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The name Pomak denotes the Bulgarian speaking Muslim communities, in- habiting mainly the Rhodopes and Pirin mountains in present-day Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia, whereas the greatest group lives on the territory of Bulgaria. There is considerable literature on their origin, life customs and cul- ture but it is characterized by a lack of agreement on the nature of the prob- lems connected with their origin. Even their name is a matter of controversial interpretations: according to some it is derived from the Bulgarian verb po- magam (to help) - suggesting that these communities helped the Ottomans, when they were conquering the Balkans. During and after the National Re- vival in the nineteenth century the etymology of the name Pomak was con- nected with the Bulgarian word poma? chen (suffering), thus suggesting that these people were forced to accept Islam1. These are only part of the interpre- tations in Bulgaria. In Greece the word Pomak is connected with the Greek pimenes - pimnion, denoting a shepherds community of Greek origin. In Tur- key the Pomaks are Turks who have been forced to speak Bulgarian after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Even more painful for the bearers of this name is the fact that the name is often used by local people in a pejorative sense, sug- gesting a primitive, uncouth, even stupid person, which is used in one row with other pejorative names for marginalized groups, such as rupci, shopi, tor- laci, cigani etc. Other regional names for this ethnic group are ahrjani, kurki, chitaci, poturi. At the beginning of the twentieth century the name bulgaro- mohamedani (Bulgarian Mohammedans) was introduced in Bulgaria, but it was rejected by the Muslim communities as unsuitable as Mohammed is only their prophet, and by the communists on ideological grounds because of the use of religion as an ethnic denominator. Later studies settled for the name 'Bulgarian speaking muslims', and this is the name I will use here for lack of a better one. When I asked my hosts in Breznitza what name should be used when referring to them, they laughed and said: "Breznitchani" (i.e. inhabi- tants of Breznitza).
The problem can thus be stated as follows: we have a considerable Bulgarian speaking Muslim ethnic group with their...