Sarakatsani and Vlachs:Is there a connection?

[Konstantinos Kara]

I wanted to ask if vlachs and sarakatsani have a direct connection,since these populations are very close genetically.What does history say about these populations?

[ANurega]

Nothing. Vlachs are Latin speakers such as Romanians, Aromanians and others.

[Konstantinos Kara]

Interesting point

[Cybele]

There are some professors and ethnographers from Romania who believe that they are a branch of Aromanians, who became Hellenized. But this is just a hypothesis.

One of the hypotheses, supported by the professors from the University of Cluj and Bucharest respectively, Theodor Capidan and Tache Papahagi (and more recently by the ethnographers Irina Nicolau and Tănase Bujduveanu respectively) classifies the Sarakatsani as belonging to a branch of the Aromanians called the rămâni fărșeroți who adopted the Greek language gradually, ultimately under the proselytizing influence of the Greek monk (later sanctified) Cosmas the Aetolian who was very active in the areas inhabited by the Sarakatsani.

The Greek idiom spoken by the Sarakatsani is difficult to understand for the rest of the Greek population and includes vowels specific to the Romanian language such as 'ă' and 'â' which do not exist as such, in Greek. Moreover, it contains numerous words of Aromanian origin but also a high proportion of Slavic and Turkish words.

[Voskos]

Well there is a big difference between the Sarakatsani and the Vlachs, namely that the former only speak Greek.

There's a theory that they descend from the Dorians of Central Greece.

[Konstantinos Kara]

Well they dont seem that same genetically,for sarakatsani people to be aromanian

[Konstantinos Kara]

Well there is a big difference between the Sarakatsani and the Vlachs, namely that the former only speak Greek.

There's a theory that they descend from the Dorians of Central Greece.

Well we dont have any dorian samples,the sarakatsani people are looking a lot paleo-balcanic

[ANurega]

Interesting point

I know Sarakatsani are Greek speaking people. But of course they could of also adopted the Greek language during Roman period or ancient period like some Thracians and Illyrians did or they could be actual Greeks. I don't know much about them, their origin or their genetic make up . I just know Vlachs are most likely people that originated in a Latin speaking area and are Romanians, Aromanians etc. but Vlachs are mixed people with Slavs, Roman etc. and not just Paleo-Balkan. The ones in Albania seem to show higher degree of paleo-balkan lineages. It's interrsting because some Vlach there even tested for J-PH1751 which is related to Albanian tribes like Gash i Gurit, Krasniqi etc

[Cybele]

I wanted to ask if vlachs and sarakatsani have a direct connection, since these populations are very close genetically.

Well they dont seem that same genetically, for sarakatsani people to be aromanian

So, are there any genetic samples out there of Sarakatsani? If so, how close are they to the Aromanian ones by comparison?

[Konstantinos Kara]

We have the results from catgeorge,who is half sarakatsani(idk if he is trustworthy,but his results seem to be so) and i have a sample from a guy who is 75% Sarakatsani of Bulgaria and 25% Bulgarian