Selckë

Selckë is a small village in the former Pogon municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Dropull. In the early 1990s, the village was inhabited by an Orthodox Albanian majority and an Aromanian minority, while in the 2010s a Greek community is also recorded.

Name

The name of the settlement ''Selckë'' is formed from the Slavic word for village ''Selo'' and the suffix ''ci'' referring to a resident's name. The current name was derived either from the Slavic form ''Selbska'', with a sound change of ''s'' to ''c'' or from the Slavic ''Sel'ce'' with the addition of the suffix ''ka''.Ylli, Xhelal (2000).
Das slavische Lehngut im Albanischen. 2
lavic settlement in Albania'. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 165. "SÉLC/Ë, *A (1431 Selci, Korçë); SELCE (1431, Himarë)A. SE 242,262 Селца (KO, PG), Селче(ЗН); ZA ЗБС 210.B. Kommt in PG als S. e Poshtme ,Unter S.‘, S. e Sipërme ,Ober S.4, in KO und SH vor. SE erklärt den DN aus bulg. село ,Dorf. ZA fuhrt diese Erklärung weiter, und leitet den ON, zusammen mit Selckë, aus einem Einwohnemamen auf -ци < ON *Село her. Auch eine Erklärung aus dem Diminutiv селце ,Dörflein‘ ist möglich.C. PJ 59 Селце, BE 2180 Selce, VA 50 Σέλτση. SÉLCK/Ë, -A (1856 Σέλτσζχα, GJ, ТЕ);+ SELCKE (1431, Korçë)A. SE 261 Селска (TE), Селцка (GJ).B. Kommt in ТЕ als S. ,S. e Vogel ,Klein S.‘ und in GJ vor. VA 50 erklärt einen ähnlichen ON aus*Selbska. Der Lautwandel s > с kommt mehr- mals vor, vgl. Lupckë. Auch eine Erklärung aus dem Diminutiv сел(ь)це + -ка ist möglich.C. VA 50 Σέλτσζκα.
" In Aromanian the village is known as ''Selitskã'' and in Greek as ''Σέλτση''.

Geography

The village lies on the slopes of Mount Nemërçkë. Selckë is considered as the southernmost village of the Lunxhëri region. In terms of current Albanian administration Selckë is part of the '' Pogon'' municipal unit.Koltsida, 2008, p. 90: "Πάνω Πωγώνι: ... περιλαμβάνονται τα χωριά... Σέλτση

History

In late Ottoman period, Selckë was the only Albanian language">Albanian speaking village in the kaza (subdistrict) of Pogon. As such, in 1869 it was detached from the kaza of Pogoni, where it was the only Albanian-speaking village and became part of the kaza of Gjirokastër, which was predominantly Albanian-speaking. "Το 1869, όπως μας πληροφορεί ο Λαμπρίδης, το απομακρυσμένο χωριό Σέλτσα, το μόνο αλβανόφωνο του καζά, αποσπάστηκε από το Πωγώνι και ενώθηκε με τον καζά του Αργυροκάστρου, το γεγονός επιβεβαιώνεται από τους κατοπινούς καταλόγους των χωριών του καζά."

At 1868 a Greek school was already operating in the village. In 1911–1913, Dimitrios Zervas, local benefactor and successful businessman, financially supported the local Greek schools and the Orthodox churches, he also offered scholarships to local students to attend the Phanar Greek Orthodox College, in Constantinople.Koltsida, 2008, p. 295: "Σέλτση... και το Αργυρόκαστρο." In the early 20th century, many inhabitants participated in late Ottoman immigration, but sent remittances home, helping the development of the village. During the interwar period Selckë had 35 houses with the inhabitants being Albanian speaking. "Selck, an Albanian speaking village of some thirty-five houses" In the 1950s and 1960s, during the communist period many inhabitants moved to Tirana or other Albanian cities, and their houses were then occupied by Aromanians.

In 1990 the village had 33 Aromanian families and 32 native Lunxhot Orthodox Albanian families, the former having been settled there as a result of the forcible relocations by the communist regime of People's Republic of Albania. In 1992 it was reported that Aromanians were the overall majority.Kallivretakis, 1995. p. 34. "Στα πλαίσια της επιτόπιας έρευνας που πραγματοποιήσαμε στην Αλβανία (Νοέμβριος-Δεκέμβριος 1992), μελετήσαμε το ζήτημα των εθνοπολιτισμικών ομάδων, όπως αυτές συνειδητοποιούνται σήμερα επί τόπου. s part of the fieldwork we held in Albania (November–December 1992), we studied the issue of ethnocultural groups, as they are realized today on the spot.; p. 51. "ΑΧ Αλβανοί Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί, Β Βλάχοι"; p.57 "SELCKA ΣΕΛΤΖΚΑ/ΣΕΛΤΣΙ. 152 Β + αχ". Today, a part of the population has migrated, mostly to Greece, with Aromanians migrating at higher rates than natives, and often with no plans to return.De Rapper, 2005: p. 14. According to a 2014 report by the Albanian government, the number of registered citizens who belong to the Greek minority is 180.

Notable people

* Pandeli Sotiri, teacher and Albanian Rilindja activist
*Dimitrios Zervas, local benefactor and successful businessman

References

Sources

*Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995).
Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography
" In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). ''Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania]''. University of Athens.
*
*Gilles de Rapper
Better than Muslims, not as Good as Greeks: Emigration as experienced and imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri
The New Albanian Migration. Brighton-Portland, Sussex Academic Press (2005)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selcke
Populated places in Dropull
Greek communities in Albania
Villages in Gjirokastër County
Aromanian settlements in Albania