Who Are the Gorani?
The Gorani are a South Slavic Muslim community inhabiting the Gora region spanning the borders of Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia—centered on the Šar Mountains (Albanian: Sharr). Numbering approximately 60,000-100,000 across all three countries, they speak Našinski ("our language"), a South Slavic variety with Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian features alongside Albanian and Turkish loanwords. The Gorani converted to Islam during Ottoman rule while retaining Slavic speech, creating an identity distinct from neighboring Albanians, Serbs, and Macedonians. Their unique position—Muslim but Slavic—has made identity politics particularly complex in the volatile post-Yugoslav Balkans.
Identity Between Nations
Gorani identity defies neat categorization. Neighboring nations have claimed them: Serbs have called them "Serbian Muslims" or "Islamicized Serbs"; Bulgarians classify their language as Bulgarian dialect; Albanians have sometimes pressured them toward Albanian identity (as fellow Muslims); Macedonians see linguistic affinity. The Gorani themselves have variably identified or been counted as Serb, Muslim (as a nationality in Yugoslav censuses), Gorani, Bulgarian, Macedonian, or Albanian depending on political context. This ambiguity reflects genuine in-between status—their language, religion, and location place them at crossroads of Balkan identities. Since Kosovo's independence (2008), Gorani in Kosovo have faced pressure to identify as either Albanian or Serbian, with their distinct identity receiving limited recognition.
Pastoralism and Migration
Traditional Gorani economy combined highland pastoralism with labor migration. The Gora region—rugged mountains with limited agricultural potential—sustained sheep and cattle herding. Men traditionally worked as seasonal migrants: confectioners (slatkari) famous throughout the Balkans, working in cities from Istanbul to Sarajevo. This mobile livelihood pattern spread Gorani across the region while families remained in mountain villages. The confectioner tradition continues; Gorani bakeries and sweet shops are found in Balkan cities. Modern migration has intensified; many Gorani have left the impoverished Gora region for Prizren, Belgrade, Sarajevo, or Western European countries, creating diaspora communities while depopulating ancestral villages.
Contemporary Gorani
Modern Gorani communities face marginalization in multiple states. In Kosovo, they are a small minority (perhaps 10,000) concentrated in the Dragash municipality, where their non-Albanian identity creates tension with the Albanian majority and distance from the Serbian minority. In Albania, the Gora villages are remote and economically depressed. North Macedonia's Gorani are similarly peripheral. Poor infrastructure, limited employment, and political neglect characterize the homeland region. Young people increasingly leave; villages depopulate. Cultural preservation efforts document language and traditions, but viability depends on people remaining. The Gorani demonstrate how small populations caught between larger national identities can maintain distinctiveness while facing existential pressures in nation-states that struggle to accommodate such complexity.
References
- Hasani, H. (2011). The Gorani: A People Between Nations
- Dokle, N. (2000). Goranët dhe Goranishta
- Schmitt, O. J. (2012). Kosovo: A Short History