Aromanians in Greece

The Aromanians in Greece (Aromanian: Armãnji tu Gãrtsii; Greek: Βλάχοι/Αρμάνοι στην Ελλάδα) are an Aromanian ethno-linguistic group native in Epirus, Thessaly and Western and Central Macedonia, in Greece.[2]

Aromanians in Greece
Armãnji/Rrãmãnji tu Gãrtsii
Βλάχοι/Αρμάνοι στην Ελλάδα
Area with Aromanian population and dialects
Total population
39,855 (1951 census); unofficial estimates count up to 300,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Attica, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Macedonia, Central Macedonia
Languages
Aromanian (native), Greek
Religion
Predominantly Eastern Orthodoxy
Related ethnic groups
Aromanians, Vlachs, Romanians, Greeks
Part of a series on
Aromanians
Geographical distribution
Major settlements
Culture
Language and identity
Religion
History
Related groups

In the country, they are commonly known as "Vlachs" (Βλάχοι, Vláchoi) and referred to as "Vlachophone Greeks"[3][4] or "Vlach-speaking Greeks",[5] because most Aromanians in Greece have a Greek identity and identify themselves with the Greek nation and culture.[6][7]

History

Byzantine historian George Kedrenos identified Aromanians living in what is now Greece in the 11th century.[8] Under the Ottoman Empire, the Aromanians were considered part of the Rum Millet.[9] In 1902, Alexandru Lahovary advocated for the recognition of the Aromanians as a distinct millet, which was granted in 1905.[10] Like the Arvanites, Aromanians played an important role in the Greek War of Independence. The group became more distinct towards the end of the 19th century, with a split occurring between Vlachs who identified more closely with Romania and those who were linked more to Greece.

Culture

The Aromanians of Greece count with the Panhellenic Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs, a cultural organization of Aromanians.[11][9] The Aromanian communities, who use the endonym Vlasi, in Macedonia speak Megleno-Romanian, separate from the Aromanian language.

Music
Main articles: Aromanian music and Polyphonic song of Epirus

Cuisine
See also: Aromanian cuisine

Religion

In the Ottoman Empire, the Vlachs fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Greek Patriarch by virtue of them being Orthodox Christian; services were conducted in Greek.[12] Conducting services in the Aromanian language became a priority issue for the Vlachs. The Orthodox Patriarch decided that if the Vlachs were to conduct services in their own language, they would be denied their own clerical head. In 1875, the Patriarch ordered the closure of 8 Vlach churches, leading to an escalation in hostilities.[12] The Ottoman Ministry of Justice and Religious Denomination determined in 1891 that the Vlach had a right to worship in their own language; in 1892, the Ministry of Justice warned the Greek Patriarch that if Vlach-language services were not instituted, the Vlachs would likely established their own church. The Vlach were eventually successful in appointing their own bishop.

Metsovone, Aromanian cheese from Metsovo

List of settlements
Panorama of the town of Metsovo

Because of the Aromanian history of cattle-rearing and history of discrimination in urban areas, the Aromanian population is largely scattered throughout Greece.[9]

Epirus

Macedonia

Thessaly and Mount Olympus

Aetolia-Acarnania

Notable Aromanians from modern Greece
Yanaki and Milton Manaki
George Averoff, oil painting by Pavlos Prosalentis the younger (1857-1894)
Evangelos Zappas

Academics

Art and literature

Military

Philanthropy

Politics

Religion

Science

See also

References
  1. Kahl 2002, p. 153.
  2. Mackridge, Peter (2 April 2009). Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199214426.
  3. "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Greece : Vlachs". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. May 2018. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Vlachs, or Vlachophone Greeks, are traditionally mountain pastoralists.
  4. Official Report of Debates. Council of Europe. 1 July 1996. p. 907. ISBN 978-92-871-2983-3. The Vlachs or Macedo-Romanians, also called Aromanians or Vlachophone Greeks by others [...]
  5. "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Greece : Vlachs". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. May 2018. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. In August 2003 the Greek Federation of Cultural Associations of Vlachs objected to the direct or indirect characterization of the Vlach-speaking Greeks as an ethnic, linguistic or other type of minority, a position expressed in a subsequent report issued by the American organization Freedom House. The Federation asserted that Vlach-speaking Greeks never asked to be recognized as a minority by the Greek state as both historically and culturally they were, and still are an integral part of Hellenism.
  6. History and culture of South Eastern Europe. Vol. 5. Slavica Verlag Dr. A. Kovač. 2003. p. 212.
  7. Stjepanović, Dejan (15 March 2015). "Claimed Co-ethnics and Kin-State Citizenship in Southeastern Europe". Ethnopolitics. 14 (2): 140–158. doi:10.1080/17449057.2014.991151. hdl:20.500.11820/8f5ce80b-bfb3-470c-a8b0-620df2a7760f. ISSN 1744-9057.
  8. Wichmann, Anna (6 November 2022). "The Vlachs: The Proud Greeks Who Speak a Romance Language". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  9. Kahl, Thede (2002). "The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the identity of a minority that behaves like a majority". Ethnologia Balkanica. 6: 145–169.
  10. Macar, Elçin (2 January 2023). "The Recognition of the Vlachs as a Millet in the Ottoman Empire, 1905". The Journal of the Middle East and Africa. 14 (1): 87–112. doi:10.1080/21520844.2022.2125696. ISSN 2152-0844.
  11. Droukas, Evangelou; Bezos, Sofoklis (2004). Μελέτη σχετικά με την ιστορία τη ζωή και τον πολιτισμό των βλάχων (Thesis) (in Greek). Mytilene: University of the Aegean. pp. 1–207.
  12. Arslan, Ali (2004). "The Vlach issue during the Late Ottoman period and the emergence of the Vlach community (millet)". Études balkaniques (4): 121–139. ISSN 0324-1645.
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