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The Goran, or Gorani, are a Balkan ethnic group characterised by their adherence to Islam and by their dwelling in the border region between Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, and Kosovo. The region is generically referred to as Gora (meaning "mountain" in Slavic), now known as Gora-Dragaš. In turn, the people are called Gorani, meaning Mountain People or Highlanders.

The origin of the Goran is disputed. Many Gorani scholars believe the Goran are a pre-Slavic Balkan people who later mingled with the Slavic tribes who migrated to the Balkan peninsula in the 6th and 7th centuries. Others believe that the Goran are a Slavic people outright, with no distinguishing pre-Slavic traits to speak of (i.e. ethnic, linguistic, religious or otherwise). Although broadly referred to as Illyrians, the various tribes seem to have had a consistent language, customs, and by all accounts genetic origins. Others, including many Goran, consider themselves ancient inhabitants of the Balkans, and offer Turkish census documents and assorted family genealogies as evidence. Some historians theorize that mountainous regions such as Gora and Dragas, were often preferentially settled by these original Balkan inhabitants as they fought or fled (or as with the Goran, remained) from various 'barbarian raids' during late classical and early medieval times. Nevertheless, assimilation with the Slavs did occur, producing a symbiosis of cultural traits that is thus not surprisingly demonstrated by Goran today.

During the Ottoman occupation of Europe from the 15th century, most communities accepted Islam. This was especially so across Albania and parts of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia. The Kosovo region was initially a frontier region which offered European resistance to Turkish dominion, this mostly translating to the sustained efforts on the part of both Slavic and Albanian peoples with little foreign assistance. With the numerous battles, much of the Slavic Orthodox population either emigrated north or were killed by Turkish reprisals. Greater numbers of Albanians returned to lands they were previously driven from (during the Slavic sweep into the Balkans) and thus came to form a majority in the region. Occidental-derived assessments hold that many Balkan peoples accepted Islam in order to avoid the jizya, or poll tax (a modern comparison is the average sales tax paid on goods in most western countries) which would offer less discrimination, and the possibility of professional advancement in what was at that time the world's most powerful Empire. An often neglected point is that many Goran, like many Bosnians and Albanians, accepted the Islamic call to faith for purely spiritual considerations. After the defeat of the Turkish empire in WWI, most Gorani remain true to their Islamic beliefs, with a flourishing student exchange (to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for religious studies) and an increase in mosque construction in many villages.

The Gorani homeland comprises the following countries and districts:

Kosovo, just south of Prizren.

Republic of Macedonia: north-western Macedonia, especially the Šar Planina region near Tetovo.

Albania: north-eastern Albania, most notably in Borje, Shishtavec (or:Local Slavic: Шиштејец, Šištejec) in Kukës County.

Etymology

The word Gora, the name of the region in the south-west Balkans, translates as "the Mountains" or "the Highlands," and so the word the Gorantsi (Goranci, Cyrillic: Горанци) - more usually rendered as the Gorani in English, or sometimes as the Gorans - for the name of its people: "Mountain People" or "Highlanders."

History

The Gora is the region inhabited by the Goran, and also that which Slavic peoples and many Albanians (including Goran themselves) use to identify the native people (Goran). The region, Gora, is mentioned in 1348 at the edict of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, along with seven other Goran-populated villages that were subsumed by the Monastery of Saint Archangel at Prizren at that time. The area called Gora was subsequently overrun during the Slavic hordes that began en masse in the 6th-7th centuries, compounded by the related Bulgarian invasions of the Balkans - many of which extended deep into what is now southern Albania) which soon followed. These invasions, lasting hundreds of years, seem to explain the appropriation of the Slavic language by the Goran which allowed them to maintain their distinct culture and remain as stewards of their lands.

In 1455, Gora was conquered from the Serbian Despotate by the Ottoman Turks and became a part of the Beylerbeyluk of Rumelia, or specifically, the Sanjak of Prizren. The process of natural assimilation into Ottoman society henceforth began, mostly at the end of the 16th century. And following the trend of Balkan peoples, the conversion from Serbian Orthodoxy through the process of Islamization was rapid, with dozens of mosques springing up across the Gora region (many have had to be rebuilt, a result of the Serb invasions of the late 19th century, which destroyed many of the area's mosques, and also the oppressive conditions in Albania during Hoxha's regime). The Goran continue to maintain a religious hybridity of sorts - while steadfast Muslims, they observe a number of Christian traditions and holidays, blended in a manner quite common in Albanian culture (see Rose Wilder Lane, Edith Durham, and Miranda Vickers), with observance of certain Saint's days and their acknowledging of the Bogomil.

Because of Gora's highly isolated location in and around Albania's mountainous northern region, the difficult terrain aided the Goran in resisting first the Slavic and later the Ottoman invasions. Migrations to escape the Ottoman invasion did occur, as they did in Albania in the 14th century, when many Albanians fled to Italy, Egypt, Syria and the Ukraine. These migrations were repeated several centuries thenceforth when many Goran, hemmed in by both Yugoslav and Albanian authoritarian regimes, fled the region. Many surfaced in America, where a significant diaspora has emerged (primarily in California). Migrations from Gora during the Ottoman era resulted in two significant waves: the first towards Prizren and Sirinić, and the other towards Tetovo. The latter populated the Macedonian settlements of Dolno, Palčište and Tearce. Their descendants still populate that part of the Republic of Macedonia. Gorani colonists have migrated and populated on the eastern side of the Shar mountain the colonies of Urvič and Jelovjane.

In the First Balkan War in 1912 the Serbian Army seized Gora. A minor part of the Gorani population migrated to the Ottoman Empire as a result. In the 1916-1918 First World War the Gora was conquered by the Central Powers and assigned to a Greater Bulgaria. After 1918 they were integrated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The troubles during First World War, as well as the difficult period between 1919-20 were characterized by drought, causing famine and much poverty for the Gorans. This paradigm also incited migrations to Kosovo's larger city, Prizren and Tetovo in Macedonia. Disease and hunger in the post-communist era in Albania have caused a general downfall of the Gorani population, mostly due to in-migration out of villages for urban centers like Shkodra and Tirana.

By the decision of the League of Nations however, in 1925, the final border towards Albania was established. In it, over 15,000 Gorans remained in Albania's borders in their 9 villages: Borje, Zapod, Košarište, Novo Selo, Orgosta, Orešek, Pakiša, Crneljevo and Šištevac on demand of Fascist Italy, despite the local Gorani community's desire to remain together undivided.

In 1999 after the NATO bombing campaign on FRY, the UNMIK took over international administration of the Serbian province of Kosovo. Their own municipality was redrawn and Dragaš established, in which now Albanians are in majority. The Gora has received migrations of Albanians from Albania, and reports of killings and mistreatment of the Gorani by Albanian paramilitaries were subsequently recorded, though never verified. In 2007 the Kosovar provisional institutions opened a school in Gora to teach the Bosnian language, which sparked minor consternation amongst the Gorani population, added by the fact that the Principal declares as an Albanian. Many Gorans refuse to send their children to school for threats of assimilation and self-initially founded home schools for their young. In 1999 and over the years altogether, over 6,500 Gorans have fled to Serbia proper along with many Serb and Romani refugees.

Language

The Gorani spoken dialect is called "Nasinski","Goranski", which means "Ours" (Нашински). It is a blended linguistic form with ample signs of language attrition. Some influences noted in today's spoken Našinski include the Torlak dialectic, and even some Turkish, Arabic and Albanian etymological traces. According to the last 1991 Yugoslav census, 54.8% of the inhabitants of the Gora municipality said that they spoke the Gorani language. Some Goranian intellectuals and researchers define their language as Bulgarian. The first Nashinski-Albanian dictionary with 43,000 words and phrases was published in 2007. Some Goranis define their language as Macedonian, similar to the dialects spoken in Northwest Macedonia. In 2008 a Macedonian language newspaper, Гороцвет (Gorocvet) was started by the Goranci, highlighting the similarities between the two languages (Albanian and Našinski).

Population

The Gorani population numbered some 16,000, in the Gora administrative division, according to the 1991 census. Gorani leaders today estimate that fewer than 10,000 are left in Gora, where large in-migrations to Albania's capital, Tirana, have occurred. Most Goran state that the unstable situation and the economic issue drives them to leave Kosovo. There is also some mention of threats and discrimination. 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 neighboring Albanian-populated region of Opolje (some 20,000 people) into a new subdivision named Dragaš, which again has an Albanian majority.

The Gorani have a strong national patriotic feeling for themselves as Albanians, but after centuries of assimilation and various governmental regimes, they are divided among a minority who consider themselves Slavic, and the majority that promote a distinct Albanian-Gorani ethnic identity owing in the latter case to the previously noted historical contention on a shared Illyrian pedigree.

In Albania, the Goran occupy eleven villages centered around Shishtavec in the Kukës region.

Settlements

Below is a list of the traditional Gorani settlements in the Sar Planina region.

Bačka (Našinski: Бачка)

Borje (Našinski: Борје)

Brod (Našinski: Брод)

Cernalevë (Našinski: Црнолево)

Dikance (Našinski: Диканце)

Donja Rapča (Našinski: Доња Рапча)

Donji Krstac (Našinski: Доњи Крстац)

Dragaš (Našinski: Драгаш)

Globočica (Našinski: Глобочица)

Gornja Rapča (Našinski: Горња Рапча)

Gornji Krstac (Našinski: Горњи Крстац)

Jelovjane (Našinski: Јеловјане)

Kosharisht (Našinski: Кошариште)

Kruševo (Našinski: Крушево)

Kukaljane (Našinski: Кукаљане)

Leštane (Našinski: Лештане)

Ljubovište (Našinski: Љубовиште)

Mlike (Našinski: Млике)

Novosej (Našinski: Ново Село)

Orçikël (Našinski: Очикле)

Orčuša (Našinski: Орчуша)

Orgjost (Našinski: Оргоста)

Orshekë (Našinski: Орешек)

Pakisht (Našinski: Пакиште)

Radeša (Našinski: Радеша)

Restelica (Našinski: Рестелица)

Shishtavec (Našinski: Шиштејец)

Urvič (Našinski: Урвич)

Vranište (Našinski: Враништa)

Zapod (Našinski: Запод)

Zli Potok (Našinski: Зли Поток)

Gorani diaspora

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 (606), Republic of Macedonia (particularly the Western parts); Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Greece and Turkey; and following escape from communist Albania and socialist Yugoslavia in the late-1940s, the U.S. of America (particularly New York and Los Angeles).

Culture & Religion

Like many Balkan peoples prior to the invasion of the Romans and the forced conversions to Christianity, the existence of many pantheistic sects and worship of the sun god existed. Following the forced conversion to the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, which followed the schism in 1054, the Goran embraced Islam under the Ottoman Empire and remain today exclusive followers of the Islamic faith. However, the Goran still tangentially observe the Orthodox tradition, the slava, in specific Saint George's Day (Djurdjevdan).

Traditional Goran folk music includes a two-beat dance called "kolo" ('circle'), which is a circle dance focused on the foot movements: it always starts on the right foot and moves in an anti-clockwise direction. Kolo is usually accompanied by instrumental music made often with a Zurle or Kaval and Tapan or Davul, kolos are less frequently accompanied by singing as they are in neighboring ethnic groups such as the Albanians and Serbians.

Notable Gorani

• Fahrudin Jusufi, football player
• Miralem Sulejmani, football player
• Harun Hasani, academician

See also

• Torlaks

References

1. ^ Dokle, Nazif. Reçnik Goransko (Nashinski) - Albanski, Sofia 2007, Peçatnica Naukini akademiji "Prof. Marin Drinov", s. 5, 11, 19 (Nazif Dokle. Goranian (Nashinski) - Albanian Dictionary, Sofia 2007, Published by Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, p. 5, 11, 19)
3. Template:PDFlink, UNHCR Kosovo, June 2004

• Нексхат Ибрахими, Първи контакти на исляма с Балканските нации
• Хюсеин Мехмед. Помаците и торбешите в Мизия, Тракия и Македония., С., 2007.

External links

• Mp3Gora
• RadioGora
• Shishtavec
• Gora Cafe
• Website of Gorani people, self identifying as Bulgarian
• GORA-BROD
• Project Rastko - Gora, E-library of culture and tradition of Gora and Gorani people
• Gorani (Nasencite) Template:Bg icon
• A Travel among Goranis Template:Bs icon
• Gorani Fear Losing Identity, Adrian Kelmendi, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 21 February 2001
• The minorities within the minority, The Economist, 2 November 2006

Video clips

• Clip of the Gorani film Ofčarče
• Photo presentation with traditional Gorani music
• Another photo presentation of Gorani villages with traditional music PART I
• PART II "Setnja kroz goranske sela"
• Naša Gora — A beautiful photo presentation
• "Snimak iz Brodska Svadba 2007. Ekiba Onlinebrod prestava sa svoje snimci" — A Gorani wedding in Brod

v t e Ethnic groups in North Macedonia
Macedonians (1,297,981)
Officially recognised minorities	Albanians (509,083) Turks (77,959) Romani (53,879) Serbs (35,939) Bosniaks (17,018) Aromanians (9,695)
Other minority groups	Arabs (6,300) Balkan Egyptians (3,713) Croats (2,686) Montenegrins (2,003) Bulgarians (1,417) Megleno-Romanians (< 1,000) Greeks (422) Armenians (~ 300) Jews (~ 200) Portuguese (18)
Demographics of North Macedonia

v t e Ethnic groups in Kosovo
Albanians Bosniaks Circassians Croats Gorani Jews Montenegrins Roma (Ashkali & Egyptians) Serbs Turks

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from July 2008
• Ethnic groups in Kosovo
• Ethnic groups in the Republic of Macedonia
• Ethnic groups in Albania
• Muslim communities
• Slavs
• Islam in Europe
• Islam in the Republic of Macedonia
• Geography of Kosovo