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{{mergeto|Romanians of Serbia|discuss=Talk:Romanians of Serbia#Merge Vlachs of Serbia to this article|date=January 2012}}

{{Ethnic group {{Ethnic group
|group=Vlachs of Serbia
|group=Vlachs (Romanians) of Serbia<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=whIP49KZ6xIC&pg=PA68&dq=vlachs+of+serbia&hl=en&ei=QdxQTrCHO5HssgaLk-S-Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=vlachs%20of%20serbia&f=false</ref><br/>''Rumâni din Sârbie''<ref>http://www.vdss-petrovac.com/dokumenta.php</ref>
|image=] |image=]
|poptime=40.054 (census 2002)<br>200,000 (est.) |poptime=40.054 (census 2002)
|popplace=] ] |popplace=] ]
|langs=] (]) |rels=Predominantly '''† ]''' |langs=], ] |rels=Predominantly '''† ]'''
}} }}


The ''']''' of ] (]: ''Rumâni'', ]: Власи or ''Vlasi'') are an ethnic minority of ], culturally and linguistically related to ].<ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=whIP49KZ6xIC&pg=PA68&dq=vlachs+of+serbia&hl=en&ei=QdxQTrCHO5HssgaLk-S-Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=vlachs%20of%20serbia&f=false</ref><ref>http://www.vlasi.rs/index.php?page=1</ref><ref>http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?Link=/documents/workingdocs/doc08/edoc11528.htm</ref> The ''']''' of ] (]: ''Rumînji'' or ''Vlasi'') are an ethnic minority of ], linguistically related to ].<ref>http://www.vlasi.rs/index.php?page=1</ref>
Vlachs(Romanians) mostly live in eastern Serbia, mainly in ] region (roughly corresponding to ] and ] districts), but also in ] and ] districts. Also a small Vlach population exists in ] and ] (]), and in the municipalities of ] and ] (]), as well as in the ] in ]. Vlachs mostly live in Eastern Serbia, mainly in ] region (roughly corresponding to ] and ] districts), but also in ] and ] districts.


]
==Legal status==
]
], 1876.]]
]]] The name they identify with ''Rumâni din Sârbie'' in fact means Romanians from Serbia. Although they are ethnographically and linguistically related to the Romanians, within the Vlach community there are divergences on whether they belong or not to the Romanian nation and whether their minority should be amalgamated with the Romanian minority in Vojvodina.<ref name="coe">, at the ], 14 February 2008</ref>


==Origins and language==
In a ]n-] agreement from the November 4, 2002, the Yugoslav authorities agreed to recognize the Romanian identity of the Vlach population in Central Serbia,<ref>], November 6, 2002: ''Prin acordul privind minoritatile, semnat, luni, la Belgrad, de catre presedintii Ion Iliescu si Voislav Kostunita, statul iugoslav recunoaste dreptul apartenentei la minoritatea romaneasca din Iugoslavia al celor aproape 120.000 de vlahi (cifra neoficiala), care traiesc in Valea Timocului, in Serbia de Rasarit. Reprezentantii romanilor din Iugoslavia, profesori, ziaristi, scriitori, i-au multumit, ieri, la Pancevo, sefului statului pentru aceasta intelegere cu guvernul de la Belgrad. Acordul este considerat de importanta istorica pentru romanii din Valea Timocului, care, din timpul lui Iosip Broz Tito, traiesc fara drept la invatamant si viata religioasa in limba materna, practic nerecunoscuti ca etnie. "Nu vom face ca fostul regim, sa numim noi care sunt minoritatile nationale sau sa stergem cu guma alte minoritati", a spus, ieri, Rasim Ljajic, ministrul sarb pentru minoritati, la intalnirea de la Pancevo a presedintelui cu romanii din Iugoslavia. Deocamdata, statul iugoslav nu a recunoscut prin lege statutul vlahilor de pe Valea Timocului, insa de-acum va acorda acestora dreptul la optiunea etnica, va permite, in decembrie, constituirea Consiliului Reprezentantilor Romani si va participa in Comisia mixta romano-iugoslava la monitorizarea problemelor minoritatilor sarba si romana din cele doua state. In Iugoslavia traiesc cateva sute de mii de romani. Presedintele Ion Iliescu s-a angajat, ieri, pentru o politica mai activa privind romanii din afara granitelor: "Avem mari datorii fata de romanii care traiesc in afara granitelor. Autocritic vorbind, nu ne-am facut intotdeauna datoria. De dragul de a nu afecta relatiile noastre cu vecinii, am fost mai retinuti, mai prudenti in a sustine cauza romanilor din statele vecine. (...) Ungurii ne dau lectii din acest punct de vedere", a spus presedintele, precizand ca romanii trebuie sa-si apere cauza "pe baza de buna intelegere". ''</ref> but the agreement wasn't applied.<ref>: ''Chiar si acordul dintre presedintii Ion Iliescu si Voislav Kostunita, semnat la sfarsitul anului trecut, nu este respectat, in ceea ce priveste minoritatile, deoarece locuitorii din Valea Timocului, numiti vlahi, nu sunt recunoscuti ca minoritari, ci doar „grup etnic“.''</ref> In April 2005, 23 deputies from the ] protested against Serbia's treatment of this population.<ref>: ''Deeply concerned over the cultural situation of the so-called “Vlach” Romanians dwelling in 154 ethnic Romanian localities 48 localities of mixed ethnic make-up between the Danube, Timok and Morava Rivers who since 1833 have been unable to enjoy ethnic rights in schools and churches''</ref>
The term "''Vlach''" is the English transcription of the Serbian term used to describe this group (''Vlasi''). The Vlachs are autochtonous inhabitants of Serbia who speak Romance language with significant Slavic influence. The Vlach community consider ] as their home country.<ref name="vlasi.rs/index.php?page=2">http://www.vlasi.rs/index.php?page=2</ref> The ] is uncodified Eastern Romance language with significant Slavic influence. It consists of two distinct dialects.


As Romance-speakers, the Vlachs can relate to the Roman ruins (forts, roads, palaces, graves, baths, aqueducts, mines, half-buried cities etc.) that are scattered in NE Serbia,<ref></ref><ref>{{Sr icon}} </ref> as indeed they are throughout the entire Balkan Peninsula.
The ] postponed the ratification of the Serbia`s ] to the European Union until the legal status and minority right of the Romanian(Vlach) population in Serbia is solved.<ref>http://www.rgnpress.ro/categorii/politic/3587-biroul-permanenent-al-senatului-a-amanat-votul-privind-ratificarea-acordului-de-aderare-a-serbiei-la-ue-motivul-drepturile-romanilor-vlahilor-din-timoc.html</ref>


The Vlach region of NE Serbia was part of the 12th–14th century Second Bulgarian empire (also called Vlacho-Bulgarian), whose first rulers, the ], are sometimes considered Vlach<ref>, Robert Lee Wolff, The Second Bulgarian Empire: Its Origin and History to 1204, SpeculumVolume 24, Issue 2 , 1949.</ref>.. The chroniclers of the crusaders describe meeting with Vlachs in the 12th and 13th century in various parts of what is now Serbia.<ref name="zef">{{Hr icon}}Zef Mirdita, Vlasi u historiografiji, Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb 2004.</ref><ref name="mal">Noel Malcolm, Kosovo, ''A short History,'' University Press, NY, 1999.</ref> Serbian documents from the 13th and 14th century mention Vlachs, including Tsar Dushan's famous prohibition of intermarriage between Serbs and Vlachs.<ref name="zef"/><ref name="mal"/> 14th and 15th century Romanian (Valachian) rulers built churches in NE Serbia.<ref name="kanitz">{{De icon}} Felix Kanitz, ''Serbien,'' Leipzig, 1868.</ref> 15th century Turkish tax records (''defters'') list Vlachs in the region of Branicevo in NE Serbia, near the ancient Roman municipium and colonia of Viminacium.<ref>Noel Malcolm, ''Bosnia: A short History'', University Press, NY, 1994.</ref> The 16th–17th century warlord ] (Starina Novak), who served as Michael the Brave's general, was born in NE Serbia.<ref>{{Sr icon}} </ref> Thus the modern descendants of all these people can be held to originate south of the Danube.
Predrag Balašević, the president of the Vlach(Romanian) party of Serbia accused the government of assimilation by using the national Vlach(Romanian) organization against the interests of this minority in Serbia. <ref>http://www.pravda.rs/2011/05/30/vlasi-optuzuju-srbiju-za-asimilaciju/</ref>


Starting in the early 18th century NE Serbia was settled by new groups of Vlachs from Wallachia and Banat.<ref name="zef"/> These are the Ungurjani, Munćani and Bufani. Today about three quarters of the Vlach population speak the Ungurjan ]. In the 19th century other groups of Vlachs, originating in ], settled south of the Danube.<ref>{{Sr icon}} Kosta Jovanovic, ''Negotinska Krajina i Kljuc'', Belgrade, 1940</ref> These are the Carani, who form some 25% of the modern population. It should be noted that from the 15th through the 18th centuries large numbers of Serbs also migrated across the Danube, but in the opposite direction. Significant migration ended with the establishment of the kingdoms of Serbia and Romania, respectively, in the second half of the 19th century.
== Origins ==
{{Main|Vlachs|Origin of the Romanians}}
{{See also|History of Banat|History of Wallachia}}

The origins of the ], who live in northeastern Central Serbia, are not well known to most Vlachs, principally because the subject is forbidden to be taught in Serbian schools.<ref name="coe"/> As ]-speakers, the Vlachs have a connection to the ]. Following Roman withdrawal from the province of ] at the end of the 3rd century, the name of the Roman region was changed to ], and (later ]) spread over most of what is now called Serbia and Bulgaria, and an undetermined number of ] (]) were settled there.<ref>Alaric Watson, ''Aurelian and the Third Century,'' Routlege, 1999.</ref><ref>http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ukf-lEYl3FUC&pg=PR3&dq=Alaric+Watson,+Aurelian+and+the+Third+Century,+Routledge,+1999.&hl=en&ei=vDOVTs3eKeqK4gTBtqCYCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Roman%20withdrawal%20&f=false ''page 157''</ref> Strong Roman presence in the region persisted through the end of Justinian's reign in the 6th century.<ref>William Rosen, ''Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe,'' Viking Adult, 2007.</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}}

The region where Romanians, a.k.a. Vlachs predominantly live later on was part of the ], whose first rulers, the ], are considered Vlach.<ref>, Robert Lee Wolff, The Second Bulgarian Empire: Its Origin and History to 1204, SpeculumVolume 24, Issue 2 , 1949.</ref> King ] had most of Timok after his conquering of rival King ]'s lands. The chroniclers of the crusaders describe meeting Vlachs in the 12th and 13th century in various parts of modern Serbia.<ref name="zef">{{Hr icon}}Zef Mirdita, Vlasi u historiografiji, Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb 2004.</ref><ref name="mal">Noel Malcolm, Kosovo, ''A short History,'' University Press, NY, 1999.</ref> Serbian documents from the 13th and 14th century mention Vlachs, including Emperor ], in his prohibition of intermarriage between Serbs and Vlachs.<ref name="zef"/><ref name="mal"/> 14th and 15th century Romanian (Wallachian) rulers built churches in NE Serbia.<ref name="kanitz">{{De icon}} Felix Kanitz, ''Serbien,'' Leipzig, 1868.</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}} 15th century Turkish tax records (''defters'') list Vlachs in the region of Branicevo in NE Serbia, near the ancient Roman municipium and colonia of Viminacium.<ref>Noel Malcolm, ''Bosnia: A short History'', University Press, NY, 1994.</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2011}}

Starting in the early 18th century NE Serbia was settled by Romanians (then known by their international exonym as Vlachs) from ], parts of ], and ] (Lesser Walachia).<ref name="zef"/> These are the Ungureni (''Ungurjani''), Munteni (''Munćani'') and Bufeni (''Bufani''). Today about three quarters of the Vlach population speak the Ungurean ]. In the 19th century other groups of Romanians, originating in ] (Lesser Wallachia), also settled south of the Danube.<ref>{{Sr icon}} Kosta Jovanovic, ''Negotinska Krajina i Kljuc'', Belgrade, 1940</ref> These are the Ţărani (Carani), who form some 25% of the modern population. The very name Ţărani indicates their origin in ], i.e., "The Romanian Land," ] and Oltenia. It should be noted that from the 15th through the 18th centuries large numbers of Serbs also migrated across the Danube, but in the opposite direction, to both Banat and Ţara Româneasca. Significant migration ended with the establishment of the kingdoms of Serbia and Rumania, respectively, in the second half of the 19th century.

The lack of detailed census records and the linguistic effects of the Ungureni and Ţărani on the entire Vlach population make it difficult to determine what fraction of the present Vlachs can trace their origins directly to the ancient south-of-the-Danube Vlachs. The Vlachs of NE Serbia form a contiguous linguistic, cultural and historic group with the Vlachs in the region of Vidin in Bulgaria, as well as the Romanians of ] and ] (Lesser Wallachia).

Some authors consider that the majority of Vlachs/Romanians in ] are descendants of Romanians that migrated from Hungary in the 18th and 19th century.<ref>''Aspects of the Balkans: continuity and change. Contributions to the International Balkan Conference held at UCLA,'' October 23–28, 1969</ref>

== Language ==
{{Main|Official status of Romanian language in Vojvodina|Vlach language in Serbia}}
{{See also|Eastern Romance languages|Romanian language}}

The ] consists of two distinct ] spoken in the neighboring regions of Romania: one major group of Vlachs speaks the subdialect spoken in the ] in western ], while that of the other major group speaks a subdialect similar to the Romanian subdialect spoken in the neighboring region of ].

The ] is not in use in local administration, not even in places where more the members of the minority represent more than 15% of the population. (according to Serbian law, the use of the language in local administration is allowed in places where the minority has a percentage higher than 15%).<ref name="coe"/>
<gallery caption="The Romanian vocabulary in Central Serbia. Researches made by ]:" widths="100px" heights="100px" perrow="5">
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 67.JPG|The Romanian linguistic areal
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 65.JPG|The extension of the Banatian dialect in Central Serbia
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 09.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 10.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 11.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 12.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 13.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 14.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 15.JPG|
File:Sprachatlas Weigand 16.JPG|
</gallery>


==Religion== ==Religion==
Most Vlachs(Romanians) of Eastern Serbia are ] and they used to belong the ] since the 19th century until 24 March 2009 when Serbia recognized the authority of the ] in ] and the confessional rights of the Vlachs(Romanians).<ref>http://www.ziuadevest.ro/actualitate/5863-biserica-roman-din-timoc-a-fost-recunoscut-de-ctre-curtea-suprem-de-justiie-a-serbiei.html</ref> Most Vlachs of Serbia are ] and they belong to the ].


The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across Serbia. Like the ], the Vlachs celebrate the slava (praznik).
Previously, the 2006 Serbian law on religious organizations didn't recognize the ] as a traditional church, as it received permission from the Serbian Church to operate only within Vojvodina, but not in Timočka Krajina.<ref name="coe"/> At Malajnica, a "Vlach" priest belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church met deliberately raised administrative barriers in his attempt to build a church.<ref name="coe"/><ref>, ''BBC Romanian'', 16 September 2005</ref> Other Romanian Orthodox churches are planned or under construction in Jasikovo, Cuprija, Bigrenica and Samarinovac. Additionally, a Romanian Orthodox monastery is under construction in Malajnica. The Romanian Orthodox churches in Eastern Central Serbia are subordinated to the ''Protopresbyteriat Dacia Ripensis'' with its seat in ]. The protopresbyteriat is subordinated to the Romanian Orthodox diocese Dacia Felix with its seat in ].


The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across the nowadays Serbia. The Vlachs celebrate the Ospăț (hospitium, in Latin), called in Serbian praznic or slava, though its meaning is chtonic (related to the house and farmland) rather than familial. Other Balkan peoples, notably the ] adopted the Christian traditions of the Vlachs. The customs of the Vlachs (Romanians) are very similar to those from Southern Romania (]).<ref>http://www.ziarullumina.ro/articole;940;1;24534;0;Obiceiuri-de-inmormantare-la-romanii-din-Timoc.html</ref> The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across the nowadays Serbia.<ref>http://www.paundurlic.com/radovi/religija_vlaha.htm</ref><ref>http://www.paundurlic.com/radovi/magstat.htm</ref>


==Subgroups== ==Subgroups==
Vlachs are divided into many groups, each speaking their own variant: Vlachs are divided into many groups, each speaking their own variant:
* Carani
* the ] (''Serbian:'' Carani)
* Ungurjani
* the ] or Ungureani (''Serbian:'' Ungurjani)
* Munćani
** ] (''Serbian:'' Ungurjani-Munćani), meaning: "the ungureni from the mountains"
* ] * Bufani


Of these, the ''Ungurjani'' live in ], while the ''Carani'' ilve in the ], ] and ] regions. There has been considerable intermixing between the Ungurjani and Carani so that a dialect has evolved sharing peculiarities of both regions.
Of these, the ''Ungureni'' of ] are related to the Romanians of ] and ], since ''Ungureni'' (compare with the word "]") is a term used by the Romanians of ] to describe their kin who once lived in provinces formerly part of the ]. The connection is evident not only in vocabulary, but also in the similarities of dialectal phonology and folk music motifs, as well as in sayings such as "Ducă-se pe ]" (May the Mureş take him/it away), a reference to the Transylvanian river.

The ''Ţărani'' of the Bor, ] and ] regions are closer to ] (Lesser Walachia) in their speech and music. The Ţărani have the saying "Nu dau un leu pe el" (He's not worth even a ]). The reference to "leu" (lion) as currency most likely goes back to the 17th century when the Dutch-issued daalder (leeuwendaalder) bearing the image of a lion was in circulation in the Romanian principalities and elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire whose own currency was habitually being debased by the government. In the Romanian principalities, as well as in Bulgaria, the leeuwendaalder (in Romanian and Bulgarian leu and lev, respectively) came to symbolize a strong currency. Indeed on gaining independence in the 19th century both countries adopted this name for their new currencies. Since newly independent Serbia named its currency (the dinar) after the Roman denarius, the reference to the leu among the Ţărani is an indication of their connection to, if not origin in, what is now Romania.

There has been considerable intermixing between the Ungureni and Ţărani so that a dialect has evolved sharing peculiarities of both regions.


The Bufani are immigrants from ] (Oltenia). The Bufani are immigrants from ] (Oltenia).


There is also a population of vlachophone (Vlach speaking) ] centered around the village of ], as well as a few ] families who live in ], but both of them form a tiny migrant groups. There is also a population of vlachophone (Vlach speaking) ] centered around the village of ], as well as a few ] families who live in ], but both of them form a tiny migrant groups.

]]]
], by ].]]
]

]’s prohibition<ref></ref> of a land-bound serf (i.e., Serb man) from marrying a then Vlach (today Romanian) woman testifies to the desire of the agriculturalists to ease their oppression by returning to the relatively freer life led by the Vlachs (Romanian).


==Population== ==Population==
In the 2002 census 40,054 people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs, and 54,818 people declared themselves speakers of the ].<ref name="popis2002">{{Sr icon}} {{PDFlink||477&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 488946 bytes -->}}, p. 2 and {{PDFlink||441&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 452227 bytes -->}}, p. 12</ref> The Vlachs of Serbia are recognized as a minority, like the ], which number 34,576 according to the 2002 census. On the census, the Vlachs declared themselves either as Serbs, Vlachs or Romanians. Therefore, the "real" number of the people of Vlach origin could be much greater than the number of recorded Vlachs, both due to mixed marriages with Serbs and also Serbian national feeling among some Vlachs. In the 2002 census 40,054 people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs, and 54,818 people declared themselves speakers of the ].<ref name="popis2002">{{Sr icon}} {{PDFlink||477&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 488946 bytes -->}}, p. 2 and {{PDFlink||441&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 452227 bytes -->}}, p. 12</ref> The Vlachs of Serbia are recognized as a ethnic group of Serbia. The Vlach population of Central Serbia is concentrated mostly in the region limited by ] (west), ] (north) and ] (south-east). See also: ].

===Historical population===
The following numbers reflect on the possible number of Vlachs in the ]es:
*1816: 97,215 Romanians (10% of Serbia's population.)<ref>{{Ro icon}} V. Arion; ]; G. Vâlsan; ]; G. Bogdan-Duică. ''România şi popoarele balcanice'' (1913). Tipografia Românească. Bucureşti, p. 22</ref>
*1856: 104,343 Romanians<ref>Guillaume Lejean, Ethnographie de la Turquie d'Europe, Gotha. Justus Perthes 1861</ref>
*1859: 122,593 Romanians
*1866: 127,545 Romanians (10,5% of Serbia's population)<ref>: ''1866 zählte man 1.058.189 Serben, 127.545 Rumänen, 24.607 Zigeuner, 2589 Deutsche und 3256 andere.''</ref>
*1884: 149,713 Romanians
*1890: 143,684 Romanians
*1895: 159,000 Romanians (6,4% of Serbia's population)<ref>: ''Fast die ganze Bevölkerung, über 2 Mill, besteht aus Serben, außerdem gab es, nach der Zählung von 1895, 159.000 Rumänen und 46.000 Zigeuner''</ref>
*1921: 159,549 Romanians/Cincars by mother tongue in Serbia (Vojvodina is not included)
*1931: 57,000 Romanians-Vlachs by mother tongue were recorded in Eastern Serbia (52,635 in the ] and the rest in southern parts of ], south of the ]).
*1953: 198,793 Vlach-speakers in central Serbia (169,670 declared as Serbs, 29,000 as Vlachs) {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}
*1961: 1,330 Vlachs
*1981: 135,000 people declared ] as their mother language (population figure given for the ])<ref>{{Sr icon}} Ranko Bugarski, Jezici, Beograd, 1996.</ref>
*1991: 71,536 Vlach-speakers in Serbia (of those 53,721 Serbs, 16,539 Vlachs; out of the 17,807 declared Vlachs, 677 Serbo-Croat-speakers) {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}
*2002: 40,054 declared Vlachs, 54,818 people declared Vlach as their mother language (population figures given for entire ]) or 39,953 declared Vlachs, 54,726 people declared Vlach as their mother language (population figures given for ] only)<ref name="popis2002"/>

The Vlach (Romanian) population of Central Serbia is concentrated mostly in the region limited by ] (west), ] (north) and ] (south-east). See also: ].

By some Romanian and Western European organizations, in eastern Serbia live around 250,000 - 400,000<ref></ref><ref></ref> people of Romanian(vlach) origin.

== Identity ==
{{Main|Vlachs}}
The term "''Vlach''" is the English transcription of the Serbian term used to describe this group (''Vlasi''), while "''Roumanians''" or "''Romanians''" is the English transcription of its Romanian counterpart (''român/rumân'').<ref></ref><ref>: "We all know that we call ourselves in Romanian ''Romanians'' and in Serbian ''Vlachs''."</ref>

Despite their recognition as a separate ethnic group by the Serbian government, Vlachs are cognate to Romanians in the cultural and linguistic sense. Some Romanians, as well as international linguists and anthropologists, consider Serbia's Vlachs to be a subgroup of Romanians. Additionally, the Movement of Romanians-Vlachs in Serbia, which represents some Vlachs, has called for the recognition of the Vlachs as a Romanian national minority, giving them similar rights to the ]. However, on the last census results most Vlachs (Romanians) of Eastern Serbia opted rather for the Serbian ] ''vlasi'' (=Vlachs) than ''rumuni'' (=Romanians).<ref name="popis2002"/> As a result of ], most Vlachs declare themselves as "Serbs" on the census during ], though the number of those who preferred to declare Vlachs or Romanians strongly increased from 1991 (16,539 declared ''vlasi'' and 42 declared ''rumuni'') to 2001 (39,953 declared ''vlasi'' and 4,157 declared ''rumuni'')

Romania has given modest financial support to the Vlachs for the preservation of their culture and language, since at present the Vlachs' language is not recognized officially in any localities where they form a majority, there is no education in their mother tongue and there is no media or education funded by the Serbian state. Also there are no church services in Vlach. Until very recently in the regions populated by Vlachs the official policy of the Serbian Orthodox church opposed the giving of non-Serbian baptismal names.

Family names of Vlachs either are or sound Serbian because from the late 19th century up to the 1918 there was an edict that all citizens of ] should have last names ending in -ić, the base of the name usually coming from the then father's name: '''Nikol'''ić, '''Marko'''vić, '''Radu'''lović. There are a few notable exceptions where the ] origin is evident, as in '''Jepuro'''vić (from iepure, meaning rabbit), '''Flor'''ić (from floare, meaning flower) or '''Stangači'''lović (from stângaci, meaning left-handed).

On the other hand, some Vlachs consider themselves to be simply ] that speak the '']''.{{cn|date=January 2012}}


Vlach identity is often twofold. Some Vlachs consider themselves to be simply ] that speak the Vlach language. In fact ethnic research has found that among the Serb-speaking population of Eastern Serbia, some are slavicized Vlachs and some Vlach-speakers were formerly Slavs (such as in the village of ] near Zaječar and the village of Slatina near Bor, where Serbs had been assimilated as Vlachs for centuries) or even Roma (such as in Lukovo).
] is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all Latin peoples in ] (] proper or Daco-Romanians, ], ], ]). After the foundation of the Romanian state in the 19th century, the Romanians living in the ] and in ] have only seldom been called "Vlachs" by the foreigners, while the use of the exonym "Romanians" was encouraged even by officials and the Romanian population ceased to use the exonym "Vlach" for their own designation. Only in the ] and ], where the officials didn't encourage the population to use the modern exonym "Romanian", the old designation "Vlach" was kept, but the term "Romanian" was used in statistical reports (but only up to the ], when they changed even here the designation "Romanian" into "Vlach").<ref> Serbian/Romanian. The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia. The Vlachs/Romanians or the Romanians of Eastern Serbia and the "Vlach/Romanian question". ] 2000/2001/2002.</ref> From this reason, the Romanians of Vojvodina (hence those who lived in Austria-Hungary), prefer to use today the modern exonym "Romanian", while those of Central Serbia still use the ancient exonym "Vlach". However, both groups use the ] "Romanians", calling their language "Romanian" (''română'' or ''rumână'').<ref>Website of the </ref><ref></ref>


] is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all romanized peoples in ]: (] proper or Dacoromans, ], ], ]).
In some notes of the government of Serbia, officials recognise that "''certainly members of this population have similar characteristics with Romanians, and the language and folklore ride to their Romanian origin''". The representatives of the Vlach minority sustain their Romanian origin.<ref></ref>


== Notable Vlachs == == Notable Vlachs ==


* ] (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола П. Пашић, at the time also spelled Pashitch or Pachitch), (1845–1926). Pašić was born in the eastern Serbian town of Zaječar in a Vlach (but ]) family. Mayor of Belgrade (1890–91 and 1897) several times prime minister of Serbia (1891–92, 1904–05, 1906–08, 1909–11, 1912–18) and prime minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (future Yugoslavia, 1918, 1921–24, 1924–26) he was an important politician in the Balkans, who, together with his counterparts like Eleftherios Venizelos in Greece or Ionel Brătianu in Romania, managed to strengthen their small, national states against strong foreign influences, most notably those of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia. Fellow politicians nicknamed him "The Father of Yugoslavia".
* ] (Boian Alexandrovici), the Romanian priest who in 2004 successfully defied the authorities to build the first Romanian Orthodox Church in eastern Serbia in the last two centuries.<ref></ref><ref>{{Ro}} </ref>
* ], one of the best known singers of Vlach folklore from Serbia, originating from the village of Slatina near ]
* ], a well-known Vlach folklore singer, originating from ]
* ], the president of the ] between 1993 and 1997. * ], the president of the ] between 1993 and 1997.
* ], one of the best known singers of ] from Eastern Serbia, originating from the village of Slatina near ]
* ], a well-known Romanian folklore singer, originating from ], from Eastern Serbia
* ] (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола П. Пашић, at the time also spelled Pashitch or Pachitch), (1845–1926). Pašić was born in the eastern Serbian town of Zaječar in a Vlach (but ]) family. His relatives lived all over ], in Serbia and Bulgaria and during his political career, the relatives from Bulgarian Timok, gave him sanctuary, when his political enemies banned him from Serbia. He inherited the Serbian name Pašić from his Serbian stepfather. Mayor of Belgrade (1890–91 and 1897) several times prime minister of Serbia (1891–92, 1904–05, 1906–08, 1909–11, 1912–18) and prime minister of the ] (future Yugoslavia, 1918, 1921–24, 1924–26) he was an important politician in the Balkans, who, together with his counterparts like ] in Greece and] in Romania, managed to strengthen their small, national states against strong foreign influences, most notably those of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia. Fellow politicians nicknamed him "The Father of Yugoslavia".


== See also == == See also ==
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* The ] * The ]
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*National Council of Vlachs (in Serbia), , (06. 11. 2010) by President Rаdišа Drаgojević. *National Council of Vlachs (in Serbia), , (06. 11. 2010) by President Rаdišа Drаgojević.
* ] Published in Cultural Identity and Ethnicity in Central Europe, ], Cracow 2000
* (Serbian language) * (Serbian language)
*National Council of Vlachs (in Serbia), ,
* Viorel Dolha - Totul despre românii din Timoc (, , , , , ) (Romanian language)


== External links == == External links ==
* *
* *
* *
* *
* *
*
* *
* *
*
*
* *
* *
*
* (Romanian/Serbian)
*
* , 2008 report from the ] ()


{{Ethnic groups in Serbia}} {{Ethnic groups in Serbia}}
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Revision as of 14:30, 2 February 2012

Ethnic group
Vlachs of Serbia
Regions with significant populations
Eastern Central Serbia
Languages
Vlach, Serbian
Religion
Predominantly † Orthodox Christianity

The Vlachs of Serbia (endonym: Rumînji or Vlasi) are an ethnic minority of Serbia, linguistically related to Eastern Romance people. Vlachs mostly live in Eastern Serbia, mainly in Timočka Krajina region (roughly corresponding to Bor and Zaječar District districts), but also in Braničevo and Pomoravlje districts.

Vlachs from the village Zdrelo in 1868

Origins and language

The term "Vlach" is the English transcription of the Serbian term used to describe this group (Vlasi). The Vlachs are autochtonous inhabitants of Serbia who speak Romance language with significant Slavic influence. The Vlach community consider Serbia as their home country. The Vlach language is uncodified Eastern Romance language with significant Slavic influence. It consists of two distinct dialects.

As Romance-speakers, the Vlachs can relate to the Roman ruins (forts, roads, palaces, graves, baths, aqueducts, mines, half-buried cities etc.) that are scattered in NE Serbia, as indeed they are throughout the entire Balkan Peninsula.

The Vlach region of NE Serbia was part of the 12th–14th century Second Bulgarian empire (also called Vlacho-Bulgarian), whose first rulers, the Asens, are sometimes considered Vlach.. The chroniclers of the crusaders describe meeting with Vlachs in the 12th and 13th century in various parts of what is now Serbia. Serbian documents from the 13th and 14th century mention Vlachs, including Tsar Dushan's famous prohibition of intermarriage between Serbs and Vlachs. 14th and 15th century Romanian (Valachian) rulers built churches in NE Serbia. 15th century Turkish tax records (defters) list Vlachs in the region of Branicevo in NE Serbia, near the ancient Roman municipium and colonia of Viminacium. The 16th–17th century warlord Baba Novac (Starina Novak), who served as Michael the Brave's general, was born in NE Serbia. Thus the modern descendants of all these people can be held to originate south of the Danube.

Starting in the early 18th century NE Serbia was settled by new groups of Vlachs from Wallachia and Banat. These are the Ungurjani, Munćani and Bufani. Today about three quarters of the Vlach population speak the Ungurjan dialect. In the 19th century other groups of Vlachs, originating in Wallachia, settled south of the Danube. These are the Carani, who form some 25% of the modern population. It should be noted that from the 15th through the 18th centuries large numbers of Serbs also migrated across the Danube, but in the opposite direction. Significant migration ended with the establishment of the kingdoms of Serbia and Romania, respectively, in the second half of the 19th century.

Religion

Most Vlachs of Serbia are Orthodox Christians and they belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across Serbia. Like the Serbs, the Vlachs celebrate the slava (praznik).

The relative isolation of the Vlachs has permitted the survival of various pre-Christian religious customs and beliefs that are frowned upon by the Orthodox Church. Vlach magic rituals are well known across the nowadays Serbia.

Subgroups

Vlachs are divided into many groups, each speaking their own variant:

  • Carani
  • Ungurjani
  • Munćani
  • Bufani

Of these, the Ungurjani live in Homolje, while the Carani ilve in the Bor, Negotin and Zaječar regions. There has been considerable intermixing between the Ungurjani and Carani so that a dialect has evolved sharing peculiarities of both regions.

The Bufani are immigrants from Lesser Walachia (Oltenia).

There is also a population of vlachophone (Vlach speaking) Roma centered around the village of Lukovo, as well as a few Aromanian families who live in Knjaževac, but both of them form a tiny migrant groups.

Population

In the 2002 census 40,054 people in Serbia declared themselves ethnic Vlachs, and 54,818 people declared themselves speakers of the Vlach language. The Vlachs of Serbia are recognized as a ethnic group of Serbia. The Vlach population of Central Serbia is concentrated mostly in the region limited by Morava River (west), Danube River (north) and Timok River (south-east). See also: List of settlements in Serbia inhabited by Vlachs.

Vlach identity is often twofold. Some Vlachs consider themselves to be simply Serbs that speak the Vlach language. In fact ethnic research has found that among the Serb-speaking population of Eastern Serbia, some are slavicized Vlachs and some Vlach-speakers were formerly Slavs (such as in the village of Šljivar near Zaječar and the village of Slatina near Bor, where Serbs had been assimilated as Vlachs for centuries) or even Roma (such as in Lukovo).

Vlach is commonly used as a historical umbrella term for all romanized peoples in Southeastern Europe: (Romanians proper or Dacoromans, Aromanians, Meglenoromanians, Istroromanians).

Notable Vlachs

  • Nikola Pašić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола П. Пашић, at the time also spelled Pashitch or Pachitch), (1845–1926). Pašić was born in the eastern Serbian town of Zaječar in a Vlach (but Aromanian) family. Mayor of Belgrade (1890–91 and 1897) several times prime minister of Serbia (1891–92, 1904–05, 1906–08, 1909–11, 1912–18) and prime minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (future Yugoslavia, 1918, 1921–24, 1924–26) he was an important politician in the Balkans, who, together with his counterparts like Eleftherios Venizelos in Greece or Ionel Brătianu in Romania, managed to strengthen their small, national states against strong foreign influences, most notably those of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Russia. Fellow politicians nicknamed him "The Father of Yugoslavia".
  • Branko Olar, one of the best known singers of Vlach folklore from Serbia, originating from the village of Slatina near Bor
  • Staniša Paunović, a well-known Vlach folklore singer, originating from Negotin
  • Zoran Lilić, the president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1993 and 1997.

See also

References

  1. http://www.vlasi.rs/index.php?page=1
  2. http://www.vlasi.rs/index.php?page=2
  3. "Viminacium"
  4. Template:Sr icon "Felix Romuliana"
  5. Wolff, Robert Lee Wolff, The Second Bulgarian Empire: Its Origin and History to 1204, SpeculumVolume 24, Issue 2 , 1949.
  6. ^ Template:Hr iconZef Mirdita, Vlasi u historiografiji, Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb 2004.
  7. ^ Noel Malcolm, Kosovo, A short History, University Press, NY, 1999.
  8. Template:De icon Felix Kanitz, Serbien, Leipzig, 1868.
  9. Noel Malcolm, Bosnia: A short History, University Press, NY, 1994.
  10. Template:Sr icon , Starina Novak
  11. Template:Sr icon Kosta Jovanovic, Negotinska Krajina i Kljuc, Belgrade, 1940
  12. http://www.paundurlic.com/radovi/religija_vlaha.htm
  13. http://www.paundurlic.com/radovi/magstat.htm
  14. Template:Sr icon Template:PDFlink, p. 2 and Template:PDFlink, p. 12

External links

Ethnic groups in Serbia
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See also
Demographic history of Serbia
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