Glossary Of Historical Terms for Ottoman Bulgarian Studies

Glossary Of Historical Terms for Ottoman Bulgarian Studies

source: CONTESTATIONS OVERMACEDONIAN IDENTITY,1870–1912

by NICK ANASTASOVSKI 

Aga Aga is commonly applied to low ranking officers or elderly

respectable men who have no official rank.

Andartes Greek irregular para-militaries.

Arnaut Turkish term for Albanian. Albanians used the term Skipetar.

Asker Soldier, soldiers or army.

Badjzhdata An opening in the ceiling of a village home designed to allow

smoke (from the home fire) to be released.

Badnik The day before Orthodox Christmas (January 7) was known as

badnik and was celebrated with a village bonfire in the evening.

Baklava A Turkish sweet.

Barde A clay drinking vase.

Bashibouzouk Armed Muslim irregulars; bandits. Often attacked Christian

villages in the wake of the Ottoman army. During the

suppression of the Ilinden Rebellion, bashibouzouks were known

to appear following Ottoman attacks on towns and engage in

undisciplined pillaging.

Basmar Medicine woman (can be a male, but rarely).

Bayach Holy woman (can be a male, but rarely).

Bayram A Muslim religious day.

Bedel A personal tax payable for every newborn Christian male.

Beg Common term for feudal landlord but also used by government

officials. Similar to the title 'esquire' in the English language.

Officers of the army and sons of distinguished persons can also

be known as beg. Also known as bey.

Berat A berat is an act by which officials of the Ottoman Empire are

appointed.

Bey See beg.

Bezisten Covered marketplace.

Blato A large body of water such as a marsh or swamp.

Boza A thick flour-based drink.

Bozhik Christmas.

Butim A yoghurt-making instrument.

Chairo A level, open space in the village of Gorno Aglarci (Bitola

region) where desetok tax was paid.

Cheta A group of armed fighters. Common term when describing a

unit of Macedonian revolutionaries of the IMRO (Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation).

Chiflik Feudal estate operated by a powerful beg.

Defter An Ottoman administrative register.

Dekar One thousand square metres of land.

Derudeshiluk A tribute or tax forcibly imposed on entire villages and paid to

local beys or bandit chiefs for protection from the plunder of

bandits.

Desetok The basic agricultural tax constituting a 10 per cent payment.

Dolum Agricultural measurement equal to 920 square metres.

Domashna slava

Literally meaning 'home celebration', the domashna slava is a

celebration for the patron saint of the family home. It is

celebrated annually and is a hereditary tradition handed down

from father to son.

Drumo The road separating the village of Gorno Aglarci (Bitola region)

with the villages Armatoush, Meglenci and Suvodol was known

as drumo.

Dudule During long periods of drought when the survival of vegetation

and farm animals was in doubt, a rain ritual was performed,

commonly known in the Bitola region as dudule or vaidudule.

Duhovden An Orthodox Christian religious holy day; 'Descent of the Holy

Spirit upon Apostle-Holy Pentecost'. Duhovden is celebrated fifty

days after Easter.

Efendi Lord or master, usually applied to a learned Muslim.

Emir Chief or patron of a defined territory.

Endeze Measuring system - equivalent to three feet.

Eremiya A Macedonian seasonal celebration (13 May).

Esnaf Guild association.

Ethnike hetairia

A Greek organisation founded in Athens in November 1894,

the Ethnike Hetairia (National Society) was supported by threequarters of the officers of the Greek army and by wealthy

businessmen. It aimed at liberating all Greeks under Ottoman

rule and was particularly active in advancing Greek propaganda

in Macedonia.

European Turkey

European Turkey refers to the European territories of the

Ottoman Empire.

Exarchate Established in 1870, the Bulgarian Orthodox church was known

as the Exarchate.

Exarchist Exarchist is sometimes used to describe a village or person

under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Exarchate church.

Firman An Ottoman written decree.

Giaor A derogatory term for a Christian inhabitant of the Ottoman

Empire. Also used to denote 'non-believer'.

Griblo Rake.

Grnchina Cooking utensils - earthenware, copper and clay pots.

Grosh Ottoman Turkish currency.

Gurgovden An Orthodox Christian Holy day celebrated on 6 May each

year.

Halva A Turkish sweet.

Harac A capitation tax imposed on all adult male non-Muslims.

Hidjaret When a child turned fifteen his family was required to pay the

hidjaret tax. The amount paid often depended upon the means of

the family.

Idare Medzhlisi Ottoman administrative advisory councils.

Ihtissab Ihtissab (or rusonmat) taxes were various indirect taxes such as

tolls charged by guards on mountain passes, stamp duty, tax on

private commercial transactions, a traders' tax based upon the

value of their stock, and a fisheries tax.

IMRO Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation. In

Macedonian known as VMRO - Vnatreshna Makedonska

Revolucionerna Organizacija.

Irade A personal decree issued by the Sultan.

Ispoldzhija A chiflik worker.

Janichari Pronounced ‘Yanichari’ – English: Janissaries. Janissaries were

Christian children forcibly taken by the Ottomans (as a tax) and

raised as fanatical Muslim soldiers. This elite fighting force was

disbanded in 1826.

Jataci Collaborators; people who worked secretly with the

Macedonian revolutionary movement. Pronounced ‘Yatatsi’.

Kaaite Begs' representatives in chiflik villages, typically residing in the

kula (tower) during periods over summer and monitor work

performed on land. Also known as kea or keata.

Kadia Ottoman administrator of a kaza.

Kadayif A Turkish sweet.

Kaimakam High sheriff.

Katchatci Albanian bandits.

Kaurin An Ottoman term signifying a non-Muslim or 'non believer'.

Also known as 'Giaour'.

Kaza Administrative unit in the Ottoman Empire, typically

encompassing a region.

Kelijni Initially, kelijni schools provided religious-based instruction

through remote churches and monasteries. In the nineteenth

century they undertook a gradual transition into secular

institutions and were administered alongside the establishment

of independent Macedonian church-educational councils.

Klanici Stones that were positioned around a fire inside a village home.

Kmet Village headman.

Konak A konak can signify an inn or more commonly the residence of

a beg or a high-ranking government or military official.

Kula Tower. The term is often used in the Macedonian language as

'Turka kula’ (Turkish tower). Typically, towers were erected in

chiflik villages and provided accommodation for the begs'

representatives or the beg himself.

Kum Godfather.

Kumita Macedonian revolutionary; irregular fighter.

Kuyka Home or house (Kuykata – ‘the home/house’).

Letnik A Macedonian seasonal celebration (1 March).

Lokum Turkish delight.

Maalo A town quarter.

Millet Ottoman society was organised into religious communities. As

such every Ottoman subject belonged to a recognised

ecclesiastical institution, known as millets.

Motika Hoe.

Mudir An Ottoman official.

Muftija High-ranking official in the Islamic religion. The muftija exerted

significant influence and his decisions were compulsorily

accepted by the kadia. The muftija dealt with matters arising

about the ‘Sheriat’. Most larger towns had a muftija.

Muhadjirs Muslim refugees.

Nahia A nahia represented the smallest administrative division in the

Ottoman Empire. It usually took its name from a town, river or

object within its boundaries.

Nalandzhi Wooden-based clogs popular with Turkish women.

Nevrus A Macedonian seasonal celebration (25 March).

Numko Godfather, also known as kum.

Ofchar A shepherd.

Ohrid Archbishopric

The Orthodox Christian Ohrid Archbishopric was the church

of the Macedonian people. It was abolished by the Ottoman

Sultan in 1767 under pressure from the Greek Patriarchate.

Oja A Muslim religious figure - similar to a Christian priest. (The

same term is also used for a Muslim teacher).

Oka A system for measuring weight - 1.282 kilogram was equivalent

to one oka.

Pasha A high-ranking Ottoman. A military general was known as a

pasha. The title of pasha could only be conferred by the Sultan.

 Patriarchate The church of the Greek Patriarchate was situated in

Constantinople and throughout most of the nineteenth century

(prior to 1870) it enjoyed a monopoly over Christian

ecclesiastical matters in European Turkey.

Pechalbar Macedonian migratory worker.

Phanariot Phanariots were those Greeks who were descendants of

prominent merchant and cleric families associated with the

Greek Patriarchate. They took the name Phanariots from the

Phanar quarter of Constantinople, which they inhabited.

The Phanariots were a form of Greek aristocracy living in the

Phanar district of Constantinople where the Greek Patriarch

resided. They were made up of merchants, financiers and

clergymen and maintained solid connections with the

Patriarchate. From the beginning of the eighteenth century they

were utilised by the Ottomans as interpreters with Europeans,

however their influence with the Ottomans saw them become

powerful and prosperous as they filled prominent civil service

positions. Clerical members of the Panariots exploited the

Patriarchate church and sought to expand its influence in the

Balkans.

Pogon Parcel of land equivalent to 2000 square metres.

Polyak Watchman of the village fields.

Pondila An outer building where farm animals were kept.

Potka A small, erect mound of earth approximately one foot high used

to mark the boundary of agricultural fields.

Prekar Typically Macedonian surnames are derived from a father's

name or even a nickname (prekar), which becomes a family

symbol.

Raguzina A straw sleeping mat. Made by men from the central part of the

Bitola Pelagonia plain over the winter months.

Rakia Home-made distilled alcohol.

Raya Ottoman term denoting non-Muslims of the Ottoman Empire

in their entirety, literally meaning ‘the flock’.

Rayatsko The term rayatsko is typically used when referring to land.

Rayatsko land signifies land that is not chiflik land, but denotes

land that remained in private ownership prior to pechalbari

buying chiflik land back from the begs in the nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries.

Rufet Traditional clothing in the district of Gorna Reka was known as

rufet.

Rumelia Denotes Ottoman Turkish territory in Europe.

Rusonmat See ihtissab.

Salname Official Ottoman book outlining religious and other significant

dates during the course of a year.

Sandjak Large territorial administrative region.

Servia The name Servia was often used by commentators and

historians in place of Serbia, during the nineteenth and early

twentieth centuries.

Shamak A straw-like weed naturally found in the marshland (blato) on

the Pelagonia plain. Utilised in the manufacture of zimbili and

raguzini.

Sheriat Sacred (Islamic) law.

Shpion A spy or informer for the Empire.

Singir System of measuring agricultural fields. One singir was

equivalent to 50 metres.

Soi An extended family.

Sokak Street, road or path. For instance, the main road in Bitola was

known as Shirok sokak (wide street).

Stomni A clay drinking vase.

Stroinik A middle man who organises partners for marriage.

Sursa Entire unarmed Christian villages were known to be held for

ransom by armed Muslim bandits (typically Albanians in

western Macedonia) who extracted extortion payments. The

extracting of extortion payments in this manner was known as

sursa.

Svatovi In-laws.

Syligos Greek ultra-nationalist organisation. The Syligos outwardly

professed to be literary and scientific organisations, intended to

advance education amongst Greeks. The Syligos was supported

financially by wealthy Greeks, but the organisation was in fact

politically motivated and sought as its primary aim to support

the Patriarchate attempts to expand throughout the Orthodox

Balkans and assimilate the non Greek Orthodox Christian

populations under Ottoman rule.

Tapiya Property or land title.

Teke A Muslim monastery or a religious meeting place.

Tovar Measuring system - 100 oka was equivalent to one tovar.

Trem Church outer building where various customs and traditions are

commonly held. Often used as a school class room. An outer

building in a village home is also known as a trem.

Trska Cane. In the Bitola region it was found in the blato.

Turkey in Europe

Identical to the term ‘European Turkey’, denotes Ottoman

territorial possessions in Europe.

Vakaf Land belonging to a religious institution was known as vakaf

land. Any land, including buildings, donated to a religious

institution was transferred through a legal act before the kadia,

known as vakafname or vakafie.

Vali Governor of province or vilayet.

Varvara An Orthodox Christian religious holy day.

Vasilica Orthodox New Year (Jan 14).

Veligden Easter.

Vergia An Ottoman personal wealth tax. Also known as vergi.

Vilayet Large Ottoman administrative region. There were six vilayets in

European Turkey in 1900.

Vila Pitchfork.

Vizier A Minister of public affairs in the Ottoman Empire. The Grand

Vizier was the Sultan's representative for secular matters.

Imperial orders were passed down to the provinces via the

Grand Vizier.

VMRO See IMRO.

Vodar A male designated to water the village fields.

Vodici A Christian holy day; ‘Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

Vojvoda Leader of a Macedonian Revolutionary unit.

Zapatki The day before the religious day of Gyurgovden was known as

zapatki in the Reka district. On zapatki young girls from the

village walked through the village fields, pastoral lands and

forests to gather herbal plants.

Zaptiehs Ottoman police officers.

Zbor Engagement of a couple. Literally meaning ‘word’ - to give

‘word’.

Zimbili Straw carry bags made during the winter period by men from

villages situated in the central part of the Bitola Pelagonia plain.