Bunjevci

Their endonym, used in Serbo-Croatian, is Bunjevci (sing. Bunjevac) (). In Hungarian their name is bunyevácok, in Dutch Boenjewatsen, and in German Bunjewatzen. According to Petar Skok they also called themselves in Bačka as Šokci (sing. Šokac), while Hungarians in Szeged also called them as Dalmát (Dalmatians; Dalmatini), In addition, the term meant Catholic (Croat) population from Livanjsko field up to Montenegro which was mostly considered by the neighbor Serbian Orthodox population, while at Peroj in Istria it was a pejorative name for Croats as well pobunjevčit pejoratively meant "become Catholic". In the territory from Krmpote to Sv. Marija Magdalena in North Dalmatia there also existed multilayered regional identities Primorci and Podgorci, local Krmpoćani, while the subethnic term Bunjevci loses identity on the boundary with Velebit Podgorje. The earliest mention of the ethnonym is argued to be in 1550 and 1561 when in Ottoman defter is recorded certain Martin Bunavacz in Baranja. However, the name was most probably erroneously transcribed (Ottoman's rarely recorded surname, being rather his father's name, which itself is possibly Dunavacz). The earliest certain mention date from the early 17th century, for example in Bačka is from 1622 when was recorded ''parochia detta Bunieuzi nell' arcivescovato Colociense. In Venetian Dalmatia there was Nicola Bunieuaz (1662, 1680), in Donje Moravice of Zrinski family was Manojlo Bunieuach (1670), and in Slavonia Paval Bunyevacz (1697) and Nikola Bunjevac (1698) from Bosnia. Surname became also present in Orthodox community, denoting from their perspective somebody who came from a foreign, Catholic community. The ethnonym is also mentioned by Bishop of Senj, Martin Brajković, in 1702 whose recorded folk tradition knew for the existence of five ethnic identities which constitute the population of Lika and Krbava, one of them being Catholic Vlachs also known as Bunjevci (Valachi Bunyevacz). In 1712–1714 census of Lika and Krbava was recorded only one Bunieuacz (Vid Modrich), however the military government usually used alternative term Valachi Catolici, while Luigi Ferdinando Marsili called them Meerkroaten (Littoral Croats). Alberto Fortis in Viaggio in Dalmazia ("Journey to Dalmatia") describing the Velebit (Montagne della Morlacca'') recorded that the population was different from the earlier and called themselves as Bunjevci because they came from area of Buna in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1828 writing by Colonel Ivan Murgić probably had the last original testimony of Lika-Primorje Bunjevci about their traditional identity, in which they said to be "We are hardworking brothers Bunjevci", while regarding (Catholic) confession always as "I am true Bunjevac". In general, the name came into common usage in literature and official documents only since the second half of the 18th and early 19th century. The etymological derivation of their ethnonym is unknown. There are several theories about the origin of their name. The most common is that the name derives from the river Buna in central Herzegovina, in Dalmatia similar to Kažun in Istria, meaning people who live in such type of houses. Derivation from a Vlach personal name Bun/Bunj deriving from Latin name Bonifacius (with related Slavic names Bunjo, Bunjak, Bunjac, Bunac, Bunoje, Bunilo, Bunislav, Bunuš; Vlach clans of Bunčić, Bunović, and Bunuševci) is getting prominence recently. Other also propose pejorative nickname Obonjavci which is recorded since 1199 in Zadar probably meaning soldiers without order and discipline, and verb "buniti se" (to protest). ==History==

Origins According to modern ethnological studies, Bunjevci are a South Slavic people with some elements of non-Slavic ancestry, with partial Vlach-Arbanasi anthroponymy structure (20%; also surnames of Muslim and non-Bunjevci Croatian origin shows a continuous process of assimilation of unrelated families), such argumentation is poorly substantiated and misunderstanding the meaning of the term Vlach, as other scholars emphasize, they were Slavs and the term Vlach in the historical context of the 16th century did not mean some distinctive Romance ethnolinguistic identity, but an Ottoman social class which mostly included people who were not of Vlachian origin in strict sense. Bunjevci were not a separate ethnic group of Vlach-Romance origin, there's no evidence they ever spoke a Romance language, designated themselves as Vlachs or considered themselves as ethnically different from near Slavic-speaking people (Croats, Bosnians and Serbs). The emergence of the identity of Bunjevci is related to the historical, social and confessional (Vlachian Orthodox Rkaći vs Vlachian Catholic Bunjevci) dichotomies and events related to the Ottoman period on the so-called Triplex Confinium (the boundary between Venetian, Ottoman, and Habsburg Empire). Some scholars consider that the area of origin could have been between rivers Buna in Herzegovina and Bunë in Albania, along with the Adriatic-Dinaric belt (south Dalmatia and its hinterland, Boka Kotorska Bay, the coast of Montenegro and a part of its hinterland), seemingly encompassing the territory of the so-called Red Croatia, regardless of the issue whether the entity is historically founded, which was partly inhabited by Croats according to Byzantine sources from 11th and 12th century. In historical documents for them were also used alternative term Uskoks, Dalmatians, Catholic Vlachs/Morlachs (Catholische Walahen, Morlachi chatolici), Catholic Rascians (Rasciani Catolichi, Catholische Ratzen, the term had transconfessional meaning), In the territory of Croatian Military Frontier complex ethnic-demographic integrations happened, with Ledenice being one of the earliest examples of Croatian-Vlach-Bunjevac integration when an anonymous priest from Senj in 1696 calls them as nostris Croatis, while captain Coronini in 1697 as Croati venturini, at the same time (1693), chiefs of Zdunići in Ledenice emphasized their Krmpote ancestry. and with several waves until 1647 settling in Lič, the hinterland of Senj (Ledenice, Krmpote – Sv. Jakov, Krivi Put, Senjska draga), and some to Pag and Istria. Some also arrived during the Cretan War (1645–1669), and after the Ottomans' defeat in Lika (1683–1687), some littoral Bunjevci moved to settlements in Lika, like Pazarište, Smiljan, Gospićko field, Široka Kula, valley of Ričice and Hotuče. However, local schools used the Serbian version of Serbo-Croatian in Latin script, while during the 1990s even in Cyrillic script, policy interpreted as an attempt to assimilate them into the Serbian culture. There are different opinions about the historical context of the content of document "Dekret 1945". Proponents of a distinct Bunjevac ethnicity regard this time as another dark period of encroachment on their identity and feel that this assimilation did not help in the preservation of their language. The censuses of 1953 and 1961 also listed all declared Bunjevci as Croats. The 1971 population census listed the Bunjevci separately under the municipal census in Subotica upon the personal request of the organization of Bunjevci in Subotica. It listed 14,892 Bunjevci or 10.15% of the population of Subotica. Despite this, the provincial and federal authorities listed the Bunjevci as Croats, together with the Šokci and considered them that way officially at all occasions. In 1981 the Bunjevci made a similar request – it showed 8,895 Bunjevci or 5.7% of the total population of Subotica. Robert Skenderović emphasizes that already before 1918 and the Communist rule, Bunjevci have made strong efforts to be recognized as part of the Croatian people. Many, such as example of majority of inhabitants of Donji Tavankut, declared themselves as Yugoslavs. Contemporary period Croatia Croatia considers the people from the Bunjevac communities as integral part of the Croatian nation, even though they live in the diaspora (Bunjevac Croats of Serbia and Hungary). Hungary In Hungary, Bunjevci are not recognized as a minority; the government consider them Croats. In Hungary, 1,000 valid subscriptions are needed to register an ethnic minority with historical presence. By the end of the given 60 days period, the initiative gained over 2,000 subscriptions of which cca. 1,700 were declared valid by national vote office and Budapest parliament gained a deadline of 9 January 2007 to solve the situation by approving or refusing the proposal. No other such initiative has reached that level ever since minority bill passed in 1992. On 18 December the National Assembly of Hungary refused to accept the initiative (with 334 No and 18 Yes votes). The decision was based on the study of the Hungarian Academy of Science that denied the existence of an independent Bunjevac minority (they stated that Bunjevci are a Croatian subgroup). The opposition of Croatian minority leaders also played part in the outcome of the vote, and the opinion of Hungarian Academy of Sciences. To this day, the descendants of Dalmatia or Illyria (Bunjevac) mercenaries who fought against the Turks, from the 17th century, still have the right to be citizens of Hungary (under strict conditions), even if they live outside the current Hungarian land borders. Serbia in Serbia In Serbia, Croats (including the Croatian sub-ethnic group of Bunjevci and Šokci) were recognized as ethnic minority in 2002 and reprecented by the Croat National Council and for those, who consider themself as a separate Bunjevac ethnicity, are represented by the Bunjevac National Council. The ethnic minority councils receive funds from the state and province to finance their own governing body, cultural, and educational organisations. The level of funding for the ethnic minority councils depends on the results of a census, in which the Serbian citizens are registered and can self-declare as belonging to a state-recognized ethnic minority of their choice. It is the interpretation of census results that causes disagreements about real ethnicity and declared ethnicity. Most people, who declare that they belong to a specific ethnic minority group, have come already for centuries from families with mixed family backgrounds (e.g. mixed marriages between different ethnicities, interreligious marriages). In the former Yugoslavia, Bunjevci were, along with Šokci, registered as the subcategory of Croatian ethnicity. Beginning in the late 1980s in Vojvodina, attempts were made to separate these two subcategories into distinct ethnicities, leading to a change in choices for ethnic affiliation in the 1991 Yugoslavian census. According to Kameda (2013), the categories of Bunjevac and Šokac were introduced for the purpose of reducing the number of Croatian population inside Serbia. Bunjevci were officially recognized as a separate ethnicity in 1991. In 1991 Serbian census, 74,808 Croats and 21,434 Bunjevci were registered in Vojvodina, while in the administrative area of City of Subotica, there were approximately equal numbers of declared Croats and Bunjevci: 16,369 and 17,439, respectively. In 2011, in the administrative area of the City of Subotica, there were 13,553 Bunjevci and 14,151 Croats, respectively. The historically Bunjevac village of Donji Tavankut had 1,234 Croats, 787 Bunjevci, 190 Serbs and 137 declared as Yugoslavs. A 1996 survey by the local government in Subotica found that in the community, 94% of declared Croats agreed that Bunjevci were part of the Croatian ethnicity, while 39% of declared Bunjevci supported this view. The results of the 2022 census showed 39,107 registered Croats, of which the census methodology has not made a subdivision of percentage respondents identifying themselves as Bunjevac Croats. According to the same census, there were 11,104 citizens who have registered as Bunjevac, of which the results do not indicate how much respondents of these citizens considered themselves as sub-ethnic group of the Croatian people or as separate ethnicity, in conjunction with their belief of being a distinct Bunjevac people. ==Demographics==

Ethnicity status dispute Disputes about the ethnic status of the Bunjevci trace back to the ethno-nationalistic surge in the 19th century in Austria-Hungary and, their "ethnical status" remained ambiguous since, as the debate revived by the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The Bunjevac question entails also political obstacles concerning language politics, particular about Bunjevac dialect, that may polarize domestic politics in Serbia and inhibit regional cooperation, particularly between Croatia and Serbia. It has been argued that Bunjevci are Croats, Serbs, and yet another as a fourth ethnicity of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes among the South Slavic ethnicities. In the period between 1920 and 1930, and again in 1940, there were three types of manipulation to neutralize their Croatian ethnicity, primarily emphasizing their ethnic distinctiveness from both the Croats and Serbs, that can be both Croats and Serbs or it's unimportant because both are Yugoslavs, and open denial of their ethnicity and religious belonging considering that Bunjevci and Šokci are Serbs of the Catholic faith. The third was argued by Serbian academic elite, including Aleksa Ivić, Radivoj Simonović, Jovan Erdeljanović, among others. Some Croatian authors reject these point of view as unfounded. In the 1990s many Croats declared themselves as Bunjevac in order to avoid stigmatisation, which increased the number of self-declared Bunjevci. The self-declaration of Bunjevac was also aided by grass-roots demands for a separate Bunjevac nation. In 2005, the Bunjevac issue (bunjevačko pitanje) was again popularized when the Government of Vojvodina decided to allow the official use of the Štokavian dialect with ikavian pronunciation "bunjevac speech with elements of national culture" (Bunjevački govor s elementima nacionalne kulture) in schools in the first year in Cyrillic script and in the following school years in Latin script. This was protested by the Serbian Bunjevac Croat community as an attempt of the government to widen the rift between the Bunjevac communities. They favour integration, regardless of whether some people declared themselves distinct, because ethnic minority rights (such as the right to use a minority language) are applied based on the number of members of the ethnic minority. As opposed to this, supporters of pro-Bunjevci option are accused Croats for attempts to assimilate Bunjevci. In 2011, Bunjevac pro-Yugoslav politician Blaško Gabrić and Bunjevac National Council, asked Serbian authorities to start juristic criminal responsibility procedure against those members of Croat ethnic minority who are denying the existence of Bunjevci being a separate ethnicity, which is, according to them, violation of laws and constitution of Serbia. The former president of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolić, stated in 2013 that "You (Bunjevci) are neither Serbs nor Croats, but an authentic Slavic nation, ..." The Croat National Council and Croatian MEPs responded critical to his statement, stating that the Serbian government is encouraging the division of the Croatian ethnic minority into Bunjevci and Šokci, and favouring those Bunjevci who do not declare themselves to be Croats. Until 2016 the Bunjevac National Council believed that Bunjevci presumably originate from Dacia and then added Dardania to support their claim that they are not part of the Croatian Nation. In 2021, president of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, stated that "Croatia considers the Bunjevac community to be Croats". The National Council of the Bunjevac Minority in Serbia responded harshly to his statement, stating that Bunjevci have been living in Subotica for 350 years and that the difference between Bunjevci and Croats, according to their opinion, is attested in historical sources. Today, both major parts of the community (the pro-independent Bunjevac one and the pro-Croatian one) continue to consider themselves ethnologically as Bunjevci, although each subscribing to its own interpretation of the term. The Serbian state implemented two laws aimed at protection and development of the minority rights of the divided Bunjevac community: 1. Croatian minority (Bunjevci, Croats, Šokci): "Pursuant to the law on the Rights and liberty of ethnic minorities (adopted by the Assembly of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on 26 February 2002), the Croat ethnic minority was guaranteed, for the first time ever, the status of  minority. Although they carry several regional and sub-ethnic names (e.g. "Bunjevci" and "Šokci"), Croats in Vojvodina constitute an integral part of the Croatian people, who in the capacity of an autochthone people reside in the parts of the Srijem of the Vojvodina province, in the Banat and the Bačka region, but also in a significant number in Belgrade. From the historical perspective, this population, in its overwhelming number, has been for centuries an indigenous population." 2. Bunjevac minority: "The constituting session of the National Council of the Bunjevac Minority was held on 14 June 2010 in Subotica. By the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia document No. 290-212-00-10/2010-06 of 26 July 2010 Bunjevac Ethnic Minority Council was entered into the ethnic minorities council register." However, many Bunjevci questioned the new categorization and continued to identify themselves not as a distinct ethnicity from Croatian but simply as Yugoslav, or, as a part of Croatian ethnicity in the frame of "Vojvodina Croats" (which includes Šokci). In summary, people who nowadays prefer to identify themselves as Bunjevac or Bunjevac-Croat, have already come from ethnically mixed families for generations. Up to the present day, historical events are still influencing public opinion and media, demographic movements, politics of ethnic identity of different ethnic minority groups, language politics, and citizenship. Croatia Croatia considers the Bunjevac community an integral part of the Croatian nation, even though they live in the diaspora (e.g. Serbia and Hungary). Hungary In Hungary, the Bunjevac community is divided into a group who declare themselves as of self-declared Bunjevac ethnicity and those who see themselves as an integral part of the Croatian people. Hungary considers the Bunjevac community as integral part of the Croat ethnicity. Towns and villages with a Bunjevac population (names of settlements in Serbo-Croatian listed in brackets) include Baja, Csávoly (Čavolj), Csikéria (Čikerija), Katymár (Kaćmar), and Tompa. Serbia Bunjevci live in Vojvodina, mostly in the northern part of Bačka region. The largest concentration of Bunjevci is to be found in the city of Subotica which is their cultural center. Villages with Bunjevac population located in the administrative area of the city of Subotica are: Ljutovo (ethnic Bunjevac relative majority), Gornji Tavankut (ethnic Bunjevac relative majority), Bikovo, Donji Tavankut, Đurđin, Mala Bosna, Stari Žednik, and Bajmok. The community, however, has been divided around the issue of ethnic affiliation: according to data from the 2022 census, 11,104 inhabitants self-declared as Bunjevci (of which the census methodology has not made a subdivision of percentage respondents identifying themselves as Bunjevac Croats or as a separate Bunjevac ethnicity, in conjunction with their belief of being a distinct Bunjevac people) and 39,107 as Croats. or just based on their personal feelings. ==Language==

Most members of the Bunjevac community in Serbia who speak Bunjevac dialect and Croatian language also speak mutually intelligible Serbian language. The Bunjevac dialect (), also known as Bunjevac speech (), is a sub-dialect of Neo-Shtokavian Younger Ikavian dialect of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language, preserved among members of the Bunjevac community. Their accent is purely Ikavian, with /i/ for the Common Slavic vowels yat. According to Croatia there are three historical-ethnological branches of Bunjevci and their dialect: Dalmatian, Danubian, and Littoral-Lika. Its speakers largely use the Latin alphabet and are living in parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, different parts of Croatia, southern parts (inc. Budapest) of Hungary as well in the autonomous province Vojvodina of Serbia. Opinions on the status of the Bunjevac dialect remain divided. Bunjevac speech is considered a dialect or vernacular of the Serbo-Croatian language, by linguists. It is noted by Andrew Hodges that it is mutually intelligible with the standard Serbian and Croatian varieties. Popularly, the Bunjevac dialect is often referred to as "Bunjevac language" () or Bunjevac mother tongue (). At the political level, depending on goal and content of the political lobby, the general confusion concerning the definition of the terms language, dialect, speech, mother tongue, is cleverly exploited, resulting in an inconsistent use of the terms. In Hungary, there is a growing interest in learning Bunjevac dialect and Croatian among citizens who have Bunjevac ancestors in their genealogical history line. ==Politics==

Bunjevac community-oriented political parties in Serbia and Croatia include: • Bunjevci Citizens of Serbia (Bunjevci građani Srbije) – BGS; Serbia (umbrella political party of the National Council of Bunjevac Minority) • Union of Bačka Bunjevci (Savez bačkih Bunjevaca) – SBB; Serbia (affiliated with the National Council of Bunjevac Minority) • Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina (Demokratski savez Hrvata u Vojvodini) – DSHV; Serbia (umbrella political party of the Croat National Council) • Croatian Bunjevci Party (Hrvatska bunjevačka stranka) – HBS; Croatia ==Culture==

The cultural center of Danube Bunjevci from Bačka district is the city of Subotica in Serbia, in Hungary it is the city of Baja in Bács-Kiskun county, while for the Littoral or Coastal Bunjevci in Croatia it is the city of Senj located in Lika-Senj county. As the former live in a region inhabited by a population of the same nationality, they are far more assimilated, show less appreciation for traditional clothing and heritage due to external factors, but although mostly aware of their identity there's indifference for connection to other Bunjevci branches in Lika and Danube. Traditionally, Bunjevci of Bačka are associated with land and farming. Large, usually isolated farms in Northern Bačka called salaši are a significant part of their identity. Most of their folk customs (Bunjevački narodni običaji) celebrate the land, harvest, and horse-breeding. The Bunjevac heritage (Bunjevačka nošnja) is more than only folklore: it is a way of live for many people with Bunjevac ancestors, a tourist-economic value, and unfortunately continues to be misused as a setting for personal and political interests. Since 2010, members of the national Council of the Bunjevac Minority proclaimed their own ethnic minority symbols (such as flag) and Bunjevac festivals and gatherings (such as "Dan Dužijance" and "Dan velikog prela"), mostly close to the dates of the original traditional Bunjevac festivals and folklore gatherings of the Bunjevac Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, and Serbia. The Catholic Church is an important catalyst in preserving Bunjevac heritage, in particular the Franciscan Order has historical ties with the Bunjevac community. Nowadays, due to the efforts of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Subotica, especially thanks to e.g. mgr. dr. Andrija Anišić and the venerable sister Eleonora Merković, the Christian significance of many Bunjevac customs (bunjevački običaji) are again appreciated, in contrast to the post World War II Communist period, where the harvest festival as Dužijanca, had only a secular character. Kata Kuntić, prof. dr. Gyula J. Obádovics, Grgo Piuković, Jozefa Skenderović) who cherish and make efforts to preserve the Bunjevac heritage for future generations. Cuisine Bunjevac cuisine is a melting pot of multicultural culinary traditions from the Balkans (e.g. Turkish, Hungarian, Slavic). In 2016, Hilda Heinrich wrote a traditional Bunjevac cookbook with historical recipes. The traditional cuisine of Coastal Bunjevci in Croatia has been described by Jasmina Jurković. The organizations ZKVH and the NSBNM have made historical Bunjevac recipes digitally accessible. • Božićnjaci – decorated Christmas bread and cakes with bread figures. • Cipovka (Kruva) – traditional bread loaf of the Vojvodina. • Paprikaš (Pasuljijada) – one pot campfire stew. • Strudel – traditional cake, baking instructions with Ruža Juhas Costume Wearing Bunjevac traditional ceremonial garments (Ruvo), has a symbolic meaning in the context that it shows the belonging to a specific social/ethnic group, lifestyle, and status. The festive/working Bunjevac (folk) costume changed (bunjevačka nošnja) in different periods, due to urban, aristocratic and Western fashion influences, both in male and female costumes. The Bunjevac costume for women, in Hungary and Serbia, is based on the dress code in the time of Maria Theresa (1717–1780). The Bunjevci are living in different regions of Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia with a unique collection of traditional costumes with needlework. • Beli vez or bili šling(Broderie Anglaise) – open lace needle work • Bunjevac footwear (wooden clogs, mules (papuče), boots) • Goldwork (embroidery) – embroidery using metal threads (e.g. on mules for ladies and vests for men) • Mekane sare – rattling boot bells • Ruvo – Bunjevac traditional ceremonial garments. Dress tutorial with Jelena Piuković. Headscarf tutorial with Rožića Šimić. • Zlatni novci – Gold coins necklaces was an indicator of style and wealth Dance Dances from Vojvodina are most similar to the Slavonian dances in their liveliness and activity. The Bunjevci Croats from the Bačka region are renowned for their beautifully embroidered female dresses, made from real silk from France, and the rattling sound made by the male dancers' boots as they dance. New choreographies are still being created today based on old Bunjevac folk dances that have been handed down. Important in this context is the work of the folk dance teacher and choreographer Stevan Tonković from Vojvodina, Serbia, and the folk dance group ensemble LADO from Croatia. • Bunjevačko momačko kolo – literally the bunjevac men's kolo, where one man dances with two women • Divan – a meeting of young boys and girls for singing and dancing in a place far from their parents. The custom has been forbidden by church authorities already in the mid-19th century • Kolo igra, tamburica svira – the circle dance is usually performed amongst groups of at least three people and up to several dozen people. Dancers hold each other's hands or each other's waists. They form a circle, a single chain or multiple parallel lines. According to Wilkes (1995), the kolo has an Illyrian origin as the dance seems to resemble dances depicted on funeral monuments of the Roman era • Malo kolo – is an old traditional dance from the Vojvodina region of Serbia, and far beyond • Momacko nadigravanje – the men's competitive dance • Podvikuje Bunjevačka Vila • Tamburica Svira • Tandračak Feast • Veliko bunjevačko prelo – festive gathering The central holidays are based on the Roman Catholic feasts: Christmas, Easter, St. John, and Pentecost with specific Bunjevac folk customs: • Dužijanca – Day of Saint John the Baptist (Ivan Svitnjak): celebration of harvest end, and the most famous festival as well as a tourist attraction. It consists of several events (e.g. mowing competition, horse races, folklore fashion show competition, performances of Bunjevci folklore with dance and music) held in Bunjevci-populated places in Serbia (e.g. Bajmok, Donji Tavankut, Gornji Tavankut, Sombor, Subotica), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (e.g. Mostar), and in Hungary (e.g. Baja, Gara, Tompa), with the central religious celebration of a Holy Mass and street procession. The harvest festival Dužijanca has a tradition of more than 100 years (from 1911) in Subotica. Bunjevci, who are represented by the Croat National Council, are organizing the harvest festival Dužijanca. It is thanks to the pastor Blaško Stipan Rajić (1887-1951) of Subotica that the harvest thanksgiving Dužijanca became in 1911 an integral part of the church festivals. In 2011, Subotica celebrated the 100th anniversary of Dužijanca. And Bunjevci, who are gathered around the Bunjevac National Council, celebrating Dan Dužijance (from the first decennium of the 21st century). In Sombor (Vojvodina), the divided Bunjevac community is celebrating together with the Šokac community, the harvest festival named Dužionica. The celebration of harvest festivals dates back to ancient times and has a pagan background, festive thanksgiving in honor of the god of fertility. In the Balkan Region, the harvest festival with different names still occurs: in Senje "Doženjancija", in Lika "Dožinjancija", and in Zagora "Dožencija". • Kraljice – ceremonial processions held on Pentecost. Vlach origins of Kraljice (Hora and Kolo). Kraljice song. Festivals • Bunjevac Song Contest, Subotica – Festival bunjevački pisama: A yearly competitive event with the aim to preserve, promote and popularize the musical culture of the Croatian ethnic group Bunjevac, especially new Bunjevac music and folk songs written in Bunjevac dialect. The proposal to start the festival was made by Dr. Marko Sente from Subotica in 2000. The founders ware: Ana Čavrgov, Ljiljana Dulic Mészáros, Branko Ivankovic Radakovic, Siniša Jurić, Tomislav Kujundžić, Antonija Piuković, Marko Sente, Nela Skenderović, Stanislava Stantić Prćić, Vojislav Temunović, and Mira Temunović. The lyrics and music should represent the life and customs of Bačka Bunjevci; The text of the poem must be written in Ikavic or Ijekavic; A poem can have 3 or 4 verses. • Multicultural cooking and baking competition, Bajmok – Festival bunjevački ila: A yearly event, since 2005, organized by the local unit of the Bunjevac National Council. Handicraft • Naïve Painting • Slamarke – Straw Art. Straw art is part of many cultures with an agricultural historical background • Molovanje – Wall patterned paint roller decoration technique still actively used in Croatia, Hungary, and Serbia. The roller technique originated from wall decoration by stencil painting. Music instruments Historical examination shows a diversity of instruments in the Balkan region. Several instruments are of Oriental origin. Main categories are: tambura, violin and fiddles, bagpipe, flute, accordion, and drums. • Tambura – a plucked instrument used to accompany instrumental or vocal performances. The musical instrument is widespread in the Balkan region. Religious devotion • Krsno ime referring to krsna slava, a celebration of a patron saint of the family, has existed among the Bunjevci as part of a historical veneration of elders • Religious straw objects and paintings for home, street procession, and church decoration. Songs Bunjevci preserved a large number of folk songs, such as Groktalice (epic-lyric songs written in decasyllable – a poetic meter of ten syllables in poetic tradition of syllabic verse). Wedding One of the Bunjevac marriage customs is that the bride get money for each kiss she gives to wedding quests. Museums Croatia • Senj City Museum Hungary • Bunjevci Region House • Baja – Türr István Múzeum Serbia • Tavankut (virtual museum) Slovenia • Regional Museum Maribor Media The Bunjevac community-oriented media in Serbia are predominantly controlled by editors of the lobby of the Bunjevac National Council or the Croat National Council. They both target readers in Serbia and abroad. • Bunjevački Radio Tavankut • Digital information for Croats (Croinfo.rs) • Digital information for Vojvodina Croats (Zavod za kulturu vojvođanskih Hrvata) • Newspaper in Bunjevac dialect (Bunjevačke novine), published by the National Council of the Bunjevac Minority • Newspaper in Croatian language (Hrvatske novine) ==Notable people==

Artists • Branko Ištvančić (1967), filmmaker • Latinovits Zoltán (1931–1976) actor • Ana Milodanović (1926–2011), straw artist Ecclesiastical figures • Ivan Antunović (1815–1888), archbishop and politician Music • Bartók Béla (1881–1945), composer, partly of Bunjevac paternal descent through his grandmother • Zvonko Bogdan (1942), singer Politicians • Lázár Mészáros (1796–1858), general, Minister of War in Austria-Hungary, Bunjevac maternal descent Scientists • Gaja Alaga (1924–1988), theoretical physicist • Josif Pančić (1814–1888), botanist • Obádovics J. Gyula (1927) mathematician • Mirko Vidaković (1924–2002), botanist Sport • Zorán Kuntics, football player • Goran Kopunovics, football player Writers • Antun Gustav Matoš (1873–1914) • Blaško Rajić (1878–1951) ==References==

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• Bunjevac Croatian Cultural and Educational Society in Serbia, HKPD "Matija Gubec" Tavankut • Bunjevac Cultural Institute, "Bunyevác Kulturális Intézet" in Baja in Hungary • Bunjevac National Council in Serbia • Bunjevci, "Vrilo mudrosti" in Slavonski Brod in Croatia • Croat National Council in Serbia (Bunjevci, Coats, Šokci) • Croatian Cultural Centre "Bunjevačko kolo" for Croats (incl. Bunjevci, Sokci) in Serbia • Catholic Society "Ivan Antunović" – Subotica, Serbia • ETNOGRAFSKA ZBIRKA BUNJEVCI. Gradski muzej Senj: Bunjevci. Croatia • Matica hrvatska (Croatian Heritage Foundation) branch in Subotica, Serbia ==External links==