 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 1,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Istria c. 120[2] | |
 Croatia | c. 450 (elsewhere)[2] |
| Rest of the world | c. 500[2] |
| Languages | |
| Istro-Romanian, Croatian (Chakavian dialect),Italian | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Aromanians,Megleno-Romanians,Romanians | |
TheIstro-Romanians (Istro Romanian:rumeri orrumâri) are aRomanceethnic group native to or associated with theIstrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of theisland ofKrk until 1875. However, due to several factors such as theindustrialization andmodernization of Istria during thesocialist regime ofYugoslavia, many Istro-Romaniansemigrated to other places, be theyCroatian cities such asPula andRijeka or places such asNew York City,Trieste andWestern Australia. The Istro-Romanians dwindled severely in number, being reduced to eightsettlements on the Croatian side of Istria in which they do not represent themajority.
It is known that the Istro-Romanians are not descendants of a historicalRoman population native to Istria, since the differences between theIstro-Romanian language and thegeographically close, nowextinctDalmatian language, are notable. Additionally, similarities toTransylvanianRomanians andTimok Vlachs suggest that Istro-Romanians may originate from areas west ofRomania orSerbia. Although it is not known exactly how and when, the Istro-Romanians settled in Istria, where they would remain forcenturies until they began toassimilate. Even now, with severalassociations and projects aiming to preserve theirculture and with the support from both theCroatian andRomaniangovernments, the Istro-Romanians are not officially recognized as anational minority.
Although it has become widely popular and is now used almost exclusively, the term "Istro-Romanian" is a somewhat controversialscientific invention, which is not used by them to self-identify. The Istro-Romanians prefer to use names derived from their nativevillages, which areJesenovik,Kostrčani,Letaj,Nova Vas,Šušnjevica,Zankovci, the Brdo area and the isolatedŽejane. Others also use "Vlach", but to refer to the entire Istro-Romanian population, the namesrumâri andrumeri are often employed. Theirlanguage is highly similar toRomanian, both being part of theEastern Romance languages family alongsideAromanian andMegleno-Romanian, all descending fromProto-Romanian. However, Romania regards these ethnic groups as part of a "broad definition" of what a Romanian is, which is debatable and does not have a widely accepted view.
The Istro-Romanian culture hascostumes,dances andsongs with many similarities to those of Romania.Literature in Istro-Romanian is small, with the first book published in 1905. Historically, they werepeasants andshepherds, with many of them beingpoor and without having receivededucation until the 20th century. Today, the Istro-Romanian language has little use in education,media andreligion, withCroatian imposing itself in these and other domains. They are so few that they have been described as "the smallestethnolinguistic group inEurope". It is thought that if their situation does not change, the Istro-Romanians will disappear in the following decades.
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The term "Istro-Romanian" is commonly used amongresearchers andlinguists to identify thisEastern Romance people from theIstrian Peninsula. However, it is a relatively recent creation from the middle of the 19th century based ongeographic rather thanscientific criteria.[3] This denomination was used for the first time by theRomanianwriter andhistorianGheorghe Asachi (asistroromâni),[4] and then by theSlovenephilologistFranz Miklosich, (asistrischen Rumunen andistro-rumunisch),[5] from which the name of theIstro-Romanian language and its speakers would be generalized. Nowadays, it is almost exclusively employed, and highlights the similarity of thislanguage with theRomanian one.[6] However, the Istro-Romanians do not identify with this name,[3] and the use of "Istro-Romanian" outside the context oflinguistics can be controversial until a certain point. Some people use the more recent name "Vlashki and Zheyanski language".[6][2]
To refer to themselves as a whole, the Istro-Romanians may userumâri, derived from theLatinromanus.[3] The similarrumeri is also used since the 17th century, but thisendonym (internal name, used by theethnic group in question) does not appear in documents until its reuse by the Istro-Romanian writer andprofessorAndrei Glavina and the Romanian historianConstantin Diculescu and then by the Romanianjournalist and professorAlexandru Leca Morariu in the 20th century. Due to the influence of Romanian researchers, Istro-Romanians also use theCroatianwordrumunji, especially in contact with foreigners.[7] Given the weakness of Istro-Romaniannational sentiment, some elder people call themselves Romanians or Romanian-speakingCroats or evenItalians (except inŽejane) to differentiate themselves from the surrounding Croats.[3][6]
Many Istro-Romanians prefer to use ademonym derived from the name of their nativevillage. For example, those fromŠušnjevica useșușnevți andșușnevski oršušnjevski for their language, those fromNova Vas usenovosani andnovosanski ornovošånski for their language, those fromKostrčani usecostărčånți and those from the Brdo area usebrijånski for their language. Generally, the Istro-Romanians from the villages south of theUčkamountain range also use the namevlåš (singularvlåh) andvlaška orvlaški for their language, taken from theSouth Slavic word "Vlach". On the other hand, in the northern village of Žejane, the only other one in which Istro-Romanian is spoken,jeianți oržejånci is used for the people andjeianski,žejanski orpo jeianski cuvinta for the language. Croats also call themjeianci orvlaski, but the inhabitants of Žejane do not identify as Vlachs.[7][3][6]
The Istro-Romanians have been called in many ways by the peoples that lived alongside them or in their surroundings. One of the earliestexonyms (external names) used for Istro-Romanians isĆići, given by the Croats. It appears in Latin documents in the form ofchichii,[8] inItalian ones first in the form ofchichi[9] and later ascici orcicci, and inGerman ones astschizen,tschitzen,zitschen,tschitschen,ziegen andzische.[10]
There exist several theories on its etymological origin. It has been suggested that it could come from the Italian wordcicaleccio, derived from theverbcicalare, meaning "insistent and confused (indistinct) talking", sinceSlavs could not understand the Istro-Romanians.[11] TheCroatian linguistPetar Šimunović similarly proposed as the possible origin the Croatian verb variationsčičerati orčičarati,čačarat andk'ik'rat, all of which mean "speak".[12] The Croatian linguist Josip Ribarić noted that Croats in Istria meant "speaking Istro-Romanian" when using the termčičerati, and the termdrakulati (fromdraku, "dragon", "devil") was used in the villages ofMale Mune andVele Mune for the Istro-Romanian speech of Žejane.[11] Šimunović also proposed the interrogative pronounći in the meaning "what?",[13] while Ribarić proposed that the syllableči appeared in all the mentioned words that theRomance-speaking Vlachs often used and was unusual to the Slavs.[11][13] In Istro-Romanian, as a result of secondarypalatalization,t becomesț ("c") in Šušnjevica andč in Nova Vas and Žejane, hence the termcincari ortsinstari could come fromVulgar Latintsintsi (compare toMegleno-Romanianținți), meaning "five" and deriving astsintsi-ținți-cinci-činči-(n)-čiči-ćići.[11] The also proposed derivation from the Slavic wordčičā ("old man", "uncle") is improbable.[11]
Today, theethnonym (name given to an ethnic group, be it internal or external) Ćići is imprecise, because it also refers to the Croats and Slovenes of theregion ofĆićarija.[4] Another name used by the Croats isĆiribirci, believed to come from Istro-Romanian wordsčire (lat. qui ne, ține-cine-țire-cire-čire,who/you) andbire frombine (lat. bene,good), meaning a greeting "hold well".[11] Since it is usually said as a joke, it may be offensive for some native speakers.[6] Those of theisland ofKrk were often called by the local Croats as "Vlachs", commonly in negative context.[14]
Another name is "Vlach" (fromGreekβλάχοι, in Latin documentsvlachi, in Croatian and Serbianvlahi, latervlasi), used for the Istro-Romanians[7] (including those in Krk)[14] since theMiddle Ages, but it has different meanings depending on the persons that used or use it and depending on the epoch. TheByzantines used it for all the Romance-speaking peoples in theBalkans, but in Croatian and Serbian documents it designatedshepherds of any ethnicity from the territories inhabited bySouth Slavs.[7] Today, in Greek, the term also denotes theAromanians and theMegleno-Romanians, and in Serbian andBulgarian, theTimok Vlachs.[15] The term "Morlach" (in Greekμαυρόβλαχοι, in Latinmoroulahi, in Croatianmorlaci, in Italianmorlacchi) was originally used for all the Western Vlachs, from which the Istro-Romanians may originate, but it also designated shepherds of other ethnicities,[7] and is no longer used at present. More names have been used in theacademic community for the Istro-Romanians. The eruditescientist Antonio Covaz called themrimgliani orvlahi d'Istria,rimljani being the term used by Croats andSerbs forRoman citizens.[7]
The first mention of a Romance-speakingpopulation in Istria during the Middle Ages dates back to 940 when theByzantineemperorConstantine VII reported in hisDe Administrando Imperio that there were Romance peoples in the peninsula which called themselves Romans although they did not come fromRome.[16]Theories about the Istro-Romanians descending from a historical Roman population in Istria were initially supported by Italian and some Romanian researchers. However, this point of view is now refuted due to the similarities of the Istro-Romanians with the Romanians from the west ofRomania and theTimok Valley[3] and the differences with the geographically closeDalmatian language (nowextinct).[16]
Two other dominant theories are distinguished. According to the theory of the Romanian philologist and linguistOvid Densusianu, the Istro-Romanians originate from the southwest ofTransylvania andBanat,[17] and would haveemigrated from there between the years 1000 and 1400.[16] He bases this theory on language traits, for example, the simpleintervocalicrhotacism (sound change that converts oneconsonant into a "R-like" sound) of [n] ([n]> [r]) in the words of Latin origin, as in theȚara Moțilordialect in Romania.[17] In addition, there are Istro-Romanian popular stories about their arrival in Istria during the Middle Ages. According to locallegends, there were sevencaravans that came from Transylvania and settled in Istria, six south of the Učka and one north of it.[16] This theory is also embraced by other scholars like Vasile Frățilă,[7] Iosif Popovici and Goran Filipi.[18] Other authors say that the Istro-Romanians migrated much earlier, in the second half of thefirst millennium, before the start of theHungarianinfluence on Romanian, since the Istro-Romanian language does not have these influences.[2]
Another theory, that of Romanian linguist and philologistSextil Pușcariu, claimed a southDanubian origin for the Istro-Romanians, specifically in currentSerbia, but with contact with the Romanians at the west of Romania. He placed their separation from the other Eastern Romance peoples in the 13th century.[19] With distinctions as to the exact location, Pușcariu's theory is also adopted by several scholars.[20] There is also an intermediate theory belonging to Elena Scărlătoiu suggesting that the "great mass of Istro-Romanians" came from several nuclei in the center, west and northwest of Transylvania, as well as from the south of the Danube, namely, the area between the Timok Valley andPrizren.[21]
However, none of thesehypotheses is universally accepted by thescientific community and therefore the question about the provenience of this people remains uncertain.[3] Regardless of the place of origin, the Istro-Romanians are usually considered to be the last Eastern Romance people to break away from the others and migrate to the west, mainly becoming shepherds. Giuseppe Vassilich (1900)[22] and Sextil Pușcariu (1926)[19] considered that the Istro-Romanians were attested in old Byzantine documents under the name "Morlachs" (in Greek μαυρόβλαχοι).[22] Pușcariu argued that the attestation of the names "Danulus" and "Negulus" in documents from 1018 and 1070 respectively indicated that the Istro-Romanians had possibly arrived toDalmatia as early as the 11th century,[19] a theory for which Ion Șiadbei believed there was not enough evidence.[23]
During the followingcenturies, people of possible Istro-Romanian ethnicity in and around Istria will continue to be mentioned. In 1181, anabbess of thePatriarchate of Aquileia named Ermelinda reported the appearance of a person namedRadul (considered aRomanian name by some[7][24]) to whom lands have been attributed in what is now theItalianprovince ofFriuli-Venezia Giulia.[25]
In the 14th century, Vlach shepherds are attested near thecities ofSplit,Trogir,Šibenik andZadar, as well as in the islands ofRab,Pag[20] and Krk.[22] In a document of 1329 referring toBuzet in Istria, the name of one Vlach appears; Pasculus Chichio, a name derived from the exonym "Ćići" used by Croats for Istro-Romanians.[24] It is known that during this century the Istro-Romanians used caravans to sell theirdairy products and transport othergoods. In theRagusantrade,caseus vlachescus orvlachiscus (brença,cheese, as it appears in a document from 1357) was of such importance that it was also used as apayment method, and itsprice was set by the authorities. They also traded withsalt on theAdriatic coast.[22]
In the 15th century, there wereepidemics of devastatingplague in Istria,[16] and theSenate of theRepublic of Venice, ruler of thepeninsula, favored thesettlement of Morlachs,[19] as well South Slavs who escaped from theOttoman Empire.[26] Due to this, in 1449, Vlachs are mentioned in the Istriantown ofBuje. The wordcici first appeared as a proper ethnonym in a document of 1463.[22]
In addition, thegovernor of the island of Krk since 1451,Ivan VII Frankopan, was in need ofmanpower. Therefore, during the second half of the 15th century, he started to settle the less populated or uninhabited parts, such as the western zone of the island, that is, in and around the areas ofDubašnica and Poljica and in the land between the castles ofDobrinj andOmišalj. Most of the settlers were Vlachs and Morlachs, who came from the south of theVelebit mountain range and around theDinaramountain. The Croatian linguist andonomastics expertPetar Skok affirms that this people was composed of Romanian shepherds, as they preservedRomanian numbering until the 20th century. They crossed theVelebit Channel, in Italian,Canale della Morlacca ("Channel of the Morlach"), and settled in western Krk. Today, there are sometoponyms such as Fȁreča (from Romanianferece,fern), Fintȉra (from Romanianfîntînă,fountain) and Sekara (from Romaniansecară,ryn) left in Krk. It is also known that the current Croatian dialect of Krk has a few Istro-Romanian loans, likešpilišôr oršpirišôr (from Romanianspin, "spine", + thesuffixșor), acommon name for theplantSonchus whoseleaves have smallspines. It is thought that some of these Vlachs and Morlachs continued their way to Istria, where they settled,[14] but like the other theories, this cannot be confirmed.[3]
By the year 1523, the Istro-Romanians were already referred to ascicerani orciceliani by the Italian andAustrianchancelleries. Carsia, the former name of the region in which Žejane is located, was changed toCicceria (now Ćićarija).[16] In this century, based ontoponymy, they were spread almost everywhere inside the peninsula according to Sextil Pușcariu, especially in the areas of Žejane, Male Mune and Vele Mune, north of the Učka, as well as in Šušnjevica and other villages at the south of the mountain range,[19] populating more than thirty settlements of varying sizes[16] between 1510 and 1599.[27] In a 1641 work about Istria, the scholar andbishop of Cittanova (nowNovigrad)Giacomo Filippo Tomasini mentions the namemorlaci, claiming that "they have their own language, which is in many words similar to Latin".[28]
During the 16th century, some Croatian writers saw the Istrian Vlachs as part of the same ethnic group as the Romanians fromTrajanic Dacia, and consideredDacia as the "Morovlasca Zemlja" ("Morlach Country").[29] Also, the ItalianmonkIreneo della Croce, in a work ofTrieste of 1698, mentions people who, instead of using aSlavic language, speak a language composed of many Latin words that is similar to theWallachian one. Later, he says that thechichi call themselves in their own language asrumeri.[9] This word reflects thephonetic changes produced in the evolution from Latin to the Eastern Romance languages in general ([o] notaccentuated > [u], [a] accentuated followed by [n] +vowel >[ɨ], represented in Italian as [e]) and one specific to Istro-Romanian: [n] simple intervocalic > [r].[19] He also gave thirteen singlenouns (likecopra,goat, orlapte,milk), eight nouns withdeterminers and twosentences from their language with the Italian translation.[9] This is the firstattestation of the language apart from toponyms and person names, which had previously appeared in writings.[25] It is assumed that during this time, the Istro-Romanians already extended to Trieste.[16]
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Istro-Romanian population would begin to fall under theassimilation of the local population,[16] only preserving its identity and language in the most densely populated settlements such as Žejane and the villages south of the Učka. The only thing left of the smallest settlements in the Croatian andSlovenian region of Ćićarija and the rest of Istria is thetoponomy of the places, which proves that at some point, the Istro-Romanians were more widespread.[7] Examples are Bolovani, Catun, Carbune, Floričići, Murari and Vlahi.[30] Unlike the other Romance peoples such as the Romanians or the Aromanians, the Istro-Romanians did not suffer a national renaissance, probably due to the small size of their population and the influence of assimilation factors. It would not be until the time of theRevolutions of 1848 when Romanians from the twoprincipalities (Wallachia andMoldavia) "discovered" this population in Istria. This would start a period of interest among Romanians to study and contact the Istro-Romanians.[31] During this period, the amount of their population is estimated at 6,000.[16]
Towards the end of the 19th century, Istria was part of theAustro-Hungarian Empire, of theAustrian Littoralcrown land, and was inhabited by several ethnic groups, mainly Croats and Italians.[32] The Istro-Romanians were not recognized as anational minority unlike other peoples. Actually, researchers of the time point the discrimination they suffer. TheGerman linguistGustav Weigand mentions that their schoolarization is very poor. Both Croats and Italians seek to assimilate them, and as a result, in the Istro-Romanian villages there are noschools in the Croatian or Italian languages, and even less in Istro-Romanian.[33] Weigand's statement is partly contradicted by the fact that the Italians supported this demand, but they were less numerous than the Croats.[34] Various authors mention thatchurch services were given in Latin and Croatian, withpriests striving to hinder thecultural development of theparishioners.[35][36] It is estimated that between 1850 and 1859, there were 2,955 Istro-Romanians.[37] Meanwhile, the Istro-Romanians of Krk had been suffering severe assimilation since long before and many of them abandoned their language. They disappeared completely in 1875 when Mate Bajčić Gašpović fromBajčići (near Poljica), the last person with knowledge of Istro-Romanian on the island, died.[14]
During this period, theRomanian media provoked activity in the area. In thenewspaperGiovine pensiero of 27 October 1887, there was a request signed by many Istro-Romanians to establish a school teaching in the Romanian language. This was discussed in theautumn of 1888 in theDiet of Istria. The Croatian representative impugned the existence of the Istro-Romanians and tried to prove that they were Slavs. Although the subsequent proposals had the support of several Italiandeputies, the Croatianmajority rejected all of them.[38] In 1905, a school teaching in Croatian was established, with little popularity amongstudents despite the efforts of the priest of Šušnjevica.[39] The Romanianethnographer andfolkloristTeodor Burada found in 1896 thatpoverty was high among Istro-Romanians during this time:pastoralism had fallen,zootechnics were neglected andagriculture was poorly productive. They started to cultivatevineyards, but they were destroyed by thegrape phylloxerabug. A way to increase their income through the work in thesoil was the cultivation ofculinary sage, especially in Šušnjevica.[31] The population of Istro-Romanians between 1880 and 1884 was composed by around 2,600 people.[37]
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Istro-Romanian from Šušnjevica Andrei Glavina returned to Istria fromRomania (where he studied at theAlexandru Ioan Cuza University ofIași) to awaken the identity of his people. This person is known for writing the first work entirely in Istro-Romanian[40] incollaboration with Diculescu,[7]Calindaru lu rumeri din Istrie (Calendar of the Romanians of Istria),published in 1905. During the first years of the century, he promoted campaigns in newspapers and tried to contact with deputies of Austria-Hungary, without success due to the Croatian pressure. Nevertheless, after theFirst World War, Istria was annexed to theKingdom of Italy. Glavina made the same request again, which was accepted immediately. Glavina became leader of the school of Frascati-Susgnevizza (Šušnjevica),[40] which was namedÎmpăratul Traian (in Romanian, "EmperorTrajan")[16] and became very popular, reaching 443 students at its peak. Thetextbooks were in Romanian and Italian, but theclasses were taught in the local language. He also becamemayor of the municipality of Valdarsa (an Italian name for Šušnjevica), amunicipality created to unify all the Istro-Romanian villages south of the Učka, with 2,301 inhabitants during its establishment. He improved theeconomic conditions of the villages and worked on theirinfrastructure.[40] Glavina died in 1925 fromtuberculosis, which led to the closure of the school and its replacement by an Italian one. Due to his efforts for the preservation of the language and culture of the Istro-Romanians, Glavina is known as the "Apostle of the Istro-Romanians".[39] Four years before hisdeath, an Italian officialcensus registered 1,644 ethnic Istro-Romanians in Istria.[27]
The municipality of Valdarsa continued to exist until 1947, Glavina being succeeded as mayor by Francesco Bellulovich, also from Šušnjevica.[39] The interest and research on the part of Italian and Romanianacademics continued. It is remarkable the work of Sextil Pușcariu, who published threevolumes of his studies on the Istro-Romanians in 1906, 1926 and 1929, respectively. Morariu published in 1928 the second book in Istro-Romanian,Lu frati noștri: libru lu rumeri din Istrie (To our brothers: book of the Romanians of Istria).[24] In 1932, Italy completed the recovery of the Arsa River (nowRaša River)basin, aproject that dates back to 1771, previously proposed by the Republic of Venice and theAustrian Empire.[40] This improved thequality of life of the locals, but also caused certainimmigrationist phenomena. There even was a project led by the Romanian academicSever Pop [ro] in which he would take two Istro-Romanian children (one from Šušnjevica and one from Žejane) to Romania to educate them there (as happened with Glavina), with the aim of opening new Romanian schools in both villages.[24] In 1934, aroad was established connecting the municipality with Fiume (nowRijeka), and another one with Pisino (nowPazin) in 1941, thus reducing the isolation of the villages. The majority of the population waspeasant, although there were also somesailors on theriver. The last mayor of Valdarsa was Guglielmo Barchiesi.[39]
It is known that duringSecond World War, the Istro-Romanians did not support the Italian expansion overCroatia andSlovenia. Žejane was later occupied byGerman-Italian forces on 5 May 1944, burning a large number ofhouses andfarms.[41] There, aconcentration camp was established. In the Istro-Romanian villages, houses and especiallychurches were destroyed during the last phase of the Second World War by theNazis as a reprisal for the actions of thePartisans.[24] However, Italy's defeat resulted in most of Istria being passed to the newsocialistYugoslavia. Between 1945 and 1956, theIstrian-Dalmatian exodus occurred in which around 250,000 Italians were expelled from Istria, Dalmatia and Fiume. In the Istrian inland, Italians sufferedmass killings (known asfoibe massacres), propertyconfiscations and hardforced labour. This greatly reduced the Romance-speaking population of Istria.[42] After the establishment of the socialist regimes inRomania and Yugoslavia, the efforts, projects and support for the preservation of the Istro-Romanian culture were branded asfascist and were canceled.[24]
Immediately after the end of thewar, the villages and Istria in general began todepopulate quickly. This may be due to thepolitical andsocial changes that came when it united with other Croatian-speaking lands and the Yugoslav socialist regime, as well as theindustrialization,modernization andurbanization of the place. The young villagers started to preferindustrial andservice jobs, leaving the agricultural lifestyle of the villages. In addition,interethnic marriage became more common both for those who abandoned their hometowns and those who decided to stay. Regular and universaleducation andmedia in Croatian commenced to spread, and the Istro-Romanian language lost value. Barely 8 years after the Second World War, the villages had already lost more than a quarter of their population.[2] Some Istro-Romanians also began to leave Istria completely and emigrate to other countries such asAustralia, theUnited States,Canada,France[16] and Italy (especially Trieste), a sizeable amount estimated to be composed by 500 people since 1945.[3] Although weaker, interest in the Istro-Romanians continued after the war, now with Croats (like the linguistAugust Kovačec) studying them as well.[24] Not much else is known about the life of the Istro-Romanians during this time since they only appeared in mainly linguistic articles, with practically nonews about them.[43] In 1961, there were approximately 1,140 Istro-Romanians (understanding by people with Istro-Romanianancestry or able to speak their language) in Istria, and 1,250 in 1974.[16]
In 1991,Croatia declaredindependence, inheriting most of Istria from Yugoslavia.[2] In this year, there were 810 people self-declared as Istro-Romanians and 22 as Morlachs in Istria.[16] After the fall of socialism, the press of Romania and other countries would begin to give more importance to the Istro-Romanian community.[43] The Croatian authorities also started to show more interest in them, with the Croatian state itself promising to do everything possible to preserve this ethnic group. The Istro-Romanian culture would begin to undergo a "revival", with a great number ofassociations and projects being created.[3] On 19 April 1994, the Cultural Association of the Istro-Romanians "Andrei Glavina" was created in Trieste with the purpose of saving and preserving the Istro-Romanians, with Emil Petru Rațiu aspresident.[43] Another association,Soboru lu Istrorumeri (In Istro-Romanian, "Union of the Istro-Romanians"), appeared in 1995.[3] The first newspaper in Istro-Romanian,Scrisoare către fråț rumer (in Istro-Romanian, "Letter to the Romanian brothers"), came out in 1996 and containsfiction (original or translated from Romanian), notes on theirhistory and ethnicity and news about the Aromanians and their life, among others. In 1997, the Congress of theFederal Union of European Nationalities adopted aresolution appealing Croatia to officially recognize the Istro-Romanians and the use of their language in education, media andreligion.[43]
The Istro-Romaniandiaspora, notably that of Canada and the United States, has also been putting its efforts to help the community in Istria. For example, the reparation and renovation of theclock tower of thehamlet of Brdo, as well as the construction of amuseum about the Istro-Romanian culture in Žejane, were carried out with itsfunds. There are also severalwebsites presenting the culture and history of the Istro-Romanians, notably Marisa Ciceran's (part of the diaspora), created in 1999.[16] On 27 September 2007,[30] theMinistry of Culture of Croatia gave to the Istro-Romanian language the status of "non-material cultural wealth" and registered it in theRegister of Cultural Goods of Croatia.[44] In 2008, theMoldovanpoliticianVlad Cubreacov initiated adraft resolution presented inStrasbourg called "Istro-Romanians must be saved", in which he urges Croatia and Romania to give morefinancial andinstitutional support.[45][3] On 8 November 2016, the Šušnjevica school was reopened. The inauguration was attended byConstantin Mihail Grigorie, thenambassador of Romania in Croatia, and the previous one, Cosmin Dinescu. Regional authorities of theIstria County also stayed there. This project cost 451,600kunas (around 61,100euros), of which Romania gave 100,000 kunas (around 13,550 euros).[46] The school teaches in Istro-Romanian and has a museum, "The Paths of the Vlachs".[47] It was estimated that in 2016, there were only 120 speakers of Istro-Romanian in their villages, 450 speakers elsewhere in Croatia and another 500 in the rest of the world. Therefore, the diaspora is larger than the native Istrian community.[2]
Currently, there is a website dedicated to thedigital archiving ofphotos,maps, books, articles,songs andaudio andvideo recordings regarding the Istro-Romanians and their life. It also includes a Croatian–Istro-Romaniandictionary. The website is called "Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language", and is led by the Croatian linguist and professor Zvjezdana Vrzić.[48] Romania officially supports the rights of what it calls "Romanians abroad", referring to all those who "assume a Romaniancultural identity, people of Romanian origin and persons that belong to the Romanian linguistic andcultural vein, Romanians who live outside Romania, regardless how they are called". Thislegislation includes not only the Istro-Romanians, but also the Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Moldovans, Vlachs and many others; all seen as ethnic Romanians by the Romanian state.[49] Based on this, in 2021, the Balkan Romanianness Day was approved as a holiday in the country for the purportedly ethnic Romanian peoples living south of the Danube. This includes the Aromanians, the Megleno-Romanians and the Istro-Romanians. It celebrates the establishment of theUllah millet in the Ottoman Empire in 1905[50] every 10 May.[51]
Today, the Istro-Romanians are not officially recognized as anational minority in Croatia and are not protected under theEuropean Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.[44] They are more exposed than ever to assimilation and are declining in number rapidly, with risks of disappearing completely in the following decades. The communities south of the Učka and Žejane have historically had very few contacts until the intervention of Romanian researchers, as they spoke Croatian at localfairs. Because of this, the feeling of ethnic and linguistic unity between both communities is weak.[3] Currently, very few Istro-Romanians identify themselves as Romanian, and never with much enthusiasm. A large part of them affiliate with theregion in which they live, that is, Istria. Not only Istro-Romanians adhere to anIstrian identity; approximately 25,000 people in Istria declare to be Istrian before any other nationality. Those Istro-Romanians who preferred to declare a national affiliation chose Croatian and a few Italian. Many Istro-Romanians think that theCroatian Government is not doing enough for the survival of their language and culture. They express a strongethnic pride and their desire to pass their language to othergenerations, although those in the villages south of the Učka are more pessimistic about their future. There, thelanguage shift to Croatian is more advanced than in Žejane, but the inhabitants are more protectionist regarding their culture. In Žejane, some Istro-Romanians still speak in Istro-Romanian with their grandchildren, and express less awareness about their extinction.[2] Nowadays, the biggest goal of the Istro-Romanians is the full recognition by Croatia as an ethnic minority and a wider use of their language in education, newspapers,TV broadcasting andradio, all of this with the support of the Croatian Government.[3]
The territory where the Istro-Romanians live was once covered withforests,pastures andlakes, ideal forlivestock orcharcoal production. Their extent was vast, being scattered throughout almost all of Istria[30] and the western part of Krk[14] and leaving a large number of toponyms.[30][14] However, the forests would begin to disappear and the lakes were drained. The soil stopped allowing productive agriculture, increasing poverty in the zone. They began to lose theirtraditional occupations as shepherds and began to be exposed to assimilation,[30] ending with the Istro-Romanian presence of Krk in 1875.[14] Those in Ćićarija were also assimilated, just maintaining their culture on the Croatian side, in Žejane.[27] Many Istro-Romanians emigrated to the big cities. All this caused a decrease in the number of Istro-Romanians, which have been reduced to only eight settlements today.[30]
Now, there are two identifiable groups of Istro-Romanians. The first is that of Žejane, an isolated village near theborder with Slovenia.[2] The second is in the villages south of the Učka. These are Šušnjevica, Nova Vas andJesenovik, where the Istro-Romanians are more numerous, andLetaj, Kostrčani,Zankovci, the Brdo area[30] (Brdo was a separatefrazione during theinterwar period that included Kostrčani, Zankovci and several hamlets)[52] and the hamlets Miheli, Dražine, Draga and Jelavici[30] (all part of the Brdo area)[52] in smaller proportion.[30] Of all of them, the one with the largest number of Istro-Romanian speakers is Nova Vas.[27] Each of the Istro-Romanian villages has a name in its own language different from the official Croatian one. Thus, Žejane, Šušnjevica, Nova Vas, Jesenovik, Letaj, Kostrčani, Zankovci and Brdo becomeJeiăn,Sușńévițę,Nóselo orNósolo,Sucódru,Letåi,Costârčan,Zankovci andBârdo (Brig for the hamlet). Other regions such as Ćićarija or Istria are calledCicearia[7] andIstria, respectively.[53] According to the memory of some, Istro-Romanian was also spoken inGradinje andGrobnik and the hamlets Dolišćina, Trkovci and Perasi until recently.[30] All of these villages at the south of the Učka constituted the Italian municipality of Valdarsa.[39]
Detailed information of an unspecified date reports that, of the 134 inhabitants of Žejane, 53 (39%) can speak Istro-Romanian.[6] In the southern villages, the Istro-Romanians make up a bit more than a quarter of the population, with approximately 75 (27%) speakers out of 276 in 2016. Therefore, there are about 120 Istro-Romanians living in their villages. Both communities, although now connected with roads, live in differentCroatian administrative regions; the southern villages are located in the Istria County and Žejane, despite being geographically in Istria, is part ofPrimorje-Gorski Kotar County.[2] However, the number of ethnic Istro-Romanians or people with Istro-Romanian ancestry in Istria could be as high as 1,500, even if they no longer speak the language and practice only some (or none) of their traditions.[3]
After the end of the Second World War, many Istro-Romanians abandoned their native villages. In fact, the population of the villages today are less than a fifth of what they were in 1945. Many of them moved to nearby cities and towns, such asKršan,Labin,Matulji,Opatija, Pazin,Pula and Rijeka. It is estimated that a total of 450 Istro-Romanians live in Croatia outside their settlements. Others decided to emigrate to other parts of the world, especially toNew York City andWestern Australia. The Istro-Romanian community living outside Croatia is made up of around 500 people.[2] It is estimated that the total of Istro-Romanians of Žejane who now live abroad is 195, four times larger than the population residing in Žejane. Although the exact number of the diaspora of the Istro-Romanians from the south of the Učka is unknown, it is probably higher than that of Žejane since the emigration there was more potent and the population itself of the villages together was bigger than that of Žejane.[6]
Istro-Romanianart is characterized by the domination ofdances and songs.[16] Istro-Romanianholidays tend to be somewhat austere, but accompanied by traditionalmusical instruments anddances. In one of these dances, calledColumbaro, the peasants of the villages spend hours holding each other'shands in a closed circle, giving steps without order and with jumps without cadence. Dancers often form an arch with their hands through which a human chain passes underneath. According to Morariu, this dance is similar to those ofBukovina (a part of which is in Romania). One of the favorite dances of the Istro-Romanians is theKolo, initially with a circular shape and then developing inskkocigori, that is, with high jumps. The dancers hold their hands and form a circle, slowly spinning all together under themusic. Another dance is literally called "under the feet", in which a man and a woman or two of each dance together whilehugging. Researchers who have studied Istro-Romanian dances have highlighted theirprimitivism.[54]
Romanian researchers have shown great interest in the Istro-Romaniantraditional music, publishing them in severalmagazines and works. That is why some of them have classified them into the following categories: songs, elegant songs,satires and diverse creations. Traian Cantemir, a Romanian researcher, published in 1935Motivele dispariției poeziei populare la istroromâni ("Reasons for the disappearance of popular poetry of the Istro-Romanians") in the magazineFăt-Frumos, expressing concern regarding the future of theirpoetry. Most of the time, theverses of thepoems were accompanied by a song, becomingpopular songs fortravels. Some foreign non-native travelers reported that their songs were like "ancient poems" and that "a long exclamation or rather, a barbaric and prolonged cry precedes any verse". The Istro-Romanian traveler could casually find a partner with whom he had a musical dialogue, keeping both entertained and with whom they practicedimprovisation. Another author who investigated in depth the Istro-Romanian songs was the Romanian writer Petru Iroaie, identifying their similarities with those ofMaramureș and Bukovina and the mainmotifs of them. Italian and especially Croatian influence diminished the knowledge of these songs, being mostly maintained by theelderly during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, songs with some Croatian influences gradually began to circulate in the villages. Today, some young Istro-Romanians have some distrust or even fear of giving voice to those songs. In the Istro-Romanian language, as in other ones, the song is related to social realities, whereby the main subjects dealt with work in thefield,love, warfare and interethnic relations. Today, the Istro-Romanians cannot remember certain words of their language, and therefore some oldlyrics and verses can no longer be read. This has led Cantemir to define them as "fossils".[54] However, some Istro-Romanian songs have managed to prevail until today. Among them areKnd am tire ("When [I asked] you"),Mes-am oča ši kola ("I went around"),Oj ljepure nu žuka ("Do not dance, rabbit") andFina feta ("A nice girl").[16]
The famousfolk group Žejanski Zvončari (Žejane's Bell Ringers), founded by Mauro Doričić[3] in 1997, advocates the preservation of the oldcarnivalesque Istro-Romanian traditions. It is made up of thezvončari (bell ringers), an exclusively male carnival dance group, and the "Kntaduri" (singers), ana cappella singing group. The association has also published new songs mainly in the Istro-Romanian dialect of Žejane, such asTu ver fi ama ("You will be mine"),Pustu an Žejan ("Carnival in Žejane") and even ananthem,Žejanska, in both Croatian and Istro-Romanian.[55] On the day of the carnival, the zvončari ring theirbells frommorning toevening, going from house to house and receiving food likebacon oreggs. Atnight,sandwiches made with the food received from the houses are distributed. On the day of the carnival there are alsocrabulele, boys and girls between 10 and 20 years old withharmonics andmasks, who go from house to house dancing and tellingjokes. One of the children has abasket for thegifts and the rest sticks to defend againststrangers if necessary.[54]
The inhabitants of Žejane wore uniquehats that "scared" the nearby populations. These were put so that the back of the hat covered theface, so that they couldsteal to those who hadmoney, for reasons that researchers have described as "well grounded". Another hat worn in Žejane was thecomaracu, with several coloredropes. The lower rope was made ofvelvet and the rest ofsilk. In the elderly, these ropes were dark, and in theyouth, colorful and bright (dominatingblue,yellow,red andgreen). The hats of the latter were decorated withpeacock feathers andflower bouquets. These hats were similar to the ones worn between theMureș andTârnava rivers in Transylvania. Thecostumes of men had a tightshirt with long, low and narrowsuspenders, as well asopinci (traditionalshoes, similar to those of the Romanians). On the shirt, they wore awaistcoat calledcrujat. Inwinter, they wore acape calledhalea, and on theneck they had ascarf calledfașă. During the 18th century, women wore aheadscarf with theirhairbraided. In the 19th century they used atulpan. The white shirt reached to theknees and was covered by a colorfuldress calledbarhan. They also hadopinci. According to Burada, theirlegs were covered bysocks calledbicivele and withgarters calledpodvezi. Today's Istro-Romanians have difficulty describing thetraditional costumes of their ancestors and few know the names of eachclothes.[54]
These traditional costumes are still preserved in Žejane, but only during the carnival or artistic events. However, the number of owners is very low, most of them beingparents orgrandparents, who pass them to the youth as a special symbol of the Istro-Romanian identity. Today's women's costumes are made up of afațo (red scarf), anopleici (white shirt with anembroidery at the base of the neck), apocirneka (black dress with a redribbon and sleeveless) and afirtuhu (anapron put on the dress). Under the dress there is a white and tightskirt, to give a special look to the costume. At thewaist, the dress is connected with thecoanița (the widest "belt") and thetisuta (the thinnest "belt"), both with different colors. The legs, covered with thebicivi, wear blackpostole asfootwear. Now, men wear a shirt or a blackjacket. Thepants, which can be white or black, are calledbraghesi. On thehead they wear a black hat, and on thefeet,postole, like women.[54]
The costume of the zvončari consists of a typicalsailor shirt with twofațole (whitebatistes). On theback is asheepskin garment to which three large bells are attached. Akumaroak is carried on the head, in which hundreds of colorful strips that extend to the person's back are connected. Above the strips, there are tworoses that symbolize thesun. The pants and footwear are not really different from those of the traditional costume.[54]
Istro-Romanians speak the Istro-Romanian language (sometimes abbreviated as IR), part of the Eastern Romance languages spoken exclusively natively in Istria, Croatia. They have been described as the smallestethnolinguistic group inEurope. Their language is classified by theUNESCO as a "seriously endangered language" because of the small number of fluent speakers the language has, education in Istro-Romanian is limited and the language is not usually used in many domains and the majority of younger speakers are adults, among others. Vrzić'srevitalization project fulfills some of these points, however.[1] According to several mostly Romanian researchers,[3][16][7][54] the Istro-Romanian language is one of the four traditional and historicaldialects of Romanian, alongsideAromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Daco-Romanian (linguistic name for the Romanian from Romania and its surroundings), all with a common ancestor,Proto-Romanian.[1] However, Istro-Romanian can also be considered a language separated from Romanian by others, so there is no widely accepted view.[16] Anyway, it is considered thedaughter language (descendant) of Daco-Romanian, both being closer to each other than Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian are.[1] Nevertheless, Istro-Romanian is strongly influenced by Croatian, with it affecting itsmorphology and with many linguistic loans, includingfunction words. This has led some authors to describe it as a "mixed language".[7]
The Istro-Romanian consists of two main variants, a northern one (in Žejane) and a southern one (in the villages south of the Učka). For example, for theoblique case, the variety of Žejane ("Zejanski") preserves synthetic marking, while the southern variety ("Vlaski") uses onlyprepositional marking, but neither of them marks theaccusative case (e.g. "I can see Lara" would be "poč vedę Lara", literally "can see Lara"). Another difference is that in Zejanski, generallymasculine nouns of Slavic origin mark thevocative case with "-e", while those of Latin origin with "-(u)le". In Vlaski, some nouns are marked with "-e" and some "-u".[1] But although Istro-Romanian has two main dialects, each village has its own speech, differing slightly among the southern villages.[56] The dialect of Krk, called by Croatian researchers askrčkorumunjski ("Krko-Romanian"), has been little studied and knowledge of it is minimal. The only texts known areHail Mary and TheLord's Prayer. Even so, it is known that "Krko-Romanian" was an Istro-Romanian dialect as it had its characteristic rhotacism, as can be seen in Fintȉra andšpirišôr.[14]
There has never been a consensus on whatwriting system should be used for theIstro-Romanian alphabet, so Croatian and Romanian researchers have been recording and transcribing texts using different systems, withCroatian,Romanian or mixed orthographic elements. Vrzić has proposed the idea of unifying the writing system, which has been implemented on her website and is based on Croatianspelling. These changes may vary, for example, the word "when", tokând (Croatian-based),cănd (Romanian-based) andcând (mixed).[1]
However, Istro-Romanian is not the only language spoken by the Istro-Romanians. In fact, they represent adiglossic community (that is, they use more than one language), with nomonolingual speakers of Istro-Romanian remaining. They usually also use theChakavian dialect of Croatian and the elderly who attended to Italian schools, Italian or Istro-Venetian (the Istrian dialect ofVenetian). Generally, the youth have no knowledge or understanding of the language, and prefer to use Croatian. Those Istro-Romanians who left the villages and migrated to the cities often use Croatian as thefamily language. The diaspora does not usually have knowledge of the language, result of intermarriages.[57] Therefore, it is estimated that currently around the world, the Istro-Romanian speakers are only 1,000.[1]
The following is an example of a text written in Istro-Romanian:
| Comparison of The Lord's Prayer in Istro-Romanian, Romanian andEnglish: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Istro-Romanian (Žejane dialect)[53] | Romanian[58] | English[59] |
| Ciåia nostru carle-ș în cer, | Tatăl nostru care ești în ceruri, | Our Father in heaven, |
| neca se lume tev posvete, | sfințească-se numele Tău, | hallowed be your name, |
| neca vire cesaria te, necå fie voľa te, | vie Împărăția Ta, facă-se voia Ta, | your kingdom come, your will be done, |
| cum ăi in cer, așa și pre pemint. | precum în cer așa și pe pământ. | on earth as in heaven. |
| Păra nostra de saca zi de-na-vo asiez. | Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele dă-ne-o nouă astăzi. | Give us today our daily bread. |
| Și na scuze pecatele nostre | Și ne iartă nouă greșelile noastre | Forgive us our sins |
| cum și noi scuzeim lu ceľi carľi na ofendes. | precum și noi iertăm greșiților noștri. | as we forgive those who sin against us. |
| Și nu duce pre noi in napast | Și nu ne duce pe noi în ispită | Save us from the time of trial |
| ma na zbave de cela revu. | ci ne izbăvește de cel rău. | and deliver us from evil. |
| – | Că a Ta este împărăția și puterea și slava, | For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours |
| – | acum și pururea și în vecii vecilor. | now and for ever. |
| Amen. | Amin. | Amen. |
The Istro-Romanian houses are adapted to the simplicity of typical mountain homes. These are built instone, with double walls, one or twofloors and are covered withreed mace or burntclay. Inside this "carp", there is a largechimney with acolumn above where "avault that receives thesmoke and takes it to theoven" is placed. Near the chimney is thepaleta orlopărița, a longmetal "shovel" or "pole" with which thewood is moved or removed. In the center of the vault above the chimney there is usually a largechain calledcatena where thecadera (acauldron) is attached. In it, water is boiled forcooking andpolenta (mămăliga). According to Burada,plates andcutlery were hung around the chimney.[54]
The "carp" that covers the house, bigger than the Romanian ones in Transylvania, serves as a refuge for people and also foranimals such aschickens,pigs and sometimes, goats. To the left of the carp there is aroom without chimney, with the door with the other room always open in winter to warm it. In this room there are several objects that are used only at special moments of the life of the owners. There is amisă (table),scanie (chairs) and ascriniu (closet), and on the boards over theceiling, several portions offood such as cheese, bacon and pork legs, where "theysmoke very well, as if they were in the vault of the chimney".[54]
Thesheets are of great importance among Istro-Romanian women. These can be in square stonesupports or in woodenbeds. In these beds there can be sacks ofstraw ormaize on which there werepillows at their ends, some of them stuffed with straw and maize as well and others withgoosefeathers orhorsehair. With the exception of the shirts and headscarfs that cover women's heads, everytextile products used at home are usually made ofwool and worked at home.[54]
Those Istro-Romanians withsocial status or numerous families may have another room. Their houses have retained much of thearchitectural features of the past, and therefore have not changed much over time.[54]
Literature written in the Istro-Romanian language is scarce and quite recent. The first book written in this language,Calindaru lu rumeri din Istrie,[24] was barely published in 1905. Its two authors were Glavina, an Istro-Romanian who always advocated the education of his people,[40] and Diculescu.[7] In this book, they gather words,proverbs and stories of the Istro-Romanians. Glavina would publish more works later, such asI romeni dell'Istria (The Romanians of Istria) andL'educazione nazionale (The national education) in the early 1920s. However, these texts, although about the Istro-Romanians, are in the Italian language. After his death, his wife Fiorella Zagabria publishedPromemoria e lettere, aposthumous work in which Glavina's last texts are collected. The "Istro-Romanianhymn", showed below, is located there.[40]
| Imnul istro-românilor (Romanian)[39] | Inno istrorumeno (Italian)[39] | Istro-Romanian hymn (English)[39] |
Roma, Roma e mama noastră Nu suntem singuri pe lume Ca să fim frate și soră | Roma Roma è la nostra madre Non siamo soli al mondo Siamo fratelli e sorelle | Rome, Rome is our mother We are not alone in the world So we are brothers and sisters |
The second book in Istro-Romanian,Lu frati noștri: libru lu rumeri din Istrie, was published in 1928. Its author was a Romanian, Alexandru Leca Morariu, who made a trip to Istria in 1927 and another one in 1928 to study the Istro-Romanians.[53] The first Istro-Romanian newspaper,Scrisoare către fråț rumer, has been publishing cult literature, such as the poems of the brothers from Nova Vas Gabriela and Gabriel Vretenar of 1997.[60] In 2011, the Istro-Romanian Antonio Dianich publishesVocabolario istroromeno‑italiano. La varietà istroromena di Briani (Băršcina), a dictionary for Italian and the Istro-Romanian dialect of Brdo.[7] In 2016, thepicture bookŠćorica de lisica ši de lupu (The Story of The Fox and The Wolf) was published by a group of enthusiasts and researchers led by Vrzić.[61]
The Istro-Romanians had many proverbs in the past. Today, they know less than before. Some of the best known proverbs arenu ie cårne far de ose ("there is nomeat withoutbones"),lu Domnu și lu Drîcu nu se pote sluji o votę ("you cannot serveGod and theDevil at the sametime"),mora bure måcire și bovån ("the goodmill can [even] grindrocks"),din cala lu omu bet și Domnu se dåie la o bande ("even God avoids thedrunk") andcåsta lume făcuta ie cu scåle: uri mergu ăn sus, ål'ți ăn jos ("the world is made ofstairs: some go up, others down").[16]
Traditionally and historically, the Istro-Romanians were shepherds, an occupation that would disappear with the centuries. They carried theirsheep dressed in wool suits, a hat andopinci withknots around the feet. They also had awalking stickcarved with things ofdaily life that were sung to pass the time faster. The sheep were taken to pastures in which they would remain a month, time in which a small shepherdhut of wood was built. Inside it were sheepherdingtools such as a cauldron forcaș (a type of cheese), a kind ofcontainer of dry soil where food was eaten andspoons, thekikara (acup), where freshcaș was placed during a day, and thebucket with which the sheep weremilked, among others. The process of makingcaș of the Istro-Romanians is the same as in Romania.[54]
Since the end of the 19th century, the economy andwealth of the Istro-Romanians has weakened severely. Theirwinecrops dried up, and agriculture is no longer as productive as before. They tried to replace the driedgrapevines with American ones, which became increasingly difficult for them.Droughts are another problem. The situation in livestock is no different. They never practicedanimal breeding much. According to a work published in 1992 by Romanian researchers Richard Sârbu and Vasile Frățilă, "thehorses can't stand. In Šušnjevica there are only three horses. Among thebirds there are only chickens. Sheepherding is weak. I have barely been able to find cheese for sale in Žejane. There are few sheep, and no goats".[54]
A characteristic of the inhabitants of Žejane was the production of charcoal, taking place in the mountains and then selling them in mostly Rijeka or Opatija. To produce it, once the wood (alwaysbeech) was collected, the Istro-Romanians stayed in ahaystack calledgljevaricsa, two to three meters high and six to seven meters wide. Then, the wood was placed in the middle surrounded by straw and dry wood so that thefire could extend when it was lighted. Once produced, the charcoal was taken to the cities in order to market them.[54] Specially practiced by men was cultivation in Šušnjevica of culinary sage, "undertaking a great business". Burada is, however, the only one to present this occupation. Many of them worked in other places outside the villages. Women, on the other hand, were generallyhousewives, although they could also befurlani, a kind of itinerant weavers.[54] Other Istro-Romanians becameminers or sailors.[3] From the 20th century onwards, the Istro-Romanians'needs and occupations change due to the modernization of thesociety in which they live. Some chose to go to the cities and others stayed.[54]
Currently, the Istro-Romanians in Žejane are mainly engaged in agriculture and wood exploitation; very few continue with sheepherding. A good part of the men are workers in nearby cities. In the southern villages, agriculture is the largest source ofincome. There are still people cultivating grapevines in Brdo. Material conditions are relatively better in Žejane than in the southern villages, and therefore it has a better quality of life.[7] The production of charcoal is no longer very active, and is generally practiced fortourists.[3]
The Istro-Romanians areChristians, being the only Eastern Romance people belonging to theCatholic Church.[3] Historically, thechurch has been the largest point of exposure for the Istro-Romanians to Croatian assimilation. Currently, it does not support the Istro-Romanian cause, with all services being given in Croatian.[2] This has been the case since the second half of the 19th century. In fact, it is recorded that Croatian priests attracted mayors and other persons throughcorruption to act as they liked, disfavoring the Istro-Romanians.[36]
Prior to this, the Austrian Empire allowed theordination of priests among the Istro-Romanians (such as Micetici, born in Brdo), withsermons andconfessions being given in Istro-Romanian (the rest of liturgical services used Latin at the time). Nowadays, it has been proposed that theCatholic Church in Romania could delegate three or four Romanian-speaking priests to the villages.[45]
Examples of religious terms in Istro-Romanian arebesęreca ("church"),catolica ("Catholic"),Domnedzeu ("God"),Isus ("Jesus") andsvântă ("holy"), all of which are similar to the Romanian terms.[1]
The following is a list of notable Istro-Romanians or people of Istro-Romanian descent. In parentheses is the village of origin of each person or of their Istro-Romanian roots, if known.
Furthermore, a fringe claim attributing Istro-Romanian origins toinventor,engineer andfuturistNikola Tesla also exists.[69]
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