Aromanian People - Names and Classification

Names and Classification

First of all it should be noted that the term (name) Aromanian or Vlach are both exonyms; the first one is a modern term, while the second one is a medieval term. The Aromanians call themselves Armân, Rrâmân or Makidon.

• The term Aromanian derives directly from the Latin Romanus, meaning Roman citizen. Aromanians, like all other peoples who were part of the Roman Empire, having signed the treaty of peace with Rome known as Pax Romana, won the right to be called Roman citizens and to benefit from the respective rights of the statute. The initial a- is a regular epenthetic vowel, occurring when certain consonant clusters are formed (this a- is not, as folk etymology sometimes has it, related to the negative or privative a- of Greek (also occurring in Latin words of Greek origin).

• The term Vlach was used in the Medieval Balkans, as an exonym for all the Romanic (Latinised) people of the region, but nowadays is commonly used for the Aromanians and Meglenites (Romanians being named Vlachs only in Serbia and Bulgaria). The term Vlach has had its form changed into the following languages: Greek Vlahoi/βλαχοι, Macedonian/Bulgarian Vlasi, Albanian Vllehe, Turkish Ulahlar. It is noteworthy that the term Vlach also meant "bandit" or "rebel" in the Ottoman medieval historiography. Vlach was further a name used by the Ottomans to denote Christians in Bosnia.

Distinguished according to geographic area, Aromanians are grouped into several "branches" such as:

1. Pindeans (Aromanian Pindeanji), concentrated in and around the Pindus Mountains of Northern and Central Greece.
2. Gramustians (Aromanian Grãmushtianji), from Gramos Mountains, an isolated area in the western region of the Greek province of Macedonia near the borders with Albania.
3. Muzachiars (Aromanian Muzăchirenji) from Muzachia situated in central Albania.
4. Farsherots (Aromanian Fărshirotsi) concentrated in Epirus, from Frasheri, once Aromanian urban center situated in south-eastern Albania.
5. Moscopolitans (Aromanian Moscopoleanji) from the city of Moscopole, once an important urban center of the Balkans, now a small municipality in southeastern Albania.

The first two groups call themselves Armânji,(in plural), while the other three groups (with a distinct dialect) call themselves Rrămănji (in plural). So in Albania, the most common form is rrămăn (in singular), in Greece both armăn and rrămăn, in Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria armăn, in Romania armăn and makidon.

They also, have several nicknames depending on the country where they are living.

• In Greece:

1. Gramustians and Pindians are nicknamed Koutsovlachs (Greek Κουτσόβλαχοι). This term is sometimes, but not always, taken as derogatory, as the first element of this term is from the Greek koutso- (κουτσό-) meaning 'lame'. This name has been noticed also among the Slavic peoples, especially in the folk stories. Following a Turkish etimology where küçük means "little" they are the smaller Vlachs as opposed to the more numerous Vlachs (Daco-Romanians).
2. Farsherots, from Frashër (Albania), Moscopolis and Muzachia are nicknamed "Frashariotes" or Arvanitovlachs (Greek Αρβανιτοβλαχοι), meaning "Albanian Vlachs" referring to their place of origin. Most of the Frashariotes are characterized also as "Greek-Vlach North-Epirotes" because frequently they settle in the Greek territory, because of historical conditions.

• In the South Slavic countries, such as Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, the nicknames used to refer to the Aromanians are usually Vlasi(south-Slavic for vallachians; vlachs) & Tsintsar (also spelled tzintzar, cincar or similar), which is derived from the way the Aromanians pronounce the word meaning five, tsintsi.

• Albanians use their own nicknames to refer to the aromanians, such as; Vlleh;Vllehët,Vllahe (derived from the Albanian word Vllah, a word that means brethren or kin) and also as chobans, (derived from Albanian word Çobenj; Çoban meaning pastoral mountain folk & shepherd.