PART OF THE MONOGRAPH “GOJKO JAKOVLEVSKI” BY SLAVE KATIN
Goyko Yakovleski – Rafkin is the great Macedonian for whom Macedonia represents his whole life, love and sadness. He is the man who remained devoted to the Macedonian Old Testament’s ideas, roots and ideals. The great Macedonian who during his whole life fought for the truth, freedom, democracy, future and unity of divided Macedonia. We had the conversation with Goyko Yakovleski – Rafkin at his home in Skopje.
On this occasion we will ask him a number of questions which answers will shed light on his fascinating life and great deeds for Macedonia, the Macedonian Diaspora, with a particular emphasis on the Macedonians in the former European countries (today the European Union). Then we will ask him about his business as a businessman in Ger many, the beginnings of the political parties of the Macedonians outside the Republic of Macedonia, with a particular emphasis on the VMRO party, as well as other questions that are interesting to understand closer and learn more about his activity outside his fatherland, but also in the Republic of Macedonia.
In the long conversation we were interested in his life and work, so we started with ques tions about his birthplace – Zubovce, where he said the following:
“I was born in the picturesque village of Zubovce, which is my Macedonian sun, locat ed at the foot of Shara Mountain, between the villages of Debreshe (on the south) and Vrap chishte (on the north), near Gostivar.
When I was young, at the age of six, I mean (1940 1941), these villages were only one and a half to two kilometers away from Zubovce, and today, thanks to the growing expansion of the Albanian population, these two villages are almost merged, and populated with a very small number of Turkish and Macedonian population. Pure Macedonian population lives in Zubovce. Gostivar is five kilometers away from Zubovce,” says Goyko and continues:
Above Zubovce, to the west, are the vineyards of Zubovce or the so-called “Mal Kamen” (Lit tle Stone), where the village of Vranovce is lo cated and inhabited only by Albanians. At the same height, to the right, is the small Ortho dox village of “Noselo” or Novo Selo, which has only seven houses. It is the native village of his very loving, dear and smart great-grandmoth er Manojlica (great-grandmother Yonka) who is most deserving of the survival of his family.
There is an interesting story circulating in Zubovce, a legend, tale (“gachka”) about a priest who was passing through the village who was very thirsty and hungry. But the vil lagers did not welcome him properly, as the customs required. In those areas the popu lation is very hospitable, but something like that has happened. The priest got very angry and cursed the village to never have more than seven houses!
In Goyko’s words, Zubovce is an old village. For the first time it is mentioned in written docu ments in 1595. The village was formed by the inhabitants of the village of Pilgrinci, a village that was located three kilometers away from the location of today’s Zubovce, but it does not exist today. There was an Albachian road (not Albanian road), or the so-called “New road” passing around Pilgrinci, the road leading from Gostivar to Tetovo and vice versa.
There were numerous robbers crossing that road who tortured the inhabitants of Pilgrinci. For this reason, villagers have left the village of Pilgrinci and said they would try to build a new village, above the foothills of Shar Planina, at a place that looks like a tooth (in Macedonian: “zab”, “zub”). And because “Zub” sounded better to them, they called the village ZUBOVCE!
According to Goyko, it was said that before the villages of Zubovce and Vrapchishte were formed, there was an old village at the place “Caparkojca” with a total of sixteen houses. It was inhabited by Orthodox Macedonian population. There were two Orthodox church temples. One was next to the village school and next to the village cemetery.
The second church temple is dedicated to St. Mary and is also the main temple where all the church rit uals, all traditions and ceremonies were held. The Church of “St. Mary” was built in 1840 on the site of another church that was located on the same place. Now, this church temple is ex actly above the village of Zubovce and there are ruined tombs around the church; nobody knows whose and since when are these tombs.
To be continue
By SLAVE KATIN
