Ethnic Identity of Aromanians/Vlachs in the 21st Century

The article is devoted to recent development in the community of Aromanians, a dispersed transnational ethnic group of the Balkans. I trace various forms of Aromanian identity. I consider discussions around the desired directions of community development, its political and cultural strategies. I define the residual identity referring to activities that are available. The key criterion of ethnic affiliation becomes the origin, having Vlach ancestors. Aromanian/Vlach intellectuals focused, on the one hand, on preservation of the endangered language and culture, and on the other hand, on the memory of ancestors. The article is based on anthropological fieldwork during several summer seasons from 2007 to 2014. Observation and unstructured interviews with Aromanian local intellectuals, teachers, artists, cultural activists and organisation leaders have furnished empirical material for analysis.