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Mijaks

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Galičnik Wedding Festival.
Girls in Mijak dress.

Mijaks (Template:Lang-mk) are an ethnographic group of ethnic Macedonians who live in the Mijačija area (Dolna Reka), along the Radika river, in western Macedonia, numbering 30,000-60,000 people. The Mijaks practise predominantly animal husbandry, and are known for their ecclesiastical architecture, woodworking, icon painting, and other rich traditions, as well as their characteristic Galičnik dialect of the Macedonian language.

Settlements

Map of "Mijačija".
Mijak architecture.

The Mijaks have traditionally occupied the Mala Reka region along with the Torbeš, Slavic-speaking Muslims and another sub-group of Macedonians. The area including the Bistra mountain and Radika region has been termed Mijačija (Template:Lang-mk). To the east is the ethnographic region of the Brsjaks.

As recorded by Jovan Cvijić in 1906, the Mijaks inhabited the villages of Galičnik, Lazaropole, Tresonče, Selce, Rosoki, Sušica, Gari and Osoj, while they also inhabited villages by the Radika, around the Monastery of Jovan Bigorski, where there are scarce predominantly Christian-inhabited villages, such as Bituše, Gorno Kosovrasti, Gorno Melničane, while the rest has mixed Christian-Muslim population, such as Trebište, Radostuš, and others.[1]

However the majority of Mijak villages are uninhabited as the majority of the inhabitants left during the 20th century. Many villages in Mijačija are now uninhabited due to population shift towards the cities. Large Mijak concentrations can still be found in certain villages around Debar and Bitola. The villages Oreše, Paparadište and Melnica in the Tito Veles region were populated by Mijaci during Ottoman rule in Macedonia.[2] The village of Smilevo, in the Bitola region, is also considered to be a Mijak village, in regards to its architecture and history.[3] The north-western quarter of Kruševo was populated by Mijaks.[4]

History

Middle Ages–18th century

Their ethnonym is unclear.[5][full citation needed] A theory is that they derived the name from their way to say the first plural pronoun, mije, while their neighbours use nije.[6] There is a theory that the Mijaks were the first to permanently settle this area; they found natives, mostly Vlachs, who seem to have not been permanently settled; the Mijaks pushed the natives out of the pasture lands, some of whom they assimilated.[7]

The Brsjaks and Mijaks did not live geographically scattered prior to the Ottoman conquest.[8] With the fall of medieval Serbia, the Mijaks likely gathered in the Mala Reka region and continued to live as an autonomous tribe.[9] There is a tradition that the Mijaks, after participating at the Battle of Kosovo (1389), took the war flag and hid it at the village of Sušice, and that their commander, Damčul, fell at the battle; his village, now in ruins, Damčulice, is situated between Skudrinje and Prisojnica.[9] The Mijaks would fly the war flag (barjak) whenever needed.[9] There are claims that they supported the Sultan during Piccolomini's operation in 1689, having won at Vlainice; because of the victory, the Sultan acknowledged them the public use of the krstat barjak ("cross war flag").[9]

A proportion of Mijaks converted to Islam during the 16th and 17th centuries, and they are known by the name Torbeši.[10][11]

In the 18th century, the Mijaks had an armed conflict with the Islamized population regarding pasture lands.[12]

19th century

In the first half of the 19th century, a notable part of the population were Albanianized, and also, the Islamized population of Galicnik was re-Christianized in 1843.[5][full citation needed]

In 1822, an unpublished lexiographical work by Panajot Ginovski, "Mijački rečnik po našem govoru", was written, containing 20 000 words.[13]

After the Treaty of San Stefano (March 3, 1878), the Debar county, along with 11 other counties of Macedonia, sent deputies and appeals to Prince Milan of Serbia (r. 1868-1889), asking him to annex the region to Serbia.[14][full citation needed] This was made after the Principality of Bulgaria received most of the Macedonia region by the Ottoman Empire, and the earlier establishment and expansion of the Bulgarian Exarchate (February 28, 1870; in 1874, Skopje and Ohrid voted in favour of the Exarchate).

20th century

During the Ilinden uprising in Kruševo (August 2–3, 1903), a known Mijak involved was Veljo Pecan.[15] During the guerilla period, the Mijaks were divided into Serbs and Bulgarians; one Serbian vojvoda was Doksim Mihailović from Galičnik, while a Bulgarian vojvoda was Maksim N. Bogoja.[16]

Culture

Intricate Mijak woodcarving in Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery.

The Mijaks are well known for the extent to which old customs are preserved in their every day life. The pečalba (seasonal work) was a deeply entrenched tradition of the Mijaks; males in their 20s would often leave the village for months, or even years, at a time, in order to work in more prosperous regions and create wealth for the family — this has contributed to the dispersion of Mijak families, with villages now deserted or sparsely populated.

Mijaks had mastered the craft of woodcarving, and for many years a wood carving school operated in the Mala Reka region. They were responsible for the intricate wood carving which is found inside the Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery, which is considered to be the best in the Republic of Macedonia.

The Galičnik Wedding Festival (Галичка свадба) is the name of a traditional wedding and its characteristic ceremony, which is annually held on Petrovden (St. Peter feast day, 12 July), in which a couple is chosen to receive the wedding and be shown on national television. The Teškoto oro (lit. "the hard one"), a shepherd folk dance of the Mijaks, is one of the national dances of the Republic of Macedonia.

Some Mijaks believe that Skanderbeg, the Albanian military commander, hailed from Mijačija.[17][page needed]

According to the Serbian ethnographer Jovan Cvijić writing in 1922,[18] the older generation were familiar with the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and Tsar Lazar, and still held the Serbian feast days and sung the epic poetry regarding that time, but the songs were rarely sung as in earlier times, according to him because of Bulgarian pressure. The Mijaks were very familiar with Prince Marko, who according to them was "born in Legen-grad" (of which ruins exist above the Torbeš village of Prisojnica). From the same place, they said, a "Vojvoda Damjan" went and fought at Kosovo. Also, they had songs regarding the founding of the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos. Every family had the slava (служба, veneration of protecting family saint). The center of spiritual life was in the Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery, of which interior there was a very old memorial, describing its history, which spoke of the Nemanjić dynasty and the Serbian archbishops. Also, the external frescoes depicted Serbian rulers until the Battle of Kosovo, painted by a peasant from Lazaropole. The history of the monastery, and the Mijaks themselves, showed that they were always striving for independence. They constantly opposed the use of Greek as liturgical language in the churches, and when the Bulgarian Exarchate was imposed in the region, the Mijak monks maintained complete ecclesiastical freedom, and kept all old Serbian monuments of the St. John's monastery.[19]

Architecture

Mijak architecture has become a defining factor in the culture of the Mijaks. The Mijaks were among the most skilled masons[20] and they helped wealthy Aromanians develop Kruševo into a large, prosperous and beautiful city in the 18th century. Apart from some masons from the Kriva Palanka region, they were the most proficient in all Macedonia and the Balkans. The Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery is built in the Mijak style.

Language

Further information: Galičnik dialect and Reka dialect

The Mijaks traditionally speak the Galičnik dialect and Reka dialect. Typical characteristics of the "Mijački govor" (Template:Lang-mk), Mijak speech, include:

Mijak speech Standard Macedonian English Notes
žamija džamija mosque reduced use of the phenome "dž" to only "ž"
roka raka hand the Big Yus is pronounced as a "o" and not an "a" as in Standard Macedonian
tužda/tuža tugja foreign use of the phenome "ž" or "žd" in place of the standard Macedonian "gj"
trebuvad/trebit treba need use of the suffix "-t" or "-d" for third person singular
stavajed stavaat they place use of the suffix "-ajed" for third person singular
glagolj zbor word from Proto-Slavic *glagoliti ("to speak"); cf. Glagolitic alphabet

Their speech include peculiarities (in relation to standard Macedonian), such as ovde, onde, kode, koga, zašto, dojdi, etc.[21]

Etnography

Mijaks have been subject to ethnographic studies by Macedonian, Bulgarian and Serbian scholars. According to the 2002 census, in the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša there were 4,349 Macedonians (50.46%), 2,680 Turks (31,10%), 1,483 Albanians (17.21%), and smaller numbers of Bosniaks (0.36%), Roma (0.12%), Serbs (0.07%) and others (0.68%); In the Municipality of Debar there were a total of 19,542 inhabitants, of which 11,348 Albanians, 3,911 Macedonians, 2,684 Turks, 1,080 Roma, 22 Serbs, 3 Bosniaks, 2 Vlachs and 492 others.[22][verification needed]

  • Macedonian historians[who?] are still uncertain as to whether the Mijaks were initially Aromanian speaking.[citation needed]
  • Jovan Cvijić classified Mijaks into South Slavs, precisely the 'western Macedonian variety' of the 'central type'. His conclusion about the ethnic origin of Mijaks was that nomadic Aromanians mixed with native Slavs and later with Serbs who moved from Ottoman Albania to avoid process of Albanisation and Islamisation.[23] In views of historical consciousness, he noted that the Mijaks had preserved traces of Serbian history (folklore, art, slava).[19]
  • In their works from the beginning of the 20th century, Bulgarian ethnographers Vasil Kanchov and Dimitar Michev describe the local Mijak population as Bulgarian.[24][25]

Anthropology

Families
  • Kargovci
  • Kauriovci
  • Babalijovci
  • Boškovci
  • Guržovski
  • Gugulevci
  • Gulovci
  • Kuculovci
  • Kutrevci
  • Tortevci
  • Tulevci
  • Kačevci
  • Damkovci, slava of Petkovden,
  • Čalčevci
  • Čaparovci
  • Čudulovci
  • Cergovci
  • Cincarevci
  • Žantevci
  • Pulevci (sing. Pulevski), slava of Petkovden, inhabited Osoj, Selce, Rostuša
  • Ramnina and Stepanci, slava of Prečista,
  • Popovci
  • Frčkovci
  • Alautovci

Notable people

Part of a series on
Macedonians
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By region or country
 
Macedonia (region)
Diaspora
Subgroups and
related groups
Culture
Religion
Other topics
  • Vuča Žikić (fl. 1787–d. 1808), Serbian revolutionary, born in Mavrovo
  • Georgi Pulevski (1817–1895), writer and revolutionary, born in Galičnik
  • Parteniy Zografski (1818–1876), Bulgarian cleric, born in Galičnik
  • Golub Janić (1853–1918), Serbian politician, born in Mavrovo, family from Lazaropole
  • Avram Caljovski (1854–1943), Bulgarian industry tycoon, born in Galichnik, called the "Bulgarian Ford" by his contemporaries.
  • Dame Gruev (1871–1906), Bulgarian revolutionary, one of the founders of the IMRO, born in Smilevo
  • Voydan Pop Georgiev - Chernodrinski (1875–1951), Bulgarian playwright and dramatist, author of the "Macedonian bloody wedding".
  • Doksim Mihailović (1883–1912), Serbian Chetnik, born in Galičnik
  • Josif Mihajlović Jurukovski (1887–1941), mayor of Skopje, born in Tresonče
  • Toma Smiljanić-Bradina (1888–1969), Serbian ethnographer, philologist, dramatist and publicist, born in Tresonče
  • Kuzman Sotirović (1908–1990), Yugoslav footballer, born in Mavrovo
  • Aleksandar Sarievski (1922–2002), traditional singer, born in Galičnik
  • Čede Filipovski Dame (1923–1945), Yugoslav Communist, born in Nikiforovo

References

  1. ^ Jovan Cvijić (1966). Balkansko poluostrvo. p. 486. Мијачка група (западномакедонски варијетет) Група правих Мијака, који себе тако зову и које околно станов- ништво назива Мијацима, ограничена је поглавито на област Мале реке, леве Радикине притоке. Њихова су села Галичник, Лазаропоље, Тресонче, Селце, Росока, Сушица, Гаре и Осој, а има их још на Ра- дици, око манастира Јована Бигорског, где су ретка села чисто хриш- ћанска, као Битуша, Горње Косоврасти и Горње ...
  2. ^ THE MULTICULTURAL AND ETHNIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR VILLAGES IN THE VELES REGION - REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, Aneta SVETIEVA
  3. ^ 100 Years Ilinden Uprising - Smilevo, Monument of Culture
  4. ^ Brown, Keith (2003). The past in question: modern Macedonia and the uncertainties of nation. Princeton University Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-691-09995-2.
  5. ^ a b Bernath & Nehring 1988, p. 392.
  6. ^ Južna Srbija. Vol. 1–2. 1922. p. 51. Мијаци, прича се, зову се тако за то што су личиу заменпцу првог липа множине изговарали мије, док су је суседи изговарали није. Има крај око Преспе, где жпвё Естевци, јер умет»у у говор »ести«, а то »ести« се чује и код Дебра.
  7. ^ Georgi Stardelov (1996). Jazicite na počvata na Makedonija: prilozi za istražuvanjeto na istorijata na kulturata na počvata na Makedonija. Makedonska akademija na naukite i umetnostite. Како изглсда, у овоме крају Мијаци су први створнлн стална насеља. Затскли су староседеоцс. нарочито Куцовлахе. који изглсда нису имали сталннх нассл.а. Мијаци су староседсоце потиснулн са пашк>ака, а неке привукли к ...
  8. ^ Simpozijum seoski dani Sretena Vukosavljevića. Opštinska zajednica obrazovanja. 1974. p. 35. Сретен Вукосав- л>евић је посветио извесну пажњу старим познатим Брсјацима и Мијацима. Говорећи о њима, он истиче: Брсјаци и Мијаци нису били разбијени пре турског освајања.
  9. ^ a b c d Južna Srbija. Vol. 1–2. 1922. p. 52. После пропасти наше средњевековне Државе, Мијаци су се вероватно прикупили на данаипьем месту и продужили су живети као аутономно племе. Постоји преданье да су Мијаци, после Косова, завили барјак и са- крили га код села Сушице. На Косову им је погинуо иојвода Дамчула, чији се град налазио код данапиье ру- шевине »Дамчулице«, измеЬу Скудриша и Присојнице. Али су Мијаци свој барјак развијали кад год им је тре- бало. За време похода Пиколоминијева 1689. године, има изгледа да су учествовали код Влаинице и допринели су победи султановој. Зато им је султан допустио да у будуће јавно носе »крстат барјак«. И Мијаци су у тур- ско .време развијали за време свадби »крстат барјак«, а суседи су наврх барјака стављали јабуку. Имамо тачиих података у народу да су Мијацн живели племенски. Племеном су управљали »главари«, или ...
  10. ^ Reka.org.mk, Who are the Macedonian Muslims? (Кои се македонските муслимани?) Archived 2009-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Bernath & Nehring 1988, p. 417.
  12. ^ др Слободан Зечевић. Гласник Етнографског музеја у Београду књ. 30: Bulletin du Musée Ethnographique de Belgrade. Etnografski muzej u Beogradu. pp. 23–. GGKEY:U1JY3YFUSNS. У XVIII веку Мијаци су водили борбу са Турцима Помацима због пашњака. Тома Смиљанић је нашао у заоставштини свога оца два „уџета" из XVIII века у којима се помиње борба Мијака и Помака.
  13. ^ "Macedonian review, Vol 1–2", 1971, p. 307
  14. ^ T. R. Georgevitch (December 2009). Macedonia. Read Books Design. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-4446-7978-6.
  15. ^ Keith Brown, "The past in question: modern Macedonia and the uncertainties of nation" (2003), p. 82
  16. ^ Serbian ethnographic series. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. 1925. p. 37. За време четничке акције Мијаци су били подељени уз Србе и Бугаре. Српски војвода је био Доксим Михаиловић из Галичника, који је погинуо 10. октобра 1912. г. код Куманова. Бугарски војвода је био Максим Н. Богоја, који је ...
  17. ^ Петар Поповски (2005). Георгија Кастриот-Искендер: крал на Епир и Македонија и втор Александар Македонски : (660 години од раѓањето). Аз-Буки. ISBN 978-9989-151-28-6.
  18. ^ "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics", Ivo Banac, pp. 307-328, Cornell University Press, 1984.
  19. ^ a b "У погледу историске свести код њих има само трагова старе српске прошлости. Старији људи знају за косовску погибију и за „цара" Лазара и о „службама" (славама) још се певају песме којима се слави ово доба. Али сада, после јаке бугарске пропаганде, ређе их певају но у раније време. Мијаци врло много знају о Краљевићу Марку, за кога веле, да је родом „од Леген-град". Изнад торбешког села Присојнице има развалина од града. Мијаци причају, да је одатле војвода Дамјан отишао у бој на Косову. Имају и песме о зидању српског манастира Хилендара у Светој гори. Свака породица има славу („службу"). Средиште мијачког духовног живота је манастир Св. Јована Бигорског. Све што у њему има везано је у националном погледу за српску историју. У њему је врло стари поменик, ванредно лепо писан на пергаменту, чувен са своје израде, у коме је историја овог манастира; у њему се помињу само српски владаоци од лозе Немањића и српски архиепископи. Исто тако су на живопису на спољашњим манастирским зидовима насликани само српски владаоци до Косовске битке. Те је слике радио сељак зоограф из Лазаропоља. Уз то историја овог манастира, као и самих Мијака, показује, да су увек тежили за самосталношћу. Стално су се противили грчком језику у служби божјој. Кад се и њима хтела да наметне бугарска егзархија, њихови су калуђери умели одржати потпуну слободу према новој цркви и сачувати све српске старине којих је било у манастиру". Јован Цвијић, Балканско полуострво и Јужнословенске земље, Мијачка група (западномакедонски варијетет), Београд 1922, стр. 117. -. Вид. http://www.promacedonia.org/serb/cvijc/cvijic_balkansko_poluostrvo_2.pdf Балканско полуострво и Јужнословенске земље (2. део)].
  20. ^ Brown, Keith (2003). The past in question: modern Macedonia and the uncertainties of nation. Princeton University Press. p. 262. ISBN 0-691-09995-2.
  21. ^ Blaže Ristovski (1978). Dimitrija Čupovski (1878-1940) i Makedonskoto naučno-literaturno drugarstvo vo Petrograd: prilozi kon proučvanjeto na makedonsko-ruskite vrski i razvitokot na makedonskata nacionalna misla. Vol. 1. Kultura. p. 54. Жителите на селото се наречуваат Мијаци. Тие се разликуваат од Брсјаците, Курките, Торбешите, Улу- фите, Полјаните во Македонија. Нивниот јозик е отсебен7 Тие зборуваат вака: овде, онде, коде, кога, зашто, дојди; појди ...
  22. ^ Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002
  23. ^ Cvijić, Jovan (1922–1931), Balkansko poluostrvo i južnoslovenske zemlje : osnove antropogeografije (in Serbian), Zagreb: Hrvatski Štamparski Zavod, p. 118, OCLC 4697040, Мијачка група (западномакедонски варијетет)...Ови су се Аромуни стопили са неким старим словенским становништвом.... Стару словенску основу појачали су многобројни досељени Словени из Арбаније. То је вероватно српско средњевековно становништво које је због све тежих прилика за живот напуштало Арбанију и повлачило се на исток....Међу Мијацима има дакле много српских досељеника из Арбаније, на које ћемо такође наилазити и по другим областима. Пред процесом арбанашења и помухамедањивања они су делимичн напуштали Арбанију и повлачили се ка средишту Полуострва. Уопште су Мијаци, који сада представљају одређен тип, знатно друкчији од типова околног словенског становништва, постали мешавином старог словенског становништва са Србима који су се доселили с оне стране Црног Дрима и с Аромунима. {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |editorn-link=, |editorn=, |editorn-first=, |author-separator=, |coauthors=, and |editorn-last= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Kanchov, Vasil (1900), Македония. Етнография и статистика (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Българско книжовно дружествово, p. 32 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Brancoff, D.M. (1905), La Macedoine et sa Population Chretienne (in French), Paris: Plon-Nourrit, pp. 118–119, 184–185, ISBN 978-1141777464 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

Sources

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