Montanarans

The Montanarans (Montanaran: Muntsãloru), or Montanaros, are a Slavic ethnic group that traditionally inhabited the eastern highlands of Pelaxia before eventually being moved to the southeastern regions of the country, now known as the province of Montanaro which the term is heavily associated with these days. The term Montanaran is derived from Montanaro which itself comes from the Pelaxian word montañero, meaning mountaineer in reference to their ancestral lands; the term also applies to people who reside in the province or have genealogical ties to the area. They are closely related to the Volonian people and even speak in a very similar language to the Volonians.

Montanarans

Muntsãloru
Montanarans clad in traditional clothing
Total population
29,540,590
Regions with significant populations
Eastern Pelaxia, specifically Montanaro and Huelva
Languages
Montanaran, Pelaxian
Religion
Caphiric Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Volonians

The usage of the term Montanaran amongst Montanarans did not become a part of the cultural mainstream until the 1960s during the Montanaran Renaissance. Beforehand, only left-wing groups such as the Fronte di Libirari a Muntsãlor self-identified as Montanarans; most Montanarans typically referred to themselves as "Slavic Pelaxians" or as "West Volonians". In 2027, the Constitution of Pelaxia was amended to include statement that the Montanarans are a nation within the Pelaxian nation, recognising them as a group distinct from the Pelaxians while still considering them to be an integral part of Pelaxia. Official federal policy also dictates that what makes a Montanaran is entirely up to the individual to choose whether or not to self-identify as one.

The largest amount of Montanarans in Pelaxia can be found within the province of Montanaro, the only province to have the Montanaran language as its sole official language, which became the modern homeland of the Montanarans after they had left their traditional home territories in the highlands; in their current homeland they had fostered prospering shipbuilding industry thanks to their access to a coastline. There also exists a sizeable Montanaran minority in the province of Huelva, the only officially bilingual province in the country. The Montanaran language shares co-official status with Pelaxian in the federal government, and all signs and services run by the federal government are required to be in both Pelaxian and in Montanaran. There exists a sizeable amount of Montanarans in Montanaro who wish to secede their home province from Pelaxia and become either an independent country or unite with Volonia, which would give the landlocked nation a coastline.

Etymology and nomenclature

The term Montanaran is derived from Montanaro, the name of the Pelaxian province and current ethnic homeland of the Montanarans, which itself is an ægliscisation of the Pelaxian term montañero, meaning "mountaineer". This was because the traditional ethnic homeland of the Montanarans, prior to them moving to what is now Montanaro, was in the Pelaxian highlands which served as the eastern border to the Pelaxian Valley. The terms were initially exclusively used by the Pelaxian government, as the traditional endonym of the Montanarans, which has been lost many years ago, was seen as potentially problematic and held implications of dual loyalty.

Currently, Montanaran (Montanaran: Muntsãlor) is a term used to refer to the Slavic ethnic group in Pelaxia that primarily resides in the provinces of Montanro and Huelva. It is also used to refer to any inhabitant of Montanaro as well as the language and culture of the Montanaran people. The modern usage of Montanaran as a self-identity entered into the mainstream in the 1960s; beforehand only radical nationalists self-identified as such while other Montanarans self-identified as "Slavic Pelaxians", "Pelaxio-Slavs", "Mountain Volonians", or "West Volonians" with the latter two being in reference to their similarity and relation to the Volonians. Both Pelaxian and Montanaran languages use the respective terms Montañeros and Muntsãloru for both the territorial meaning as well as the ethnic meaning in modern publications.

History

The Montanaros have co-existed with their neighbours with limited contact, with archaeological sites finding evidence of both Vsikite and Pelaxian items in the historical Montanaro regions. Due to the mountainous regions and the lack of arable land, Montanaros for long carried on with their hunter gatherer lifestyles, with only limited agriculture in the areas in the fringes of the mountainous regions. Little is known about the history of the Montanaros due to literacy being practically nonexistent to the people prior to the establishment of the Carto-Pelaxian Commonwealth in 1615 and their efforts to integrate Montanaros into the Republic. Most Montanaro history comes from Pelaxian sources, with much of the history being mythical oral tradition gathered by Fulvio Pisani in the 17th century.

Following the foundation of the mines in the Montanaro region in the 19th century, Pelaxians started migrating to the region en masse. Many Montanaros had to abandon their traditional lifestyle due to the mines established and the eventual forest industry making their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle near impossible in parts of the region, causing much friction between the Pelaxians and Montanaros. As a result of this, in the early 20th century Montanaros started to create a distinct Montanaro culture from Pelaxians, which in modern day has caused demands for their recognition as an ethnic group, their own language and even autonomy in Pelaxia.