Dolna Belica

Dolna Belica (Macedonian: Долна Белица; Albanian: Belicë e Poshtme) is a village in the municipality of Struga, North Macedonia.

Dolna Belica Долна Белица Belicë e Poshtme
Village
Dolna Belica Location within North Macedonia
Coordinates: 41°12′47″N 20°38′06″E
Country	North Macedonia
Region	Southwestern
Municipality	Struga
Elevation	702 m (2,303 ft)
Population  (2021)
• Total	660
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code	+38946
Car plates	SU
Website	.

Name

The village is known as Beala di Ghios or Beala di Cămpu in Aromanian.

History

The village appears in the 1467 Ottoman defter. The majority of the inhabitants displayed a majority Albanian or mixed Slavic-Albanian anthroponomy, while a minority had Slavic names. with the following household heads:Tole Gonçe; Dimitri Babeol; Erin Niko; Gon Shimjat; Gjore S-u-ç; Gin Mamin; Gon Kovaç; Gon Damjan; Gerg (or Kirk) Dobre; Milosh Prokop; Netko, son of Bajçin; Radiç Novak; Gon Kosar; Gjorgo Popoviq; Gon Ivrain.^[1] According to a local tradition Dolna Belica was founded on the foothills near Mount Jablanica by Aromanians from the villages of Niçë and Llëngë, fleeing the 18th century socio-political and economic crises in what is now southern Albania.^[2] Close family relations were maintained through intermarriage between Aromanians from Dolna Belica and those of Niçë and Llëngë.^[2] During the First World War, Gorna Belica was occupied by the Bulgarian military who evacuated most of the Aromanian villagers and sent them into the interior of Bulgaria and Serbia.^[2] The relocation of local Aromanians was due to Bulgarian forces being concerned that pro-Greek and pro-Serbian sympathies existed among them resulting in possible cooperation with the Entente Allies.^[2] While in exile, some villagers had to fend for themselves whereas others for the Bulgarians did forced labour.^[2] Some Aromanians returning to Dolna Belica through Thessaloniki, Greece attempted to stay in that country and settle there though Greek authorities turned down their requests.^[2]

Demographics

Dolna Belica, along with Gorna Belica, is one of two traditional settlements located in the Drimkol region within Struga municipality which has historically been inhabited by an Aromanian and Albanian community.^[3] The village over time has undergone a change in its ethnic composition of the population.^[3] Dolna Belica has become a mostly Albanian speaking settlement.^[4] Aromanian Muslims also existed in Dolna Belica, although they have assimilated into Albanian identity and language.^[4][5]

In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Dolna Belica was inhabited by 650 Aromanians and 50 Muslim Albanians.^[6] The Yugoslav census of 1948 recorded 692 people of whom 175 were Albanians, 8 Macedonians and 509 others.^[7] The Yugoslav census of 1953 recorded 669 people of whom 208 were Albanians, 27 Macedonians, 9 Romani, and 425 others.^[7] The 1961 Yugoslav census recorded 659 people of whom 251 were Albanians, 50 Macedonians, 2 Bosniaks, 1 Turk, and 355 others.^[7] The 1971 census recorded 687 people of whom 478 were Albanians, 52 Macedonians, 5 Turks and 152 others.^[7] The 1981 Yugoslav census recorded 808 people of whom 627 were Albanians, 68 Macedonians, 15 Bosniaks, and 98 others.^[7] The Macedonian census of 1994 recorded 894 people of whom 779 were Albanians, 36 Macedonians, 6 Turks, and 73 others.^[7]

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 1026 inhabitants.^[8] Ethnic groups in the village include:^[8]

• Albanians 945
• Vlachs 24
• Macedonians 17
• Turks 1
• Serbs 1
• Others 38

As of the 2021 census, Dolna Belica had 660residents with the following ethnic composition:^[9]

• Albanians 604
• Others 31
• Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources 18
• Vlachs 5
• Macedonians 2

References

1. ANTIQ, VERA STOJÇEVSKA (2011). "DISA VEÇORI TË RITEVE DHE KËNGËVE TË DASMËS TE VLLEHTË DHE SHQIPTARËT E FSHATIT BELICË E POSHTME TË STRUGËS". Studime Albanologjike. ITSH: 58.
2. Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Thessaloniki: Zitros Publications. pp. 349–350. ISBN 9789607760869. "According to local traditions, the exoduses from Niçë and Llëngë led to the establishment of two new Vlach villages north-west of Lake Ohrid, on Mount Jablanica. First Gorna Belica (Biala di ni sus) was established, high on the unseen slopes of Jablanica, and shortly afterwards Dolna Belica (Biala di n gios/Kimpu), down in the foothills.... The close relations between Gorna and Dolna Belica and the older Vlach villages of Niçë and Llëngë (a relationship akin perhaps to that between a metropolis and its colonies) is probably attested by the intermarriage and family connections which developed among them."; pp. 468-469. "The Bulgarians evacuated the inhabitants of Gorna and Dolna Belica... and all these displaced persons (or hostages, one might call them) were relocated to the interior of Bulgaria and Serbia. Some were left to fend for themselves until the end of the war, while others did forced labour for the Bulgarians. The Bulgarians did not relocate all these people for their own safety; their basic motive was to clear the area of the pro-Greek and pro Serbian population groups which might have been inclined to co-operate with the Entente Allies"; p. 470. "Some of the displaced Vlachs from Pelagonia passed through Greece on their way home. Many of them stayed on, like the efforts of the inhabitants of Gorna and Dolna Belica, who, on their way back from exile in Bulgaria, passed through Thessaloniki and sought official permission to settle on Greek territory - a request which Greek authorities never granted."
3. Trajanovski, Todor; Domazetovski, Petko (2002). "Традиционалните Влашко-Албански односи согледани преку една Албанска народна песна, испеана за Власите од Горна Белица – Штрушко". In Kiselinovski, Stojan (ed.). Зборник на трудови од Меѓународниот научен симпозиум "Власите на Балканот", одржан на 09-10 ноември 2001 во Скопје. Institut za nacionalna kultura. p. 169. ISBN 9789989895432. "Во струшкиот Дримкол имало две впашки населби - Горна и Долна Белица.... Долна Белица, пак, го измени својот етнички состав на населението."
4. Friedman, Victor (2001). "The Vlah Minority in Macedonia: Language, Identity, Dialectology, and Standardization". In Nuorluoto, Juhani; Leiwo, Martii; Halla-aho, Jussi (eds.). Selected Papers in Slavic, Baltic, and Balkan Studies (PDF). University of Helsinki. p. 29. ISBN 9789521002465. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
5. Friedman, Victor (2003). "Language in Macedonia as an Identity Construction Site". In Joseph, Brian D. (ed.). When languages collide: Perspectives on language conflict, language competition, and language coexistence. Ohio State University Press. p. 287. ISBN 9780814209134. The Muslim Vlahs of Dolna Belica... have assimilated to Albanian language and identity
6. Vasil Kanchov (1900). Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics. Sofia. p. 254.
7. Sherafedin Kaso (2005). The settlements with Muslim population in Macedonia. Logos-A. p. 30. ISBN 978-9989-58-155-7..
8. Macedonian Census (2002), Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion, The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 181.
9. Total resident population of the Republic of North Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlement, Census 2021

External links