The village has traditionally been inhabited by a Macedonian Muslim (Torbeš) population that speaks Macedonian. Though most Macedonian Muslims are Sunni, in Melnica followers of Sufi Islam are present attached to various Sufi orders such as the Melami, Halveti and Bektashi. In the 1960s there were 3 Muslim Albanian s in the village. According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 743 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the vill…