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{{Short description|Ethnic Croat community in Kosovo}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Janjevci
| native_name      = ''Janjevët'' or {{native name|sq|Kroatët e Kosovës}}<br>''Janjevci'' or {{native name|hr|Kosovski Hrvati}}
| native_name_lang = sq
| image            = Janjevë, Kosova.jpg
| caption          = Town of [[Janjevo]], the traditional centre of this community
| population       = Unknown
| popplace         = {{flagcountry|Kosovo}}: ca. 400 people (2011)<br />{{flagcountry|Croatia}}: ca. 966 families (2002 est.)
| langs            = Janjevo-Lepenica idiom of [[Croatian language|Croatian]]<ref name=MojaH/> <br/>([[Prizren-Timok dialect]])<br />[[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| rels             = [[Roman Catholic]]ism
| related          = [[Croats]]
}}
{{Croats}}
'''Janjevci''' ({{IPA|sh|ˈjaːɲeʋtsi|pron}}, {{langx|sq|Janjevët}}, {{langx|hr|Janjevci}}), '''Kosovo Croats''' ({{langx|sq|Kroatët e Kosovës}}, {{langx|hr|Kosovski Hrvati}}) or '''Janjevci Croats''' ({{langx|hr|Janjevski Hrvati}}<ref name=HEJanj>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/janjevo|title=Janjevo|language=hr|encyclopedia=[[Croatian Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Miroslav Krleža Lexicographic Institute]]|date=2013–2024}}</ref>) are a [[Croats|Croat]] community in [[Kosovo]], inhabiting the town of [[Janjevo]] and surrounding villages near [[Pristina]], as well as villages centered on [[Letnica, Vitia|Letnica]] near [[Viti, Kosovo|Vitia]] (Šašare, Vrnez, and Vrnavokolo),<ref name=HEJanj/><ref name=ProL>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://proleksis.lzmk.hr/28778/|title=Janjevo|encyclopedia=Proleksis Encyclopedia Online|language=hr|publisher=Miroslav Krleža Lexicographic Institute|date=22 June 2012}}</ref><ref name=HrvE>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/kosovo|title=Kosovo → Hrvati na Kosovu|trans-title=Kosovo → Croats in Kosovo|language=hr|encyclopedia=Croatian Encyclopedia|publisher=Miroslav Krleža Lexicographic Institute|date=2013–2024}}</ref> who are also known as ''Letničani''. They are not officially recognised as a [[national minority]] group.<ref name=MojaH/>

They are considered among the oldest of the [[Croatian diaspora]] communities.<ref name=MojaH>{{cite web|url=https://mojahrvatska.vecernji.hr/price/ovo-je-najstarija-hrvatska-dijaspora-u-kojoj-se-neprekidno-zivi-od-14-stoljeca-1251739|language=hr|title=Ovo je najstarija hrvatska dijaspora koja postoji od 14. stoljeća|website=mojahrvatska.vecernji.hr|first1=Marjana|last1=Kremer|first2=Vlatka|last2=Glasnović|date=13 June 2018}}</ref>

==Identity and culture==
The Janjevci, an ethnic Croat community, derive their name from their traditional community center, [[Janjevo]].<ref name=ProL/> It is believed that the community descends from migrating [[merchant]]s, [[miners]] and [[entrepreneurs]] from the [[Republic of Ragusa]] ([[Dubrovnik]] and its hinterland,<ref name=MIS>{{cite book|author1=Jan Briza|author2=Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia|title=Minorities in Serbia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXdpAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia|isbn=978-86-7208-025-4|page=48}}</ref> families Glasnović, Macukić, Ćibarić, Matić, Ivanović<ref name=MojaH/>), [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (families Ivanović and Brkić)<ref name=MojaH/> and [[Kotor]]<ref name=HEJanj/><ref name=ProL/><ref name=HrvE/> who settled the area in the 14th century [[medieval Serbia]], The earliest written record of Catholics in Janjevo is a letter from Pope [[Benedict XI]], dated 1303, which mentions the Catholic parish of St. Nicholas with its center in Janjevo. Together with the [[Saxons]] from [[Saxony]], they worked in the Serbian mines.<ref name=MIS/> The Croatian population of [[Shasharë]] is believed to be of partial Saxon origin.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ger H. J. Duijzings|date=1999|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/1513620/108592_UBA003000255.pdf|title=''Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo''|page=43|quote=Some Croats, especially those living in Šašare, are believed to be partially of Saxon origin.}}</ref> Stronger [[national awareness]] among Janjevci came in the 19th century thanks to the work of the [[Franciscan Province of Herzegovina|Herzegovinian Franciscan]] Franjo Brkić and the teacher Jakov Slišković, as well as during the [[interwar period]].<ref name=MojaH/>

===Folklore===
The [[Kosovo Albanians|Albanian]], [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]], [[Serbs in Kosovo|Serbian]] and [[Turks of Kosovo|Turkish]] influences are visible in [[folk costume]]s, songs and [[oral tradition]].<ref name=MojaH/>

====Oral traditions====
Janjevci have several [[legend]]s related to the origin of Janjevo.<ref name=MojaH/> The first one describes how in the ''dilbokoj planini'' ("deep mountain"), after a general [[famine]], a sister and a brother lived alone, who did not know that they were related to the new Janjevo, while the second story mentions the terrible fate of people after the war and how they are the only ones Jana Palić "Nedokoljka" and one of the Glasnovićs are still alive; both stories are based on massive deaths and suffering during the Mongol invasion of the area.<ref name=MojaH/>

====Folk costume====
The costume of adult men consisted of a mixture of oriental and Bulgarian costumes: a ''[[šubara]]'' on the head, then a shirt, a ''čakšire'' (long [[trousers]] with a long tour and narrow legs that fasten on the sides), ''mintan'' or ''palta'' ([[coat]]). A belt was tied around the middle of the body, and ''kondure'' or ''jemenije'' ([[shoes]]) were put on the feet.<ref name=MojaH/>

Women, on the contrary, kept the oriental costume influenced by the Ottomans. Married women wore a ''[[fez (hat)|fes]]'' or ''otos'' (a cloth cap sewn from [[velvet]]) on their head, and unmarried women wore a ''kucelj'' ([[braid]]) down their backs. A ''šamija'' (scarf) was also put on the head, woolen outside the house, and ordinary inside the house. On the upper part of the body, a ''mintan'' or ''mintanče'' ([[jacket]]) was worn, that is, a ''jelek'' or ''žamadan'' ([[vest]]), under which was a shirt with a [[lace]] collar. Women did not wear [[skirt]]s, but ''dimije'', over which a richly decorated ''bošča'' ([[apron]]) was draped, and the waist was tied with a ''kušak'' (belt). On working days, they wore ''nalunas'' (loafers), and when they went out of the house they put on ''jemenije'' (shoes) similar to civilian ones. Formal women's clothing was very expensive and colorful, so it was accompanied by appropriate [[jewelry]]: ''[[Ducat|dukati]]'', gold necklaces, ''đinđuves'' (pearl necklaces), ''curaće'' ([[earrings]]) and rings. Women's [[wedding]] clothing included, in addition to ''mintančet'', ''dimije'', shirts and a fez, a terlik (saffian shoes with ornaments), a ''duak'' (veil), earrings, a ring, two rows of ''rubije'' (Ducats) as head jewelry and one larger Ducat that went on forehead.<ref name=MojaH/>

===Language===
According to Croatian classification, they speak in Janjevo-Lepenica idiom, which belongs to Torlak dialect group.<ref name=MojaH/>

The names for the parts of the day are borrowed from [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''saba'' ([[morning]]), ''ićindije'' ([[afternoon]] after [[sunset]]) and ''akšam'' ([[dusk]] after sunset).<ref name=MojaH/> Turkicisms are also ''belendzika'' (a thin oriental bracelet in a series of five to six), ''džam'' ([[glass]]), ''ćumbe'' ([[stove]]), ''tendžera'' ([[pottery|pot]]), ''duvar'' ([[wall]]).<ref name=MojaH/> From [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] "chromid" they took ''chromit'' ([[onion]]).<ref name=MojaH/> Some family names are also Turkicisms: ''adža'' ([[uncle]], father's brother), ''balduza'' (wife's sister), ''teza'' (maternal [[aunt]]), ''badžanak'' (each of the [[husband]]s of two sisters in relation to each other) and Albanisms: ''tota'' ([[grandmother]]) and ''nana'' ([[mother]]).<ref name=MojaH/>

===Religion===
They have maintained their Catholic faith until today. Accordingng to the work of Croatian historian Đuro Arnold, the Janjevci have adopted the tradition of celebrating "Slava" - [[patron saint]] of the family (Arnold, 2013). Most of the families together celebrate [[Saint Nicholas]] (December 6 and May 9), [[Christmas]] and ''Veligdan'' (lit. "Great Day", [[Easter]])<ref name=MojaH/> along with [[Saint Sebastian]], [[Saint Anne]] and [[Anthony of Padua]]. According to the research of anthropologist Pero Lučin, on the evening before the main feast, traditional "''[[Pogača]]''" bread and a candle are blessed by a priest and used at the family gathering (Lučin, 2004). 

Family [[pilgrimage]]s are made in Letnica at the ''Gulem Gospođindan'' (lit. "Great Lady-day", [[Assumption of Mary]]), ''Mali Gospođindan'' (lit. "Small Lady-day", [[Birth of Mary]]), [[Our Lady of Mount Carmel]], St. Anne and in Pristina on the St. Anthony of Padua feastday.<ref name=MojaH/> Janjevci would go on a pilgrimage to Letnica for the feast of the Assumption since the feast of St. Ane, on [[July 26]], and they would stay there until [[August 19]], then the whole family life would move to Letnica, where they would stay in ''zagrađi'' ("enclosures", special buildings in a row with a common wall that closed in a circle). However, the central place in the piety of the Janjevci was occupied by the [[veneration]] of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and travelers, and such a connection of the people of Janjevo on land with this saint connected to the sea is considered as a connection with the Franciscan ancestors who arrived in Kosovo from the [[Adriatic coast]].<ref name=MojaH/> Since the Middle Ages, they have attended [[Festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik|Feast of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik]] and are regular members of the [[procession]] in which they are dressed in their folk costumes.<ref name=MojaH/>

The community also celebrates [[Saint George's Day]] (known among Janjevci as ''Đurđevdan'')<ref name=MojaH/> - an important holiday, especially for teen Janjevci who would prepare a special celebration called "rifana", which lasted all night, where mischievous ''bećari'' (guys) tried to steal the prepared food from the girls they loved and cut the rope on the swings on which they were swinging.<ref name=MojaH/> The [[Catholic parish church|parish church]] celebrates its feast day on the day of [[Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari]] (May 9 in byzantine calendar) which is known among Janjevci as ''sveti Nikola ljetni'' (lit. "Summer St. Nicholas", also ''župna slava'' ("parish Slava") or ''dan župe'' ("parish day")). On the [[feast of St. John the Baptist]], they would burn straw that children jumped over, the custom was called ''kalavešnica'' and is connected to the pre-Christian celebration of the [[summer solstice]].<ref name=MojaH/>

==Demographic history==
[[File:Ethnic composition of Kosovo 1981.png|thumb|Ethnic composition of Kosovo in 1981 according to Yugoslavian census, with Serb enclaves shown as in 2011]]

In 1948, there were 5,290 Croats (0.7%) in Kosovo; in 1971 - 8,264; in 1981 - 8,718 (0.6%); in 1991 - 8,161 (0.4%).<ref name=HrvE/> Considering Janjevo, in 1981 there were 3,534 Croats (out of 5,086 inhabitants),<ref name=HEJanj/> in 1991 2,589 (out of 3,319),<ref name=HEJanj/> by the end of the 1990s around 400,<ref name=HEJanj/> in 2008 - 300,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,3566469,00.html | language = hr | title = Kako žive Hrvati u Janjevu? | newspaper = [[Deutsche Welle]] | date = 2008-08-15 | author = Refki Alija | access-date = 2013-04-22}}</ref> in 2011 - 237<ref name=HEJanj/> to 270.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=24&nav_id=77480 |title=Ethnic Croats in Kosovo unhappy with security |access-date=3 December 2011  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125175922/http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=11&dd=24&nav_id=77480 |archive-date=25 November 2011|website=b92.net }}</ref> During and after the [[Kosovo War]], most of the community had fled to Croatia.<ref name=HEJanj/> 1998 estimations had their number at only 1,800, of which 350 lived in Janjevo. The [[Croatian government]] has planned to resettle the remaining Janjevci in Kosovo to Croatia. According to the Kosovan 2011 census, there was a total of ca. 400 Janjevci, of whom 80 remain in the Vitia municipality.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

==Janjevci community in Croatia==
Janjevci families started migrating to [[SR Croatia]], part of Yugoslavia, in the 1950s, mostly settling in [[Zagreb]].<ref name=ProL/> By the beginning of the 1970s, there was a large community of Janjevci along and within the vicinity of Konjšćinska Street in [[Dubrava, Zagreb|Dubrava]], a district in the eastern part of Zagreb.<ref name=JoG/> They have since turned this area into a vibrant shopping district. They are widely known as [[goldsmith]]s and merchants<ref name=ProL/> and recognised for their [[craftsmanship]] ("kujundžijstvo").<ref name=HrvE/>

During the [[Yugoslav Wars]], a significant part of the Janjevci emigrated to Croatia in several waves (1992, 1995, 1997, 1999), and Letničani were settled by the authorities in [[Voćin]] and [[Đulovac]] (western [[Slavonia]]) and Janjevci in [[Kistanje]] (the [[Dalmatian hinterland]])<ref name=ProL/><ref name=HrvE/> in the abandoned homes of [[Serbs of Croatia|Serbs]].<ref name="Antonijević">{{cite web | url = http://www.cpi.hr/download/links/hr/7321.pdf | work = Dijalog povjesničara - istoričara 9, Vršac | date = November 2004 | publisher = Political Science Research Centre Ltd. (PSRC) for Scientific Research Work | location = Zagreb, Croatia | first = Nenad | last = Antonijević | title = Stanovništvo hrvatske nacionalnosti na Kosovu – Janjevci | language = hr | pages = 288–289 | access-date = 2012-12-30 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150128131927/http://www.cpi.hr/download/links/hr/7321.pdf | archive-date = 2015-01-28  }}</ref> Following the end of the [[Kosovo War]] from June to October 1999, the Janjevci population of Kosovo dropped from 700 to 360. Ongoing acts of violence and harassment from Kosovo Albanians and general uncertainty instigated the mass exodus.<ref>{{cite web |title=OSCE Report |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/9/5/17781.pdf |publisher=OSCE}}</ref>

In April 2017, 196 displaced Letničani, composed of 41 families who were waiting on homes promised by the state, were finally given newly built houses in the settlement [[Dumače]], in the municipality of [[Petrinja]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lokalni.vecernji.hr/zupanije/nakon-18-godina-obitelji-kosovskih-hrvata-primili-kljuceve-kuca-u-naselju-dumace-3642|title = Nakon 18 godina obitelji kosovskih Hrvata primili ključeve kuća u naselju Dumače|website=lokalni.vecernji.hr|language=hr}}</ref>

According to records{{which|date=April 2013}} in 2002, there are 966 families of Janjevci in Croatia, with the majority of them residing in the capital Zagreb (669 families), and the rest in other parts of Croatia (297 families).{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

==Famous people==
*[[Roko Glasnović]] - Croatian Roman Catholic prelate 
*[[Anton Glasnović]], Croatian sports shooter and World Championships silver medalist
*[[Josip Glasnović]], Croatian sports shooter and Olympic champion<ref name=JoG>{{cite web|title=SN PRVE U OBITELJI OLIMPIJSKOG PRVAKA Ludnica u Dubravi: 'I Janjevci imaju olimpijsko zlato!|url=http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/oi2016/sn-prve-u-obitelji-olimpijskog-prvaka-ludnica-u-dubravi-i-janjevci-imaju-olimpijsko-zlato/4598036/|year=2016|language=hr|work=Sportske novosti}}</ref>
*[[Petar Palić]], Croatian Roman Catholic prelate
*[[Željko Glasnović]], Croatian military officer and politician
*[[Marijan Brkić Brk]] - Croatian guitarist and producer
*[[Mario Petreković]] - croatian television actor and presenter
*Blessed [[Alojzije Palić]] (Luigj Paliq) - Catholic priest and martyr

==See also==
* [[Gorani people|Gorani]], Slavic Muslim community in Kosovo
* [[Croats in Serbia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite journal | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=14787&lang=en | title = Janjevo and Janjevci - from Kosovo to Zagreb |author=Željka Šiljković |author2=Martin Glamuzina | journal = Geoadria | publisher = Croatian Geographical Society - Zadar, Department of Geography, University of Zadar | issn = 1331-2294 | pages = 89–109 | volume = 9 | number = 1 |date=June 2004}}

{{Croatian diaspora}}
{{Ethnic groups in Kosovo}}
{{Slavic ethnic groups}}

[[Category:Croatian diaspora]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Slavic ethnic groups]]
[[Category:South Slavs]]
[[Category:Catholic Church in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Kosovo Croats| ]]