Džepište (, ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

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

of Debar,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

History

In 1913 the village, along with other settlements on the left bank of the

Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black 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 flowing through North Macedonia for , the ...

, were assigned to

Independent Albania Independent Albania () was a parliamentary state declared in Vlorë (at the time part of Ottoman Empire) on 28 November 1912 during the First Balkan War. Its assembly was constituted on the same day while its government and senate were establish ...

. The village was part of the

Principality of Albania The Principality of Albania () was a monarchy from 1914 to 1925. It was headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and located in modern Albania in the Balkans, Balkan region of Europe. The Ottoman Empire owned the land until the First Balkan Wa ...

from 1914-1925 and the Albanian Republic in 1925. It was ceded to the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

on 30 July 1925 by Ahmet Zogu.

Demographics

Džepište (''Xhepishte'') is recorded in the Ottoman ''

defter A ''defter'' was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Etymology The term is derived from Greek , literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goat parchment used along with papyrus ...

'' of 1583 as a village in the

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

of Dulgobrda. The settlement had a total of 39 households with the anthroponymy attested being of a mixed

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 ...

- Slavic character with a predominance of Slavic names as well as instances of

Slavicisation Slavicisation or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something non-Slavic into a Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. The process can either be voluntary or applied through varying degrees of pressure. The term can also refer to the ...

(e.g., ''Radiç Gjergji''). Džepište has traditionally been inhabited by Orthodox Macedonians and a

Torbeši The Torbeši () are a Macedonian language, Macedonian-speaking Islam, Muslim ethnoreligious group in North Macedonia and Albania. The Torbeši are also referred to as Macedonian Muslims () or Muslim Macedonians. They have been culturally distin ...

population. p. 214. "Заедно со македонско христијанско население Торбеши живеат и во селата: Могорче, Требиште, Велебрдо, Ростуше, Јанче, Долно Косоврасти (во Река), Горенци, Житинени (во Жупа), Џепиште," In statistics gathered by

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a geographer, ethnographer and teacher who served as Minister of Education of Bulgaria. Early life and education Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school i ...

in 1900, the village of Džepište was inhabited by 165 Christian

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

and 135 Muslim Bulgarians. However, Kanchov noted that the inhabitants of the village preferred to be called

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

and that they spoke

. As of the 2021 census, Džepište had 347 residents with the following ethnic composition:Total resident population of the Republic of North Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlement, Census 2021
/ref> *Turks 181 *Albanians 75 *Macedonians 45 *Others (including Torbeš) 24 *Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources 22 According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 499 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 89. * Turks 276 * Macedonians 105 *

96 *Others 22

References

External links

Villages in Debar Municipality Albanian communities in North Macedonia Torbeši settlements {{Debar-geo-stub