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Mijaks ( Macedonian : Мијаци , romanized :  Mijaci ) are an ethnographic group of Macedonians who live in the Lower Reka region which is also known as Mijačija ( Macedonian : Мијачија ), along the Radika river, in western North Macedonia , numbering 30,000–60,000 people. The Mijaks practise predominantly animal husbandry , and are known for their ecclesiastical architecture, woodworking , iconography , and other rich traditions, as well as their characteristic Galičnik dialect of Macedonian . The main settlement of the Mijaks is Galičnik .

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35-617: The Mijaks have traditionally occupied the Mala Reka region along with the Torbeš , Macedonian-speaking Muslims. The area including the Bistra mountain and Radika region has been termed Mijačija ( Мијачија ). To the east is the ethnographic region of the Brsjaks . The Mijaks traditionally inhabited the villages of Galičnik , Lazaropole , Tresonče , Selce , Rosoki , Sušica , Gari and Osoj . However,

70-550: A Torbeš population in Gollobordë, on the Macedonian-Albanian border, specifically in the villages of Vërnicë , Trebisht Lladomericë, Gjinovec , Klenjë , Lejçan, Lubalesh, Ostren i Madh and Ostren i Vogël , Okshtun, Pasinkë, Radovesh, Sebisht, Sërpetovë, Stebleve, Tuçep, Tërbaç. An Albanian population dominated in the northern Gollobordë villages of Sebishtë, Pasinkë, Vërnicë , Ostren i Madh and Ostren i Vogël . There

105-478: A high frequency of R1a-M458, in particular Poles. Torbe%C5%A1 The Torbeši ( Macedonian : Торбеши ) are a Macedonian-speaking Muslim ethnoreligious group in North Macedonia and Albania. The Torbeši are also referred to as Macedonian Muslims ( Macedonian : Македонци-муслимани , romanized :  Makedonci-muslimani ) or Muslim Macedonians . They have been culturally distinct from

140-580: A monk Iov, recognized by some researchers as the future educator Yoakim Karchovski , a Bulgarian priest who became an important figure in the Bulgarian National Revival . Most of the old monastery complex was destroyed by a fire in 2009, while the new sections of the complex and church were saved. Reconstruction of the old sections began in May 2010 with the goal of restoring the buildings as closely as possible to their original style. The monastery has

175-774: Is a presence of Torbeš in Kosovo. Along with other Balkan Muslims following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Torbeš were helped by the Turkish government to settle in Turkey. These groups were labelled as Turks and all claimed Turkish descent. In 1952, Yugoslavia and Turkey signed an agreement of free emigration that allowed Muslims from Yugoslavia to settle in Turkey. A total of 127,000 ethnic Turks, Torbeši, and other Muslims from Macedonia migrated. The exact numbers of Torbeš are not easy to establish. The historian Ivo Banac estimates that in

210-517: Is chosen to receive the wedding and be shown on national television. The Teškoto oro (lit. "the hard one"), a shepherd folk dance of the Mijaks, is one of the national dances of North Macedonia. Some Mijaks believe that Skanderbeg , the Albanian military commander and national hero, hailed from Mijačija. Mijak architecture has become a defining factor in the culture of the Mijaks. The Mijaks were among

245-506: Is known as Gollobordas and in Albania people from the community are considered Albanians instead of Macedonians, even by the Albanian state, and they are known to intermarry with Muslim Albanians and not with Orthodox Macedonians. In the late 90s, Macedonian linguist Božidar Vidoeski conducted a study on the Macedonian speaking population of Albania. During that time, he notes the existence of

280-615: The Macedonian Orthodox Church . Identity for Macedonian Muslims is often tied to a belonging to their respective villages/localities. In Yugoslavia, Slavic-speaking Muslims were allowed to register themselves for the first time as a separate ethnic group. This new form of identification was mostly used by Bosniaks, but also spread as a choice in Macedonia, where in 30,000-40,000 individuals identified themselves as Muslims in 1981 and 1991. This number dropped to ~14,000 in 1994. In

315-657: The Orthodox Christian Macedonian community for centuries, and are linguistically distinct from the larger Muslim ethnic groups in the greater region of Macedonia : the Albanians , Turks and Romanis . However, some Torbeši also still maintain a strong affiliation with Turkish identity and with Macedonian Turks . The regions inhabited by these Macedonian-speaking Muslims are Debarska Župa, Dolni Drimkol, Reka , and Golo Brdo (in Albania). Many ethnonyms are used for

350-618: The "Mijački govor" ( Macedonian : Мијачки говор ), Mijak speech, include: Their speech include peculiarities (in relation to standard Macedonian), such as ovde , onde , kode , koga , zašto , dojdi , etc. Mijaks have been subject to ethnographic studies by Macedonian, Bulgarian and Serbian scholars. According to the 2002 census, in the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša there were 4,349 Macedonians (50.46%), 2,680 Turks (31,10%), 1,483 Albanians (17.21%), and smaller numbers of Bosniaks (0.36%), Roma (0.12%), Serbs (0.07%) and others (0.68%); In

385-590: The 2002 census, many Torbeši identified themselves with ethnic groups of their Muslim co-religionists: Albanians and Turks. The 2021 North Macedonia census was the first to have a separate ethnic category for Torbeši; a total of 4,174 individuals in the country identified as such and a further 455 identified as "Muslim Macedonians". However, data at the municipal and settlement levels is not available for these groups. There were also 1,187 individuals who declared as Muslims . Other Torbeši identified themselves as Turks, Albanians, and Bosniaks. In municipalities containing

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420-608: The Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council of the Islamic community in North Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official language of Muslims in Macedonia. The decision prompted protests from the leaders and members of the Macedonian Muslim community. Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery The Monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski ( Macedonian : Свети Јован Бигорски ) is a Macedonian Orthodox monastery located in

455-565: The Albanians. During censuses, Macedonian Muslims' ethnic identity varies. While some declare as ethnic Macedonians, some declare as Turks or Albanians despite not speaking Turkish or Albanian. Others declare as Bosniaks or Gorani, with some declaring as Torbeš, Muslim Macedonians or Muslims. There are some tensions with the Macedonian Christian community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity and adherence to

490-718: The Macedonia region by the Ottoman Empire , and the earlier establishment and expansion of the Bulgarian Exarchate (February 28, 1870; in 1874, Skopje and Ohrid voted in favour of the Exarchate). During the Ilinden uprising in Kruševo (August 2–3, 1903), a known Mijak involved was Veljo Pecan . During the guerilla period, the Mijaks were divided into those that identified with Serbia and those that did with Bulgaria; one Serbian vojvoda

525-662: The Macedonian-speaking Muslims. The most widespread ethnonym, which is also their endonym, is Torbeši. There are numerous theories on the origin of the term. Some link it to an old Slavic tribe Torbeachei , whereas other theories have suggested a derivation from the Persian torbekes meaning person with a bag. According to one theory, the Torbeši were a group of public servants in the Ottoman Empire tasked to carry bags ( Turkish : torba oglanlari ). Some scholars have linked

560-529: The Mala Reka region. They were responsible for the intricate wood carving which is found inside the Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery , which is considered to be the best in North Macedonia . The Galičnik Wedding Festival (Галичка свадба) is the name of a traditional wedding and its characteristic ceremony, which is annually held on Petrovden (St. Peter feast day, 12 July), in which a couple

595-520: The Municipality of Debar there were a total of 19,542 inhabitants, of which 11,348 Albanians, 3,911 Macedonians, 2,684 Turks, 1,080 Roma, 22 Serbs, 3 Bosniaks, 2 Vlachs and 492 others. Zupan et al. (2020) examined samples from 44 Mijak males from Galičnik. In terms of Y-dna, Mijaks are located under haplogroups R1a-M458 (56.8%) and R1b-U106 (25%). Other haplogroups include G2a-P15 (11.4%) and E-M215 (4.5%). The high percentage of R1a-M458 among Mijaks associates them more closely with west Slavic groups who have

630-507: The area of the Salonica field and was engaged mostly in the cattle breeding. This theory is also confirmed by the legends for the founding of the one of the most significant Mijak settlements as Galičnik . The Brsjaks and Mijaks did not live geographically scattered prior to the Ottoman conquest. A proportion of Mijaks converted to Islam during the 16th and 17th centuries, and they are known by

665-661: The central region of North Macedonia, surrounding the Plasnica municipality and the Dolneni municipality . Torbešija is an ethnographic region in the Marko's River Valley south of Skopje, today within Studeničani Municipality . Torbeš began settling in the area in the second half of the 18th century. Beginning in the 20th century, many Torbeš left the area for Turkey or Skopje. The Macedonian-speaking Muslim community of Gollobordë

700-802: The descendants of Orthodox Christian Slavs from the region of Macedonia who were converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans . The various Sufi orders (like the Khalwati , Rifa'is and Qadiris ) all played a role in the conversion of the Slavic and Paulician population. Torbeši who identify as ethnic Macedonians claim to be "the truest Macedonians" who speak "clean Macedonian" and have maintained traditions and customs for centuries, unlike their Orthodox Macedonian counterparts. The largest concentration of Torbeš can be found in western North Macedonia and eastern Albania. Most of

735-535: The largest concentrations of Torbeš villages, the 2021 census results were as follows for individuals who participated in the census: The oldest Macedonian newspaper Nova Makedonija was first published in 1944 in Gorno Vranovci , a village that was inhabited by Torbeši at the time. Interethnic marriages are considered acceptable among Macedonian Muslims, whereas interreligious ones are not, though families are most likely to prefer marriage with those from within

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770-521: The majority of Mijak villages are uninhabited as most of the inhabitants left during the 20th century. The villages Oreše , Papradište , Gorno Vranovci and Melnica in the Veles region were populated by Mijaci during Ottoman rule in Macedonia. The village of Smilevo , in the Bitola region, is also considered to be a Mijak village, in regards to its architecture and history. The north-western quarter of Kruševo

805-557: The monastery was built in 1020 by the Bulgarian clergyman John of Debar who was the last Patriarch of Bulgaria before the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire . The Ottomans destroyed the monastery in the 16th century, but it was restored in 1743 by the monk Ilarion, who also constructed a number of cells for monks. The archimandrite Arsenius further expanded the monastery between 1812 and 1825. The historical record also mentions

840-635: The most skilled masons and they helped wealthy Aromanians develop Kruševo into a large, prosperous and beautiful city in the 18th century. Apart from some masons from the Kriva Palanka region, they were the most proficient in all Macedonia and the Balkans. The Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery is built in the Mijak style. The Mijaks traditionally speak the Galičnik dialect and Reka dialect . Typical characteristics of

875-525: The name Torbeši . In the 18th century, the Mijaks had an armed conflict with the Islamized population regarding pasture lands. The Islamized population of Galicnik was re-Christianized in 1843. Georgi Pulevski was born in 1817. He published a three-language dictionary promoting the Macedonian language and nation as a separate and different from the neighbors. In 1822, an unpublished lexicographical work by Panajot Ginovski, "Mijački rečnik po našem govoru",

910-457: The nearby villages. Arranged marriage, common in the past, is now rare. The Torbeš consider their local cuisine to be "Macedonian cuisine", while it shares commonalities with neighboring Muslim groups such as dishes for weddings and religious holidays. The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the Association of Macedonian Muslims. It was established in 1970 with

945-572: The old Kingdom of Yugoslavia , before World War II , the Torbeš population stood at around 27,000. Subsequent censuses have produced dramatically varying figures: 1,591 in 1953, 3,002 in 1961, 1,248 in 1971 and 39,355 in 1981. Commentators have suggested that the latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks. Meanwhile, the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World War II more than 70,000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other Muslim groups, most notably

980-604: The support of the authorities, probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations in control. Led by member of parliament Fiat Canoski, “organizations of Macedonians of Islamic religion… declared themselves as Torbeshi”. At the First Torbesh Forum, they adopted the “Torbesh Charter” and demanded separate inclusion in the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia. A controversy broke out in 1995 when

1015-758: The term with the kutugeri , a group of Bogomil missionaries who carried bags. The most common explanation in North Macedonia of the origin of the term is that the Torbeš sold their faith for a bag ( torba in Macedonian) of goods from the Ottomans. Among other names ascribed to them are Macedonian-speaking Muslims , Našinci , Apovci , Poturi and Turci (Turks). They are also referred to as Macedonian Muslims or Muslim Macedonians . In some sources, Macedonian-speaking Muslims are grouped together with Pomaks . The Macedonian-speaking Muslims of Gollobordë are also known as Gollobordas . The Torbeši are largely

1050-504: The villages in Debar regions are populated by Torbeš. The Struga municipality also holds a large number of Macedonian Muslims who are primarily concentrated in the large village of Labuništa . Further north in the Debar region many of the surrounding villages are inhabited by Torbeš. The Dolna Reka region is also primarily populated by Torbeš. Places such as Rostuša and also have large Torbeš populations. There are also major concentrations in

1085-469: The western part of North Macedonia , near the road connecting the towns of Debar and Gostivar . The monastery church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist . One of its most valuable treasures is the iconostasis , created by Petre Filipov - Garkata from the nearby village of Gari  [ mk ] , and considered one of the finest examples of wood-carved iconostases. According to its 1833 chronicle,

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1120-428: Was Doksim Mihailović from Galičnik, while the Bulgarian vojvods were under Maksim N. Bogoja. Tale Krastev, Ivan Pendarovski, Rade Yankulovski, Kiro Simonovski, Yanaki Tomov, Apostol Frachkovski etc. One of the leaders and founders of IMARO , Damyan Gruev is also a Mijak (from Smilevo ). The Mijaks are well known for the extent to which old customs are preserved in their everyday life. The pečalba (seasonal work)

1155-423: Was a deeply entrenched tradition of the Mijaks; males in their 20s would often leave the village for months, or even years, at a time, in order to work in more prosperous regions and create wealth for the family — this has contributed to the dispersion of Mijak families, with villages now deserted or sparsely populated. Mijaks had mastered the craft of woodcarving, and for many years a wood carving school operated in

1190-453: Was populated by Mijaks. Their ethnonym is unclear. There is a theory that the Mijaks were the first to permanently settle this area; they found mostly Vlachs , who seem to have not been permanently settled; the Mijaks pushed the Vlachs out of the pasture lands, while some of the Vlachs were assimilated. According to another theory the Mijaks are the remains of an old Slavic tribe that inhabited

1225-582: Was written, containing 20,000 words. In the summer of 1875, referendum was held on the church affiliation of the Christians in Debar county (kaza). The majority supported the accession to the Bulgarian Exarchate . Only 2 villages and 20 houses in Debar supported the Patriarchate of Constantinople , perceived by local Bulgarians as Greek church. This was made after the Principality of Bulgaria received most of

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