Vraka

Vrakë or Vraka (Montenegrin is a minor region in Shkodër District in northern Albania. The region includes settlements located on the shore of Lake Scutari, some 7 km north of the city of Shkodër. This ethnographic region is inhabited by Montenegrins, Podgoriçani (Slavic Muslims) and Albanians; it is the centre of the Montenegrin community in Albania.

Settlements

Boriç i Vogël (Stari Borič), Gruemirë
Boriç i Madh (Mladi Borič), Gruemirë
Rrash-Kullaj (Raš i Kula), Gruemirë
Grilë (Grilj), Gruemirë
Omaraj (Omara), Gruemirë
Kamicë (Kamenica), Qendër
(Derignjat)
(Turalija)
(Kotrobudan)

History

Early history

The toponym is Slavic. Montenegrins began migrating to Vraka in the late 17th century. According to Jovan Erdeljanović, in his book "Stara Crna Gora", all descendants of Jovan Martinović, who has been mentioned since 1687, have emigrated to Vraka. From confirmed documents, one of the first families to inhabit the area of Vraka was in 1705 were the Đurčevići from the village of Momče in Kuči. A certain Jerko Đurčević was the only one from his clan in Vraka to convert to Islam. His descendants later became known as the Jerkovići, who are found in the village of Štoj, near Ulcinj.

Modern history

In 1909, the Eparchy of Raška–Prizren had 15 protopresbyteriates, the last of which was Skadar, in which the parishes of:^[1]

Vraka: 119 households (villages Novi Borič, Stari Borič, Grilj, Raš, Kule, Omara, Turajlije, Kamenica) with Church in Novi Borič dedicated to Assumption of the Holy Virgin, parish under Petar Mreković.^[1]

Vranj: 69 households (villages Vranj, Mataluž, town of Tuzi), Church in Vranj dedicated to St. Nicholas, parish under Filip Majić.^[1]

In 1918, beside in Scutari, there were communities in different neighbouring villages such as Vraka, Vramenica, Derigniat, etc., as well as several thousands of Slavic Muslims of Montenegrin and Bosnia-Herzegovina origin.^[2] In 1920, the following villages had minority or plurality: Brch, Basits, Vraka, Sterbets, Kadrum. Farming was the chief occupation of the villages.^[3]

Vraka is known for having been the place where poet Millosh Gjergj Nikolla became teacher on 23 April 1933, and it was in this period that he started to write prose sketches and verses.^[4] The village of Vraka was at the time entirely inhabited by (Krajan and Podgoriçan) minority Montenegrins.

A period of immigration existed between 1925 and 1934. This wave marked the migration of many Montenegrin families to Montenegro, and Kosovo, leaving their homes in Vraka. Montenegrin minority in places like Boriç i Vogël and Boriç i Madh, where the Albanian government also tried to forcibly take land from them.^[5] A large group of the Orthodox left the region in the 1990s, though some 600 of them later returned.^[6]

Albanization

The surnames were forcibly changed by the Albanian government, from Montenegrin/Serbian into Albanian ones, as part of Albanianization.^[7]

Anthropology

The region serves as the centre of the Montenegrin(podgorican) minority in Albania (as listed in the census). The estimations of the total number of podgorican-Montenegrins in the area vary from 1,000 to over 2,000. The community has retained their language, culture and religion. The minority association of the community, the "Morača", represents the interests of this minority in Shkodër.

Families

The surnames were forcibly changed by the Slavic government, The changed surnames

Montenegrin families (Vračani)

Andrijević brotherhood
- Andrijević-Obrenović, in Omaraj
Ajković brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël, Kotrobudan
Babić brotherhood
Banjević brotherhood, in Grilë
Banušić (sq. Banushaj)
Bašanović brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh, Omaraj
- →"Beljaj"^[7] (sq. Belaj)
Berović
Bjelanović brotherhood
Bulatović
Brajović brotherhood (sq. Brajoviq), in Boriç i Vogël, Grilë
- →"Ferizaj", "Jako", "Jakoja" and "Foljeta", in Grilë^[7]
- →"Foljeta", in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Camaljić brotherhood, in Grilë
- →"Mino", in Grilë^[7]
Camnić brotherhood, in Grilë
Ceklić, in Omaraj
Colić
Čelebić brotherhood
Ćeklić brotherhood
Ćorović brotherhood
Dambarić brotherhood
- Popović-Dambarić (sq. "Popaj"), in Boriç i Madh
Dragović brotherhood
Đergić
Đinović brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël and Grilë
- →"Ograja" and "Musaja", in Boriç i Vogël and Grilë^[7]
Đoković (sq. Gjokaj)
Đuretić brotherhood
Đurčević brotherhood
- Đurčević, in Grilë
- Jerković, of the Đurčević brotherhood
Gašović brotherhood
Gorović brotherhood
Hajković brotherhood
- →"Hajku", in Boriç i Vogël and Grilë^[7]
Janković brotherhood
Kadić brotherhood (sq. Kadija)
Kavarić brotherhood, in Kotrobudan
Klikovac brotherhood
Kontić brotherhood
- →"Konto", in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Kračković brotherhood, in Omaraj
Krkotić brotherhood
Krstović brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël, Boriç i Madh, Omaraj and Grilë
- →"Karanaj"^[7]
- →"Nikola" and "Nikolaj" (sq. Nikolla/j), in Grilë^[7]
- →"Nikolaj" (sq. Nikollaj), in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Krstić
Lambulić brotherhood, in Grilë
Lukačević (sq. Llukaçeviq)
Mačkić, in Omaraj
Majić brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël
Matanović brotherhood (sq. Matanoviq), of the Kaluđerović brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël, Boriç i Madh, Grilë
- Matanović-Vujović, in Boriç i Madh
- →"Ceklaj"^[7]
Marković brotherhood, hailing from Piperi, in Omaraj
Martinović brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël, Boriç i Madh
- →"Matanaj"^[7]
- →"Šuto" (sq. Shuto), in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Mikulić brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh
Milogorić brotherhood, in Omaraj
Mrenović brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh
Mrkaljević (sq. Merkulaj)
Musić
Nikić brotherhood, in Omaraj
Nikolić (sq. Nikollaj)
Pavlović brotherhood
Pejović brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh
Pelević brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh
Pelčić/Peličić/Peljčić brotherhood in Grilë
- →"Šeljčaj", in Grilë^[7]
Pešović brotherhood
Pešukić brotherhood
Popović brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh, Grilë
- →"Popaj", in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Racković brotherhood
Radičković brotherhood, in Grilë
Radović brotherhood
Radulović brotherhood
Radusinović brotherhood
Radušinović
Raičević/Rajčević brotherhood (sq. Rajçeviq)
Redinović brotherhood
Rešetar brotherhood
Roganović brotherhood
Sekulić brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël
- →"Haškaj", in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Senić brotherhood, in Boriç i Madh
Stanić brotherhood
Stanković brotherhood
- →"Ymeri", originally Stanković
Stajkić brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël
Šabanović brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël
- →"Dritaraj", in Boriç i Vogël^[7]
Šoć brotherhood, in Kotrobudan
Špićanović brotherhood
Šunjević brotherhood
- →"Pranvera"^[7]
(sq. Suti), in Boriç i Madh
Uskoković brotherhood
Vujačić brotherhood
Vukčević brotherhood
- Vukčević-Vesnić, in Boriç i Vogël
Vučković
Vučinić
- →"Nikaj"^[7]
Vučić brotherhood, in Omaraj
Zlatičanin brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël, Grilë
- in Boriç i Vogël
- →"Krsto", "Krstaja" and "Faticaj", in Grilë^[7]
Žarić brotherhood, in Boriç i Vogël
Žigić
"Brojaj"
"Zefaj" (originally Đonović)
"Goraj"
"Maçaj

"Imeri"
"Umeri"

Podgoriçani families

Piranić (→Piranaj, Pirani), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Pepić (→Pepaj, Pepa), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Lekić (→Lekiqi, Leka), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Tuzović (→Tuzi), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Kerović (→Keraj), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Osmanagić (→Osmani), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Bibezić (→Bibezi), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Goković (→Gokovi), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Salagić (→Salagaj), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Ferizović (→Ferizi), in Boriç i Madh^[7]
Beganović (→Begani), in Boriç i Madh^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Ljubomir Durković-Jakšić, Prilozi za istoriju pravoslavne crkve u Skadru i okolini
^ André Radovitch; Radovan Boshković; Ivo Vukotić (1919). The Question of Scutari. Impr. "Graphique". p. 8.
^ Great Britain. Admiralty (1920). Montenegro, Albania and Adjacent. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 403.
The following villages are in whole or part occupied by Podgorican and Krajan Brch, Borich, Basits, Vraka, Sterbets, Kadrum. Farming is the chief occupation.
^ Robert Elsie (2005). Albanian Literature: A Short History. I.B.Tauris. pp. 132–. ISBN 978-1-84511-031-4.
^ Daily Report: East Europe, Issues 136-146. 1995.
^ Carl Skutsch (7 November 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1. One subgroup of Christian-Orthodox faith once lived in the area of Vrakë of the district of Shkodër in the north, until a large group thereof emigrated in early 1990 to the then-Yugoslav Federation, although about 600 later returned.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af Šćepanović 1990.

[LDJ-1990-1] Ljubomir Durković-Jakšić, Prilozi za istoriju pravoslavne crkve u Skadru i okolini

[RadovitchBoshković1919-2] André Radovitch; Radovan Boshković; Ivo Vukotić (1919). The Question of Scutari. Impr. "Graphique". p. 8.

[Admiralty1920-3] Great Britain. Admiralty (1920). Montenegro, Albania and Adjacent. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 403.
The following villages are in whole or part occupied by Podgorican and Krajan Brch, Borich, Basits, Vraka, Sterbets, Kadrum. Farming is the chief occupation.

[Elsie2005-4] Robert Elsie (2005). Albanian Literature: A Short History. I.B.Tauris. pp. 132–. ISBN 978-1-84511-031-4.

[5] Daily Report: East Europe, Issues 136-146. 1995.

[6] Carl Skutsch (7 November 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. pp. 64–. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1. One subgroup of Christian-Orthodox faith once lived in the area of Vrakë of the district of Shkodër in the north, until a large group thereof emigrated in early 1990 to the then-Yugoslav Federation, although about 600 later returned.

[FOOTNOTEŠćepanović1990-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af Šćepanović 1990.

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