Content Stats & Analytics for @olgutsagugutsa

olgutsagugutsa
@olgutsagugutsa

6,855 followers

"My name is Viktoria. I am a Serbian Vlach born in Vienna. My family comes from a Romanian speaking village Strizilo, in central Serbia. I grew up in the diaspora, in Germany and Switzerland, going back to Serbia during summers. At home, we spoke „Rumunjesće“, the Romanian Vlach dialect. I grew up listening to Romanian songs and manele. When Dragostea din tei came out, I thought "wait, that sounds similar?!" The sense of identification was not straight forward. I didn't properly fit in any society, neither in the countries where I grew up, nor in Serbia. We always knew that we have Vlach roots, but didn't understand what exactly that meant. When I turned 18 I started researching this topic and discovered that there are many Vlachs across the Balkans. We still keep old traditions, like "pomana" and "ursatorii" (ursitoare). Old people were saying that a part of my ancestry is called "Kara Vlachs", Rroma slaves from Țara Românească who lost their roots from assimilation during slavery, but I couldn't verify that. In 2012, I had an exchange in Sighisoara. For the first time, I did not have to explain my roots. I felt fully accepted, calling myself „rumunjesće“. It was fascinating, I started to learn modern Romanian pretty quickly. I am my multicultural self, speaking an archaic language, roaming modern life, wherever I am." The story of Viktoria, courtesy of @balkanminorities #balkan #wałach #walach #vlachs #walachia #romania #balkanculture #balkanpeople #humans #folklore #balcani #digitalillustrator #digitalart #digitalartist #digitaldrawing #portrait #illustrationoftheday #olgutsagugutsa