image
by Ivan Sache 
Last modified: 2013-12-28 by ivan sache
Keywords: yugoslavia | bosnia and herzegovina | croatia | macedonia | slovenia | mavrolachians | morlaks | istria | mavrolakians | dalmatia | mavrovlakhos | wallachians | vlakhs | chopes | torvlaks |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
image
by Ivan Sache
See also:
"Mavrolachians (Morlaks) - Istria, Slovenia, Croatia
(1917)" - Red field with a wide red diagonal stripe with a
white "window" bearing red crescent and star. This
design is listed under 37 at the chart: Flags of Aspirant Peoples
[eba94].
Ivan Sache, 16 September 1999
I had trouble locating "Mavrolachians (Morlaks).
According to Buschan 'Die Vo"lker Europas', c. 1910, the
Maurovlachen (Maurovlachians) were 'black Vlachians; they were
nomadic shepherds, like the Aromunen and Turkish shepherds; their name was
mentioned in the 10th century in the Byzantine empire; in the 11th century in
Bulgaria and in later times in the western part of the Balkan peninsula. (Buschan writes here on the
wandering shepherds in general.) There were shepherd speaking
Slavic and Albanian languages; in the 19th century they spoke
Romanian and Aromanian. They wandered into Moravian Wallachia,
the islands of Istria and into the environment of Trieste. Most
of them settled probably in villages and some of them became the hereditary village shepherds (Transylvania, the great Hungarian
plain); in Buschan's time the Aromanians wandered in the
meadow-rich parts of the Balkan mountains and the Rhodope, the
Pindus, Schardagh, soutwest Serbia and southern Albania. In
winter they wander for 30, 40 days in the coastal regions at
Arta, the Dardanelles and Valona (Vlone"). They carried
their possessions on big horses.
The Morlaks lived in Dalmatia and some of them were shepherds
(Buschan speaks about the two as different peoples).
In Kramer's 'Geographisch Woordenboek' (1883) I read about:
'Morlacca (German: Vellebith), region in Austrian Croatia,
consisting of the mountainous coastal area with the villages of
Carlopago (Karlobeg) and Zeng (Senj). The inhabitants are
reckoned to be some of the most uncivilized in the
Austrian-Hungarian monarchy. The Street of Morlacca (Velibitsky
Kanal), 5 km wide, separates the Illyrian and Dalmatian islands
Veglia (Krk), Arbe (Rab) and Pago (Pag) from the mainland.
My tentative conclusion would be that the Maurovlachians do not
exist anymore as a wandering shepherd-tribe, and that some of
them have settled in 'Morlacca' as Morlaks; the flag Ivan
describes might be their regional flag.
Jarig Bakker, 15 September 1999
My somewhat bigoted 'Allers Illustrerede
Konversations-Leksikon' (Copenhagen 1906-10) says that two thirds
are Roman Catholics and one third Greek. And that the Morlaks are
some of the best sailors in the Austrian navy.
Ole Andersen, 15 September 1999
Here is what the Yugoslav Encyclopedia have about them
(Enciklopedija Leksikografskog Zavoda, Zagreb, 1968, book 4), my
translation, [my comments in brackets], spelling of different
names kept as in the original: "Morlaki, (Murlaki; from
Ital. Morlacco, being shortening of Greek form Mauroblahos -
mauros - black, Blahos - Vlah; Maurovlasi or Morovlasi, in Latin
sources called Nigri Latini - Black Latins), name used for
shepherds of Roman origin or romanized, that kept themselves in
Balkan peninsula mountains after Slavene colonization in 6th
century, keeping some linguistic and somatic characteristics.
Morlaki (Morovlasi) are called those Romanian shepherds that,
running from Turks towards west, settled in mountains from Skadar
lake [on border of Montenegro and Albania] to Velebit [in
northern Croatian coast]. So, a group of them came to island Krk
1450-80 (villages Dubas<nica and Poljica) where some words and
roots of Romanian language, intertwined with Slavisms (as the
prayer "Our father"), were kept until beginning of 19th
century. Some groups of those Romanians came to Trieste [on
Italian-Slovenian border], and very long held themselves in some
villages in Istria. The Italian form Morlacco is used already in
15th century, and in 16th century that is the name for (any)
local people living in mountains from Kotor [in Montenegro] to
Kvarner [around city of Rijeka]. Lots of Morlaks was in Velebit
mountains, so that region was by Venetians called Morlachia. The
Velebit mountain was called Montagne della Morlacca, and sea way
under the mountain, closed by the islands, was Morlakian channel
(Canale della Morlacca).
Željko Heimer, 17 September 1999
Here the translation from the Yugoslav Encyclopedia of the text
on Wallacians (Vlasi) [certainly of the same origin as the name
for the region and historical state in Romania, but not directly
related]: "Vlasi, originally a general term that South Slavs
used after they settled in Balkan region to designate older
peoples: colonized Romans, romanized Illyrians and
Tracians, and so on; latter the name gained more meanings.
The name Vlah have origins from a name of a Celtic tribe that
Romans called Volcae, and Germans used Walhos. Latter the name
Walhos (middle-high-German Walch, adv. wa:lhisch, welsch) became
a generic German name for Celts, and then (after the celtic Galia
was romanized) for Romans: French, Italians, Rethoroman groups,
Romanians, and so on. The Slavs took the name directly from
Germans, and partly from Byzant (Greek Balahos). In our [South
Slavic] middle age documents the name Vlah was used sometimes for
Italians. Some sources call by that name folk from Dubrovnik
(Ragusa) and from other coastal cities that at that time still
had partially romanized population. But, the far most often use
of that name was for smaller groups of Roman (Riomanian) language
for people that mostly live nomadic life in our mountains from
Macedonia to Kvarner [Istria]. Except by the generic name Vlah,
they are also known as Rumunji (Rumuni, Aromuni), Cincari, C/iC/i
(Istrian Vlasi), Morovlasi (Morlaci), Karavlasi, Karaguni,
Karavunci, Karakac<ani, Meglenski Vlasi, and so on.Historical
documents mention Vlasi populations on Krk island, in Istria, all
over mainland Dalmatia, in Herzegovina, Bosnia, Montenegro,
Serbia and Macedonia. The inhabitants of the coast, which at
first called by that name only highland nomadic romanized
population, at some time started to use it for a generic term
for the continental rural population (both Roman and
Slavic), which is used still today - with some pejorative tone -
for a village from the "hills behind" (on the other
hand, they use the same pejorative tone by calling sea-folk
Bodul). Quite similar, former romanized citizens of coastal
cities, and afterwards Italians too, used in the same broader
sense a name for continental villages - Morlak (Ital. Morlacco,
from Maurovlachus, black Vlah). In the time of Turkish wars, when
the Croatian regions were populated by mobilized both Vlasi
population and Serbs - of orthodox church, the name Vlah was in
somewhat pejorative sense being used for an orthodox Christian or
a Serb person in general (in coastal regions a word of the same
meaning "ris<c/anin" was used, but without
pejorative tone). On the other hand, Turks use the name Vlah for
all christians in
countries under their rule in Balkans. Vlasi, in narrower sense,
live today only in Istria (in region called C/icIarija, 8
villages preserved Romanian language) and in Macedonia.
Macedonian Vlasi - Cincari call themselves Arm'nj (from Latin
Romanus - roman). A part of Cincari live permanently in towns:
Krus<evac, Bitola and others, being merchants, craftsmen or
working abroad. Others are nomadic herdsmen known by various
names (Karavunci, Karaguni, Karakac<ani, Kucivlasi); but in
latter time they more often begin to live in agricultural settled
way. Meglenski Vlasi, settled under mountain of Koz<uv are
mainly agricultural, and are differentiated from Cincari by
bodily characteristics, language, clothes and customs.
Željko Heimer, 18 September 1999
The Mavrolakian movement is, more than an ethnic flag, and
political flag. Mavrolakian movement was sponsored by Turkish,
that used some minorities without rights and Muslim people in the
Italian territories in Dalmatia during WWI After war the movement
collapsed and, difference from others peoples, no Morlak National
Council is quoted. Ratio was 8:14
Jaume Olle, 21 September 1999
The correct spelling is Mavrovlakhos . That name translates to
Black Vlakhs or Dark Vlakhs, who're a people of southeast Europe
Robert Lloyd Wheelock, 24 September 1999
On 9 Oct 1999 Ivan Sache wrote:
"From Franciae Vexilla #8/54, January 1998, notes by M.
Corbic
"In the middle of the XIXth century, along with the revival
of Serbian and Bulgarian, appears the idea of a Balkan
Federation. In Bucarest, the Prime Minister Mihail Kogalniceanu,
supported by Prince Ion Cuza, designed in 1863 the flag of
Romanian-speaking peoples of Southern Danube, a.k.a. Chopes or
Torvlaks."
[The definition of the Chop people seems to be difficult and
controversial and the article is not very clear. It seems that
these people are spread over western Bulgaria and eastern
Yugoslavia, and have lost the Moravo-Romanian language spoken by
their ancestors, and were not recognized as a nationality by the
Yugoslav and Bulgarian regimes.]"
I do not know much about this, but comparing the names of these
people with some names given in the article from Yugoslav
Encyclopedia it could be concluded that these are the same or at
least very much related people as several
"Morovalachian" (I put this in quotes as there are many
names for them), groups in Macedonia.
I was not aware that they were ever so numerous (and
"progressive" in a sense of developed national feeling)
as to make a political movement, but, as I said, I know too little
to claim anything.
Željko Heimer, 10 October 1999
