Title: “Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities. in Mihail Kogălniceanu

Commune, Constanța”

Author: Stelu Şerban

How to cite this article: Şerban, Stelu. 2009. “Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities. Aromanians in

Mihail Kogălniceanu Commune, Constanța”. Martor 14: 49‐63. Published by: Editura MARTOR (MARTOR Publishing House), Muzeul Țăranului Român (The

Museum of the Romanian Peasant)

URL: http://martor.muzeultaranuluiroman.ro/archive/martor‐14‐2009/

Martor (The Museum of the Romanian Peasant Anthropology Review) is a peer‐reviewed academic journal established in 1996, with a focus on cultural and visual anthropology, ethnology, museum studies and the dialogue among these disciplines. Martor review is published by the Museum of the Romanian Peasant. Its aim is to provide, as widely as possible, a rich content at the highest academic and editorial standards for scientific, educational and (in)formational goals. Any use aside from these purposes and without mentioning the source of the article(s) is prohibited and will be considered an infringement of copyright.

Martor (Revue d’Anthropologie du Musée du Paysan Roumain) est un journal académique en système peer‐review fondé en 1996, qui se concentre sur l’anthropologie visuelle et culturelle, l’ethnologie, la muséologie et sur le dialogue entre ces disciplines. La revue Martor est publiée par le Musée du Paysan Roumain. Son aspiration est de généraliser l’accès vers un riche contenu au plus haut niveau du point de vue académique et éditorial pour des objectifs scientifiques, éducatifs et informationnels. Toute utilisation au‐delà de ces buts et sans mentionner la source des articles est interdite et sera considérée une violation des droits de l’auteur.

Martor is indexed by EBSCO and CEEOL. 49

Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities Aromanians in Mihail Kog`lniceanu Commune, Constan]a

Stelu {erban Institute for South-East European Studies, Bucharest

The aim of this article is to approach the and from most ’ identity. The aware- change process related to some characteristic as- ness of these differences is the engine of the pects of Aromanian identity in Mihail Kog`lni- change process of the collective identity of the Aro- ceanu, a fairly large commune lying 30 km from manians from . Constan]a Municipality. Shortly after 1878, the The study of Aromanian populations and cul- commune was mainly inhabited by the descen- ture has grown and developed, ranging from histo- dants of the colonised Transylvanian shepherds of riographic approaches or simple travel journals to Orthodox religion. Orthodox Aromanians, Muslim linguistic analyses and, more recently, anthropo- Tartars as well as small groups of Roma and Ger- logical field research. Therefore, when referring to mans live together with the majority group. There Aromanians, we ought to distinguish the way in is also a Roman-Catholic community here made up which different authors have gathered, analysed of Germans and Romanians. and interpreted data about them and also the The context of the present research is set by premises which underlie some general conclusions. the local political and civic institutions. I will show As a matter of fact, there is a substantial biblio- how the group of Aromanians in Mihail Kog`lni- graphy about Aromanians which includes many ceanu redefines its identity by means of such in- fields, as shown by a brief overview (Kahl 2006: stitutions1. The traditional values codified for 227-318). Thus, I agree with pertinent opinions ac- many generations in the geographical area where cording to which the current research of Aro- Aromanians originated are being eroded, making manian culture and populations and, particularly, room for attitudes and values which are not gene- of their ethnic identity can only be done by con- rated by the pressure of national society but by the flating field and anthropological research and the Aromanians’ self-perception within it. study of the national histories on whose territories It is important to bear in mind that, unlike Aromanians lived or still live (Trifon 2005: 22). other groups with a weaker sense of collective Another basic premise of the article is that of identity that have recently settled in different lo- differentiating the Aromanian communities, func- calities of Dobrudja2, Aromanians arrived in Ro- tion of the social and cultural milieus in which the mania with a strong attachment and conscience of last generations of Aromanians lived. Starting from the group to which they belong. Their identity was social and economic adaptability, a seemingly ge- different and is still different from local identities neral feature of Aromanians (Fatse 1984, Trifon 50 Stelu {erban

2005: 25), the last Aromanian communities it to use whenever they make choices that affect formed either by immigration (USA, Western Eu- the group’s identity. In the case of the Aromanians rope, Romania) or by natural migration from the in Mihail Kog`lniceanu the options that underlie rural to the urban environment in the original so- the foundation of the family, an aspect of tradition ciety, acquire even more striking features meant to that is most difficult to change, are based on dif- differentiate them. For instance, we can compare ferent rules when it comes to the last generations the conclusions drawn by anthropological re- of Aromanians. The sources of these changes searchers about the Aromanians in the USA (Fatse range from individual biographies and recent his- 1984)3 to those about the Aromanians in tory (deportation, for example) to the economic (Schwander-Sievers 1998). The blatant differences and social success hailed by Aromanians within stem from the way in which the Aromanians’ tradi- Romanian society. tional identity founded on a common language and I will also consider the manner in which the on their belonging to a more or less specified Aromanians’ local involvement in political and Balkan space has changed when in touch with the civic institutions and organisations influence their institutions and values of the societies inhabited by identity-forging model. The two dimensions are the last generations of Aromanians. In this article I important and interconnected. Finally, I will insist am referring straightforwardly to this differentia- on the connection between them. tion, though it be based on one single case whose Some data on Mihail Kog`lniceanu locality are representativeness can be a subject for debate. necessary. The number of the inhabitants has per- The third premise I start from is theoretical by manently changed due to both natural migration excellence. The identity of a human group derives and especially the successive settlement on its ter- from the collective choices made by the members ritory of different populations belonging to diffe- of this group. This is why the immediate cultural rent ethnic groups (see Table 1). and institutional context is of paramount impor- The Nogay Tartars were the first inhabitants of tance. The values and institutions that distinguish Caramurat, the original name of the commune. the group are either preserved or reshuffled by a After the Czarist occupation of the Crimean Penin- clash with the values and institutions of the society sula (1783), many Tartars took refuge in Dobrudja. in which the group lives. Tradition provides the This is why most Tartar ethnics have chosen this cultural material needed for forging the identity of place of residence since the eighteenth century. the group to the extent to which the members of A significant number of ethnic Germans com- the group assimilate it, become aware of it and put ing from the southern part of Bessarabia have set-

Table 1. The ethnic structure

(The National Institute of Statistics and the City Hall of M. Kog`lniceanu commune – 2002). Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 51 tled here since 1850, but after 1940, following the Aromanians, be they Farsherots or Cipani, and the treaties signed by Romania and Germany, the Ger- premises of field research must be changed. man ethnics came back to their native country. There were only 10-15 families left in the com- Traditional values and institutions. mune and the households left by those who were Family and marriage dislocated were occupied by Aromanians and Ro- A set of factors with a decisive influence on the manians. Only 18 Germans are currently living in moulding of the Aromanians’ identity is linked Kog`lniceanu compared to 1940, when their num- with the increase in the number of mixed mar- ber reached 1527. riages, with the models and rules that intervene in Attracted by the propitious climate of Dobrudja the cohabitation of the families resulted from and by its fertile agricultural lands, the number of these marriages (Plecadite 2002). As I said, the inhabitants increased in the commune after 1878 Aromanian group preserves traditional rules for es- due to the settlement of Romanians coming from tablishing kindred and matrimonial relationships. villages of southern Transylvania (S`cele, S`li[te, The genealogical surveys conducted as part of the Valea Tili[ca, Gali[tea, R`[inari, Poenari, R`deni). interviews allowed me to determine the change of The Roma coming from Medgidia between 1951 matrimonial rules over time. and 1952 were the last settlers in the commune. We must say that the genealogical memory of Initially, their move to Kog`lnicenu brought only 3 the Aromanians goes back four generations. Ne- families, yet their number has substantially in- vertheless, elderly subjects (over 70 years of age) creased at present (43 families in 1992)4. preserve the same kinship memory prevailing in The Aromanian group in Mihail Kog`lniceanu the Greek villages of their origin. As a rule, the so- is part of the branch of Farsherots. The inhabi- cial control related to the making of a family was tants of this locality originate from the region of said to be very strict at the time (Idem: 51). The Veria, . Most of them had already been would-be spouses were ‘promised’ to each other by colonised in southern Dobrudja during the inter- their parents from a very tender age (around 15 war period. According to field research statistics years of age). The major purpose of contractual made over three decades ago, the Farsherots rep- marriage was to acquire as many goods as possible. resent only a third of the Aromanians in Dobrud- The ‘ac`]`tura’, the general name for wealth, con- ja (Saramandu 1972). The Cipani or - sisted of herds of animals (sheep, cattle, horses), tian/Gramustian Aromanians in the villages of real property (household land or/and mountain Tulcea County formed the great majority. I will not pastures), household goods (particularly those of- elaborate here on the major differences between fered by the wife). Nevertheless, the ‘engage- the two groups. Nevertheless, it is worth mention- ment’/logodna period during which the future ing that the Farsherots, including those in Mihail spouses got used to each other was prior to their Kog`lniceanu, have also identified themselves official marriage. The ‘engagement’ rule has been with the ethonym ‘Aromanian’ at the 2002 cen- preserved and expanded to the new generations. sus. Apart from Farsherots and Cipani, Dobrudja Education capital was more and more taken also hosts Pindean and Moscopolean Aromanians into consideration. Many wealthy families (with as well as Megleno-Romanians only in the village ‘ac`]`tur`’) preferred contractual marriages with of Cerna, Tulcea County. families whose members were educated and un- In this context we must say that Mihail folded intellectual activities. I.S., one of the inter- Kog`lniceanu commune is an illustrative case seen viewed subjects, remembers that each of his grand- from the perspective of multicultural models of ac- parents had descended from these two categories. commodating different minority groups. There is a He remembers that one of them had told him different situation in localities mainly inhabited by about the frequent family discussions on such dif- 52 Stelu {erban ferences. They were also preserved during the in- Greece to a French citizen. After they got married terwar period among the colonists in Cadrilater they had a son who was looked after by his moth- (the South Dobrudja, now belonging to Bulgaria). er and took her name after they had separated. In fact, the tradition initiated by the late 18th-cen- Their separation was caused by the spouses’ dis- tury projects of forging an Aromanian identity agreement on their migration to Cadrilater. N.C.’s (Moscopolis and Gramostea) underlined the im- mother reached the region together with her child portance of intellectual capital. It has been pre- and relatives. Her husband remained in Greece. served up to the present generations. The Aroma- N.C.’s father, also settled in Cadrilater, had been nian youth and their families invest in education married before. His wife had died. After they got (higher education) more than the other population married she gave birth to two sons. N.C.’s mother groups in the commune. Initially they left the com- and father got married in Cadrilater. N.C. is the mune in order to complete their studies, which only child born into this marriage. Thus, the step- caused many mixed and/or exogamic marriages brothers on both mother’s and father’s side came specific to the last generation of Aromanians. to live under the same roof in N. C.’s family. This Socially controlled marriages contracted either has not affected their solidary relationship, at least on the basis of wealth or of the kinship tradition in N.C.’s view. The notable difference is that the within the same lineage (there is still a ban on the mixed marriages with Romanian men and women marriage between cousins once, twice and thrice among the members of this family are more fre- removed; beyond this limit many marriages were quent and emerged in an earlier generation com- contracted between relatives) were also preserved pared to the other Aromanian families. during their migration in Cadrilater and subse- Mixed marriages are currently high in number. quently in northern Dobrudja until the 1970s. So- The Romanian majority is the cultural group pre- cial control took on a new form, then weakened ferred by Aromanians for mixed marriages. It is and finally disappeared. In the 1940s, shortly after noticeable that there are hardly any marriages be- the Aromanians’ settlement in the commune, this tween the Farsherots from Mihail Kog`lniceanu form of control could already be avoided. For in- and Cipani, the majority group of Aromanians stance, W.W.’s parents were among the first to from Dobrudja. This suggests that the identity of make a mixed family made up of a German father Aromanians as a generic group is weak and affec- and an Aromanian mother. His mother’s family tive by nature. As in the case of other Aromanians strongly opposed this marriage, breaking off his re- in Dobrudja, namely the Megleno-Romanians in lationship with the girl. They did not give up, the Cerna (Belkis 2002), it does not imply institutions, future wife was ‘stolen’ and they made a separate be they traditional, like marriage. family. Current opinions like the so-called ‘gura The interviews I have conducted show that the satului’ (village gossip) adds to the Aromanian fam- future spouses are now responsible for contracting ily’s reaction. ‘Curses’, oral texts which condemn mixed marriages. Families intervene, but the key that event, are still preserved today. factors that once used to make these interventions The family lineage of C. is also an interesting efficient are now missing. The idea of wealth has case (see his genealogy at the end of the article). Its changed, though the orientation towards practical, members are a more striking illustration of the lucrative environments still prevails. Besides, a rel- way in which individual biography and existential atively explicit set of rules regarding cohabitation circumstances change the structure of the expand- within these families has been elaborated over the ed family and the orientation of kinship alliances. past decades. They are based on mutual respect Either parent of N.C., currently 75 years of age, for the culture and specific customs of each family married to a ‘Moldavian woman from Gala]i’, was and on durable relations, despite occasional dis- married twice. His mother was initially married in putes. Responsibility is once more transferred to Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 53 the nuclear family. Families do not intervene contact with each other. Marriages were thus offi- when disputes emerge. However, this very reason ciated within the regional group of Farsherots. The is conducive to a relative advantage to Aromani- affiliation of the future spouses to different villages ans because, having more cohesive family ties did not matter any more. The family’s social con- (‘soia’ in Aromanian) they influence the family en- trol weakened in the same manner since not all vironment of the mixed couples to a greater ex- members of a specific generation migrated to Bul- tent. Thus, the spouse of Romanian origin will garia or, if they did, in some cases it happened at learn the spoken in the com- different times. mune (actually not very different from Romanian) A visible effect of this situation was the break in order to get closer, or to talk, for instance, to his in continuity in so far as the choice of the wedding Aromanian relatives (the example of the inter- godparents is concerned. In many cases the wed- viewed families of E. and W. W or G. and M. G.). ding godparents of the parents of a future spouse In order for children to learn Aromanian, its use either remained in Greece or settled down in dif- by the mixed family is also accepted. ferent areas of Cadrilater. The rule according to The changes in matrimonial rules have also af- which they or their sons must be godparents was fected the choice of the godparents, an important no longer applied. More often than not, the new sequence in the course of making a new family. godparents were chosen from among the future As in the case of the Romanian peasant commu- spouse’s relatives. nities, in the past (Stahl 1998: 125-138), and to a Similar situations occurred after the Aromani- certain extent in the present, Greece ({erban ans’ settlement in Mihail Kog`lniceanu. This time 2007), in Greece the Aromanians preserved the the cause was the forced domicile that the com- rule according to which the godparents’ family munist authorities imposed on many of the Aro- should multiply over generations. Thus, the god- manian families in the commune. Their adher- parents’ children (on the paternal line) acted as ence to different political parties during the godparents to the godsons’ children (on the pater- interwar period, particularly to the Legionary nal line too). The husband’s family decided on the Movement, determined the incoming communist choice of wedding godparents. They were also regime to choose localities from B`r`gan or Banat called to the baptism of the children in the new as forced domicile imposed on the Aromanians in family. The rule weakened once with their settle- Mihail Kog`lniceanu. The quite long period of ment in (southern, then northern) Dobrudja. The time during which this action was taken as well as departure of a part of Aromanians from Greece the brutal displacement of the families and their put an end to these relations. The godparents’/ frequent intentional separation resulted in the godsons’ family, or only a part of it, remained in emergence of matrimonial alliances according to Greece. The unpropitious social conditions speci- ad-hoc criteria. Interpersonal contacts and rela- fic to populations dislocated many times strength- tions exerted a decisive influence on this matter. ened this aspect. The lack of money caused the ab- This new type of kinship was also preserved after sence of income surplus and prestige which Aromanians came back to Dobrudja, all the more usually underlie the choice of the godparents. so as not all Aromanians from Mihail Kog`lni- A good example is the manner in which the ceanu came back here. A part of them settled Aromanian group’s itinerary in southern Dobrud- down in neighbouring localities like Ovidiu, ja, Cadrilater, has changed the matrimonial and Palazu Mic or Mihai Viteazul5. godparentship alliance strategies. Thus, if village The rule of perpetuating godparentship within marriages were strictly endogamic before Aroma- the same lineage is still deep-seated in the Aroma- nians left Greece, their settlement in Cadrilater al- nians’ conscience. However, it is no longer re- lowed Aromanians in different villages to get into spected statistically but it is taken into account 54 Stelu {erban function of various circumstances. For instance, The reasons for which I chose the Aromanian one has to ask the permission of the ‘natural’ god- group in Kog`lniceanu as a subject for a multicul- parents in order to choose another godparent. Per- tural-oriented field-research are linked with the mission is granted most of the times and thus the multiple relations of this group with the local in- nuclear family becomes more and more responsi- stitutions. The institutional support offered by the ble for the choice of the godparents. Besides, the above-mentioned foundation was of utmost impor- rule according to which the husband must choose tance. This foundation puts together disparate ini- the wedding godparents – observed in the case of tiatives taken within the community in order to mixed marriages too – is also preserved. elaborate a cohabitation formula for the cultural groups that live in the commune. Secondly, the collective identity of the Aroma- Biographies, institutions nians from Romania, which is now multiplying its and political activism local and national dimensions, was another impor- Before I refer to the Aromanians’ activity car- tant factor. There are divergent alternative models ried out at the level of local politics, I would like to based either on cultural or political data, which are make some remarks at first sight about the am- initiated at local and national level or by represen- biguous way in which the officials of the local in- tatives of the Aromanian Diaspora. Thus, we must stitutions perceived the research team’s stay and consider the attempts to include the etonym ‘Aro- activity in the commune6. manian’ in the nomenclature of Romanian na- I began by trying to draw up statistics of mixed tional minorities. The initiative has a political marriages officiated over the past six decades. In tinge. If this happens, the organisations that rep- order to frame this period I considered the year resent the Aromanian group will have the right, 1940, when the last sudden structural change of just like the other national minorities from Roma- the local population was caused by the Germans’ nia, to appoint a deputy in Parliament and to fund dislocation from the village and the colonisation their activities with money from the public bud- of Aromanian Farsherots in their stead. Unfortu- get. We must not ignore the success hailed by re- nately, I failed to achieve this goal. The local au- gional civic associations like ‘Fara Armâneasc`’, thorities, who are in the possession of marriage which are highly appreciated by Aromanians for certificate archives, and the clergy who hold mar- supporting these initiatives or the involvement of ried couple matrixes refused to cooperate on this some intellectuals from or outside Romania7. The project. They invoked different regulatory provi- Aromanians from Mihail Kog`lniceanu also partic- sions, though the official letters sent by the insti- ipated in the actions organised in Constan]a by tute clearly showed that the nature of our project Fara Armâneasc`. was strictly academic. The alternative to activism and political mobil- Instead, the ‘Mu[ata Armân`’ Cultural Foun- isation is given by projects supported by local in- dation, whose leaders got involved in collecting the stitutions and associations. The Mu[ata Armân` data, were extremely kind and supportive. Under Foundation is a telling example and also a role- these circumstances I had to adapt the research model. They do not deny the specificity of the Aro- methodology. I opted for interviews on kinship di- manians’ identity, either. For example, the Aro- vided into three categories: patrilinear, which is manian dialect is taught in the school of Mihail the basis of the traditional social structure of the Kog`lniceanu commune on the initiative of this great majority of people in the commune, matri- foundation. There are handbooks in Aromanian monial, marriages inside and outside the cultural and people eager to teach various subjects in Aro- group, inside and outside the commune, and wed- manian. Other initiatives of the foundation to be ding godparentship. considered below can be included in this category. Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 55

The traditional criteria that still underlie the lustrative in this respect. The dislocation from structure of the social basis of the Aromanian their birthplaces in Greece meant to Aromanians a group in Mihail Kog`lniceanu are the third reason break-up with their old lifestyle. The traditional so- for our option. Kinship according to soia/family cial organisation and its relevant institutions like lineage is preserved even if the members of the f`lcarea or celnicatul derived from the Aromani- family live in different countries and very far from ans’ basic occupation, namely short-distance graz- home. A good example is the family lineage of But- ing. Still, neither Cadrilater nor northern Dobrud- caru with relatives in the USA or Gâr]u, whose ja provided propitious conditions for continuing families are scattered in villages from Constan]a this activity. Aromanians had to deal mainly with and Tulcea, but also in Canada, USA and Italy. agriculture, which caused a sudden change in both The accounts of kinship branches are in most their economy and social organisation (Plecadite cases accompanied by detailed biographical data 2002: 38)9. and by descriptions of some events that are part of The nostalgia for their birthplace, doubled by a certain genealogical history. The Cu[a family lin- their dissatisfaction with the way in which they eage is a telling example.8 A part of its members had been welcomed to Romania, led to the ideali- invigilated by the communist regime were forced sation of their place of origin. The oral histories to go into exile in France and the USA. Others, and songs spread by word of mouth by the mem- who remained in the country, were deported or bers of the elderly generation from Mihail imprisoned in Aiud. The post-1990 re-establish- Kog`lniceanu stands proof of that10. We can draw ment of relationships with those who left as well as a parallel between this imaginary dimension of the remembrance of those who died turns their ge- Aromanian culture and the utopian accounts nealogical history into a real chronicle of local his- about made by Aromanian intellectuals tory. Thus, we must point out that genealogies (Lambru 2001). Utopian or not, the nostalgia for and, in a broad sense, kinship relations are of ut- their birthplace had an important impact on the most importance for the process of forging group Aromanian population. For instance, the inhabi- identities. tants of Mihail Kog`lniceanu know that the Aro- The analysis of life histories and genealogies manians in the neighbouring village, Palazu Mic, proves the existence or non-existence of a strong chose to settle down there precisely because of the (or weak) memory of the community as well as the numerous pastures and forests that surround the existence of different degrees of social memory. In village hidden at the end of a valley. Thus, tradi- the literature oral memory and history are known tional grazing could thus be resumed. to be related particularly to property or to certain The identity of the Aromanian community in events happening within the community, such as Kog`lniceanu does not limit itself to the expres- ‘family foundation’ or another important fact. We sion and perpetuation of some values we can must say that the biographical analysis is impor- generically call tradition. The local institutions as a tant only if seen from the perspective of the analy- whole shape these values and set the frame for sis of the community in which the individual lives joined-up individual options that create certain and according to the way in which his biographical identity models. Taking this into account, I no- trajectory influenced the community. ticed that every year the public interest activities Apart from the effects that forced domicile and circumscribed to the local sphere are every year the banishment imposed by the communist au- more radically detached from activities targeting thorities in the 1950s had on the preservation of the mobilisation of political options for one party kinship, marriage and godparentship relations be- or another. The values and attitudes that allow this tween Aromanians, other events such as the ac- to happen in Mihail Kog`lniceanu are typical of counts of their itinerary in Cadrilater are also il- any traditional community. Traditional solidarity 56 Stelu {erban and notability are more important in dealing with The NGOs with a multicultural profile are the the local administration than the affiliation to doc- first to strengthen their position against the back- trines and local organisations. What matters is ground of local political crisis. Their projects are that, apart from tradition, there is a well-config- even more carefully considered either by public or ured sphere of the local public space defined by by private funders. The activity of the Mu[ata the existence of certain problems related to the de- Armân` Foundation is a very good example. Un- velopment of the locality and the well-being of its like the previous years, when its activity was car- inhabitants. ried out in a private space, the present premises of The lack of appetence for political activity is not the foundation host a museum with objects donat- just a consequence of the significance of tradition- ed by the Aromanians who live in the commune. al solidarity. After 1990, activism reached a high Yet, the leaders of the foundation aim at achieving level due to the inhabitants’ involvement in politi- much more than that. They intend to gear up a cal matters, most of the great Romanian parties set- network of local households to deal with agri- ting up active branches here. However, the local tourism circuits. Thus, in association with the City organisations of political parties are now going Hall and other county institutions (including the through a crisis. On the one hand, the local leaders ecclesiastic ones) the foundation will sign partner- of the parties that form the current governing coali- ships meant to provide European funds for devel- tion (since 2006) are accused of corruption and col- opment. The new actions taken by the local civil laboration with the repressive bodies of the com- society shows that the multicultural objectives do munist regime. On the other hand, the mayor, who not exclude local community development pro- holds the most important and reputed position in jects. Conversely, the affirmation of group identity, local politics, adopts a politically neutral attitude, as is the case of the Aromanian group in Mihail though he was eleced in 2004 by Social-Democrats. Kog`lniceanu, entails initiatives and local leaders Joining the Social-Democrats shortly before the able to ensure the development of the local com- 2004 local elections, he rather lays stress on his in- munity as a whole. dependent position. It is the representation of pu- There is an obvious connection between fami- blic interests that matters, not the affiliation to a ly or, in a broader sense, kinship, both acting as specific ideology or organisation. traditional institutions, and political parties, local Former aviation officer, born in Transylvania administration structures or NGOs. For instance, yet married to an Aromanian woman from Mihail the Mu[ata Armân` Foundation was set up on the Kog`lniceanu, the image of this mayor seems to praiseworthy initiative of a family of intellectuals come up to the inhabitants’ expectations of de- that lives in the commune. Initially circumscribed politicisation of public action. The local council is to a rather private space and interest, its activities facing a critical political situation. Following the have gradually expanded. There are tight kinship migration of some PSD (Social Democrat Party) relations between the collaborators and the per- local deputies to the parties in the present govern- sons who get involved in promoting its activities. ing coalition, the great majority of the council’s Also, the foundation’s good relationship with the members have changed their belonging after local City Hall after 2004 was due to the kinship be- elections. Thus, we deal with a cohabitation be- tween the foundation’s leaders and those who held tween a Social-Democrat mayor and a majority the position of mayor and vice-mayor. made up of Liberals and Democrats. Nevertheless, On the one hand, these ties are important be- the relative lack of scope in local politics con- cause of a rise in the efficient activity of this or- tributes to a balanced approach of the intereth- ganisation and of the other organisations and local nic/multicultural issue and of the neutral percep- institutions. Solidarity and sociability implied by tion of relations between cultural groups. kinship are used to achieve the targeted goals. On Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 57 the other hand, restricted groups tend to control scopole, the core of Aromanian climactic develop- the agenda of these organisations. In other words, ment, it seems that there was absolutely no inter- the danger of institutional corruption is imminent. est in differentiating and separating Aromanians This is yet another facet of our topic which is hard- as a separate group11. ly connected with the current moulding of Aroma- Generally, the Aromanian elite filters and nian identity. What matters is that values and tra- rewrites the historical past of their own communi- ditional institutions like those related to kinship ty from the perspective of collective identity forged are shaped and become part of the pattern of some according to the nation model12. For instance, the structures that define modern societies. This in- scholarly references to the building of the town of fluences the creation of certain identity models Moscopole in the second half of the 18th century, within Aromanian population groups. a period of ultimate consolidation and develop- ment of Aromanians’ collective conscience, are Ambiguity and (self-)identification made from the perspective of an animating utopia Like all identities, Aromanian identity models of national identity (Lambru 2001). are more or less generic cultural constructions. Be On the one hand, ambiguous self-identification they created by restricted groups that have been is also characteristic of the Aromanians from Mi- diligently promoted or the result of certain vague hail Kog`lniceanu. On the other hand, the system creation processes characteristic of traditional of self-identification as a group is a clue to the la- communities (Stahl 1983: 250-274), their ap- tent change of their identity understood as a con- proach and analysis must take this premise into ac- solidation of landmarks that should mean more count. The high degree of ambiguity, uncommon than just self-labelling. We include here generic in the south-east European area as well, is the terms, the series of Aromaian terms related to kin- prominent feature of Aromanians’ identities. ship and the onomastic wordstock. The Aromani- Thus, the authors fond of Aromanians’ life and ans in Mihail Kogalniceanu generically use the culture identified a large number of ethnonyms terms ‘ar’mân’ and ‘Macedo-Romanian to identify among the Aromanian population. For instance, themselves’.13 Irina Nicolau found as many as 64 such terms (Tri- As shown, the terms are differently used func- fon 2005: 19). On the other hand, the term ‘Aro- tion of circumstances and the speakers engaged in manian/a’rmanian’, which finally imposed itself as the act of communication. ‘Macedo-Romanian’ is an etonym, is, to a great extent, an academic the term used to describe Aromanians by the Ro- coinage. It was used and proposed by the linguist manians or other local cultural groups. It is worth Gustav Weigand in the second half of the 19th cen- mentioning that this term is somehow imprinted on tury (Peyfuss 1994: 11, Trifon 2005: 18). Even if the Aromanians’ mind. Far from having a pejora- Weigand had found and borrowed it from the Al- tive connotation, it appeared once with the settle- banian Farsherots, there is no telling whether it ment of Aromanians in Romania. It was Romanians defined, at least at that time, the whole Aromanian who use the term as a result of the population’s population. As a matter of fact, there are no eth- identification according to the territory of ‘Macedo- nonyms referring to Aromanians in Liturghierul nia’ they came from. The term was naturalized and (The Missal) published in the latter half of the 18th assimilated by Aromanians too against the back- century and The Dictionary made by Theodor Ca- ground of the considerably different destiny of Aro- valiotti in 1770, the first texts written in the Aro- manians from Romania (colonisation in Cadrilater, manian dialect, and the generic terms that refer to the dislocation to northern Dobrudja in miserable the Aromanians’ neighbouring populations are consitions, the deportation of Aromanians in Banat also missing. Even if these writings came out dur- and B`r`gan for political reasons). Aromanians call ing the flourishing period of the town of Mo- Romanians ‘mucani’, a term which refers only to 58 Stelu {erban the Romanians on the current Romanian territory. mandu 2004: 221), which has lasted for about a The members of the small groups of Romanians century. Besides, in order to support and preserve colonised in Cadrilater together with Aromanians the Aromanian language, one has to distinguish are identified as ‘Romanians’. the political and ethnocentric premises from the The identification of the ‘language’ spoken by strictly pragmatic ones related to the learning of Aromanians in the family causes a certain ambi- Aromanian in a specific loacality. A dodecalogue guity. ‘Language’, not dialect, is the term used by like the one supported by Matilda Caragiu-Cario- the members of the community. Its determinatives ]eanu (Caragiu-Cario]eanu: 1996), author of an are ‘ar’mâneasca’ (Aromanian) and sometimes Aromanian language handbook, is imperative. ‘machedoneasca’ (Macedo-Romanian). The phrase Similar remarks can also be made about the ‘limba de la dada’ (‘mother tongue’ in Romanian) ethnonym meant to designate the Aromanian is also used to avoid any connotation. population. The ethnonym ‘Aromanian’ is likely It is worth mentioning that the fondness of the to impose itself in the long run. What matters is idea of ‘language’ as spoken language is only ap- that this imposed term should go beyond self-iden- parently vague. In fact, ‘the Aromanian language’ tification ambiguities and be a result of the insti- plays a decisive role in determining Aromanian tutionalisation of some identity models. identity. ‘Language’ is the only cultural feature * * * that exerts an influence on the forging of Aroma- More or less grounded claims say that the de- nian identity. This situation is not different from bate on the identity of Aromanians, inhabitants of that of the Romanian-speaking population in the Romania or elsewhere, is ill-intended and puts the Bulgarian Timok or from that of the Rudari in Aromanian population in danger. I do not want to Varna. This is why the use of this term must be ac- go into this polemical topic. However, it is worth cepted, no matter how ‘unscientific’ it may be. As mentioning that Aromanians’ identity is different a matter of fact, the preservation of the ‘Aromani- from the one of Romanians, their closest relatives. an language’ is the main purpose of both cultural Moreover, they are aware of these differences and and ethnocentric organisations like Fara Ar- willing to encompass them in the form of viable mâneasc`. For example, the Mu[ata Armân` Foun- identity models. Therefore, the debate on Aroma- dation managed to introduce the Aromanian lan- nian identity lives up to the Aromanian’s expecta- guage in the curriculum of the school based in tions. That these models are ethnic, cultural or Mihail Kog`lniceanu commune. In the Aromanian based on local history and on the cohabitation museum of the commune it also organises work- with other population groups, in other words a shops on learning traditional crafts where people multicultural model, is a question of term defini- can acquire the art of craftsmanship and also so- tion and institutional circumstances. In my opin- cialise in Aromanian. ion, wandering off these premises would distort The ambiguities of Aromanians’ self-identifica- the dialogue on this issue and would turn it into an tion, at least of those from Romania, are related to ideological competition, which means that the use the processes of institutionalisation of their identi- of terms related to the Aromanian population’s ex- ty. If this is done by means of traditional institu- pectations are misused and the context in which tions, by their preservation or adaptation, or if po- different associations, organizations or opinion litical and/or civic organisations pursue this goal, leaders are engaged in this dialogue is ignored. I ambiguities are gradually resolved and replaced by think that institutional corruption, the transfor- identity models.14 Aromanian as a normative ‘lan- mation of these organisations into informally con- guage’ is living proof of that (Trifon 2005: 30-52). trolled cliques and the misappropriation of their It should consider the rather social fact that the resources is the real danger which threatens the Aromanian spoken in Romania has evolved in its dialogue on Aromanian identity. concurrence with the Romanian language (Sara- Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 59 Godparents/Remarks Aromanians from Constan]a Actor {tefan B`nic` Sr., a friend of Vlad Family Gen. IV No descendants Dan and Gina, she is from Cogealac Victori]a and Vlad. He was a Romanian from Maramure[, settled in Constan]a. Dtru. {tefu, single, born into the first marriage of T`nase Elena {tefu, single, born into the first marriage of T`nase Godparents/Remarks Aromanians from MK Aromanians from MK Aromanians from MK Family Gen. III 2 single dead brothers (Ion and Hristu) born into Ecaterina’s first marriage. T`nase Ro[u (by his mother’s name), born into the first marriage of Ecaterina, got married to Elena, settled in MK Gheorghe, got married to Caramiciu Elena, settled in MK, was born into the first marriage of Dtru. T`nase was born into the first marriage of Dtru. and got married twice,: 1. to {tefu {tefania a 2. to Vasilica, Romanian from Gala]i, settled in MK Godparents/Remarks Filiu din MK Family Gen. II Dtru. and: 1. the first marriage with Minca who died in Greece 2. the second marriage with Ecaterina Ro[u (the seond marriage with Dtru., the first marriage with a French citizen) lived in the house of Ioan Nicolae Godparents/Remarks ????? Family Gen. I Ioan and Aspasia from Cândrova Genealogy of the family lineage of C. from Mihail Kog`lniceanu the family lineage of Genealogy of 60 Stelu {erban Romanian from, first-degree cousin of Romanian from, her mother Their cousins, Gândac, Romanian, and Marioara, Aromanian/Romanian, daughter to T`nase and Vasilica ????? Mu[i Dtru. Aromanians from Palazu Marioara and Gândac, a Romanian from Gala]i, born into the second marriage of T`nase, live in their parents’ house Mihaela and Dobre, a Romanian from Ion Corvin, live in Constan]a. Costic` and Belu Veronica, married in Banat, Settled in Ovidiu Costic` and Mihaela {tefu, she lives with her parents Mihaela and Tega, he is from Palazu, settled in Palazu Enache Ghe. from MK ????? Pariza from Ovidiu Libu Ctin. from Ovidiu Mu[i Dtru. from MK Nic. Ioan was born into their second marriage (due to an error, the City Hall, transcribed the name after the grandfa- ther’s name), the same like Ileana, a Romanian from Piatra Neam]. Both live in MK. Hristu and Nastasia, settled in MK Marica got married to Zdru T`nase, he is from Ovidiu, settled in Ovidiu Ioana got married to Libu Ghe., he is from Ovidiu, settled in Ovidiu T`nase got married to Lenu Florica, settled in MK ????? ????? Brothers who remained in Greece Mihai and Ianula, married in Greece, settled in MK Costic` and Haida, married in Greece, settled in MK Local Institutions and Multicultural Identities 61

Notes:

1 The field research has been funded by the Romani- 8 The descendants of the Cu[a family is one of the few an Academy Grants Scheme between 2005-2006. In 2005 who officiated marriages with Cipani. the field research also included Elena Herda to whom I am 9 Aware of the trauma caused by the change in main indebted for culling a part of the data on the history of Mi- occupations and lifestyle following colonisation, Nicolae hail Kog`lniceanu locality and for transcribing the inter- Iorga proposed Maramure[ as the place of Aromanians’ views conducted here. settlement. The geographical position, economic structure 2 The case of the neighbouring commune, Nicolae and social history made it look like the places that Aroma- B`lcescu, is telling from this perspective. ({erban, Doron- nians left in Greece. It is true that apart from these rea- del 2004). sons, Iorga also added that the consolidation of the Ro- 3 See also the Society Fâr[erotul Newsletter on manian majority from Maramure[ was threatened by the www.farserotul.org. settlement of the Jews in that region. 4 In 1991 the locality was the theatre of some conflicts Finally, this was the only reason taken into account between the Roma and the rest of the population (Zamfir when the Romanian state offered Aromanians the region 1993). Many Roma houses were randomly set on fire and of Cadrilater. The Romanian authorities’ decision is un- their inhabitants driven away. The conflict was not allevi- doubtedly questionable from the point of view of the Aro- ated in 2005, either. It was mediated by the authorities manian population. It seems that it prevailed at the time and the officials of Roma civic organisations. The media- over the syntagm ‘State interest’. tion took place within a general assembly of the inhabi- 10 A good example is ‘the old Bardu’ who was very vi- tants in the commune’s house of culture. The meeting was rulent in defending this image (a personal statement made extremely violent, the Roma were accused of robbery and by my colleague Viorel St`nil`). threatened with a repetition of the 1991 episode (personal 11 There are arguments according to which the au- fieldwork observations). thenticity of some of these sources is questionable (paper 5 The statement can be applied to other groups of Aro- delivered at the workshops organised by the Institute for manians such as the Gramustians from the town of South-East European Studies, Mihai }ip`u, 2008). C`l`ra[i (Plecadite 2002) 12 It has been acknowledged that Mihai Boiagi and 6 Long-term social research made in a multicultural Gheorghe Roja’s grammar books, the first texts in the Aro- community is regarded with suspicion. I faced the same manian dialect which foreground the problem of Aroma- hostile attitude in Moldavian villages with Roman-Catholic nian ethnic identity, were written and published in the population ({erban 2004). The intention, at least during Aromanian Diaspora from the Habsburg Empire at the the communist period, to manipulate the ethnologist or dawn of the 19th century, given the spread of the political the anthropologist in the south-east European communi- model of the nation (Peyfuss 1994: 26-28). Nevertheless, ties gave birth to subtle practices (Roth 2005). the term ‘Aromanian nation’ was not introduced in the 7 Following the pressure put by the Aromanian Dias- language spoken by Aromanians. The terms fara ar- pora on the Council of Europe, the latter recommended mâneasc`, populu armânescu, miletea armâneasc`, laolu the etonym ‘Aromanian’ in 1988. On the other hand, armânescu, ginsa armâneasc`, ghimta armâneasc` are Zborlu a nostru, the most important ethnocentric maga- very similar in meaning with the former (Kahl 2006: 118). zine of the Aromanian community, was financed by the 13 Cristina Plecadite elaborated on the topic related to controversial figure of Ioan C. Dr`gan (Carageani 1999: the Gramustians from the town of C`l`ra[i (Plecadite 43 n.14). We must also mention the actions undertaken by 2002). Constantin Papanace, former leader of the Legionary 14 Gheorghe Carageani has recently suggested more Movement, who had required the UNO to recognize the variants. Apart from nation-type identity, he also mentions etonym ‘Aromanian’ ever since the 1950s. the possibility of political identity to be a first or second- rank minority (Carageani 1999: 49-85). 62 Stelu {erban

References:

BELKIS Dominique (2002), ‘Vers une définition de la Bucharest: Editura Institutului Cultural Român, pp. „méglénité“’ in Martor, vol. 6. 107-130. CARAGEANI Gheorghe (1999), Studii aromâne (Aroma- SARAMANDU Nicolae (1972), Cercet`ri asupra aromânei nian Studies), Bucharest: Editura Funda]iei Culturale vorbite în Dobrogea (Studies on the Aromanian Spo- Române. ken in Dobrudja), Bucharest: Editura Academiei RSR. CARAGIU-CARIO]EANU Matilda (1962), Liturghier —-. (2004), Romanitatea oriental` (Eastern Romanity), Edi- aromânesc. Un manuscris aromânesc Inedit (Aromani- tura Academiei, Bucure[ti. an Missal. An Unprecedented Aromanian Manuscript), SCHWANDER-SIEVERS Stephanie (1998), ‘Ethnicity in Bucharest: Editura Academiei. Transition: The Aromanians’ Identity Politics’ in Eth- —-. (1996), Un dodecalog al aromânilor sau 12 adev`ruri nologia Balkanica, vol. 2, Sofia, Munich, pp. 167-185. incontestabile, istorice [i actuale asupra aromânilor [i STAHL Henri H. (1998, 1958), Contribu]ii la studiul asupra limbii lor (A Dodecalogue of Aromanians or satelor dev`lma[e române[ti (Contributions to the Twelve Indisputable, Historical and Present-Day Study of Romanian Joint Proprietor Villages), vol. 1, Truths of Aromanians and Their Language) in Neagu Bucharest: Cartea Româneasc`. Djuvara (coord.), Aromânii. Istorie, limb`. Destin (Aro- —-. (1983), Eseuri critice. Despre cultura popular` manians. History, Language, Destiny), Bucharest: Edi- româneasc` (Critical Essays. Of Romanian Folk Cul- tura Funda]iei Culturale Române, pp.168-183. ture), Bucharest: Editura Minerva. FATSE Beverly (1984), ‘Ethnic Solidarity and Identity {ERBAN Stelu (2004), ‘Catolici [i ortodoc[i în Moldova, Maintenance. Armân Ethnicity’ in aspecte ideologice [i sociale în sate mixte confesional’ Paul Stahl (ed.), Etudes and documents balcaniques et (Catholic and Orthodox People in Moldavia: Social mediteraneens, Paris. and Ideological Aspects in Mixed-Religion Villages) in Kahl Thede (2006), Istoria aromânilor (The History of Aro- Sociologie Româneasc` (Romanian Sociology), 2004, manians), Bucharest: Tritonic. vol. II, nr. 1, pp.117-140, (web site:www.sociologiero- Lambru Steliu (2001), ‘Narrating National Utopia. The maneasca.ro) Case Moschopolis in the —-. (2007), Rudenie [i structuri alternative într-un sat din Aromanian National Discourse’ în Xenopoliana, 9, nr. 1-4, nordul Transilvaniei (Kinship and Alternative Struc- pp. 54-81. tures in a Northern TransylvanianVillage) in Buletinul PAPAHAGI Pericle (1909), Scriitori aromâni în secolul al Institutului de Studii Sud Est Europene (Bulletin of 18-lea (Cavaliotti, Ucuta, Daniil) (Aromanian Writers the Institution for South-East European Studies), vol. in the Eighteenth Century – Cavaliotti, Ucuta, Daniil), XII, 2003-2007, pp. 9-26. Bucharest. {ERBAN Stelu, {tefan Dorondel (2004), ‘L’histoire orale Peyfuss Max Demeter (1994), Chestiunea aromâneasc` entre document et récit. Continuité et changement (The ) Bucharest: Editura Enci- dans la société rurale de Roumanie’ in Elena Siupiur clopedic`. (coord.), Peuples, Etats et Nations dans le Sud Est de PLECADITE Cristina (2002), Aromânii gr`mu[teni din l’Europe, Bucharest: Anima, pp. 45-82. C`l`ra[i. Strategii matrimoniale, Identitate (The Gra- TRIFON Nicolas (2005), Les Aroumains: un people qui mustian Aromanians from C`l`ra[i. Identity and Ma- s’en va, Acratie. trimonial Strategies) in Paul Stahl (ed.), Etudes ZAMFIR C`t`lin, Elena Zamfir (coord.) (1993), }iganii Roumaines et Aroumaines, vol.22, Paris. între ignorare [i îngrijorare (The Roma between Igno- ROTH Klaus (2005), ‘Observing Socialist and Post-social- rance and Anxiety), Bucharest: Alternative. ist Everyday Culture: Inside and Outside Perspectives’ in {tefan Dorondel, Stelu {erban, Between East and West. Studies in Anthropology and Social History,