Labuništa ( mk, Лабуништа; sq, Llabunishta) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Struga Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality. Name The nam ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Name

Labuništa is an old name dating back to the time of the arrival of Slavic peoples to the Balkans. The origins of the name Labuništa are Greco-Latin from the toponym ''

Albanopolis Albanopolis ( sq, Albanopolis or ''Albanët''; grc, Ἀλβανόπολις, Albanópolis) was a city in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova, the city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various sc ...

''. Pianka Włodzimierz connects the placename Labuništa with a south-western Balkans settlement of antiquity named Albanopolis, a city marked on an ancient map by Roman geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

. Through metathesis the name ''Albanopolis'' entered Slavic where the suffix ''polis'' meaning city became ''išta'' with dual meanings of either being a patronymic or indicating a place. While the form ''Alban'', a name, underwent metathesis and became ''Labun'' in Slavic of which the syllable cluster ''an'' became ''un'' giving the final form as ''Labun(išta)''. "Приближно на местото каде што се наоѓа Лабуништа на картата од Птоломеј (преиздадена во 1490 год.) е обележена тврдината Albanopolis; на картата од Hassius (1744 год.) е означено: Albanopoli in ruin. (в. Јаранов, Карта - текст). Словенечкиот топоним е само адаптација на грчкиот: вториот член - polis (кој всшност има функција на суфикс) е заменет со словенечкиот суфикс -иште со двојно значење: 1. nomen loci, 2. (<* iti̯o-) patronimicum. Бијкејќи членот Alban- е име, може да се претпостави дека овде си помешале двете функции на овој суфикс: тој означувал 'потомци' на Alban' и 'место каде што се наоѓала тврдината Albanopolis, впрочем тоа е веќе чисто структурална функција. Коренот Лабун- е континуација на Албан- со метатеза и македонската замена на крајно то -ан- во -ун- (спор.: лат. Salona, Albona, слов. Salona, Albona, сх. Solin, Labin, мак. Солин, Лабун- (нашиов случај), макар што се однесуваат на различни објекти (Романски С.: Именета на некои македонски градове, 1. Солунъ, МПр V, кн. 2, с. 78-84). Словенскиов топоним, значи, е многу стар, потекнува од времето на населувањето на Балканот од страна на Словените и континуација на уште постар грчко-латински топоним."

Geography

The village of Labuništa is located at above sea level on the Eastern side of the Jablanica mountain range. The village is located around from

, the closest town. The nearest villages to Labuništa include Podgorci (), Boroec (),

Vevčani Vevčani ( mk, ) is a village in North Macedonia. It is the only settlement and seat of Vevčani Municipality. Geography The village of Vevčani is found in the southwestern range at the foot of the Jablanica mountain range. It is situate ...

() and Oktisi (). The village is located close to the

Black Drim The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After abo ...

river and the Globočica lake.

Demographics

Labuništa is inhabited by Orthodox Christian Macedonians,

Macedonian Muslims The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...

(Torbeš), Bosniaks, and Albanians. p. 333. "Исламизираните Македонци во струшките села Јабланица, Боро(в)ец, Октиси, Подгорци и Лабуништа живеат заедно со православното население.". http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaX.pdf

Demographic History

According to

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov ( bg, Васил Кънчов, Vasil Kanchov) (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer and politician. Biography Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school in Lom, ...

's study of Macedonia in 1900, ''"Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"'', ( bg, Македония. Етнография и статистика, translit=Makedonija. Etnografija i statistika), counted the village as having 660 Bulgarian Christian and 800 Muslim (

Torbeš The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...

) inhabitants. According to the statistics of geographers Dimitri Mishev and D. M. Brancoff, the village had a total Christian population of 640 in 1905, consisting of 512

Serbomans Serbomans (Serbo-Croatian and mk, србомани, srbomani; bg, сърбомани, sarbomani; ro, sârbomani) is a Bulgarian pejorative term used by Bulgarian nationalists for inhabitants in the region of Macedonia that claimed Serbian ethnic ...

Patriarchist Bulgarians and 128 Exarchist

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

. According to 1961 data by anthropologist Joel Halpern the village's population was composed of 2,345

and 380

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Macedonians. The population of the village in past censuses:Population of Republic of Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlements, according to the population censuses 1948, 1963, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 1994 and 2002
/ref>

Demographics today

According to the 2002 national census, 8,935 people live in the village. According to the 2002 census, in Labuništa lived: * Macedonians: 1,149 *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

: 1,618 *

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

: 4,935 *

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...

: 72 *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

: 3 *

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

: 8 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

: 1 * other: 1,149 Regarding the mother tongue of the population, the following results were given:Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, pp. 131, 268. * Macedonian: 4,872 or 82% *

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

: 925 or 15,5% * Turkish: 78 or 1,31% * Serbian: 3 or 0,05% * other: 58 or 0,97%

Identity

Common language and origin with Macedonian Christians does not play a role for a majority of Macedonian Muslims regarding self identification which is based on common religion (

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

) that in Labuništa has led to self declarations of being Albanian. Attempts have been made to introduce the Albanian language in schooling, though these endeavours were not widely supported in Labuništa. p. 56. "Für den großten Teil der makedonischen Muslime speilt die gemeinsame Herkunft und Sprache mit der makedonischen Mehrheit jedoch kaum eine Rolle. Wenn sie sich nach außen deklarieren müssen, geben sie sich - unter dem Hinweis, dass es im Islam keine Nationen gibt -liber als Türken oder Albaner aus."; p. 57. "Vor allem in den Siedlungsgebieten von Debar, südlich von Skopje und im Kičevska-Tal bestimmten sich die bezüglich ihrer ethnischen Identität tief verunsicherten Torbeschen bei den Volkszählungen von 1994 überwiegend als "Turken", ungeachtet der Tatsache, dass die Kenntnis der türkischen Sprache unter ihnen schwach oder überhaupt nicht vorhanden war. Eine schwächere Tendenz, in Richtung Bekenntnis zum albanischen Ethnikum, zeichnete sich in der südwestlichen Struga-Region (Dorf Labunište) sowie im Dorf Bačište (Kičevo-Gemeinde) ab." pp.57-58. "In den südwestlichen Dörfern Labunište und Bačište, in denen sich die Bewohner zum Teil als Albaner bezeichen, gab es Versuche, die albanische Sprache als Unterichtssprache einzuführen. In Labunište fanden diese Versuche keine breite Unterstützung und wurden von den zuständigen Behörden abgelehnt."

Sports

Local football club

FK Labunishta FK Labunishta ( mk, ФК Лабуништа, ''FK Labuništa'') is a football club based in the village of Labuništa near Struga, North Macedonia. They are recently competing in the Macedonian Second League The Macedonian Second Football Leag ...

plays in the

Macedonian Second League The Macedonian Second Football League ( mk, Втора македонска Фудбалска Лига, ''Vtora Makedonska Fudbalska Liga''; also called Macedonian Second League, 2. MFL and Vtora Liga) is the second-highest professional footbal ...

(West Division).

Notable people

*Mehmed Ali Pasha (1769 - 1840) - Ottoman

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

, (possibly from

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

) *Stojan Krstev/Кrstić ( :bg:Стоян Кръстев), (''? - 1890'') - priest *

Đorđe Cvetković Đorđe Cvetković ( sr-cyr, Ђорђе Цветковић; 1903–d. 27 May 1904), known by the '' nom de guerre'' Drimkolski (Дримколски), was a Serbian Chetnik ''vojvoda'' (commander) of the ''četa'' (band) of Drimkol. Life He w ...

Drimkolski (possibly Georgi Cvetkov), (''1860 - 1905'') - revolutionary, military commander * Andjelko Krstić, (''1871 - 1952'') - writer and playwright *

Ilija Ilić Ilija Ilić (born 26 April 1991) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL League One club One Knoxville SC. Career Ilić began his career with the youth clubs of FK Čukarički and Red Star Belgrade, as well as a loa ...

, (1879 - 1942) - Volunteer from

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Drimkolski (possibly Georgi Cvetkov), (''1860 - 1905'') - revolutionary, military commander *Stoyan Gyurchinov ( :bg:Стоян Гюрчинов), (''? - 1927'') - priest * Nikola А. Anđelković, (''1902 - 1944'') - Serb

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

military commander in

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

*Murat Labunishta :mk:Мурат Лабуништа, (''1912 - 1946'') - poet, politician *Milisav Antonijević - Drimkolski ( :sr:Милисав Антонијевић - Дримколски) (1913 - 2001), teacher and writer *Naum Petreski ( :mk:Наум Петрески) (''1966'') - folk singer * Menil Velioski, (''2001'') - folk singer * Bashkim Bashkimi, (''1964'') - sociologist, first doctor of sciences

References

External links

Website of Labuništa village (1)

Website of Labuništa village (2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labunista Villages in Struga Municipality Macedonian Muslim villages Albanian communities in North Macedonia