Pačarađa (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Пачарађа) 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' ...

Kuršumlija Kuršumlija ( sr-Cyrl, Куршумлија, ) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of the Southern Serbia (Geographical Region), southern Serbia. It is situated near the rivers Toplica (South Morava), Toplica, Kosanica (ri ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 41 people.

History

Toponyms such as ''Arbanaška'' and ''Đjake'' show an historic Albanian presence in the Toplica and Southern Morava regions. As in the wider Toplica region,

also had an Albanian majority. The village Pačarađa known as Paqarada in

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 ...

, was fully ethnically

and the village spoke the

Gheg Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...

dialect of Albanian. In 1877-78, after the Serbo-Ottoman Wars, these Albanians were expelled by Serbian forces in a way that today would be characterized as

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

. According to the travels of M. Rakić, there were 127 villages in the Kuršumlija district, Pačarađa being one of these villages, with Kuršumlija being the only town. After the Serbo-Ottoman War in 1878, the town remained completely vacant, including the village of Pačarađa. The Albanian migrants from this region became known as

Muhaxhir Muhaxhir and Muhaxher (plural: Muhaxhirë and Muhaxherë, meaning "Muslim refugees" in Albanian language, Albanian) are Ottoman Albanian communities that left their homes as refugees or were transferred, from Greece, Serbia and Montenegro to Alban ...

s and they mostly migrated to what is today modern

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, which was back then the Vilayet of Kosovo of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

References

Populated places in Toplica District Albanian communities in Serbia {{ToplicaRS-geo-stub