 Town ofJanjevo, the traditional centre of this community | |
| Total population | |
| Unknown | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Kosovo: ca. 400 people (2011) Croatia: ca. 966 families (2002 est.) | |
| Languages | |
| Janjevo-Lepenica idiom ofCroatian[1] (Prizren-Timok dialect) Albanian | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Croats |
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| Croats |
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Janjevci (pronounced[ˈjaːɲeʋtsi],Albanian:Janjevët,Croatian:Janjevci),Kosovo Croats (Albanian:Kroatët e Kosovës,Croatian:Kosovski Hrvati) orJanjevci Croats (Croatian:Janjevski Hrvati[2]) are aCroat community inKosovo, inhabiting the town ofJanjevo and surrounding villages nearPristina, as well as villages centered onLetnica nearVitia (Šašare, Vrnez, and Vrnavokolo),[2][3][4] who are also known asLetničani. They are not officially recognised as anational minority group.[1]
They are considered among the oldest of theCroatian diaspora communities.[1]
The Janjevci, an ethnic Croat community, derive their name from their traditional community center,Janjevo.[3] It is believed that the community descends from migratingmerchants,miners andentrepreneurs from theRepublic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik and its hinterland,[5] families Glasnović, Macukić, Ćibarić, Matić, Ivanović[1]),Bosnia and Herzegovina (families Ivanović and Brkić)[1] andKotor[2][3][4] who settled the area in the 14th centurymedieval Serbia, The earliest written record of Catholics in Janjevo is a letter from PopeBenedict XI, dated 1303, which mentions the Catholic parish of St. Nicholas with its center in Janjevo. Together with theSaxons fromSaxony, they worked in the Serbian mines.[5] The Croatian population ofShasharë is believed to be of partial Saxon origin.[6] Strongernational awareness among Janjevci came in the 19th century thanks to the work of theHerzegovinian Franciscan Franjo Brkić and the teacher Jakov Slišković, as well as during theinterwar period.[1]
TheAlbanian,Bulgarian,Serbian andTurkish influences are visible infolk costumes, songs andoral tradition.[1]
Janjevci have severallegends related to the origin of Janjevo.[1] The first one describes how in thedilbokoj planini ("deep mountain"), after a generalfamine, a sister and a brother lived alone, who did not know that they were related to the new Janjevo, while the second story mentions the terrible fate of people after the war and how they are the only ones Jana Palić "Nedokoljka" and one of the Glasnovićs are still alive; both stories are based on massive deaths and suffering during the Mongol invasion of the area.[1]
The costume of adult men consisted of a mixture of oriental and Bulgarian costumes: ašubara on the head, then a shirt, ačakšire (longtrousers with a long tour and narrow legs that fasten on the sides),mintan orpalta (coat). A belt was tied around the middle of the body, andkondure orjemenije (shoes) were put on the feet.[1]
Women, on the contrary, kept the oriental costume influenced by the Ottomans. Married women wore afes orotos (a cloth cap sewn fromvelvet) on their head, and unmarried women wore akucelj (braid) down their backs. Ašamija (scarf) was also put on the head, woolen outside the house, and ordinary inside the house. On the upper part of the body, amintan ormintanče (jacket) was worn, that is, ajelek oržamadan (vest), under which was a shirt with alace collar. Women did not wearskirts, butdimije, over which a richly decoratedbošča (apron) was draped, and the waist was tied with akušak (belt). On working days, they worenalunas (loafers), and when they went out of the house they put onjemenije (shoes) similar to civilian ones. Formal women's clothing was very expensive and colorful, so it was accompanied by appropriatejewelry:dukati, gold necklaces,đinđuves (pearl necklaces),curaće (earrings) and rings. Women'swedding clothing included, in addition tomintančet,dimije, shirts and a fez, a terlik (saffian shoes with ornaments), aduak (veil), earrings, a ring, two rows ofrubije (Ducats) as head jewelry and one larger Ducat that went on forehead.[1]
According to Croatian classification, they speak in Janjevo-Lepenica idiom, which belongs to Torlak dialect group.[1]
The names for the parts of the day are borrowed fromTurkish:saba (morning),ićindije (afternoon aftersunset) andakšam (dusk after sunset).[1] Turkicisms are alsobelendzika (a thin oriental bracelet in a series of five to six),džam (glass),ćumbe (stove),tendžera (pot),duvar (wall).[1] FromBulgarian "chromid" they tookchromit (onion).[1] Some family names are also Turkicisms:adža (uncle, father's brother),balduza (wife's sister),teza (maternalaunt),badžanak (each of thehusbands of two sisters in relation to each other) and Albanisms:tota (grandmother) andnana (mother).[1]
They have maintained their Catholic faith until today. Accordingng to the work of Croatian historian Đuro Arnold, the Janjevci have adopted the tradition of celebrating "Slava" -patron saint of the family (Arnold, 2013). Most of the families together celebrateSaint Nicholas (December 6 and May 9),Christmas andVeligdan (lit. "Great Day",Easter)[1] along withSaint Sebastian,Saint Anne andAnthony of Padua. According to the research of anthropologist Pero Lučin, on the evening before the main feast, traditional "Pogača" bread and a candle are blessed by a priest and used at the family gathering (Lučin, 2004).
Familypilgrimages are made in Letnica at theGulem Gospođindan (lit. "Great Lady-day",Assumption of Mary),Mali Gospođindan (lit. "Small Lady-day",Birth of Mary),Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Anne and in Pristina on the St. Anthony of Padua feastday.[1] Janjevci would go on a pilgrimage to Letnica for the feast of the Assumption since the feast of St. Ane, onJuly 26, and they would stay there untilAugust 19, then the whole family life would move to Letnica, where they would stay inzagrađi ("enclosures", special buildings in a row with a common wall that closed in a circle). However, the central place in the piety of the Janjevci was occupied by theveneration of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and travelers, and such a connection of the people of Janjevo on land with this saint connected to the sea is considered as a connection with the Franciscan ancestors who arrived in Kosovo from theAdriatic coast.[1] Since the Middle Ages, they have attendedFeast of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik and are regular members of theprocession in which they are dressed in their folk costumes.[1]
The community also celebratesSaint George's Day (known among Janjevci asĐurđevdan)[1] - an important holiday, especially for teen Janjevci who would prepare a special celebration called "rifana", which lasted all night, where mischievousbećari (guys) tried to steal the prepared food from the girls they loved and cut the rope on the swings on which they were swinging.[1] Theparish church celebrates its feast day on the day ofTranslation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari (May 9 in byzantine calendar) which is known among Janjevci assveti Nikola ljetni (lit. "Summer St. Nicholas", alsožupna slava ("parish Slava") ordan župe ("parish day")). On thefeast of St. John the Baptist, they would burn straw that children jumped over, the custom was calledkalavešnica and is connected to the pre-Christian celebration of thesummer solstice.[1]
In 1948, there were 5,290 Croats (0.7%) in Kosovo; in 1971 - 8,264; in 1981 - 8,718 (0.6%); in 1991 - 8,161 (0.4%).[4] Considering Janjevo, in 1981 there were 3,534 Croats (out of 5,086 inhabitants),[2] in 1991 2,589 (out of 3,319),[2] by the end of the 1990s around 400,[2] in 2008 - 300,[7] in 2011 - 237[2] to 270.[8] During and after theKosovo War, most of the community had fled to Croatia.[2] 1998 estimations had their number at only 1,800, of which 350 lived in Janjevo. TheCroatian government has planned to resettle the remaining Janjevci in Kosovo to Croatia. According to the Kosovan 2011 census, there was a total of ca. 400 Janjevci, of whom 80 remain in the Vitia municipality.[citation needed]
Janjevci families started migrating toSR Croatia, part of Yugoslavia, in the 1950s, mostly settling inZagreb.[3] By the beginning of the 1970s, there was a large community of Janjevci along and within the vicinity of Konjšćinska Street inDubrava, a district in the eastern part of Zagreb.[9] They have since turned this area into a vibrant shopping district. They are widely known asgoldsmiths and merchants[3] and recognised for theircraftsmanship ("kujundžijstvo").[4]
During theYugoslav Wars, a significant part of the Janjevci emigrated to Croatia in several waves (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999), and Letničani were settled by the authorities inVoćin andĐulovac (westernSlavonia) and Janjevci inKistanje (theDalmatian hinterland)[3][4] in the abandoned homes ofSerbs.[10] Following the end of theKosovo War from June to October 1999, the Janjevci population of Kosovo dropped from 700 to 360. Ongoing acts of violence and harassment from Kosovo Albanians and general uncertainty instigated the mass exodus.[11]
In April 2017, 196 displaced Letničani, composed of 41 families who were waiting on homes promised by the state, were finally given newly built houses in the settlementDumače, in the municipality ofPetrinja.[12]
According to records[which?] in 2002, there are 966 families of Janjevci in Croatia, with the majority of them residing in the capital Zagreb (669 families), and the rest in other parts of Croatia (297 families).[citation needed]
Some Croats, especially those living in Šašare, are believed to be partially of Saxon origin.
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