Here is some information about this bilingual Slavic
minority in Germany. There are a few video links at the end to watch about
their traditions, culture, history and presence.
Sorbs (Upper
Sorbian:
Serbja, Lower Sorbian:
Serby, German:
Sorben),
known also by their former autonyms Lusatians and Wends, are a West
Slavic
ethnic group predominantly inhabiting their homeland
in Lusatia,
a region divided between Germany (the states of Saxony
and Brandenburg)
and Poland
(the provinces of Lower Silesia
and Lubusz).
According to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, Serbs from the
Balkan peninsula have the same origins as Lusatians and Kashubians.
He also claims that Serbs inhabited the areas between the rivers Elbe
and Vistula,
on the southern coast of the Baltic sea. They
traditionally speak the Sorbian languages
(also known as "Wendish" and "Lusatian"), closely related
to the Polish,
the Kashubian,
the Czech
and the Slovak.
Sorbian is an officially recognized minority language in Germany. The Sorbs are
linguistically and genetically closest to the Czechs
and Poles.
Due to a gradual and increasing assimilation
between the 17th and 20th centuries, virtually all Sorbs also spoke German by
the late 19th century and much of the recent generations no longer speak the
language. The community is divided religiously between Roman
Catholicism (the majority) and Lutheranism.
The former Prime Minister of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich,
is a Sorb.
The ethnonym "Sorbs" (Serbja,
Serby) derives from the medieval ethnic groups called Sorbs (Surbi, Sorabi).
The original ethnonym, Srbi, was retained by the Sorbs and Serbs in the
Balkans. By the 6th century, Slavs occupied the area west of the Oder formerly
inhabited by Germanic peoples. The Sorbs are first mentioned in the 7th
century.In the 19th century the autonym of the Slavic population of Lusatia (the Sorbs) was "Lusatians". The name "Lusatia" was originally applied only to Lower Lusatia, which had been inhabited by Slavs known as Luzici, who may be regarded ancestors of the Lower Sorbs, while Upper Lusatia was inhabited by Slavs known as Milceni, the supposed ancestors of Upper Sorbs.
According to a genetic study published in May 2011, Sorbs show the greatest genetic similarity to Poles, followed by Czechs, consistent with their West Slavic language.They show subtle evidence of genetic isolation but less than Sardinians and French Basques.
Population
Estimates of demographic history of the Sorb population since 1500
Year
|
1500
|
1700
|
1750
|
1790
|
1860
|
1880
|
1900
|
1905
|
1945
|
Population
|
160,000
|
250,000
|
200,000
|
250,000
|
138,000
|
166,000
|
146,000
|
157,000
|
145,700
|
- Upper Sorbs, who speak Upper Sorbian (about 45-60,000 people).
- Lower Sorbs, who speak Lower Sorbian (about 15-20,000 people).
(Source: Wikipedia. Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbs)
The Sorbian languages
„The Sorbian languages (Upper Sorbian: Serbska
rěč, Lower Sorbian: Serbska rěc) are two closely related, but only
partially mutually intelligible, West Slavic languages spoken by the Sorbs, a
West Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. They are
classified under the West Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages and are
therefore closely related to the other two West Slavic subgroups: Lechitic and
Czech–Slovak. Historically the languages have also been known as Wendish
(named after the Wends, earliest Slavic people in modern Poland and Germany) or
Lusatian.
There are two
literary languages: Upper Sorbian (hornjoserbsce), spoken by about
40,000 people in Saxony, and Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbski) spoken by
about 10,000 people in Brandenburg. The area where the two languages are spoken
is known as Lusatia (Łužica in Upper Sorbian, Łužyca in Lower
Sorbian, or Lausitz in German).
History
After the settlement of the formerly Germanic territories (the part
largely corresponding to the former East Germany) by the Sorbs' Slavic
ancestors in the 5th and 6th centuries, the Sorbian language (or its
predecessors) had been in use in much of what was the southern half of East
Germany for several centuries, and still had its stronghold in (Upper and
Lower) Lusatia, where it enjoys national protection and fostering to the
present day. Outside Lusatia, it has been superseded by German, following
official discrimination from the 13th century on. The printed language
developed around the main Bible translations into Sorbian.
Geographic distribution
In Germany, Upper and Lower Sorbian are officially
recognized and protected as minority
languages. In the home areas of the Sorbs, both languages are recognized as
second official language next to German. The
city of Bautzen in Upper Lusatia is the centre of Upper Sorbian culture.
Bilingual signs can be seen around the city, including the name of the city,
"Bautzen/Budyšin". The city of Cottbus (Chóśebuz) is
considered the cultural centre of Lower Sorbian; here too bilingual signs are
found. Sorbian has also been spoken in the small Sorbian ("Wendish")
settlement of Serbin in Lee County, Texas, and it is possible that a few
speakers still remain there. Until recently newspapers were published in
Sorbian there. The local dialect has been heavily influenced by surrounding
speakers of German and English.
The German terms
"Wend" (Wenden) and "Wendish" (Wendisch) once
denoted "Slav(ic)" generally; they
are today mostly replaced by "Sorb" (Sorben) and
"Sorbian" (Sorbisch) with reference to Sorbian communities in
Germany.“ (Source:
Wikipedia)
Rjana Łužica | Rědna Łužyca | Anthem of Lusatian Sorbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLvBxKcUx1A
"Rjana Łužica" (Lower Sorbian: Rědna Łužyca; lit. “Beautiful Lusatia”) is the Sorbian national anthem. It was written by poet Handrij Zejler. The lyrics were firstly published on August 24, 1827, in the Leipzig magazine Serbska Nowina. Its music was composed in the beginning of 1845 by Korla Awgust Kocor (German: Karl August Katzer). The anthem was publicly performed for the first time on October 17, 1845, in Budyšin/Bautzen (Upper Sorbian Budyšin, Lower Sorbian: Budyšyn), German Bautzen, formerly Budissin). (Source: Wikipedia)
Lyrics
Upper Sorbian |
Lower Sorbian
|
English*
|
Rjana Łužica,
sprawna, přećelna,
mojich serbskich wótcow kraj,
mojich zbóžnych sonow raj,
swjate su mi twoje hona!
Časo přichodny,
zakćěj radostny!
Ow, zo bychu z twojeho
klina wušli mužojo,
hódni wěčnoh wopomnjeća!
|
Rědna Łužyca,
spšawna, pśijazna,
mojich serbskich woścow kraj,
mojich glucnych myslow raj,
swěte su mě twoje strony.
Cas ty pśichodny,
zakwiś radostny!
Och, gab muže stanuli,
za swoj narod źěłali,
godne nimjer wobspomnjeśa!
|
Lusatia, beautiful,
Gracious, dutiful,
Land of Sorbian forebears’ toil,
Land of dreams, resplendent soil,
Sacred are to me thy pastures.
May thy future be
Blooming joyously!
Oh, may from thy womb appear
People that the world holds dear,
Worthy of eternal memory!
|
Sorben und Serben (Serby/Serbja i Srbi/Срби) Sorbs and Serbs
Serbołużyczanie / Serbja / Serby (1)
Serbołużyczanie / Serbja / Serby (2)
DOMOWINA SERBONIA
Crostwitz * Sorben * Minderheiten * Domowina * Integration
Kulturvielfalt Sachsens. Sorbische Bräuche,
Kunst und Traditionen. // Cultural diversity of Saxony. Sorbian customs, art and
traditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu89ujM-f9M
SORBEN - Brauch
des Feldsingens mit Waldarbeit und Hasenjagd in Rohne – LAUSITZ
//SORBEN - Field singing with forest work and hare hunting
in Rohne – LAUSITZ
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