Sarakatsani

The Sarakatsani (Greek: Σαρακατσάνοι) are an ethnic Greek population group, who were traditionally transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with smaller presence in neighbouring Bulgaria, southern Albania and Republic of Macedonia. Historically centered on the Pindus mountains and other mountain ranges of continental Greece, the vast majority of the Sarakatsani have currently abandoned the transhumant way of life and have been urbanised to a significant degree.

Name

There have been various theories about the origin of the name Sarakatsani; according to the most popular one, the name derives from the Turkish word karakaçan (from kara = 'black' and kaçan = 'fugitive'), used by the Ottomans in reference to those people who were dressed in black and were fleeing on the mountains during the Ottoman occupation of Greece. According to another theory, the name derives from the village of Sakaretsi, the supposed homeland of the Sarakatsani.

History and origin

Despite the silence of the classical and medieval writers, scholars argue that the Sarakatsani are Greek people, possibly descended from pre-classical indigenous pastoralists, citing linguistic evidence and certain aspects of their traditional culture and socioeconomic organization. A popular theory, based on linguistics and material culture, suggests that the Sarakatsani are descended from the Dorians, who were isolated for centuries in the mountains. Their origins have been the subject of broad and permanent interest, resulting in several fieldworks among the Sarakatsani.