Labuništa (; ) 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' ...

Struga Struga ( ; , sq-definite, Struga) 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 name Struga ...

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 ...

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 (; ) was a city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various scholars at the modern-day village of Zgërdhesh or at Krujë. The ancient city may correspond with later mentions of the settlement c ...

''. 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 (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. 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 () 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), Jablanica mountain ...

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

river and the Globočica lake.

Demographics

History

According to

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 ...

's study of Macedonia in 1900, ''"Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"'', (), counted the village as having 660 Bulgarian Christian and 800 Muslim ( Torbeš) inhabitants. According to the statistics of geographer Dimitri Mishev (D. M. Brancoff), the village had a total Christian population of 640 in 1905, consisting of 512 Serbomans Patriarchist Bulgarians and 128 Exarchist

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, ...

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

Macedonian Muslims Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mace ...

and 380

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

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: *

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, ...

: 4,935 * Turks: 1,618 * Macedonians: 1,149 *

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

: 72 *

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

: 8 *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

: 3 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

: 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 Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

: 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 Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

: 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 Torbeš regarding self identification which is based on common religion (

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

) that in Labuništa has led to self declarations of being Albanian. 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 plays in the Macedonian Second League (West Division).

Notable people

* Nikola А. Anđelković, (''1902 - 1944'') - Serb

Chetnik The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

military commander in

WW2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising ...

*Milisav Antonijević - Drimkolski ( :sr:Милисав Антонијевић - Дримколски) (1913 - 2001), teacher and writer * Bashkim Bashkimi, (''1964'') - sociologist, first doctor of sciences * Đorđe Cvetković Drimkolski (possibly Georgi Cvetkov), (''1860 - 1905'') - revolutionary, military commander *Stoyan Gyurchinov ( :bg:Стоян Гюрчинов), (''? - 1927'') - priest * Ilija Ilić, (1879 - 1942) - Volunteer from

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

*Stojan Krstev/Кrstić ( :bg:Стоян Кръстев), (''? - 1890'') - priest * Andjelko Krstić, (''1871 - 1952'') - writer and playwright * Murat Labunishta (''1912 - 1946'') - poet, politician *

Menil Velioski Menil Velioski (; born 26 April 2001) is a Macedonian folk singer. He became well known in the region of former Yugoslavia after participating in the show "Neki novi klinci", which was aired on the television channels Prva Srpska Televizija and T ...

, (''2001'') - folk singer

References

External links

Website of Labuništa village (1)

Website of Labuništa village (2)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labunista Villages in Struga Municipality Torbeši settlements Albanian communities in North Macedonia