The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

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, ...

native to or associated with the

Istrian Peninsula Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betw ...

. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

until 1875. However, due to several factors such as the

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...

and

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber ...

of Istria during the socialist regime of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, many Istro-Romanians

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

to other places, be they Croatian cities such as

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the ...

and

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

or places such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. The Istro-Romanians dwindled severely in number, being reduced to eight settlements on the Croatian side of Istria in which they do not represent the

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster Istro-Romanian language The Istro-Romanian language ( ruo, rumârește, vlășește) is a Balkan Romance language, spoken in a few villages and hamlets in the peninsula of Istria in Croatia, as well as in the diaspora of this people. It is sometimes abbreviated to I ...

and the now

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

geographically close Dalmatian are notable. In addition, they count several similarities with the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

n Romanians and Timok Vlachs, suggesting that the Istro-Romanians originate from the current areas west of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

or Serbia. Although it is not known exactly how and when, the Istro-Romanians settled in Istria, where they would remain for

centuries A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

until they began to assimilate. Even now, with several associations and projects that aim to preserve their culture and with the support of both Croatian and Romanian

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

s, the Istro-Romanians are not officially recognized as a

national minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

. Although it has become widely popular and is now used almost exclusively, the term "Istro-Romanian" is a somewhat controversial

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence f ...

invention, which is not used by them to identify themselves. The Istro-Romanians prefer to use names derived from their native

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s, which are

Jesenovik Jesenovik ( Istro-Romanian: ''Sucodru''; Italian: ''Iessenoviza'') is a small village in Istria, Croatia, in the municipality of Kršan. In 2011, the population of the village is 57. The village is inhabited mostly by Istro-Romanians. Descrip ...

, Kostrčani, Letaj, Nova Vas,

Šušnjevica Šušnjevica ( Istro-Romanian: ''Šušnjevice''; it, Susgneviza, Susgnevizza, and Valdarsa) is a small village in Istria County, Croatia, in the municipality of Kršan. In 2011, the population of the village was 69. The village is inhabited ...

, Zankovci, the Brdo area and the isolated

Žejane Žejane ( ruo, Jeiăn; it, Seiane) is a village in the eastern part of mountainous Ćićarija area in Istria, Croatia. Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Matulji in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. In 2011, the population of Žejan ...

. Others also use "

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...

", but to refer to the entire Istro-Romanian population, the names and are often employed. Their

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

is highly similar to Romanian, both being part of the

Balkan Romance languages Daco-Romance languages, also known as Balkan-Romance languages form the sub-branch of the Romance language family. Languages Daco-Romance comprises Romanian (or Daco-Romanian), Aromanian (or Macedo-Romanian), Megleno-Romanian and Istro-R ...

family alongside Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian, all descending from Proto-Romanian. However, Romania regards these ethnic groups as part of a "broad definition" of what a Romanian is, which is debatable and does not have a widely accepted view. The Istro-Romanian culture has

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

dances Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

with many similarities to those of Romania.

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

in Istro-Romanian is small, with the first

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical a ...

published in 1905. Historically, they were

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s and

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

s, with many of them being

poor Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

and without having received

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

until the 20th century. Today, the Istro-Romanian language has little use in education,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

, with Croatian imposing itself in these and other domains. They are so few that they have been described as "the smallest

ethnolinguistic group An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...

in Europe". It is thought that if their situation does not change, the Istro-Romanians will disappear in the following decades.

Names

Endonym

The term "Istro-Romanian" is commonly used among

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

s and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

s to identify this Balkan Romance people from the

. However, it is a relatively recent creation from the middle of the 19th century based on

geographic Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

rather than

criteria. This denomination was used for the first time by the Romanian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, play ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Gheorghe Asachi Gheorghe Asachi (, surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 – 12 November 1869) was a Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian, dramatist, engineer- border maker and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and p ...

(as ), and then by the Slovene

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Franz Miklosich Franz Miklosich (german: Franz Ritter von Miklosich, also known in Slovene as ; 20 November 1813 – 7 March 1891) was a Slovene philologist. Early life Miklosich was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town of Lj ...

, (as and ), from which the name of the

Istro-Romanian language The Istro-Romanian language ( ruo, rumârește, vlășește) is a Balkan Romance language, spoken in a few villages and hamlets in the peninsula of Istria in Croatia, as well as in the diaspora of this people. It is sometimes abbreviated to I ...

and its speakers would be generalized. Nowadays, it is almost exclusively employed, and highlights the similarity of this

with the Romanian one. However, the Istro-Romanians do not identify with this name, and the use of "Istro-Romanian" outside the context of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

can be controversial until a certain point. Some people use the more precise "Vlashki and Zheyanski language". To refer to themselves as a whole, the Istro-Romanians may use , derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. The similar is also used since the 17th century, but this

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

(internal name, used by the

in question) does not appear in documents until its reuse by the Istro-Romanian writer and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Andrei Glavina Andrei Glavina (30 November 1881 – 9 February 1925) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Istro-Romanian writer, professor and politician born in Šušnjevica. Known as the "Apostle of the Istro-Romanians", he is recognized for his struggle for the I ...

and the Romanian historian Constantin Diculescu and then by the Romanian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and professor Alexandru Leca Morariu in the 20th century. Due to the influence of Romanian researchers, Istro-Romanians also use the Croatian

word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...

, especially in contact with foreigners. Given the weakness of Istro-Romanian

national sentiment Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

, some elder people call themselves Romanians or Romanian-speaking

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

or even

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

(except in

) to differentiate themselves from the surrounding Croats. Many Istro-Romanians prefer to use a

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

derived from the name of their native

. For example, those from

use and or for their language, those from Nova Vas use and or for their language, those from Kostrčani use and those from the Brdo area use for their language. Generally, the Istro-Romanians from the villages south of the

Učka The Učka ([], it, Monte Maggiore) is a mountain range in western Croatia. It rises behind the Opatija riviera, on the eastern side of the Istrian peninsula. It forms a single morphological unit together with the Ćićarija range which stretch ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

also use the name (singular ) and or for their language, taken from the South Slavic word "

". In the other hand, in the northern village of Žejane, the only other one in which Istro-Romanian is spoken, or is used for the people and , or for the language. Croats also call them or , but the inhabitants of Žejane do not identify as Vlachs.

Exonym

The Istro-Romanians have been called in many ways by the peoples that lived alongside them or in their surroundings. One of the earliest

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...

s (external names) used for Istro-Romanians is Ćići, given by the Croats. It appears in Latin documents in the form of , in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

ones first in the form of and later as or , and in German ones as , , , , and . The term can originate from a word that Istro-Romanians used to refer to each other, , "uncle", from the Croatian and

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and K ...

s. It has also been suggested that it could come from the Italian word , derived from the

verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descri ...

. This means "insistent and confused (indistinct) talking", since

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

could not understand them. However, today this

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 used ...

(name given to an ethnic group, be it internal or external) is imprecise, because it also refers to the Croats and Slovenes of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Ćićarija Ćićarija ( sl, Čičarija; it, Cicceria, Monti della Vena; ruo, Cicearia; german: Tschitschen Boden), is a mountainous plateau in the northern and northeastern part of the Istria peninsula, long and wide. It mostly lies in Croatia, while its ...

. Another name used by the Croats was , considered by some authors to be "ridiculous". The more modern variant is believed to come from the Istro-Romanian words ("hold") and ("on" or "tight"). Since it is usually said as a joke, it may be offensive for some native speakers. Those of the

were often called by the local Croats as "Poljicans" (derived from the village of Poljica), commonly used negatively. Another name is "Vlach" (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, in Latin documents , in Croatian and Serbian ''vlahi'', later ''vlasi''), used for the Istro-Romanians (including those in Krk) since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, but it has different meanings depending on the persons that used or use it and depending on the epoch. The Byzantines used it for all the Romance-speaking peoples in the Balkans, but in Croatian and Serbian documents it designated

s of any ethnicity from the territories inhabited by

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, H ...

. Today, in Greek, the term also denotes 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 ...

and the

Megleno-Romanians The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites ( ruq, Miglinits), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs ( ruq, Vlaș), are a small Eastern Romance people, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis regi ...

, and in Serbian and Bulgarian, the Timok Vlachs. The term "

Morlach Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pas ...

" (in Greek , in Latin , in Croatian , in Italian ) was originally used for all the Western Vlachs, from which the Istro-Romanians may originate, but it also designated shepherds of other ethnicities, and is no longer used at present. More names have been used in the

academic community An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

for the Istro-Romanians. The erudite

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...

Antonio Covaz called them or , ''rimljani'' being the term used by Croatians and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

for

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

citizens.

History

Origins and arrival

The first mention of a Romance-speaking

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

in Istria during the Middle Ages dates back to 940 when the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe K ...

reported in his ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'' that there were Romance peoples which called themselves Romans although they did not come from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

Theories A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

about the Istro-Romanians descending from a Roman indigenous population in Istria were initially supported by Italian and some Romanian researchers. However, this point of view is now refuted due to the similarities of the Istro-Romanians with the Romanians from the west of

and the

Timok Valley The Timok Valley ( sr, Тимочка Крајина, Timočka Krajina; bg, Тимошко, Timoshko; ro, Valea Timocului) is a geographical region in east-central Serbia around the Timok River. The Timok Valley corresponds to parts of two Serbi ...

and the differences with the geographically close

Dalmatian language Dalmatian () or Dalmatic (; dlm, langa dalmata, link=no or simply ; it, lingua dalmatica, dalmatico; sh, dalmatski) was a Romance language that was spoken in the Dalmatia region of present-day Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Montene ...

(now

). There are now supporters of another idea referring only to the inhabitants of the village of Žejane, according to which they would have nothing to do with the Romanians, but with the descendants of the Proto-Croats, who could be of Indo-Iranian origin. However, two dominant theories are distinguished. According to the theory of the Romanian philologist and linguist

Ovid Densusianu Ovid Densusianu (; also known under his pen name Ervin; 29 December 1873, Făgăraș – 9 June 1938, Bucharest) was a Romanian poet, philologist, linguistics, linguist, folklorist, literary historian and critic, chief of a poetry school, universit ...

, the Istro-Romanians originate from the southwest of

and

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...

, and would have

from there between the years 1000 and 1400. He bases this theory on language traits, for example, the simple

intervocalic In phonetics and phonology, an intervocalic consonant is a consonant that occurs between two vowels. Intervocalic consonants are often associated with lenition, a phonetic process that causes consonants to weaken and eventually disappear entir ...

rhotacism Rhotacism () or rhotacization is a sound change that converts one consonant (usually a voiced alveolar consonant: , , , or ) to a rhotic consonant in a certain environment. The most common may be of to . When a dialect or member of a language fa ...

( sound change that converts one consonant into a "R-like" sound) of ( in the words of Latin origin, as in the

Țara Moților Țara Moților (german: Motzenland), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper basin of the Arieș and Crișul Alb River rivers. It covers parts of the ...

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

in Romania. In addition, there are Istro-Romanian popular stories about their arrival in Istria during the Middle Ages. According to local

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s, there were seven caravans that came from Transylvania and settled in Istria, six south of the Učka and one north of it. This theory is also embraced by other scholars like Vasile Frățilă. Other authors say that the Istro-Romanians migrated much earlier, in the second half of the

first millennium File:1st millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: Depiction of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity; The Colosseum, a landmark of the once-mighty Roman Empire; Kaaba, the Great Mosque of Mecca, the holiest site of Islam; Chess, a new ...

, before the start of the Hungarian influence on Romanian, since the Istro-Romanian language does not have these influences. Another theory, that of the Romanian linguist and philologist

Sextil Pușcariu Sextil Iosif Pușcariu (4 January 1877 – 5 May 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian linguist and philologist, also known for his involvement in administrative and party politics. A native of Brașov educated in France and Germany, he was ...

, claims a south

Danubian The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

origin for the Istro-Romanians, specifically in current Serbia, but with contact with the Romanians at the west of Romania. He places their separation from the other Balkan Romance peoples in the 13th century. With distinctions as to the exact location, Pușcariu's theory is also adopted by several scholars. There is also an intermediate theory belonging to Elena Scărlătoiu suggesting that the "great mass of Istro-Romanians" came from several nuclei in the center, west and northwest of Transylvania, as well as from the south of the Danube, namely, the area between the Timok Valley and

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 ...

. However, none of these

hypotheses A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous obser ...

is universally accepted by the

scientific community The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...

and therefore the question about the provenience of this people remains uncertain. Regardless of the place of origin, the Istro-Romanians are usually considered to be the last Balkan Romance people to break away from the others and migrate to the west, mainly becoming shepherds. Giuseppe Vassilich and Sextil Pușcariu consider that the old Istro-Romanians are attested in Byzantine documents under the name , literally "black Vlach". has been

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as , , , , or in Italian, , and in Croatian and Serbian, . Eventually, the use of "Vlach" in the different languages would also refer to Slavified Romanian shepherds, as well as shepherds in general, no matter of the ethnicity. The Istro-Romanians probably already arrived in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

as early as the 11th century considering that the names "Danulus" and "Negulus" found in documents of 1018 and 1070 respectively are most likely Romanian.

Late Middle Ages and further

During the following

, people of possible Istro-Romanian ethnicity in and around Istria will continue to be mentioned. In 1181, an

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of the

Patriarchate of Aquileia The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see in northeastern Italy, centred on the ancient city of Aquileia situated at the head of the Adriatic, on what is now the Italian seacoast. For many centuries it played an important part in histor ...

named Ermelinda reported the appearance of a person named Radul (considered a Romanian name by some) to whom lands have been attributed in what is now the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...

. In the 14th century, Vlach shepherds are attested near the

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

Trogir Trogir (; historically known as Traù (from Dalmatian, Venetian and Italian: ); la, Tragurium; Ancient Greek: Τραγύριον, ''Tragyrion'' or Τραγούριον, ''Tragourion'') is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in ...

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

and

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar se ...

, as well as in the islands of

Rab Rab �âːb( dlm, Arba, la, Arba, it, Arbe, german: Arbey) is an island in the northern Dalmatia region in Croatia, located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea. The island is long, has an area of and 9,328 inhabitants (2 ...

, Pag and Krk. But the first clear and definitive attestation of the Istro-Romanian presence in Istria dates back from 1321, when a country of Vlachs was mentioned in the region where they now live. In a document of 1329 referring to Buzet in Istria, the name of one Vlach appears; Pasculus Chichio, a name derived from the exonym "Ćići" used by Croatians for Istro-Romanians. It is known that during this century the Istro-Romanians used caravans to sell their

dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in t ...

s and transport other

goods In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tr ...

. In the Ragusan

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

, or (,

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, as it appears in a document from 1357) was of such importance that it was also used as a

payment method A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the ...

, and its

price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

was set by the authorities. They also traded with

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...

on the

Adriatic coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. In the 15th century, there were

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

s of devastating

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

in Istria, and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, ruler of the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

, favored the settlement of Morlachs, as well South Slavs who escaped from 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) ...

. Due to this, in 1449, Vlachs are mentioned in the Istrian

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

Buje Buje ( it, Buie) is a town situated in Istria, Croatia's westernmost peninsula. Buje was known as the "sentinel of Istria" for its hilltop site located inland from the Adriatic Sea. History Buje has a rich history; traces of life in the re ...

. The word ''cici'' first appeared as a proper ethnonym in a document of 1463. Based on names and other historical objects, it has been calculated that during this century, the Istro-Romanians formed about 15% of the Istrian population. In addition, the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

of the island of Krk since 1451, Ivan VII Frankopan, was in need of

manpower Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

. Therefore, during the second half of the 15th century, he started to settle the less populated or uninhabited parts, such as the western zone of the island, that is, in and around the areas of

Dubašnica Dubašnica ( it, Dubasnizza) was a village in the northwestern part of the island of Krk, now in Croatia, at the south of Malinska and near Poljica. It was first mentioned in the 15th century and became extinct in the 18th century as a result o ...

and Poljica and in the land between the castles of

Dobrinj Dobrinj is a village and municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia, on the island of Krk. There are 2,078 inhabitants in the municipality, with 91% Croats. Geography Dobrinj and the municipality of the same name ar ...

and

Omišalj Omišalj ( it, Castel Muschio; german: Moschau) is a coastal municipality in the north-west of the island of Krk in Croatia. The population of Omišalj itself is 1,868 (2011), while the municipality also includes the nearby village of Njivice, bri ...

. Most of the settlers were Vlachs and Morlachs, who came from the south of the

Velebit Velebit (; it, Alpi Bebie) is the largest, though not the highest, mountain range in Croatia. The range forms a part of the Dinaric Alps and is located along the Adriatic coast, separating it from Lika in the interior. Velebit begins in the nor ...

mountain range and around the

Dinara Dinara is a long mountain range in the Dinaric Alps, located on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. It has four major mountains or peaks, from north-west to south-east: * Ilica or Ujilica (1654 m) * Sinjal or Dinara (1831 m), ...

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

. The Croatian linguist and onomastics expert

Petar Skok Petar Skok (; 1 March 1881 – 3 February 1956) was a Croatian linguist and onomastics expert. History Skok was born to a Croatian family in the village of Jurkovo Selo, Žumberak. From 1892 to 1900 he attended the Higher Real Gymnasium in Rak ...

affirms that this people was composed of Romanian shepherds, as they preserved Romanian numbering until the 20th century. They crossed the

Velebit Channel The Velebit Channel ( hr, Velebitski kanal, or ; it, Canale della Morlacca or ) is a channel in Croatia located between the lands at the foot of the Velebit mountain range and the islands of Pag, Rab, Goli Otok, Prvić and Krk. It is about ...

, in Italian, , and settled in western Krk. Today, there are some

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

s such as Fȁreča (from Romanian ,

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

), Fintȉra (from Romanian ,

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were or ...

) and Sekara (from Romanian , ryn) left in Krk. It is also known that the current Croatian dialect of Krk has a few Istro-Romanian loans, like or (from Romanian , "spine", + the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry g ...

), a

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for the

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

Sonchus ''Sonchus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae and are commonly known as sow thistles (less commonly hare thistles or hare lettuces). Sowthistles are annual, biennial or perennial herbs, with or w ...

'' whose

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

have small spines. It is thought that some of these Vlachs and Morlachs continued their way to Istria, where they settled, but like the other theories, this cannot be confirmed. By the year 1523, the Istro-Romanians were already referred to as or by the Italian and Austrian chancelleries. Carsia, the former name of the region in which Žejane is located, was changed to ''Cicceria'' (now Ćićarija). In this century, they are spread almost everywhere inside the peninsula, especially in the areas of Žejane, Male Mune and Vele Mune, north of the Učka, as well as in Šušnjevica and other villages at the south of the mountain range, populating more than thirty settlements of varying sizes between 1510 and 1599. In a 1641 work about Istria, the scholar and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Cittanova (now Novigrad) Giacomo Filippo Tomasini mentions the name , claiming that "they have their own language, which is in many words similar to Latin". During the 16th century, some Croatian writers saw the Istrian Vlachs as part of the same ethnic group as the Romanians from Trajanic Dacia, and considered

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ...

as the "" ("Morlach Country"). Also, the Italian

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

Ireneo della Croce, in a work of

of 1698, mentions people who, instead of using a

Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

, speak a language composed of many Latin words that is similar to the Wallachian one. Later, he says that the call themselves in their own language as . This word reflects the

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

changes produced in the evolution from Latin to the Balkan Romance languages in general ( not accentuated > accentuated followed by +

vowel A vowel is a Syllable, syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in Vowel ...

> � represented in Italian as and one specific to Istro-Romanian: simple intervocalic > He also gave thirteen single

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...

s (like ,

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

, or ,

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulatin ...

), eight nouns with

determiner A determiner, also called determinative ( abbreviated ), is a word, phrase, or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and generally serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. That is, a determiner ...

s and two

sentences ''The Four Books of Sentences'' (''Libri Quattuor Sententiarum'') is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the 12th century. It is a systematic compilation of theology, written around 1150; it derives its name from the ''sententiae'' o ...

from their language with the Italian translation. This is the first attestation of the language apart from toponyms and person names, which had previously appeared in writings. It is assumed that during this time, the Istro-Romanians already extended to Trieste. The Istro-Romanians could be around 10,000 by these times.

Assimilation and Austro-Hungarian rule

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Istro-Romanian population would begin to fall under the assimilation of the local population, only preserving its identity and language in the most densely populated settlements such as Žejane and the villages south of the Učka. The only thing left of the smallest settlements in the Croatian and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n region of Ćićarija and the rest of Istria is the

toponomy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

of the places, which proves that at some point, the Istro-Romanians were more widespread. Examples are Bolovani, Catun, Carbune, Floričići, Murari and Vlahi. Unlike the other Romance peoples such as the Romanians or the Aromanians, the Istro-Romanians did not suffer a national renaissance, probably due to the small size of their population and the influence of assimilation factors. It would not be until the time of the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

when Romanians from the two

principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

( Wallachia and

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Cent ...

) "discovered" this population in Istria. This would start a period of interest among Romanians to study and contact the Istro-Romanians. During this period, the amount of their population is estimated at 6,000. Towards the end of the 19th century, Istria was part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise o ...

, of the

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (german: Österreichisches Küstenland, it, Litorale Austriaco, hr, Austrijsko primorje, sl, Avstrijsko primorje, hu, Osztrák Tengermellék) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. I ...

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

, and was inhabited by several ethnic groups, mainly Croats and Italians. The Istro-Romanians were not recognized as a

unlike other peoples. Actually, researchers of the time point the discrimination they suffer. The German linguist

Gustav Weigand Gustav Weigand (1 February 1860 – 8 July 1930), was a German linguist and specialist in Balkan languages, especially Romanian and Aromanian. He is known for his seminal contributions to the dialectology of the Romance languages of the Balkan ...

mentions that their schoolarization is very poor. Both Croats and Italians seek to assimilate them, and as a result, in the Istro-Romanian villages there are no

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

s in the Croatian or Italian languages, and even less in Istro-Romanian. Weigand's statement is partly contradicted by the fact that the Italians supported this demand, but they were less numerous than the Croats. Various authors mention that

church service A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sa ...

s were given in Latin and Croatian, with

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s striving to hinder the cultural development of the parishioners. It is estimated that between 1850 and 1859, there were 2,955 Istro-Romanians. Meanwhile, the Istro-Romanians of Krk had been suffering severe assimilation since long before and many of them abandoned their language. They disappeared completely in 1875 when Mate Bajčić Gašpović from Bajčići (near Poljica), the last person with knowledge of Istro-Romanian on the island, died. During this period, the Romanian media provoked activity in the area. In the

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...

of 27 October 1887, there was a request signed by many Istro-Romanians to establish a school teaching in the Romanian language. This was discussed in the

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( South ...

of 1888 in the Diet of Istria. The Croatian representative impugned the existence of the Istro-Romanians and tried to prove that they were Slavs. Although the subsequent proposals had the support of several Italian

deputies A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...

, the Croatian

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s despite the efforts of the priest of Šušnjevica. The Romanian

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

and

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

Teodor Burada found in 1896 that poverty was high among Istro-Romanians during this time:

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...

had fallen, zootechnics were neglected and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

was poorly productive. They started to cultivate

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s, but they were destroyed by the grape phylloxera bug. A way to increase their income through the work in the

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

was the cultivation of culinary sage, especially in Šušnjevica. The population of Istro-Romanians between 1880 and 1884 was composed by around 2,600 people.

Italian annexation and interwar period

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Istro-Romanian from Šušnjevica Andrei Glavina returned to Istria from

(where he studied at the

Alexandru Ioan Cuza University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University ( Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mi ...

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionall ...

) to awaken the identity of his people. This person is known for writing the first work entirely in Istro-Romanian in

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with Diculescu, (Calendar of the Romanians of Istria),

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

in 1905. During the first years of the century, he promoted campaigns in newspapers and tried to contact with deputies of Austria-Hungary, without success due to the Croatian pressure. Nevertheless, after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

, Istria was annexed to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

. Glavina made the same request again, which was accepted immediately. Glavina became leader of the school of Frascati-Susgnevizza (Šušnjevica), which was named (in Romanian, "

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (emp ...

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presid ...

") and became very popular, reaching 443 students at its peak. The

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

s were in Romanian and Italian, but the classes were taught in the local language. He also became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of the municipality of Valdarsa (an Italian name for Šušnjevica), a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

created to unify all the Istro-Romanian villages south of the Učka, with 2,301 inhabitants during its establishment. He improved the

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

conditions of the villages and worked on their

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

. Glavina died in 1925 from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

, which led to the closure of the school and its replacement by an Italian one. Due to his efforts for the preservation of the language and culture of the Istro-Romanians, Glavina is known as the "Apostle of the Istro-Romanians". Four years before his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, an Italian official census registered 1,644 ethnic Istro-Romanians in Istria. The municipality of Valdarsa continued to exist until 1947, Glavina being succeeded as mayor by Francesco Bellulovich, also from Šušnjevica. The interest and research on the part of Italian and Romanian

academics An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

continued. It is remarkable the work of Sextil Pușcariu, who published three

volumes Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The de ...

of his studies on the Istro-Romanians in 1906, 1926 and 1929, respectively. Leca Morariu published in 1928 the second

in Istro-Romanian, (To our brothers: book of the Romanians of Istria). In 1932, Italy completed the recovery of the Arsa River (now Raša River) basin, a

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

that dates back to 1771, previously proposed by the Republic of Venice and the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. This improved the

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

of the locals, but also caused certain

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, an ...

ist phenomena. There even was a project led by the Romanian academic

Sever Pop Sever may refer to: Places in Portugal * Sever (Santa Marta de Penaguião), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa Marta de Penaguião * , a civil parish in Moimenta da Beira Municipality * Sever do Vouga Municipality, a municipality in the ...

in which he would take two Istro-Romanian children (one from Šušnjevica and one from Žejane) to Romania to educate them there (as happened with Glavina), with the aim of opening new Romanian schools in both villages. In 1934, a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

was established connecting the municipality with Fiume (now

), and another one with Pisino (now

Pazin Pazin ( it, Pisino, german: Mitterburg) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,6 ...

) in 1941, thus reducing the isolation of the villages. The majority of the population was

, although there were also some

sailors A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

on the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

. The last mayor of Valdarsa was Guglielmo Barchiesi.

Second World War and postwar period

It is known that during

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Istro-Romanians did not support the Italian expansion over Croatia and

. Žejane was later occupied by German-

forces on 5 May 1944, burning a large number of

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

s and

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used f ...

s. There, a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

was established. In the Istro-Romanian villages, houses and especially churches were destroyed during the last phase of the Second World War by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

as a reprisal for the actions of the Partisans. However, Italy's defeat resulted in most of Istria being passed to the new socialist

. Between 1945 and 1956, the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus occurred in which around 250,000 Italians were expelled from Istria, Dalmatia and Fiume. In the Istrian inland, Italians suffered

mass killings Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members without ...

(known as

foibe massacres The foibe massacres (; ; ), or simply the foibe, refers to mass killings both during and after World War II, mainly committed by Yugoslav Partisans and OZNA in the then-Italian territories of Julian March ( Karst Region and Istria), Kvarner and ...

), property

confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

s and hard

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of e ...

. This greatly reduced the Romance-speaking population of Istria. After the establishment of the socialist regimes in

and Yugoslavia, the efforts, projects and support for the preservation of the Istro-Romanian culture were branded as

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

and were canceled. Immediately after the end of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, the villages and Istria in general began to depopulate quickly. This may be due to the

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studie ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

changes that came when it united with other Croatian-speaking lands and the Yugoslav socialist regime, as well as the

and

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

of the place. The young villagers started to prefer industrial and

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...

jobs, leaving the agricultural lifestyle of the villages. In addition,

interethnic marriage Interethnic marriage is a form of exogamy that involves a marriage between spouses who belong to different ethnic groups or races. Intra-racial interethnic marriage was historically not a taboo in the United States.Yen, Hope (2012-02-16)Interrac ...

became more common both for those who abandoned their hometowns and those who decided to stay. Regular and universal

and

in Croatian commenced to spread, and the Istro-Romanian language lost value. Barely 8 years after the Second World War, the villages had already lost more than a quarter of their population. Some Istro-Romanians also began to leave Istria completely and emigrate to other countries such as Australia, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, Canada, France and Italy (especially Trieste), a sizeable amount estimated to be composed by 500 people since 1945. Although weaker, interest in the Istro-Romanians continued after the war, now with Croats (like the linguist

August Kovačec August Kovačec (born 6 August 1938) is Croatian linguist and Romanicist. He was born in Donje Jesenje. He received a degree in Romance and Russian philology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in 1960, and a PhD in 1965. From 1960 to 1962, ...

) studying them as well. Not much else is known about the life of the Istro-Romanians during this time since they only appeared in mainly linguistic articles, with practically no

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. New ...

about them. In 1961, there were approximately 1,140 Istro-Romanians (understanding by people with Istro-Romanian

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

or able to speak their language) in Istria, and 1,250 in 1974.

Present

In 1991, Croatia declared

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

, inheriting most of Istria from Yugoslavia. In this year, there were 810 people self-declared as Istro-Romanians and 22 as Morlachs in Istria. After the fall of socialism, the press of Romania and other countries would begin to give more importance to the Istro-Romanian community. The Croatian authorities also started to show more interest in them, with the Croatian state itself promising to do everything possible to preserve this ethnic group. The Istro-Romanian culture would begin to suffer a "revival", with a great number of associations and projects being created. On 19 April 1994, the Cultural Association of the Istro-Romanians "Andrei Glavina" was created in Trieste with the purpose of saving and preserving the Istro-Romanians, with Emil Petru Rațiu as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. Another association, (In Istro-Romanian, "Union of the Istro-Romanians"), appeared in 1995. The first newspaper in Istro-Romanian, (in Istro-Romanian, "Letter to the Romanian brothers"), came out in 1996 and contains

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

(original or translated from Romanian), notes on their

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and ethnicity and news about the Aromanians and their life, among others. In 1997, the Congress of the Federal Union of European Nationalities adopted a

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual m ...

appealing Croatia to officially recognize the Istro-Romanians and the use of their language in education, media and

. The Istro-Romanian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...

, notably that of Canada and the United States, has also been putting its efforts to help the community in Istria. For example, the reparation and renovation of the

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

of the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Den ...

of Brdo, as well as the construction of a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

about the Istro-Romanian culture in Žejane, were carried out with its

funds Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...

. There are also several

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipe ...

s presenting the culture and history of the Istro-Romanians, notably Marisa Ciceran's (part of the diaspora), created in 1999. On 27 September 2007, the Ministry of Culture of Croatia gave to the Istro-Romanian language the status of "non-material cultural wealth" and registered it in the

Register of Cultural Goods of Croatia The Register of Cultural Goods of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Registar kulturnih dobara Republike Hrvatske) has been established in 1999. The Croatian Ministry of Culture is responsible for the administration of this public register, which has be ...

. In 2008, the Moldovan

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Vlad Cubreacov initiated a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

resolution presented in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

called "Istro-Romanians must be saved", in which he urges Croatia and Romania to give more

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fin ...

and

institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

al support. On 8 November 2016, the Šušnjevica school was reopened. The inauguration was attended by Constantin Mihail Grigorie, then

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

of Romania in Croatia, and the previous one, Cosmin Dinescu. Regional authorities of the

Istria County Istria County (; hr, Istarska županija; it, Regione istriana, "Istrian Region") is the westernmost county of Croatia which includes the biggest part of the Istrian peninsula ( out of , or 89%). Administrative centers in the county are Paz ...

also stayed there. This project cost 451,600 kunas (around 61,100

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens ...

s), of which Romania gave 100,000 kunas (around 13,550 euros). The school teaches in Istro-Romanian and has a museum, "The Paths of the Vlachs". It was estimated that in 2016, there were only 120 speakers of Istro-Romanian in their villages, 450 speakers elsewhere in Croatia and another 500 in the rest of the world. Therefore, the diaspora is larger than the native Istrian community. Currently, there is a website dedicated to the digital archiving of

photos A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Althoug ...

s, books, articles,

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s and

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

and

video recording Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

s regarding the Istro-Romanians and their life. It also includes a Croatian–Istro-Romanian

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, p ...

. The website is called "Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language", and is led by the Croatian linguist and professor Zvjezdana Vrzić. Romania officially supports the rights of the so-called "Romanians abroad", that is, all those who "assume a Romanian

cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultur ...

, people of Romanian origin and persons that belong to the Romanian linguistic and cultural vein, Romanians who live outside Romania, regardless how they are called". This

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to a ...

includes not only the Istro-Romanians, but also the Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Moldovans, Vlachs and many others; all seen as ethnic Romanians by the Romanian state. Based on this, in 2021, the Balkan Romanianness Day was approved as a holiday in the country for the allegedly ethnic Romanian peoples living south of the Danube. This includes the Aromanians, the Megleno-Romanians and the Istro-Romanians. It celebrates the establishment of the

Ullah Millet The Ullah Millet (or "Vlach Millet") was a separate millet (that is, a recognized ethno-religious and linguistic community) within the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Ottoman authorities for the Aromanians (also known as "Vlachs") in 19 ...

in the Ottoman Empire in 1905 every 10 May. Today, the Istro-Romanians are not officially recognized as a

in Croatia and are not protected under the

European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) is a European treaty (CETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe. However, the ...

. They are more exposed than ever to assimilation and are declining in number rapidly, with risks of disappearing completely in the following decades. The communities south of the Učka and Žejane have historically had very few contacts until the intervention of Romanian researchers, as they spoke Croatian at local fairs. Because of this, the feeling of ethnic and linguistic unity between both communities is weak. Currently, very few Istro-Romanians identify themselves as Romanian, and never with much enthusiasm. A large part of them affiliate with the

in which they live, that is, Istria. This not only happens in the Istro-Romanians; approximately 25,000 people in Istria declare to be Istrian before any other nationality, with this being known as Istrianism. Those Istro-Romanians who preferred to declare a national affiliation chose Croatian and a few Italian. Many Istro-Romanians think that the

Croatian Government The Government of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Hrvatske), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government ( hr, hrvatska Vlada), is the main executive branch of government ...

is not doing enough for the survival of their language and culture. They express a strong ethnic pride and their desire to pass their language to other

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and g ...

s, although those in the villages south of the Učka are more pessimistic about their future. There, the

language shift Language shift, also known as language transfer or language replacement or language assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community shifts to a different language, usually over an extended period of time. Often, languages that are perceiv ...

to Croatian is more advanced than in Žejane, but the inhabitants are more protectionist regarding their culture. In Žejane, some Istro-Romanians still speak in Istro-Romanian with their grandchildren, and express less awareness about their extinction. Nowadays, the biggest goal of the Istro-Romanians is the full recognition by Croatia as an ethnic minority and a wider use of their language in education, newspapers,

TV broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, all of this with the support of the Croatian Government.

Geographical distribution

The territory where the Istro-Romanians live was once covered with

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swin ...

s and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

s, ideal for

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals raised in an agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is som ...

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

production. Their extent was vast, being scattered throughout almost all of Istria and the western part of Krk and leaving a large number of toponyms. They even formed up to 15% of the Istrian population at one point. However, the forests would begin to disappear and the lakes were drained. The soil stopped allowing productive agriculture, increasing poverty in the zone. They began to lose their

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

occupations as shepherds and began to be exposed to assimilation, ending with the Istro-Romanian presence of Krk in 1875. Those in Ćićarija were also assimilated, just maintaining their culture on the Croatian side, in Žejane. Many Istro-Romanians emigrated to the big cities. All this caused a decrease in the number of Istro-Romanians, which have been reduced to only eight settlements today. Now, there are two identifiable groups of Istro-Romanians. The first is that of Žejane, an isolated village near the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

with Slovenia. The second is in the villages south of the Učka. These are Šušnjevica, Nova Vas and

, where the Istro-Romanians are more numerous, and Letaj, Kostrčani, Zankovci, the Brdo area (Brdo was a separate ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

that included Kostrčani, Zankovci and several hamlets) and the hamlets Miheli, Dražine, Draga and Jelavici (all part of the Brdo area) in smaller proportion. Of all of them, the one with the largest number of Istro-Romanian speakers is Nova Vas. Each of the Istro-Romanian villages has a name in its own language different from the official Croatian one. Thus, Žejane, Šušnjevica, Nova Vas, Jesenovik, Letaj, Kostrčani, Zankovci and Brdo become , , or , , , , and ( for the hamlet). Other regions such as Ćićarija or Istria are called and , respectively. According to the memory of some, Istro-Romanian was also spoken in Gradinje and Grobnik and the hamlets Dolišćina, Trkovci and Perasi until recently. All of these villages at the south of the Učka constituted the Italian municipality of Valdarsa. Detailed information of an unspecified date reports that, of the 134 inhabitants of Žejane, 53 (39%) can speak Istro-Romanian. In the southern villages, the Istro-Romanians make up a bit more than a quarter of the population, with approximately 75 (27%) speakers out of 276 in 2016. Therefore, there are about 120 Istro-Romanians living in their villages. Both communities, although now connected with roads, live in different Croatian administrative regions; the southern villages are located in the Istria County and Žejane, despite being geographically in Istria, is part of

Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje-Gorski Kotar County ( hr, Primorsko-goranska županija, ) is a county in western Croatia that includes the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding Northern Croatian Littoral, and the mountainous region of Gorski kotar. Its center is Rijeka. T ...

. However, the number of ethnic Istro-Romanians or people with Istro-Romanian ancestry in Istria could be as high as 1,500, even if they no longer speak the language and practice only some (or none) of their traditions. After the end of the Second World War, many Istro-Romanians abandoned their native villages. In fact, the population of the villages today are less than a fifth of what they were in 1945. Many of them moved to nearby cities and towns, such as Kršan,

Labin Labin ( Italian/ Istriot: Albona) is a town in Istria, west Croatia, with a town population of 5,806 (2021) and 10,424 in the greater municipality (which also includes the small towns of Rabac and Vinež, as well as a number of smaller villages). ...

Matulji Matulji ( it, Mattuglie) is a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia. It is located west of the city of Rijeka, north of the town of Opatija, and it borders Slovenia. Municipality There are a total of 11,246 inhabitants in the mu ...

Opatija Opatija (; it, Abbazia; german: Sankt Jakobi) is a town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic buildings re ...

, Pazin,

and Rijeka. It is estimated that a total of 450 Istro-Romanians live in Croatia outside their settlements. Others decided to emigrate to other parts of the world, especially to

and

. The Istro-Romanian community living outside Croatia is made up of around 500 people. It is estimated that the total of Istro-Romanians of Žejane who now live abroad is 195, four times larger than the population residing in Žejane. Although the exact number of the diaspora of the Istro-Romanians from the south of the Učka is unknown, it is probably higher than that of Žejane since the emigration there was more potent and the population itself of the villages together was bigger than that of Žejane.

Culture

Folklore

Dances and songs

Istro-Romanian

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

is characterized by the domination of

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

s and songs. Istro-Romanian

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

s tend to be somewhat austere, but accompanied by traditional

musical instruments A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

and

. In one of these dances, called , the peasants of the villages spend hours holding each other's

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...

s in a closed circle, giving steps without order and with jumps without cadence. Dancers often form an arch with their hands through which a human chain passes underneath. According to Leca Morariu, this dance is similar to those of

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...

(a part of which is in Romania). One of the favorite dances of the Istro-Romanians is the , initially with a circular shape and then developing in , that is, with high jumps. The dancers hold their hands and form a circle, slowly spinning all together under the

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

. Another dance is literally called "under the feet", in which a man and a woman or two of each dance together while hugging. Researchers who have studied Istro-Romanian dances have highlighted their

primitivism Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...

. Romanian researchers have showed great interest in the Istro-Romanian

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

, publishing them in several

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinati ...

s and works. That is why some of them have classified them into the following categories: songs, elegant songs,

satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

and diverse creations. Traian Cantemir, a Romanian researcher, published in 1935 ("Reasons for the disappearance of popular poetry of the Istro-Romanians") in the magazine , expressing concern regarding the future of their

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

. Most of the time, the verses of the poems were accompanied by a song, becoming

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

s for

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel ca ...

s. Some foreign non-native travelers reported that their songs were like "ancient poems" and that "a long exclamation or rather, a barbaric and prolonged cry precedes any verse". The Istro-Romanian traveler could casually find a partner with whom he had a musical dialogue, keeping both entertained and with whom they practiced

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. Another author who investigated in depth the Istro-Romanian songs was the Romanian writer Petru Iroaie, identifying their similarities with those of

Maramureș or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alo ...

and Bukovina and the main motifs of them. Italian and especially Croatian influence diminished the knowledge of these songs, being mostly maintained by the

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, songs with some Croatian influences gradually began to circulate in the villages. Today, some young Istro-Romanians have some distrust or even fear of giving voice to those songs. In the Istro-Romanian language, as in other ones, the song is related to social realities, whereby the main subjects dealt with work in the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love ...

, warfare and interethnic relations. Today, the Istro-Romanians cannot remember certain words of their language, and therefore some old

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

and verses can no longer be read. This has led Cantemir to define them as "fossils". However, some Istro-Romanian songs have managed to prevail until today. Among them are ("When askedyou"), ("I went around"), ("Do not dance, rabbit") and ("A nice girl"). The famous

folk group Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

Žejanski Zvončari (Žejane's Bell Ringers), founded by Mauro Doričić in 1997, advocates the preservation of the old carnivalesque Istro-Romanian traditions. It is made up of the zvončari (bell ringers), an exclusively male carnival dance group, and the "Kntaduri" (

singers Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

), an ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without Musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differ ...

'' singing group. The association has also published new songs mainly in the Istro-Romanian dialect of Žejane, such as ("You will be mine"), ("Carnival in Žejane") and even an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

, , in both Croatian and Istro-Romanian. On the day of the carnival, the zvončari ring their

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an intern ...

s from

morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strict ...

evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

, going from house to house and receiving food like

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

. At

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends on ...

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

es made with the food received from the houses are distributed. On the day of the carnival there are also , boys and girls between 10 and 20 years old with

harmonic A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the '' fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...

s and

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

s, who go from house to house dancing and telling

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...

s. One of the children has a

basket A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

for the

gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

s and the rest sticks to defend against

stranger A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity and character can be ascertained. Different classes of strangers have been identified f ...

s if necessary.

Costumes

Zejanski i halubajski zvoncari EM 300109

The inhabitants of Žejane wore unique

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

s that "scared" the nearby populations. These were put so that the back of the hat covered the

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

, so that they could steal to those who had

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

, for reasons that researchers have described as "well grounded". Another hat worn in Žejane was the , with several colored

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

s. The lower rope was made of

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

and the rest of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the co ...

. In the elderly, these ropes were dark, and in the

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...

, colorful and bright (dominating

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the RG ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

and

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

). The hats of the latter were decorated with peacock feathers and

flower bouquet A flower bouquet is a collection of flowers in a creative arrangement. Flower bouquets can be arranged for the decor of homes or public buildings, or may be handheld. Handheld bouquets are classified by several different popular shapes and style ...

s. These hats were similar to the ones worn between the Mureș and

Târnava The Târnava (full name in ro, Râul Târnava; hu, Küküllő; german: Kokel; tr, Kokul or Kokulu) is a river in Romania. It is formed by the confluence of the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in the town of Blaj. The Târnava flows into the ...

rivers in Transylvania. The

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

s of men had a tight

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...

with long, low and narrow

suspenders Suspenders (American English, Canadian English), or braces (British English, Australian English) are fabric or leather straps worn over the shoulders to hold up skirts or trousers. The straps may be elasticated, either entirely or only at attach ...

, as well as (traditional

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to ...

s, similar to those of the Romanians). On the shirt, they wore a

waistcoat A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit), or vest ( US and Canada), is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. ...

called . In

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

, they wore a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. T ...

called , and on the

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

they had a

scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...

called . During the 18th century, women wore a

headscarf A headscarf is a scarf covering most or all of the top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is cov ...

with their

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fin ...

braided. In the 19th century they used a . The white shirt reached to the

knees In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

and was covered by a colorful

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a garment traditionally worn by women or girls consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice (or a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment). It consists of a top piece that covers ...

called . They also had . According to Burada, their

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element c ...

s were covered by

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

s called and with

garter A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking f ...

s called . Today's Istro-Romanians have difficulty describing the

traditional costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indica ...

s of their ancestors and few know the names of each

clothes Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

. These traditional costumes are still preserved in Žejane, but only during the carnival or artistic events. However, the number of owners is very low, most of them being

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s or

grandparent Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

s, who pass them to the youth as a special symbol of the Istro-Romanian identity. Today's women's costumes are made up of a (red scarf), an (white shirt with an

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

at the base of the neck), a (black dress with a red

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mat ...

and sleeveless) and a (an

apron An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...

put on the dress). Under the dress there is a white and tight

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fi ...

, to give a special look to the costume. At the

waist The waist is the part of the abdomen between the rib cage and hips. On people with slim bodies, the waist is the narrowest part of the torso. ''Waistline'' refers to the horizontal line where the waist is narrowest, or to the general appear ...

, the dress is connected with the (the widest " belt") and the (the thinnest "belt"), both with different colors. The legs, covered with the , wear black as

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serves the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from ground textures and temperature. Footwear in the manner of shoes therefore primarily serves ...

. Now, men wear a shirt or a black

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

. The

pants Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

, which can be white or black, are called . On the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may not ...

they wear a black hat, and on the

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

, , like women. The costume of the zvončari consists of a typical sailor shirt with two (white

batiste Cambric or batiste, is a fine dense cloth. It is a lightweight plain-weave fabric, originally from the commune of Cambrai (in present-day northern France), woven greige (neither bleached nor dyed), then bleached, piece-dyed, and often ...

s). On the

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

is a

sheepskin Sheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin. Unlike common leather, sheepskin is tanned with the fleece intact, as in a pelt.Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictionary", 2nd ed., Macquarie Library, North Ryde, 1991 Uses ...

garment to which three large bells are attached. A is carried on the head, in which hundreds of colorful strips that extend to the person's back are connected. Above the strips, there are two

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

s that symbolize the

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

. The pants and footwear are not really different from those of the traditional costume.

Language

Istro-Romanians speak the Istro-Romanian language (sometimes abbreviated as IR), part of the Balkan Romance languages spoken exclusively natively in Istria, Croatia. They have been described as the smallest

in Europe. Their language is classified by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

as a "seriously endangered language" because of the small number of fluent speakers the language has, education in Istro-Romanian is limited and the language is not usually used in many domains and the majority of younger speakers are adults, among others. Vrzić's revitalization project fulfills some of these points, however. According to several mostly Romanian researchers, the Istro-Romanian language is one of the four traditional and historical

s of Romanian, alongside Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Daco-Romanian (linguistic name for the Romanian from Romania and its surroundings), all with a common ancestor, Proto-Romanian. However, Istro-Romanian can also be considered a language separated from Romanian by others, so there is no widely accepted view. Anyway, it is considered the

daughter language In historical linguistics, a daughter language, also known as descendant language, is a language descended from another language, its mother language, through a process of genetic descent. If more than one language has developed from the same ...

(descendant) of Daco-Romanian, both being closer to each other than Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian are. Nevertheless, Istro-Romanian is strongly influenced by Croatian, with it affecting its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

and with many linguistic loans, including

function word In linguistics, function words (also called functors) are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning and express grammatical relationships among other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker. ...

s. This has led some authors to describe it as a "

mixed language A mixed language is a language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. It differs from a creole or pidgin language in that, whereas creoles/pidgin ...

". The Istro-Romanian consists of two main variants, a northern one (in Žejane) and a southern one (in the villages south of the Učka). For example, for the oblique case, the variety of Žejane ("Zejanski") preserves synthetic marking, while the southern variety ("Vlaski") uses only

preposition Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in traditional grammar, simply prepositions), are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in'', ''under'', ''towards'', ''before'') or mark various ...

al marking, but neither of them marks the

accusative case The accusative case ( abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘th ...

(e.g. "I can see Lara" would be "poč vedę Lara", literally "can see Lara"). Another difference is that in Zejanski, generally

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors co ...

nouns of Slavic origin mark the

vocative case In grammar, the vocative case ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and num ...

with "-e", while those of Latin origin with "-(u)le". In Vlaski, some nouns are marked with "-e" and some "-u". But although Istro-Romanian has two main dialects, each village has its own speech, differing slightly among the southern villages. The dialect of Krk, called by Croatian researchers as ("Krko-Romanian"), has been little studied and knowledge of it is minimal. The only texts known are

Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

and The

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gos ...

. Even so, it is known that "Krko-Romanian" was an Istro-Romanian dialect as it had its characteristic rhotacism, as can be seen in Fintȉra and . There has never been a consensus on what

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...

should be used for the Istro-Romanian alphabet, so Croatian and Romanian researchers have been recording and transcribing texts using different systems, with Croatian, Romanian or mixed orthographic elements. Vrzić has proposed the idea of unifying the writing system, which has been implemented on her website and is based on Croatian

spelling Spelling is a set of conventions that regulate the way of using graphemes (writing system) to represent a language in its written form. In other words, spelling is the rendering of speech sound (phoneme) into writing (grapheme). Spelling is one ...

. These changes may vary, for example, the word "when", to (Croatian-based), (Romanian-based) and (mixed). However, Istro-Romanian is not the only language spoken by the Istro-Romanians. In fact, they represent a

diglossic In linguistics, diglossia () is a situation in which two dialects or languages are used (in fairly strict compartmentalization) by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety (labeled " ...

community (that is, they use more than one language), with no

monolingual Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...

speakers of Istro-Romanian remaining. They usually also use the

Chakavian dialect Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...

of Croatian and the elderly who attended to Italian schools, Italian or Istro-Venetian (the Istrian dialect of Venetian). Generally, the youth have no knowledge or understanding of the language, and prefer to use Croatian. Those Istro-Romanians who left the villages and migrated to the cities often use Croatian as the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

language. The diaspora does not usually have knowledge of the language, result of intermarriages. Therefore, it is estimated that currently around the world, the Istro-Romanian speakers are only 1,000. The following is an example of a text written in Istro-Romanian:

Houses and lifestyle

The Istro-Romanian houses are adapted to the simplicity of typical mountain homes. These are built in

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

, with double walls, one or two

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...

s and are covered with reed mace or burnt

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay parti ...

. Inside this "carp", there is a large

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are t ...

with a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

above where "a

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

that receives the

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produ ...

and takes it to the

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

" is placed. Near the chimney is the or , a long

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typica ...

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of ...

" or "pole" with which the

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

is moved or removed. In the center of the vault above the chimney there is usually a large

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

called where the (a

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in religion, mythology, and ...

) is attached. In it, water is boiled for

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...

and ''

polenta Polenta (, ) is a dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. The dish comes from Italy. It may be served as a hot porridge, or it may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried, or grilled. ...

'' ( mămăliga). According to Burada, plates and

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

were hung around the chimney. The "carp" that covers the house, bigger than the Romanian ones in Transylvania, serves as a refuge for people and also for

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

s such as chickens,

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s and sometimes, goats. To the left of the carp there is a

room In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, tha ...

without chimney, with the door with the other room always open in winter to warm it. In this room there are several objects that are used only at special moments of the life of the owners. There is a (

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

), (

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

s) and a (

closet A closet (especially in North American usage) is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. ''Fitted closets'' are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closet ...

), and on the boards over the

ceiling A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

, several portions of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

such as cheese, bacon and pork legs, where "they

very well, as if they were in the vault of the chimney". The

sheets A bed sheet is a rectangular piece of cloth used either singly or in a pair as bedding, which is larger in length and width than a mattress, and which is placed immediately above a mattress or bed, but below blankets and other bedding (such as ...

are of great importance among Istro-Romanian women. These can be in square stone Structural support, supports or in wooden beds. In these beds there can be sacks of straw or maize on which there were pillows at their ends, some of them stuffed with straw and maize as well and others with goose feathers or horsehair. With the exception of the shirts and headscarfs that cover women's heads, every textile products used at home are usually made of wool and worked at home. Those Istro-Romanians with social status or numerous families may have another room. Their houses have retained much of the architectural features of the past, and therefore have not changed much over time.

Literature and proverbs

Title page Calindaru lu rumeri din Istrie 1905

written in the Istro-Romanian language is scarce and quite recent. The first book written in this language, , was barely published in 1905. Its two authors were Glavina, an Istro-Romanian who always advocated the education of his people, and Diculescu. In this book, they gather words, proverbs and stories of the Istro-Romanians. Glavina would publish more works later, such as (The Romanians of Istria) and (The national education) in the early 1920s. However, these texts, although about the Istro-Romanians, are in the Italian language. After his death, his wife Fiorella Zagabria published , a posthumous work in which Glavina's last texts are collected. The "Istro-Romanian hymn", showed below, is located there. The second book in Istro-Romanian, , was published in 1928. Its author was a Romanian, Alexandru Leca Morariu, who made a trip to Istria in 1927 and another one in 1928 to study the Istro-Romanians. The first Istro-Romanian newspaper, , has been publishing cult literature, such as the poems of the brothers from Nova Vas Gabriela and Gabriel Vretenar of 1997. In 2011, the Istro-Romanian Antonio Dianich publishes , a dictionary for Italian and the Istro-Romanian dialect of Brdo. In 2016, the picture book (The Wolf and the Fox, The Story of The Fox and The Wolf) was published by a group of enthusiasts and researchers led by Vrzić. The Istro-Romanians had many proverbs in the past. Today, they know less than before. Some of the best known proverbs are ("there is no meat without bones"), ("you cannot serve God and the Devil at the same time"), ("the good Mill (grinding), mill can [even] grind Rock (geology), rocks"), ("even God avoids the drunk") and ("the world is made of stairs: some go up, others down").

Occupations

Traditionally and historically, the Istro-Romanians were shepherds, an occupation that would disappear with the centuries. They carried their sheep dressed in wool suits, a hat and with knots around the feet. They also had a walking stick Carving, carved with things of daily life that were sung to pass the time faster. The sheep were taken to pastures in which they would remain a month, time in which a small shepherd hut of wood was built. Inside it were sheepherding tools such as a cauldron for ''caș'' (a type of cheese), a kind of container of dry soil where food was eaten and spoons, the (a cup), where fresh was placed during a day, and the bucket with which the sheep were Milking, milked, among others. The process of making of the Istro-Romanians is the same as in Romania. Since the end of the 19th century, the economy and wealth of the Istro-Romanians has weakened severely. Their wine crops dried up, and agriculture is no longer as productive as before. They tried to replace the dried grapevines with American ones, which became increasingly difficult for them. Droughts are another problem. The situation in livestock is no different. They never practiced animal breeding much. According to a work published in 1992 by Romanian researchers Richard Sârbu and Vasile Frățilă, "the horses can't stand. In Šušnjevica there are only three horses. Among the birds there are only chickens. Sheepherding is weak. I have barely been able to find cheese for sale in Žejane. There are few sheep, and no goats". A characteristic of the inhabitants of Žejane was the production of charcoal, taking place in the mountains and then selling them in mostly Rijeka or Opatija. To produce it, once the wood (always beech) was collected, the Istro-Romanians stayed in a haystack called , two to three meters high and six to seven meters wide. Then, the wood was placed in the middle surrounded by straw and dry wood so that the fire could extend when it was lighted. Once produced, the charcoal was taken to the cities in order to market them. Specially practiced by men was cultivation in Šušnjevica of culinary sage, "undertaking a great business". Burada is, however, the only one to present this occupation. Many of them worked in other places outside the villages. Women, on the other hand, were generally Housewife, housewives, although they could also be , a kind of itinerant weavers. Other Istro-Romanians became miners or sailors. From the 20th century onwards, the Istro-Romanians' needs and occupations change due to the modernization of the society in which they live. Some chose to go to the cities and others stayed. Currently, the Istro-Romanians in Žejane are mainly engaged in agriculture and wood exploitation; very few continue with sheepherding. A good part of the men are workers in nearby cities. In the southern villages, agriculture is the largest source of income. There are still people cultivating grapevines in Brdo. Material conditions are relatively better in Žejane than in the southern villages, and therefore it has a better quality of life. The production of charcoal is no longer very active, and is generally practiced for tourists.

Religion

Croatia Porec Euphrasius Basilika BW 2014-10-08 10-44-45

The Istro-Romanians are Christians, being the only Balkan Romance people belonging to the Catholic Church. Historically, the Christian Church, church has been the largest point of exposure for the Istro-Romanians to Croatian assimilation. Currently, it does not support the Istro-Romanian cause, with all services being given in Croatian. This has been the case since the second half of the 19th century. In fact, it is recorded that Croatian priests attracted mayors and other persons through corruption to act as they liked, disfavoring the Istro-Romanians. Prior to this, the Austrian Empire allowed the ordination of priests among the Istro-Romanians (such as Micetici, born in Brdo), with sermons and Confession (religion), confessions being given in Istro-Romanian (the rest of liturgical services used Latin at the time). Nowadays, it has been proposed that the Catholic Church in Romania could delegate three or four Romanian-speaking priests to the villages. Examples of religious terms in Istro-Romanian are ("church"), ("Catholic"), ("God"), ("Jesus") and ("holy"), all of which are similar to the Romanian terms.

Notable figures

The following is a list of notable Istro-Romanians or people of Istro-Romanian descent. In parentheses is the place of origin of each person's Istro-Romanian roots, if known. *Alberto Cvecich (Nova Vas), priest. *Antonio Dianich (father from Šušnjevica, mother from Kostrčani), professor of Italian and Latin, author of an Italian–Istro-Romanian dictionary (from the dialect of Brdo). *Severino Dianich (father from Šušnjevica, mother from Kostrčani), priest and theologian. *

(Šušnjevica), politician, professor and one of the writers of the first book in Istro-Romanian. *Zvjezdana Vrzić (Zankovci), linguist and professor. Only partially Istro-Romanian.

Alleged

*Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Lutheran Protestant Reformers, reformer and theologian. According to Emil Petru Rațiu, president of the Andrei Glavina Cultural Association of the Istro-Romanians, Flacius could have had Istro-Romanian roots or been one himself. He based this on the fact that Labin (Flacius' hometown) had in the early 16th century (when Flacius was born) a notorious Istro-Romanian presence. Petru also claimed that the house in which Flacius was raised was on a place called the "Plain of the Vlachs" and that the surname of his father, Andrea Vlacich, could come from the word "Vlach", which would have subsequently been Latinized as "Flacius". *Nikola Tesla, inventor, engineer and futurist. It is claimed that he had Morlach Istro-Romanian origins, that he spoke the language, that his real name was "Nicolae Teslea" and that the initial name of his family was "Drăghici". However, they are not based on stated facts and an Istro-Romanian origin for Tesla seems very unlikely.

References

External links

Croatian–Istro-Romanian dictionary
''Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language''.
Istro-Romanian Community Worldwide
a comprehensive website presenting the Istro-Romanians and a subdivision of a broader website about Istria calle
Istria on the Internet
(''istrianet.org'')
Istro-Romanians in Croatia
another website regarding the Istro-Romanians and their culture {{Ethnic groups in Croatia Istro-Romanians, Eastern Romance people Ethnic groups in Croatia Romance peoples

Names

Endonym

Exonym

History

Origins and arrival

Late Middle Ages and further

Assimilation and Austro-Hungarian rule

Italian annexation and interwar period

Second World War and postwar period

Present

Geographical distribution

Culture

Folklore

Dances and songs

Costumes

Language

Houses and lifestyle

Literature and proverbs

Occupations

Religion

Notable figures

Alleged

See also

References

External links