The term Laraman in Albanian refers to crypto-Christians who adhered to Islam officially but continued to practice Christianity within the household during the Ottoman era. It was derived from the Albanian adjective i larmë, meaning "variegated, motley, two-faced", a metaphor of "two-faithed" (l'arë), a reference to the Laramans following both Christianity (in secret) and Islam (nominally).
The phenomenon was widespread in the mid to late Ottoman era among both northern and southern Albanians, and arose after half-hearted conversions in the contexts of anti-Christian persecution, to avoid payment of poll taxes, and to obtain worldly advantages such as government employment. While the Orthodox church typically tolerated crypto-Christians among its flocks, Catholic policy varied by place and time between having priests travel to laraman houses in secret, and categorically refusing anyone who called themselves Muslim in public sacraments. Legally, laraman individuals were considered as Muslims by the Ottoman state with regards to the millet system whereby citizens of different confessions existed in different legal categories. Laraman individuals often bore two names, one Muslim and Christian, and observed a mix of Christian and Muslim rituals.
