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Arvanites (Shqiptaret in Albanian) are an Albanian minority in Greece and have been there since the 15th century.

Demographics and language

Arvanites are predominantly Albanian Orthodox in religious adherence. Their language, is a type of Tosk Albanian dialect, but has evolved separately over the course of the past five centuries and has been heavily influenced by the Greek language with which it has come into contact. The language is in decline, partly due to emigration from Arvanitic-speaking villages to the Greek-speaking cities and partly due to its non-recognition by the Greek state: it has no legal status and is not taught in public schools.

Like the rest of the Greek population, Arvanites have been emigrating from their villages to the cities and especially to the capital Athens, which, incidentally, was populated by many Arvanites in the early 19th century, before becoming the Greek state's capital.

According to Biris (1960), from 1350 AD to 1418, 81,200 Arvanites settled Greek lands. The current population of Greeks who have (or might have partially) Arvanitic ancestry, is estimated around 1,600,000 (1994), but only 30,000-140,000 Arvanites speak Arvanitika.

Arvanitic culture and history

The Arvanites, like the Vlachs in Greece, have gradually developed a Greek national consciousness and identify themselves as Greeks. Some have argued that Arvanites are descended from early inhabitants of Greece (Pelasgians). Although they are related to Albanians, there have been reports in recent years of clashes between Arvanitic communities and Albanian immigrants.

Origin and history of the name

We first learn of the ancestors of the modern Albanians in their native land as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna Comnena's account (Alexiad, IV) of the troubles in that region caused in the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081-1118) by the Normans.

The terms Arvanitika and Arvanitic derive from the word Arvanitai (Αρβανίται). The etymology according to Yannis Koulakis' dictionary (ISBN 960-239-135-9) is "Arvanitika adj. < Arvanitis -> theme Arvanit-ika".

According to a theory, the word "Arvanitika" is the corruption of the word "Albanian"; see also Albania: Origin and history of the name article about the "l/r" conversion (rhotacism).

Most Arvanites strongly dislike being called Albanians. Some Arvanites of the northwestern Greek region of Epirus traditionally also use the word Shqiptár (Σ̈κ̇ιπτάρ) to identify themselves, without claiming an Albanian national consciousness. The word Shqiptár is used as well in a few vilages of Thrace, where Arvanites migrated from the mountains of Pindos during the 19th century. On the other hand, this word is totally unknown among the main body of the Arvanites in southern Greece.

Trivial

• The singular form of Arvanites is Arvanitis
• Arvanitissa is the feminine of Arvanitis
  • In Chios there's a church called "Panagia Arvanitissa"
• Arvanites of Epirus named the north wind Arvanitis
• Ouzo Plomari, Isidoros Arvanitis, 1894 (Ούζο Πλωμαρίου, Ισιδώρου Αρβανίτου, 1894) (note: Plomari is a town of Lesvos)

Arvanitic songs

Although they are almost fully assimilated into Greek society, some distinct Arvanitic cultural characteristics are still identifiable.

There are 4 music CDs featuring Arvanitic songs although the lyrics are often in Greek. There are no mass media in Arvanitic language, although some local radio stations have occasionally broadcast Arvanitic songs. During the last decades there have been made some attempts to document Arvanitika songs, the most recent by Thanasis Moraitis.

Arvanitic songs share similarities with Arbereshe, Albanian and Greek Epirote music.

Studies and books for Arvanites

Kostas Biris

Biris was an ethnologist and an architect. His book "Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks" is a thorough study on Arvanites and it is the most refferenced souce by other scientists who studied Arvanites.

Aristeides Kollias

Kollias, a lawyer by profession, performed studies on Arvanites. In his book "Arvanites and the origin of the Greeks", Kollias extends the Pelasgian theory that identifies the Pelasgians with the Arvanites, and claims that modern day Albanians and Greeks, descend from the Arvanites. He doesn't accept the Indo-European theory and supports that Arvanitika is very close (if not identical) to the Homeric Greek. However his work on Arvanitic culture is generally accepted.

Thanasis Moraitis

Moraitis had worked with Kollias for some period and he did an extensive search on the Arvanitic music. In his book "Arvanitika Songs", he documents about 150 songs, analyses their musical structure, and also has texts by linguists and historians about Arvanitic history, culture and the Arvanitika language.

Famous Arvanites

• Greek War of Independence
  • Andreas Miaoulis, admiral and later politician
  • Markos Botsaris, leader of Souliotes, defender of Messolonghi
  • Laskarina Bouboulina, the only female member of Filiki Etaireia
  • Nikolaos Krieziotis, leader of the Greek Revolution in Evoia

• Presidents of Greece
  • Pavlos Kountouriotis, admiral and later politician
  • Theodoros Pangalos, general and briefly military dictator

• Prime Ministers of Greece
  • Kitsos Tzavelas
  • Georgios Kountouriotis
  • Antonios Kriezis, served in Greek navy during the revolution, later politician
  • Dimitrios Voulgaris
  • Athanasios Miaoulis
  • Diomidis Kiriakos
  • Theodoros Pangalos, general and later politician
  • Alexandros Korizis
  • Petros Voulgaris
  • Alexandros Diomidis

• Greek politicians
  • Theodoros Pangalos, former minister of Foreign Affairs, member of PASOK

• Artists
  • Nikos Engonopoulos, painter and poet
  • Konstantinos Biris, architect and author of books regarding city planning, Arvanites and folklore

See also

• Arvanitic language
  • Arvanitic alphabet
• Balkan peninsula
  • Greece
  • Albania

Refferences

External links

• Arvanitic League of Greece (in Greek only)
• Report on the Arvanites

Bibliography

• "Arvanites, the Dorians of modern Hellenism, history of Arvanites Greeks" ("Αρβανίτες, οι Δωριείς του νεότερου Ελληνισμού, η ιστορία των Ελλήνων Αρβανιτών"), Konstantinos Biris, 1st edition, 1960
  • (3rd edition, 1998: ISBN 9602040319 )
• "Anthology of Arvanitika songs of Greece", Thanasis Moraitis, 2002, ISBN 9608597676

• Ethnic groups of Europe
• Ethnic groups of Greece