Lažani ( mk, Лажани, sq, Llazhan) 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 ...

located in a lowland area 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 ...

of Dolneni,

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 Yugoslavia. It ...

Demographics

Lažani traditionally was inhabited by a

Macedonian Muslim 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) population that speaks the

Macedonian language Macedonian (; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million ...

. "Споменати се четирите торбешки села чие население е со очуван македонски јазик - во Дебреште, Пешталево, Лажани и Трновци." "Во Бродска околија исламизирани Македонци живееле во селата Дебреште, Лажани, Пласница и Преглово." "Селата во кои живеат Торбешите лежат во средина на пространа низина (Лазани и Пешталево) или се на граница од таа низина и повисоко земјиште (Дебреште и Трновци)." During the 1960s, Slavic Muslims from

Sandžak Sandžak (; sh, / , ; sq, Sanxhaku; ota, سنجاق, Sancak), also known as Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative dis ...

, known as Sandžakli settling in Debrešte were not well received by the local population which forced them to move to neighboring villages, mainly to Lažani where their numbers are high. "Некаде околу шеесетите години, во с. Дебреште, доселеници од Санџак, познати како Санџаклии, се населиле во селото, но не биле "добро примени" од староседелското население со што биле приморани да се отселат во соседните села, претежно во с. Лажани каде нивниот број е најмногу застапен." Muslim Albanians from the sub-region of

Pešter The Pešter Plateau ( sr, Пештерска висораван, Pešterska visoravan; sq, Rrafshnalta e Peshterit), or simply Pešter ( sr-Cyrl, Пештер, ; sq, Peshter), is a karst plateau in southwestern Serbia, in the Raška (or Sandžak ...

in Sandžak also settled in Lažani and number 30 households with some families bearing the surname Shkreli. The village in the 21st century has a mixed population consisting of Macedonian Muslims (Torbeš), Orthodox Macedonians, Bosniaks and Muslim Albanians containing 300 households amidst a population of around 2000 people. Intermarriage between Muslim Albanians and Bosniaks occurs in the village. p. 208. "Llazhani ka strukturë heterogjene nacionale, aty jetojnë maqedonas, shqiptarë, boshnjak dhe torbeshë. Fshati numëron 300 shtëpi dhe më se dy mijë banorë. Në mesin e tyre ka nja 30 shtëpi, në të cilat jetojnë familje me mbiemrin Shkreli."; p.209. "këtu në Llazhan erdhëm para 30 vjetësh nga Peshteri i Sanxhakut"; p. 210. "edhe këtu në Llazhan me shumicë muslimane boshnjake, andaj fëmijët tanë janë të detyruar të martohen me boshnjake," Macedonian Muslims from Lažani refer to the surrounding Christian population as ''Makedonci'' (Macedonians) and those Orthodox Macedonians refer to them as ''Turci'' (Turks) due to they being Muslims. "Така, исламизираните Македонци од селата Дебреште, Лажани, Трновци и Пешталево, Прилепско, околните Македонци ги нарекувале и ги нарекуваат Турци само заради нивното исповедување на муслиманската религија." According to the 2021 census, the village had a total of 1.755 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedonian Census (2021)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2021 * Bosniaks 901 *

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 ...

377 * Macedonians 264 * Albanians 153 *Others 60

Sports

Local football club FK Sloga 1976 plays in the Macedonian Third League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazani Villages in Dolneni Municipality Macedonian Muslim villages Albanian communities in North Macedonia