Bunjevci

Bunjevci ( ) are a South Slavic community and ethnic group living mostly in the Bačka region of Serbia (province of Vojvodina) and southern Hungary (Bács-Kiskun county, particularly in the Baja region). They presumably originate from western Herzegovina, from where they migrated to Dalmatia, and from there to Lika and Bačka in the 16th and 17th century. Bunjevci who remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as those in modern Croatia, today maintain that designation chiefly as an ethno-regional identity, and declare themselves as Croats. In the Bunjevac-populated areas of Serbia, some people declaring themselves as Croat, Serb or Yugoslav are of Bunjevac ancestry.

Bunjevci are Roman Catholic, and speak with an Ikavian accent (Bunjevci dialect) with certain archaic characteristics. During the 18th and 19th century, they formed a sizable part of the population of northern Bačka, but many of them were gradually assimilated into Hungarians, while some other adopted Croat or Serb identities.