The Aromanians in Serbia (Aromanian: armãnji or rrãmãnji; Serbian: Аромуни / Aromuni or Армани / Armani), most commonly known as "Tsintsars" (Serbian: Цинцари / Cincari) and sometimes as "Vlachs" (Serbian: Власи / Vlasi), are a non-recognized Aromanian ethnic minority in Serbia. Historically, they were an isolated group who focused on preserving their culture, language and identity and on nomadic pastoralism. However, from the second half of the 20th century, the Serbian Aromanians would begin to put aside this practice and migrate to the cities, where they would be subject to assimilation.[3]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 327 (2022 census)[1] 5,000[2]–15,000 (estimates)[3] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Belgrade, Knjaževac, Niš, Pančevo, Smederevo | |
| Languages | |
| Aromanian (native), Serbian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Eastern Orthodoxy | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Aromanians |
Many Aromanians came to Serbia after leaving Moscopole. This city had been the economic and cultural center of the Aromanians for years, even becoming the second biggest city of the Ottoman Empire, but it was plundered and destroyed in the mid-18th century. Many former inhabitants of this city went north, reaching various European cities, including some in modern Serbia such as Belgrade, Novi Sad and Zemun. Upon arriving, the Aromanians started being called Tsintsars by the Serbs, name that they ended up adopting and the one that they insist that it be used to refer to them today.[3] Today, the Aromanians in Serbia do not conform compact communities anywhere in the country and live scattered throughout it, living mostly in Serbian cities such as in Knjaževac, Pančevo, Smederevo and, specially, Belgrade and Niš.[4]
There are an estimated 5,000,[2] 10,000[5] or 15,000 Aromanians living in Serbia,[3] despite the fact that only 243 people declared themselves ethnic "Tsintsar" (Aromanian) in the 2011 Serbian census.[6] This is why the Aromanians have not been recognized as a national minority of Serbia yet, as the minimum number of people a minority has to have to be declared as such must be 300.[2] They reached this threshold in the 2022 census, in which 327 persons declared Aromanian ethnicity.[1]
Nowadays, there is a cultural organization known as the Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association with the aim of preserving the Aromanian minority in Serbia and its customs, culture, language, name and traditions.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Становништво према националној припадности" (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Jokić Stamenković, Dragana (30 January 2017). "Цинцари – крвоток Балкана". Politika (in Serbian).
- ^ a b c d Ružica, Miroslav (2006). "The Balkan Vlachs/Aromanians awakening, national policies, assimilation". Proceedings of the Globalization, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflicts in the Balkans and Its Regional Context: 28–30. S2CID 52448884.
- ^ Sorescu-Marinković, Annemarie; Mirić, Mirjana; Ćirković, Svetlana (2020). "Assessing linguistic vulnerability and endangerment in Serbia. A critical survey of methodologies and outcomes". Balcanica (51): 65–104. doi:10.2298/BALC2051065S. hdl:21.15107/rcub_dais_10446. S2CID 235067245.
- ^ a b Živanović, Katarina (22 February 2013). "Zrno soli među balkanskim narodima". Danas (in Serbian).
- ^ "Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији" (PDF) (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017.