elissa mondschein

Vlachs in the Lowland Areas: Between the Bükk Mountains and the Tisza River in the 15th Century

by Jarosław Buniowski Abstract Although mountains and submontane areas were the main territories of development for the Wallachian colonization, the Vlachs would also appear in the lowland areas, situated further away from the mountains. The presence of Vlachs in the valley between the Bükk Mountains and the Tisza River in the 15th c. is an ...
Read More →

Representation Structures of Aromanian Communities at the Beginning of the 20th Century – Communities and Ephorates

by Emanuil Ineoan As early as the end of the 19th century, Romania had become a significant player in Balkan geopolitics. This was also fueled by the interest that the Kingdom of Romania showed towards to the Aromanian communities since the second half of the 19th century. The Romanian state, to be noted, at the ...
Read More →

An Unpublished Demographic Survey Regarding the Aromanian Communities in Greece during the Second World War

by Emanuil Ineoan Abstract: Within the manuscript section of the Romanian Academy Library, there is a document bearing a challenging title for the researcher interested in the Balkan Romanity: “Some Statistical Data on the Number of the Macedo-Romanian/Aromanian Population of Greece (Macedonia, Epirus and Thessaly).” The manuscript was donated in 1963 by the author’s wife, ...
Read More →

The coexistence of separation and integration rites in the Nuptial Repertoire of the Cipan Aromanians in Dobruja

by Mirela Kozlovsky Keywords: ethnomusicology, folklore, wedding songs, traditions, threnody Abstract: Dobruja hosts the most numerous Aromanian community in Romania. In her book Dodecalog al aromânilor (Dodecalogue of the Aromanians), philologist Matilda Caragiu Marioţeanu defines Aromanians as having always been South-Danubian and being the descendants of the populations of South-Eastern Europe either Romanised or colonized ...
Read More →

Manners of maintaining the cultural identity of the Greeks, Aromanians, Lipovans and Dobrogean Tatars and their effects in musical practice

by Mirela KOZLOVSKY Abstract: This study presents the mutual conditioning between the social dynamics and the traditions of the ethnic communities of Dobrogea, as well as the ways of maintaining the cultural identity of the Greeks, Aromanians, Lipovans and Tatars in the full era of globalization. For a clearer understanding, we will highlight how the ...
Read More →

Aromanian Vlach and Greek: Shifting Identities

by Alex De Lusignan Fan-Moniz Abstract In modern times, with Greek being the only language of instruction and communication in the wider society (Chomsky, 1971), Aromanian’s linguistic and cultural shift has been so profound that this language is now endangered (Dinas et al., 2011) in Greece. Aromanian (Weigand, 1895) is an oral Eastern-Romance language spoken by ...
Read More →

Elements of Aromanian Phraseology

by  Dumitru Carabas Abstract The phraseological material that I will present shows that contemporary Aromanian has a tremendous wealth of meaning, incorporating and being able to convey emotions, feelings, moods, irony, life experiences. The phrasemes appear as genuine diamonds, arising from the compression process of experiences, thoughts, feelings, fears, joys and ironies in synthetic expressions ...
Read More →

AGNOMENS AND NICKNAMES IN AROMANIAN ONOMASTICS

by Dumitru CARABAŞ Abstract The onomastic material that I will present shows us the richness, diversity and specificity of Aromanian anthroponymy. The agnomen is the most distinctive feature of Aromanian anthroponymy. Nicknames are spontaneous creations, relatively fortuitous, not caused by objective reasons. They are part of the precious human spirituality, are the proof of the ...
Read More →

Discovering an Old Photo and with It, Some Family History

by Janine Tegu I always thought that there weren’t that many Greeks/Vlachs in the Vermont area (I guess my mistake).  I always thought that there were a lot more in the Massachusetts and the New Hampshire area. Well, some time ago, I found this photo taken July 26, 1931 at Lake Hortonia, Vermont. It would ...
Read More →

Dr. Margaret Felis on Icon Painting

In March I was able to interview SF member Dr. Margaret Felis about icon painting.  The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Thanks to Margaret for her generosity of time and editing help.  elissa mondschein elissa: Tell me where you were living at the time you started painting the icons, and how did ...
Read More →

Discovery: an Amazing Family Odyssey

L to R: Shuka, Vangele, Cosmachi, Ahilea, Licha (Nick) Fatsy (missing: Thanas) By Rebecca M. Townsend A first cousin, twice removed, “was a true modern day hero,” and I was amazed to learn more about him. My husband Tom is the genealogist in our family, and, having documented his own family thoroughly, took on the ...
Read More →

HARALAMBIE GEORGE CICMA Autobiographie Part V

A Vlach’s Life in His time PART V NEW YORK CITY We were subjected to a severe inspection and intensive interrogation at the immigration office; everyone was trembling, afraid that they would be rejected. We were sent through a gate, where two physicians examined us, paying special attention to our eyes, another person there made ...
Read More →

An exhibit of handwoven tapestries in Samarina

By Maria Psomiades During my visit to Samarina village in Greece last summer, I visited a fascinating exhibit with hand-woven tapestries. They were temporarily lent for the exhibit by the residents, who preserve them and pass them from one generation to another. Although I was familiar with the art of weaving, I was blown away ...
Read More →

Haralambie George Cicma Autobiographie part IV

A Vlachs’s Life in His Time (Continued from last issue) In an attempt to avoid a confrontation with Uncle Dimitri regarding my feelings towards Pusha, as well to avoid family pressure to choose Maritsa, I decided to spend the 1912 summer vacation at the Lyceum. Ten days into my vacation, I was aston- ished to ...
Read More →

Haralambie George Cicma Autobiographie Part III

PART  III (Continued from last issue) Student George Cicma in Turkish Lyceum’s uniform On the tenth of September, 1908, five girls and I started for Monistir- Bitolia; the girls were to attend the Romanian Normal School there; we traveled by horse in a caravan. We rode all day, spent the night at Grebena, the following ...
Read More →

Transhumants and Rural Change in Northern Greece Throughout the Nineteenth Century

This article examines the sedentarization of transhumants in northern Greece within the context of the political, legal, social, and economic transformation of the region that occurred throughout the nineteenth century. Based on a wide range of primary sources, this research conducts a chronological survey of the local actors, events, and institutions with reference to a ...
Read More →

Ethnic Identity of Aromanians/Vlachs in the 21st Century

This article traces various forms of Aromanian’s identity, an ethnic group/nation of the Balkan region. It considers disputes and discussions around the desired directions of community development, political and cultural strategies. It highlights different ways of expressing the sense of ethnic bonds – relationships between Aromanians as an ethnic group, the ways of setting the ...
Read More →

Haralambie Cicma Autobiographie Part II

We had a large garden at home, a wooden rail fence surrounded it. Part of my duties was to keep this mended;I would find the tallest, straightest trees in the forest, cut them, trim them, and drag them home. The size and weight of these rails aroused the curiosity of the townspeople—no one could understand how ...
Read More →
thumbnail Haralambie Cicma

Haralambie Cicma Autobiographie part 1

A Vlach’s Life in His time Part I. Family My grandfather, Costa Cicma and his wife, Despina, had eight children; four sons—Dimitri, George, Nicho­las and John, also four daughters— Maria, Kiratsa, Theodora and Hrisa. He was not wealthy, his pay as a leader of the Armatoli (protectors of the town) was not sufficient to sup­port ...
Read More →

The Vlachs in Macedonia in the 19th and 20th Centuries

THE VLACHS IN MACEDONIA IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES* By Nikola MiNov ABSTRACT: This article summarizes the known data about the localization and numerical distribution of various Vlach groups in Macedonia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Each Vlach group’s (Moscopolitan; Grammoustian; Farsherot and Moglenite Vlachs) migrations are analyzed separately, following them from their ...
Read More →