Atanas Leikov HISTORY OF THE VILLAGE VISHENIChapter I
Exactly when our village was established is not known. However, the village of BABCHOR was founded about 1660, according to Philip Peov. According to three old men, FILETO KIOSEV, SIDO HADJIEV, and MITRETO YANIN, a woman called "'VISHA" came from around the place called "BREGOVITE" (evidently driven away from other settlements), and founded "VISHENI".
The first settlement was situated at the place now called "SELISHCHA" (or SELISHTA) near where the two rivers meet at the place called "SMESITE" (VISHENSKATA REKA and BLATSKATA REKA) and the place where they used to herd their cattle together, we still call "GOVEDARNIKO" situated on the other bank of the river at the edge of the forest called "BUKATA" However, because this settlement was exposed to bandit attacks during the Turkish occupation, they shifted it to another site further west called "MUCHENI" This site was abandoned too, because it happened to be in the middle of a road to the city of KASTORIA (KOSTUR) from the neighbouring village of "ZHERVENI" whose inhabitants were "POMAKS"; that is, forcibly converted to Islam as in the Rhodopes, and they constantly harassed our people as they passed through. So they shifted again to the present site. When all this happened no one knows because they were all "peasants," and no records were kept. They led a simple existence working the fields and grazing the sheep and cattle while being oppressed by what is known in our history as a "double oppression" - political under the Turks and spiritual under the Greek Patriarchate of Constantinople. All the liturgies and church services were conducted in an archaic Greek language which the people, of course, could not understand. This situation existed in all Macedonia and Bulgaria from 1453 to 1870 when the Sultan issued a decree ("FERMAN") giving the Bulgarians a separate church called "The Bulgarian Exarchate" (BULGARSKA EXARHIA). It is not known exactly what year our village changed over from Greek services to old Slavonik and Bulgarian; however, the change came swiftly without a split in the community, as was the case in many villages in Macedonia where they had two churches until 1913. During the time that is known in our history as the "Church Struggle" (TSURKOVNATA BORBA, 1830-1870), it is also not known whether there were any "activists" from our village taking part. There were three volunteers: HRISTO SVIRKOV, HRISTO NOLEV, and HRISTO RODJOV (who happened to be in Bulgaria at the time seeking employment) who joined the Bulgarian Forces in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 and came home wearing their hats with the inscription of "Liberty or Death!" (SVOBODA ILI SMURT). 3 Later on, Gotse Delchev had actually visited our village and formed a secret revolutionary committee for the liberation of Macedonia (VMORO). Two members of the committee, TIPO TSULEV and KOLIO RASHAIKOV together with another member from the village of DUMBENI, LAZAR MOSKOV (a youth of only 22 years) were uncovered and killed by the Turks in 1902. (Moskov took his own life rather than surrender). During the Ilinden Uprising (2 August 1903), our village was burned to the ground with only the church and four houses left intact. Most of the men joined the rebels; others hid in various places in the countryside. The women and some boys dressed in women's clothing moved from hiding place to hiding place in the countryside. However, they were discovered by the "BASHIBOZUK" (Turkish irregulars), but were not molested; they were only "relieved" of all valuables they were carrying. The soldiers also discovered the grain the villagers had hidden previously in a hole in the ground at a place called "TZVOLO" and burned it. This "silo" is still visible today as a shallow depression in the ground. It is known as "AMBARO" (The Silo). The Turks also set fire to the forest of beech trees (BUKATA), but did not succeed in burning the forest, as it was in the morning and the dew was heavy. Only about 20 acres were destroyed. This burned-out patch was called "PALIAKO" and was still visible 40 years ago. Despite all this, the people did not suffer many casualties during this period. It is claimed that the rebellion actually started from our village in the whole of the Kastoria district. The two rebel leaders VASIL CHAKALAROV, from the village of SMURDESH, and IVAN POPOV, a volunteer from Bulgaria, with a small detachment of "freedom fighters" came out of the forest (BUKATA) just before sunset on the eve of the Feast of St. Elias (20 July by the old calendar; 2 August by the new) carrying red and black banners with the inscription "LIBERTY OR DEATH" and yelling "URAA!" They attacked the Turkish Police Station and besieged it for several hours. The next morning the Turks escaped to Kastoria and for about two weeks the people enjoyed their short-lived freedom. After the crushing of the rebellion, the Greek government sent numerous armed bands into Southern Macedonia to fight for the "Greek Cause" Consisting of volunteers from as far as the island of Crete and also local Greeks, V1achs, and Albanians and led by PAVLOS MELAS (MIKIS ZEZAS, a Greek army officer), they terrorized the villages around Kastoria and Florina. On the 8th of May, 1908, a band of 60-70 men came to destroy our village. Led by one of our villagers (a man of low character named TOMA RIMPAPOV), they came from the Mount Vich area (VICHO PLANINA, 4 (2128 metres). Their first victim was a man called VASIL MARKOV, whom they killed in the place called "LAPCHENI". A little farther down at the place called "DIVYACHKITE," they picked up a man and his wife (STOYAN NIKOVICHIN) and kept them as hostages until they reached the outskirts of the village about three miles away. It was just before sunset, and they were travelling together with the cattle so that they would not be noticed. However, the people soon realized what was happening and took action. KOLIO ILCHOV and STASETO MELOV opened fire from a basement. Immediately, the bandits shot the two hostages, threw bombs at the window, and set fire to barns and houses and started shooting indiscriminately. Thirteen people were killed in this incident. Meanwhile, two other men, SPIRO HADJIEV and KOLIO YANCHOV (later joined by PANDO ISHKIROV), took positions, Spiro behind a wall and Kolio from the roof of his house then being built. As a bandit was reaching to set fire to a barn, Spiro pierced him with a bullet through the heart (tobacco tin included!). When he dropped, his mate took the gun away and slowly peeped his head from the corner of the wall to see where the shots were coming from. Another shot from Uncle Spiro hit him on the forehead, and he fell head-on. After this, the bandits panicked and began to withdraw. At the same time, Kolio kept firing from the roof of his house and, it is claimed, wounded the renegade Toma in the knee. Meanwhile, a Turkish posse happened to pass by (going from Babchor to Kastoria). When they heard the shooting, they left the road, crossed the river, and went to the place we call "STEZHEITE" and started shooting towards the village. Afterwards, they came to the village and asked the president what was going on and were told that "bad men" attacked the village. When they examined the two dead bandits and saw the hole in the tobacco tin, they exclaimed: "KAFTA, MAUSER, KAFTA" (Bravo, Mauser, bravo) thinking that it was their bullets that did the job! They also gave two rifles to the president for future protection of the village! Afterwards, the people "erected" a "curse" to the renegade in "LAPCHENI" (near the spot where the first victim was killed). Everyone who passed through was supposed to place a rock or stone and say "MAY HE BE ANATHEMATIZED" (ANAFTAMIATA DA E IMA). This is a corruption of the Greek word "ANATHEMA" The heap of rocks grew considerably but was abandoned and dispersed after a few years. Apparently, the people forgave the renegade. Later, this very same man joined the Serbian bandits (who came to Macedonia for the same reason as their Greek counter-parts) and actually was awarded a pension by the Serbian government when he went to live in Monastir (BITOLIA) after the partition of Macedonia in 1913. During the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) no one from our village joined any of the Allied Forces. After the 5 partitions, our village, of course, fell under Greek rule and their first action was to close the Bulgarian school and church. Later on, they started changing our names so that they sounded Greek. This happened not just in our village, but in all of occupied Macedonia. They changed the name of the village too from Visheni to VISSINIA and lately to VISINEA. The people seemingly accepted the assimilation without any resistance (on the surface at least). The first generation born under Greek rule was progressive in its outlook, and in the year 1932 performed the first theatrical show in our school building (a love story called GOLFO) which was a complete success as the whole village attended en masse, soon to be followed by two more plays: "FIAKAS" and "SKLAVA," all performed in the Greek language, of course. Our youth at that time were politically alert too. They were interested in what was going on in Greece and the world, and in 1934 they sent a delegate to the Salonica Congress of the Communist Party of Greece (MITETO PRESTENAROV) which alone stood for democracy In Greece and for the rights of the minorities. He told his father that the boss in Kastoria (where he had been studying to be a tailor) wanted him for a few days to help him out. When his father found out that he did not arrive in Kastoria, he was greatly alarmed and informed the police sergeant in our village about the disappearance of his son. After a few days, DIMITER appeared, and he had to think quickly to avoid being arrested. He told the police a "cock-n-bull" story about visiting the house of ill repute in Kastoria and they believed him! In 1936, the dictatorship of General Metaxas befell Greece; and in our village, as in the rest of Macedonia, night schools were opened for both sexes up to 60 years for the purpose of learning and "mastering" the Greek language. We were forbidden to speak our mother tongue (Bulgarian dialect) in public, even in our homes. There are instances where the police were listening at the windows. As the situation worsened, the resistance to the dictatorship increased throughout Greece. Our youth were well organized and held secret meetings at night at different places each time. Occasionally, a man from the village of Dumbeni (called LAZO TURPOVSKY/ZISIADIS) who was going from village to village illegally organizing the people, visited our village and encouraged them not to yield but to resist the dictatorship. (The government had also organized youth groups in every village in the Nazi style.) In 1938 the authorities used a trick to uncover and arrest all the members of the Anti-Fascist Group in our village. They sent a man of the secret police posing as a member of the Central Committee of the CPG who "praised" them for their effort. Before leaving, he asked the secretary to supply him with the names of all the members so that a "permanent" record could be kept at the 6 headquarters. Soon after, the whole branch was put in he Kastoria jail, but they were released when Italy declared war on Greece in 1940, after signing a declaration renouncing their former beliefs. During that war, many of our people fought in the Albanian mountains, but there were no casualties. During the German occupation of the Balkans, our village was under the jurisdiction of the Italians. (They cleaned it of all the chickens and eggs!) The Germans also had given the Bulgarians occupational powers of most of Macedonia, and many Macedonians returned to their native villages and formed counter-revolutionary bands to help fight the resistance movement. However, our village was well organized, and only one man (DINETO GOLEGASHOV) volunteered. The majority of our people supported the Liberation Movement EAM (National Liberation Front), and some men from our village joined the ELAS (National Popular Liberation Army). It must be explained here that because the Macedonians were oppressed under Greek rule since 1913, the appearance of Bulgarian troops on the horizon spelled a sign of relief for the old generation. They were welcomed as "liberators." For the first time in history, the anniversary of the Ilinden Uprising was celebrated throughout Macedonia. In our village, a special service was conducted at the graves of TIPO KOLIO and LAZAR MOSKOV. At this service, the village priest (KUZO MARKOV) was asked by TSILIO STOUMBOV to bring out "the other books" (meaning the Old Slavonic and Bulgarian). The priest replied that as much as he desired, the time was not ready yet. One of the men present (TOMETO PALEGANKIN) was so over-whelmed emotionally by this service, speeches, and military honor that followed, that he collapsed and died soon after. It was learned that he once had said: "Let me see 'Mother Bulgaria' once more here and let me die." The counter-revolutionary authorities heard about this, and they called him a "great patriot." He was buried with military honors. Some other men, including VASILETO OGNENOV, during this period, stormed the still-Greek police station with stones and sticks. A Bulgarian officer arrived from Kastoria, gathered the villagers together, and told them not to interfere in state matters. It was not their concern, and these things would eventually be finalized in Berlin.
During the civil war, most of our men and some women joined the Partizan freedom fighters, and about 40 of them lost their lives. This was the darkest period of the history of both the Macedonian and Greek people. Helped by outside intervention, the Greek government unleashed the most brutal terror upon all democratic forces in the country. The Macedonians, of course, were doubly prosecuted because of their different ethnicity, and for that reason they joined the Democratic Army of Greece en masse. 7 During the first years of the Partizan Movement, only a handful of people were active against the Government Police stations. One night, they decided to attack the station in our village. In this group were men from our village whose houses the government had burned down previously. However, their plans failed because the secretary of the Anti-Fascist Group in our village inadvertently exposed it. He was one of a few who knew of this pending attack; and because the president of the village was his cousin, he told him not to sleep in the police station that particular night. (He used to go there every night for fear of reprisals because he was a pro-government man.) When the police sergeant saw that he did not arrive that evening as usual, he became suspicious and rearranged the night watch guard. When the rebels came at the prearranged time, they found another man at the post (not the one who sympathized with them), who raised the alarm and saved the situation. Nevertheless, they still attacked without result; and on withdrawing, they killed three women who acted as spies for the government forces. As conditions deteriorated, more people joined the rebels; and soon the whole country was aflame. The rebels evacuated all the young children from the War Zone, which was mainly in Macedonia in a triangular area bordering Yugoslavia and Albania. About 131 children from our village were taken to Hungary and 23 to Romania. After years of separation, they finally were re-united with their parents all over the world. During this time, the government also expelled from our village to rebel-held territory about 40 women as "undesirables" who, after the defeat of the rebels In 1949, found themselves in various European countries. After years of separation, they were eventually re-united with their husbands and children. Some other women from our village were exiled for a short period to the Island of Trikeri (a barren rock in the Aegean Sea). The men who survived the fighting escaped to Albania and from there were taken to different Eastern European countries. After about 20 years, most of them left those countries and went to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. At present, the people of our village are scattered all over the world. The biggest colony is in Adelaide, Australia, with smaller groups in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. The next biggest group lives in Skopie, Macedonia, in Yugoslavia. Smaller groups live in Bulgaria, Hungary, USA, and Canada. There are only about 50 people living in the village at present plus another 50 or so "refugees" from the surrounding villages. Compared with the 900 to 1,000 people living there before the Second World War, it is a pathetic sight! During the long centuries of Turkish domination, a few of the villagers were seeking employment in other countries, including Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, but only in the winter months. Come spring, they would come back to their fields, meadows, vineyards, sheep and cattle. My grandfather, 8 VASILETO LEIKOV, and others worked at the digging of the CORINTH CANAL. Towards the turn of the century (around 1906), they started emigrating to North America. They stayed only a short time (from one to three years). They would come back home, get married, and go back again, stay there a few more years, and either come home again or settle there permanently. The first emigration to Australia from our village occurred in 1924, soon to be followed by small groups in 1927, 28, 1934, and 1938. The bulk of emigration, however, occurred after the Second World War, especially after the Greek Civil War, when most families were reunited as explained above. A few even went to South America (Argentina). When they came back home, they were called "THE PATAGONIANS". In our village, there are two main church buildings-one situated at the north edge of the village and the other in the countryside about one mile away. The first was built in 1835 and is called "SVETI NIKOLA" (Saint Nicholas). It has enormous walls (one and a half meters thick!). One of the bells is well known in our time for its black colour because the belfry had burned down during Ilinden. It had an inscription in Greek around it saying that it is a "gift" from the woodcutters of "VISSIANI" (DORON XILOKOPON VISSIANIS). Could it be that our village was originally called "VISHANI"? This bell cracked in 1934 when a boy was ringing it and tried to hold it with the other hand! Since that year, two new bells were cast - one big one and one small - and they are still in use. There was another cracked bell inside the church with French inscriptions. The other church called "SVETI ATANAS" (St. Athanasius) was built in 1884, and it is used only three times a year: the third day of Christmas, the third day of Easter, and on the Feast of St. Athanasius, which is the second day of May. This was regarded as a village festival in the past when guests arrived from the nearby villages (and even the city of Kastoria) to eat, drink, and dance all day. However, this procedure was abandoned about 60 years ago when our villagers realized that they had been taken advantage of as the others did not invite them back. It is claimed that during the building of this church the "mudboy" fell from the scaffolding, landed on his feet, and was not hurt, presumably because the saint protected him! Another smaller church called "SVETA NEDELIA" (St. Kiriakia or Sunday) is situated on the other side of the river opposite the village about two miles as the crow flies. This church is used only once a year on the 7th of July (20th of July by the new calendar) and on special occasions when there is a drought. Then a special prayer is conducted, and it usually ends in a storm! There is a spring of water inside and out of the church. This spring is supposed to have health-giving properties and is called "LEKOVITATA VODA" (the curative water). 9 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES Our village is situated in a valley about 14 kilometres (9 miles) northeast of Kastoria at the foothills of the massive Mount VICH (VICHO PLANINA, 2,128 m., called "VITSI" in Greek; also VERNION). It is completely surrounded by mountains gradually increasing in height as they approach the summit. Most of them are covered with trees and shrubs predominantly oak and beech. There are in smaller quantities mountain ash and other varieties. There are also elms (BREZ), poplars, willows, and others scattered throughout the valley, which is traversed by a small river that has its source from springs near the summit and is joined by another stream of equal volume coming from the neighbouring village of BLATSA (OXIA) about one sixth of the way down. This stream forms several small cataracts at the place called "TZVOLO" just after entering our village boundary. One of them is more prominent and makes a lot of noise during floods. At the other end of the valley our river enters a narrow gorge called "SINOTO" (THE BLUE)-because of the bluish coloured earth nearby-and forms a higher cataract than the one described above before it descends into the Plain and finally discharges into Lake Kastoria. At present our river is practically nonexistent because most of its waters have been harnessed and taken to Kastoria.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Apart from the trees described earlier, there are other varieties whose names I don't know in English. For instance, GABER, which looks like beech (BUKA); YAVOR, with broad leaves and very soft wood suitable for making decorative woodwork; KLEN or KLENIKA, also softwood but with different leaves. These varieties are widely used to make wooden spoons and sheep hooks. What we know as "ELA" (ELHA), a tall variety similar to the poplar, was very rare 40 years ago but now it has reached plague proportions. Both banks of the river and the riverbed itself are literally packed with it for about three miles. There are scattered about the countryside many varieties of wild pears called "GORNITSI"; also there are wild apples or crab apples called "DIVYACHKI." In addition, we have a small tree called "DREN" which has a very hard wood and long, straight branches used as rods by shepherds and cowherds. Its fruit (called DRENKI) is edible (the bears like them too!) and look like very small olives. It is red and makes your mouth shrink. We also have a few hazelnuts (LESNITSI), blackberries (BABINKI), a berry -producing thorn (TURNASLIVA), a shrub whose white blooms are used for cough medicine (BOZ), and a few wild plums. There is a great variety of wildflowers and herbs scattered throughout the countryside, but their medicinal value is not generally known. 10 Turning to the animal kingdom, we have (or used to have) bears, wolves, foxes, hares, wild boars, a few badgers (EZOVTSI), a rare animal called "KONIATKA" or "KONATKA" which has a valuable skin (a sort of "Mink"), and a few squirrels and bats. There are numerous snakes of all descriptions, small brown lizards, larger but rarer green lizards, green tortoises, and hedgehogs. In the air we have eagles, hawks, sparrow hawks, crows, ravens (Jackdaw GALI), "STRACHKI" (a bird like the Australian Murray magpie (peewee), "ZHIRKA" (Jay - a bird with fancy feathers), doves, pigeons, partridges, quail, blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, various finches, nightingales, owls, cuckoos, swallows, storks, etc. There are two night birds; one is called "GION" because of its cry which sounds like "GION-GION-GION" repeated at about 5-second intervals; and the other makes a sound like a man calling "U, U, U, UUU" but nobody has actually seen this bird. Some claim it is a "BUP" (a large owl). I heard both these birds when I visited the village in May 1978 (24-25/5/78). They sound as if they are mourning the disaster that befell our village. You can't help but join them with all your inner feelings! Our village has boundaries with the following villages TIOVLISHCHA (TIHOLISHTA) - called TIHIO in Greek, SHESTEVO (SHESTEOV0) - SIDIROHORI - BLATSA - OXIA -, ZHERVENI - AGIOS ANTONIOS -, and the now completely destroyed village of BABCHOR first called VAPSORI and now PIMENIKON by the Greeks. Without exaggeration, our village surpasses all the above mentioned villages in natural beauty especially in spring (April and May) when every little flower, shrub, and tree is blooming and the whole countryside smells like a French perfume shop. Together with the green meadows and forests and mountains plus the crystal-clear, ice-cold springs scattered around the countryside, our valley presents a beautiful scene indeed!
OTHER FEATURES At one time there were six water mills in our village, but we only remember three in our time. One ran with diesel oil (built in 1932) but did not last long; it was far too expensive to maintain. TOMA, whom we met earlier, built a water mill and a "VALEVITSA" (FULLING-MILL) for treatment of woollen material under the same roof. He also built a water mill in TIHOLISHTA below PODETS using our river water called "TOMOVA VODENITSA."
The mill was used for the purpose of "treating" woollen material which the women had hand woven for making men's suits. Four enormous wooden hammers bashed the material for several days while it was continuously saturated with water. This process made the fabric look sleek and beautiful. It was home-dyed too! Leaves from ELHA were used for black, and green shells from walnuts for brown. 11 There was just one archaeological find in our village. PANDO MELIOV, while ploughing his field at MUCHENI with two oxen and a wooden plough, unearthed a big clay urn and brought it home intact but without a lid. However, one night his nephew, because of a feud, smashed it to smithereens! Only a few people actually saw this urn, so I cannot say how big it was; but I remember my mother saying that it was "as big as a barrel!" (KOLKO EDNO KACHE) Opposite the village on the other side of the river in the place called "LEBAMOVI PLOCHI" (Lebamov's Boulders), there are rock formations with some deep marks in the rocks which look like a horse's footprints and some like a hole from a man's clenched fist. Legend says that here lived KRALI MARKO, a legendary hero of super-human strength mentioned in the folklore of all the Balkan people. It is also said that while in a rage he grabbed '*STAKAPEOV KAMEN" (Stakapeov's Rock) and threw it where it is at present, about three miles away on the slopes of the opposite mountain!! There are markings on this rock formation too. While writing this, I came across a news item from London dated 22-8-81 which is quoted in full: "PRINTS IN TIME. Geologists studying giant 135 m. year-old dinosaur footprints near Swanage, Dorset, think that hollows in the rocks were made by the creatures' backsides as they sat down to rest." This is very interesting! These markings are known to most of the people of our village, since as youths we used to graze our cattle and sheep around these rocks and play "hide and seek" (KRIYNITSA) in the "house of Krali Marko." As far as I can recollect, there is a strong possibility that these markings could be the tracks of prehistoric animals! So the next time you are in VISHENI (VISSINIA/VISINEA), ask the locals to direct you and bring back a photo or slide for the experts to examine in case there is scientific value in them. A word of warning, though. There are a lot of snakes in that particular area, even more so now; so, whatever you do, watch your step!
CUSTOMS, CULTURE, LANGUAGE, ETHNICITY
Most of the customs of our village like the rest of Macedonia and all other Balkan countries are centred around the Christian tradition. Birthdays are not celebrated, but name-days, taken after the saints. So if your name happens to be "George," you celebrate on April 23 each year. If you are called "Dimitrius," you celebrate on October 26, and so on. Christmas and Easter are celebrated for three days after a 40-day Lent during which no meat is (supposedly) to be eaten. 12 On December 23 we celebrate "KOLEDA" or the burning of the "Yule Log." On that day, irrespective of the weather, the boys of the village from five years on, with great joy, would go from house to house and gather wood and dry twigs which are left after the sheep and goats have eaten the leaves. (The twigs had been cut from oak trees during the summer and stacked for winter fodder. "SHUMA") This is strictly a men's day since no women dare approach the "hole" (DUPKATA, as the fireplace is called) because of the obscene songs and chants going on all day. This strange custom is a mystery. Towards the evening, when everything was ready for the fire to be lit at midnight and before going home, it was customary for the boys to form a circle and chant a "curse" three times so that no one would steal the wood: "Whoever steals the wood may he turn into dust and ashes" (KOY KY (KE GI) KRADI DURVATA, PRA(H) I PEPEL DA SE STORI.) I still remember the first year of the dictatorship (1936), when the time came for the chant, everyone was tense and apprehensive. The joy had disappeared from our faces; we were afraid to sing in our language. We tried to sing it in Greek, but we had difficulty; it would not rhyme. Then an older boy (YORGETO KALKOV) who acted as our leader, said "NEMATE STRA, BRE DA MU E . . . MAYKATA, KE ZAPEYME PO NASHI, POLEKA." We did that, softly at first, increasing the volume each successive time. We dispersed with mixed emotions that night, realizing for the first time, perhaps, what it means to be oppressed in your own country! This man later became a Freedom Fighter in the Resistance Movement and attained a high rank in DAG before his death in an air attack by government forces. After the fire was lit about midnight, usually by the older boys, one by one all the boys who had taken part in wood collecting gathered around the fire, which gradually became an inferno--up to 10 tons being burned in one night! Just before dawn, around 4 o'clock in the morning, they would go from house to house again, but this time to ask for chestnuts and buns as they chanted: "DAI MI BABO KOSTENCHE DA TI E ZHIVO DETENTSE". "DAI MI BABO KOLACHE DA TI E ZHIVO YUNACHE." This was done o~ Christmas Eve. On New Year's Day the men dressed up as clowns, wearing masks representing various characters and would go around in the village collecting money and drinking all day and finishing in the village square dancing and drinking, some of them quite merry! This was a sort of carnival to celebrate the new year. They were called "ESHKINARI" (Whatever that means!).
Beginning the 40-day Lent before Easter, a special meal was prepared on that particular Sunday night to mark the end of meat eating and the beginning of the lean food eating period. This is 13 called "ZAPOSTUNIE" (ie. abstaining, fasting). After this rich meal, the children of the family were gathered together and were "teased" by the grandmother with a boiled egg tied on a long string to a forked stick used for spinning wood called '7URKA." (Actually it should be "HURKA," but some people call it "URKA," even "KURKA"!) The idea was to grab the egg with your mouth without using your hands. The egg was hardboiled and in the shell, and Granny was not supposed to move the stick but let it hang naturally. However, she purposely would pull it up when she realized that one of the kids was about to grab it. This brought a loud protest from the children accusing her of breaking the rules. A half hour later, after everyone was exhausted, she would let one of the kids have it. Afterwards, the boys would go up on the balcony and yell in the darkness at the top of their voices towards the house of the girl they loved or had in mind: "HEY (the girl's father's name) DAY MI E TA MUSKATA DA ODA ZA SOL, SOLTA ZA TEBE MUSKATA ZA MENE." The girls had their night too. The following Saturday was St. Theodora's day (TODOROVITSA); and on that night, before they went to bed, they placed three small heaps of boiled wheat under the pillow, which previously had been collected by their respective grandmothers in church from three women named "MARA," "MARIA" (Mary). They also filled up a clay pot with water (BARDACHE) and a sickle and placed them nearby and mentally repeated: "Whoever is my KUSMET (fate), let him come tonight to go reaping together." It is claimed that many girls actually saw or visualized their future husband in this way during sleep without even having the faintest idea about him! This must not be regarded as "superstition," but the working of the subconscious mind, of which we know so little. What may be termed as our Slavonic heritage has almost completely disappeared. Only a few items remain that remind us of our past, such as aprons, pillowcases, and bags, all handmade on the wooden weaver "RAZBOY." Earlier, the men wore the "QURDIA," a sort of skirt (some of them straight from the sheep's back); also "BENEVRETZI" worn around the thighs and "DIZLUTSI" around the shins. The women wore the "SHAYAK" and "UASANITSA," a sort of overcoat, the latter sleeveless.
A custom I forgot to mention earlier is the one we call "OTPEVAME PANAYR" or "SLAVIME SLAVA" as it is called in other parts of Macedonia. A special meal is prepared on the evening preceding the particular saint's day and usually the relatives of the family are invited. About half of the village celebrates St. Dimitrios Day (October 26) and the other half St. Nicholas Day (December 6), with some families honouring other saints. 14 During World War I, a detachment of Serbian soldiers were billeting in our village; when they witnessed these celebrations, they exclaimed: "BOGATI, I VI STE STARO-SERBIV". While it is possible that this custom was introduced by the Serbs during their short occupation of Macedonia in the 14th century (1330--1355), it has nothing to do with nationality. it is simply a Christian religious festival. Dr. Karren of the USA (SPIRO KARATOLEV) claims that while on a visit to India, he witnessed a local wedding with striking similarities to what we do in our village, such as the bride carrying a child in front of her on the horse (I suppose she rides a donkey in India) and the Godfather carrying a banner with an apple poked at the top of the pole. There are other similarities between a village in India and one in Macedonia. The patriarchal family with up to 30 members living under the same roof was common until recently in both countries. Also it is customary in both places to offer a meal to a stranger who happens to pass by at lunch time. (See The Outline of History by H. G. Wells.) No wonder poor old Ghandi once said, "All men are Brothers!" Some people believe that these common customs were "transferred" by Alexander the Great; however, since the Macedonians of that time and the Slav-Macedonians never met in history, they are most probably old ARYAN customs common to many people. Also, there are two items in our village (and in Macedonia generally) which most probably are of CELTIC origin. These are the chain and pot hanging on the fireplace (called the CALDRON and the HEARTH) and the bagpipes (GAYDA). (See The Celtic World by Barry Cranliffe.) Among the songs sung in our village, the most popular were the following: "DREMKA MI SE DREMI MALE NA MOY TSURNI OCHI," usually sung during the "unsheathing of the corn" (LIUPENIE KOCHANI) at night; "OGREALA MESECHINA" and "AIDE SUNTSE ZAIDE BRE NANE," sung by both sexes coming home in the evening from reaping rye all day in the distant fields. These and many more songs are part of the folklore and are widespread and vary from district to district both in words and music. Only three songs refer specifically to happenings in our village. Two of them, "PUKOVE PUKAT, TUTNI ZEMYATV' and "OSHTE SLUNTSETO NE BE ZAIDENO" are about the attack of the Greek Andartes in 1908; and the other, "YA NE PLACHI YA NE ZHALAY GORO LE ZELENA" about Kolio and Tipo in 1902, all written in the Bulgarian literary language.
Most of the dances in our village, as in the rest of Macedonia, show a strong Greek influence, especially the 7/8 rhythm (called the "KALAMATIANO" in Greek) is widespread. Another popular dance is the one we call "PUSHENOTO" or "BAYRACHETO" which is of Albanian origin and is written in 12/18 time. It is only known in the western fringe of Macedonia and should be called "BERAT." Actually, during the partition of Macedonia, Albania claimed all 15 the territory where this dance was known as belonging to her! Another widespread rhythm is the 9/8 beat which is an Oriental tempo (Turkish). The well-known dance "TRAKA-TRUKA, SHARENI CHORAPI" and the Greek "Refugee" dance (PROSFIGISKOTO) "TIN PIPILOMATINA, AH ANATHEMATINA" are composed in this rhythm. That our village is a Slav settlement is beyond dispute. We only need to mention three place names to prove this in a "scientific" way: GRASHISHTATA, MUCHENI, TZVOLO. The first contains the letters "SH" and "SHV' (pronounced "SHCH"), which no Greek can write, let alone pronounce! The second contains the nasal sound "U" characteristic of the Bulgarian language only. (It is not found in any other Slav language.) The third contains the letter "TZ," which was an original letter from the time of Sts. Cyril and Methodius written like the Latin "S," discarded very early but now "revived" as a "Macedonian" letter in the new, modern Macedonian language. Does all this mean that we are "pure" Slavs? Hardly! Actually, the racial mixture that is typical of Macedonia and the Balkans is easily detected even in a small village such as ours. We had a bit of an ethnic mixture too! There was one Greek, two V1achs, one Albanian, and one Greek refugee from Asia Minor living in our village. Besides, there are quite a few inter-marriages from the surrounding villages, some from distant villages even. The LEBAMOV family has its origin in MARIOVO, a district near Prilep). Because this man was frequently using the word "LEBA MI" (ZHIMI LEBO) a sort of an oath, his family was called LEBAMOVI afterwards. The PRUSTENAROV family got its name from a jeweller from another village who was selling rings and earrings; while the GRUNCHAROV family got its name because they were selling clay pots (GURNENISHTA, GRUNTSA). Our own name LEIKOVI comes from the word "LEIKA," a sort of pumpkin with a long neck (VODNA TIKVA) which our ancestors used for carrying water and wine.
Apart from being in the district of Kastoria, our village is also situated in a subdistrict called "POPOLE" together with 27 other villages. In a book called "MAKEDONIA KE MAKEDONIKOS AGON," GEORGE MODIS (a Hellenized V1ach) claims that the villages ending in "SHTA" (TIHOLISHTA, POZDIVISHTA, etc.) are not Slavonic but Illyrian names. In my opinion, this should be taken with a "pinch of salt." While I don't claim to be an expert, I have studied the "Macedonian Question" for 40 years and often wondered about these names because they are unusual, as nowhere else in the whole Slavonic world are such names found except two places in Bulgaria (as far as I could discover), which come the nearest: TURGOVISHTE and GRADISHTE. They are only found in the Kastoria district, not in one place, but scattered among other villages---15 in number---plus one in Albania (the town of BILISHTA), and one in the Florina District (KLABUCHISHTA). The evidence that they 16 are all Slav settlements is overwhelming. Here are some more: DOLNO YABOLCHISHTE, VARDAR MACEDONIA; DOBRINISHTE, PIRIN REGION; RADOLISHTA, STRUSA DISTRICT. Evidently Mr. Modis is not afraid of "Bulgarism" now but of "Macedonism"! In his book in which he describes his exploits as a leader of an armed band (similar to the one that attacked our village), he claims that "nowhere did they encounter any 'Macedonians'; only Bulgarians." He also claims that a man from our village, YOVANETO RIMPAPOV (the brother of TOMA), was in his band. No wonder that one of the streets in our village is named for him (ODOS IOANNOU ROMPAPA). This is the little street that runs alongside our barn to our house and that goes down to "PETRUNKA." Years ago someone scribbled graffiti on the barn doors: "ODOS DINE LEIKA," which is more appropriate since all the LEIKAS used to live there! Most of the names in our village end in "OV" (sounds like "OFF") as in the rest of Macedonia; and only two end in "SKY," while 10 or so end in "IN." These are not of different ethnicity but different forms of expression; names such as "IVANOV," "PETROV," etc., are the equivalent of the English -JOHNSON," "PETERSON," etc., which, of course, mean "SON OF"; while the "SKY" is a plural form of the family name: "LEIKOV," "LEIKOVI* - "LEIKOVTSI," "LEIKOVSKY." It also is used as a geographical term: "VISHENSKY," "PIRINSKY," etc. It can be used as an adjective too; for example, in the name of "VASIL LEVSKY," which means "LIKE A LION." Some people believe that it is a "Macedonian" name. One young man actually boasted to me that his was a "pure" Macedonian name just because it ended in "SKY"! The names ending in "IN" are taken from the female side of the family but still mean "son of"; for example, "MITRETO YANIN" (SON OF YANA, or YANA'S SON).
Finally, we will examine the language which is spoken in our village and in Macedonia generally; but first, let us see what others have to say on this subject. The academician BLAZHE KONESKY from Skopie, who is regarded as the "codificator" of the new Macedonian language, in an article in the magazine MAKEDONIA entitled "The Language of the Macedonians," claims that although being close phonetically to Serbo-Croat and to Bulgarian CHIEFLY IN ITS GRAMMAR, nevertheless it is a separate Slavonic language. However, the Macedonian dissidents (about half the population!) accuse him of creating a new language by using Serbian words on Bulgarian grammar! BLAGOY SHKLIFOV from the village of CHERESHNITSA, (one of the boys taken to Hungary as described earlier) became an aspirant in Bulgarian Dialectology in the Sofia University, and made a scientific study of our speech. In 1968, he published a pamphlet called KOSTURSKYAT GOVOR (The Kastoria Dialect) in which he claims that it is a Bulgarian dialect sharing 17 similarities with both the Eastern (Literary Bulgarian Language) and the Western (present Macedonian Language). Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911 edition) claims that the bulk of the Slavonic population of Macedonia is Bulgarian by language and actually mentions the Kastoria dialect as such. My comment on this subject is the following: There never was any Macedonian language even if we go back 3,000 years, as the weight of evidence suggests that the ancient Macedonians spoke a Greek dialect. In recent times (until World War II), the name MACEDONIA was used in a geographical sense, not an ethnic one; so that, besides being Macedonian-from the land of Macedonia-we must also have an ethnicity which is formed by the language we speak and the surnames we bear. When the Macedonian Revolutionaries declared "MACEDONIA FOR THE MACEDONIANS!" they had in mind Switzerland where three main ethnic groups live harmoniously together; but the majority speak a German dialect called "Sweltzer Deutsch" (Swiss-German), and German is the official language. All languages undergo changes; and if we take the Greek language as an example, we will find there are three Greek languages --namely ancient, "Catharevousa" (puritan), and modern, plus the dialects such as the Cypriot, the Pontiac, etc., but there is only one ethnicity--Greek. The same applies to us. We have three languages too: the ancient Slavonic, the Bulgarian, and the local dialects, now called "The Macedonian language" and written with the Serbian alphabet. However, even if we write it in Chinese characters, it will still be recognizable as a Bulgarian dialect. Apart from a few Turkish, Greek, Albanian, and Serbian words, our speech in the village also contains---as in the rest of Macedonia-some ungrammatical forms of expression; for example, we say, "ELA DA TE VIANA NA KONO," "BURGUTE, MARI, KE E VIANE NEVESTATA," "DA NE GO VIDE NA KOLETO," and many more. In other villages, they say "YAS BESHE, YAS MU VELESHE," "TI SI? YAS SIV* "PALA PALA NE GO NAIDU," and many more. The amazing thing, however, is not the different dialects spoken in Macedonia, but the survival of this speech, as, in theory at least, we should have been Hellenized a long time ago!
HISTORICAL NOTES
The observant reader will have noticed that our village, and the other villages around Kastoria and Florina, cannot be more than 400-500 years old. The date given (1660) for the village of Babchor is when three settlements came together and formed it, according to GEORGE STOICHEV'S pamphlet. According to B. SHLKLIFOV, the villages of CHERESNITSA and BLATSA were near FOTINISHTA 200-300 years ago. They moved from the plain to the mountains to be far from the Turkish authorities. He also claims that the whole population in the Kastoria district could have 18 come from the South. This is consistent with the historical events of the past, as there was a revolt in Thessaly in the twelfth century by Slavs and V1achs against Byzantine rule, after which they moved up closer to their kin. However, I have heard DEDO FILETO KIOSEV on several occasions say that we came from EPIROS. This is also consistent with historical events of the past because there were Slav tribes settled in Albania also and could have been pushed eastwards by the Albanians later. It is estimated that about 25 large Slavonic tribes settled in the Balkans between the fifth and seventh centuries AD The names of 14 of them are known as follows:
BURSYATSI
POLENTSI
After the defeat of Tsar Samuel in 1014, the Greeks occupied the whole area up to the Danube until 1186 when the second Bulgarian Kingdom was established which included all the former territory plus all the Slav tribes in Albania and Thessaly. In 1330 the Serbs occupied all the Macedonian lands and part of Greece for 25 years only. Some parts of Macedonia were occupied for 50 years, and also a small part around Skopie for 75 years. This explains, perhaps, why some of our people declared themselves "Serbs" later on. Then came the Turks from 1362 to 1912---550 years! For the most part of this period, our people lived in 19 total darkness, the only "enlightenment" being the Greek church to protect their Christian faith, but not their ethnicity, as we shall see later. After centuries of oppression, a national revival began in all Balkan countries preceded in all instances by a literary revival-first by the Greeks, then the Serbs, and finally by the Bulgarians. The first Greek school in Kastoria opened in 1750; and in the next 100 years or so years, they were established all over Macedonia and Bulgaria beside the Greek Church, including one in our village. Since there was no Greek State yet, all these institutions were under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople, where a handful of the Byzantine aristocracy dreamed of reviving the old Empire. In the beginning, our people did not see anything wrong in educating their children in Greek, since it was the only form of education available at the time. However, when it was realized it would result in the complete assimilation of the Bulgarian people, including Macedonians, they acted accordingly. First, a monk in Mount Athos (Father Paisiy) OTETS PAISII, born in Bansko, now Pirin, Macedonia, wrote a short history called "ISTORIA SLAVENO-BOLGARSKAYA" (Slav-Bulgarian History) in 1762. In it he tells the people not to be "ashamed to call yourselves Bulgarians" and to "love your people and language." This was the beginning of the Bulgarian Revival followed by a demand of a separate Bulgarian Church by the citizens of Skopie. In 1830, the church struggle started and lasted 40 years until final victory in 1870. Meanwhile, this National Awakening spread throughout all the Bulgarian lands. In 1860, the MILADINOV BROTHERS collected and published some 600 songs from all parts of the land in a book called BULGARSKY NARODNI PESNI, all written in the Macedonian dialect. The first Bulgarian school in Salonica was opened in 1866 and soon after everywhere---first in the towns and then in the villages. They replaced or "coexisted" with the Greek schools and churches. Actually, there were Bulgarian schools much earlier than this in other cities throughout Macedonia. In our village as in most other villages (but not all) in Macedonia, the Greek school and church disappeared into thin air soon after the opening of the Bulgarian school and church. it became obvious to the majority of our people (though not to all of them) that we could not possibly be Greeks since we could not understand a single word of Greek. However, there was a minority of our people (about 300,000) who had embraced Hellenism because of the Greek education (as explained earlier), firmly believing that they were Greeks who had lost their language!
There was also a very small minority in the northwest corner of Macedonia who embraced Serbianism (about 40,000). On top of all this, there were a few individuals who claimed they were 20 "Macedonians" in an ethnic sense. This situation existed in Macedonia more or less after the liberation of Serbia (1817) and Greece (1830) and after the liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. The Treaty of San Stefano included all of Macedonia (with the exception of the Greek-speaking population of Chalkidiki and Kozani) in the new Bulgarian State, and the people rejoiced thinking that the 500-year yoke had been broken! However, because of the political issues involved, three months later at the Berlin Congress, the Great Powers chopped up the Bulgarian State by giving lands to Serbia and handing back to Turkey all of Macedonia. This is how the "Macedonian Question" was born. Faced with a new situation, the Macedonian people adopted new forms of struggle. They decided to create a Macedonian State like Switzerland with equal rights for all ethnic groups, and a Revolutionary Committee was formed in Salonica in 1893 for this purpose. Ten years later, the Ilinden Uprising took place with disastrous results. By this time, the Greek and Serbian propaganda was intensified, supported by armed bands, as explained elsewhere. The odds against a Macedonian State were over-whelming, so our neighbours decided to partition it. Both Greece and Serbia signed agreements with Bulgaria, recognizing her historical rights in Macedonia with the exception of the "Disputed Zone" in the northwest corner of Macedonia, which was left for the Russian Czar to decide. (The following part was written in 1990 - 10 years later). Even Salonica was assigned to go to Bulgaria (at that time being a Jewish city with half of its population being Jewish!) since it was surrounded by the Slavonic mass of the population. During the Balkan War of 1912, 15,000 Macedonian officers and men joined the Bulgarian Army, which did most of the fighting in Thrace, while her allies encountered only slight resistance from the Turks in Macedonia, who surrendered Salonica without a fight! The Greeks claim that St. Demetrius helped them (being the Patron Saint of that city); or was it Greek cunningness? I suppose he also told them in a "vision" to assassinate their king so as not to give Salonica to Bulgaria!
At first, our "Christian Liberators" acted cautiously introducing their Greek and Serb schools beside our Bulgarian ones in their respective zones of occupation. Very soon, however, our people realized what was in store for them! Bulgaria declared war on Greece and Serbia because of their refusal to fulfil the agreements they had signed, but was defeated after Romania and Turkey also joined the fight against her. At the Peace Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, the partition of Macedonia was conducted by the Great Powers, giving large portions to Greece and Serbia with only a small part going to Bulgaria. However, they still gave her Eastern Macedonia with the port of KAVALA for an access to the Aegean Sea. 21 World War I found Bulgaria siding with Germany; and after its defeat, at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, more Macedonian land was taken from Bulgaria and given to Greece and Serbia with only a tiny portion left to Bulgaria, that which we now call PIRINSKA MACEDONIA or the Pirin Region (because of the mountain range of the same name). As stated elsewhere in this discourse, the first actions of the Greeks and Serbs was to close the Bulgarian schools and churches which our people had established after a 40-year struggle and replaced them with their own. They began destroying with great hatred everything Bulgarian. Whoever did not agree with their policy of assimilation was called "BUGARASH" in Serbia, and they swore at his "Bulgarian mother" (MAYKA BUGARASHKA) and "PALYOVULGARE" in Greece (dirty Bulgarian), with many atrocities committed by both of our "liberators." The Greeks often accuse the Bulgarians of being "barbarians" and speak of the atrocities they committed in Macedonia against the refugees from Asia Minor, especially during World War II when they occupied Eastern Macedonia-as "beastly" (E THIRIODIE TON VULGARON). However, the atrocities committed by the Greeks and Serbs far outweigh those of the Bulgarians. The Carnegle Commission for the Conduct of the Balkan Wars testified to this! No wonder our people coined the phrase, "OT TURSKO PO LOSHOV' (Worse than under the Turks!). Although some of the young Macedonian generations at present-because of their lack of knowledge of the past---think that the Pirin Region was forcibly "Bulgarized," nothing of the sort happened! They simply joined with their "mother"; whereas we, the now "VARDARIANS" and "AEGEANS" were given to two "stepmothers" to "nurse" us. Meanwhile, the "Pirinians" together with approximately 800,000 Macedonian refugees in Bulgaria, used that region as a base for raids in the occupied territories by armed bands of "freedom fighters," members of IMRO (VMRO), the original Revolutionary Organization which fought at Ilinden. The last raid in Greek territory occurred in Florina (Lerin) in 1925. IMRO was headed by TODOR ALEXANDROV until his assassination in 1924; and then by IVAN MIHAYLOV until 1934, when it was outlawed by the Bulgarian Government because of the friction it caused with its neighbours. It had played a vital role in Bulgarian politics; but because of party politics of the left and right, it split into two warring factions, resulting in many deaths and rendering it ineffective in the fight against Greece and Serbia (later Yugoslavia).
Meanwhile, the idea of a Socialist Balkan Federation was growing, headed by the communists of all the Balkan countries in which the "Macedonian people" would achieve their unity and freedom. At the same time, the new generation born in "captivity" under Greek and Serb rule have acquired a sense of nationalism or "Macedonism" as it is called. 22 After Germany attacked Russia in 1941, the War took a new character, changing from an "imperialist" war to a "people's" war, or Communism versus Fascism. The Partizan movement was established in all Balkan countries. Our people joined up in large numbers, since they were told that it is the "Fascists" that oppress them as well as oppressing their own people. Meanwhile, as stated elsewhere, Germany had given Bulgaria occupational powers in Vardar, Macedonia, and to a lesser degree in the Aegean, especially Eastern Macedonia. The older generation welcomed the Bulgarians as liberators, as Ilinden was celebrated for the first time. The Bulgarian schools--Delchev's schools-were reopened in Vardar, Macedonia. This was a tricky situation for Greece and Yugoslavia. They were afraid, lest our people learn the truth of the past. They were careful not to mention the Bulgarian name. Instead, the Bulgarian Army was called "Fascist Occupiers." In Yugoslavia, the old theory of "Macedonism" was being revived that the Slavonic population of Macedonia was not Serb nor Bulgarian, but a separate ethnicity, ie., "pure" Macedonian! This theory was introduced in Macedonia more than 100 years ago during the National Revival of the Bulgarians by the Serbian Chauvinists and Nationalists, such as Stoyan Novakovich and Iovan Tsviych for the purpose of making our illiterate and ignorant peasants resist incorporation into the Bulgarian state. One of the Serbian propaganda tricks (still used today!) is: "You are not Bulgarians; you are Slavs," notwithstanding the historical fact that the Proto-Bulgarians were completely assimilated into the Slavonic mass more than a thousand years ago with only their name remaining. In Greece, however, this "theory" does not hold water, as they called us "Bulgarians" for 1,000 years! How could they (the Greek Communists) tell their people that we are the "true blue" Macedonians? So they coined the phrase "0 SLAVOMAKEDONIKOS LAOS" (The Slav-Macedonian nation) lest the Fascists become angry when they hear the prefix "Bulgaro-Macedonians"! So our People fought beside both Tito's partizans and in the Greek Civil War, suffering thousands of casualties. After the proclamation of the Macedonian Republic within Yugoslavia and the establishment of socialism in Bulgaria, George Dimitrov (himself of Macedonian descent) to avoid the old conflicts, agreed with Tito for the Macedonians to have a new language instead of Bulgarian and Serbian and to be a link between them in a Balkan Federation within the Eastern Block.
A hundred teachers arrived from Skopie to teach the "Pirinians" the new language. The pupils laughed at the new language! Soon the portraits of Stalin and Dimitrov in the schools were replaced by those of Tito and Kolishevsky, and a 23 chaotic situation was created in that region when they began teaching them a distorted Macedonian history with the blessing of the Bulgarian State, which forced the people of that region to call themselves "Macedonians" in an ethnic sense. However, as soon as Tito broke ties with Moscow, the teachers were expelled, and things were restored to normal. The BCP realized too late the foolish mistake it had made! At the same time, the leaders of the Macedonian Republic in Skopie unleashed a campaign of hatred against everything Bulgarian, destroying by "fire and sword" and falsifying our history to an unbelievable extent. Bulgaria kept silent for about 10 years, then started publishing books and pamphlets repudiating Skople's claims that a "Macedonian Nation" existed for 1,000 years! Greece responded immediately, naturally enough; and an organization was set up in Salonica called the "Institute for Balkan Studies," publishing pamphlets both in Greek and English for the same purpose. The old arguments came to the surface again, not only between the Balkan countries holding Macedonian lands, but also among the immigrants in America, Canada, and Australia, so that today, despite a "Macedonian Republic" within Yugoslavia, a "Macedonian" language, and a "Macedonian" church, the "Macedonian Question" became much more complicated than in the past because of the historical distortions and falsifications on the part of the Skopie leaders. Even the Greeks do not lie so much! They only change tactics! Today they are afraid to call us "Bulgarians", they would not dare call us "Macedonians," of course, so they coined the phrase, "ENTOPIOS ISE!" (Are you a local?)!) ie., "aborigine!" They also call the people who came across the border from Bitola (Monastir) to Lerin (Florina) for their shopping "YUGOSLAVS." So the stage is set for a permanent division of Macedonia or for keeping the status quo.
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