The Vlachs and their descendants in Eastern Europe
Although the Vlachs are not a Slavic people, they have a unique position of being one of the most influential non-Slavic groups throughout lands dominated by Slavs. Ranging from the highlands of Poland, Ukraine, Czech Moravia, and Slovakia all the way to the south Slavic nations of Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia the Vlachs have had an important impact on the genetics and cultures of certain areas in these and neighboring nations.
The term Vlach itself is an umbrella term used to describe all speakers of Eastern Latin/Romance languages, however in this context it is used to refer to those speakers of Eastern Romance languages who developed an identity and ethnic consciousness separate from modern Romanians and Moldovans such as Aromanians. They are characterized by their common origins which is that of a Latinized Paleo-Balkan people, but also by their culture and their traditional way of life as nomadic shepherds. Unfortunately, the communist era and its collectivism eventually brought an end to the traditional nomadic lifestyle of most Vlachs and their descendants on both sides of the Carpathians, making them one of the last groups of nomadic people in Europe alongside the Roma, who they share a long history of interaction and cultural exchange with.
While many of the Vlachs living in Balkan nations have managed to keep their language and distinct identity, this is not the case among those living in the northern half of the Carpathians. Although large settlements of Vlachs occured in southern Poland, South-Western Ukraine, and Slovakia; the Vlachs subsequently became Slavicized and most also adopted the Catholic faith. Eventually the descendants of these Vlachs assimilated into the same general Slavic identities as the people they lived around and mixed with, for example those in Poland came to identify themselves as ethnic Poles. While some formed unique, yet Slavic, identities such as the eastern Slavic Lemkos. Despite this, the massive historical presence of the Vlachs had a lasting-impact on the Slavs of the northern Carpathians, which became obvious in their unique traditional lifestyles as nomadic shepherds, their music, dances, rituals, clothing, cuisine, surnames, and influence on the dialects of the Slavic languages spoken there.
