Serbs of White Carniola

Serbs of White Carniola
Regions with significant populations
Črnomelj 365 (1991)
Languages
Slovenian, Serbian
Religion
Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Catholicism

Apart from the immigrant community that makes up the vast majority of Serbs in Slovenia, there are a few villages in the southern region of White Carniola inhabited by descendants of Serbs that fled from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, beginning in 1528 and permanent by 1593. These immigrants founded settlements in which descendants of Serbs live to these days: Bojanci, Marindol, Paunoviči, Adlešiči, Žuniči, Miliči and others. The majority of the community (Slovene: Srbi v Beli krajini) have kept the Serbian Orthodox faith and their distinctive culture, although they have been almost completely assimilated to their Slovene-speaking environment. Some of them became Uniate (Eastern Catholic) in the 17th and 18th century.

History

With the Ottoman conquest of Serbian territories, groups of Serbs fled to the north or west; of the western migrational groups, some settled in White Carniola and Žumberak.[1] In September 1597, with the fall of Slatina, some 1,700 Uskoks with their wives and children settled in Carniola, bringing some 4,000 sheep with them.[2] The following year, with the conquest of Cernik, some 500 Uskok families settled in Carniola.[2] At the end of the 17th century, with the stagnation of Ottoman power due to European pressure during internal crisis, and Austrian advance far into Macedonia, Serbs armed themselves and joined the fight against the Ottomans; the Austrian retreat prompted another massive exodus of Serbs from the Ottoman territories in ca. 1690 (see Great Serb Migrations).[3]

White Carniola, being the southernmost region of Slovenia, by the Kupa river, is also the northwesternmost Serbian linguistical island, heard from often repeated phrases.[4] In reality, the Serbian language is rarely heard in the last four villages in which descendants of Serb uskoks live, who continue to espouse a Serb identity: Bojanci, Marindol, Miliči and Paunoviči. In the other historical European–Ottoman frontier villages in the region, there are today Uniate (Eastern Catholic) and Catholicisated descendants of Serbs who only speak the Slovenian language.[4]

The community had traditionally taken wives from other Serb communities, such as in nearby Gorski kotar (in Croatia). The first mixed marriage was recorded in Bojanci and White Carniola in 1947, and since then, Bojanci Serbs "seek wives in the Slovenian milieu".[5] Before World War II, the gravestones were written in Serbian Cyrillic, while today, they are written in Serbian Latin.[4] The assimilation of the White Carniolan Serbs continued, with a Serbian primary school being closed in 1992.[6] The number of Serb households shrunk with 300% during the 1981–1991 period, with a total number of 121 households in 1991.[6] According to Zdravko Vukčević from Bojanci and Orthodox priest Jelenko Stojanović from Moravice, Serb children from Miliči and Paunoviči began entering Slovenian schools in Adlešiči and Črnomelj.[6]

Culture

Serbian Orthodox clergy in White Carniola have traditionally taken monastic vows in the Gomirje Monastery, and still today serve in the villages of Bojanci and Marindol.

In old folk poetry of White Carniola, Serbian hero Prince Marko is often mentioned, sung in "clean Shtokavian".[7] Based on surnames found in the region, it may be concluded that their ancestors were Serbs and Croats.[7]

Anthropology

Surnames

Surnames have been recorded since 1551.

References

  1. ↑ Glasnik Etnografskog instituta 52. Научно дело. 2004. p. 189.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Akademija nauka i umjetnosti Bosne i Hercegovine. Odjeljenje društvenih nauka (1970). Radovi odjeljenje društvenih nauka 12. p. 158.
  3. ↑ Etnografski institut (Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti) (1960). Posebna izdanja. 10–14. Naučno delo. p. 16.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Subašić, B. (2014-01-29). "Belu Krajinu nema ko da čuva". Novosti.
  5. ↑ Stanovčić 2005, p. 431.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Marko Lopušina (1998). Svi Srbi sveta: vodič kroz dijasporu. IP PRINCIP. pp. 190–192.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Prosvjeta: mjesečnik Srpskog kulturnog društva Prosvjeta. Društvo. 1969. pp. 8–10.

Sources