Istrian Romanians

Historical Ethnic Map of Istria (1880 Census)

Tschitsche in 1891

Carnival parade typical of the Rijeka region (Croatian zvončar ) in Žejane

The Istrian - Romanians (own name: rumâri ) are a small Romanesque ethnic group that is closely related to the Dakor- Romanians (Romanians in the narrower sense), Meglenorumans and the Aromanians and only lives in a few villages in eastern Istria . In the past (e.g. in the standard work of that time “The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Words and Images”) this ethnic group was also known as “Tschitschen” or “Cićen” (after the Ćićarija region ).

The Istrian language is strongest in Žejane (Istrian Jeiani , village of the Matulji municipality ), 28 km northwest of Rijeka , and in some villages of the Kršan municipality . Today only 500–1000, mostly elderly, people speak the Istrian-Romanian language . The 1921 Italian census recorded 1,644 Istrian Romanians. The Istrian Romanians are the last speakers of the Morlaken dialects , which have not yet been replaced by Slavic dialects.

See also

• Wallachians

Web links

• Istria on the Internet: Istro-Romanian Community Worldwide (multilingual)
• Istrian Romanians in Croatia (English)
• Istror-Romanian folk costumes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.istro-romanian.net/articles/art000401.html