Maqellarë

Maqellarë (/''Makelari'' or Макеларе/''Makelare'') is a village and a former municipality in the Dibër County, northeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Dibër. The population at the 2011 census was 10,662.2011 census results

Demographics

Maqellarë is recorded in the Ottoman ''defter'' of 1467 as a settlement in the ziamet of Dibra (within the vilayet of Upper Dibra) and a '' hass'' property belonging to the '' soubashi'' Ahmet Bey. The village had a total of seven households and the anthroponymy attested is almost exclusively Slavic in character, with a single instance of Albanian anthroponymy (''Lisimadi'').

According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov, in 1900 the town had 240 Muslim Bulgarian inhabitants and 210 Christian Bulgarian inhabitants. However, Kanchov noted that the inhabitants of the village preferred to be called Albanians and that they spoke Albanian.Македония. Етнография и Статистика : Debar kaza
Accessed 3 July 2017. Pg 90 Жителите на селата Острени (Големо и Мало), Трново (Големо и Мало), Клење, Летен, Џепишта, Ербеле, Обоки, Макелари и др. претпочитат да се изјаснуваат како Арнаути и да зборуваат арнаутски.

The wider Maqellarë municipality, however, includes a number of predominantly Albanian towns that were not listed in Kanchov's study as they were not part of the Debar kaza. Of all the towns in the modern municipality that were included in Kanchov's study, Gradec and Kërçishtë e Epërme were primarily Bulgarian Christian, Herebel, Kllobuçisht and Kërçishtë e Poshtme were primarily Bulgarian Muslim, Maqellarë was Bulgarian divided between the two with slightly more Muslims, and six other towns were primarily Albanian Muslim: Vojnik, Majtarë, Erebarë, Kovashicë, Bllatë e Epërme and Bllatë e Poshtme; finally, one village, Grezhdan, had a mixed population of Albanian Muslims and Bulgarian Christians. Overall, the sum of the partial municipality shows that Muslims were in the largest religious group, Bulgarians the largest language group, and Albanian Muslims had a plurality with 1490 residents (44.7% of the partial municipality), living beside 985 Bulgarian Muslims (29.8% of the partial municipality), and 855 (25.7%) Bulgarian Christians. The Halveti Order had one structure in the modern commune, in the mixed Albanian Muslim and Bulgarian Christian town of Grezhdan.

According to the early 20th century newspaper ''Debar voice'', the village of Maqellarë had 23 households affiliated with the Bulgarian Exarchate and 25 Muslim households.Дебърски глас, година 2, брой 38, 3 април 1911, стр. 2.

During the first World War occupying Austro-Hungarian forces conducted a census (1916-1918) of parts of Albania they held. Of the area corresponding to the contemporary administrative unit of Maqellarë, settlements had the following ethnic and religious demographics:

*Burim (Allajbeg) was inhabited by 409 Albanians and 4 Romani with a total of 413 Muslims.
*Bllatë e Epërme - 177 Muslim Albanians.
*Bllatë e Poshtme - 196 Muslim Albanians.
*Çernen - 141 Muslim Albanians.
*Dovolan - 259 Albanians, 44 Bulgarians, 5 Romani: 258 Muslims, 51 Orthodox.
*Erebarë - 166 Muslim Albanians.
*Grezhdan - 234 Albanians, 19 Romani: 253 Muslims.
*Herebel - 74 Albanians, 136 others, 3 Romani: 77 Muslims, 136 Orthodox.
*Kërçisht i Epërm - 23 Albanians, 14 Bulgarians, 197 others: 37 Muslims, 197 Orthodox.
*Kërçisht i Poshtëm - 314 Muslim Albanians.
*Kllobçisht - 530 Albanians, 6 Romani: 536 Muslims.
*Kovashicë - 237 Muslim Albanians.
*Fushë e Vogël (Kurtbeg) - 112 Muslim Albanians.
*Majtarë - 247 Muslim Albanians.
*Maqellarë - 288 Albanians, 87 Bulgarians, 11 Romani: 290 Muslims, 96 Orthodox.
*Katund i Vogël (Obok) - 169 Albanians, 29 Bulgarians: 72 others: 165 Muslims, 106 Orthodox.
*Pesjak - 130 Muslim Albanians.
*Pocest - 604 Muslim Albanians.
*Popinar - 145 Muslim Albanians.
*Vojnik - 263 Albanians, 16 Romani: 279 Muslims.

Linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli consider the overall census results to be accurate and reflective of much of the ethnic and religious demographics of the area during that time, "Bin Vergleich der beiden oben erwähnten Quellen mit der von den Österreichern während des ersten Weltkrieges durchgeführten Volkszählung, die zweifellos glaubwürdig ist, da sie sich auf eine direkte Befragung der Bevölkerung in den Jahren 1916-1918 stützt, zeigt Unstimmigkeiten."; p.250. "Albaner A, Bulgaren B, Zigeuner Z, Sonstige S, Zigeuner Z, Musl. M, Orth. O; Gemeinde Maqellara: Alajbegja 409 A, 4 Z, 413 M; Bllatë e Epër. 177 A, 177 M; Bllatë e P. 196 A, 196 M; Çermena 141 A, 141 M; Dovolani 259 A, 44 B, 5 Z, 258 M, 51 O; Erebara 166 A, 166 M; Grazhdan 234 A, 19 Z, 253 M; Herbel 74 A, 136 S, 3 Z, 77 M, 136 O, Kërçishti i E. 23 A, 14 B 197 S, 37 M, 197 O; Kërçishti i P. 314 A, 314 M; Klloboqishta 530 A, 6 Z, 536 M; Kovaçica 237 A, 237 M; Kurtbeg 112 A, 112 M; Majtara 247 A, 247 M; Maqellara 288 A, 87 B, 11 Z, 290 M, 96 O; Obok 169 A, 29 B, 72 S, 164 M, 106 O; Pesjaka 130 A, 130 M; Poçesta 614 A, 609 M, 5 Orthodox; Popimavra 145 A, 145 M, Vojnik 263 A, 16 Z, 279 M." however noting that the then identity of the Orthodox Slavic speaking populace was fluid as reflected in census declarations. Toward the end of the 1920s the Orthodox Slavic speaking population was located in only two villages Herbel and Kërçisht i Epërm while in the 1930s the population decline of Orthodox Slavophones continued.

During the 2000s linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli seeking to corroborate villages cited in past literature as being Slavic speaking carried out fieldwork in villages of the area. In Herbel only 6 Orthodox Slavic speaking families made up of 3 larger households of around 20 individuals each remain. In Kërçisht i Epërm the village contains 200 inhabitants and 45 households, of which 6 are Orthodox families with a total of 17 individuals. On the eve of the collapse of communism in 1991, Kërçisht i Epërm had 110 households with 27 belonging to the Orthodox community. "Seit Ende der 20er bis Anfang der 30er Jahre findet man nur noch Angaben für Gorno Krăčišta und Ărbele. Die demographische Entwicklung der 30er Jahre, nämlich der Rückgang des slavophonen Bevölkerungsanteils, der meist aus Orthodoxen bestand, hat sich fortgesetzt, wie die aktuell ermittelten Zahlen zeigen. In Herbel wohnen nur noch sechs orthodoxe Familien. Eigentlich sind es drei Großfamilien mit rund 20 Personan, die noch die südslavische Mundart sprechen.... Kërçishti i Epërm hat gegenwärtig rund 45 Häuser mit ungefähr 200 Einwohnern. Darunter gibt as sechs orthodoxe Familien, drei bestehen jeweils nur noch aus einer Person und die anderen drei aus zwei, drei bzw. neun Personen. Insgesamt gibt es also 17 orthodoxe Einwohner, die slavophon sind. Es heißt, daß das Dorf vor der demokratischen Wende 1991 noch rund 110 Häuser hatte. Davon gehörten 27 den Orthodoxen."

Use of the Macedonian language in Kërçisht i Epërm is limited and facing extinction, due to usage being confined to the family. Albanian is also used in family settings especially by younger generations who have limited knowledge of Macedonian due to Albanian school influences and the demographic decline of the Slavic speaking population in the village. Linguists Steinke and Ylli also noted that unlike the Gollobordë region, the villages of the Maqellarë administrative unit area do not have any Muslim Slavic speaking inhabitants, and the village of Katund i Vogël (Obok) no longer has any Slavic Christians left and is inhabited only by Albanians. "Kërçishti i Epërm... Nach Angaben unserer Informanten ist der Gebrauch der Mundart sehr begrenzt und daher vom Aussterben bedroht. Man bezeichnet sie als Makedonisch und verwendet sie ausschließlich innerhaib der Familie. Doch auch in diesem Kreig wird oftmals schon Albanisch verwendet und besonders die junge Generation spricht selbst zu Hause kaum noch die Muttersprache. Das ist im wesentlichen auf den Einfluß der albanischen Schule und ferner auf den Rückgang des slavophonen Bevölkerungsanteils im Dorf zurückzuführen." p. 252. "Anders als in den Dörfern Gollobordas sind in diesem Gebiet keine Spuren von slavophonen Muslimen zu finden. Die ethnische Zugehörigkeit der kleinen orthodoxen und slavophonen Gruppe ist außerdem nicht einfach anzugeben. Bezeichnend sind in diesem Zusammenhang die Ergebnisse der 1916 von den Österreichern durchgeführten Volkszählung.... Über die ethische Identität der slavophonen Orthodoxen scheint es keine klare Vorstellung gegeben zu haben.... noch die ausführlichen Befragungen unserer Informanten sowie anderer Bewohner des Gebietes haben irgendwelche Hinweise auf weitere Orte mit slavophonen Einwohnern in diesem Bereich ergeben. Ebenfalls nicht bestätigt werden konnte nach Erkundigungen vor Ort VIDOESKIS Angabe zu Oboki. Dort gibt es keine slavophonen Christen mehr, auch keine Torbešen, sondern nur Albaner."

People from Maqellarë

* Xhelil Gjoni, communist politician
* Fiqiri Dine, Prime Minister of Albania (1944) and Balli Kombëtar activist
* Vlado Makelarski, WWII partisan
* Arbana Osmani, television presenter

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maqellare
Former municipalities in Dibër County
Administrative units of Dibër (municipality)
Villages in Dibër County