The Construction of Identity in a Multiethnic Community: A Case Study on the Torbeši of Centar Župa Commune, Western Macedonia (FYROM)
The Construction of Identity in a Multiethnic Community: A Case Study on the Torbeši of Centar Župa Commune, Western Macedonia (FYROM)

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this paper is the analysis of the way in which the identity of the Torbeši, living in the Centar Župa commune, western Macedonia, is constructed depending both on the socio-political context and local determinants such as the multiethnic surroundings. The Torbeši themselves are not unanimous in their self-identification. In part they declare their affiliation to the Macedonian nation, in part they consider themselves as autonomous ethnic group, while some derive their origin from the Turks. The majority, however, declare their “Macedonianness” by their use of the Macedonian language, their practice of many traditional elements of culture regarded as indigenously Macedonian, and their visits to Orthodox holy places. Religion associates Torbeši with Turks and Albanians; therefore, depending on the political context, they are regarded by others either as Turks or Albanians. The example of this in-between group suggests a certain fluidity in the categorization of identity: the manner in which identity change has been redefined and is constantly being renegotiated within particular contexts.

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