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| '''Serbs''' (in their language: Срби) are a south ] which live mostly in ], ] and ]. | |||
| Most Serbs speak the ]. The Serbian identity is generally regarded to be primarily ethnic, not just linguistic; many ] no longer speak the language but are still considered to be Serbs. | |||
| Most Serbs are ] who follow the ]. Their ancestors, and those of their closely linked neighbours the ], converted from pagan ]s to ] before the ]. After the Schism, those who lived under the Orthodox sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the ] sphere of influence became Catholic. (Some have suggested that the distinct Serb and Croatian identities relate more to religion than ethnicity.) Later, with the arrival of the ], some Serbs converted to ]. | |||
| Most Serbs live in the traditional Serbian heartland of ]. Large Serb populations also live in ] (where they're a '']''; principally in the ], one of the two entities that comprise Bosnia) and ], although their numbers have been much reduced by the ] of the ]. Much smaller Serb minorities also exist in ], ] and ]. | |||
| The largest urban populations of Serbs in the former ] to be found in ], ] and ] in Bosnia. Abroad, ] has the largest Serb population followed by ]. Serbs constitute 63% of the population of Serbia, about 7 million people in all, and another 11 million people abroad claim Serbian descent. | |||
| Serbs have played a prominent role in the development of the arts and sciences. Prominent individuals have included the scientists ], ] and ]; the writer ]; and the actress ] (half Serbian, half ]). In the ], two Serbs are ] stars: ] and ]. The wars of the 1990s brought three Serbs to international attention: President ], Bosnian Serb President ] and General ]. The best known ] Serb is ] and the best known ] Serb is probably ]. (] lists some prominent Serbs.). | |||
| Serbian last names often, though not always, have ] -ић (] it<sup>j</sup>). This is often ] in the ] as -ić or -ic. Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch. | |||
| ==Name== | |||
| The ] of Serbian name (root: ''Srb'') is not known. Numerous theories exist, but neither could be said to be certain or even probable: | |||
| #Some believe that the name is of ] origin. This theory sprung mostly because next to nothing is known about Sarmatian language, so every word of unknown origin could be Sarmatian. | |||
| #Some believe that the name is of ] origin. Of which word exactly is unclear. | |||
| #Some believe that the name comes from ''sebar'', peasant. However, as peasants have not existed in pre-medieval times while the name did, this is unlikely. | |||
| #Others say that the name comes from ''saborac'', co-fighter. This could make sense but the words are too far apart. It is possible that ''saborac'' comes from ''sebar'' (that ''sebar'' sometimes meant co-fighter), which would make this theory more interesting but there is not much ground for this claim either. | |||
| #Some believe that the name comes from ''srkati'', to suck in, referring to people so closely united as if they share mother's milk. | |||
| #Also, others argue that all ] have sometimes called themselves Serbs, and that Serbs (and ]) are simply the last Slavs who retained the name. If this is true, it still fails to explain the origin of former Slavic name (most of the above may apply). | |||
| However, there is one thing certain: the name is very old. It is own name and not given because its root could not be found western European languages. | |||
| It is interesting that etymology of name of Serbian sometimes ill-intentioned neigbhours, ] (root: ''Hrv'') is also not known. Some suggest that the names actually originate from the same root: indeed, the roots are only 50% apart (Srb/Hrv). However, what root would that be is still unknown. | |||
| Regardless of the origin, the age and rarity of the name allows for certain historical conclusions based partly on it (for example, see ''Gordoservon'' below). | |||
| While ] and ''krajischniks'' (their names coming from Slavic word for "mark") or ] and ] (obvious variations of "Slavs") need not be related, ] and ] probably are. | |||
| Some have taken this to the extreme, creating theories that link Serbs with ], ], ], ]... | |||
| ===Relation with Sorbs=== | |||
| Obvious similarity in name leads some to conclusion that Serbs and ] are related peoples. | |||
| Indeed, in Serbian language Sorbs are called ''Luzicki Srbi'' (Serbs of ]) and northern of them there were even ''Beli Srbi'' (White Serbs). | |||
| Exactly what are relations between Serbs and Sorbs is not certain: | |||
| #Some believe that Serbs came to Balkan from Sorbia. | |||
| #Some believe that Serbs came to Balkans and Sorbs to Sorbia from joint ancient fatherland. Where this fatherland might be is also uncertain. | |||
| #Some believe that Serbs and Sorbs were one people sometimes but have separated even before they moved to Serbia/Sorbia. | |||
| #If we accept the claim that all Slavs have called themselves Serbs, then Serbs and Sorbs need not have nothing more in common than any other two Slavic peoples. | |||
| Regardless of which is correct, Serbs and Sorbs of today are very different peoples, with different customs, tradition and religion. ] has perhaps more in common with ] then with ]. | |||
| ==Symbols== | |||
| ] is red-blue-white ]. | |||
| <div style="float:right; margin-left:1em; text-align:center;">]<br>(])<br><br>]<br>]<br><small>Photo courtesy of<br></small></div> | |||
| In inofficial use it is often embrodied with one or both of the other Serb symbols: | |||
| *The white ] which was the ] of the ]. (The eagle is rarely displayed without the shield covering its chest.) | |||
| *The ]. If displayed on a field, traditionally it is on red field, but could be used with no field at all. | |||
| Both the eagle and the cross, besides being basis for various Serbian ] through history, are bases for symbols of various Serbian organisations, political parties, institutions and companies. | |||
| The cross, being easy to draw, is often ], carrying obvious political signature. | |||
| Serbian folk attire varies, mostly because of very diverse ] and ] of the teritorry that they inhabit. | |||
| Some parts of it are, however, common: | |||
| *Traditional shoe that is called '']''. It is very specific and recognisable by its tips that spiral backward. Each region of Serbia has different kind of tips. | |||
| *Traditional hat that is called '']''. It is recognisable by its top part that looks like the letter V or like the bottom of a boat (viewed from above!), after what it got its name. Though traditionally different hats were worn in different regions, ''šajkača'' earned its popularity as it was the hat of the Serbian army in the ]. It is still everydayly worn by some villagers today. | |||
| ==Customs== | |||
| The Serbs are a highly family-oriented society. A peek into a Serbian dictionnary and the richness of ] speaks volumes. | |||
| Of all ] and ], only Serbs have the custom of '']''. | |||
| The custom could also be found among some ] and ] of Serbian origin although it has oftenly been lost in the last century. | |||
| ''Slava'' is celebration of a saint; unlike most customs that are common for the whole people, each family separately celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector. A ''slava'' is inherited from father to son and each household may only have one celebration which means that the occasion brings all of the family together. | |||
| Though a lot of old customs are now no longer followed, customs that surround ] are mostly preserved. | |||
| Traditional Serbian dance is ] called '']''. | |||
| It is a collective dance, where more (usually tens, at the very least three) people hold each other by the hands or around the waists dancing, ideally in circle, hence the name. | |||
| Similar dances also exist in other cultures. | |||
| Serbs have their own customs regarding ]. Early in the morning of the day of the Christmas Eve the head of the family would go to a forest in order to cut ''badnjak'', a young ], the oaktree would then be brought into the church to be blessed by the priest. Then the oaktree would be stripped of its branches with combined with wheat and other grain products would be burned in the fireplace. The burning of the ''badnjak'' is a ritual which is most certainly of pagan origin and it is considered a sacrifice to God(s) so that the coming year may bring plenty of produce (food), happinness, love, luck and riches. | |||
| Nowadays, with most Serbs living in cities, most simply go to their church service which dispences small oak, wheat and other branches tied together to be taken home and set afire. The house floor and church is covered with ], reminding of the ] in which ] was born. The Christmas Day is celebrated with a feast, necessarily featuring ] as the main meal. Another Christmas meal is a deliciously sweet cake made of wheat, called '']'' whose consupmtion is more ritual than gourmandise. One crosses oneself first, then takes a spoonfull of the cake and savours it. But the most important Christmas meal is '']'', a special kind of bread; the bread contains a coin. During the ], the family breaks up the bread and one who finds the coin considers that he/she will have especially happy year. | |||
| Christmas is not associated with presents like in the ], it is the day of ], the protector saint of the children, when presents are given. However, under Communist, most Serbian families give presents on New Year's day. Western influences also introduces both Santa Claus (Deda Mraz) and the Christmas tree. | |||
| Religious Serbs also celebrate other religious holidays and even non-religious ones oftenly celebrate the ] (on Orthodox date). | |||
| Serbs also celebrate ] and, in addition to it oftenly (even non-religious ones), Serbian new year, on ]st of the ] (currently on ]th of the ]). | |||
| For Serbian meals, see ]. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ===Early references to "Serboi"<sup>1</sup>=== | |||
| The tribal designation ''Serboi'' first appears in the ] ''Geography'' of ],book 5, 9.21) to designate a tribe dwelling in Sarmatia, probably on the Lower Volga River. The name reappears, in the form ''Serbioi'', in the 10th-century scholar-emperor ] Porphyrogenitos' advice on running an empire, '']'' (32.1-16), and in the continuation of ]' history, the ''Theophanes Continuatus'' (288.17-20), usually in the same context as the Croatians, Zachlumians, and other peoples of ] and ]. | |||
| Constantine VII gives an unlikely derivation of the name from the ] 'servi', which he explains as 'douloi' (slaves) of Roman emperors. He relates that the Serboi are descended from the "unbaptized" (pagan) Serboi who lived in the place called Boiki near Frankia (Bohemia?), and that they claimed the protection of Emperor ] (reigned 610 - 641), who settled them in the province of Thessalonica. There are no other sources to verify Constantine's evidence, however, since ] it is commonly held as a historical truth that Serbs came to the ] in ]. ], the 11th century Byzantine general, locates the Serboi on the ] River (268.28), but apparently incorrectly. | |||
| The first certain data on the state of the Serboi, Serbia, begin with the ], and the episcopal lists of ] mention bishops of Drougoubiteia and the Serbioi. Envoys of the Serboi arrived at the court of emperor ], ''ca'' ]. | |||
| In the 11th century there was probably a '']'' of Serbia: a seal impression of Constantine Diogenes, ''strategos'' of Serbia, is preserved, and ''ca'' 1040 Theophilos Erotikos was the governor of the Serboi, until he was expelled by ], who reportedly conquered the territory of the Serboi and became its 'archon'. | |||
| T.Wasilewski 1964 surmised that this theme was the same as Sirmium, whereas Dj. Radojcic 1966 thinks that it was Raska, only temporarily governed by the Byzantines. | |||
| ===Further history=== | |||
| A mention of Serbian name in ] is about a city of ''Gordoservon'' in ] where "some Slavic tribes" have settled. | |||
| ''Gordoservon'' is obviously distorted spelling of ''Grad Srba'', "City of Serbs" in ]. | |||
| Serbs were converted to ] in several waves between the since ] and ] with the last wave taking place between ] and ]. | |||
| During and after that period, Serbs have struggled to gain independence from the ] and ]. | |||
| The first Serb states were ] and ]. | |||
| Various rulers had various degrees of authonomy, until ], who became the first head of the ] and his brother ], who became the first Serb ]. | |||
| It may be very surprising to today readers that there was no medieval state with the name "Serbia", but it is a fact: Serb state was called "Serb state" and its kings and tsars wore titles of "King of Serbs" or "Tsar of Serbs", not "King of Serbia" or "Tsar of Serbia". | |||
| The state if oftenly called "Serbia" today, however. | |||
| ] reached its ] under the ], for whose achievements could be said that they are still unsurpassed. | |||
| And the Nemanjic Serbia reached its peak under the rule of ]. | |||
| The golden age ended with intrusion of ] into ], of course, over Serbia. Serbia was slowly fading away, its nobility fighting among themselves and incapable of holding out the Turks. The Serbian national consciousness sees the ] of ] as the turning point after which Serbia fell under Turkish rule. | |||
| After Serbia fell, kings of ] wore the title of "King of Serbs" until it was also overrun. | |||
| ===Ottoman domination=== | |||
| Under the ] Serbs were again struggling for independence and to avoid being converted to ]. | |||
| Turkish pressure drove Serbs to ] to the north and west, in then ]. | |||
| At the beginning of ], ] had success in liberating at least some Serbs, for a limited time. | |||
| ] was much more successful. Eventually Serbia it created will become a modern European ]. | |||
| ===20th century Serbs=== | |||
| At the beginning of ], some Serbs have still lived under Ottoman and Austrian occupation. | |||
| Most of them were liberated in the ]. | |||
| But the Serbs in ] were still not free. | |||
| ] started when a Serb ], ] killed Austro-Hungarian archduke ]. | |||
| During the war, the Serbian army fought fiercely, eventually retreated through ] to regroup in ] and launched a counter-offensive. | |||
| Though they were victorious, the war left devastating consequences: over half of male Serbs were killed. | |||
| This still influences ] of today. | |||
| After the war, the state of ] was created. All Serbs (of course without unavoidable minorities in bordering lands) finally lived in one state, though not their own. | |||
| During ], the ] occupied and tore apart Yugoslavia. | |||
| Serbs have suffered immensely, especially under ] regime in the ] (encompassing todays ], ] and a part of ]) where they were subject to mass destruction and cleansing of the population. | |||
| After the war, second ] was formed. Eventually it would break apart in early ]. | |||
| Internal borders of the republics became borders of independent states which would lead to huge civil wars in ] and ], where Serbs did not want to separate but to stay in Yugoslavia, now consisting of only ] and ]. | |||
| Serbs have entered the ] still not united in one state. ]'s concept of a ], defined by the pattern of Serbian settlement, irrespective of existing national borders, remains an underlying popular theme of the Serbian (''Velika Srbija'') ideal, to the dismay of Serbia's neighbors. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| <sup>1</sup>) A.Kazhdan, ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (1991), vol.3, pp.1875f. | |||
Revision as of 23:09, 28 February 2004
Gatasa./