Albania's Aromanians

Reemerging into History

Known to the Albanians as obans (or shepherds), to the Slavs as Vlachs,
and to the Greeks as Koustchovlachs, they call themselves Aromanians or
Rrumanians. Numbering over 80,000 members, in the opinion of the bestknown Vlach scholar, Tom Winnifrith, one could find them throughout much of
the southern part of the country, and as far north as Elbasan. Usually, they
live intermingled with their Albanian neighbors and only a few areas could be
claimed to be purely Aromanian, the most notable one being the one between
Pogradec and Kor. Omnipresent to a knowledgeable eye, dispersed and
hardly visible to a passing visitor, the Aromanian community in Albania
remains today, much like it has in the past, one of the most elusive ethnic
groups of the country.
While little is known of this community today, partly due to the isolation in
which Albania was subdue for so long, even less is known of its past, its
origins. In spite of the fact that so much has been written about Albania's
Aromanians, especially in the first decades of the 1900's, few studies have
paid a special attention to the early history of this community. Most have
focused on the status of the community at the time and on the problems with
which they were faced in relation to the state and the majority of the
population. Partly to blame for this apparent lack of interest toward Aromanian
history is the absence of reliable sources of information before and during the
Turkish period, and partly to the unique style of living practice by a large part
of the Aromanian community as wondering shepherds.
To further complicate matters, some Balkan countries have often speculated
this lack of pertinent information in order to foster their political interests in the
region. Today one can read about the Greek origin of the Aromanians, about
the Illyrian origin of some Vlachs and even about the Aromanian origin of the
Romanians, and vice-versa. While some theories can easily be refuted as
mere speculations, some are based on more scientific observations and are
worth taking a second look at.
Whatever little is known today of the origin of the Aromanians comes mainly
through their language which stands as a clear proof of their link to the Latin

culture which has existed in the area since the beginning of the millennium. As
to their actual ethnic origin, that is a subject much debated and which may
never be properly answered. Greeks and Albanian historians point to a Greek
or Illyrian origin of the Aromanians which they say were Latinized during that
time, and somehow managed to maintain their newly adopted language.
Others point to the fact that the area inhabited today by Aromanians
corresponds roughly to Via Egnatia, the road that once connected the Eastern
Roman Empire to the Western one. It could be safely assumed that the road
was heavily guarded by Roman troops, which in turn may help explain the
presence of a Latin speaking population so far south in what is regarded by
most historians as an area dominated by the Greek language. The truth may
lie somewhere in the middle, since it is most likely that the Roman legionaries
intermarried with the local, native population, Greek and Illyrian, giving birth to
a new nation, the Aromanians.
By the fourth century much of the Balkan peninsula has been romanized and
a distinct form of Vulgar Latin was developing in this area of the empire.
However, it was not until the tenth century, after the fall of the Byzantine
norther border along the Danube and the massive arrival of the migratory
populations, that the Latin speaking population was split into two main groups:
the Romanians in the north and the Aromanians in the south. This explains in
fact the close similarity that exists to this day between Romanian and
Aromanian and also explains the classification made by most linguists of
Aromanian as a dialect of Romanian, rather then a separate language. Due to
these circumstances it is unclear whether the first mention of spoken Latin in
the Balkans made by Theopanes and Theophylact in 579 during a ride of the
Byzantine army in present-day Bulgaria, refers to Romanian or Aromanian.
However, the next mention of Vlachs (the name used for Latin speaking
populations in general - e.g. the Swiss-German word Welschschweizer for
their french speaking compatriots) made in 976 by Cedrenuc, a Byzantine
historian, clearly refers to Aromanians. In his writings, Cedrenuc talks about
the assassination of David, the brother of Samuel, the Tsar of Bulgaria, by
wondering Vlachs. From that point on there are numerous mentions of
Aromanians especially since they become an active presence on the political
stage with the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire by two
Aromanian brothers, Peter and Asan, in 1204. Later on, Aromanians come to
play an increased role in the region as it can be assumed from the fact that
two areas, one just south of present day Albania, in Epirus and another
around Thessalonika, came to be known as Little Vlachia and respectivly
Vlachia. It could be easily observed that even during those times when there
is a relative wealth of information about Aromanians, little is known about

those living in present-day Albania. This may be due to the fact that most of
the mentions were made by Byzantine historians and therefore were limited to
the areas with which they had a more direct contact.
The rapid conquest of the Balkans by the Turks and the relative peace and
prosperity brought about by a unified administration greatly benefitted the
Aromanians. They were no longer hindered in their migratory paths and also
began controlling much of the trade that went through the area. The best
example of the prosperity that came about for the Aromanian community was
the city of Moscopolis (today Voskopoj) which became the most important
trading center in southwestern Balkans. Further more, Aromanians gained a
privileged status under the Turkish administration and were required to pay
only a symbolic tribute and were formally exempted from the law which
prohibited non-Muslims from carrying weapons. By the time nationalism
started to gain ground in the Balkans, in early seventeen century, the
Aromanians came to recognize the benefits of the unified rule of the Turks.
Consequently, the Aromanians in and around Thessalonika petitioned in
1829, when the area came under Greek rule, to remain under the Ottomans.
The Aromanians still within the borders of the empire were granted in 1878,
the right to open schools in their native language and in 1888 to set up their
own churches. The movement of national awakening culminated in 1905
when Aromanians were recognized as a separate nation (millet) and soon
after, in 1908 when the first Aromanians were admitted as full members in the
Turkish Parliament.
At about the same time, the Aromanian community became the focus of
attention of the Romanian and Greek governments. While for Romanians the
interest in Aromanians came as a result of their own struggle to define a
national identity, with the Greeks it was more of a calculated political move. By
bringing the Aromanians into their camp they would stay to gain a stronger
bargaining position in the multi-ethnic region of Macedonia. In 1906 Brailsford,
a British scholar, said in his book Macedonia and its Races: they (the
Aromanians) are not numerous in comparison with Macedonians, or even the
Albanians, but without them the Greeks would cut a sorry figure.
The first Aromanian school was opened in 1862 in Macedonia and soon after,
by the turn of the century, with the support of the Macedo-Romanian Cultural
Society in Bucharest and that of the Romanian government another one
hundred and thirty schools and three high-schools were opened in the region.
In Albania there were six schools opened during this time, including one in
Kor, two in Grabov, and one in Plas. With the exception of the one in
Plas closed in 1927, soon after much of the population left for Romania, all

the others continued to exist until 1948 when the new communist regime in
Romania discontinued its financial support.
With the arrival of the communist regime in Albania, the Aromanians lost their
official recognition and were considered to be almost completely assimilated.
The policy of settlement carried out by the government of Enver Hoxha has
greatly altered the distribution of the community in Albania, and it corresponds
today only to some extent to the original areas of habitation. Many of the
Aromanian communities found along the southern coast of Albania, especially
around Sarand and Vlor, were in the past only temporary areas of migration
during the winter when the shepherds descended with their flocks from the
inland mountains. A perfect example is the village of Anton Poi, today a
purely Aromanian village, but which only a few decades ago had only a
handful of Aromanians. They were settled first in huts and later in the houses
left uninhabited by the Albanians that moved to the nearby towns. However,
given the relative lack of economic development and the isolation of the
country, Aromanians managed to maintain a far stronger sense of national
identity then their kin brothers living in neighboring states. It is therefore in
Albania that one can still find the wondering Vlachs, and it is there that the
more traditional ways of life of this community have been preserved.
After the fall of the communist regime in 1991 the latent national identity
became, once again, visible. Numerous Aromanian organizations appeared
across the country and on April 5th, 1992 the first national conference was
organized in Tirana with guests from all neighboring countries and from as far
as France and United States of America. There is also a renewed interest in
this community from the Romanian and Greek governments. The two
countries have encouraged and sponsored large numbers of Aromanian
students to come and study in their countries, and have also advocated for the
opening of Aromanian and Greek schools in Albania. This has once again split
the community along pro-Greek and pro-Romanian lines, but there is a
growing sense of a distinctive identity, that of Aromanian. Recently, the first
Aromanian language school opened its doors in Divjak and in Kor one can
hear a religious service in Aromanian in the newly renovated church.
Aromanians are once again making their presence felt both on the
international as well as on the national level. In 1997 the European Parliament
adopted Resolution 1333 calling for the protection of the Aromanian language
and culture in the countries they inhabit. In Albania, Aromanians like the
Albanian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mr. Pavil Gesku, and many
other notable intellectuals and politicians come today to complete a long list of
Aromanian writers, such as Poradeci (Llazar Gusho), Mitrush Kuteli (Dhimitr

Pasko), the author of the national anthem, Asdren (Alex Stavre Drenovawho),
and national figures, such as Frashr, who through their efforts, have
contributed and continue to contribute to the development and progress of
their home-country, Albania.
Bogdan Banu
Bogdan Banu's Homepage about Aromanians