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Upper Reka

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The Upper Reka (Template:Lang-mk; Template:Country data Reka e Epërme) is a sub-region of the broader Reka region of western Republic of Macedonia, including settlements within the upper left portion of the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša and of Gostivar Municipality.

Geography

The broader Reka region is also divided into Mala (small), Golema (large) and Dolna Reka (lower) sub-regions (ethnographic regions).[1] Upper Reka settlements within Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality include Tanuše, Nivište, Grekaj, Ribnica, Žužnje, Nistrovo, Bibaj, Ničpur, Volkovija, Kičinica, Vrben, Bogdevo. Upper Reka settlements within Gostivar Municipality are Brodec. Two other adjacent villages, Duf in Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality and Gorno Jelovce in Gostivar Municipality of the neighboring Polog region have at times also been considered belonging to Upper Reka due to linguistic affiliations and cultural connections.[2] Due to uprisings in the Upper Reka region, former settlements such as: Trnica, Reč, Dubovo, Štirovica and Strezimir[3] were burned down by Serbian and Bulgarian forces between 1912-1916.[4]

History

Turkish gendarmerie in Upper Reka (1907).

In 1913, the Muslim Albanians of the region led by Muslim imam Mali Mama rose up against the Serb forces.[5]

Demographics

Albanian wedding in Upper Reka (1907).

Upper Reka is inhabited by Muslim and Christian Albanian speaking people referred through demonyms by Macedonians as Gornorekanec (plural: Gornorekanci)[1] and Rekali (plural: Rekalinj) by Albanians.[6][7] By outsiders they are referred to as Shkreti [8] from the Albanian word and expression shkretë/i shkret meaning the poor ones due to their isolated mountainous homeland and difficult living circumstances.[9][10] Of those Albanian speaking populations who remained Christian Orthodox, they assimilated and self identify as Macedonians,[11][12] while those who embraced Islam consider themselves Albanians.[12] Due to the migration of Orthodox Christians to urban centers a few decades ago, today the majority of inhabitants are Muslim Albanians with a minority of Orthodox Albanian speakers who self-identify as Macedonians.[13]

The adjacent Lower Reka or Dolna Reka region is inhabited by Macedonian Muslims (known as "Torbeši" or "Turks" i.e. Muslims), while a minority are Orthodox Macedonians and both belong to the ethnographic group of Mijaks, who speak the Macedonian Reka dialect.

Culture

Orthodox feast days

The Orthodox of Upper Reka, particularly those of Ničpur, celebrate St. Athanasius on January 31 (Julian calendar).[14] In Bibaj, the Orthodox celebrated Saint Mary in the Winter (Shën Meria e Dimrit).[15] In Kičinica, the Orthodox celebrated Saint George of the Winter (Shën Gjergj e Dimrit).[16]

Language

The Albanian Upper Reka sub-dialect belongs to the larger Gheg dialect spoken by Northern Albanians.[17] The Reka dialect contains linguistic peculiarities that differentiate it from other varieties of Albanian. For example, the Albanian letter q often voiced as a hard ç sound in some Northern dialects is voiced as a soft ç sound in Upper Reka.[18] Unlike Northern Albanian dialects which often pronounce the Albanian characters gj as a hard xh sound, in Upper Reka it is at times rendered as a soft gj sound, reminiscent of some Southern Albanian dialects.[19] The sounds dj as in the word djath (cheese) are also substituted for a gj sound (i.e. gjath) in certain instances.[19] The Albanian sound cluster pl contained in words like plak (old), pleh (manure) and plis (pileus) of the Reka dialect has been replaced in certain instances with pt causing words to be pronounced as ptak, pteh and ptis.[19] Whereas the sound cluster ps within words like tepsi (large baking pan/tray) is in the Upper Reka dialect transformed into mts making words to be pronounced for example as temtsi.[19]

Unlike in some Albanian dialects where the sound cluster nd has contracted into n, in Upper Reka it has been retained in words like katund (spread out village), nder (honour) and vend (place).[20] The Upper Reka dialect has also retained the nasal vocalisation of vowels ā (often a schwa: ë in Standard Albanian) and ō where words like dhëmb (tooth), dhëndër (groom) and këmb (foot) are pronounced as dhāmb, dhōndr and kōmb.[20] The sound a (often a schwa: ë in Standard Albanian) in words like baballak is also substituted at times for o (i.e. baballoku) when in definite form.[17][20] The sound cluster mj in words like mjeker (beard) and mjalt (honey) has evolved into a mn sound in Upper Reka leading words to be voiced as mnjekrr and mnjalt.[20] Also the h sound which in most Albanian dialects is pronounced faintly is voiced as a guttural hard h in Upper Reka.[20] In contemporary times, Albanians residing in Upper Reka are to varying degrees also bilingual in the Macedonian language.[13]

Notable people

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References

  1. ^ a b Dimitrije Bužarovski; Rumena Bužarovska (2004). Contemporary Trends in Musicology and Ethnomusicology: Third Struga Conference. University "Sts.Kiril i Metodij", School of music, Institut for research and archiving of music (IRAM). p. 46.
  2. ^ Osmani, Edibe Selim (2012). Veshja autoktone e femrave të Rekës së Epërme [Authentic clothing of women from Reka e Epërme]. Arbëria design. Skopje. p. 9. "Gjithashtu ka fshatra që nuk shtrihen buzë lumit Radika, si: Dufi me 5 lagjet e shpërndara: Çejani, Ballaboni, Arqevishi, Brezoveci, Tojlani. Ky fshat me lagjet e shpërndara traditën, veshjen, folklorin dhe të folmen e kanë të përbashkët me atë të Rekës së Epërme. Fshati Jellovcë e Epërme, ka tradita, veshje dhe gjuhë e dialekt të përbashkët, edhe pse janë në distancë të largët me Rekën e Epërme. [Also there are villages that do not near the mouth of the river Radika, like: Duf with its 5 scattered neighborhoods: Çejani, Ballaboni, Arqevishi, Brezoveci, Tojlani. This village with scattered neighborhoods tradition, dress, folklore and dialect have in common with that of Upper Reka. Upper Jellovcë village, has traditions, costumes, language and dialect in common, although are some distance from Upper Reka.]"
  3. ^ Mirjana Mirčevska (2007). Verbalni i neverbalni etnički simboli vo Gorna Reka [Verbal and non-verbal ethnic symbols in Upper Reka]. Institut za Etnologija i Antropologija. Skopje. p. 22.
  4. ^ Osmani. Veshja autoktone. 2012. p. 9. "Tërnica, Reçi, Boletini, Dëbova, Strezimiri, Zavojska dhe Shtirovica deri në vitin 1916 u dogjën nga serbët dhe bullgarët. [Tërnica, Reçi, Boletini, Dëbova, Strezimiri, Zavojska and Shtirovica until 1916 were burned by Serbs and Bulgarians.]"
  5. ^ Sherafedin Kaso (2005). The settlements with muslim population in Macedonia. Logos-A. pp. 328–. ISBN 978-9989-58-155-7.
  6. ^ Osmani. Veshja autoktone. 2012. p. 8. "Studiuesi M. Mitroviq thotë se në rrethin e Dibrës, me të fuqishmit janë shqiptarët. Në Dibrën e Epërme, që quhen Rekali, ka shqiptarë të krishterë dhe myslimanë. [Researcher M. Mitrović says that in Dibra district, Albanians are the more stronger element. In Upper Dibra, those that call themselves Rekali has Christian and Muslim Albanians.]"
  7. ^ Mirčevska. Etnički simboli vo Gorna Reka. 2007. p. 162. "На пример, во Белград, каде и денес живее релативно голем број на горнореканцко македонско население, познати се како Рекалии. [For example, in Belgrade, where today lives a relatively large number of Macedonian Upper Rekan population, who are known as Rekalii.]"
  8. ^ Thammy Evans (2012). Macedonia, 4th. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-84162-395-5. The Gorna (Upper) Reka region, from the village Brodec to the village Volkovija is mostly abandoned today, but, in the past, was inhabited by Albanian-speaking Macedonians, called Shkreti
  9. ^ Mirčevska. Etnički simboli vo Gorna Reka. 2007. pp. 162-163. "Сето горнореканско население, повторно без оглед на етничката и верска припадност, во соседните предели е познато под егзонимот "Шкрети". И не случајно е задржан овој егзоним до ден денес. "Шкрето" во албанскиот говор значи "пусто". Според описите на етнолошките и етнопсихичките карактеристики кои ги даваат некои од авторите (Цвијиќ, Недељковиќ, во одредена мера и Смиљаниќ) генерално за горнореканското население, може да се согледа дека било навистина тешко и мачно да се живее во постојан страв од напади, пљачкосувања и убиства, да се живее во "оваа пустелија" како што изјавуваат и денес Горнореканците. Дека пределот бил "пуст", во смисла тежок за живеење најмногу во однос на грабежите, знаело и населението од соседните предели особено од Мавровско Поле, но и од Горни Полог и Долна Река. Така користејќи ја албанската форма "шкрето" за "пусто", токму населението од мавровско Поле го употребувало овој егзоним најмногу. Етнонимот-егзонимот се користи и денеска во пределот, но само од страна на Мавровци и Долнареканци, додека еден Горнореканец за себе никогаш нема да рече дека е "Шкрет". Додека разговарав со Горнореканките кои живеат во пределот, многу често го употребуваа зборот "шкрето", кога сакаа да објаснат колку тешко живеат во минатото во Горна Река. Дури кога зборуваат и за други работи кои немаат врска со тешкиот живот во минатото, сепак го употребуваат. За нив зборот "шкрето" нема статус на етноним, но за сите други во соседните предели тоа е етоним/егзоним со кој ги идентификуваат Горнореканците. [All of the population of Gorna Reka, again regardless of ethnic and religious affiliation of neighboring regions is known by the exonym "Shkreti." And this happens to be the exonym retained until today. "Shkreto" in Albanian speech means "deserted". According to descriptions of ethnological and ethno-physical features provided by some authors (Cvijić, Nedeljković, to some extent, Smiljanić) in general the population of Gorna Reka, as you can see that it was really difficult and painful to live in constant fear of attacks, robberies and murder, living in "the wilderness" as stated today in Gorna Reka. That area was "desolate" in the sense of living in the most difficult in terms of robberies, known by the population from neighboring areas especially Mavrovo Pole, and the Upper Polog and Lower Reka. So using the Albanian form "shkreto" for "desolate" is precisely why the population of Mavrovo Pole employed this exonym most. Ethnonym-exonym is used today in the area, but only by Mavrovci and Lower Rekans while an inhabitant of Gorna Reka never would call himself a "Shkret." While talking to Upper Rekans who live in the area, often they used the word "shkreto" when they wanted to explain how hard life in the past was in Upper Reka. Even when speaking of other things that have nothing to do with the hard life of the past, it is still used. For them the word "shkreto" has no status of an ethnonym, but for all other neighboring areas it is an ethnonym/exonym that identify people from Gorna Reka.]"
  10. ^ Murati, Qemal (2011), "Gjuha e humbur: Vëzhgime historike, linguistike, onomastike dhe folklorike rreth shqiptarëve ortodoksë në etnoregjionin e Rekës së Epërme të Mavrovës [Lost Language: Historical, Linguistic, Onomastic and Folkloric observations about the Orthodox Albanians in ethno-region of Upper Reka in Mavrovo]". Studime Albanonlogjike. 3: 123. "Namik Durmishi, mësimdhënës në Universitetin e Tetovës, edhe vetë nga Zhuzhnja e Rekës së Epërme, në një lagje të quajtur Durtllok të Gostivarit, të populluar kryesisht me rekas ortodoksë nga të kësaj krahine, maqedonasit atyre u thonë si me përbuzje Shkreta/ Shkreti: Kaj si bre škreta, me cilësimin pezhorativ "shqiptarë të shkretë, që kanë ardhur nga një krahinë e shkretë, njerëz viranë". [Namik Durmishi, teaching at the University of Tetovo, who also is from Žužnje, Upper Reka in a neighbourhood called Durtlok in Gostivar, populated mostly by Orthodox Rekans cites that Macedonians when referring to them in disdain say Shkreta/Shkreti: Where are you from Shkreti, which has pejorative connotations of "the poor Albanian who came from a desolate region, an abandoned people ".]"
  11. ^ Dimitar Bechev (13 April 2009). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia. Scarecrow Press. pp. 188–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6295-1. "Several villages in the Upper Reka subregion were, in the past, populated by Orthodox Albanian speakers who have been largely assimilated by the Slavic Macedonians."
  12. ^ a b Mirčevska. Etnički simboli vo Gorna Reka. 2007. p. 132. "Горнореканците со муслиманска религија денес себе си се идентификуваат како Албанци, додека православите христијани како Македонци. [Gorna Rekans of the Muslim religion today identify themselves as Albanians, while Orthodox Christians as Macedonians.]"
  13. ^ a b Pieroni, Andrea, et al (2013). "One century later: the folk botanical knowledge of the last remaining Albanians of the upper Reka Valley, Mount Korab, Western Macedonia." Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 9. (1): 2-3. "Locals are now exclusively Muslims, but Albanians of Christian Orthodox faith also lived in the villages until a few decades ago. For example, in Nistrovë, one side of the village (with a mosque) is inhabited by Muslims, while the other side was inhabited by Orthodox believers. The entire population of Orthodox Christians migrated to towns a few decades ago, but they return to their village homes sometimes during the summer. Most of the houses in this part of the village are however abandoned even though the Church has been recently restored. According to our (Albanian Muslim) informants, these migrated Orthodox Christian Albanians assimilated within the Macedonian culture and now prefer to be labelled as "Macedonians", even if they are still able to fluently speak Albanian. Contact between these two subsets of the village communities, which were very intense and continuous in the past, no longer exists today. All Albanian inhabitants of the upper Reka are – to different degrees depending on the age – bilingual in Macedonian."
  14. ^ Balkanistica 2000, p. 46
  15. ^ Balkanistica 2000, p. 40
  16. ^ Balkanistica 2000, p. 45
  17. ^ a b Friedman, Victor A (2005). "Albanian in the Balkan linguistic league: a reconsideration of theoretical implications". Acta Studia Albanica. 1: 35.
  18. ^ Elmaz Doda, Bajazid (2007). Albanisches Bauerleben im oberen Rekatal bei Dibra (Makedonien), [Albanian Peasant Life in the Upper Reka Valley near Dibra (Macedonia)]. Lit-Verlag. Vienna. p. 191.
  19. ^ a b c d Elmaz Doda. Albanisches Bauerleben. 2007. p. 191.
  20. ^ a b c d e Elmaz Doda. Albanisches Bauerleben. 2007. p. 192.
  21. ^ a b Mirčevska. Etnički simboli vo Gorna Reka. 2007. p. 155.
  22. ^ Newmark, Leonard (1998) Albanian-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Oxford. ISBN 978-0198603221
  23. ^ Elmaz Doda. Albanisches Bauerleben. 2007. pp. 169-190.

Sources

Further reading

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