Gorani people

Gorani

Regions with significant populations
Serbia and Montenegro (Kosovo), Albania, Macedonia
Languages
Gorani subdialect of the Serbian Torlakian dialect
Religion
Muslim
Related ethnic groups
other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs

Gorani or Goranci are a Slavic ethnic group living in Gora region, just south of Prizren in the territory of Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, north-western Macedonia in the Šar-planina region near Tetovo, as well as in north-eastern Albania.

Religion

The Gorani are Slavs by origin and Muslim by faith. They were Orthodox Slavs who converted to Islam in the late 18th century and even in the 19th century.

Language

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

In addition to speaking a local Serbian Torlakian dialect locally known as Goranski or Gorani, many also have an understanding of Albanian. They refer to their language as "našinski", meaning roughly "ours".

Politics

The rise of Albanian nationalism has had a negative effect on Gorani-Albanian relations. The 1980's saw the advent of a Gorani national revival, they officially broke away from the name of Muslims by nationality (as dictated by the Yugoslav government to describe primarily the Slavic Muslims in Bosnia). Some began Slavicizing their surnames (i.e. Ahmeti became Ahmetović) which they claimed had been Albanized during the Kosovo Communist Albanian rule in the 1970s and 1980s.

As a small and relatively isolated ethnic group, but located on a strategically important area, Gorani have often been a subject of appropriation by neighbouring nations and attempts to use them as a tool for promotion of others' interests. During Milošević's era in Serbia, they were claimed as Serbs of Muslim faith by the state-controlled media, and consequently used as a pawn in the Serb-Albanian conflict. They were "prided as being the sole guarantors of Serbia's southern flank". Nevertheless, Goranis' confectioneer shops in Serbia were often demolished during unrests because of similarity of their surnames with Albanian ones. On the basis of Slavic origins and Muslim faith, they were also claimed by some Bosniaks [1] [2]. On the basis of the language and proximity, they were also claimed as ethnic Macedonians [3] [4] [5]. In 2005, an alleged attempt to create a "Bulgarian national community" among Gorani is reported [6] [7], supposedly with the motive of getting a mentorship and passports of Bulgaria when it joins European Union.

These attempts were supported by some Gorani, for various motives; others bitterly refute that whoever sought Gorani support for their agenda have done nothing for the development of the people and the area, which is one of the most underdeveloped in the region.

Gorani diaspora

The Gora region is covered with rough terrain, its name even means 'The mountain' in Slavic and the name of its people 'The mountaineers'. The Gora is an underdeveloped region and for almost two centuries, its male inhabitants would go off to more distant regions in order to find work. Due to this, a true Gorani diaspora has come to life with many living in parts of Central Serbia (particularly Belgrade - 3,340), Vojvodina, Macedonia (particularly the Western parts), Italy and Turkey.

Population

Former Gora municipality in Kosovo, marked in blue

The Gorani population numbered some 16,000, in the Gora administrative division, according to the 1991 census. This figure grew to over 20,000 by the start of the Kosovo War in 1999. The Gorani became targets of the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Kosovo Protection Corps after the retreat of the Yugoslav Army and arrival of KFor in June 1999. As a result, Gorani leaders estimate that fewer than 10,000 are left in Gora. The UN administration in Kosovo, UNMIK, has redrawn internal boundaries in the province in such a way that a Gorani-majority municipality no longer exists. The Gora was combined with the neighbouring Albanian-populated region of Opolje (some 20,000 people) into a new subdivision named Dragaš, which now has an Albanian majority.

Culture

Gorani are traditionally known as good confectioners.

External links

• Project Rastko - Gora, E-library of culture and tradition of Gora and Gorani people
• Naša Gora
• A Travel among Goranis (in Bosnian)