Kišava Explained

Kišava
Native Name:Кишава
Këshavë
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:North Macedonia
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within North Macedonia
Pushpin Label Position:top
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1: Pelagonia
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2: Bitola
Elevation M:881
Population As Of:2021
Population Total:185
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Coordinates:40.8831°N 21.3167°W
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:7223
Area Code:+389 047
Website:.
Blank Name:Car plates
Blank Info:BT

Kišava, is a village in the municipality of Bitola, North Macedonia. It used to be part of the former municipality of Bistrica.

Demographics and History

Kišava is populated by Muslim Albanian Tosks.[1] From the 1950s onward, people from Kišava began migrating to nearby settlements like Medžitlija or going abroad to other countries for better opportunities.

As of the 2021 census, Kišava had 185 residents with the following ethnic composition:[2]

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 308 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:[3]

From 1963 onward, Albanians from Kišava migrated to Dandenong, a south-eastern Melbourne suburb in Victoria, Australia. Dandenong is home to a large diaspora from Kišava and various landmarks are named after the village like Dandenong's Albanian mosque, Keshava Reserve, a park honouring Albanian immigration to the area and Keshava Grove, a residential street.[4] [5]

In 2020, some members of the Kišava diaspora from Dandenong organised an ongoing annual festival Takimet e Keshavës (Kišava gathering) in Kišava, and is attended by the diaspora during their summer holidays in the village.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Godišen zbornik. Volumes 17-18. 1969. Univerzitet vo Skopje. Geografski institut. 171. "Чисто албански села сега се: Арматуш, Кишава, Острец, Злокуќани, Снегово, Старо Змирново, Саждево, Јакреново, Борино, Норово, Древеник. При ослободувањето од турското владеење во 1912 г. оваа област имала повеќе чисто албански села."
  2. https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/en/MakStat/MakStat__Popisi__Popis2021__NaselenieVkupno__PodatociNaselenie/T1503P21.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=cc8e0490-07b6-4002-adf4-9b4891b66655 Total resident population of the Republic of North Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlement, Census 2021
  3. Macedonian Census (2002), Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion, The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 69.
  4. Web site: After World War II. Immigration Museum. 16 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304135044/http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/whatson/past-exhibitions/kurbet/after-world-war-ii/. 4 March 2016. live. dmy-all.
  5. Ahmeti. Sharon. 2017. Albanian Muslims in Secular, Multicultural Australia. Ph.D.. University of Aberdeen. 19 November 2022. 55-56, 232.
  6. News: Rexhepi. Nizami. Historia e vendosjes së 4 mijë shqiptarëve në qytetin Dandenong. The history of the settlement of 4 thousand Albanians in the city of Dandenong. Diaspora Shqiptare. 31 August 2021. 21 August 2022. sq.