MIGRATIONS OF MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS FROM THE SKOPJE TORBESHIJA IN 1950S

Abstract

Drawing on extensive original archival materials, statistical records, and relevant ethnographic, anthropogeographic, anthropological, and historiographical literature, this paper analyzes the migration movements of the Muslim Torbesh population from the villages of Dolno Kolichani, Drzhilovo, Elovo, Pagarusha, Umovo, and Cvetovo in the Skopje region known as Torbeshija. The study examines demographic data used to trace patterns of emigration, primarily directed toward Asia Minor—specifically Turkey—from the period of the Balkan Wars through the early 1960s.

Particular attention is devoted to the 1950s, when migration reached its peak intensity. By focusing on the case of the village of Umovo, the paper explores the demographic restructuring, economic transformations, and educational consequences that followed large-scale emigration. Through this localized perspective, the study illuminates broader regional dynamics of population movement, minority status, and socio-economic change in mid-twentieth-century Macedonia. The analysis contributes to a deeper understanding of migration as both a demographic process and a transformative force shaping local communities and social structures.