Ethnography
The ethnonym Goranci, meaning "highlanders", is derived from the Slavic toponym Gora, which means "hill, mountain" (Гора). Another autonym of this people is Našinci, which literally means "our people, our ones".
They have been claimed by Albanians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Macedonians and Serbs but the general view is that they should be treated as a distinct minority group, which is indeed their own view of themselves. Part of these people are already albanised. By the last censuses at the end of 20th century in Yugoslavia they have declared themselves to be Muslims by nationality. In Republic of Macedonia their identity is also based mainly on their religion.
In the mid 1980s, the Macedonian press labeled them Torbeši (Macedonian Muslims).
In Albania, they are known by the Albanians with several exonyms, such as Bulgareci ("Bulgarians"), Torbeshë ("bag carriers"), and Poturë ("turkified", from po-tur, literally not Turk but, "turkified", used for Islamized Slavs).
Serbian politician Orhan Dragaš, himself a Gorani, stresses that the Gorani have retained their Old Shtokavian, Serbian dialect, cultural traits and customs, and that Serbia is the state of the Gorani.
Read more about this topic: Gorani People