Oro is usually accompanied by instruments such as curlje, kaval
The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and Anatolia (including Turkey and Armenia). The k ...
, čiftelija or tapan, and singing is used less frequently in the dances than in those of the Albanians and Serbs.
The "national" sport of '' Pelivona'' is a form of oil wrestling popular among Gorani with regular tournaments being held in the outdoors to the accompaniment of curlje and tapan with associated ritualized hand gestures and dances, with origins in the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
through the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
's conquest of the Balkans.
The "national" drink of the Gorani is rakija which is commonly distilled at home by elderly people. Another popular drink is Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee is a style of coffee prepared in a '' cezve'' using very finely ground coffee beans without filtering.
Preparation
Turkish coffee is very finely ground coffee brewed by boiling. Any coffee bean may be used; arabica varieties are ...
which is drunk in small cups accompanied by a glass of water. Tasseography is popular among all Gorani using the residue of Turkish coffee.
File:Момче од Гора во народна носија.jpg, Gorani boy in folk costume
File:Veshje Tradicionale Struka e bardh Dhe Dimijat ..JPG, Gorani girls in folk costume
File:Veshje tradicionale.JPG, Elderly Gorani woman in traditional clothing
File:Festa e Patates Shishtavec.JPG, Young Gorani dancing at village festival
Language
The Gorani people speak South Slavic, a local dialect known as " Našinski" or "Goranski", which is part of a wider Torlakian dialect
Torlakian, or Torlak is a group of South Slavic dialects of southeastern Serbia, Kosovo, northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgarian and Macedonian, falls into the Balkan Slavic linguistic ...
,[Browne, Wayles (2002): Serbo-Croat. In: Bernard Comrie, Greville G. Corbett (eds.), ''The Slavonic Languages''. London: Taylor & Francis]
p. 383 spoken in Southern Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
, Western Bulgaria and part of North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. The Slavic dialect of the Gorani community is known as ''Gorançe'' by Albanians.[ "In den 17 Dörfern des Kosovo wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen, und sie gehören zu einer Gemeinde mit dem Verwaltungszentrum in Dragaš. Die 19 Dörfer in Albanien sind hingegen auf drei Gemeinden des Bezirks Kukës aufgeteilt, und zwar auf Shishtavec, Zapod und Topojan. Slavophone findet man freilich nur in den ersten beiden Gemeinden. Zur Gemeinde Shishtavec gehören sieben Dörfer und in den folgenden vier wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Shishtavec (Šištaec/Šišteec), Borja (Borje), Cërnaleva (Cărnolevo/Cărneleve) und Oreshka (Orešek). Zur Gemeinde Zapod gehören ebenfalls sieben Dörfer, und in den folgenden fünf wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Orgjost (Orgosta), Kosharisht (Košarišta), Pakisht (Pakiša/Pakišča) Zapod (Zapod) und Orçikla (Orčikl’e/Očikl’e)’. In der Gemeinde Topojan gibt es inzwischen keine slavophone Bevölkerung mehr. Die Einwohner selbst bezeichnen sich gewöhnlich als Goranen ‘Einwohner von Gora oder Našinci Unsrige, und ihre Sprache wird von ihnen als Našinski und von den Albanern als Gorançe bezeichnet."] Within the Gorani community there is a recognition of their dialects being closer to the Macedonian language, than to Serbian. The Torlakian dialect is a transitional dialect of Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
and Bulgarian whilst also sharing features with Macedonian
Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia.
Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to:
People Modern
* Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
. The Gorani speech is classified as an Old-Shtokavian dialect of Serbian, the Prizren-Timok dialect.
Bulgarian linguists classify the Gorani dialect as part of a Bulgarian dialectal area. Despite not bordering Bulgaria and being an Islamic nation, the Gorani are a target of Bulgarian irredentism
Bulgarian irredentism is a term to identify the territory associated with a historical national state and a modern Bulgarian irredentist nationalist movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, which would include most of Macedonia, Thrace and ...
on the belief that if the Gora dialect is Bulgarian, then all Macedonian dialects are Bulgarian. Illustrating the Bulgarian interest is the first Gorani– Albanian dictionary (with 43,000 words and phrases) in 2007 by Albanian-Gorani scholar Nazif Dokle, sponsored and printed by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869.
The Academy ...
. In this dictionary, Dokle defined the language as related to "the Bulgarian dialects spoken in the northwest" North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
.[Dokle, Nazif. Reçnik Goransko (Nashinski) - Albanski, Sofia 2007, Peçatnica Naukini akademiji "Prof. Marin Drinov", s. 5, 11, 19 (Nazif Dokle. Goranian (Nashinski) - Albanian Dictionary, Sofia 2007, Published by Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, p. 5, 11, 19)]
Within scholarship, the Goran dialects previously classified as belonging to Serbian have been reassigned to Macedonian in the 21st century.[ "The Gorans, who are also Muslim, have a separate identity. The Goran dialects used to be classed with Serbian, but have more recently been assigned to Macedonian, and Gorans themselves recognize that their dialects are closer to Macedonian than to Serbian."]
Gorani speech has numerous loan words, being greatly influenced by Turkish and Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
due to the influence of Islam, as well as Albanian areally. It is similar to the Bosnian language
Bosnian (; / , ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by ethnic Bosniaks. Bosnian is one of three such varieties considered official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Croatian an ...
because of the numerous Turkish loanwords. Gorani speak Serbo-Croatian in school.
According to the last 1991 Yugoslav census, 54.8% of the inhabitants of the Gora municipality said that they spoke the Gorani language, while the remainder had called it Serbian. Some linguists, including Vidoeski, Brozovic and Ivic, identify the Slavic-dialect of the Gora region as Macedonian
Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia.
Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to:
People Modern
* Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
. There are assertions that Macedonian is spoken in 50 to 75 villages in the Gora region (Albania and Kosovo). According to some unverified sources in 2003 the Kosovo government acquired Macedonian language and grammar books for Gorani school.
In 2008 the first issue of a Macedonian language newspaper, ''Гороцвет'' (''Gorocvet'') was published.
::''Verno libe''
:''Gledaj me gledaj libe, abe verno libe,
:''nagledaj mi se dur ti som ovde.''
:''Utre ke odim abe verno libe dalek-dalek''
:''na pusti Gurbet.''
:''Racaj poracaj libe šo da ti kupim.''
:''Ti da mi kupiš''
:''abe gledaniku cerna šamija, ja da ga nosim
:''abe gledaniku i da ga želam.''
:''Racaj poracaj abe verno''
:''libe šo da ti pratim''
:''Ti da mi pratiš abe''
:''gledaniku šarena knjiga''
:''Ja da ga pujem abe''
''gledaniku i da ga želam''
Politics
* Unique Gorani Party
* Civic Initiative of Gora
Notable Gorani
* Fahrudin Jusufi
Fahrudin Jusufi ( sr-Cyrl, Фахрудин Јусуфи, ; 8 December 1939 – 9 August 2019) was a Yugoslav footballer who most notably played for Partizan, Eintracht Frankfurt and the Yugoslav national team.
Playing career Club career
Jusu ...
, former Yugoslav footballer, born in Zli Potok
* Miralem Sulejmani, Serbian footballer, of Gorani descent
* Almen Abdi, Swiss footballer, of Gorani descent
* Zeli Ismail
Zeli Ismail (born 12 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder for Newtown in the Welsh Premier League. He has represented England at both under-16 and under-17 level.
Career
Born in Kukës, Ismail ...
, English footballer born in Shishtavec
* Zufer Avdija
Zufer Avdija ( sr, Зуфер Авдија, he, זופר אבדיה; born October 1, 1959) is a Serbian–Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who is the general manager and president of basketball operations for Bnei Herzliya ...
, former Israeli-Serbian basketball player, of Gorani descent
* Deni Avdija
Deni Avdija ( he, דֶנִי אָבְדִיָה, sr-cyr, Дени Авдија; born 3 January 2001) is an Israeli-Serbian professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the sma ...
, Israeli NBA basketball player, of Gorani descent
* Danel Sinani
Danel Sinani ( sr-Cyrl, Данел Синани; born 5 April 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for EFL Championship club Wigan Athletic, on loan from Norwich City. Born in Belgrade to Gorani parents, he plays for the ...
, Luxembourgish footballer, of Gorani descent
See also
* Torbeshi
The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...
* Pomaks
* Gorals
Notes
References
Sources
;Books
*
*
*
*
;Journals
*
*
*
*
;Symposia
*
**
**
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
* Oberling, "Gurān", Encyclopædia Iranica, at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/guran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorani (Ethnic Group)
Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Ethnic groups in Serbia
Ethnic groups in North Macedonia
Ethnoreligious groups in Europe
Slavic ethnic groups
Slavic highlanders
Islam in North Macedonia
South Slavs
Muslim communities in Europe
Kukës