The Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association ( rup, Sutsata sãrbeascã-armãneascã Lunjina; sr, Српско-цинцарско друштво Луњина / , / ) is an

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

with its headquarters at Belgrade, the capital of the country. It was founded in 1991 as a result of the merge of two Aromanian organizations at Dolna Belica and

Gorna Belica Gorna Belica ( mk, Горна Белица; rup, Beala di Suprã/Beala di Supra; sq, Belicë e Sipërme) is a village in the municipality of Struga, North Macedonia. The village is located close to the Albania-North Macedonia border. History ...

, which are two Aromanian villages in

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 ...

. The aim of the organization is to protect the Aromanian minority in Serbia and preserve its customs,

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, name and traditions. In 2017, the Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association had around 500 members. The president of the organization is Aristotel Martinović. In Aromanian, the word means "light". In the closely related

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communities in ...

, this word is . Most members of the Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association are recent ethnic Aromanian immigrants from North Macedonia, with only a small part of them being descendants of the Aromanian community that has lived in Serbia for centuries. The organization has published several books on Aromanian grammar and a CD of traditional Aromanian music and publishes the

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

''Light. Bulletin of the Serbian–Aromanian Association''. It has also been proposed that the Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association organize optional courses in Aromanian at the

University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology The Faculty of Philology is one of the constituent schools of the University of Belgrade. The school's purpose is to train and educate its students in the academic study or practice in linguistics and philology. History The study of philology wa ...

. Members of the Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association are among the few Aromanians in Serbia who continue to actively practice and use their language and culture. In fact, between 2014 and 2017, this organization offered weekly Aromanian-language courses, but these were discontinued due to a lack of students and were replaced by ''Anveatsã armaneashti!'' (Learn Aromanian!), an online platform to learn Aromanian created in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The Lunjina Serbian–Aromanian Association has strived for the recognition of the Aromanians as a national minority in Serbia, but this has been rejected as far since they did not meet the minimum number of people that a community must have to be granted this status, which is 300, in the last Serbian census. The Aromanians in Serbia number between 5,000 to 15,000 people, but only 243 people declared themselves ethnic "Tsintsar" (i.e. Aromanian, "Tsintsar" being the name

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 ...

use for the Aromanians) in the latest census.

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* (now defunct) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunjina Serbian-Aromanian Association Aromanians in Serbia Aromanian cultural organizations 1991 establishments in Serbia Organizations established in 1991 Organizations based in Belgrade

See also

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