Ethnologia Balkanika.2008.No.12.

ImpressumContentlist
ImpressumContentlist
byNOAUTHORSPECIFIED
Source:
EthnologiaBalkanica(EthnologiaBalkanica),issue:12/2008,pages:14,onwww.ceeol.com.
Access via CEEOL NL Germany
Region, Regional Identity

and Regionalism in
Southeastern Europe
Part 2
Edited by
Klaus Roth and Vesna Vuini-Nekovi
Ethnologia Balkanica
Journal for Southeast European Anthropology
Zeitschrift fr die Anthropologie Sdosteuropas
Journal dethnologie du sud-est europen
Volume 12/2008
Lit
ISSN 11110411
Copyright 2008 InASEA, LIT Verlag Dr. W. Hopf Berlin
Printed in Germany
Editor-in-chief: Prof. Dr. Klaus Roth
Co-editor: Prof. Dr. Vesna Vuini-Nekovi, Belgrade
Editorial Board: Milena Benovska-Sbkova (Bulgaria), Keith Brown (USA), Ulf Brunnbauer (Germany), Jasna
apo-mega (Croatia), Nicolae Constantinescu (Romania), Albert Doja (France), Christian Giordano (Switzerland), Robert Hayden (USA), Deema Kaneff (Germany), Karl Kaser (Austria), Jutta Lauth Bacas (Greece),
Damiana Otoiu (Romania), Franois Ruegg (Switzerland), Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (England).
Editorial assistant: Tomislav Helebrant (Munich)
The journal is published by the International Association for Southeast European Anthropology (InASEA). It
publishes articles by members of InASEA as well as by non-members. All articles are anonymously reviewed.
Languages of publication: English, French, German
Contributions must be supplied with a short abstract in English.
Cover: A variety of traditional dishes from southeastern Serbia presented at the Sixth Festival Golden Hands
(esti sabor Zlatne ruke), held at the Monastery of St. Prohor Pinski, Southeastern Serbia, in September
1992. (Photo by Ivana Masnikovi-Anti).
Subscription: Subscription price (one volume per year):
Students: 10 , Individuals: 16 , Institutions: 20
Individuals and institutions in Southeast Europe: 10 .
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de
ISBN 978-3-643-10107-5
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Lit VERLAG Dr. W. Hopf Berlin 2009
Fresnostr. 2 D 48159 Mnster

Tel. +49 (0)251 620 32 22, Fax +49 (0)251 922 60 99
E.Mail: lit@lit-verlag.de http://www.lit-verlag.de
Distribution:
In Germany: Lit Verlag, Fresnostr.2, D 48159 Mnster
Tel. +49 (0)251 620 32 22, Fax +49 (0)251 922 60 99, E.Mail: vertrieb@lit-verlag.de
In Austria: Medienlogistik Pichler-BZ GmbH & Co KG
IZ-N, Sd, Strae 1, Objekt 34, A 2355 Wiener Neudorf
Tel. +43 (0)2236 63 53 52 90, Fax +43 (0)2236 63 53 52 43, E-Mail: mlo@medien-logistik.at
In Switzerland: B + M Buch- und Medienvertriebs AG
Hochstr. 357, CH 8200 Schaffhausen
Tel. +41 (0)52 643 54 85, Fax +41 (0)52 643 54 35, E-Mail: order@buch-medien.ch
Distributed in the UK by: Global Book Marketing, 99B Wallis Rd, London, E9 5LN
Phone: +44 (0)20 8533 5800 Fax +44 (0) 1600 775 663
http://www.centralbooks.co.uk/html
Distributed in North America by:

Transaction Publishers
Rutgers University
35 Berrue Circle
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: +1 (732) 445-2280

Fax +1 (732) 445-3138
for orders (U.S. only):
toll free (888) 999-6778
e-mail: orders@transactionspub.com
Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)
Contents
Editorial
Region and Cultural Production

Aleksandra Markovi, Amsterdam
Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer
Evgenia Krsteva-Blagoeva, Sofia

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity
25
Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova, Sofia

Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities:
The Case of Bulgaria
37
Danijela Velimirovi, Belgrade

Region, Identity and Cultural Production: Yugoslav Fashion in the
National Style
59
Alexey Pamporov, Sofia

The Regional and the Subgroup Features of the Kinship Terminology of
Roma/Gypsies in Bulgaria
79
Constructing and Deconstructing Regional Identities

Eckehard Pistrick, Halle
Migration Memories in the Borderlands: The Constructions of Regional
Identity and Memory in Zagoria (Southern Albania) through
Place and Sound
97
Simona Adam, Timioara

The Construction of Banat Regional Identity through
Life-Story Interviews
111
Melinda Dinc, Laureniu ru, Timioara

Regional and Ethnic Identity in the Rural Area
of Timi County, Romania
123
Contents
Mirjana Pavlovi, Belgrade

Regional Identity: The Serbs in Timioara
135
Sanja Zlatanovi, Belgrade

The Literary Opus of Bora Stankovi and the Construction of
Local Identity
147
Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska, Warsaw

The Construction of Identity in a Multiethnic Community: A Case
Study on the Torbei of Centar upa Commune, Western Macedonia
(FYROM)
167
Nevena Dimova, Sofia

Identity of the Nation(s), Identity of the State: Politics and Ethnicity in
the Republic of Macedonia, 19902000
183
Petko Hristov, Sofia

Trans-border Exchange of Seasonal Workers in the Central Regions of
the Balkans (19th 20th Century)
215
Planning in Metropolitan Regions

Dora Alexa-Morcov, Bucarest
Les jeux de la construction dune rgion mtropolitaine dans la
Roumanie aprs le 1989: Le cas de la zone mtropolitaine de Bucarest
231
Tamara Marii, Jasna Petri, Belgrade

Physical Expansion and Subregional Disparities in the Growing
Metropolitan Region of Belgrade
245
Addresses of authors and editors
267
Instructions to Authors
270
Editorial
Editorial
byKlausRoth
Source:
Editorial
This volume of Ethnologia Balkanica, the journal of the International Association for Southeast European Anthropology (InASEA), presents the second
part of a selection of papers of the 4th InASEA conference which took place in
Timioara, Romania, on 2427 May, 2007. With its topic Region, Regional
Identity, and Regionalism in Southeastern Europe, the conference attracted
more than 150 paper presenters. It was organised by Mircea Alexiu and Atalia tefanescu from the West University of Timioara and received the financial support of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the
German Science Foundation and the West University of Timioara. We are very
grateful to all of them and extend our thanks to the authors of the papers and
particularly to the reviewers.
It was the goal of the conference, and it is the goal of the two volumes, to
promote the ethnological study of region, regionalism, and regional identities in
Southeast Europe in view of the fact that the awareness of region and regional
belonging as well as the regional cooperation and political or cultural decentralisation are of increasing relevance in Southeast Europe. Both volumes present
papers which analyse aspects of the regional dimensions of social, political, and
above all cultural processes processes in which the regional policies of the European Union play a more and more decisive role.
The contributions to this second volume focus equally on tangible and intangible dimensions of the region, representing the region both as a territorial unit
that can be perceived with ones senses, and as a mental construct laden with
symbolic meaning and emotion. The papers demonstrate that regions, be it the
entire Balkan Peninsula or be it a small area in the Rhodope Mountains, can become palpable, visible, and audible. They can produce culture and they can, at
the same time, be products of culture and of deliberate spatial planning from
above. Very often, though, regions are constructions of those who inhabit
them, serving purposes of spatial, ethnic, religious or even professional identification, or of politically motivated ethnic border-drawing. In any case, both the
physical and the symbolic regions continue to be, as the extreme disparities between metropolitan and rural regions or the quarrel about the name of the crossborder region of Macedonia indicate, a very relevant issue in Southeast Europe.
Hopefully the present volume will help to elucidate some of the questions arising from this fact.
Klaus Roth, editor-in-chief
Munich, February 2009
Editorial
Dieser Band der Ethnologia Balkanica, der Zeitschrift der International Association for Southeast European Anthropology (InASEA), prsentiert den zweiten
Teil einer Auswahl von Vortrgen der 4. InASEA Konferenz, die vom 24.27.
Mai 2007 in Timioara, Rumnien, stattfand. Mit ihrem Thema Region, regionale Identitt und Regionalismus in Sdosteuropa zog sie mehr als 150 aktive
Teilnehmer an. Sie wurde von Mircea Alexiu und Atalia tefanescu an der West
Universitt von Timioara organisiert und erhielt finanzielle Untersttzung von
der Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft und der West Universitt von Timioara. Wir sind ihnen
allen zu Dank verpflichtet und mchten zudem allen Autoren sowie insbesondere den Rezensenten danken.
Es war das Ziel der Konferenz, und es ist das Ziel der beiden Bnde, die
ethnologische Erforschung der Region, des Regionalismus und der regionalen
Identitten in Sdosteuropa voranzutreiben, und zwar vor dem Hintergrund der
Tatsache, dass dort das Bewusstsein fr Region und regionale Zugehrigkeit
ebenso wie auch die regionale Kooperation und die politische wie kulturelle
Dezentralisierung wachsende Bedeutung haben. Beide Bnde enthalten Beitrge,
die verschiedene Aspekte der regionalen Dimensionen sozialer, politischer und
vor allem kultureller Prozesse analysieren Prozesse, bei denen die Regionalpolitik der Europischen Union eine immer entscheidendere Rolle spielt.
Die Beitrge dieses zweiten Bandes behandeln gleichermaen die materiellen
und immateriellen Dimensionen der Region, so dass sie die Region als eine mit
den Sinnen erfassbare territoriale Einheit ebenso wie auch als mentales Kon
strukt behandeln, das mit symbolischer Bedeutung und Emotion geladen ist. Die
Artikel zeigen, dass Regionen, sei es die gesamte Balkanhalbinsel oder sei es
ein kleines Gebiet in den Rhodopen, fhlbar, sichtbar und hrbar werden knnen. Sie knnen Kultur produzieren und sie knnen gleichzeitig Produkte der
Kultur und der Raumplanung von oben sein. Sehr oft sind Regionen jedoch
Konstruktionen ihrer Bewohner und dienen deren rumlicher, ethnischer, religiser oder sogar beruflicher Identifikation oder aber der politisch motivierten
ethnischen Grenzziehung. Auf jeden Fall haben physische wie auch symbolische
Regionen, wie etwa die extremen Disparitten zwischen grostdtischen und
lndlichen Regionen sowie der Streit ber den Namen der grenzberschreitenden Region Mazedonien zeigen, in Sdosteuropa eine beraus groe Bedeutung.
Der vorliegende Band kann hoffentlich dazu beitragen, einige der sich hieraus
ergebenden Fragen zu klren.
Klaus Roth, Herausgeber
Mnchen, Februar 2009
Editorial
Ce volume de Ethnologia Balkanica, la revue de lAssociation internationale

pour lanthropologie du sud-est europen (InASEA), prsente le deuxime volet
dune slection de contributions de la 4me confrence de lInASEA qui a eu lieu
Timioara, Roumanie, du 24 au 27 mai 2007. Avec sa thmatique portant sur
Region, Regional Identity, and Regionalism in Southeastern Europe, la confrence a donn lieu plus de 150 prsentations. Elle a t organise par Mircea
Alexiu et Atalia tefanescu de la West University de Timioara et a bnfici du
support financier de la Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research,
de la Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft et de la West University de Timioara.
Nous leur sommes trs reconnaissants et nos remerciements vont aux auteurs
des contributions et plus en particulier ceux qui en ont fait la relecture.
Le but de la confrence, et le but des deux volumes, est de promouvoir
ltude ethnologique de la rgion, du rgionalisme et des identits rgionales en
Europe du Sud-Est du fait que la conscience de la rgion et de lappartenance
rgionale tout comme la coopration rgionale et la dcentralisation politique
ou culturelle prennent une importance grandissante en Europe du Sud-Est. Les
deux volumes prsentent des contributions qui analysent les aspects des dimensions rgionales des processus sociaux, politiques et surtout culturels processus dans lesquels les politiques rgionales de lUnion Europenne jouent un rle
de plus en plus dcisif.
Les contributions de ce deuxime volume portent autant sur les dimensions
tangibles quintangibles de la rgion, et reprsentent la rgion en tant quunit
territoriale. Celle-ci peut tre perue la fois avec sa propre sensibilit et en tant
que construction mentale, charge de significations symboliques et dmotion.
Les contributions dmontrent que les rgions, quil sagisse de la pninsule des
Balkans toute entire ou dune petite aire gographique dans le massif montagneux des Rhodopes, peuvent devenir tangibles, visibles et audibles. Elles peuvent produire de la culture et en mme temps tre des produits de la culture et
dune planification spatiale dlibre. Trs souvent cependant, les rgions sont le
rsultat des constructions de ceux qui les habitent. Elles servent didentification
spatiale, ethnique, religieuse ou mme professionnelle ou dessiner des frontires ethniques pour des motifs politiques. Dans tous les cas, les rgions physiques aussi bien que les rgions symboliques continuent dtre, comme le dmontrent les disparits extrmes entre les rgions rurales et mtropolitaines ou la
querelle propos du nom de la Macdoine, rgion cheval sur la frontire, une
thmatique trs pertinente pour lEurope du Sud Est. Esprons que le prsent
volume aidera lucider quelques unes des questions surgissant ce propos!
Klaus Roth, rdacteur en chef
Munich, fvrier 2009
GoranBregovi,theBalkanMusicComposer
GoranBregovi,theBalkanMusicComposer
byAleksandraMarkovi
Source:

Aleksandra Markovi, Amsterdam
The Balkans and Balkanism

The critical approach to the discourse about the Balkans has become an elaborated field in the last two decades. In one of the first studies focussing on this
topic, Baki-Hayden introduced the idea of nesting Orientalisms (1995) by
means of which Orientalist ideas can be transported and nested into other areas. However, although initially derived from Orientalism due to obvious similarities as discourses about the other, further analogies with this concept immediately showed important differences. The ideas discussed by Baki-Hayden
were further developed and challenged in Maria Todorovas Imagining the Balkans (1997) where she coined the term Balkanism and explored its historical and political causes. The critical assessment of the applicability of Balkanism as a form of Orientalism was continued by Kathryn Fleming (2000), who
pointed out the aspects in which these two concepts differ, most notably in the
lack of actual Western colonial legacies on the Balkans (as opposed to its metaphoric or surrogate colonization, or colonialism of the mind, ibid., 1223)
and the fact that, in case of the Balkans, one cannot speak of a clear other, but
rather of an outsider within or internal other (ibid., 1220, 1229). In addition
to the position of the internal other, Todorova discussed another important difference to Saids concept of Orientalism: the Balkans are marked by their inbetweenness (1997: 58). She emphasized the mongrel nature of the Balkans
and its peoples who are, in her words, imagined as semideveloped, semicolonial, semicivilized, semioriental (ibid., 16). The Balkans are, she concludes,
an ambiguous, liminal space, a space of blurred borders between West and East,
self and other, a region that is not Europe anymore, but not Orient yet, and vice
versa (ibid., 47).
All these researchers stress how ideas about the area are coloured by a vast
corpus of preconceptions that have been accumulating for the last several hundred years. The dichotomies that employ the Balkans at its one pole, and Europe (or the West) at its other pole, show divisions along confessional, national,
political, and other lines. The Balkans are associated with Orthodox Christianity, but also with Islam, Ottoman Empire, Slavs, and communism. As a consequence, there are notions that are attributed to this regional image and as such
perpetuated in diverse contexts. Bringing this point even further, and writing
10
Aleksandra Markovi
about nausea against the semi-other, Kiossev describes the perception of the
peninsula as a disgusting and obscure place where everything is perverted,
a contaminated kingdom of repressed European demons: cruelty, machismo,
hysterical passion, murderousness, barbarism, ignorance, arrogance, undisciplined eroticism, pollution, forbidden corporeal pleasure, and dirtiness (Kiossev 2005: 180).
Simultaneously with the analysis of the Balkanist discourse, there are attempts to explore how such ideas influence the self-image of Balkan nations.
In each country there are discourses that use Balkan as an adjective to refer
to that countrys perceived backward (less modern, barbaric, non-European) nature. Depending on each countrys physical location and political history,
it is easier or harder to accept or reject the imposed image. This phenomenon
was studied by Baki-Hayden (1995) and Fleming (2000), as they discussed the
ways Orientalist rhetoric is internalized and used within Balkan countries. Other scholars dealt with psychological mechanisms behind this self-identification,
and Kiossev explored new forms of popular culture and music developing in Balkan countries as a consequence of being stigmatized. Claiming that these new
forms stem from the psychological reaction to being stigmatized (which leads
through a process of self-stigmatising to self-exoticization), he quotes ivkovi
who deals with the Serbian self-image, but his remarks are essentially applicable
to the whole Balkan region:
The stigma they bear combines the stigmas of the South and of the East,
both Slavdom and Turkish taint, of congenital communism and Balkan
violence. Accepting this largely negative stigma, their responses oscillate between playing it back in exaggerated form as minstrelization
and various shades of ambivalent self-exoticization (ivkovi, quoted in
Kiossev 2005: 189).
The result, according to Kiossev, is less a music of protest and trauma than
a tricksterlike, comic and aggressive transformation. It turns the lowermost picture of the Balkans upside down and converts the stigma into a joyful consumption of pleasures forbidden by European norms and taste (ibid., 185).
Balkanism proves to be an applicable theoretical approach when discussing
popular culture of the region, as it is as much a conceptual designator as a geographic one (Fleming 2000: 1230). In accordance with research into the impact
of popular literature on shaping the image of the Balkans (the topic that has been
extensively dealt with by Todorova and others), it is possible to explore Balkan
music and its role in the same process.
11
An ambassador of the Balkans

This paper focusses on statements about the music of Goran Bregovi, displayed
in interviews with him and articles about him. Interestingly, rather than offering some actual biographical data about Bregovi, his website (Bregovi Official Website: Biography) offers but a schematized, romanticized version of his
life and career. Yet it is possible to discern that prior to his international career
he was a member of Bijelo Dugme (The White Button), one of the most popular rock bands of former Yugoslavia. The bands immense success lasted for almost 20 years throughout the 1970s and until the late 1980s. The political turbulences that would lead to the break-up of the SFR Yugoslavia coincided with
the last projects of Bijelo Dugme. In the early 1990s, Bregovi moved to Paris
and started his cooperation with Emir Kusturica, one of the most popular film
directors from the region. Bregovi collaborated with Kusturica by composing music for three of his movies (Time of the Gypsies in 1989, Arizona Dream
in 1993, and Underground in 1995). These soundtracks (especially the Underground) have brought worldwide fame to Bregovi, who since then performs all
over the world with his Wedding and Funeral Band (called also Wedding and
Funeral Orchestra).
Goran Bregovi is regarded as one of the characteristic and most popular artists in what is labelled and sold on the world music market as Balkan music.
This music style is marketed as encompassing mainly traditional musics from
the Balkans, but in reality it also includes diverse forms of popular music. The
popularity of Balkan music is explored by Lauevi (2007); bearing in mind the
territorial shift (she deals with Balkan music and dance in the United States),
many of her conclusions are applicable to the European context, where the Balkan music scene is arguably even more pronounced. Apart from the obvious
proximity of the Balkans to the rest of Europe, one of the main reasons for the
larger presence of Balkan music in Western Europe might be the larger number
of displaced persons as a consequence of the wars in former Yugoslavia, and
therefore a bigger need (at least initially) for an increased offer of such musical events. In time, though, the Balkan scene began to appeal to more and more
non-Balkan audiences, and this is a trend that still continues.
The popularity of Balkan (in this case Bulgarian) music in Western Europe
is commented on by Todorov:
Unique or savage, Bulgarian musical folklore is sought by foreigners in
their quest for individual harmony For the foreigners, the representations of our folklore music are not an anachronistic restoration of
Balkan exoticism, but new chronotopes of their own vitality which they
have achieved through the vitality of our own Bulgarian voices (Todorov,
quoted in Todorova 1997: 60f.).
12
Aleksandra Markovi
The analysis of the reasons for this wide popularity and reception of Balkan music, as well as of the accuracy of this quote, goes beyond the scope of this paper.
Furthermore, the perception of this music is in this context less relevant than
its representation. Nevertheless, it is important to stress that the music of Goran
Bregovi is embedded in the overall framework of what is marketed as Balkan
music, which is currently gaining in popularity.
As mentioned above, among the artists dedicated to this music style Goran
Bregovi is one of the best known and the most popular. In interviews and articles about his music, he is often referred to as a Balkan composer, sometimes
even as an undisputed ambassador of Balkan music (Neveux 2006). The image of him as an ambassador, implying that he is someone who offers a desirable, representative idea of the region and is entitled to speak on its behalf,
is very common (as is the case with a German article that refers to him as a
Botschafter des Balkans, Bednarz 1999). Statements like those displayed on
Emir Kusturicas official website (kustu.com 2007) that describe him as surely the most known composer of the balkans [sic] further underline his link to
this region.
Coming from the Balkans and being called an ambassador of the Balkans, Bregovi is regarded as an authority in what genuine Balkan music is
(cf.Lauevi 2007: 195). In other words, he is in a position to (re)construct the
image of the region and (re)present it to those unfamiliar with its geographical,
cultural, historical, and (above all) music traits. His activities can be explored
as a form of music revival as described by Livingston (1999), who discusses the
framework and motivation behind reviving a music tradition. Although her focus is on processes within a society or a nation, her concept can be transposed
onto the international level. Her claim that [i]n certain cases traditions are chosen [for reviving] because they are associated by the dominant society with the
minoritys culture (68f.) reveals a mechanism of choice of those elements of
the music tradition (as suitable for reviving) that are perceived as representative
of the group that performs them. In a similar vein, Bregovis music revives selected elements of Balkan music tradition(s) that conform to the audiences perception of the region and expectations of what Balkan music should sound like.
In an article about his concerts in Romania, Bregovis music is given an
even more important role:
With his music, Bregovi affirms Balkan culture and preserves its rich
musical heritage Under a title Bregovi is saving the Balkans, the
Romanian daily Chronica Romna writes that Bregovi is breaking
prejudices about this region, which is regarded mainly as a powder keg
in spite of its vast cultural richness, tradition, Byzantine heritage intertwined with influences of Western civilisation. Bregovis music is a pro-
13
test to all those who understand nothing and know nothing about this part
of the world (Bregovi spasava Balkan 2001).1
However, in spite of the power attributed to Bregovi to change the overall
image of the Balkans, his music (and statements about his music) rarely opposes common ideas already present in the publics imagery about this peninsula.
His comments usually maintain the same lines that essentialize the Balkans and
bring it down to a powder-keg area inhabited predominantly by Orthodox Christians, and mostly by Slav and Roma peoples. In this respect, Bregovis music,
and comments about it, are in accordance with the Balkanized image of the
area. Todorova claims that
the Balkan architects of the different self-images have been involved from
the very outset in a complex and creative dynamic relationship with this
[Balkanist] discourse: some were (and are) excessively self-conscious,
others defiant, still others paranoic, a great many arrogant and even aggressive, but all without exception were and continue to be conscious of
it (1997: 61).
Aware of this discourse, Bregovi readily accepts Balkan images that are attributed to his music, and in fact builds his statements on an assumed exotic value of Balkan music belonging to (an already existing) image of the Balkans, a
piece of discourse that refers to background knowledge the speaker and audience
share (Monik 2005: 95).
Both when emphasising his roots in claiming his return to the origins, at
the same time Slavic and gypsy (kustu.com 2007), and when the hypnotic
power of his music is described (Bregovi Official Website: Press in English),
in Bregovis Balkans it is possible to discern an exotic other, guided by ancient
forces stronger than reason. Roots in the Balkans where he stems from, head
in the 21st century which he fully inhabits, Goran Bregovi [is] creating music that our soul recognizes instinctively and the body greets with an irresistible urge to dance (Bregovi Official Website: Biography). The imagined essence of the Balkans is best summarized in the excerpt from the press section
of Bregovis website, where his music is described as a great gypsy circus, illuminated by bright and blinding light, but also full of melancholy Odor of
incense, sacredness and paganism (Bregovi Official Website: Press in Italian).
A related impression of extremes is present in Bregovis own attempt to describe the Balkan soul: I think we are a bit more self-pitying than other Europeans. And I think that we are sometimes too emotional. We actually move only
1
All translations from the Serbian (Bosnian, Croatian), German and Italian into English
were made by the author. I am grateful to Mariana Gmez de la Villa for assisting me in
translating quotes in Spanish.
14
Aleksandra Markovi
in extremes, there is either too much happiness or too many tears, but nothing
in between (Buhre 2001). These extremes reveal dichotomies that are relatable
to the idea of Balkanism, where the image of the ancient, emotional East is confronted with the image of the modern, emotionless West.
The Balkans in Bregovis music
In an interview titled My address is the Balkans, Bregovi states: I am above
all a Balkan composer and the addressee of my music is the Balkans. My music
is inspired by the Balkans and is written for the Balkans, and the fact it is accepted in the rest of the world is nice (Mieta 1999). However, the music analysis of his pieces (and the discourse surrounding it) lead to the conclusion that
he is in fact composing for the West as a target group, rather than the Balkans.
On his official website, Bregovis music is described as a synthesis of the Balkans (Bregovi Official Website: Press in English). This synthesis creates a
representative version, an interpretation of the region and its complexities, enabling those outside the Balkans a (feeling of) better insight and understanding
of the region and its music. It is by the composer himself referred to as a hypothetical Balkans:
When I was young, I thought my music had to sound like Western music. So I did not believe in the domestic musical heritage, the way I believe in it now. It [Bregovis recent music] is our music inspired by
our environment. Foreigners may think that we in the Balkans play such
music. But that is, of course, not true. The music I play is nowhere in the
Balkans created in that way. Therefore, my music is not the music of the
real Balkans; it is the music of the hypothetical Balkans. In it are mixed
things that had never mixed in the Balkans on their own (Mijatovi 2002:
41, italics added).
Although hypothetical, the Balkans depicted in Bregovis music exist as a spatial reference. Reflecting the ambiguity of the physical and political position of
the region (elaborated above), Bregovis statements about its actual location are
twofold.
The first group of statements places the Balkans undoubtedly outside Europe. These remarks focus on differences between the (imagined) Balkans and
(imagined) Europe, recalling all the usual dichotomies about the East and the
West. When imagining the Balkans outside Europe, Bregovi usually emphasizes differences between us and Europe that have always existed There has always been this civilisation gap between us and Europe that we can hardly catch
up with (Ferina 2002), and underlines the (already mentioned) role of his music
in overcoming these differences: his music should be some kind of communica-
15
tion between us as we are, pathetic and crappy, and the bright world. For twenty
years everybody criticized me for it, but at the end it turned out I am a modern
composer (Mijatovi 2002: 48). Within this image, the Balkans are in fact substituting the Orient; in Todorovas words it is not an innate characteristic of the
Balkans that bestows it in the air of mystery but the reflected light of the Orient (1997:15). In locating the Balkans, Bregovi gives it a physical epicentre,
and discusses the quintessence of the region being in Istanbul:
Greece and Turkey are very interesting places for me. For centuries, Istanbul was the capital of the empire which we belonged to. So for five
centuries, all the best was accumulated there. If you really want to find
the things you feel to be your roots, youll find their quintessence in Istanbul (Mijatovi 2002: 51).
A related image reflects the position of an outsider within discussed by Fleming (2000: 1220). The Balkans are, although still not Europe, placed within
Europe and surrounded by it. This perspective shows the idea of Europe metonymically replaced by the European Union, and the idea of the Balkans metonymically replaced by former Yugoslavia (or rather some of its former republics). Thus, changes induced by the EUs most recent enlargement by Bulgaria
and Romania influence Bregovis perception of these countries place in or outside Europe.
For him [Bregovi], the future of the European continent will inevitably
be played out in the Balkans. It would be a problem for Europe, which
surrounds us, to have wild countries at its centre: Greece to the south,
Bulgaria to the north and soon Romania Between his whisky, guitar
and accordion, Goran Bregovic admits to being more than optimistic: it
is in the EUs best interests to integrate the wild ones like us, he concludes with a smile (Neveux 2006, italics added).
The second group of statements dealing with the physical location of the Balkans
reflects the idea of this region being on the border between East and West, Asia
and Europe. This transitory status of the region, as elaborated above, is a common topic in discussions of Balkanism, for it is often perceived as a space that
is neither Europe nor Orient (or both of them). The blurriness of the Balkans
as a consequence of their liminality is underlined in Bregovis statements and
sometimes serves as justification for his artistic decisions, when he discusses the
eclecticism of his music (which will be elaborated below).
The blurriness of the Balkans is often correlated to cohabiting ethnic, national and confessional groups, resulting in the musical melting pot that Bregovi
creates with his hypothetical Balkans:
16
Aleksandra Markovi
You created, in a way, a musical melting pot that was accepted by the
West. Through history the Balkans used to be one of the darkest places.
Through history it used to be a border among three confronted worlds
Orthodox, Catholic and Islamic. Borders are dark places that nobody
wants to deal with Our image in the world is horrible (Mieta 1999).
At the same time, he refers to the same border quality as a source of inspiration,
using the same idea of the border as a dark place to emphasize its ambiguity
and strangeness:
I get my inspiration at the border between Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims Borders are dark places Art from such places is completely
unknown. Music from that border might be the last big music revelation
and I am revealing it to the world (Mijatovi 2002: 42f.).
This statement entirely reflects Todorovas view that border and bridge
are ubiquitous metaphors for imagining the Balkans, acquiring a mantralike
quality that most writers on the region like to evoke as its central attribute
(1997:59). Perpetuating this constructed image, Bregovi, the ambassador of
the wild ones, presents to the West the music of the dark, blurry, liminal
Balkans.
Synthesizing the Balkans
Two notions elaborated above, Bregovis roots in the Balkans and the metaphoric position of the Balkans in or outside Europe, are used by him to justify
his artistic choices. In other words, he uses background knowledge (Monik
2005:95) about the Balkans to legitimate his music by giving it the stamp of
Balkanness especially in cases when he is criticized for stepping away from
what are considered to be his Balkan roots, or when his choices are assessed as
ethically questionable.
It is possible to discern several different applications of the Balkan-related
discourse in Bregovis statements. One of the main notions that Bregovi uses
to refer to his composing process is eclecticism that builds on the idea of the
mongrel nature of the Balkans mentioned earlier. He describes himself as
a composer who comes from a very eclectic place, from a land dominated by
Turks for five centuries, the only direct border between Orthodox, Catholics and
Muslims (Neveux 2006). This notion is most often supported by adding two
facts from his biography, a consequence of what is often described as a cultural
jigsaw (Bednarz 1999): the fact that he grew up in multicultural Sarajevo, and
the fact that he comes from a multiethnic family (as his father was Croatian and
his mother Serbian). These two facts are repeated over and over again in intro-
17
ductory segments of almost every interview and article about Bregovi, as if to

underline from the very beginning the blurry image of the Balkans. These facts
are also described as the basis for his treatment of traditional music.
Bregovi claims that eclecticism as an artistic approach, resulting in mlang (Bregovi Official Website: Press in French), stems from his Balkan
origins: it is very natural; it just goes naturally from the place Im from
(Mijatovi 2002: 43). The notion of eclecticism is corroborated by what Fleming, when commenting on West European and North American perception of
the Balkans, described as a tendency to lump them [the Balkans] all together,
to overlook any differences that might exist between countries, regimes, peoples, or even names of countries (2000: 1219). In building his hypothetical
Balkans, a construct of such an amalgamated nature, Bregovi (perhaps understandably) mirrors the blurriness of his listeners perception, in order to cater
to their preconceptions (Lauevi 2007:44).
Stressing his natural eclecticism legitimizes his composing choices, which
are also claimed to stem from an eclectic treatment of music sources. Such
an idea is further supported by the events in the Balkans at the end of the twentieth century, when the break-up of Yugoslavia led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Heavily influenced by political circumstances,
Bregovi creates a music that is not a nostalgic painting of a deserted house,
but an enthralling fresco about the richness of diversity What is a musician to
do, whose family, godfathers and friends are children of the cursed Balkans?
(Mijatovi 2002: 42).
An answer to this question is offered by Bregovi himself: Displaced from
my own homeland, cultural, mental and emotional homeland, at first I was
frightened and horrified, but eventually I started enjoying it (Interviews with
Goran Bregovi, n.d.). At the same time, he explains that the direct consequence of the war is the fact that I do not have a homeland anymore For
someone who writes songs it is a serious handicap, because I cannot write poems anymore, I cannot write them in my own language anymore. This is why
now I only recycle songs (ibid.). In this way, Bregovi is interpreting the fact
he had to leave his country (as a consequence of wars) both as a limiting and a
liberating creative force.
After leaving Sarajevo and moving to Paris, he started his international career by producing music in a manner usually referred to as recycling. This composing technique is in the centre of controversies related to Bregovis career.
Sometimes strongly criticized for using samples (of his earlier pieces and traditional music of the Balkans) as building blocks of his tunes, Bregovi readily admits to accusations of recycling and adds: I constantly recycle, my own
and somebody elses [music]. This is how I imagine music (ibid.). By this statement, Bregovi embeds his actions in the framework of a traditional musician.
18
Aleksandra Markovi
Among his audiences and in the public sphere, his recycling technique is both
approved of and strongly criticized, which arguably can be explained by his existence in two realms the realm of traditional music where preservationist
ideals are a priority and authenticity of music is highly regarded, and the realm
of the contemporary world music market, where music traditions from all over
the world are fused into new styles without restraint.
Consequently, the critique of Bregovis work usually revolves around the
same two perspectives, and they exist simultaneously in his statements as well,
mutually excluding each other. Such a double perspective can, paradoxically,
be found even in a single argument, for example in Gourgouris claim that
Bregovi relies on folk elements, but what he does with that tradition breaks
it apart (2005: 343). In the same text, though, he contradicts himself by stating that [t]his is how ethnic music can still be renewed: by being performed
against the grain, relieved from the quicksand of nostalgic fetish (ibid., 341).
Not dissimilar to the idea of the blurry Balkans, his additional comment emphasizes Bregovi creating a simulacrum of traditions he uses as sources:
No doubt, his genius is one of absorption and appropriation. The connecting thread the thread of secondary revision is precisely the cannibalization of ones refracted, indigenous musical forms. Bregovi is
explicitly drawn to variation, re-circulation, rearrangement, repetition,
continuous self-quotation, continuous blurring of the original instance
and the instance of its reproduction (ibid.).
In Bregovis statements about his music, his recycling is facilitated by his eclectic approach to composing, which in itself is a consequence of his Balkan
roots and the regions recent political history. It entirely mirrors the perceived
melange of nations and cultures, so often stressed by those involved in the analysis of the Balkanist discourse. Music quotes (coming from diverse sources)
are pasted by the composer into a collage which is a method he defines as
bringing different [music] items into random relations (Interviews with Goran
Bregovi,n.d.). In another interview, he elaborates: As a composer, I am a collagist. Just as there are painters collagists, I belong to the group of composers
collagists. I paste things one to the other and, where the glue holds, the collage
stays; there where it does not hold, I simply discard it [the collage] and look for
a new one (Nikcevich 1995). This seems to point to a further function of the
Balkanist discourse in Bregovis statements because, due to such a composition
process and use of musical sources, he cannot ensure the historical continuity
and organic purity (Livingston 1999: 74) of his music, and therefore needs to
embed it in the Balkan framework and give it an unquestionable label of Balkanness. This legitimizes him as someone who grew from the Balkans and
whose music is therefore music of the Balkans.
19
Bregovis recycling compositional technique is embedded in the context of

his attitude towards traditional music. He disputes criticisms (that he uses motives that do not belong to him) with an elaborate discussion on traditional music and musicians. The main point he makes is that he should be regarded as a
folk musician, which is an idea related to the image of authentic folk songs,
as summarised by Livingston: they must be old, they must be anonymous,
they must exist in oral tradition, they must have variant forms, and they must
come from uneducated rural peoples (1999:75). Disregarding all implications
of composing and performing in the context of the globalized world music market, Bregovi equates himself with anonymous musicians in a distant past who
had communally recreated music by varying already existing music material and
orally transmitting it to other community members. In that respect, all music belongs to everybody and is available for everybody to play and develop further.
The image of the traditional musician in Bregovis statements is connected
to the Balkans that, according to him, still cherish art created by anonymous
and unaccredited community members. When asked about musicians he cooperates with and who sometimes are, but sometimes are not given credit on his labels, he claims that [h]ere and more to the East, all music becomes traditional,
unknown people paint churches and buildings. We come from the part of the
world where art is depersonalized, where there were never any names. This is
the world my artists come from (Ferina 2002). He summarizes his attitude by
stating that the tradition is there to steal it, and everybody bases their creations
on anonymous tradition. I know of no one who had invented something without
relying on tradition, from Stravinsky to Bela Bartok (Sanz 2001). Apparently,
his attitude towards tradition is twofold: on the one hand, he refers to the idea
of communal recreation in order to validate his similar treatment of music material, as well as to ensure for his music a label of what Lauevi calls imagined antiquity and purity of its origin (2007: 178). At any other level, though,
tradition is abandoned as unnecessary, since Bregovi does not share the ideals
underlining music revivals, nor does his audience show any appreciation for the
level of authenticity of performed tunes.
Bregovis image of traditional musicians playing traditional music is especially noticeable in his statements about Roma musicians and his cooperation
with them. Described as a connoisseur of Gypsy cultures (Neveux 2006), he
is embedding his music in his representation of the Balkans, and emphasizes
Roma people as living remains of the Balkan soul. His comments on Roma
musicians mostly express two attitudes: first, he builds a romantic image of a nomad nation that is free from the constraints of modern life. This image seems to
have a special appeal to Bregovi, as he arguably relates to it on a personal level
and feeling of homelessness due to the break-up of Yugoslavia:
20
Aleksandra Markovi
I wrote in gypsy language because my Serbo-Croatian language does not
exist any more. One speaks either Serb, or Croatian, or Bosnian. Gypsy is a simple language with few words. That enables me to focus on
the sounds of the words. It is in the tradition of the Slavic texts, somehow pathetic. If the people do not understand, that does not prevent them
from singing with me, even if unfortunately I do not have gypsy roots
Unfortunately? But because everyone wants to be a gypsy (kustu.com
2007).
The second notion expressed in Bregovis appreciation of Roma musicians is

their presumed attitude towards music and appropriation of music that he seems
to share. The image of folk musicians mentioned above is combined with his impression of Roma being more natural and therefore more authentic than other
nations from the same area, which he considers a desirable quality:
With Gypsies one always does something eclectic, but natural, ancient.
They steal music in a way it was being stolen five hundred years ago,
without any shame. They like the harmony from one song, the melody
from another, the rhythm from a third one, and they simply like to play
it, and it becomes their music. This is how the music developed normally
for years. But since there are copyright agencies, everything stopped. Because in their music [i.e., music produced by agencies] there is no creativity, no natural flow of ideas. Gypsies are not bothered by this problem
and this is why their music is warm, and still up to date, modern (Interviews with Goran Bregovi, n.d.).
In contrast to the above quote, Bregovis career shows that his idealized image
of folk musicians freely exchanging music among themselves does not extend to
the issue of protecting his authorship and copyrights. Nevertheless, in many interviews he stresses the importance of his tunes being accepted by the audience
and living a life of their own, as if they were indeed communally recreated: It
makes me happy that in time it was forgotten who composed it [his song Djur
djevdan], and nowadays it is sung in restaurants as folk song. That happens only
once in a composers career: to create something that sounds as if it were not
composed, but rather emerged on its own (ibid.). In this respect, his statements
are in accordance with ideals shared by those involved in music revivals: firstly,
that music grows naturally from the people; and secondly, preferring what is
labelled as traditional music over contemporary music forms. He brings his
point further by stating that [i]f I would know that in one hundred years a song
of mine is still performed at a wedding or a funeral, I would know that I did not
compose in vain for all these years. That is my final composing ambition (Fe-
21
rina 2002). In that way, Bregovis music would indeed become folk music of
the Balkans.
Conclusion
In comments about his music, Goran Bregovi uses Balkanist rhetoric to
communicate the already existing idea of the Balkans to his audiences. Bregovi
applies the Balkanized image of the region mainly by making statements about
the position and soul of the Balkans. Referring to their symbolic, rather than
physical landscapes, he locates the Balkans either outside Europe or on its borders. Instead of questioning or challenging these representations, he applies
them in the creation of the regions self-exoticized image which he calls hypothetical Balkans. Apart from obvious promotional goals, his recurring references to the Balkans serve an additional purpose, as he uses them to explain
and justify his composing techniques (such as collage and recycling). Bregovis
statements about the Balkans are not only constructing or rather corroborating an existing framework for the audiences perception of his music, but are
also supporting his own compositional choices and attitudes towards tradition,
authorship and authenticity.
Literature
Baki-Hayden, Milica 1995: Nesting Orientalisms: The Case of Former Yugo
slavia. In: Slavic Review 60, 4: 917931.
Bednarz, Thorsten 1999: Musik kennt keinen Nationalismus. In: Folker!
Das Musikmagazin, May 1999. URL: http://www.folker.de/9905/gb.htm
[21.11.2007].
Bregovi Official Website: Biography, URL: http://www.goranbregovic.co.yu/
biography-england.htm [21.11.2007]; Press in English, URL: http://www.
goranbregovic.co.yu/press.htm [21.11.2007]; Press in French, URL: http://
www.goranbregovic.co.yu/press-france.htm [21.11.2007]; Press in Italian,
URL: http://www.goranbregovic.co.yu/press-italy.htm [21.11.2007].
Bregovi spasava Balkan 2001. In: Glas javnosti, 5 May 2001. URL: http://
arhiva.g las-javnosti.co.yu/arhiva/2001/05/06/srpski/K01050503.shtml
[21.11.2007].
Buhre, Jakob 2001: Goran Bregovic. Fr die Filmindustrie bin ich zu schlecht.
In: Planet Interview Portal fr Interviews, 6 July 2001. URL: http://
www.planet-interview.de/interviews/pi.php?interview=bregovic-goran
[21.11.2007].
22
Aleksandra Markovi
Ferina, Zrinka 2002: Novi europski trijumf Gorana Bregovia. In: Nacional 351, 5 August 2002. URL: http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/13179/
[21.11.2007]
Fleming, Kathryn E. 2000: Orientalism, the Balkans, and Balkan Historiography. In: The American Historical Review 105, 4: 12181233. URL: http://
www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/105.4/ah001218.html [21.11.2007]
Gourgouris, Stathis 2005: Hypnosis and Critique: Film Music for the Balkans.
In: Duan Bjeli, Obrad Savi (eds.), Balkan as Metaphor. Between Globalization and Fragmentation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 323349.
Interviews with Goran Bregovi, n.d. URL: http://milosm.coolfreepage.com/
Intervju%20Bregovic.html [21.11.2007].
Kiossev, Alexander 2005: The Dark Intimacy: Maps, Identities, Acts of Identification. In: Duan Bjeli, Obrad Savi (eds.), Balkan as Metaphor. Between
Globalization and Fragmentation. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 165190.
kustu.com 2007: Official website of Emir Kusturica. URL: http://kustu.com/
wiki/doku.php?id=en:goran_bregovic [21.11.2007].
Lauevi, Mirjana 2007: Balkan Fascination. Creating an Alternative Music
Culture in America. New York: Oxford UP.
Livingston, Tamara E. 1999: Music Revivals: Towards a General Theory. In:
Ethnomusicology 43, 1: 6685.
Mieta, Luka 1999: Adresa mi je Balkan. In: Nin 2557, 30 December 1999.
URL: http://www.nin.co.yu/1999-12/30/10977.html [21.11.2007].
Mijatovi, Maja 2002: Volksmusik als kompositorisches Stilmittel im Schaffen von Goran Bregovi. MA thesis. Universitt fr Musik und darstellende
Kunst Wien, Institut fr Volksmusikforschung und Ethnomusikologie (not
published).
Monik, Rastko 2005: The Balkans as an Element in Ideological Mechanisms.
In: Duan Bjeli, Obrad Savi (eds.), Balkan as Metaphor. Between Globalization and Fragmentation. Cambridge Mass.: MIT Press, 79115.
Neveux, Camille 2006: Goran Bregovic, a European tempo. In: cafebabel.com,
European current affairs magazine, 11 February 2006. URL: http://www.
cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=6004 [21.11.2007].
Nikcevich, Tamara 1995: Goran Bregovic. Tigar na slubenom putu: Poslednja jugoslovenska device. In: Yurope magazines, 21 December 1995. URL:
http://www.yurope.com/zines/SAM/arhiva_1/0018.html [21.11.2007].
Sanz, Pablo 2001: La tradicin est para robarla, dice Goran Bregovic. In: elmundo.es, 19 April 2001. URL: http://www.elmundo.es/2001/04/19/cultura/
984127.html [21.11.2007].
Todorova, Maria 1997: Imagining the Balkans. New York: Oxford UP.
23
Abstract
This paper departs from ideas developed in the discourse on Balkanism and applies them to the analysis of interviews and articles about Goran Bregovi, one
of the most popular composers and performers of Balkan music. He frequently
refers to this region in his interviews and relates to what could be defined as a
Balkanized image of the region, mainly by making statements about the position and soul of the Balkans. Referring to symbolic, rather than physical landscapes of the region, Bregovi utilizes elements of the Balkanist discourse in
order to highlight his image as a Balkan composer. Instead of reassessing or
challenging the Balkanized image of the area, his statements show that he is in
fact using this image to justify his composing choices and his complex attitudes
towards issues of authenticity, tradition and authorship.
TastingtheBalkans:FoodandIdentity
TastingtheBalkans:FoodandIdentity
byEvgenijaKrstevaBlagoeva
Source:

Evgenija Krsteva-Blagoeva, Sofia
Food and identity are viewed as mutually connected in the anthropology of food
or nutritional anthropology. At first glance, this connection seems a bit strange.
Food as a material, tangible phenomenon and nutrition as a specific mixture
of biology and culture appear rather alien to the prevailing concept of identity, a near virtual phenomenon constructed, imagined or shifted. Yet food
has proved crucial for the formation and maintenance both of individual and
collective identities. As we learn what to eat, how to eat, and when to eat, we
learn our culture, our norms, and our values, and through this process
we learn who we are (Koc, Welsh 2001: 2). The concept of taste is crucial in
this context. Having a taste means to be emotionally integrated in a culture
(Claessens 1979: 130). Being part of a cultural system, taste and food habits are
not simply individual, but collective. Childhood deeply influences taste formation. Taste preferences constituted during childhood are deeply embedded in the
personalities of individuals; they are stable and long-lasting. Food flavours are
quite important in this respect their repetition becomes a source of pleasure for
the child. People tend to associate them with certain memories of childhood. In
this context it is not accidental that immigrants nostalgically attempt to recreate
the food habits of their homeland. Food proves crucial for collective identities as
well. Yet, in this respect the situation is more complicated.
From a sociological point of view, the distinctive function of taste is crucial.
According to Bourdieu, taste classifies the classifier: Social subjects, classified
by their classifications, distinguish themselves by the distinctions they make
(Bourdieu 1984: 6). Because of the active social mobility, typical for post-socialist societies, and the respective fluid boundaries of social groups, this conclusion
is not fully applicable in terms of food, especially in the context of post-socialist
Bulgaria (Krsteva-Blagoeva 2005). Yet, it provides a useful theoretical frame
for the problem of food and identity.
Historically considered, taking meals is a collective action with important
social functions; according to Bahtin it embodies the conclusion of the collective
labour process, which brings together the members of the family, kin, and settlement (Bahtin 1978: 306). Sitting in a circle creates a specific relation bringing
together those sharing a meal and helping them communicate. In many societies foodways and tastes are considered unique, typical only of the community
concerned. Various expressions of ethnocentrism through food habits, impacts
26
Evgenija Krsteva-Blagoeva
of food taboos, and identification of otherness through food have been studied. A cuisine is a social institution determined by the type of ingredients used,
the order of the meals and the etiquette of eating (Goody 1982: 151). In fact, the
concept of national cuisine appears to be as virtual and constructed as the nation itself peoples ways of cooking transgress borders. In this respect there
are only regional cuisines a region may be a part of certain country, but it may
also include territories belonging to more than one country (Bradatan 2003: 2,
Mintz 1996: 114).
Balkan cuisine is an example of a regional cuisine. Nevertheless, national
implications and tensions do exist in the region and certain products and dishes
are considered typically national and are contested by the neighbours. Among
the most indicative examples is Turkish coffee, called this way all over the peninsula except in Greece1, where it is Greek coffee. Some Turkish dishes like
sarmale, stuffed peppers, baklava, and moussaka were borrowed by Balkan
cuisines and considered typically Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian, etc. The famous
Shopska salad that has become an emblem of Bulgarian tourism, is almost the
same as Greek salad and Turkish oban salad (where the cheese is not grated
like in Bulgaria, but a whole piece or cubes of it are put on the plate next to the
tomatoes and cucumbers). In the Turkish variant sometimes there is no cheese
at all; in the Greek only goat cheese is used. With the recent access of Bulgaria
to the European Union the trademark and the name of the traditional Bulgarian
grape brandy rakia was contested by the Republic of Macedonia, claiming that
this was a typical Macedonian drink. The list of such examples could be continued. What it actually reflects is the existence of a regional Balkan cuisine, separated and challenged by national culinary traditions and by stereotypes. On a
psychological level it could be seen as an expression of the narcissism of small
differences. This term was invented by Freud to denote the tendency of people
with minor differences between them to be more aggressive and hateful towards
each other than those with major differences (Freud 1918). In other words, we
feel threatened by those who resemble us, who mirror and reflect us. As we
shall see below, this perspective proves useful for the interpretation of national
otherness in terms of food.
Balkan cuisine is part of Balkan cultural identity a concept that is by definition expressed in various everyday practices, leisure activities, and preferences
including food choices (Koc, Welsh 2001: 2). The aim of this text is to examine
The Balkan names of this hot drink are the following: tursko kafe (Bulgaria, Macedonia);
black, homemade (crna, domaa in Serbian), our coffee (naa kafa), ordinary (obina in
Serbian [Baki-Hayden, manuscript]), turska kava (Serbia, Croatia), srpska kava (among
Bosnian Serbs only); cafea turceasca (Romania), Greek coffee, Cypriot coffee (Greece,
Cyprus).
27
how this cultural identity has been constructed and experienced on a daily basis
by people visiting Balkan ethnic restaurants in Sofia. Conducting fieldwork 2 in
several national establishments (three Serbian grill restaurants, two of them in
Sofia and one in the town of Montana, NW Bulgaria; two Turkish restaurants; a
Greek-Lebanese restaurant, and a chain of Greek confectioneries in the capital
city) we have tried to discover what the role of food is in the formation of Balkan cultural identity. We wanted to learn whether common dishes and tastes are
able to create a real sense of cultural proximity overcoming national rivalries
and to see how the symbolic construction of the region and regional identity are
made instrumental by food. In other words, the main objective of the research
was to understand how people feel about these places and the food they are offering. Traditional Bulgarian restaurants are of course also as self-consciously
Balkan as the ones mentioned above. Nevertheless, their analysis is only partly included in the present research, firstly because they have already been studied in another paper (Krsteva-Blagoeva 2005), and secondly because the focus of
this text is the perception of other Balkan cuisines in Bulgaria. So, what is considered traditionally Bulgarian in terms of taste is mainly used as a reference
point for the perception of other national tastes, which are viewed as more or
less similar to the native Bulgarian flavour.
The most popular Serbian grill restaurant in Sofia is that of Master Miro.
The owner, Miroslav Stefanovi, is Serbian and lives in Bulgaria. He has been
the champion of culinary art four times in his home country. In comparison
with the other places offering Serbian grill, his restaurant is known as the one
with the best food. To a great extent this is due to him. In addition to being the
main chef, providing the recipes, he takes reservations and greets the diners.
He treats all of them in quite an unsophisticated manner, with typical Balkan
familiarity, while on the other hand, he has adopted the Western attitude of
kindness and personal attention towards customers. On the whole, the quality
of service in his restaurant is highly valued. Many of its famous customers are
friends with the owner.
The Greek-Lebanese restaurant Onar (dream in Greek) is the only one
of its kind in Sofia. It is considered an extraordinary and prestigious place. The
owners are two Greeks and a Lebanese. They all studied medicine together in
Bulgaria, became friends and decided to start a business together. Several years
ago one of the Greeks tried to open a Greek place called Giromania3, but it
was not successful, maybe because of the strong competition of original Ara The fieldwork was carried out in the period between January and April 2007, with the participation of a group of students of New Bulgarian University, Department of Anthropology. Fifty interviews with guests, owners, and staff were made.
3
Giros is the Greek name of a special kind of Turkish-Arabic grill, called dner.
2
28
bic djuner (dner) places in Sofia, which are very popular. The combination of
Greek and Lebanese cuisine appeared to be more successful. The Greek chain
of confectionaries Athene is frequented by members of the Greek community
in Sofia. In the mid-1990s one of its sweets shops even achieved certain clublike functions. Because of its location near the Medical Academy (where many
Greeks were studying) it used to be a gathering place for the group. This was
also the place where Greek newspapers were sold, announcements of Greek
concerts were distributed, etc. These integrative functions of the place have diminished in recent years because of the decreasing number of Greek students
in Sofia. Yet, it is still a sign of the Greek presence in the city. The second confectionary of the chain is located in one of the central trading streets. The two
Turkish restaurants studied, T&M (an abbreviation meaning Turkish cuisine) and The Green Paradise, are famous for the tasty food they offer.
The prices in all the places are relatively high, i.e., customers are expected
to be of good financial status. This leads to the first characteristic feature of this
kind of restaurant they are fashionable and prestigious. Regular clients are famous people, members of the artistic and political elite, businessmen, and alga4
folk singers. Ordinary people also go there, but only on special occasions.
The interior of these Balkan restaurants is not pure and authentic in
national terms. They can be viewed as a combination of ethnic elements and
characteristics of ordinary and contemporary establishments. Elements of the
national culture are used, but only unobtrusively. This is absolutely true in the
case of Turkish restaurants and, to a lesser extent, of the Serbian grill restaurants. In T&M oriental artifacts are used as a decoration narghiles, paintings with traditional motifs, metal candlesticks, large baking troughs, coppers,
and ablution jugs. All of them are arranged quite tastefully, while the furniture
in the whole place is fancy, but not out of the ordinary. There is an oriental hint
in the way the bill is handed to the diners it is placed in a wooden box with
a mother-of-pearl decoration. The restrained use of oriental motifs in the interior is obviously a delicate way of avoiding potential unfriendly reactions, even
though most of the clients like it and some of them would even prefer more. With
regard to the interior, the Serbian restaurants can be divided into two groups.
The restaurants of the first group display traditional decorations and furniture
(wooden tables, chairs, wooden panelling and other wood carvings, variegated
tablecloths etc). In this respect they resemble many restaurants offering traditional Bulgarian cuisine. Maybe it is not accidental that in our research this type
of place was found in the countryside, in the town of Montana, while the two
Serbian restaurants in the capital belong to the second group of places with no
national elements in the interior; such symbolic elements are found only in
4
alga Oriental-style new folk music, very popular in Bulgaria.
29
the food and the music. This could be interpreted as a conscious and deliberate
trend towards elevating the status of the grill in the hierarchy of dishes offered
(maybe directly borrowed from Serbian cuisine). Yet even though the interiors of
all the Serbian restaurants studied were quite similar to the ordinary Bulgarian
establishments, the spirit of the places was considered different by the people:
Knowing that you are in a foreign restaurant, different from your national affiliation, somehow cheers you up.5 Miros place is rather modern and exquisite.
The only national decoration is the bulls head and ropes of onion, garlic, and
spices hanging on the front door (beef is considered typically Serbian). The interior of the Greek-Lebanese restaurant Onar is a mixture of Greek and Lebanese elements. Chairs are made of press-board, menus are made of textile and
wood; photographs of famous and beautiful places in both countries accompany
the list of dishes. Narghiles are scattered all over the place. Greek columns are
combined with oriental paintings and Lebanese curtains with ropes. The interiors of the three sweet shops of the Greek chain Athene are considered Greek
by the owners, but in fact national elements are not really visible in them. The
furniture is imported from Greece.
In contrast with the interior, the music in all the restaurants is mostly national and customers really enjoy it. The biggest parties with live music take
place at Miros Serbian grill. Some of the clients there even claim that the music
positively influences their appetite and puts them at ease. Some people say that
customers of Serbian restaurants are merry and joyful people There is a
close resemblance between us, the Balkan people, in terms of merry-making.
Fun is an important part of the Balkan way of eating out. It is not accidental
that this was observed in all Serbian restaurants studied and it is completely
lacking in the Turkish establishments. The level of conscious cultural proximity
and common identity and the affection for Serbian kafana music, that has been
widespread in Bulgaria ever since the time of socialism, are important factors
in this respect. Only a negligible number of guests (mostly intellectuals) do not
like the music according to them it sounds like traditional or tavern music,
not in tune with the modern atmosphere of the restaurant. Perhaps this is due to
some Bulgarians perception of the Serbian language. Because it sounds familiar and resembles Western Bulgarian dialects (considered non-prestigious, since
literary Bulgarian is based on Eastern dialects) Serbian is perceived as a funny
peasant language. In the Greek-Lebanese restaurant music is mainly Greek,
because customers prefer it to Lebanese songs, but there is also Bulgarian alga
music. In T&M the music is Turkish and the clients appreciate it. Many parties are held there, but with no dances and live music. This is the main difference between Turkish and other Balkan restaurants. While people go to Serbian
5
Informant M. Hristova, 40 years old, recorded by Maria Aleksieva.
30
and Greek places not only to eat, but also for having fun, the Turkish ones are
mainly places for perfect culinary experiences.
The food is greatly appreciated by the customers of all restaurants studied. All of them are part of the so-called exo-cuisine it includes eating out,
feasts, and special occasions. By definition it is more innovative and open to
foreign influences, while the everyday home endo-cuisine is much more conservative (Lvi-Strauss 1997, Roth 2006: 11). The differentiation between the
two is seen in peoples inclination to eat always the same dishes (because of the
unconscious neophobia, the fear of new food) or the opposite, to experiment and
to try different dishes. In the Balkan restaurants we studied, elements of both
types of cuisines were present. Their exo nature is undoubted and obvious, but
people tend to go there also because they are looking for some forgotten dishes
that used to be typical of their native cuisine. Oriental in origin, these dishes
have become part of the Bulgarian habitus (Bourdieu 1984); in other words, they
were internalized into the Bulgarian culinary system. For historical and political
reasons they were to some extent excluded from the menus of Bulgarian restaurants and nowadays they can be found only in some Balkan restaurants. Nevertheless, they are still considered very tasty, and that is why people are motivated
to eat in such places. Among the most indicative examples in this respect are
lamb and so-called Turkish coffee. Both were typical of the Bulgarian culinary
tradition, but for some reason they are not so widespread any more. It is not accidental that in all the restaurants studied, lamb (prepared in different ways) is
one of the most favoured dishes. As a result of a process of Europeanisation
after the liberation from Turkish rule in 1878, Balkan coffee houses rapidly
disappeared (Jezernik 2001: 202). Turkish coffee was considered not modern
enough and nowadays it is rarely served in ordinary cafes so people enjoy
drinking it in the Greek chain Athene and in Turkish restaurants.
The same tendency holds true for the grill dishes and grill restaurants. In
the period before 1989 sophisticated meals were prepared at home, while the
restaurants served mostly grill dishes. This appears to be the main characteristic of Balkantourist style, named after the only tourist agency in socialist
Bulgaria. Despite its popularity it was not considered exquisite, but rather an
ordinary, unpretentious dish (it was often consumed on the street with bread,
as fast food), but it also used to be a symbol of restaurant food. It was usually
eaten with beer and the places of the so-called grill and beer type were always full of people. With regard to their interior they were taverns rather than
restaurants. So, one of the visible changes that occurred with the appearance of
Serbian grill after 1989 was the transformation of these humble places into real
restaurants. This raised the status of the grill itself; particularly the Serbian one
is considered special and quite delicious. Its taste is a bit different from its Bulgarian equivalent, and generally it is more expensive. In fact, most Bulgarian
31
grill and beer places disappeared and were replaced by Serbian grill restaurants. Nowadays Bulgarian restaurants offer grill together with other dishes, but
the special grill places remain mainly Serbian. They simply replaced Bulgarian
establishments of this kind, which implies the highest level of cultural proximity (but not identity).
In Miros place Bulgarians are very fond of the grilled meat kebape, which
is typical for the entire region. In contrast to the Bulgarian equivalent, Serbian
kebabe is more gingery and spicy. In an informants words: Although it resembles the Bulgarian one, the two can not be compared. In comparison with
all other places, Miros grill is much more juicy and fragrant, especially accompanied by the irresistible plum rakia.6 In addition to the grill, beef sausages,
the pork specialty of the house (baked with yellow cheese, ham, and spices) and
Serbian bean soup are among the favourites. Even though Bulgarians consider
themselves great fans of hot foods, it was necessary for the owner to reduce the
hot spices to meet to their taste. He offers extra Bulgarian spices to be added
by the guests. For instance, savoury and mint are not used by the Serbs at all,
their place is taken by the universal spice vegeta, and according to Master Miro
that is why their dishes are more savoury. Deserts are Serbian. In the Serbian
restaurant in Montana, in addition to the Serbian grill pleskavica, chicken and
Serbian ljutenica are among the most popular dishes. The third Serbian restaurant studied, the so-called Golden Serbian grill in Sofia, is also very popular
because of its perfect meat dishes. In the owners words, there is no specialty
of the house, here everything is special and people come because of the grill.
Salads and starters are Bulgarian.
Even though all three Serbian restaurants are quite fashionable and the food
is considered perfect, none of the diners claimed that the food tasted better than
Bulgarian food. It is also indicative that people organize private parties there,
but none of the respondents were inclined to invite foreign visitors in such cases they all prefer traditional Bulgarian restaurants. People like this food a lot,
but maybe because of the narcissism of small differences they do not wish to
express and acknowledge this directly. Here are some examples illustrating food
conservatism in terms of taste and the high esteem for native dishes: The food
is more gingery, but not more tasty than ours. We are very good cooks, too, but
sometimes we wish to try something different; We do highly value our cuisine,
but we like this, too. Simply some of our Serbian brothers decided to try to do
something special in Bulgaria and it came out successful, people like it7. The
key phrase in the last quotation is our Serbian brothers. It was also used by the
owner of the place. In his words, he chose Bulgaria, because I like the country
6
7
Informant avdar, 26 years old, barman, recorded by Silvia Stefanova.

Informant Iskren, waiter, recorded by Tanja Trajanova.
32
and the people they have hot blood, just like us. In fact, we Bulgarians and
Serbs we are brothers8. It is worth noting that the brotherhood subject was
not recorded anywhere else except in Serbian restaurants. In everyday discourse
it exists only in relation to Serbs, not to Greeks and much less to Turks. It reflects the awareness of cultural proximity at all levels, but even this awareness
cannot overcome the preference for the native cuisine. On the other hand, the
existence of ethnic restaurants (especially Balkan) is highly valued by the diners, while not affecting in any way their national sentiments. Most of them indicate even indifference to all national topics, but as seen above, not in terms of
taste. This leads to the archetypal nature of taste as something not constructed
or figured out, but deeply coded in the very essence of the self. On the basis of
the elemental taste, a secondary national cuisine has been established. In
this process its regional core remains hidden or unconscious. The taste of the
Serbian grill is highly valued precisely because it is like our own, but not exactly. The similarity to what is perceived as Bulgarian cuisine, the fact that it is
situated on the very edge of ours and foreign (extracting the best from both
of them in terms of endo and exo) cuisine is among the main factors for the
success of the Serbian grill.
By contrast with the Serbian grill, similarities between Bulgarian cuisine and
the Greek-Lebanese dishes are hard to find. From the Greek part of the menu
fish, grill, Greek spaghetti pasticio, moussaka (a Turkish dish, also typical of
Bulgarian cuisine), and deserts with walnuts and couscous are preferred. Lamb,
prepared in various ways, is the most popular Lebanese dish. Greek cuisine is
considered more oily and doughy than the Lebanese one. As a whole, the latter
is preferred by Bulgarian customers according to the owners, this may be due
to the closeness of the Greek and Bulgarian cuisine and the fact that Lebanese
cuisine is considered more exotic. In this case, thus, resemblance in taste and
cultural proximity are interpreted differently in comparison with the Serbian
case. In other words, close no longer means tasty, or at least the degree of
this notional coincidence is not so great. For reasons mentioned above (desiring almost forgotten dishes and drinks from the past), the situation with coffee
is the opposite. Greek Turkish coffee is preferred by the clients, as Lebanese
coffee is not so well liked because of the Arabic habit of putting cardamom in
it. Like the owners of the Serbian grill, Greek and Lebanese chefs had to reduce
the spices and the quantity of hot flavourings. According to a Greek client of the
place, it resembles Greek restaurants a lot: Greek and Lebanese cuisines are
incompatible, but the combination of dishes offered here is irresistible.9 Nev-
8
9
Informant Miroslav Stefanovi,owner of the place, recorded by Tanja Trajanova.

Informant Iorgos, 27 years old, recorded by Iva Ivanova.
33
ertheless, the number of Greeks visiting the place is smaller than the number
of Arabs.
The sweets in the sweet shops of Athene are made according to Greek recipes. For instance, Greek Christmas cookies, traditionally prepared by young
maidens10, are only available in these sweet shops during the Christmas season.
Fresh juices and Greek ouzo are well liked by the clients. Prices are considered
to be relatively high, but most people claim that it is worth it, because the service and the quality of the sweets is also high. Greek confectioneries are the favourites of many people because of the coffee, which is not available in ordinary Bulgarian cafes. Fans of this type of coffee, one that is usually prepared at
home, are regular clients of Greek coffee houses. These are the only places in
Sofia where Turkish coffee is called Greek coffee. Because most Bulgarians are
accustomed to calling it Turkishcoffee, they sometimes get annoyed because
waiters (all of them Bulgarians) constantly correct them, insisting that this was
Greek coffee. Exactly the same reaction is found in Greece some clients recounted how Greek waiters got angry when they tried to order Turkish coffee.
For Bulgarians the name of the coffee has lost any national connotation: Turkish coffee means nothing else than a coffee prepared the old-fashioned way, in
a copper coffee pot and over the fire, not in a machine. This does not hold true
for Greeks. They not only insist on its Greek origin, but also claim that the first
cafe in Europe was established by a Greek in Paris. In fact, there is a slight difference in taste between Greek and Turkish coffee, but it is overlooked by Bulgarians. They identify the drink not so much in terms of its taste, as in terms
of its preparation, which is why they continue calling it Turkish coffee, even in
Greek cafes.
As a whole, the perception of the Turkish cuisine by Bulgarians is associated with the idea of extreme taste. This is seen in one informants words: Ive
been to Turkey, I dont remember what exactly I ate there, but it was absolutely
tasty11. A considerable number of dishes belonging to the Bulgarian cuisine
are in fact borrowed from the Ottomans. Turkish cuisine forms the core of Balkan cuisine, its meals have been borrowed by all Balkan peoples and to some
extent are imagined as being local and typical only of the respective national
cuisine. Despite these common dishes and tastes, there are some peculiarities,
typical of the Turks, which attract foreign diners. Most of them want to enjoy
This practice is still alive even in big cities in Greece. It is the equivalent of the archaic Bulgarian ritual of a maiden preparing her first bread at the feast of Annunciation. Because the
folk name of the feast, Blagovec (meaning sweet, the news that Virgin Mary is going to
give birth to Christ is called the Good [sweet] news), encodes the idea of sweetness, all
the breads kneaded by the girl are expected to be sweet and tasty.
11
Informant Tanja Veleva, 30 years old, town of Montana, recorded by Neli Boeva.
10
34
something new and order different dishes every time. Instead of a single specialty of the house there is a specially made dish, which is different every day. All
the chefs are Turks, some of the spices and the grits are imported from Istanbul.
The flavour of Turkish meals is considered to be a bit exotic; from the Bulgarian point of view it marks the ultimate point of the virtual scale ours
foreign in terms of taste. Even though some of the dishes have their Bulgarian analogues, the Turkish ones are considered different, foreign, but not alien.
This is obvious in one informants words None of the meals is exactly the same
as ours and none of them is absolutely different from ours; It is a nice alternative, which is close to our cuisine and at the same time it is exotic, oriental12.
This ambiguity combines with the undoubted culinary skills of the Turks. Diners, most of whom are vegetarians, enjoy their light diet and often order only
starters. Eggplant can be prepared in a multitude of ways and other various
lamb dishes, chiefly grill, are also very popular. The syrupy Turkish sweets are
favoured by lots of Bulgarians and are also considered part of the Bulgarian
cuisine. However, the sweets from the Turkish restaurant and the former Turkish confectionery (which does no longer exist) are considered the best. On the
other hand, Turkish cooks claim that the variety of pastry and dough products
is greater in Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian cuisines than in the Turkish cuisine.
Despite the undoubted qualities of the Turkish cuisine, it is not considered
better than the Bulgarian one: Their success means only that an alternative of
our cuisine is being esteemed, nothing more.13 Aside from rarely recorded nationalistic opinions (I am a nationalist and it is difficult for me to acknowledge priorities of other nations)14, the best explanation was given by an informant who said: Because both cuisines, Bulgarian and Turkish, are close to each
other, it is not possible to decide which one is tastier. This leads directly to the
conclusion that native, local, culturally habitualised cuisine and regional cuisine are perceived as tasty. As regards Balkan cuisine, what is close to native
tastes is considered savoury; with regard to more distant cultures and culinary
traditions (such as French, Italian, and especially Chinese) the situation is the
opposite: here the exotic is defined as palatable or even delicious.
To conclude, with regard to taste, Turkish and Serbian cuisines are highly
valued by Bulgarians. Greek cuisine is also well liked, but not as much; the very
fact that there is no pure Greek restaurant in Sofia is indicative of that. On the
other hand, Greek sweet shops like the Athene are quite popular. Eating out
in Balkan restaurants strengthens the Balkan collective identity of the customers. Internal oppositions of us vs. them or ours vs. their within the Bal Informant Nikolaj Gavrilov, 44 years old, businessman, recorded by Liliana Dojkin.
Ibidem.
14
Informant Hristina Ivanova, 28 years old, receptionist, recorded by Liliana Dojkin.
12
13
35
kan frame are being constantly actualized through food. Lots of resemblances
in meals, festivities and music are thus made visible and are given meaning due
to the existence of these places. It is in this manner that a symbolic construction
of the region through food is being formed.
Literature
Bahtin, Mihail 1978: Tvorestvoto na Fransoa Rable i narodnata kultura na
Srednovekovieto i Renesansa [The art of Franois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance]. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.
Baki-Hayden, Milica 2006: Empires Are Us: Identifying with Differences. In:
Tea Sindbeak, Per Jacobsen, Maximilian Hartmuth (eds.), Images of Imperial Legacy in Southeast Europe. Aarhus: Aarhus UP.
Bradatan, Cristina 2003: Cuisine and Cultural Identity in the Balkans. In: Anthropology of East Europe Review 21, 1: 4349.
Bourdieu, Pierre 1984: Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of
Taste. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP.
Claessens, Ditter 1979: Familie und Wertsystem. Berlin: Dunker & Humblot.
Freud, Siegmund 1963: The Taboo of Virginity. In: Philip Rieff (ed.), Sexuality
and the Psychology of Love. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Goody, Jack 1982: Cooking, Cuisine and Class. A Study in Comparative Sociology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP.
Jezernik, Boidar 2001: Where Paradise Was but a Sip of Hellish Brew Away:
A Story of Coffee in the Balkans. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 5: 193206.
Koc, Mustafa, Jennifer Welsh 2001: Food, Foodways and Immigrant Experience. Paper written for the Multiculturalism Program, Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association Conference,
Nov. 2001. Halifax (manuscript).
Krsteva-Blagoeva, Evgenija 2005: Kultura na brzoto i bavno hranene
na blgarina v naaloto na XXI vek [The culture of fast and slow food
of the Bulgarians in the beginning of the 21st century]. In: Antropologini
izsledvanija [Antropological Studies] 6: 50-73.
Lvi-Strauss, Claude 1997: The Culinary Triangle. In: Carole Counihan, Penny van Esterik (eds.), Food and Culture: A Reader. New York: Routledge.
Mintz, Sidney W. 1996: Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom. Boston: Beacon.
Roth, Klaus 2006: Spor za jadeneto? Hranitelno povedenie v bikulturni brakove
i semejstva. In: Blgarska etnologija 32, 3: 1024 (published also in English:
Conflict about Food? Food Habits in Bi-Cultural Marriages and Families.
In: Olga Leontovich, John Parrish-Sprowl (eds.), Communication Studies
2005. Modern Anthology. Volgograd: Peremena 2005, 225243).
36
Abstract
The paper deals with the problem of food as an important element and symbol
of cultural identity. It seeks to outline the main dimensions of the symbolic and
mental construction of the Balkan region through the perceptions of Balkan
cuisine. In order to examine how this cultural identity has been constructed
and experienced on a daily basis by people visiting Balkan ethnic restaurants in
Sofia, fieldwork was conducted in several national establishments. Three Serbian grill restaurants, two Turkish and one Greek-Lebanese restaurant, as well
as a chain of Greek confectioneries were studied in order to find out whether
common dishes and tastes are able to create a sense of cultural proximity overcoming national rivalries, and to see how the symbolic construction of the region and regional identity are instrumentalized by food. Resemblances and differences in meals, furnishings, festivities, music, etc. revealed different levels of
perceived cultural proximity between Bulgarians and their neighbours based on
food and taste. Ethnic restaurants and the food they offer appear to be a suitable
context for constructing national and regional identity.
FoodLabels,MealSpecialties,andRegionalIdentities:TheCaseof
Bulgaria
FoodLabels,MealSpecialties,andRegionalIdentities:TheCaseofBulgaria
byNikolaiVukovMiglenaIvanova
Source:
Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities:

The Case of Bulgaria
Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova, Sofia
A random look at the menu of almost every restaurant in Bulgaria reveals considerable quantities of food labels where tags of regional identification are
clearly stated and constitute important components in the list of meals. Dishes like the popular opska Salad made of fresh vegetables or the poached Eggs
Panagjurite Style are a regular element of almost every menu list. At the same
time other less trivialized cases of regional signification form the menus of restaurants with pretensions to express traditional cuisine (see illustration 1). These
specialty lists include, for example, Kapama Bansko Style (stewed meet dish,
typical for the region of Bansko), Rodopski Patatnik (potato pastry, characteristic for the Rhodope Mountains), Strandanski Djado (dried meat specialty which
originates from the Stranda Mountains), Szdarma Love style (dried minced
meat typical of the town of Love), etc. Although probably the most representative examples of such culinary perceptions of the regional differentiation, restaurants are certainly not the only ones that dwell upon and exploit regional
identifications. The everyday life of many Bulgarians nowadays also includes
buying and consuming plenty of ready-made foods created with and known
under their regional labels. Regionally styled yoghurts, ljutenicas, delicacies,
wines, brandies, dough products, etc. from all over the country abound in shop
windows and supermarkets, firm logos, and TV adds. Widely advertised in different media, a number of industrially produced foods and drinks are promoted
with both their taste specificities and their belonging to regional or age old
culinary traditions.
Commonly perceived as tools for identifying the deepest roots of regional
and national identities, and often considered as dating back to times immemorial, regionally labelled dishes are a relatively recent phenomenon. Although
they are undoubtedly rooted in indigenous food preparation practices, they are
nevertheless a modern construct one conditioned by the functionalization of
traditions in new cultural milieus. Developing in parallel with the emergence
and popularization of cookbooks in modern times, food labels provide illustrative examples on the relationship between national space and territory through
the functionalization of the culinary code in published discourse. Localizing
a food item by means of its origin, technology of preparation, spice peculiarity, etc., a food label outlines the particular region and puts it in correlation
38
Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova
to other localities on the national map. Regional identifiers in food items also
involve a peculiar oscillation between the consumption of the national and regional recipes as compliant with certain tastes, but also as stimulators of imagination. Their analysis can uncover key moments in the history of imagining regions and of their consolidation and distinguishing within the conceptual
map of national cuisine.
Although these implications are, of course, widely spread in many parts of
the world, they have a particular resonance in the Balkans, where until very
recently food was mostly prepared at home and had plenty of local variations.
With their roots in traditional perceptions and stereotypic formulae, dishes bearing regional labels enter the list of national meals with their regional specifications and are often involved in the construction of national stereotypes (see
Roth 2004: 172). Parallel to those practices, there exists a niche for a multitude
of local specificities and variations, both at home and in places for eating out.
Thus, as long as the Bulgarian cuisine as a Southeast European one continues to rely upon the same jahnijas, kebaps, plakijas, etc., very much like a hundred years ago, the use of their local specificities for outlining particularities
and for finding the national colour of the dishes is still possible by borrowing
from the grass-root level, which is commonly linked with the native. This has
turned the local conceptualizations of food into a powerful tool for identity construction and sells regional imagination together with the typical regional foodstuffs, tastes, and smells.
At the backstage of proliferating studies on food and regionalism in the last
two decades, the problem of regionalised food labelling has remained largely
unstudied in Southeast Europe. Although certain aspects of its emergence on
the threshold of nation building and modernity have caught the attention of researchers, the symbolic construction of regionally shaped dishes with their appearance and distribution in cookbooks and recipe books and the related policies
of regional identity construction, have not yet received a thorough exploration.
Addressing the ways in which regional identifiers emerge and are construed in
food labels, the current text will focus on the different and shifting meanings
that are developed by recipe titles, as they were reflected by the various cookbooks published in Bulgaria. We will also seek to examine how the modern personality and its eating habits include the consumption of a great number of
local food labels, by means of which an imaginary journey within a national
territory is conducted with a fork and a knife over a plate of a freshly cooked
traditional meal. The dishes and their labels will be shown as not merely designating affiliations to particular regions, but also as creating a symbolic geography of origins in which the national, the regional, and the local enter in an
intricate relationship.
Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities
39
Illustration 1: Examples of recipes with Bulgarian regional identifiers in the menu of the restaurant in traditional style Hadidraganovite kti in Sofia. Photo: Nadeda Pavlova. Collage: Maria Kovaeva.
The main goals of this article will be to trace the evolvement of regional
identifiers in food labels, as represented in published cookbooks and recipe
books, to elaborate on the strategies of defining regions through such food labels in nationally shared cuisine patterns, and to reflect on the construction
of regional identities along the code of food production and culinary specificity.
Drawing on an abundant wealth of material collected from cookbooks published
since the 1930s (when they began to include Bulgarian regional labels) until today, the article will use the food to navigate through the local, regional, and national memories encoded within its production and consumption. The authors
will approach these issues by following their historical dynamics of formation
and will seek to outline three major steps in their development with respect to
the Bulgarian case in the first half of the twentieth century, in the socialist
times, and in the post-socialist period.
The choice of cookbooks for analysing the process of forming regional
awareness through food specialties is guided by several reasons. They repre-
40
sent a particular expression of cultural memory one that relies on the individual and collective experience and that channels this experience along the lines
of specialization in food preparation that are shared with a broader public. As
Nefissa Naguib points out, cookbooks function rhetorically as memory texts:
to memorialize both individuals and community, to invoke memory beyond
mind, and to generate a sense of collective memory that in turn shapes communal memory (Naguib 2006: 280). Many of the published cookbooks and recipe
books are results of long years of learning, experiencing, recording, systematizing, and editing, and some of them rely on palpable autobiographic memories
that nurture and sustain their appearance. As products mostly of urban and print
cultures, they are a particular example of documenting traits of traditions that
are gradually losing grounds in the face of modernization and, recently, of globalization. Constituting a record of the food habits and eating specialties shared
by different ethnic and national groups, they offer ideas of native origin, heritage, and bonding to territories and cultures. As such, they are a convenient
milieu for enhanced awareness of national identities and for opening outlets for
invention within the sphere of tradition.
Before the great divide
A brief glance at the history of regional identification in food items reveals that
cooked food was surprisingly late to appear in the Bulgarian national repertoires of traditional items. Unlike other aspects of folk culture such as clothes,
vernacular architecture, and verbal folklore, most of the culinary items were
recognized as regional ones quite late, from the 1930s on. Prior to that, some
meals were named traditional and old ones, but hardly a regional label, and
often not even minor details about the region of origin, were added.1 Similarly,
although present in the paradigm of Bulgarian ethnographers since the 1890s,
studies of traditional food were for a long time rare and only occasionally referred to regional specificities. Including endeavours in taking down recipes
1
A notable example in this respect is one of the most representative 19th century recipe
books by P. Slavejkov. It included a separate section on the Istanbul practices of salting
meat according to different foreign styles (English, Danish, Russian, German, American,
French, German, Dutch, Italian, etc.; Slavejkov 1870: 91119, 128131). At the same time,
the author did not refer to any Bulgarian local salted meet specialties, although Istanbul
hosted many immigrants from different Bulgarian towns and villages. Most of these Bulgarians were newcomers, who have been reported by 20th century historians as bringing
to the Ottoman capital some of their typical habits of consuming various types of Bulgarian salted meat specialties which substantially vary in their local specifics. While mentioning none of these local variants, Slavejkov pays a lot of attention to foreign salted meat
specialties.
41
from old women, the published work of the prominent Bulgarian ethnographers
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was relatively negligent in providing details on regional variations and meal titles.2
The first decades of the twentieth century were a turning point in the development of an urban type of food and modern European eating habits in urban contexts. It was in this context where dishes from foreign cuisines came up
and where the distinction between national traditions different from those of the
close geographical neighbours emerged. The art of preparing an omelette Russian or Austrian style was well known in the European cuisine by the beginning of the twentieth century. However, the new culinary and serving culture
became an object of special education and knowledge in Bulgaria in the early
twentieth century, as young ladies and professional cooks were supposed to be
able both to cook in a European style and to prepare basic dishes from the
Bulgarian cuisine. With the European cuisine there also appeared the trend
to use regional labels in order to distinguish between meals differing from one
another only in small details by their ingredients, flavours or details of culinary
technology. Cookbooks were at that time very active in spreading the modern
Bulgarian habits of cooking and serving. Appearing initially as appendices to
journals and newspapers, they offered mainly recipes from the international
cuisine. Although Bulgarian dishes were less present in these cookbooks, they
offered quite a few such recipes for native soups, srmas, janhijas, kapamas,
etc. It is worth mentioning, though, that none of them was regionally labelled or
named Bulgarian. The emphasis was strongly on the creation of a modern
culture of eating with a diversity of forms, serving, and tastes, and whenever
the attention was directed to traditional kinds of meals, they were again spared
regional identification markers. While the European dishes often had regional
labels, the national ones lacked regional identification and were surrounded
by self-evidence.
A hardly perceptible, but nevertheless important symptom of change in the
modern Bulgarian urban culinary culture appeared in the cookbooks of the
1930s and 1940s. As in the previous decades, the main groups of dishes in these
cookbooks were still the European ones, but not the national ones. This was a
2
Even the most comprehensive and detailed account of food and meals provided by the
prominent Bulgarian ethnographer Dimitr Marinov was remarkable in that respect, as he
did not deem it necessary to specify the region of origin of dishes, although when writing
about traditional costumes, he clearly distinguished costume patterns from different regions and villages by the form, colour, and arrangement of the various ornaments. Obviously, the regional labels and the variations in the preparation of the meals characteristic
for the country were absent not only on the everyday level, but also for the ethnographer.
Thus, Marinov would rather describe the unity than the variety of this cultural realm (Marinov 1901).
42
well-established strategy practically in all pertinent types of books in that period

the books for professional cooks (Ivanov 1937), the guides for cooking courses in maidens schools (Peeva, Popova 1934; Kalendar po gotvarstvo 2005),
the cookbooks aimed predominantly at housewives (500 recepti 1927; Simeonova 1935; Miteva-Karakaeva 1932; Kasrova, Dimevska 1933; oleva,
Srbinova 1935; Hristova 1938; Slaveva 1941, etc.), and even books for raising
the culinary culture of village women (Negencova-Vladinska 1929). The general overtone of the cookbooks in the 1930s and 1940s was still rather a travel
around the world than a visit to the local and regional food patterns. Nevertheless, it was precisely these books that introduced several regional labels in Bulgarian cookbook repertoires and, together with that, the manner of labelling
traditional Bulgarian recipes, including the use of regional identifiers. These include some of the recipes that would later become extremely famous examples
of the traditional Bulgarian cuisine such as opska Salad (Krsteva 1940: 44),
Eggs Panagjurite Style (Ivanov 1937: 44), Macedonian Sausage (Kalendar po
gotvarstvo 2005: 384385), Lukanka Sausage Koprivtica Style (Hristova 1938:
67) and Grilled Danubian Mackerel (Slaveva 1941: 38). Notable was the wide
presence of regional labels in a cookbook dedicated to the traditional cuisine,
where there was a special section on Bulgarian gjuve. Its various types were
distinguished not only by the necessary products and by the details of their preparation, but also by the regional identifiers in their names. Out of 17 recipes for
gjuve, five had such regionalised names: Tjurlju Gjuve Varna Style, Gjuve
Stara Zagora Style, a version of the latter named Kujruklija, Gjuve opski
Style, and Meatless Gjuve Trakija Style (Hakanova 1937, see illustration 2).
As is apparent from such examples, it was mainly traditional foods which were
presented in regional variants and invested with regional labels. In terms of
scope, cookbooks of that time succeeded to encompass both big towns and their
regions (like Sliven, Stara Zagora or Varna), or small towns (Samokov and
Panagjurite), both ethnographic regions (like the region of Trakija and the
opski region near Sofia), and geographical realities, such as the river Danube.
In the late 1940s as well as in the 1950s and 1960s, which were the initial
decades of socialist rule in Bulgaria, many places of cheap public eating came up
besides the restaurants. Their existence and functioning was regulated by rules
set by the state. The period was characterized by a new mobility of people across
the country (due to resettlement, collectivization of agriculture, industrialization policies, grand construction projects or enhanced educational initiatives),
by the introduction of new kinds of communal and collective life, the involvement of women in industrial production and the resulting radical shortening of
their time available for preparing food at home. All these factors contributed to
the increase of spaces for public eating, mostly ones at the workplace, and the
dependence on conventional and largely uniform menus offered by the canteen
43
Illustration 2: Cover page of the 1937 cookbook of A. Hakanova, oneof the first books that
systematically included Bulgarian regional identifiers in food names. Courtesy of the Regional History Museum, Ruse.
cook. In turn, the latter could rely not only on the skills acquired in their families or households, but also on the recipe books approved and recommended by
the socialist state.
With the exception of the few already mentioned food labels, which were fossilized in the language quite early on, regional labels would not find their way
into the pages of cookbooks, and the identification of a dish as from a distinct
region of Bulgaria would appear only occasionally. Gjuves, musakas and traditional cheese pastries in most cases lacked regional identifications, although the
books typically included already trivialized traditional dishes such as opska
Salad (Kniga za domakinjata 1956: 95, Kniga za domakinjata 1966: 95), and
Eggs Panagjurite Style (Kniga za domakinjata 1956: 209; Kniga za domakinjata 1966: 214; Najdenov, ortanova 1974: 113). Together with these, there were
also occasional items that later gained wide popularity, such as Kebap opski
Style (Kniga za domakinjata 1956: 114), Grilled Danubian Mackerel (Najdenov,
44
ortanova 1974: 229), or Tomato Gjuve Trakija Style (Najdenov, ortanova

1974: 183).
In recipe books for public eating, regional references were noticeably more
common. In one of the first state-approved repertoires for socialist places of eating out, one can find opska Salad together with Oriental, Mexican, and Italian
ones (Sbornik recepti 1956, vol. 1: 5087), as well as Jahnija Dobruda Style,
Gjuve Trakija Style or Meatballs irpan Style or the non-traditional Rila
Cocktail (Sbornik recepti 1956, vol. 1: 199, 217, vol. 2: 28, 49, 242). In a popular recipe book for forestry workers, opska Salad and Eggs Panagjurite Style
are already mentioned as having a strong familiarity (Popova, Bozukova 1965:
22, 27). The geographical scope began to widen, and on the map of regional
specialties there appeared several small towns like irpan in Central Bulgaria,
new ethnographic regions like Dobruda, and geographical names like the
Rila Mountains. At the same time, however, while some of the textbooks for
future professional cooks contained regional identifiers in recipe labels, such as
Jahnija Dobruda Style or Eggs Panagjurite Style (Bojadiev 1959: 221, 258,
263), others lacked such identifiers (Vlkova, Konstantinova 1959). In general,
both in the first half of the twentieth century and in the first decades of socialism, cookbooks involved far more regional labels from the European cuisine,
and the major difference was that in the 1950s and 1960s there was a much larger representation of the cuisine of Russia and other socialist countries. In contrast, although they gradually increased, regional titles from the Bulgarian cuisine were very limited in number.
Regional food in the spotlight of invention
Despite this gradual process of growing attention to regional markers in food
items, a basically new view of national cuisine came up in the early 1970s, together with the new nutrition policy of the state which aimed at improving food
quality (as far as the desired quantity was presumed to have been satisfied already). The change was manifested in a new attitude towards national dishes
and regional recipes. The trend was signalled by an interpretative monograph
by Nikolaj Delepov, which included a special part on Why do we need to rediscover our national cuisine, where the author thoroughly developed the idea
of the diverse and healthy national food (Delepov 1971: 2327).
This new attitude was expressed in a powerful trend in the recipe books for
public eating issued in the 1970s and 1980s. They were typically characterized
by a clear increase in the number of regional specialties. Thus, for example,
the official recipe book of that period was the first one to include a special section on national dishes. Notable was the appearance of characteristic traditional
45
recipes adapted for cooking in restaurants. It was among them that a remarkable number of regional labels appeared, such as Dry Beans opski Style, Kebap opski Style, Krvavica Panagjurite Style, Elenski But, Fish Vidin Style,
etc. (Recepturnik 1970: 398, 439440, 502, 503, 506). Many labels contained
regional identifiers put in inverted commas like e.g. Vitoa Cake, Pleven
Cake, including some curiosities such as Dobruda Cake Belgian Style (Recepturnik 1970: 608, 592, 630631). They were commonly used to signify nontraditional dishes which were to be sold as local specialties as well. They were
mainly intended to satisfy the need of tourism to offer more local varieties of
basic dishes by increasing the number of regional labels. A clear example in that
respect is the Balkanturist Salad, named after the state-owned tourist company which had a monopoly on the Bulgarian tourist market in the socialist period (Recepturnik 1970: 83). The next repertoire (of 1978) contained some 1120
recipes, and many of their titles included regional identifiers. These new labels
were given to non-traditional recipes such as Balkan Cutlet, Trakija Steak
(Edinen sbornik recepti 1978: 594, 629630), though most of them adhered to
the regional identification of traditional local specialties such as Kebap Stranda
Style or Kavrma Radomir Style (Edinen sbornik recepti 1978: 547, 568). Remarkable was also the appearance of a special section of selected recipes from
the old Bulgarian cuisine, which included 40 recipes, almost all of which had regional labels and included titles such as Fish Gjuve Nikopol Style, Lamb Buglama Ruse Style or Trakijski Djado (Edinen sbornik recepti 1978: 879, 883, 884).
This trend of regional identification continued in the 1980s (Edinen sbornik recepti 1981), when regional food labels expanded even further. The 1970s and
early 1980s also introduced a more consistent naming of recipes from one and
the same region, thereby outlining an ethnographic region as a specific food
region. The symbolic map expanded with the appearance of additional ethnographic regions (such as Stranda in Southeast Bulgaria), big towns like Ruse,
and small towns like Radomir or Nikopol, creating the impression of covering
the entire national territory, although some regions such as the Rhodope Mountains remained notably under-represented.
The most overt expression of the new attitude to national cuisine and to the
regionalisation of food items came with the publication of a new type of a cookbook, a compendium of recipes from traditional Bulgarian cuisine under the title Blgarska nacionalna kuhnja (Petrov et al. 1983). First published in 1978
(and in further editions), it gained an enormous popularity among cooks and
housewives as it was the first and certainly the most systematic book in which
the regional affiliation of the dishes was clearly stated. Obviously guided by the
awareness that local food varieties can successfully represent both their regions
of origin and the nations past, the book provided historical data about food and
eating in the Bulgarian lands and, especially in its first edition, took the oppor-
46
tunity to convey a patriotic spirit through its illustrations. They showed not only
photographs of dishes but also history-related pictures, such as the native houses
of the nineteenth century revolutionary Panajot Volov in umen, the early medieval Madara equestrian stone carving, the ruins of the Great Royal Palace in
Preslav built during the first Bulgarian Kingdom, etc. Ethnographic contexts
were also thoroughly represented by the inclusion of photographs of household
interiors exhibited in the Ethnographic Museum of Smoljan, images of girls in
folk costumes, a picture of a master coppersmith at work in the Etra National
Open Air Ethnographic Museum, as well as pictures of traditional tablecloths
and ceramics from the permanent exhibition of folk art in the village of Oreak,
region of Trojan. In addition, as the book was mainly aimed at making the abundant variety of local recipes available for restaurants, famous eating places on
the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, such as the Vodenicata Restaurant and the Hanska atra Restaurant, were also represented. In the second and all following editions, these photographs were exchanged for ones of dishes in traditional ceramic and copper vessels arranged with meals and put on the table as to follow
closely the restaurant pattern of serving traditional food on folk tablecloths.
The notable idea in this book is that through their titles all these recipes contain and promote regionalism. Varying in forms of regional identification, they
most frequently include specifications of the region where the dish is prepared or
was recorded by ethnographers. Also, they often label the item itself as following a particular regional style, or as having regional peculiarities as compared
to other regions3. In some cases when, because of its name, the national dish
has been included in the lists without a regional label, the reader is informed
by an explanation in brackets, like, for example Katino Meze, which was specially pointed out to have come from the village of Klokotnica, Haskovo region
(Petrov et al. 1983: 36). For other dishes that are known by the name of their
region of origin (e.g. Lamb Buglama Ruse Style), a concrete village of the region is specified, such as Lamb Buglama from the village of Dve Mogili, Ruse
region (Petrov et al. 1983: 124).
Although the locality of most meals was mentioned in brackets and rarely
crystallized in a regional food label, the national cuisine cookbook of 1978
played the role of a turning point in the process of incorporating regional food
names in the specialized printed discourse on cookbooks and recipe books. In
fact, after this book it was largely impossible to write about Bulgarian national
See e.g. in Petrov et al. 1983: 124125: Poached Eggs (Village of Dibi, umen Region), Poached Eggs Panagjurite Style, Poached Eggs with Mushrooms (Panagjurite),
Poached Eggs Dobruda Style (abla), Poached Eggs Prepared in an Oven (village of
Malk Preslavec, Silistra Region), Poached Eggs with Mashed Potatoes (Ljaskovets) or
Poached Eggs with Sauce (Srednogorie Region).
47
cuisine without putting emphasis on the enormous variety of regional dishes and
without providing detailed references to regional practices and versions that constituted meal preparation. The previously homogenized and compact vision of
the national cuisine became traversed with a series of local and regional variations of almost any of the nationally shared dishes, frequently disclosing the convention of holding them together within a common label. What could before be
called generally gjuve (or, Trakijski Gjuve in the 1950s and 1960s), acquired
a series of possible identifications by regional styles and preparations. Almost
each of the food products and dishes gained a list of several possible versions
of traditional preparation in different parts of the country.4 Before this background of regional dishes, the mentioning of meals such as Rodopski Patatnik,
Strandanski Djado, Banski Starec that were not shared by more than one region
signified regional uniqueness. These dishes were taken into the spotlight of the
national culinary map, were made visible as peculiar among the motley pattern
of other local versions, and were made coterminous with the long list of regional
versions of national dishes. The regional varieties covered the entire territory
of the country, leaving no region unrepresented in the national culinary space
and listing hundreds of villages where peculiar ways of meal preparation had
been recorded. The Rhodope Mountains, which had previously been almost absent from the culinary map, were compensated in this book by their systematic
representation which, like in all other regions, reached to the smallest village.
The role of this particular cookbook in the representation and raised awareness of regional food identifiers leads to the issue of the role of experts and their
knowledge. It turns out that the regionalisation of food in Bulgaria relied heavily on the work of experts, mostly ethnographers, in the last decade of the socialist period. By documenting and publishing detailed descriptions of countless recipes across the national territory, this cookbook gave form to regions
where the dishes came from and densely saturated the national map as an imagined space of a myriad of culinary versions and techniques. Through the ethnographic knowledge, regions were subjected to investigation and classification, as
points to give account of local variants and regional characteristics of food, and
as occasions for developing native documentations furnished with photographic
imagery. In fact, after 1978 the publishing of culinary books would hardly be
done without ethnographers, whose work raised the overt identification of the
regional affiliation of dishes to a norm which became a prerequisite for all later
cookbooks.5
Some of them have hardly anything in common, for example Gjuve with Mushrooms and
Rice from Trojan and Milk Gjuve with Potatoes from Bjala (Petrov et al. 1983: 110111).
5
A good example of the influence of this book and of the leading cooks on what was called
national cuisine after the 1970s is the book of Mihalev, which borrowed a lot of the
4
48
Another important factor for the regionalisation of food in the last decade
of socialism was the intensive development of the restaurant sector, which put
a strong emphasis on the reinvention of the national and authentic, both in
interior design and in menu lists. Especially in the 1970s, the folk places of
eating out became very popular and a series of old houses, cellars, inns, etc.
were furnished in a national style, customarily offering traditional specialties. The interest in them was enhanced considerably by the state policy of the
1970s, but also by the fact that such restaurants were actively sought by both foreign and local tourists. A widely shared practice there was to serve at least one
unique specialty characteristic for the particular area. It was in such restaurants
where the cookbooks with recipes from different regions were widely used. Offering a variety of regionalized food found in the cookbooks was convenient,
and at the same time it furthered the multiplication of regionalism in food items.
Food labels and regionalism in the post-socialist period
The explosion of regional identifiers in food labels after 1990 was conditioned
largely by the rise of new patterns of eating and consumption that developed due
to the political, economic, and social changes in the post-socialist period. The
dissolution of the state-owned restaurant and hotel business and the new contexts and occasions for public eating, combined with the appearance of different
types of restaurants, the revival of some religious holidays, as well as the emergence of the fast food movement (see Krsteva-Blagoeva 2001), had an enormous impact on the conceptualization of food. The new waves of migration to
the larger cities, for example, led to an increased territorial embeddedness of
meals and an intensification of references to regional belonging and styles of
preparation. Similar was the effect of the encounters with cuisines from different parts of the world which, together with the knowledge of distant parts of the
globe, increased the awareness of ones own cultural specificity and the value of
local cultural patterns. The new presence of international cuisine in the menus
in places for public eating was in a way coterminous with an increased emphasis on the local tradition in dishes that could be found only in a particular region
and location. The latter was a technique to manifest a certain item as lying at
the core of a communitys identity, and thus as providing authenticity in the dynamic context of import, borrowing, offering, and consuming.
The post-socialist period witnessed a liberalization of publishing which facilitated the appearance of many new cookbook genres and editions. They all
recipes and strictly followed their regional identification. Some of the recipes clearly show
how this book expanded on the old one by offering new inventions (Mihalev 1984).
49
testify to an incredible proliferation of regional food labels between 1990 and

2006. It surpassed by far the regionalisation wave of the 1980s and made regional identification an almost obligatory element in recipe texts. The 11001200 basic recipes from the traditional cuisine published in 1978 were multiplied in various contexts. As was to be expected, there were also new recipes discovered
in the field, already not only by professional ethnographers, but also by local
enthusiasts and specialists from regional museums, editors, writers, and professional cooks.6 Albeit most of these newly discovered recipes are only variants
of published ones, they are usually listed as entirely new ones. In the attempt to
achieve uniqueness and to differ from the published dishes, a new local or regional title is an obligatory prerequisite, but there also began to be sought other
means of expressing regional identity through the recipe itself. This led to the
proliferation of regional markers in the labels as well as in the recipes, which
created the impression of a larger variety than the real one. Regional labels
abounded in that period, causing the restructuring of the recipe lists and the enhanced importance of the regional identification of dishes. In some of the recent
books, the meals are listed not only as to follow the meal courses, but also by
regions. The types of the books also vary greatly and include professional recipe books, books about regional cuisine, books presenting the Bulgarian cuisine
in general, books about different groups of dishes such as pastries, meat meals,
gjuves, etc. Although there was an internal development within the groups of
books, it was not a simultaneous one, the differences largely depending on the
authors point of view.
A great variety of regional labels can be found, for example, in a series of
cookbooks spreading from conscious post-socialist efforts to revive the celebration of religious holidays. Published in order to instigate the need for special recipes connected with these holidays, most of the books also show a clear interest
in regional variations of the food for the holidays and, respectively, in their regional labels. Thus, the recipes for roasted chicken on the Second Sunday before
Lent, or for pastries obligatory for the dinner table on the First Sunday before
Lent, are available in different regional styles (Mikova 1995: 3945, 4953). In
these books there are also well-known examples from world cuisine, because
they had already firmly entered urban feast dinners in pre-socialist times, but
now they are much smaller than those evoking Bulgarian regionalized contexts.
The latter are usually offered in at least four or five regional variations, leaving
A notable example of such a case is that some TV shows of the recent years turned even
the very process of gathering folk recipes into a media show. Such was, for instance, Ivan
Zvezdevs Bon Apeti on the BTV national television channel where he paid visits to both
famous cooks and elderly ladies from various villages to have them cook recipes from their
local tradition (cf. the photo of Zvezdev paying such a visit, Zvezdev 2003).
50
it open to the cook or the housewife to choose the taste and the region. All this
links region and holiday, and thus permits the use of books as reference materials for the nature of the holiday culinary traditions in certain regions.
Probably the largest group of cookbooks published after 1990 was dedicated to the presentation of the Bulgarian cuisine in general. The majority of these
books is characterized by an abundance of regional dishes and names referring
to a wide span of villages, towns, cities and regions and including recipes from
all over the country. An interesting case is a Russian edition in which the translation of the regional food labels demanded special explanations of the location
of certain regions and their capitals (Petkova 1998). This approach was followed in one of the biggest compendiums of national cuisine, where the meals
are grouped by regions and cover the entire national territory, giving a clear
idea of the regional styles of traditional Bulgarian cooking (Blgarska kuhnja
2000, reissued 2006). Thus the notable tendency in the scope of these books is
to cover a variety of regions and locations, some of which crystallize into regional chapters.
Another large group, the recipe books for places of public eating and the
textbooks for specialized cooking and tourism schools, include special sections
dedicated to traditional cuisine. It is namely there where the regional labels were
the most numerous as legitimating a particular dish as a national one and thus
belonging to a particular category of culinary listing. The chapter on Bulgarian
national cuisine in the compendium of places for eating out, issued in 1991, consists of 150 dishes, two thirds of which have regional labels and include a lot of
previously unknown recipes: Krvavica Trnovo Style, Ktk Zlatograd Style,
Fish Soup Kotel Style, Ktk Zlatograd Style, or Klin Rodopi Style (Sbornik recepti 1991: 64, 639, 646, 730). The big national cuisine recipe book issued in
2000 also lists some 300 recipes from the national cuisine, adapted for places of
public eating. About one quarter of the dishes labels evoke regional contexts,
such as Chicken Glavan Style, Leek Pastry Kjustendil Style, Dobrudanka
Bread, etc. (Petrova 2000: 221, 225, 290). Notably, the general label in Bulgarian style is already completely absent. It is also worth mentioning that an intriguing recently published textbook for students in the sphere of restaurant and
hotel business deals with the preparation of traditional dishes in contemporary
restaurants, linking them to national holidays and rituals. Arranged by regions,
the book covers all parts of Bulgaria in alphabetical order. Although they are already placed in a regional framework by the arrangement of the book, about half
of the recipes carry regional labels, i.e., they are ready for use in a fragmented
and separate way (Stamenov, Aleksieva 2005). Most of the recipes in cookbooks
for places of public eating or in textbooks for students preparing for a career
in the restaurant business are well-known or borrowed from other collections.
What is important here is their recent arrangement by regions: the presentation
51
of a region with its typical recipes in places for public eating is already a special value and need from a business point of view. Although all sorts of regional
identifiers are used and the entire national territory is covered, there is a general
restraint to use very small and poorly known village names.
Another phenomenon worth pointing out is the increase in books on regions
in the early 1990s. Published in response to the development of regional tourism and to the need for gathering at one place recipes from a whole region, these
books introduce a new element in the arrangement of the contents. They present
comprehensive collections of regional recipes and introduce a new set of naming practices which promote the names of smaller towns and regions in the label itself, not merely in a bracket reference. A cookbook with dishes from the
Rhodope region, for instance, presents the regional kaamak, potato dishes and
pastries, most labels carrying regional names such as Patatnik Zlatograd Style,
Patatnik Davidkovo Style, and Patatnik epelare Style (Merdanov 1992: 42
43). A regional cookbook published in the city of umen interestingly identifies
even those sub-regions that appear in the names of recipes as, for example, Kebap Kamija Style, Kebap Preslav Style, Kebap Vrbica Style, etc. (Stari recepti
1994: 2729). There are also labels with names of villages in the region such as
Main Dish from Osmar, Roast Lamb from Pliska, Chicken Dish from Divdjadovo
(ibid.: 36, 39, 40). Among these regional labels there are also some titles referring to medieval Bulgarian history (Krumova Veerja, Boljarka Cake or Boljarka Pastry) or foreign labels taken from the urban cuisine of older times (Hungarian Schtrudel, English Cake, Belgian Cake) (ibid., 30, 74, 75, 83, 94, 96).
All these regional cookbooks attained a different character after 2000. They
became books about the cuisine of a particular town, or in books dedicated
towns there were sections on food. A book about regional Trojan cuisine, for example, states as its basic goal to show what the people from Trojan region ate
in times past, what the table customs were, and what was domestic hospitality
in the twentieth century. Pursuing this task, it presents a range of local dishes,
paying special attention to the famous Trojanska Lukanka, which is defined as
the peak of Trojan gastronomic art and its most substantial contribution to national cuisine (Pejkov, Pejkova 2004: 2223). Providing a detailed account of
the history of the recipe and of the family of Taslakov, which brought the sausage production know-how from Hungary and founded a sausage factory, the
book abounds with narratives about the hospitality of the people of Trojan region and with pictures of served food before the background of old Trojan houses and mountain peaks (ibid., 195200). A similar instance of local patriotism is
a chapter in a book dedicated to the village of Banja near Bansko. This chapter,
together with the descriptions of the beautiful scenery, the genuine hospitality,
and village traditions, is a tourist product aimed at attracting both Bulgarians
and foreigners, as the bilingual edition in English and Bulgarian suggests (Jor-
52
danova 2005). A book on Gabrovo culinary traditions offers a good example of

how a typical Gabrovo dish is promoted: It is being said that if you go to Gabrovo and do not taste roast pork, it is as if you had never been there. The main
rule for preparing and roasting the pig is to make it look appealing and with a
pleasant taste, in order to arouse a strong appetite. Procedures for its preparation should not be changed and should be strictly observed (Elmazov 2006: 33).
All these examples show that there is a growing tendency of additional regionalisation and hedonization of food. That is why, when the tendency developed
after 2000, the texts around the recipes sharply increased, evoking the region
not only in the recipes, but also in the tastes, the ways of eating, the history and
the culture of the region.
Quite in line with these new trends of food perception, books with recipes
about the pleasure of eating have appeared recently. In these books the narrative about the recipes, the places they come from, and where they are prepared
best, creates an aura of uniqueness around the dish. It is also widely acknowledged that for a dish to receive the particular regional flavour it should consist
only of local products and be prepared by local masters in local vessels, etc.
(Kujumdiev 1992: 4448,4954). Some of these books praising the pleasures
of eating represent guides to the different regions and towns in the country, as
well as to their popular pubs and restaurants. The emphasis is on food quality
and on local specificity, which adds identity to historically formed culinary habits. Thus, for example, one of these books, which has several pages dedicated to
the town of Nessebar, uses the mention of its typical food as a convenient occasion for describing the nineteenth century Nessebar houses and for introducing
the local places for eating out, such as the pub Kapitanska Sreta, which offers a
real local fish soup. In turn, the description of the taste of Fish Soup Nessebar
Style traces the link between the town and the sea in antiquity, a link which can
be tasted even in the clay bowl of fish soup (Markov 1993: 3335).
As all these examples of the 1990s reveal, the necessity not only to include
recipes from a particular region, but also to supply narratives about them, led to
the packaging of food and imagination in a new way. The development of special eating tastes and their construction as regionally specific is no longer connected only with providing the recipe, but also with narrating about them and
insisting on the preservation of old technologies for cooking and the selection
of ingredients. The regional is also strongly present in the texts of the recipes
when they provide information about the specificity of the products, flavours,
technologies, and spices, as well as when they describe the eating habits of the
particular region. As long as these books typically reproduce recipes from other
books, their geographical scope represents a mixture of areas and locations dispersed across the national territory and pretending to have a value of their own.
53
Conclusion
Our overview of regional labels in Bulgarian cookbooks reveals a comparatively
late process of discovering regionalised food and its diversification across the
national territory. Other aspects of traditional culture, whose local variants were
documented and categorized already at the end of the nineteenth and in the beginning of the twentieth century, appeared much earlier on the national scene.
The regionalisation of traditional food was a fairly slow process which began
with the mass appearance of cookbooks in the 1930s, but acquired significant
dimensions from the 1970s on, at the time of late twentieth century nation-oriented ethnography. With its impetus to leave no region or traditional item under-represented, it placed traditional dishes firmly on the national map. A new
boom of regional labels followed in the post-socialist decades when food was
increasingly construed as closely dependent on its regional content and on its
being a marker of regional identity.
Today these issues have gained special importance in the context of the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007. Bulgarian producers demonstrate
their interest to register, both in Bulgaria and in the European Union, some of
their foodstuffs as guaranteed traditional specialties or as food with a special
designation of origin or geographic indication (Nikolova 2006, Stoilova 2007,
Georgieva 2007). Some of them have applied to the Bulgarian Patent Institution, where the list of geographic indications and designations of origin already
amounts to more than 200 items. While the list of appellations of origin registered by Bulgarian organizations in accordance with the Lisbon Agreement for
the Protection of Appellations of Origin in the late 1970s and in the 1980s shows
a clear preference for designating export foodstuffs as Bulgarian, the new list
at the Bulgarian Patent Institution demonstrates the will and the ambition of the
Bulgarian producers to use regional and local labels such as Lukanka Karlovo
Style or Gmza Wine from the Village of Novo Selo (Vidin Region). Some of
the traditional food and beverage items may be difficult to include in the lists,
though, as the link between the special qualities of the foodstuffs and the region
has to be proven thoroughly for the EU registration.7 Anticipating these difficulties, the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Foodstuffs in September 2007
issued a special ordinance for the preparation and presentation of the requests to
the EU Commission in compliance with the EU regulations. By the term traditional these regulations mean regional origin that can be followed back at least
7
A registration, although desirable as giving additional value to the foodstuffs, may cause
serious frictions. One need only mention the 2007 Spekcky sausage war between the
Czechs and Slovaks (Singer 2007). Foodstuffs such as Italian pasta, Dutch cheese, French
champagne or Bavarian beer have caused serious disagreements in the EU (see Roth
2001:53). Thus the procedure of registration unquestionably requires special scrutiny.
54
25years prior to the registration (Council Regulation 2006), whereas the registration of geographic indication and designation of origin requires only proof of
connectedness between region and product. In the same way as the Bulgarian
cookbooks of the last four decades, which reveal trends in food nostalgia, these
lists will certainly become a rich depository of testimonies, both for the specific
regional or traditional nature of given recipes and for their generic nature. The
cookbooks, far from being unanimous on the traditional or regional nature of
certain recipes, unquestionably show that the regional qualities of foodstuffs
have a powerful appeal, both to the Bulgarians and to their foreign guests.
Bearing this in mind, there are three points that need to be emphasized about
this new life of culinary regionalism. The first is that it is closely connected to
marketing techniques, which proliferated after the end of socialism. In line with
the principles of the market economy and the reactions to globalization, food
and food labels have been recognized as a commodity whose regional content
may facilitate its selling. The increased mobility of people within and across national borders, the growing number of foreign visitors, the enhanced impetus of
spending leisure time in exotic and unexplored places, the organization of alternative forms of tourism (village, cultural, hunting, hobby, culinary, wine, ethnographic, etc.) all these factors encourage hotel and restaurant owners to view
regional culinary traditions as a niche which can be used to attract more visitors. But the marketing of regional and local diversity extends to a wide range of
occasions of offering food for sale and is thus an inherent element of the larger
process of commodification of cultural identity. In our time, when conditions of
transportation and commercial exchange can move whatsoever food stuff or dish
to whatsoever place on the globe, the importance of regionally marked culinary
items grows to an unprecedented degree. In this context, the imaginary or symbolic consumption needs regionalisation to swallow up both food exoticism and
the nostalgia for native food.
The second point concerns the relation of this regional labelling to the reconceptualization of space and territory. The new opportunities for transportation and communication, for collecting, preparing and transporting food have a
strong impact on these processes. Food is to a large extent produced and traded
by global corporations (Phillips 2006: 47, Keller 2005) and circulates long distances outside land-rooted contexts. These trade patterns increasingly characterize the marketing of Bulgarian foods as well. The physical qualities and ascribed
characteristics of food can serve as a counterweight to the de-territorialization
of social space, as a re-configuration and repositioning of the spatio-temporal
terms of human relatedness (Holtzman 2006: 367). As for Bulgaria, it is hardly surprising that today one can buy, for example, Lukanka Gorna Orjahovica
Style produced both at its traditional location in Gorna Orjahovica (Central Bulgaria) and in Blagoevgrad (Western Bulgaria); or, Banski Starec initially pro-
55
duced in Bansko (Western Bulgaria) and in Veliko Trnovo (Central Bulgaria).

In view of the wide-spread process of de-territorialization, food is a convenient
tool for sustaining a relationship with space and territory and for filling the vacuums of our globalized world with places, distances, and borders. It is a means
for maintaining territorial identifiers in the context of open borders and dissolving territorial specificities. Regional products can sustain the regional affiliation
of migrants living far away from their native places: they can visit traditional
restaurants and eat Kapama po Banski, or they can buy Rodopea Yoghurt or Elenski But as ready-made native foods.
The third point concerns memory. The enhanced mobility in space and time
and the encounter with diverse cultural traditions in a brief time span has triggered the search for new ways to overcome forgetting by the invention of tools
to relate and link to the past. The kind of memory that the food labels manifest, however, is rather a re-memory, one that is transmitted and reenacted,
but is not necessarily founded in direct experience. Regional identifiers of food
emerge as remembered and as always present, although this remembrance often lacks any direct experience with the local culinary tradition. The contemporary salience of regional identifiers in food labels can thus be interpreted as a
symptom of, and a reaction to, the shifting grounds of personal experience of the
home-grown tradition and its necessary re-construction and re-actualization as a
reaction to globalization. Through the invented and actualized regional identifiers in food labels, communities and individuals can position themselves both in
the globalized world and in the world of tradition, thus producing a native society scattered across various places in the country or the world rather than being
located in a single place or region.
Literature
500 recepti 1927: 500 recepti za gotvene. Sofia: Izdatelstvo Vestnik za enata,
Peatnica Rodina.
Blgarska kuhnja 2000. Sofia: Kolhida.
Bojadiev, Stefan 1959: Tehnologija za prigotvjane na hranata. Uebnik za studenti-ikonomisti. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.
oleva, Penka, Nadeda Srbinova 1935: 555 izpitani recepti za gotvene. Sofia: Izdatelstvo Vestnik za enata.
Council Regulation (EC) N 509/2006 on agricultural products and foodstuffs
as traditional specialties guaranteed. OJ L 93/3, 31.3.2006.
Delepov, Nikolai 1971: Domana kuhnja. Biblioteka Zdravni besedi za seloto. Sofia: Medicina i fizkultura.
56
Edinen sbornik recepti 1978: Edinen sbornik recepti za zavedenijata za

obtestveno hranene. Sofia: Tehnika.
Edinen sbornik recepti 1981: Edinen sbornik recepti za zavedenijata za
obtestveno hranene. Sofia: Tehnika.
Elmazov, Ivan 2006: 365 dni ot kuhnjata na gabroveca. Gabrovo: Gabrovo print.
Georgieva, Mara 2007: Banski Starec trgva po Evropa. Blgarski produkti
te iskat zatita v Brjuksel kato tradicionni za stranata. In: Predpriema 34,
24.8.2007. URL: http://www.capital.bg.
Hakanova, Ana 1937: Blgarski narodni gostbi [Bulgarian folk dishes]. Sofia:
Vestnik za enata.
Holtzman, John 2006: Food and Memory. In: Annual Review of Anthropology 35: 361378.
Hristova, V. 1938: Domakinski narnik. Sofia: Vestnik Nae selo.
Ivanov, Vlado 1937: Gotvarska kniga (specialno za gotvai i domakini). Sofia:
Peatnica Hudonik.
Jordanova, Emilija 2005: Medu tri planini. Sofia: Sema.
Kalendar po gotvarstvo 1937 [reissue 2005]: Uebnik po domakinstvo v
praktiesko deviesko zanajatijsko uilite Marija Luiza. Yambol: Abagar.
Kasrova, Bogdana, Spaska Dimevska 1933: Gotvarska kniga s polezni
uptvanija za mladata domakinja. Sofia: Knipergraf.
Keller, Teresa 2005: Produkte am globalen Markt. Nahrungsmittelhersteller
zwischen Standardisierung und kultureller Anpassung. Mnster: Waxmann.
Kniga za domakinjata 1956, Penka oleva (ed.). Sofia: Izdatelstvo na nacionalnija svet na Oteestvenija front.
Kniga za domakinjata 1966, Ana Kovaeva, Elena Hadieva (eds.). Sofia: Izdatelstvo na nacionalnija svet na Oteestvenija front.
Krsteva, Ana 1940: Malka gotvarska enciklopedija. Narodna kuhnja. Sofia:
Peatnica Vzhod.
Krsteva-Blagoeva, E. 2001: Bulgarians and McDonalds. Some Anthropological Aspects. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 5: 207217.
Kujumdiev, Krstjo 1992: Ela, Boe, da jadem. Gotvarski recepti na edin estet. Sofia: Letopisi.
Marinov, Dimitr 1901: Gradivo za vetestvenata kultura na Zapadna Blgarija.
In: SBNU 18: 1192.
Markov, Emil 1993: Blgarski izkuenija. 33 iljustrovani kulinarni pteestvija.
Sofia: Petrum.
Merdanov, Konstantin 1992: Rodopski jastija. Sofia: Zemizdat.
Mihalev, Boris 1984: Venata profesija. Sofia: Profizdat.
Mikova, Desislava (ed.) 1995: Trapeza za imen den. Sofia: Geja.
Miteva-Karakaeva, Anastasija 1932: Gotvarska kniga. Sofia: Biblioteka
Moderna domakinja.
57
Naguib, Nefissa 2006: The Fragile Tale of Egyptian Jewish Cuisine: Food
Memoirs of Claudia Roden and Colette Rossant. In: Food and Foodways
14, 1: 3553.
Najdenov, Ivan, Sonja ortanova 1974 [1955]: Naa kuhnja. Sofia: OF.
Negencova-Vladinska, T. 1929: Gotvarska kniga za selskata domakinja. Sofia:
Populjarna biblioteka Zemedelska kninina.
Nikolova, Veneta 2006 (English version Iva Letnikova): The Bulgarian lukanka to apply for trademark in the EU. URL: http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/Theme_BulgariaES/Material/lukanka.htm first published on 20.10.2006.
Peeva, C., El. Popova 1934: Rkovodstvo po gotvarstvo (nagodeno za zemedelskite i domakinskite uilita i za blgarskata domakinja). Pleven: Izgrev.
Pejkov, Ivan, Penka Pejkova 2004: Vkus na balkanska trapeza. Sofia: Lakrima.
Petkova, Jordanka 1998: Bolgarskaja kuhnja. Sofia: Geja Evgenija Petrova.
Petrov, Ljubomir et al. 1983 [1978]: Blgarska nacionalna kuhnja. Sofia:
Zemizdat.
Petrova, Linka (ed.) 2000: Blgarska nacionalna kuhnja. Recepturnik. Sofia:
Svetovit.
Phillips, Lynne 2006: Food and Globalization. In: Annual Review of Anthropology 35: 3757.
Popova, Stefana, Ljuba Bozukova 1965: Gotvarska kniga za stolovite i gorskite
stopanstva. Sofia: Komitet za gorite i gorskata promilenost, Zemizdat.
Recepturnik 1970: Recepturnik po gotvarstvo i sladkarstvo. Sbornik recepti za
otrasla Medunaroden i vatreen turizm. Sofia: Tehnika.
Roth, Klaus 2001: Trkentrank, Gulys, Joghurt, Dner: Stereotypen in der
europischen Esskultur. In: Valeria Heuberger et al. (eds.), Vom Schwarzwald bis zum Schwarzen Meer. Die Donau als Mittlerin europischer Esskultur. Frankfurt am Main: Lang, 4355 (published also in Bulgarian: Tursko
kafe, gula, jogurt, djuner: stereotipi v evropejskata kulinarna kultura. In:
Rot, Juliana, Klaus Rot, Studii po interkulturna komunikacija. Sofia: Marin
Drinov 2007, 168178).
Roth, Klaus 2004: Streit ums Essen? Nahrungsverhalten in bikulturellen Ehen
und Familien. In: Ene Kresaar et al. (eds.), Everyday Life and Cultural Patterns. International Festschrift for Elle Vunder. Tartu: Tartu Univ. Press,
171191 (published also in Bulgarian: Spor za jadeneto? Hranitelno povedenie v bikulturni brakove i semejstva. In: Blgarska etnologija 32, 3 (2006)
1023).
Sbornik recepti 1956: Sbornik recepti za zavedenijata za obtestveno hranene.
Sofia: Ministerstvo na vtrenata trgovija. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.
Sbornik recepti 1991: Sbornik recepti za kulinarnite izdelija, prigotvjani v
zavedenijata za obtestveno hranene. Sofia: Abagar BT.
58
Simeonova, Cana 1935: Zlatna kniga za semejstvoto. Sofia: Slnce.

Singer, Joshua 2007: Czechs vs. Slovaks: The Diplomatic War over Sausages.
URL: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/96358 first published on 11.10.2007.
Slaveva, A. 1941: Gotvarska kniga. Sofia: Peatnica Nov ivot.
Slavejkov, Petko R. 1870: Gotvarska kniga ili nastavlenija za vsjakakvi gostbi
spored kakto gi pravjat v Carigrad i razni domani spravi, sabrani ot razni
knigi. Carigrad: Peatnica na Makedonija.
Stamenov, Stamen, Jordanka Aleksieva 2005: Nacionalni kuhni i tradicii v
hraneneto. Part 1. Plovdiv: Kota.
Stari recepti 1994: Stari recepti ot blgarskata kuhnja. umen: Sl. Nikolov.
Stoilova, Ekaterina 2007: te ima subsidii i za tradicionnite hrani. Do 3000
evro te se davit za proizvodstvo na smiljanski bob, elenski suduk i dr.
URL: http://www.dnevnik.bg first published on 28.5.2007.
Vlkova, M., Sv. Konstantinova 1959: Nauka za hraneneto. Uebnik za I i
IIkurs na praktieskite selskostopanski zimni uilita. Sofia: Daravno izdatelstvo za selskostopanska literatura.
Zvezdev, Ivan 2003: Bon apeti. 160 recepti na Ivan Zvezdev. Sofia: Produktsii
Nova.
Abstract
The article analyses the development of markers of regional identification in the
names of recipes, as they are reflected in cookbooks published in Bulgaria since
the 1930s. The article traces the emergence of regional identifiers in dish labels
and outlines how the construction of regionally marked food was dependent on
the utilization of tradition in changing cultural contexts. Despite the widespread belief that markers of regionalised food date back to times immemorial
and are tools for identifying the deepest layers of regional and national identity,
regionally labelled dishes are revealed as a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, the regionalisation of traditional food was a fairly slow process which
started with the appearance of mass cookbooks in the 1930s, but acquired significant dimensions from the 1970s onward, at the time of late twentieth century
nation-inspired ethnography. With its impetus to leave no region or traditional
item under-represented, it put traditional dishes firmly on the national map. In
the post-socialist decades, a new boom of region-related labels followed when
food was increasingly construed as closely dependent on its regional content
and on its being a palpable indicator of regional identities.
Region,IdentityandCulturalProduction:YugoslavFashioninthe
NationalStyle
Region,IdentityandCulturalProduction:YugoslavFashionintheNationalStyle
byDanijelaVelimirovi
Source:
Region, Identity and Cultural Production:

Yugoslav Fashion in the National Style1
Danijela Velimirovi, Belgrade
Introduction or About the fashion in The National Style

One of the outcomes of the economic, political, and cultural opening of Yugoslavia toward the West since the early 1950s, which occurred in order to avoid
the blockades imposed by the communist block, was that Yugoslavia did not
have the same level of cultural autarchy that existed in other socialist countries.
The Westernization of the society has been particularly obvious since the 1960s,
when the visa regime with Western countries was liberalized. Constant travelling abroad, first of all for the purpose of purchasing modern clothes, turned
into an everyday reality for Yugoslavia. The usual destination of all Yugoslavs
was Trieste:
Unusual baggage was carried for travelling chocolates, butter and red
Drina cigarettes, and on return bags were filled with the latest fashion
materials, plastic raincoats, pleated dark-blue skirts, trousers with belllike legs, jeans (Lui Todosi 2002: 99).
However, despite the hearty acceptance of Western cultural codes, first of all
by the socialist middle class, during the 1960s requests for the creation of authentic Yugoslav fashion emerged. Actually, we may say that the Yugoslav cultural production of that time was marked by fashion in the national style2.
What was fashion in the national style? It was a fashion that followed current
Western fashion codes, but at the same time created its distinctive style identity by incorporating exotic motifs such as a thematic design of collections with
motives from regional political and cultural history, or the adoption of certain
components of tailoring and ornaments of historical and ethnic costume. Thus,
the greater openness of the Yugoslav state toward the West was visually defined
I am grateful to the participants in the panel Compassion and the Construction of Region
at the InASEA conference in Timioara 2007 for their comments and questions.
2
The term national implies that certain clothing is worn in order to identify the person
wearing it with his or her nation. Although fashion in the national style was mainly a
feature of the Serbian fashion production, the term national intended to signify identification with the Yugoslav nation. Terms found in the local press such as Yugoslav national
costume, Yugoslav folklore or Yugoslav style are proof of this.
1
60
Danijela Velimirovi
by accepting current Western fashion trends and at the same time by avoiding a
pseudo-classic aestheticism of the fashion system prevailing in Eastern Europe.3
On the other hand, the incorporation of exotic motifs taken from the thesaurus
of regional history and culture resulted in the specific identity of the Yugoslav
fashion as compared to the Western styles.
The Yugoslav national style fashion should not be viewed as an isolated
local phenomenon. The integration of local clothing traditions was a hallmark
of the 1960s fashion systems. Under the conditions of an open national debate,
post-colonial countries adopted a policy of clothing which included the refusal or modification of Western clothes. On the other hand, a growing interest of
Western citizens in alternative philosophies and ethnic cultures, stirred by the
appearance of liberation movements and increased individualism led to an expansion of exotic motifs in Western fashions. In 1967, one of the fashion whims
was a Nehru suit, with its specific upright collar, named after Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India. In the same year, Yves Saint Laurent created his collection inspired by wild Africa. But non-European exotic impulses
had no preponderance in the fashion system of that time. Scottish Argyle sweaters, popular in late 1960s, or Norwegian sweaters completed the new individualistic face of Western fashion. However, narratives of specific social tastes that
cropped up in Yugoslav newspaper headlines, gave the national style fashion
a particular note.
The national style fashion permeated various types of fashion productions.
The inclusion of exotic motifs in modern clothing was an inexhaustible creative
resource of Yugoslav fashion. Among the first collections using this exoticism
was the collection of the artist Anelka Slijepevi. Her collection Folklore
and Fashion (Folklor i moda) was presented in 1961 in the Centre for Modern
Clothing (Centar za savremeno odevanje). The public assessed designs inspired
by the regional heritage as the first stable step toward creating a fashion that
has a Yugoslav trait (Petrovi 2004: 91). Her example was followed by others.
The most important promoters of the national style fashion were the designers
Aleksandar Joksimovi and Dobrila Vasiljevi Smiljani, and the fashion salon
3
The official socialist dress, as Djurdja Bartlett calls the sartorial phenomenon that appeared in countries of the Soviet block once the Stalinist isolationism was abolished (from
1958 to 1968), was characterized by a pseudo-classical aaesthetic. Namely, official East
European fashion, turning to Western standards, gravitated toward freezing the fashionable historical moment, which in the mid 1950s was characterized by formal and rigid codes
in clothing, and by doing so intended to isolate it from its historical totality. In that way
the official socialist dress kept its rigid codes in clothing even during the mid 1960s, when
Western fashion was moving toward revolutionary youthful styles. The unique mixture of
proletarian style and the bourgeois aesthetic of the petit-bourgeois provenience corresponded to the conservative nature of the socialist regime (Bartlett 2004: 138).
Region, Identity and Cultural Production
61
named The National Salon (Nacionalni salon). Magazines for women, as well
as other local media reported in detail about every new collection of authentic
fashion, promoting in that way the desirable aesthetic and thus forming the taste
of the Yugoslav socialist community.
Grandiose exoticism4 as the socialist version of haute couture. Aleksandar
Joksimovi, the first personalized fashion designer of former Yugoslavia, created several collections of the socialist version of haute couture. Adopting current fashion whims and modifying them in accordance with the national style
fashion canons, created extravagant designs of dramatic content. In his collection titled Simonida5 (1967) Joksimovi created an exotic version of the Parisian futuristic design (geometrical A line without excessive ornaments) by using
a specific line of sleeves (sleeves tailored like bells, which was taken from the
medieval Byzantine clothing) and decoration inspired by the medieval clothing
of landlords and rulers, as well as elements of stone friezes taken from the monasteries of Deani and Graanica. In Vitra (1968) he stylized ornaments from
windows of Yugoslav monasteries, cathedrals, and churches and applied them
on modern-cut designs of mini and maxi length. With his next collection named
Damned Jerina6 (1969) Joksimovi achieved his special trait compared to Pierre
Cardins futuristic look (mini line of pinafore dresses, abundance in metal ornaments, helmet caps) by specific cuts (a traditional sleeveless jacket called zubun
was the basis of this collection), ornaments (tailors embroidery7 on leather), materials (materials imitating rustic hand-woven cloth, crocheting materials) and
fashion details (stylized Serbian ethnic cap called ajkaa). Although the grandiose exoticism of Aleksandar Joksimovi did not last long, considering how often it was disputed as contradictory to socialist conditions, it was a significant
channel for promoting authentic Yugoslav fashion production.
We use the term grandiose exoticism to emphasize the difference between grandiose
pseudo-classicism as the East European variant of haute couture and the Yugoslav version
of high fashion. Contrary to grandiose pseudo-classicism, which has its fashion ideals in
bourgeois clothing codes of classic content, the grandiose exoticism represents luxurious
modern clothes which create their distinctive style identity in relation to current Western
fashion codes by incorporating exotic motifs originating from the vault of the regional cultural heritage (cf. Bartlett 2004: 137140).
5
Simonida was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Andronic II and the wife of the Serbian King Milutin (who ruled from 1282 to 1321).
6
Jerina was Greek, from the Kantakuzin family, and wife of the Serbian Despot Djurdje
Brankovi (ruled 14271457). Numerous legends are linked to her, folktales and proverbs
about building cities and taxes being imposed on the people, hence her name damned
Jerina.
7
Tailors embroidery is an oriental technique of adorning clothes with golden or silk braids.
4
62
Danijela Velimirovi
Simonida collection by Aleksandar Joksimovi, 1967 (Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade)
Handmade knitwear Sirogojno. The manager and fashion designer of

Sirogojno for several years, Dobrila Vasiljevi Smiljani, organized the first
exhibition of knitted goods in 1962. Contrary to this exhibition showing original
items of skilful knitters from the village of Sirogojno, Mount Zlatibor, the exhibition in Belgrade held in the premises of the Modern Home (Savremeni dom)
in 1965 cleared the path for the promotion of the specific design of this fashion
designer. In the following years, she became widely known by her adaptations of
traditional local ornaments (regional motifs from Mt. Zlatibor taken from clothing, rugs etc.) and techniques of knitting and crocheting (e.g. stitch ubaret,
which in its form reminds of fur).8 Thousands of knitters from the region of
Zlatibor participated in the production of authentic fashion products wearing the
stamp of regional heritage. Since the combination of handmade knitwear and
exotic motifs is efficient, handicraft products from Mt. Zlatibor were designed
Dobrila Vasiljevi Smiljani estimated in her interview given to the author of this article in
July 2006 that when she started production in the village of Sirogojno on Mt. Zlatibor her
primary objective was the presentation of regional cultural heritage.
63
Vitra collection by Aleksandar Joksimovi, 1968 (Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade)
and produced even after the national style fashion ceased to exist as an ideological construction.
The National Salon production. The National Salon was established
in 1963 as part of the Institute for the Promotion of Household (Zavod za
unapreenje domainstva). After it had defined the reinterpretation of the regional cultural heritage as its primary goal, the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade offered full support to the National Salon in presenting this heritage,
while the Employment Bureau (Biro rada) took it upon itself to train unemployed women skilful in handicraft. While the first collection of the National
Salon in 1964 was made of modern cut designs with applied clippings of authentic traditional clothing, the following collections were a display of reinterpreted historical9 and regional multiethnic cultural heritage (of Kosovo and Metohija, umadija, Montenegro, etc). This authentic production of the National
Salon became an obligatory and favourite place of foreign tourists who came
to Belgrade using the services of the Putnik tourist agency. A special target
9
The Simonida of Joksimovi was also made in this salon.
64
Danijela Velimirovi
Damned Jerina collection by Alek

sandar Joksimovi, 1969 Museum of
Applied Art, Belgrade)
group were foreign politicians, ambassadors and their wives, to whom the specific Yugoslav fashion was shown directly. A specific fashion serving as a tourist attraction reflected the cultural preoccupation of Yugoslav society with techniques used to underline ethnic and regional variety.
Although the local press was the crucial media for promoting the national
style fashion, authentic aesthetic features of the Yugoslav fashion were presented also by Yugoslav star performers. ore Marjanovi, one of the most famous
singers of pop music, caused a sensation at the Zagreb Festival (1969) when he
showed up in a reinterpretation of the Albanian male regional dress from Metohija created by Aleksandar Joksimovi. The affirmative relation to exoticism in
fashion was common also among representatives of the political elites. Jovanka
Broz, the wife of the president of the Republic, was a matron of the national
style fashion. I have an unusual appreciation of the wealth of our folklore and
I like dresses with this trait (Velimirovi 2006: 53) she said in 1969, publicly
choosing the national style in clothing.
The production of authenticity as compared to Western fashion was not
neutral. The original Yugoslav fashion was thus promoted through various international fashion presentations, trade exhibitions and the like, directly displaying
the specific identity of Yugoslav fashion. Joksimovis Simonida was presented
65
Sandra Mandi in Joksimovis design, 1968 (Museum of Applied Art,

Belgrade)
at the International Fashion Festival in Moscow in 1968, at which besides Eastern European also collections of Western fashion houses, among them also of
Coco Channel, were presented. His Damned Jerina was presented on a daily
basis during the first Yugoslav Industrial Exhibition in Paris (Sept.18 Oct.9,
1969), attracting the attention of the Parisian public.
Miss World competitions were also used for the presentation of specific regional cultural productions. For as long as the national style fashion project
was en vogue, Aleksandar Joksimovi was the official fashion designer of Yugoslav pageants. At every regional, federal or international official appearance,
the Yugoslav beauty contest finalists were dressed in fashion creations inspired
by the national style. The fashion production used for celebrating national diversity thus provided itself another channel for its own presentation. Joksimovi
dressed the first Yugoslav participant in the Miss World beauty contest (1967),
Nikica Marinovi, in a turquoise gown with a provocative dcolletage hemmed
with specific ornaments, over which she wore a steel blue satin cloak buckled
with original buckles called pafte. Besides being the first runner-up at the international contest in London, Nikica Marinovi, in the opinion of the Yugoslav
media (Velimirovi 2006: 52), excellently presented local fashion in accordance
with the folkloric key. Her success meant at the same time recognition of Yugo-
66
Danijela Velimirovi
slav beauty and national fashion, which has in this way achieved a huge affirmation in the world of haute couture.
In 1968 Sandra Mandi presented to the London public an evening gown
from the Simonida collection, and at the World contest the following year Ivona
Puhiero wore a white lam gown with a bolero inspired by an unavoidable part
of the Serbian town costume, the short jacket with bell-like sleeves called libade. The political and cultural elite used beauty pageants as appropriate channels to promote authentic fashion productions with reinterpreted clothing styles
of the past.
The national style fashion was undoubtedly popular throughout Yugoslavia. The utilization of Joksimovis Simonida in everyday tailoring practice
turned into a real fashion in 1967 and 1968. The frenzy over models from this
collection aroused the otherwise inefficient socialist industry and resulted in
an organized form of production of copies. Namely, at the beginning of 1968
gowns that were carrying the same name appeared in shops of the Bosna-Folklore in Sarajevo, which caused a scandal and initiated debates about copyright
protection.
Although it was first of all a hallmark of Serbian cultural production, the
national style fashion was created also outside the borders of Serbia. Other
Yugoslav republics reinterpreted, too, their own regional cultural heritage for
the purpose of creating a specific Yugoslav fashion. For example, the Slovenian
designer Nataa Mandeljc in 1968 designed hand painted models made of knitted fabrics, which were stylized with motifs from the region of Bela Krajina.
The contribution of various regional traditions to the specific identity of Yugoslav fashion gave visual expression to the devotion to the idea of brotherhood and
solidarity. Although the 1960s were years in which centralism was decreasing
and ethnic nationalism revived, the national style fashion was always given a
Yugoslav meaning. In accordance with the general tendency of canonical sacralization of unity and solidarity of the various national communities, Aleksandar
Joksimovi on several occasions reinterpreted clothing traditions of the Albanian population in Kosovo and Metohija (collection for the National Salon in
1965; creation for the performance of Djordje Marjanovi at the Zagreb music
festival). Under the conditions of awakened national intolerance fashion thus
marked the external unity of the Yugoslav nations. However, the leading position that Serbian designers had in forming this fashion provided Belgrade the
sovereign position of the Yugoslav fashion centre.
67
Exoticism and fashion: the Serbian case

Thus, the technique of clothing and decorating known as the national style
fashion represented a homogenous tendency toward the dissolution of similarities with the Western fashion and toward constituting a specific fashion of national character. What caused this flood of exotic motifs in the Yugoslav, first
of all Serbian fashion production of the 1960s? Jennifer Craik defines exoticism in fashion as a term with two meanings. First of all, it means a fetishized
quality of a fashion or style, and then foreign or rare motifs in fashion (Craik
1993:17). She recognizes three forms of exoticism in fashion: 1) certain techniques of dress and decorating in non-Western cultures; 2) adaptations of traditional clothing combined with elements from Western fashion systems in postcolonial cultures or displaced cultures in Western societies; 3) exotic elements
in Western fashion taken from other fashion systems (Craik 1993: 18). Considering that fashion systems are built on inter-relations and tension between exotic and well-known codes, exotic motifs are always more effective as display
techniques. As more effective means of display, various forms of exoticism are
suitable bodily techniques for the production of multifarious marks of diversity
(Craik 1993:18). Therefore they are often used in non-Western cultures, first of
all in post-colonial cultures, where they are crucial in constructions and assertions of identity, as well as in its reformations. Adaptations of traditional clothing combined with elements of pattern taken from Western fashion express tensions between an autochthonous and Western fashion system and, in their way,
contribute to preserving diversity.
Thus, we can say that the incorporation of exotic motifs has produced the
diversity of Yugoslav fashion compared to the Western, even though it accepted in principle current fashion trends of the West. However, by saying this we
would not give a complete answer why this was possible within this time frame,
or why the national style fashion was first of all a mark of the Serbian fashion
production. Therefore we have to take look back into the history of the Serbian
costume and fashion.
The history of Serbian fixed dress and fashion from the nineteenth century onward is characterized by various forms of exoticism or attempts to push
a reform in garments, which would incorporate the national tradition in clothing. Exoticism in the form of adaptations of traditional oriental urban clothes
combined with elements taken from the Western fashion system, present in the
Serbian material culture of the 1830s10 till the 1890s, was an effective bodily
technique for marking the nationality and the social status. Namely, in this pe-
By the Sultans edict of 1830 (1833), Serbia received the status of an autonomous princedom
within the Ottoman Empire.
10
68
Danijela Velimirovi
riod women were wearing the so-called Serbian town costume, which was a
specific choice and combination of oriental clothing stylized in accordance with
contemporary European fashion trends (Proi Dvorni 2006: 244271). In the
period between 1830 and 1860, over a silk shirt the fistan was worn a long silk
dress, narrow in the upper part with a wide skirt, which had a specific heartshaped cut on the chest, filled with a folded thin silk kerchief. The waist was
girded with a bajader, a long silk belt, and finally the libade a waist-length
jacket made of corduroy, plain or shiny velvet, cut in the front, with long and in
the lower part wider sleeves was put over the fistan. Headgear was inevitably
a fez with various types of jewellery. Since the 1860s the fistan was worn over
crinolines in order to gradually be substituted by dresses or skirts and blouses
cut in the European style. However, the adoption of European fashion codes did
not mean that garments of national connotation were rejected. Serbian ladies,
city-dwellers, continued to wear libade and fez in combination with European
fashion clothes, thus supporting the further strategic competition in signs that
indicated diversity.
The specific choice and combination of oriental clothing ( fistan, libade, fez)
which was further stylized in accordance with Western fashion trends of that
time (tight upper parts of dresses, emphasized waist, wide long skirt, crinolines, and as of the 1870s skirts and gowns and blouses in the European style)
produced the authenticity of the Serbian town costume, which was crucial for
constructing the identity of the nation and the early bourgeoisie. The division in
clothing standards compared to usual oriental dress codes, plus the non-acceptance and partial acceptance of Western fashion trends, contributed to the creation of external insignia of national and class-defined membership required in
the process of nation building.
Similar processes affected mens clothing, too. Since mid-nineteenth century, with the European influence in clothing, a parallel process went on, the
process of creating the national costume. Selecting clothing offered in the oriental inventory (shirt, trousers in the Turkish style, vest and jacket with oriental
ornaments called demadan and gunj, silk belt trombolos, and fez with tassel),
adjusting their cut to a standard and using calmer colours and ornaments, a specific costume of national connotation was created. Although till the end of the
nineteenth century it became typical of conservative social circles, considering
the increasing Europeanisation of the socio-cultural system, this costume has
played an important role in creating the identity of the nation and civil society
in rising (Proi Dvorni 2006: 272).
Besides, since the 1840s Serbian students of secondary schools (licej) and
gymnasiums, imbued with the ideas of Romanticism, wore clothes based on the
old Serbian suit, dominated by the duanka, the hussar coat with Brandenburg
buttoning, adorned with braids. Although this was a piece of clothing common
69
in the European inventory of clothing, the new name was taken from the Serbian
Tsar Duan; it was reminiscent of the glorious medieval past and was clearly expressing aspirations of the new society (Proi Dvorni 2006: 274). This
clothing item was given a special place in Serbia during the reign of Prince Mihailo; the Prince himself wore the duanka at all festive occasions, especially
during celebrations of national holidays.11 The creation of autochthonous cultural patterns, including the creation of authentic clothing, was closely linked to
the political emancipation of Serbia.
At the end of the nineteenth century authentic urban patterns in clothing
became a part of the thesaurus of rural clothing,12 and this was the time when
Western fashion styles in clothes of the Serbian bourgeoisie were utterly prevailing. Fashion salons established at that time copied Western fashion canons,
flattering the tastes of demanding customers. However, despite the full surrender to the fashion dictate of Paris and Vienna, occasional voices demanding a
re-conceptualization of the fashion practice could be heard in the now already
long tradition of national identification through clothes. The new fashion concept included a reform in clothing in order to create a specific Serbian fashion.
The greatest supporter of an independent fashion was the unsigned author of an
article published in Nedeljne ilustracije in 1928 (unsigned 1928: 45), and Bojana Popovi rightly assumes that this was the writer Mir-Jam, since she was
also the editor of the fashion column in this magazine (Popovi 2000: 60). A
famous author of love stories, unsatisfied with the unoriginal assortment of Belgrade fashion salons, she supported the creation of our fashion. In order to
realize this project, one had to establish a cooperation of fashion salons and artists who would study Byzantine fashion, as well as our peasants, all lines and
styles, our way of living and rites, and then create something original, Mir-Jam
wrote (Popovi 2000: 6061). But voices demanding the production of marks of
difference remained unheard. Fashion salons continued to follow Parisian dictates, without any consideration of public comments of their sartorial practice
that could be heard from time to time.
Requests from Mir-Jam to create an autochthonous fashion design not be
based on Western models were part of the spiritual climate in Serbia/Yugoslavia between the two wars. Similar aspirations characterized the fine arts. Artists who thought that we should not be just an ordinary colony of French painting (Stojanovi 1986: 14) around 1927 established the group Zograf. Leading
Attila (or duanka as the Serbian equivalent) was a constituent part of the uniform of the
Falcons and the Royal Guard till 1941 (Proi Dvorni 2006: 274).
12
While the modified mens town costume permeated into the everyday and festive costume
of peasants, keeping the national connotation, parts of the womens town costume became
an inventory of only the rural festive, first of all wedding clothes.
11
70
Danijela Velimirovi
members of this group were ivorad Nastasijevi, Vasa Pomoriac, Josip Car
and Ilija Kolarovi. Their primary goal was to protect national art from foreign
influences (Stojanovi 1986: 14).
Basing their work on autochthonous cultural tradition, the artists gathered
around Zograf realized their ideas by creating the national style in fine arts.
In their work the aesthetics based on national tradition had priority over the aesthetics of contemporary trends in art. Similar ideas formed also numerous works
of applied art (architecture, interior design and other), giving rise to a fascination with national aesthetics and demands for social divisions.13
Still, although tendencies toward creating an autochthonous expression in
fine arts and design characterized the inter-war period, Belgrades fashionable
circles ignored appeals for producing distinguishing signs in clothing. Bojana
Popovi suggested that fashion salons should avoid exoticism in view of the fact
that a modern Belgrade lady had no need for the national style in clothing,
due to the fact that in its essence fashion cannot be national (Popovi 2000: 61).
However, if we accept a revised idea of the fashion system, which means
the existence of various fashion systems beyond the European, then fashion can
become national. Jennifer Craik defines fashion systems as cultural technologies built for specific locations. If fashion systems demonstrate the cultural policy of their milieu (Craik 2003:x), then they can build their visual identity on
the interpretation of national cultural tradition. However, in the inter-war period there was no renovation of traditional clothes combined with elements taken
from Western fashion despite strong national sentiments and the appearance of
various trends in arts, which were in favour of an autochthonous expression.14
Why was that so?
The fashion production between the two Wars did not show any tendency
of using exotic motifs available in the national repertoire, due to the fact that
the need for national identification through clothing was satisfied by secondary
forms of clothing and adorning. Namely, the attire required for certain fancy
dress balls was an efficient technical means to preserve insignia of national identity. All-Slavic balls (Sveslovenski balovi) organized by the Kolo of Serbian Sis The idea of creating the Serbian national style in architecture first appeared in the mid 19th
century as an expression of the epoch of romantic historicism. It has remained present in
Serbian architecture until today (cf. Kadijevi 2007).
14
Katarina Mladenovi and Duan Jankovi were the only fashion designers in the inter-war
period who used exotic motifs taken from Serbian regional costumes and other traditional
artifacts. Designing fashionable clothes, Katarina Mladenovi applied patterns from carpets made in Pirot, while Duan Jankovi sought his inspiration in the aaesthetic of the
provinces of Kosovo, Metohija, Resava and Macedonia. But while the personal insignia of
these designers was the use of motifs from the national heritage, they were at the same time
working in Paris.
13
71
ters (Kolo srpskih sestara) and other womens humanitarian organizations, as

well as privately organized costume-balls (kostim balovi), requested that the
ladies participating in them wear original, reconstructed or redesigned types of
regional rural costumes or versions of town costumes. As secondary forms of
clothing reconfirmed national cohesion, fashion could freely close its doors to
traditional symbolism, although the European fashion of that time, inspired by
the romantic aureole of Russian aristocracy refugees or Carters discovery of
Tutankhamens tomb, was conspicuously using exotic motifs. Paul Poiret, the
disreputable Parisian king of fashion, based his personal vision on exotic motifs from the cultural treasury of the Far and Middle East, India and folk cultures of Central and East Europe.
Renovating exoticism: the Yugoslav case
After the Second World War deep social and cultural changes made the new
adaptation of fashion pursuant to the national key possible. Since the 1960s,
when socialism assigned fashion a representative role and made the fashion designer respectable again, forms of exoticism flooded the Yugoslav/Serbian fashion production. The restoration of traditional techniques in clothing and decorating, and at the same time the acceptance of current Western fashion lines,
became an imperative in fashion. Exotic impulses found fertile soil in the Yugoslav fashion system. This specific milieu allowed a revitalization of old patterns
in making clothing exotic, patterns which were present in the Serbian culture at
the beginning of the nineteenth century. Daniel Miller argues that the authenticity of artifacts as cultural goods exists on the basis of their active participation
in the process of social realization (Miller 1991: 215). Did the national style
fashion as an authentic restoration of regional clothing styles contribute to the
process of social self-realization? Did the new aesthetic express aspects of the
Yugoslav uniqueness? What social, political or cultural stimuli were crucial for
boosting exotic fashion in socialist Yugoslavia?
First of all, the use of exotic motifs in Yugoslav fashion expressed competition of the Yugoslav fashion system with the Western one and contributed to the
production of Yugoslav diversity. The self-orientalization as a process of diverging from Western fashion codes aimed at the organisation of new visual preferences. In an interview for the Sarajevo daily Svijet (Miti 1968: 21) Aleksandar
Joksimovi said:
I am convinced that the future in fashion can be found in the search for
new inspirations by the national costume. The problem may be in the fact
that we are a small country to have such pretensions.
72
Danijela Velimirovi
The refusal to euphorically imitate Western models was in accordance with social demands for the emancipation of Yugoslav fashion. Although aspirations toward the constitution of an autonomous fashion system were actually unrealistic,
the media gladly emphasized that an authentic Yugoslav fashion accompanied by
the music of the fipple flute and steps of kolos (Tanaskovi 1967:25) was born.
Besides, the use of authentic exotic motifs and techniques for decorating
wardrobe were excellent means for stepping out of the nameless Yugoslav fashion system, because exotic motifs as displaying techniques were always more effective and impressive than the well-known patterns in clothing. In the era of a
veritable flood of exotic motifs, Yugoslavia established its own version of exoticism. Numerous Western media reported on the exotic Yugoslav fashion production. David Binder, the correspondent of The New York Times in Belgrade, right
after the display of the collection of the National Salon for 1965, inspired by
the fabric, cuts and ornaments of the ethnic costumes from Kosovo and Metohija, informed the American public about the creation of an elegant new style
whose author was the talented young designer named Aleksandar Joksimovi
(Binder 1965: 24). The Austrian journalist Christine von Kohl wrote in the daily
Heim (von Kohl 1969: 31) about the specific Yugo Look:
In the same way as we have based our Austrian look on a version of folklore, today we can talk about a Yugoslav look. At the 10th International Fashion Fair in Belgrade, several exhibitors showed a fashion similar
to traditional costumes made with good taste and imagination, which
was developed on the basis of a study of rural ornaments and old fresco
paintings.
The largest publicity was caused by the coverage in the October issue of Elle of
Damned Jerina. In the column News: Yugoslavs enchanted Paris. Modern fashion remembering the past, the French fashion magazine reported about the Yugoslav cultural production based on folklore. Although the author of the fashion column, Denis Dubois Jallais, asserted that Joksimovis design exceeded
traditional forms, this union of regional and global features appeared mystical
and seductive for the Parisian public, as it confirmed a nostalgia of the Western world for the exotic other. And Dubois Jallais (1969: 158161) concluded:
Would we, Frenchmen, be able to copy this handicraft fashion? Hardly. Our
peasant women are no longer sitting by the fire or, if so, they are watching TV.
Using resources of exotica, Yugoslav fashion went into the open sea of fashion displays of postwar Europe, propagating the cultural policy of its milieu.15
15
A similar practice is still used. Serbian fashion is, in general, using the discourse of exoticism and authenticity to step out of anonymity. Modern examples of this practice are collections of Verica Rakoevi and the fashion house Mona.
73
Not only that, it expressed the competitiveness of the Yugoslav fashion system
with the Western one, the national style fashion corresponded also with features of the social and political milieu of Yugoslavia of that time. The country
expanded its influence in the 1960s, as part of the nonaligned movement, which
determined its foreign policy. Tito revived the anti-imperialistic rhetoric and
pushed good relations with Western countries to the background, emphasizing
the specific and pioneering role of Yugoslavia in the non-alignment block. This,
in turn, caused a strengthening in society that Yugoslavia was special. The quest
for an aesthetic specificity resulted in the formation of the national style fashion. Besides, as the non-alignment movement comprised, first of all, post-colonial countries, whose policy in clothing also included forms of exoticism, i.e.,
the wearing of traditional clothing or its adaptation, combined with elements
from Western fashion systems, the national style fashion was a perfect equivalent to the clothing of these countries. In 1967, the Belgrade daily Veernje
novosti showed a photograph of Zora Nikezi, the wife of the state secretary for
foreign affairs and director of the Centre for Modern Clothing (Centar za savremeno odevanje), taken at a reception in Pakistan. She appeared, among other ladies participating in this event and dressed in traditional clothing, mainly
sari, wearing the Joksimovis Simonida dress, thereby giving expression to the
identity aspects of the Yugoslav fashion production. The title of the text, Zora
Nikezi is Defending Our Fashion (Zora Nikezi brani nau modu) referred, in
its way, to a lexicon of insignia displaying differences to which the local fashion
system conformed (Velimirovi 2006: 54).
On the other hand, the national style fashion corresponded with constant
demands of the political elites for a production of specific socialist clothing. In
accordance with early Bolshevik ideology, the first issue of the Yugoslav fashion
magazine Ukus (published in the summer of 1946) repudiated Western fashion
and its changes (unsigned 1946: 1):
For what does the word fashion mean and why do we succumb to its
wonders? Why is it necessary to change the length of a skirt, if a certain
length is practical and decent. And, in the same way as a too long skirt
could be tacky, a too short skirt could be more than distasteful. Why
should we make too many useless and excessive folds on a dress only because it is fashionable? What would be the use of too wide shoulders or
unpractical kimono sleeves which make shoulders appear as if they were
falling? All extremes in the name of an abstract idea called fashion
prove a lack of taste and turn the woman into a caricature.
This repudiation of fashion extremes and rapid changes in style signified a proclamation of the new form of socialist clothing. New socialist clothing was sup-
74
Danijela Velimirovi
posed to be classless, comfortable, practical and beautiful, the latter defined by

the Ukus magazine as not intrusive, modest and solid (unsigned 1946: 1).
As early as in the first post-war years, the new socialist clothing incorporated an interpretation of the regional cultural heritage. Duan Jankovi presented drawings of ideal socialist clothing, which besides the ideal of being
practical also included a renovation of traditional forms of clothing.16 Voices
demanding the use of motifs from the cultural heritage turned to a whisper in
the 1950s only to become louder again in the 1960s. At the conference of experts for fashion and textile held in 1966, Pavle Vasi, a Serbian historian of
costumes, supported the expert interpretation of traditional ornaments in the
design of modern fashion, considering that our (socialist) conditions demanded
a different character of clothing (Vasi 1966: 9). Reviewing former practice,
Vasi gave a positive estimate of the expert interpretation of the ethnographic wealth preserved in national costumes, in national ornamentation (Vasi
1966: 9). The production of differences from Western fashion was a strong stimulus for revitalizing old codes of making garments exotic and forming the national style fashion.
Other socialist countries also used the discourse of exoticism for the creation of specific socialist clothes. The Soviet Russian constructivist artists V.Tatlin and K.Malevich represented prototypes of a new style of explicitly revolutionary dress, combining, as one writer put it in 1923, the versatility of peasant
clothing and its lively colours with streamlined cut and fit suited to industrial
work and city life (Wilson 2003: 205). Their goal was to combine industrial and traditional styles with geometric modernism of the haute couture of the
1920s for the purpose of creating socialist clothes. Their designs were not realized, though, despite the intention to go into mass production. Difficulties
caused by the civil war prevented the production of creations of these artists.
In some countries of the Soviet block, the new policy of clothing also included a reinterpretation of traditional costume for the purposes of fashion design.
In East Germany, fashionable work clothes were based on folk costumes (for
example, the dirndl). A combination of the SEDs17 emphasis on culture (Kultur), the regimes claims to represent the German nation, and the politically privileged status of rural workers in the GDR during the highly controversial efforts
to collectivize farms in the early 1950s led state clothing designers to place special emphasis on the use of motifs of folk art stemming from the cultural heritage for the development of so-called traditional costumes (Trachtenkleider)
(Stitziel 2005: 5354).
Information obtained from Bojana Popovi, Senior Curator and Head of the Contemporary
Applied Arts Department of the Museum of Applied Arts in Belgrade.
17
Socialist Unity Party (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands).
16
75
Therefore the progress of Yugoslav national style fashion should be viewed

also as part of a wider process of manufacturing specific socialist clothing. The
transnational character does not allow a one-dimensional and unilateral understanding of the process of producing differences. Contrary to the Soviet and
Eastern-German practice, however, which wanted to use the traditional heritage for the purpose of producing garments for the working people, the Yugoslav
national style fashion was not geared at everyday living conditions, but first
of all had competitive goals and advertised its own specificity. This political and
cultural focus on signs of diversity resulted in a desacralization of the imitation
of Western fashion and in a tendency toward aesthetic emancipation.
Conclusion
Stimuli such as the aspiration of the Yugoslav fashion system to step out of its
anonymity, the competition with the Western fashion system, the countrys special international position, and demands for inventing unique socialist clothing
were favourable preconditions for the development of clothing practices supporting authenticity and exoticism. The unique regional fashion and aesthetics, on
which it was based, fulfilled this task: they expressed aspects of the Yugoslav
uniqueness as a socialist and non-aligned country or, in Jennifer Craiks terms,
the Yugoslav fashion system of the 1960s was a cultural technology built for the
specific situation of the country (Craik 1993: xxi). Thus, with its various aesthetic possibilities, fashion as an interaction between art and society became an
expression of the special political, social and cultural conditions of Yugoslavia.
However, the national style fashion could not last long. The rise of the socialist middle class from the mid 1960s on and its faithful pursuit of Western
fashion trends and the expanding shopping tourism, mainly in the area of Trieste, were factors which prevented the realization of this project of an autonomous Yugoslav fashion. The fashion conscious socialist middle class was not
satisfied with signs indicating difference from the West. This is why all aspirations to aesthetic emancipation from the Western fashion industry could not be
fulfilled, and in the early 1970s the signs that expressed differences were abandoned. It is certainly paradoxical that Yugoslav fashion renounced the potential
of its own exotic thesaurus at a time when Western fashion was marked by styles
inspired by rural utopia and ethnic clothes.
Literature
Bartlett, Djurdja 2004: Let Them Wear Beige: The Petit-bourgeois World of
Official Socialist Dress. In: Fashion Theory 8, 2: 127164.
76
Danijela Velimirovi
Craik, Jennifer 1993: The Face of Fashion. Cultural Studies in Fashion. London: Routledge.
Kadijevi, Aleksandar 2007: Jedan vek traenja nacionalnog stila u arhitekturi
(sredina XIX sredina XX veka) [One century of search for the National
Style in architecture (mid 19th mid 20th century)]. Belgrade: Graevinska
knjiga.
Lui Todosi, Ivana 2002: Od trokinga do tvista. Igranke u Beogradu (1945
1963) [From truckin to twist. The dances in Belgrade (19451963)]. Belgrade: Etnoloka biblioteka.
Miller, Daniel 1991: Material Culture and Mass Consumption. Oxford:
Blackwells.
Petrovi, Jelena 2004: Ljubav i moda: poeci i razvoj jugoslovenske modne industrije 60-ih godina XX veka [Love and fashion: the beginnings and development of the Yugoslav fashion industry in the 1960s]. In: Godinjak za
drutvenu istoriju 11, 1: 87102.
Popovi, Bojana 2000: Moda u Beogradu 19181941 [Belgrade fashion 1918
1941]. Belgrade: Muzej primenjenih umetnosti.
Proi-Dvorni, Mirjana 2006: Odevanje u Beogradu u XIX i poetkom XX
veka [Clothing in Belgrade in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century]. Belgrade: Stubovi kulture.
Stitziel, Judd 2005: Fashioning Socialism. Clothing, Politics and Consumer
Culture in East Germany. Oxford, New York: Berg.
Stojanovi, Ljiljana 1986: Vasa Pomoriac (18931961). Belgrade: Muzej savremene umetnosti.
Vasi, Pavle 1966: Znaaj estetike u odevanju savremenog oveka [Significance
of Aesthetic in Clothing of the Modern Man]. In: Estetika u proizvodnji tekstila i u odevanju. Belgrade: Savez inenjera i tehniara SR Srbije, 79.
Velimirovi, Danijela 2006: Modna produkcija Aleksandra Joksimovia
kao drutveni i kulturni fenomen [The fashion production of Aleksandar
Joksimovi as a social and cultural phenomenon]. M.A. thesis, Department
of Ethnology and Anthropology. University of Belgrade.
Wilson, Elizabeth 2003: Adorned in Dreams. Fashion and Modernity. London:
I.B. Tauris.
Articles in Newspapers
Binder, David 1965: Native Color Wins Plaudits for Designer. In: New York
Times, 26 June 1965.
Dubois Jallais, Denis 1969: Les Yougoslaves ont enchant Paris. In: Elle, 27
October 1969.
77
Miti, Milan 1968: Razgovor s ocem Simonide. Tako mlad, a ve diktator [A

talk with the father of Simonida. So young and already a dictator]. In: Svijet (Sarajevo), 23 February 1968.
Tanaskovi, Ljiljana 1967: Modno vee ili balet [Fashion evening or ballet]. In:
Politika ekspres, 21 October 1967.
Unsigned 1928: Kako da se stvori beogradska moda [How to create Belgrade
fashion?]. In: Nedeljne ilustracije, 5 August 1928.
Unsigned 1946: O ukusu [About taste]. In: Ukus, AugustSeptember 1946.
von Kohl, Christine 1969: Folkloristisches im Jugo-Look. In: Heim, 14 December 1969.
Abstract
Fashion in the national style, as mostly referred to in the print media, left its
mark on the Yugoslav fashion production of the 1960s. It was a fashion which
followed current Western fashion codes, but in addition built its distinctive style
by incorporating exotic motifs taken from the thesaurus of regional culture. This
provided Yugoslav fashion with distinctive features. The article analyses three
different fashion productions, which directly demonstrate the regional identity
of Yugoslav fashion: the socialist version of the haute couture of Aleksandar
Joksimovi, the handmade knitted products Sirogojno, and the production of
the National Salon. The article studies the social and cultural factors that were
favourable for reviving the clothing practices expressing authenticity and exoticism. It also attempts to answer the question whether the regional identity of the
fashion industry was linked to the special character of Yugoslavias political and
social situation as a socialist and non-aligned country.
TheRegionalandtheSubgroupFeaturesoftheKinshipTerminologyof
Roma/GypsiesinBulgaria
TheRegionalandtheSubgroupFeaturesoftheKinshipTerminologyofRoma/
GypsiesinBulgaria
byAlexeyPamporov
Source:
The Regional and the Subgroup Features

of the Kinship Terminology of Roma/Gypsies in Bulgaria
Alexey Pamporov, Sofia
1. Introduction
The Roma people (also referred to as Gypsies) are a trans-border ethnic minority who are widely dispersed but with their largest concentrated populations in
Europe, predominantly in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. The estimated size
of the Roma population in Bulgaria in 2007 varied between 417000 and 776000
(Pamporov 2007b). However, the Roma population is not as homogeneous as it
seems through the eyes of outsiders. In fact, this is one of the reasons for encountering difficulties in estimating the population size. Based on dialect, religious affiliation, and traditional craft, there are several subdivisions with numerous subgroups. In Bulgaria there are five main Romany groups: Daskane
Roma (Bulgarian/Christian Gypsies), Horahane Roma (Turkish/Muslim Gypsies), Kaldera (Coppersmiths), Kalajdes (Tinsmiths), and Ludari (or Rudari,
known in Europe as Boja). There are also more than one hundred subgroups,
mainly in the Daskane and Horahane subdivisions (Pamporov 2006).
This paper focusses on the similarities and differences in the kinship terminology of the five main Roma groups with regard to regional changes and influences. It offers a comparison between several regions at the NUTS 2 level
(Northwestern, Southwestern and Central Southern). The paper aims to illustrate variations in kinship terminology by different regions. It asks what part of
the terminology remains stable and should be considered a core, and what part
undergoes changes. Having identified the core of the kinship terminology, it will
be possible to study the proximity of the ethnic sub-identities.
The main body of research was conducted in the period between 2001 and
2003 and was based on life story interviews and genealogical (family) trees. It
contains 240 individual records from fieldwork in 13 settlements. In addition,
several checks were made in five control settlements outside those regions between 2004 and 2005 and in 2007. Some checks were made with different informants in two of the settlements in 2006 and one additional settlement in
Northwestern Bulgaria in 2008, shortly after the peer-review on the first draft
of the article arrived. A multiple case sampling procedure was used in order
to replicate and strengthen our findings (Miles, Huberman 1994: 29). Because
of the existing ethnographic classifications, the sampling frame was initially
80
Alexey Pamporov
based on a stratification in three groups: Jerlii, Kardarai and Rudari, referred

to also as: settled, former nomads and Rumanian Gypsies (Marushiakova, Popov 1993). Using an open coding procedure or developing concepts and topics
emerging from the data without making any prior assumptions (Miles, Huberman 1994), soon we arrived at the stratification in five groups. Jerlii, or rather
Erlides (as it actually sounds in the Romany language), does not appear to have
a common meaning. In Central Southern Bulgaria it denotes a Turkish-speaking
Muslim population living in urban ghettoes, which identifies itself as Turks
but is considered as Turkish gypsies bythe others. In Southwestern Bulgaria
it connotes farmhands as opposed to craftsmen (basket-makers, black-smiths,
tinsmiths, colander-makers, musicians, etc.). In Northwestern Bulgaria it often
stands for Roma people from the city of Sofia. Moreover, the religious affiliation splits this aggregate into two subdivisions Daskane (Christian) and Horahane (Muslim) Roma. These subdivisions differ significantly in their beliefs,
rites of passage, celebrations and ceremonies. In the rural areas they differ also
in the female clothing the shape and the colours of the dress, and the binding of the kerchief (Decheva 2004). Furthermore, both subdivisions are endogamous and it is very rare to find an intermarriage, except for some cases in the
urban context of the huge segregated quarters (where the state imposed atheism
before 1989 and the new religious movements that developed thereafter introduced a number of identity changes which gave rise to a new metagroup identity). The one common thing between Daskane and Horahane Roma is the fact
that they belong to the so-called Balkan group of Romany dialects, although
this type of dialect has plenty of phonetic, lexical, and morphological variations (Matras 2005). In each of the regions discussed there are subgroups of
Roma that call themselves Kalajdes (Tinsmiths). Some studies have classified
them under the branch of Kaldera Roma (Marushiakova, Popov 1993), but other publications suggest that they belong both to Daskane and Horahane Roma
(Tomova 1995). This discrepancy is due to the fact that the Kalajdes living
in Northeastern and Southwestern Bulgaria are Muslim, but the Kalajdes living in Southeastern and Central Southern Bulgaria are Eastern Orthodox. The
Kalajdes in Northwestern Bulgaria keep the memory of their Muslim past alive
both in their family names and their genealogies. However, nowadays they follow not the Muslim but the local Christian folk practices. The four regional
Kalajdes patois belong to the so called Southern or Old Wallachian Romany
dialects, lexically influenced by Turkish. This causes confusion in some studies
with the Kaldera (who speak a language that belongs to the so-called Northern
or New Wallachian Romany dialects, lexically influenced by the Romanian language). Despite the common language and the common traditional male handicraft, the four regional subgroups do not contract marriages between each other
and stay detached. However, in our understanding Kalajdes do not belong to
The Regional and the Subgroup Features of the Kinship Terminology
81
the Kaldera, Daskane or Horahane communities, but rather they form a separate group.
2. Studies of Roma kinship
In the field of Romany studies, kinship is discussed as the size of the network
based on relations by descent and marriage. Most of the authors use a terminological deduction departing from the common concept of kinship to the particular. Thus, the natsia and rasa are seen as the utmost limit of the kinship
treated as a tribe (Sway 1988: 61, Fraser 1992: 239) or a nation (Sutherland
1975: 10; Weyrauch, Bell 1993: 352). The next level is present in far more publications, and, depending on the particular pronunciation, is registered as vita
or vitsa. For some authors, exactly this is the proper term for a tribe (Stoyanovitch 1974: 103). According to others, it denotes a unit like the clan (Fraser 1992: 239; Weyrauch, Bell 1993: 352). A third party interprets it rather as
an extended family group (Sway 1988: 62). Stoyanovich claims that there is a
difference between vita and vica insofar as the latter denotes the lineage
(Stoyanovitch 1974: 104). However, the most useful definition seems to be that
of the via as a cognate kinship group, composed of several families, regardless whether it is a clan or a band (Kephart 1987: 158). The fact that any via
has an endonym related to a name of a real or a mythical ancestor should be a
clear sign that the via is a kindred group (Stoyanovitch 1974: 103, Sutherland
1975: 183, Fraser 1992: 239). The term tserha describes the same type of kinship in some patois of the Lovara subgroup, while in other cases tsera denotes
any residential unit or independent household within the frame of the extended
family (Sutherland 1975: 181, Fraser 1992: 239). Despite the fact that there is
the idea of the existence of this cognate relation, the members of a given via
may never meet one another or act as a group. Therefore, the main functional
unit in the Romany social organization is the familia. The familia is an extended family, which, apart from the couple and their unmarried children, often
includes some of the married children, their partners and children, some more
distant relatives as well as foster and adopted children from previous unions of
some of the adults. Because the Romany couple usually has a large number of
children, the familia often numbers between 30 and 40 members, who live and
work together (Sutherland 1975: 183184; Kephart 1987: 158; Fraser 1992: 239;
Weyrauch, Bell 1993: 352).
The Gypsy tabor, discussed as the large family (Mizov 1992: 49), and
the Gypsy band, composed of two to six households with up to 15 members in
each household, are said to be the main kinship unit by those authors who stress
the nomadic tradition of the Romany culture. The concept kumpania appears
82
Alexey Pamporov
in the same interpretative context. During the travelling season it denotes the
groups of wagons travelling together. In the urban setting it refers to a group
which carries out a specific activity in a given area of the city (Kephart 1987:
168). Because of the different views of the familia and the via, the kumpania is
discussed as a group of extended families, often, but not always, from one and
the same nation, which occupies a given geographic area (Sway 1988: 61), or as
a group composed of people from more then one tribe and from several clans
or extended families a union of individuals joined by an economic need to explore a given territory (Fraser 1992: 240; Weyrauch, Bell 1993: 352). Although
the kumpania is not a kinship group a priori, one can observe a marital exchange
between the different via-s or natsia-s in the course of interaction between different individuals and households. This is an additional specific mechanism for
establishing and regulating the rights and the obligations of a given family towards the members of the kumpania (Fraser 1992: 240). Unfortunately, neither
the theoretical constructions quoted above, nor the published empirical material
on the kumpania indicate the outcome of such a mixed marriage. Does marriage establish a meta-group from the two preceding groups? Is it the beginning
of a new group independent and equal to either older groups or does it only create a subgroup affiliated with one of the existing groups? If the marriage has no
such function, then one should determine whether the young family chooses its
group belonging in the frame of the kumpania or if the belonging is imposed on
the couple, if the spouses keep their group belonging or if one of them is supposed to accept a new identity.
During our fieldwork in 20012006 the terms via and kumpania were
not found to be in use. From its meaning in Bulgarian, kompania denotes a
set of friends. The terms rasa and natsia were used to distinguish Roma
from Gade (non-Gypsies), but not the groups, and in not one single case the
kinship ties. In their everyday language the Roma have incorporated the Bulgarian words rod (kin) and semejstvo (family) and, as more Gypsy, the Turkish
words dins1 and tajfa2. The Roma people use some syntagmas as an interpretant
of the Bulgarian concept semejstvo: amende savore3, amare manua4 or
mi ker5. These examples are a wonderful illustration of how difficult the determination of the border between a kin, an extended family, and a household is.
In order to determine the limit of kinship relations, one could use the standard of
required distance for marriage. At the same time, the endogamy in some Roma

3

4

5

1
2
From Arab. cins kin, breed, gender.

From Arab. tayfa crew, retinue.
everyone at our place.
our people.
my house, i.e., household.
83
subgroups has a strong influence and leads to conclusions as follow: The Roma
appear increasingly to favour marriage between cousins (though first cousins
are in principle felt too close), and a partner is preferably from ones own vitsa
or, failing that, the mothers or grandmothers (Fraser 1992: 204). However,
there is a definite ban for incest relations between children and parents and between brother and sister (Stoyanovitch 1974: 125).
A representative survey among the Roma in Bulgaria distinguishes some
common patterns and some subgroup specifics in required kinship distance.
The marriage between third degree cousins is in principle allowed in all groups.
In the Kaldera group and in some subgroups of the Horahane Roma and
Kalajdes the kinship is only a patrilineal one; therefore there are cohabitationbased unions between second and first degree cousins of the mothers line (Tomova 1995). Because of civic marriage practice, the Roma are familiar with the
Family Code of Bulgaria. The civic law prohibits marriages between relatives of
direct descent as well as between collateral relatives up to the forth degree (first
cousins). Moreover, the official regulations of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
ban collateral marriages up to the fifth degree. Therefore, even the subgroups
with a strong religious affiliation, such as the Kaldera and the Kalajdes from
Central Southern Bulgaria, accept only the sixth degree of collateral marriage
(second cousins) and even encourage it as far as both groups have the bride price
as the main marital pattern (Pamporov 2007a).
The social desirability influencing the answers reduces the validity of the
data, although it draws the borderline of the kinship, namely between the fourth
and the seventh degree of the collateral line. Therefore the present paper discusses the kinship as a social classification system based on the idea of relation
by marriage or descent (Harris 1987), in which the kinship terminology is a
substantial part of the kinship system. The kinship system itself has to secure a
well-arranged and working network of social relations based on social practices
(Radcliffe-Brown 1952: 72f.). In other words, an inductive approach is going
to be used, and the borders will be drawn by the existing terminology. The approach is based on the understanding that only those social facts exist which the
respondents realize and label. The lack or change of certain words is a sign for
a change in the social relationships and in the value system (Gadamer 1997).
Systematic studies of the genealogy ties and marriage relationships in Romany culture are very limited in number. In addition, these publications use different concepts and terms such as: bori [bride], daj [mother], dad [father], damutro
[son-in-law], pral [brother], phuro [an old man], avo [son], aj [daughter] (Kostov 1956: 414421); phral [brother] and phuri daj [grandmother] (Clebert 1961:
165); rom [husband] and romni [wife] (Acton 1974: 62); bibi [aunt] and phuri daj
(Stoyanovitch 1974: 110); bori and romni (Kephart 1987: 164); bori and sacra
[mother-in-law] (Sway 1988: 71); amutro [groom], bori, phuri dad [pater fa-
84
Alexey Pamporov
milias], phuri dej [grandmother] (Marushiakova, Popov 1993: 162, 197). One
can also find an extended list of kinship-related terms in some Roma language
dictionaries. The best dialect comparison is given in Paspatis book on the Romany dialects in the Ottoman Empire (Paspati 1870). The book is a brilliant historical study, but unfortunately it is not relevant for the present language and its
changes. With regard to the present dialects, five dictionaries have already been
published in Bulgaria since 1989 (Malikov 1992; Popova 1999; Savchev 2004;
Kyuchukov et al. 1995; Kazandgiev, Kazandgiev 2007). The weakest point in
all of them is that they reflect a local patois spoken by the author and are written in an unprofessional manner in some self-made orthography based on the
Cyrillic or Latin alphabets, even with some references to Devanagari. The kinship terms, however, are a brilliant example of the diversity of the Romany dialects. Unfortunately, there are several signifiers to almost any signified and
moreover, there are several interpretants, often contradictory in their semantic,
of many of the signifiers. Thus a systematic analysis is possible only on the basis
of extended and purposeful fieldwork.
Based on her two years study among a Lovara kumpania in California, Anne
Sutherland draws several conclusions about social relations based on the kinship
terminology both by descent and by marriage. She describes the social ties and
role conflicts between different family statuses. For the young woman, there is a
morbid contrast between her role as a daughter and her role as a daughter-in-law.
For the man, there is a multiple role conflict between his role as the husband of
his wife and his role as the son of his parents. For the male child, there is no
difference between his role of being a son and of being a grandson (Sutherland
1975). Unfortunately, the scope of the study is limited to a very narrow circle of
informants, and the role perceptions are individualized to a high degree. Thus,
in another kumpania or context the role sets may have different meanings. This
makes Sutherlands study irrelevant for the present investigation.
On the basis of the marital exchange in a segregated Romany settlement,
Budilov and Jakoubek discuss Roma kinship in Eastern Slovakia in two case
studies. The first one offers a classification of the basic types of kin groups as
follows: the nuclear family, the complex family and the fajta, i.e., the
largest social group in Romany settlements based on patrilineal descent (Budilov, Jakoubek 2005). The second study focusses on the question of genealogical manipulation often used to modify and adjust kinship relations to the actual
needs of individuals or families (Jakoubek, Budilov 2006). The basic assumption in both publications is that the social organization of the Romany settlements is fundamentally based on kinship relations. The basic type of kinship is
the cognatic one, i.e., relatives from all possible descent lines are considered as
kin, in a frame of four generations.
85
An earlier publication of a case study in Southwestern Bulgaria outlines the

structure of Romany kinship in the frame of five generations (Pamporov 2001),
but the article has two shortcomings for the present study. Firstly, the model of
kinship reflects the terms primarily of the Kaldera group, while the terms of
the Horahane Roma and Daskane Roma groups appear only at secondary order.
Secondly, the article does not discuss the henamika [in-laws] and the structure
of this type of relations. Nevertheless, the model is quite adequate with regard
to kinship terminology and serves as a genealogical matrix for the data analysis
of the present study (Figure 1). In addition, a second matrix was established in
order to find a proper approach to the in-laws kinship structure (Figure 2). On
both matrixes, the triangle signifies a male individual and the circle a female
one. The black square in Figure 1 marks the position of the ego, regardless of
the informants gender. In the second matrix, the marital couple is the ego and
therefore both partners are rendered in black.
Figure 1. Five generations ego-centred matrix
Figure 2. Two generations couple-centred matrix
3. Kinship terminology of descent within a given region

The kinship terminology in Northwestern Bulgaria was studied among the following groups: Kaldera (Gabrovnica village), Kalajdes (Lom and Gabrovnica
village), and two subgroups of Daskane Roma: Cucumani (Gabrovnica village),
86
Alexey Pamporov
Table 1: Comparison between the basic kinship terms of descent among the main Roma
groups in Northwestern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera
Kalajdes
(Lom)
Kalajdes
(Gabrovnica)
Daskane
Reetari
Daskane
Cucumani
mother
father
brother
sister
son
daughter
grandson
granddaughter
grandfather
grandmother
paternal uncle
maternal uncle
paternal aunt
maternal aunt
cousin (male)
cousin (female)
nephew
niece
dej
dad
pral
pej
jav
ej
nepoto
nepata
papu
purani dej
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
voro
vara
nepoto
nepata
dej
dad
phral
phen
avo
ej
unuko
unuka
papu
mami
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
bratovedo
bratovedka
plemennik
plemennica
daj
dad
phral
phen
avo
aj
unuko
unuka
papu
mami
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
dej
dad
phral
phen
avo
aj
unuko
unuka
papu
baba
kako
vujo
bibi
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
plemennik
plemennica
daj
dad
phral
phen
avo
aj
unuk
unuka
papu
baba
io
vujo
teta
teta
bratoved
bratovedka
plemennik
plemennica
a Bulgarian speaking subgroup with preferred Bulgarian identity, and Reetari

(Lom), a group of Romany speaking colander-makers (although the craft is no
longer in use, they keep the name as a marker distinguishing them from other Roma groups). A comparison between the basic kinship terms is given in
Table1.
In Southwestern Bulgaria, the kinship terminology was studied among the
following groups: Kaldera (Petri), Kalajdes (Petri), Daskane Roma (Petri
and Sandanski), Horahane Roma (Petri and Sandanski), and finally Ploskalii
(Sandanski), migrants from the neighbouring village of Ploski, with preferred
Turkish identity, but speaking a mixture of Turkish and Romany. A comparison
between the basic kinship terms is given in Table 2.
The kinship terminology in Central Southern Bulgaria was studied among the
following groups: Kaldera (Katunica village, Joakim Gruevo village), Kalajdes
(Kuklen, Kostievo village, Katunica village, Jagodovo village, Filipovo station
[Plovdiv]), Daskane Roma (Boljarci village, Katunica village, Joakim Gruevo
village), Horahane Roma (Boljarci village, Kalekovec village, Jagodovo village),
87
groups in Southwestern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera
Kalajdes
Daskane
Horahane
Ploskalii
mother
father
brother
sister
son
daughter
grandson
granddaughter
grandfather
grandmother
paternal uncle
maternal uncle
paternal aunt
maternal aunt
cousin (male)
cousin (female)
nephew
niece
dej
dad
pral
pej
jav
ej
nepoto
nepata
papu
purani dej
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
voro
vara
nepoto
nepata
dej
dad
phral
phen
avo
ej
nuko
nuka
papu
mami
kako
dajo
ala
teta
bratedo
bratedka
nuko
nuka
daj
dad
phral
phen
avo
aj
vnuk
vnuka
papu
mami
dajo
dajo
ala
teta
brated
bratedka
vnuk
vnuka
daj
dad/baba
pral
pen
avo
aj
vnuk
vnuka
papu
koana
kako
dajo
ala
teta
brated
bratedka
vnuk
vnuka
ana
baba
karda
kskarda
olum
kazm
uuk
ksuuk
papu
mami
ai
dajo
teta
bibi
brated
bratedka
vnuk
vnuka
and Ludari (Jagodovo village, Joakim Gruevo village). A comparison between

the basic kinship terms is given in Table 3.
As was said earlier, in order to verify our findings we checked the terminology in settlements outside these three regions. The control sample comprised the
following groups: Kaldera (Ruse NE Bulgaria), Kalajdes (Zagorci village
SE Bulgaria), Ludari (Sozopol, Julievo village, Jagoda village SE Bulgaria). In
addition, we focussed on the Erlides in Sofia, despite the fact that the city is the
administrative centre of Southwestern Bulgaria. It was important to check this,
because Bulgarian ethnography pays special attention to the Erlides, a typical
case of a huge urban ghettoized district. A comparison between the basic kinship terms in the control sample is given in Table 4.
The regional comparison of the Romany kinship terminology of descent reveals the following findings: Firstly, the Kaldera terminology does change.
One can find one and the same signifier in any local Kaldera community,
which means that the impact of the subgroup is much stronger than the regional
influence. However, some significant regional changes have occurred a long
88
Alexey Pamporov
groups in Central Southern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera
Kalajdes
Daskane
Horahane
Ludari
mother
father
brother
sister
son
daughter
grandson
granddaughter
grandfather
grandmother
paternal uncle
maternal uncle
paternal aunt
maternal aunt
cousin (male)
cousin (female)
nephew
niece
dej
dad
pral
pej
jav
ej
nipoto
nipata
papu
purani dej
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
voro
vara
nipoto
nipata
dej
dad
phral
phen
avo
ej
fnuko
fnuka
papu
mami
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
fnuko
fnuka
daj
dad
phral
phen
avo
aj
fnuk
fnuka
papu
baba
kako/io
kako/vujo
bibi/lelja
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
fnuk
fnuka
daj
dad
pral
pen
avo
aj
fnuk
fnuka
papu
baba
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
fnuk
fnuka
mama
parinti
frati
sora
bjat
fata
nipot
nipoata
mou
baba
unki
unki
moaa
moaa
vr
vara
nipot
nipoata
time ago, with the result that today certain Romanian words are in use in the
Kaldera dialect. In Central Southern Bulgaria there is a reduction of the unstressed vowel e into i6, which is typical for the Eastern Bulgarian dialects.
Secondly, the Kalajdes groups living in different regions have similar concepts
about the nuclear family members, parental siblings, and grandparents. A lexical influence by the local Bulgarian dialects is observed with regard to the cousins, the grandchildren, the nephews, and nieces. Both the Horahane Roma and
the Daskane Roma groups have similar kinship terminologies concerning the
nuclear family members and grandparents within their groups. A lexical influence of the local Bulgarian dialects is observed with regard to cousins, grandchildren, nephews, and nieces. The signifiers of the parental siblings are often
under the influence of the local Turkish dialects. Moreover, the everyday interaction between the groups brings a kind of a local terminological unification,
which indicates a strong regional influence. The Ludari group speaks a dialect
of the Romanian language and therefore their kinship terminology is in Roma6
For example nepoto (grandson) sounds like nipoto.
89
Table 4: Comparison between the basic kinship terms of descent in the control sample
signifier
Kaldera
Kalajdes
Ludari
Erlides
mother
father
brother
sister
son
daughter
grandson
granddaughter
grandfather
grandmother
paternal uncle
maternal uncle
paternal aunt
maternal aunt
cousin (male)
cousin (female)
nephew
niece
dej
dad
pral
pej
jav
ej
nipoto
nipata
papu
purani dej
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
voro
vara
nipoto
nipata
dej
dad
phral
phen
avo
ej
vnuk
vnucka
papu
mami
kako
kako
bibi
bibi
bratoved
bratovedka
vnuk
vnucka
mama
parinti
frati
sora
bjat
fata
nipot
nipoata
mou
baba
unki
unki
moaa
moaa
vr
vara
nipot
nipoata
daj
dad
pral
pen
avo
aj
unukos
unuka
papu
mami
kakos
dajo
teta
teta
bratoved
bratovedka
nian, although in several cases not in standard Romanian, as Table 5 shows.

Similar to the Kaldera phonology, a reduction of the vowel e is observed in
Central Southern as well as in Southeastern Bulgaria.
Table 5: The mismatches between Ludari and Romanian kinship terms
signified
Ludari signifier
standard meaning
Romanian signifier
grandfather
grandmother
aunt
daughter
mou
baba
moaa
fata
mo an old man
[Bulgarian borrowing]
moa a midwife
fat a girl, a lass
bunic
bunic
mtu
fiic
4. Kinship terminology by marriage within a given region

Similar to the terminology of descent, the kinship terminology by marriage
shows a core set of concepts that remains unchanged and a variety of interchangeable terms derived from the Romany, Bulgarian, Turkish, and Romanian
90
Alexey Pamporov
Table 6: Comparison between the basic kinship terms by marriage among the main Roma
groups in Northwestern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera Kalajdes
(Lom)
Kalajdes
Daskane Daskane
(Gabrovnica) Reetari
Cucumani
husband
wife
husbands father
wifes father
husbands mother
wifes mother
husbands brother
wife of the husbands
brother
wifes brother
wife of the wifes brother
husbands sister
husband of the husbands
sister
wifes sister
husband of the wifes
sister
son-in-law
daughter-in-law
uncle-in-law
aunt-in-law
grandson-in-law
granddaughter-in-law
rom
romni
sokro
sakra
sokro
sakra
kumnato
kumnata
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
s
etrva
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
s
etrva
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
s
etrva
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
des
etrva
kumnato
kumnata
kumnata
kumnato
ura
urnakovica
taj
s
ura
urnakovica
taj
s
ura
urnakovica
taj
s
ura
urnakovica
zlva
damutro
kumnata balda
kumnato bado
balda
bado
balda
bado
balda
bado
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
damutro
bori
io/vujo
teta
damutro
bori
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
languages. With regard to Kalajdes, Daskane and Horahane Roma, the core
set is composed of the terms for husband and wife as well as mother-, father-,
son- and daughter-in law. Except for some phonetic changes, the terms are one
and the same regardless of the subgroup or the region. All other kinship terms
vary significantly by the region, and the data from the control sample support
this. Except for the terms for husband, wife, son-in-law and daughter-in-law,
the Kaldera group totally adopted the Romanian kinship terminology of marriage relations. As with the terminology by descent, the Kaldera terms do not
vary by the region and thus the subgroup identity appears to be stronger than
the regional influences. Instead of the Romanian words so (husband) and soie
(wife), the Ludari group uses the terms Cigan and Ciganka, in the same way as
the Romany speakers use the words Rom and Romni. In fact, this was one of
91
groups in Southwestern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera Kalajdes
Daskane
Horahane Ploskalii
husband
wife
husbands father
wifes father
husbands mother
wifes mother
husbands brother
wife of the husbands brother
wifes brother
husbands sister
sister
wifes sister
husband of the wifes sister
son-in-law
daughter-in-law
uncle-in-law
aunt-in-law
grandson-in-law
rom
romni
sokro
sakra
sokro
sakra
kumnato
kumnata
kumnato
kumnata
kumnata
kumnato
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
devero
enge
kaino
kainga
enge
devero
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
devero
etrvi
ura
kaine
taj
amutro
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
devero
etrvi
ura
kaine
taj
amutro
koan
kari
kajnatam
dede
kajnanam
ana
salo
enge
ura
urnajka
enge
salo
kumnata
kumnato
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
balda
badanak
amutro
bori
inite
inge/dajnica
amutro
bori
balda
badanak
amutro
bori
amutro
bori
amutro
bori
balda
badanak
amutro
bori
inite
inge
amutro
bori
balda
badanak
damutro
gelin
enite/dajo
gelin
damutro
gelin
the main reasons for including the Ludari terminology in the present paper. The
kinship terminology by marriage is given in detail in Tables 69.
5. Summary and conclusions
The outcome of the comparison between the different subgroup and regional terminologies confirms the cognatic pattern of Romany kinship insofar as it does
not distinguish between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives. However, the parental siblings are distinguished by gender. The important common feature in
all terminologies is that the Roma use the same signifier for the second-degree
relatives of direct descent (grandchildren) and for the third-degree collateral relatives in the first descending generation (nephews), and only make a gender dis-
92
Alexey Pamporov
groups in Central Southern Bulgaria
signifier
Kaldera Kalajdes Daskane
Horahane Ludari
husband
wife
rom
romni
rom
romni
husbands father
wifes father
husbands mother
wifes mother
husbands brother
wife of the husbands brother
wifes brother
husbands sister
husband of the husbands sister
wifes sister
son-in-law
daughter-in-law
uncle-in-law
aunt-in-law
grandson-in-law
sokro
sakra
sokro
sakra
kumnato
kumnata
kumnato
kumnata
kumnata
kumnato
kumnata
kumnato
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
rom
romni
rom
romni
cigan/ludar
ciganka/
ludarka
sastro
sastro
sastro
sokro
sastro
tst/sastro sastro
soakra
sasuj
tta/sasuj sasuj
sokro
sasuj
sasuj
sasuj
sakra
des
dever
dever
kumnat
etrva
etrva
etrva
kumnata
urej
urej
urej
kumnat
urnajka urnajka
urnajka kumnata
zlva
zlva
zlva
kumnata
des
s
s
kumnat
balda balda
balda
kumnata
bado
badanak
badanak kumnat
damutro damutro
damutro diniri
bori
bori
bori
nora
kako
io/ vujo kako
unki
bibi
lelja/vujna bibi
moaa
damutro damutro
damutro diniri
bori
bori
bori
nora
tinction. The last common feature is that all relatives in-law in the generation of
the ego as well as in the descending generations are grouped together into a category split in two by gender like the previous. If one refers to Murdocks system
of classification, the Roma kinship is a brilliant example for a lineal (Eskimo)
kinship structure which emphasizes the nuclear family rather than the extended
family or larger kinship group (Harris 1987).
As becomes clear from the tables above, the terms vary by the subgroup
identity mainly in the terms for the members of the nuclear family. Combining
this with the above-mentioned Eskimo-type features of the kinship structure,
we can conclude that neither the extended family nor the larger kinship group
are the main social units, as is usually stated in the literature (Marushiakova,
Popov 1993; Jakoubek, Budilov 2006). Rather, the nuclear family seems to be
the main social unit and a pillar of Roma identity. Moreover, it is important to
say that the signifiers of ethnic identification, Rom (Gypsy) and Romni (Gypsy
woman), have their place in the kinship terminology denoting husband and
93
Table 9: Comparison between the basic kinship terms by marriage in the control sample
signifier
Kaldera
Kalajdes
Ludari
Erlides
husband
wife
husbands father
wifes father
husbands mother
wifes mother
husbands brother
wife of the husbands
brother
wifes brother
husbands sister
sister
wifes sister
son-in-law
daughter-in-law
uncle-in-law
aunt-in-law
grandson-in-law
rom
romni
sokro
sakra
sokro
sakra
kumnato
kumnata
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
des
etrva
cigan/ludar
ciganka/ludarka
sokro
soakra
sokro
sakra
kumnat
kumnata
rom
romni
sastro
sastro
sasuj
sasuj
es
enga
kumnato
kumnata
kumnata
kumnato
urej
urnajka
zlva
des
kumnat
kumnata
kumnata
kumnat
salo
runanka/etrva
dada/zlva
es
kumnata
kumnato
amutro
bori
kako
bibi
amutro
bori
balda
bado
damutro
bori
kako
bibi
damutro
bori
kumnata
kumnat
diniri
nora
unki
moaa
diniri
nora
balda
badanak
amutro
bori
kakos
enga
amutro
bori
wife. Should we then translate Roma as spouses instead of Gypsies? But

how do we explain, then, that the non-Romany speaking group of Ludari uses
the same substitution and even has the word Cigan (Gypsy) incorporated into its
kinship terminology? We are not yet able to provide an answer to these questions, but want to put them forward to the attention of our readership with the
hope of raising a fruitful discussion.
Literature
Budilov, Lenka, Marek Jakoubek 2005: Ritual Impurity and Kinship in a Gypsy osada in Eastern Slovakia. In: Romani Studies Ser. 5, Vol. 15,1: 129.
Clbert, J.-P. 1961: The Gypsies. Baltimore: Penguin.
Decheva, Mirella 2004: Me bala ukar, mo diklo lolo. Gypsy/Roma dress in
Bulgaria. Sofia: EIM-BAS.
94
Alexey Pamporov
Fraser, Angus 1992: The Gypsies. Oxford, Cambridge: Blackwell.

Harris, Marvin 1987: Cultural Anthropology. New York: Harper & Row.
Gadamer, Hans-Georg 1975: Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik. Tbingen [1960, Bulgarian edition 1997].
Jakoubek, Marek, Lenka Budilov 2006: Kinship, Social Organization and Genealogical Manipulations in Gypsy osadas in Eastern Slovakia. In: Romani
Studies 16, 1 (June 2006): 6382.
Kazandgiev, Kolio, Boris Kazandgiev 2007: Statue Words in the Gypsy Literary Language. Sofia: Ilinden 2000 [in Bulgarian].
Kephart, W. 1987: Extraordinary Groups. New York: St Martins Press.
Kostov, K. 1956. Gypsy Words in the Bulgarian Secret Slang. In: Izvestija na
institute za Blgarski ezik 4: 411425 [in Bugarian].
Kyuchukov, Christo, M. Yanakiev, D. Iliev 1995: Romani alfabeta. Sofia:
Bulvest-2000.
Malikov, Yashar 1992: Gypsy-Bulgarian Dictionary. Sofia: OSF [in Bulgarian].
Marushiakova, Elena, V. Popov 1993: The Gypsies in Bulgaria. Sofia: Club
90 [in Bulgarian].
Matras, Yaron 2005: The Classification of Romani Dialects: A Geographical-historical Perspective. In: Gerd Ambrosch, Barbara Schrammel, Dieter
Halbwachs (eds.), General and Applied Romani Linguistics. Munich: Lincom, 726.
Miles, Matthew B., A. Michael Huberman 1994: Qualitative Data Analisys.
Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Mizov, Boyko 1992: Toward the Leadership Among the Gypsies. In:
Sociologieski pregled 3: 4759 [in Bulgarian].
Pamporov, Alexey 2001: The Power Relationship in Romany Communities. In:
idem (ed.), Gjupci. Sofia: Effect, 514 [in Bulgarian].
Pamporov, Alexey 2007a: Sold Like a Donkey? Bride-price Among the Bulgarian Roma. In: Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 13:
471476.
Pamporov, Alexey 2007b: The Size of the Roma Population in Bulgaria as
a Challenge for Policy Relevance. In: Velina Topalova, Alexey Pamporov
(eds.), The Integration of the Roma People in the Bulgarian Society. Sofia:
Institute of Sociology [in Bulgarian].
Popova, Stefka 1999: Practical Gypsy Language Course. Sofia: BMC [in
Bulgarian].
Radcliffe-Brown, A. 1952: Structure and Function in Primitive Society. New
York: Free Press [Bulgarian edition 1997].
Savchev, Savcho 2004: Romany Bulgarian English Dictionary. Sofa: SDS.
Stoyanovitch, K. 1974: Les Tsiganes. Leur ordre social. Paris: Marcel Rivire.
95
Sutherland, Anne 1975: The Gypsies: Hidden Americans. New York: Free
Press [repr. 1986].
Sway, M. 1988: Familiar Strangers. Gypsy Life in America. Urbana, Chicago:
University of Illinois Press.
Tomova, Ilona 1995: The Gypsies in the Transition Period. Sofia: IMIR.
Weyrauch, W. O., M. A. Bell 1993: Autonomous Law-making: The Case of the
Gypsies. In: The Yale Law Journal 103, 2: 323399.
Abstract
The paper discusses the kinship terminology of the five main Roma groups living in the Northwestern, Southwestern and Central Southern regions of Bulgaria. The comparison between the different subgroup terminologies at a regional
level indicates a cognatic pattern of the Romany kinship, as far as it places no
distinction between patrilineal and matrilineal relatives. The parental siblings
are distinguished only by gender. The Roma use the same signifier as far as to
the second-degree relatives of direct descent (grandchildren) and to the third-degree collateral relatives in the first descending generation (nephews), and make
only a gender distinction. All in-law relatives in the generation of the ego as
well as in the descending generations are grouped together into a category split
into two by gender. In fact, the Roma kinship terminology is a clear example of
a lineal (or Eskimo type in Murdocks classification) kinship structure. The
terms vary between the subgroups mainly in the words used for the members
of the nuclear family. In all other kinship categories the regional influence is
stronger than the subgroup influence. Together with the clear Eskimo type
structure, the patterns of influence suggest that instead of the larger kinship
group, as often claimed, the nuclear family is the main social unit and pillar of
Roma identity.
MigrationMemoriesintheBorderlands.TheConstructionsofRegional
IdentityandMemoryinZagoria(SouthernAlbania)throughPlaceand
Sound
MigrationMemoriesintheBorderlands.TheConstructionsofRegionalIdentityand
MemoryinZagoria(SouthernAlbania)throughPlaceandSound
byEckehardPistrick
Source:
Migration Memories in the Borderlands
The Constructions of Regional Identity and Memory

in Zagoria (Southern Albania) through Place and Sound1
Eckehard Pistrick, Halle
Introduction
Migration is a central feature of modern Albanian and Greek history. In the Albanian case its roots reach back to the fifteenth century, when 200000 Albanians, one fourth of the entire population, left their home country after the death
of their Christian leader Skanderbeg (Piperno 2002: 1). While this first migration wave had a strong religious motivation, the following waves from the nineteenth century up to the recent Albanian mass migration were provoked by the
lack of economic and social development. The labour migration at the end of
the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century is comparable to other migration movements in the Balkans such as the gurbetistvo or
pealbarstvo in Bulgaria (see Hristov 2005). Especially strong was the migration in mountainous areas, where arable land was limited, such as the region of
Epirus, divided since 1912 between Greece and independent Albania. This migration has been discussed extensively from statistical, economic and political
viewpoints, while the self-conceptualization of this legacy in local culture and in
the local memory of the people has attracted considerably less attention. Scholars have preferred the official interpretations of migration to the subordinate discourses of local communities. For the locals themselves, migration is a mental
concept defined in relation to a specific concept of history and culture. Moreover it is highly charged with emotions both in terminology and discourse. The
constructed memory and the underlying emotions become visualized in specific places and performed through sound in quite a fascinating way. Songs and
places become grounds for remembering migration experiences individually and
collectively. This study, based on field research in 2006 and 2007 on both sides
of the Greek-Albanian border explores how migration as a mental concept can
become a performative aspect of everyday life in a borderland region. It focuses
on local concepts of history, culture and place and what role these concepts play
in performances of multipart migration songs. Although the migration experi1
My thanks goes to Andreas Hemming for proof-reading the English-language version of

this paper.
98
Eckehard Pistrick
ence is common to both sides of the Greek-Albanian border, I will concentrate

here on data from Zagoria in Southern Albania and on places and sounds connected with this region. I will also refer predominantly to labour migration before the Second World War, excluding the more recent mass migration.
Geographical, social, economic and historical overview
Zagoria is a mountain highland region west of Gjirokastra between the Drinos
and Vjosa Rivers. It is situated between the Toskria to the east and the Labria to the west, to which the Zagoria belongs ethnographically. Zagoria is
not only a mountain barrier reaching heights of up to 2485 metres on Mount
Nemrka; it is also marked by passes used historically by merchant and migration caravans between the Toskria and the Ionian coastal towns of Saranda and
Himara. These historic routes are lined with symbolic places both natural and
human-made, which are interpreted in multiple ways. The region of Zagoria is
also characterized by the omnipresence of the border. Two official border-crossing points, Kakavia and Tre Urat/Mertziani Bridge, and numerous unofficial,
i.e., illegal, border-crossing points are situated at a distance of between 20 and
30kilometres from the mountain villages. The region is characterized by a distinct mountain climate with up to 2030 snow days a year and intense rainfall
(1500mm per year) (Shabani 2006: 9). The main administrative centre for the
ten villages located along the Zagoria river is the village of Nivan. All villages
are positioned between 500 and 800 metres above sea level. The villagers of Zagoria as well as the villagers of the neighbouring Lunxhria region are today exclusively orthodox, apart from the village of Doshnica, which had a considerable Muslim population until 1913 (Shabani 2006: 16). The economic situation of
the region is especially difficult because it has only one large arable plain called
fusha e Sheperit (Alb.= the field of Sheper). The main motivation to migrate
therefore was, and still is, vafria (Alb.= poverty) and a weak local subsistence economy based on stockbreeding and the production of wheat, maize and
wine. From a demographic and social perspective, the region is marked profoundly by past and present migration events. The migration history of the region begins in the 18th century with labour migration movements to Istanbul,
Greece and Egypt. It is estimated that around 80% of the young men and boys
of Zagoria have been in migration (Shabani 2006: 11). The dramatic decrease
of the population can be seen in census figures, indicating 4500 inhabitants for
1854, 3300 for 1913 and 1450 inhabitants for 1984 (Shabani 2006:11). The situation has become even worse after the advent of post-socialist mass migration.
Even before, some of the villages were nearly deserted. The village of Vithuq,
for example, was inhabited by only two families in 1989 (Shabani 2006:56).
99
Map of Zagoria (taken from: Bulo, Stefan: Kenge Popullore ngaZagoria, Tirana 2000, p. 34)
Today more than two thirds of the Zagorians live not in their place of origin but
in major Albanian urban centres such as Tirana and Gjirokastra, as well as in
Greece, the USA, Italy, Germany, and Argentina.
The construction of a migration memory
Migration is an essential mental concept shared by the local inhabitants of Zagoria. This mental concept is expressed in relation to two points of reference: to
a specific notion of history and a specific concept of culture.
Halbwachs (1991) and Assmann (1992) describe memory as a selective act,
preconditioned by existing social frameworks. This selection results in a cul-
100
Eckehard Pistrick
tural memory, one specific dimension of human memory whose function it is

to transmit a sense for actions and things. Cultural memory can therefore be
described as a way to codify, save and retrieve the cultural sense of things
beyond the boundaries of time and the individual. It serves the finding of a collective memory and identity. In order to enter human memory, historical truths
are reshaped as a conglomerate of terms and experiences or as symbols called
memory figures (Erinnerungsfiguren) (Assmann 1992: 39). These memory
figures reproduce the past and at the same time define values, attitudes and aspirations deriving from them. The remembered facts are constantly re-selected
and re-evaluated in reference to an ever-changing present. For Zagorians the
memory of migration is central to their identity construction, remembering migration is an important basis for their community construction.
The two forms of collective memory, communicative memory and cultural memory (Assmann 1992) overlap in the case of migration recall in Zagoria. Cultural memory and memory figures are extracted from an imagined
mythistory (cf. McNeill 1986), while the myth in the structural-functionalist
interpretation of Schpflin serves as a way of organizing history, so as to make
sense of it for a particular community (Schpflin 2002: 26). Migration is understood by Zagorians as an integral part of one specific group of myths, relevant for Albania as a whole: myths of redemption and suffering (SchwandnerSievers 2002: 1011). Migration is seen in this context as an act of individual and
collective suffering, but also as a form of self-sacrifice for family and nation.
Mythistory is made visible in the sphere of local historiography and festivity.
Almost all efforts to organize memory publicly involve the use of or reference
to this mythistory. In Zagoria the organisation of such events has become institutionalized through cultural associations such as the ajupi brotherhood
founded in 1995.
The history of migration is also present as communicative memory: as a
part of individual and family biographies. This form of memory refers in its
strictest sense only to the experienced memory of one generation. But while the
migration experienced before the Second World War is indeed only part of the
lived and shared memory of a few older villagers, it is nevertheless perceived
as being alive and present in the younger generation through its actualisation and
juxtaposition to the recent experiences of mass migration. Both forms of collective memory are aimed, at least on the local level, at making sense of individual and collective hardship and at constructing and justifying migration as a
historical continuity.
This understanding of history is backed effectively by a concept of kultur
(Alb.= culture), understood as a dynamic and continuous progress. Culture is
a second crucial reference point for the construction of a collective migration
memory.
101
The concept of culture in Zagoria involves at its core a notion of culture as a

mission of collective progress. It is therefore used to justify the disastrous social
and economic effects of migration. Generally, the Zagorian people claim a high
cultural standard based on the historical coexistence of local Greek and Albanian schools since the end of the nineteenth century. In this period schools were
founded in Sheper (Greek: 1874, Albanian: 1917), Zheji (Greek: 1887, Albanian: 1917), and Nivan (Greek: 1899, Albanian: 1922) (Shabani 2006: 24ff.). In
addition, a famous poet of the Albanian Rilindja (Alb.= rebirth or renaissance)
at the end of the nineteenth century was a Zagorian, writing under the pseudonym Andon Zako ajupi, in reference to a mountain of the region.
In turning to individual views on migration and culture, we encounter a concept of culture in its widest sense, including all aspects of everyday life. According to local historians and intellectuals, migration played a significant role
in what they call the importimi i kulturave (the import of cultures) (Shabani
2006:11). The term culture is often used here in the sense of improvement or
progress and contains both an individual and a collective (village) level of interpretation. According to an informant from Sheper, the kurbetllinjt (migrants)
returned with kultur t gjera (a wide culture), introducing new models of
how to live and how to work. The same informant distinguished clearly between
nj jet e rndonte dhe primitive (a worrying and primitive life) before his father migrated to the USA in 1910 and a better civilized life after his return.
For him, culture means the arrival of Western comforts in the household and a
change in lifestyle. All new introductions in the household such as suva (plaster), tavani (tables) instead of the Ottoman sofr (round ground-table), dysheme
(floor), pjato (plates), arafi (bedsheets), petseta (Gr. = towel), kravata (tie)
and even a gramophone brought by his father in 1915 are associated with the
arrival of modernity and implicitly with the coinciding termination of the Ottoman period.
On the collective level the migrants were seen as returning with money pr
t vesuar dhe pr t ndhimon fshati (to distribute it and to help the village).
This commonly uttered phrase points to improvements again coinciding with
a wider concept of culture perceived as progress: cleaner and broader streets,
new churches and schools. Migration is thus clearly viewed in a positive light
from the cultural perspective as a means for the local community to open itself to the world (including the export of its own traditions) and to raise its own
cultural level. In this context migrants can become even heroes: the portrait of
Mitro Janaqi, the first kurbetlli from Sheper who left for America in 1895 has
found its place in the small village museum beside the portraits of local partisan
heroes and intellectuals. His portrait is especially telling: the fact that he poses
in the USA in a traditional Albanian costume is explained regularly by the locals in terms of a lingering of local culture and of the maintenance of a local
102
Eckehard Pistrick
identity in foreign surroundings. But migration is seen also as a metaphor for

change in general: socially, technologically, and psychologically. The Greeks
on the other side of the border in the village of Kastani express these dynamics of change in the terms kataramno kourmpti, ps ftiachneis ton nthropo (Gr.= damned kurbeti, how do you make [form/change] people). External
change in this context results in a fundamental inner mental change. The term
rimo or shkreti (Gr./Alb.= desert or wasteland) is often used in discussions
about migration and refers here in a metaphoric sense to the foreign country as
a hostile and mentally unbearable place. These inner changes result in the notion of a double alienation of the migrant in a foreign country: the migrant is
nj i huaj n vend t huaj (a foreigner in a foreign land), as informant Foto
Bii from Sheper put it.
Nevertheless the memory of migration in all its aspects remains a mental
background for social action and expressive culture. It can be materialized in
place and sound providing the Zagorians with useful co-ordinates for remembering the past and for re-enacting and negotiating its meanings in the present.
The memory of migration becomes visible and performable, an active part of the
social activities in the present.
Migration and place
While some of the above-mentioned cultural interpretations allow migration history to be seen in a positive light, most of the places and sounds associated with
migration recall hardship and suffering.
Assmann (1992: 39) argues that memory tends to manifest itself in places,
to fix itself in space. Abstract memory becomes materialized and visualized in
natural or cultural sites. The places associated with memory have been termed
lieux de mmoire (realms of memory) by Pierre Nora (cf. Nora 1996). It is
debatable whether this term may be applied without difficulties to the places
of migration memory in Zagoria, if we follow Noras definition too closely. He
argues that lieux de mmoire exist because there are no longer any milieux
de mmoire, settings in which memory is a real part of everyday experience
(Nora 1996:1). But as stated previously, labour migration is still a substantial
part of everyday experience, even if its presence stems from a temporal extension of the realm of experience over several generations. On the other hand, the
places in Zagoria are characteristic lieux de mmoire in the sense that they are
marked by the interaction of memory and history and that in these places the
Zagorians attempt to capture the maximum possible meaning with the fewest
possible signs (Nora 1996: 15). In this sense I would tend to apply this term to
symbolic migration places in Zagoria. In classifying such places, one may state
103
that most of them belong to the category of constructed symbols that were not
intended but which eventually became symbolically charged with the passage of
time, human efforts, and history itself. They are not dominant and official
places of spectacle and triumph but symbolically dominated places, intimate
spaces, where memory in its primary sense is kept as private memory (cf. Nora
1996:19). Places of migration memory possess the characteristic dual nature of
the lieux de mmoire, namely concreteness established through its defined identity and summoned up by its name, but also openness to a variety of possible
other meanings.
Zagoria is marked by an extraordinary density of such sites. One may refer therefore to this region as a landscape of memory, a landscape charged
with meanings transforming it into a medium of cultural memory (Assmann
1992: 60). Such places of memory in Zagoria are located along the caravan
routes used by merchants, migrants, and brigands alike. These routes connected
the towns of Prmet and Gjirokastra and on a larger scale Kora with the harbour of Saranda. One such road led from Gjirokastra along the mountain pass
of ajupi over the bridges of Hostheva Lliar Gjurm, Mushka Bual and
Lip to Prmet. An alternate road went via Topova, the bridges of Nivan, Sheper
and the gorge of Dhmbel (Shabani 2006: 55). Lieux de mmoire along these
routes are bridges (Nivan, Sheper, Hoshteva), custom stations (karakolle), passes, wells, rocks and trees. Even a general toponym such as qaf (mountain pass)
can be defined as intrinsically tied to the experience of migration as a name for
a place where women would accompany their men departing for kurbet (emr
vendi ku grat prcillnin burrat kur shkonin n kurbet).
One such route in the region of Prmet is known as the prroj i hajdutve
(path of the thieves) in reference to the frequent attacks of brigand gangs from
Malshova, Hormova, Picari or Golm on returning migrants. Its most characteristic feature is its kalldrm (cobble stone) construction, which can still be seen
on some parts of the road.
The bridge of Sheper is located at the edge of the village and was a bottleneck, as were the bridges of Hoshteva and the Manastir bridge in Nivan. Next
to it we find the guri i shkemileve a small porous limestone rock covered with
small holes, which are interpreted as stemming from the tears shed by the mothers of the departing migrants. Such rocks, hills (kodra e sinorit in Sheper),
passes (qaf e ajupit), meadows (lndina e lotve in Kora) or trees (klapsodendros, Polikastano, Greece) are often situated predominantly at the edge of
the village where the final departure took place.
Another place of departure was the shkmbi i kordhs (the rock of the
sword) near Politsani. This huge rock situated below an old walnut tree was
used, according to local tradition, by the local migrants to deposit their swords
during their absence from home. Upon their return they pulled their swords
104
Eckehard Pistrick
across the rock, leaving a mark. The density of marks covering the rock served
as a chronicle of the intensity of migration of this village.
The rrapi (plane tree) of Sheper marks, like in other cases, the centre of the
village. The age of the tree is used as an argument for the claim of the villages
deep-rooted historicity. History becomes organic through this natural allusion.
Beside its general meaning as meeting place for muabet (informal talk) and festivities, the rrapi of Sheper situated in the churchyard is described as the point
where the migrant groups met after having attended a final mass before departing. This historicity made the place suitable for the takimi i brezave (the meeting of generations) in 2005, a gathering of migrants from the village, a reunion
of the dispersed village community.
While most lieux de mmoire commemorate the departure of the migrants
and are associated with the world of pain and separation, a few stand as symbols for their return. One such place is the guri dyfekut (rock of two shots), a
pass 1600m above Prmet. On the arrival of the returning migrants, two shots
were fired from this strategic place to announce their forthcoming reunion with
their families. Here we find a first association of place and sound. Sound contributes here to the sensual construction of space in filling space with sound,
and by making space for sound (Smith 1997: 508). Another striking example for this spatial symbolic quality of sound is the bell of Hoshteva. Itself a
product of migration, the 100kg bell was cast in a Russian foundry and bought
in Istanbul by Rako Mboqe, a migrant from Hoshteva, in 1878 (Shabani 2006:
69). At the end of the 19th century it was installed in the Church of St. George
in Hoshteva, one of the oldest churches of the region. Its powerful toll could be
heard in the whole of Zagoria, from Mezhorgani to the mountain of Goliku. It
served primarily as an alarm bell to announce raids by thieves or brigands. But
local historians argue that its sound was also heard during social activities in
Hoshteva, such as dances. The residents of Hoshteva were then joined by the villagers from Lliar, Zhej, Koncka, Nivani, and Topova (see Shabani 2006: 106).
The sound of the bell possessed the power to gather the people of all Zagorian
villages to perform their social identity through dancing but also to defend this
identity and their values against foreign invaders. The bell lost its symbolically
charged sound in 1938 and was finally destroyed in the 1970s (Shabani 2006:
69). Recent mass migration has shed another light on the relation between sound
and place. Many villages have become silent (heshtur) and without songs
(pa kng), as singers explained to me. In the village of Politsani, for example,
the nine women of the female singing group once active in the socialist period
have been dispersed. Many of them are working abroad now, especially in Turkey, returning only for summer vacations. It is only in this brief period that the
group comes together again like in the old times. For the rest of the year mi-
105
gration results in silence in the abandonment of sound. The depopulation as a

social disaster is mirrored in the sphere of sound.
Performing memory and emotions migration, sound and sentimentality
Talking about migration or singing migration songs means remembering and
talking about emotions. Talking about migration involves a specific vocabulary,
which has different emotional connotations and nuances. On the verbalized level, specific kinds of emotion are formulated, which are then lived, experienced
and intensified in local performances. In the local culture a certain realm of
terms is preferred to others. These terms are predominantly connected with a
collective historical experience and possess an emotionally charged meaning.
Subjective and unofficial terms are preferred to objective and official terms. In
Albania the term mrgim, used predominantly in reference to migration movements after the Second World War, has remained bound to the sphere of official
media coverage and scientific circles. In local culture the term kurbet (labour
migration) is generally preferred. Talking about kurbet means the revaluation of
past labour migration experience in the light of recent mass migration, resulting
in an explicitly nostalgic notion of this Arab-Turkish-derived term.
Music as a socially meaningful expression provides, according to Martin
Stokes, a means by which people come to recognize identities and places and the
boundaries which separate them (Stokes 1994: 5). This is also true for traditional Zagorian songs, which are defined by local collectors as kng t mirfillta
(proper songs) characterized by their own autochthony (autoktonia) which is
understood locally as an adaptation to the environment and mentality of the region (see Bulo 2000: 2930). Deciphering the meanings of such a proper song
means to understand local aesthetics and their historical sources, to understand
the concept of tradition and to examine the relation of the song subject to social
reality (Caraveli 1982: 130).
Migration songs, commonly called kng kurbeti, are an integral part of
the proper song repertoire. Their number is quite considerable (Vasili 1981
counts 413 examples from all over Albania). The main characteristic of these
songs as a relatively recent traditional music repertoire is their synthetic textual
and musical character, adapting elements of older genres such as wedding songs
and laments. Traditional textual motives are revived and reinterpreted in the
context of this repertoire.
Singing a kng kurbeti means to transfer the nostalgic notion of the term
kurbet, pre-formulated through a specific view on history (mythistory of migration) and related to a social reality (recent mass migration), into a musical
form that meets the standards of local aesthetics. This aesthetic concept is one
106
Eckehard Pistrick
of filling a sound form with emotional sense. Singing means therefore to perform memory and the emotions deriving from it. For singer Nazif elaj from
Lapardha this means to musically transfer and enact the feeling of humbje (loss)
and dhimbje (pain). Although both old (before the Second World War) and
new (after 1991) migration songs possess for him a certain contemporaneity,
he claimed that the new migration songs possess a deeper emotionality because they are written with more dhimbje, because this dhimbje is more alive.
Performing migration memory and therefore pain is a delicate matter for
local singers, which requires a specific manner of performing. For Nazif elaj this manner of execution is tied to the way history was experienced by the
people. According to him, Albanians, as representatives of those peoples who
have felt pain and/or lived a tragedy do not sing with a z t lart (high and
voluminous voice) but with a nn z or z t ult (sotto voce). According to
the historian and text writer for the group Kaont from Delvina, the melodic
line should in addition have a specific [sound] colour (ngjyrim t veant). It
is here that a mental concept connected with emotions is put into practice, being
transformed into an aesthetic concept of sound.
This specific sound concept in turn is set into relation to the sound of other
repertoires such as boroitje (an onomatopoetic term for commemorative solo laments). Kng kurbeti are thus categorized as a tip vajtimi (type of lament).
In interviews, local musicians had problems describing the right way to perform
migration songs or describing their exact emotional content because this emic
knowledge belongs to the non-verbalized knowledge. Migration songs occupy an
in-between position between the spoken and the sung, the disordered and the
ordered musical structure, two poles which are often expressed by the terms vajtim and kng, lament and song. This double-faced character of migration songs
was expressed strikingly again by Nazif elaj, who stated that kng kurbeti
are lamented and sung (si vajtohet dhe kndohet) at the same time.
Migration songs may be performed at the above-mentioned lieux de mmoire of migration. Such performance events have from time to time proven to be
especially meaningful socially. One such event was the takimi e brezave (meeting of generations) which took place on 21 August 2005 under the plane tree in
Sheper and was attended by local migrants from all over Albania and abroad
who had returned to their home village on this occasion. According to a short
description of this event (Shabani 2006: 121), the singing of Sheperiote songs
was a central element of the festivity. Beside historical and humorous songs, a
song about the lieux de mmoire, the plane tree itself, was intoned to make the
participants aware of the historical significance of the place. Here the connection between place and sound as two representations of memory becomes explicit. The song served to define and negotiate the meaning of the place. Singing as
a participative act was seen as manifesting social values and communality, but
107
also as a means of remembering and reaffirming identity. Observers of the event

stated that songs were important for mobilising feelings of nostalgia, pritjen (sentimentality) and melancholy. After reaching this emotional state of mind through
the power of sound, a short history of the village was presented as well as the
numerous histories and family memories narrated by the njerzit e kngs
(people of song) and by the njerzit t bisedave me thelb (people of essential
speech) (Shabani 2006: 121). In this event the interconnectedness of history
and histories became visible. At the same time it highlighted the substantial
role of singing for the negotiation between history and histories and the meanings of the past derived from conflicting memories. Songs are a sphere where a
third kind of past, a debatable past (cf. Appadurai 1981), manifests itself most
prominently. This third kind of past has its sole function in debating other pasts
apart from the ritual and the non-ritual past (Appadurai 1981: 202). Depending
on the respective performance contexts, which may be informal or formal,
singing can be considered as a part of communicative or cultural memory.
To illustrate this hypothesis I will introduce two migration songs, one from
the village of Politsani, the other from the town of Delvina, the first in Greek
and the second in Albanian. The songs were recorded in two entirely different settings. The first example was used by a local singer to illustrate migration
history in an interview. It was sung in an empty caf to communicate individual memory. The second example was part of an official programme recorded
during a rehearsal for a concert of two multipart groups in Saranda. In being a
staged performance taking place in front of an audience, it had an official
character. Both songs are representative in their rich use of metaphors and allusions, which are shared across borders and times. The dominant metaphor in
both songs is the description of the foreign land as a place of slavery and subjugation. Both songs refer to different time horizons; while the first example refers
to the migration waves to America in the beginning of the twentieth century, the
second one, although referring to a nostalgic notion of kurbet, is focussed on recent Albanian mass migration to Greece. Despite the shared use of a common
metaphor, both examples are musically entirely different.
The first example is sung solistically and shows in its interpretation with
glissandi movements and mezza voce characteristic affinities to the repertoire
of laments (Alb. vajtim/Gr. miroloi). It may be added that this song is originally
a three-part song (cf. Lollis 2006: 159); the solo performance was a result of a
lack of suitable singers.
108
Eckehard Pistrick
Filoreta Kotsollari, Politsani, 26.9.2006,2 main text line:

, ,
,

.
America, America,
Lonely and full of meanings,
With the green dollars
They enslaved the brave men.
The second example is performed in four-part style by the group Djemt e

Delvins (Men of Delvina) with the characteristic fourth head-voice called
hedhs (the one who throws). This fourth voice, with its origins in the style
of Himara, supports the text of the first voice in a recitative form a minor third
above the iso-level (drone-level). This song is a typical example of the Folklori
i Ri (New Folklore) in Lab multipart style aimed at the creation of emotionality in huge audiences. The text is a new creation, connecting traditional migration metaphors with more recent ones. It serves the enactment of the migration
experience in a wider sense.
Djemt e Delvins, Saranda 27.9.2006.
Djema u ndan n t gjall
Kurbet o mal me mall.
Kurbet o mali me breng
Pse o djemt na i mban peng.
Pr mbi supe skllavrin
Lart ta mbani krenarin.
Krenarin e zogut t lir
T gjirit q keni pir.
Krenarin e dheut t gurit
T shqiponjs t flamurit.
Young men you have been dismembered alive

Kurbet oh mountain with longing.
Kurbet oh mountain with affliction
Why oh men you are hold in fetters.
The yoke [rests] on your shoulders
But you should hold your pride.
The pride of a free bird,
Of the [Mothers] breast of which you have
sucked.
The pride of the land of stones,
Of the eagle, of the flag.
While symbolic places visualize migration memory in a constructed landscape

of memories, migration songs as a part of expressive folk culture give memory
an acoustic shape. They help to condense and subjectify migration experience
and regional belonging. Like symbolic migration places, these songs are based
on a constructed memory, which stems from the fiction of mythistory as a third
kind of past (comprising the negotiation between the multiple meanings of history and histories) and a local notion of culture. As expressions of collective
memory they are highly selective and play an active role in emotionalising mi2
All translations were prepared by the author if not stated otherwise.
109
gration memories. Talking about and performing kng kurbeti means to activate
and reiterate emotions. Every performance of such regionally bound songs can be
seen as an artistic attempt to surpass the boundaries of time and the individual.
Every performance involves a process of redefinition of the meaning of migration in relation to an ever-changing present. Migration songs maintain close ties
to the lieux de mmoire of migration in defining and negotiating the meanings of
such places, complementing similar efforts in the other realms of regional folklore such as proverbs and poetry. In addition, they provide an important means
for revealing and defining the identity-generating potentials of place.
Literature
Appadurai, Arjun 1981: The Past as a Scarce Resource. In: Man (N.S.) 16,2:
210219.
Assmann, Jan 1992: Das kulturelle Gedchtnis. Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identitt in frhen Hochkulturen. Munich: Beck.
Bulo, Stefan 2000: Kng Popullore nga Zagoria [Folk Songs from Zagoria].
Tirana: Albin.
Caraveli, Anna 1982: The Song Beyond the Song Aesthetics and Social Interaction in Greek Folksong. In: Journal of American Folklore 95 (376): 129158.
Halbwachs, Maurice 1991: Das kollektive Gedchtnis. Frankfurt am Main:
Fischer.
Hristov, Petko 2005: Places to Exchange Cultural Patterns: The Market and
the Piazza for Hired Labour in Sofia. In: Ethnologica Balkanica 9: 8190.
Lollis, Kostas 2006: To Ipeirotiko polifoniko tragoudi [The Epirote polyphonic
songs]. Ioannina: Dodoni.
McNeill, William 1986: Mythistory, or Truth, Myth, History, and Historians.
In: The American Historical Review 91, 1: 110.
Nora, Pierre (ed.) 1996: Realms of Memory. Rethinking the French Past, Vol.1,
Conflicts and Divisions. New York: Columbia UP.
Piperno, Flavia 2002: From Albania to Italy. Formation and Basic Features of
a Binational Migration System. Background paper for the CEME-CeSPI research mission in Italy and Albania.
Schpflin, George 2002: The Nature of Myth. Some Theoretical Aspects. In:
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Bernd J. Fischer (eds.), Albanian Identities.
Myth and History. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 26.
Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie, Bernd J. Fischer (eds.) 2002: Albanian Identities. Myth and History. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1011.
Shabani, Kristaq F. 2006: Perla, profil i biskuar (Zagoria) [Pearl, ornamented
profile Zagoria]. Tirana: Marin Barleti.
110
Eckehard Pistrick
Smith, Susan J. 1997: Beyond Geographys Visible Worlds: a Cultural Politics

of Music. In: Progress in Human Geography 21, 4: 502529.
Stokes, Martin (ed.) 1994: Ethnicity, Identity and Music. The Musical Construction of Place. Oxford, New York: Berg.
Vasili, Kozma, Arsen Mustaqi 1981: Kng pr nizamt dhe kurbetin [Songs
for recruits and migration]. In: Folklor shqiptar IV, 3. Tirana: Shtypshkronja e Re.
Interviews
Bii, Foto 26.9.2006, Sheper (Zagoria).
api, Stavri 26.9.2006, Sheper (Zagoria).
elaj, Nazif 30.8.2007, Tirana.
Kotsollari, Filoreta 26.9.2006, Politsani (Zagoria).
Laska, Klefti 23.9.2006, Prmet.
Papagiannis, Dimitris 18.7.2007, Kastani.
Sejdini, Luan 27.9.2006, Gjirokastra.
Recordings
Djemt e Delvins, 27.9.2006, Saranda.
Kotsollari, Filoreta 26.9.2006, Politsani (Zagoria).
Abstract
The paper discusses the essential role that place and sound can play in the construction of a regional identity based on a constructed memory based on mythistory. The chosen fieldwork site for this study, the region of Zagoria, is
marked as a borderland; the chosen topic, migration, as a shared historical experience is perceived as worth remembering in different social strata. In discussing
the process of how a local community can imagine itself through the act of remembering, it is argued that certain memory figures such as symbolic places
and sounds fulfil an important role in the construction of a migration memory.
The analysis of some of these symbolic local memory places and some examples of migration songs reveals that these memory figures are emotionally
charged and possess multiple layers of possible meanings. It is in these places
and sounds where the negotiation between official history and local histories
takes place most prominently. Because of the ability of these songs and places
to surpass the boundaries of time and individuality, they are perceived as collective and representative.
TheConstructionofBanatRegionalIdentitythroughLifeStoryInterviews
TheConstructionofBanatRegionalIdentitythroughLifeStoryInterviews
bySimonaAdam
Source:
The Construction of Banat Regional Identity

through Life-Story Interviews
Simona Adam, Timioara
This paper focusses on the regional identity of Banat residents, its different defining aspects for various generations and the ways in which it is shaped through
social interaction. The main goal of my research was the analysis of the educational role of the family in the construction of regional identity and the exploration of socialisation patterns in Banat during different parts of the twentieth
century.
The multiethnic region of Banat is a fertile research ground for observing
the processes of constructing regional identity and for analysing the connections
between ethnic and regional identity. Banat is frequently regarded as a model
of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. This image is deeply rooted in its inhabitants consciousness. Here, in addition to the Romanians, one can find Serbs,
Germans, Hungarians, Bulgarians, and others. This allows one to make a comparison of Banat with a small-scale Central Europe. The history of Banat confirms a long tradition of eclecticism; different foreign rulers left a mark upon
the culture and the civilization of Banat. A special influence was the conquest of
Banat by the Austrian imperial troops, which took place in the first half of the
eighteenth century. During their rule, several waves of colonization swept over
Banat and, as a consequence, Germans, as well as French, Italians, Czechs, and
other ethnic groups settled in.
The Austrian domination had an important influence on the lifestyle of the
people in this region. The Enlightenment project of the Austrian throne focussed
not only on economic and social aspects, but also on educational issues. The results were a change in the mentality of the Banat population. Even after the incorporation of eastern Banat into Romania, following the First World War, the
lifestyle of this region maintained the features acquired during imperial rule.
The communist party that came to power after the Second World War brought
with it major transformations: the deportation of many Banat residents to the
USSR and to the wastelands of Brgan in south-central Romania, colonization projects throughout Romania with people brought from other areas of the
country, economic politics which aimed to make all regions of the country equal
from an economic perspective. Despite these changes, long-term interactions
between different ethnic groups led to the creation of a regional identity whose
features are visible even today.
112
Simona Adam
In order to identify the features of regional identity and the ways in which
they appeared, I have chosen to use qualitative research. I have started from the
constructionist paradigm, formulated by P. Berger and T. Luckmann (1999),
who consider that an individual becomes part of the objective world as a result
of socialisation, a process made up of two stages: the primary and the secondary
socialisation. During the complex process of socialisation the individual understands the world he lives in and this world becomes his own. Primary socialisation is very important for individuals and helps them find a direction in life,
laying the foundation of their self-identity.
During the process of primary socialization, the individual sees the outside
world with the help of his or her parents, also called the significant others. The
individual does not only copy the roles and attitudes of his or her parents, but
also of their world. The family has a very important role in the childs socialization. The first norms, values and patterns of behaviour are assimilated within
the family group. The way in which the individual relates to the other a neighbour, a friend or a colleague is strongly influenced by the education received
within the family.
The learning stages included in the primary socialization are socially defined. There is a certain chronological order in the social learning as there are
significant differences regarding the essence of socialization from one society to
another, or from one historical era to another.
According to P. Berger and Th. Luckmann, acquiring an identity means
establishing your place in the world. In the individuals consciousness, during
primary socialization, the progressive rejection of the roles and attitudes set by
the others and the assuming of general roles and attitudes takes place. Thus the
generalized other represents not only an identity in relation to a certain other or
a certain significant other, but also an identity in general (Berger, Luckmann
1999: 155). This very important step, called secondary socialization, marks
the internalization of the objective reality and the subjective foundation of an
identity.
A substantial part of my research is based on the inductive analysis of life
story interviews from the archive of the Group of Cultural Anthropology and
Oral History, belonging to the Third Europe Foundation in Timioara. Under Smaranda Vulturs coordination, during the past nine years, I have contributed to the foundation and organization of the oral history archive, which
presently contains over 400 life-story interviews. The interviewed individuals
were born between 1910 and 1936, of various ethnic origins and from all social
classes. In order to catch a glimpse of the temporal dimension of the socializing process, I have also conducted 50 semi-structured interviews with the subjects from two different generational groups, i.e., those born in the 1950s and
1970s, respectively.
113
Life stories offer a highly useful perspective which can serve to reveal the
identity-forming process, that being the result of the interviewees views upon
their lives. Experiences acquire significance only when they are integrated into
narratives. Stories are a fundamental means of communication between people.
Through them we learn about the others, just as the others learn about us.
Personal narratives not only describe experiences, but shape them as well.
The relation between to live and to tell is a dynamic one. Personal narratives are built in the general social context; they produce and are produced by
the dominant cultural meta-narratives (M. Andrews, quoted in Sclater et al.
2004:78). The lives that individuals choose to live can fit with or differ from the
patterns of these institutionalized meta-narratives. The self is, from this point of
view, a story that is continuously rewritten.
The particularity of oral history arises from the fact that the autobiographical discourse is a result of the interaction between the researcher and the interviewee, which is influenced by the connection established between them, the
researchers abilities and the social context of the interview. Ones life is not abstractly lived, through an isolated existence, but rather, it is shaped by the community life. The present perspective determines what the subject considers biographically relevant and how he or she develops meaningful and temporal links
between various experiences.
In order to analyse a life story interview, researchers may follow different
procedures depending upon which of the three approaches to the biographical
perspective they adopt (Miller 2000). The realistic approach, i.e., the grounded
theory approach, is based on a process of induction, starting with empirical observations and continuing with abstract concepts. In contrast, the neo-positivist
approach uses a deductive, theory-testing logic. According to the narrative approach, the responses given by the interviewee can vary depending upon the
interview situation. The content of the life story will depend on how the interviewees see their life at that particular moment and how they choose to depict
their life to the person conducting the interview. The purpose of the narrated
life story is the reconstruction of the present meanings of experiences. The most
crucial information does not lie in the answers given to specific questions, but
rather in the narrative organization itself.
During this research, the interviews were analysed according to the specific
steps of the grounded theory. Several topics that form the life story discourse
have been identified, such as: family, education, the relation with the ethnic other, work, identity, social life, etc. I have chosen a comparative analysis, using
several criteria: gender, ethnic origin, social class, and the environment (rural
or urban) to which the interviewed person belongs. As a consequence, both the
identity features common to an entire generation and the differences determined
by various factors, have been discovered.
114
Simona Adam
I shall further present several of the Banat residents identity features, as

they were revealed during the interviews given by the persons born between
1910 and 1936. By analysing the interviews, I was able to outline certain characteristics of the manner in which the process of socialization occurred during
the interwar period, between 1918 and 1941.
One of the topics touched upon during the dialogue with each interviewed
person from the first generation included in the study is that of the interethnic
relations. The ethnic structure of Banat during that era was much more diverse
than the present one. Contact among people of different ethnic groups was more
frequent and was described in most interviews. Most of the times, the references
to the interethnic relationships were positive. The good relationship with people belonging to other ethnic groups was often mentioned.
The regional identity of Banat inhabitants during the interwar period was
shaped by referring to the other ethnic groups. The analysis of a sample of interviews taken from the oral history archive revealed certain identity portraits
built on ethnic features. For example, the identity portrait of the German ethnic
group includes hardworking, cleanliness, and honesty as positive features and
selfishness and social isolation as negative characteristics. The interviewed persons opinions about their own ethnic group are also interesting: The German
is stiff: do this, do that, work, no matter if youre sick, no matter what, you have
to work (B. T., German, T. E. Found. Arch.).
According to the interviewed subjects, the regional identity of the people living in Banat is characterized by a series of features borrowed from the German
ethnics: This area [] had very many Germans, and of course this is the reason why the people from Banat were always the most successful in everything, as
they copied everything that was beautiful and good and that is why they thrived.
Thus their personality was built and that is why Banat became so prosperous
(G.I., Bulgarian, T. E. Found. Arch.).
Tolerance is the defining feature of the interethnic relations. The first conclusion to be drawn from the interviews is that they mainly had good relations
with other ethnic groups: I get on well with Romanians, with Hungarians and
all the nationalities., We have Hungarians, Germans, Romanians Most
of them are Romanians and we have no problem with that, as there have been
many years since we lived this way, with other nationalities (I. V., Bulgarian,
T.E. Found. Arch.).
What were the first contacts with the ethnic other, and how do those who
tell their life stories remember them? Such encounters were often facilitated
by spatial proximity. People living on the same street with other ethnic groups
had a greater chance of establishing relationships with them. Children in Banat
learned their first foreign words by playing with children belonging to other ethnic groups. This is the way we grew up, with our neighbours. If he was Hun-
115
garian, he taught us the Hungarian language. He learned Serbian playing with

us (S. T., Serbian, T. E. Found. Arch.).
On the other hand, children were encouraged by their families to learn foreign languages. My parents insisted that we should learn foreign languages.
They realised the importance of speaking other languages. My mother used to
say: Today we shall speak German in our house. And all day long we had to talk
to each other only in German (X. M., Serbian, T. E. Found. Arch.).
One was considered to be properly raised if one greeted and spoke using the
language of the person one met. Here is a behaviour rule a young girl was told
about by her mother who wished to teach her the good manners that a young
lady had to assume while meeting a person from a different ethnic group: Smile
while you greet. It does not cost much. Be friendly. If you know the mother
tongue of the person you meet, greet using that language. It will do him/her
well (E. C., Romanian, T. E. Found. Arch.).
The study of foreign languages, especially French and German, was carried
out by taking individual lessons or attending private kindergartens and schools.
This way, one of the defining characteristics of Banat residents identity, which
the interviewed persons were very proud of, was the knowledge of several foreign languages. If the people of Banat considered this an ordinary situation,
knowing so many languages was completely unusual for the people coming from
other regions. Thus, a Serbian remembers how during the war he was considered a spy by one of his commanders, simply because he spoke five languages.
This model does not apply to all the inhabitants of the Banat region. Closed
rural communities, which had few contacts with outsiders, better preserved their
traditional mentality and customs. Lacking contacts with other ethnic groups,
the members of these communities spoke only their mother tongue. Of course,
later, forced by circumstances, they had to learn Romanian, too.
When children were of an early age, parents were already concerned with
choosing the right school for them. For the wealthy inhabitants of Banat, private kindergartens were often a solution. These institutions offered children the
chance to learn foreign languages and to meet children from different ethnic
groups. But this was not a rule. Children of the elite were forbidden to attend
kindergartens, for fear of being influenced by the other childrens behaviour.
Now, while narrating their life stories, these children disagree with their parents past attitude.
Primary school was chosen based on ethnic criteria. This resulted in children
from closed ethnic communities being unable to speak Romanian after graduating from primary school. They encountered difficulties when they started to
attend classes taught in Romanian. Children whose playground mates belonged
to different ethnic groups had an advantage as they had learnt Romanian from
their friends.
116
Simona Adam
The criterion for choosing high-school was not the mother tongue. As the
centre of the region, Timioara had famous high schools, which were attended
regardless of the ethnic group the pupils belonged to. This is the case of Notre
Dame High School, which was a Catholic institution for girls.
Religious education had an important role during the interwar period. Not
only the family, but also the school was responsible for this type of education.
The presence of several nationalities in the Banat region also meant there were
several religions. The religious practices of certain ethnic groups are different
from others. From this point of view, the situation is very interesting in the case
of a mixed family. When parents belonged to different religions, children were
taught to respect both traditions. One of the interviewed persons narrated a special situation to us in which the mother was Orthodox and the father was Greek
Catholic. In this case, the daughters that would have resulted from this marriage
were going to be baptised in the Orthodox religion (taking over their mothers
religion) and the sons were going to be baptised in the Greek Catholic religion
(following their fathers model). The young people celebrated the holidays of
each ethnic group, and became familiarized with the specific customs of others.
In fact, celebrations played a special part in interethnic relations in Banat.
They were, at the same time, a way of maintaining ethnic identity, but also a
way of establishing interethnic relations. As people did not have the same religion, the celebrations were different to a certain degree. One example would
be the Easter holiday, celebrated on different dates by the Orthodox and the
Catholics. For practical reasons the Banat inhabitant ended up celebrating Easter twice a year, especially in cases when their friends cultivated both religious
traditions. A specific German tradition, celebrated on the second day of Easter, comsisted of the boys sprinkling the girls with perfume. With the passing of
time, this custom spread throughout the region. If the Easter day separated the
Catholics from the Orthodox, the Christmas days are different for the Romanian
Orthodox, who follow the Gregorian calendar, and the Serbian Orthodox, who
celebrate according to the Julian calendar. In spite of this, the spirit of Christmas is strongly evoked, regardless of the ethnic group.
Journeys are often mentioned in interviews. Parents encouraged their children to travel for study purposes. Departure abroad was common in order to
continue ones studies or gain skills in a certain domain. Travelling for entertainment was also common. It was fashionable during the interwar period to
travel to Budapest or Vienna in order to go to the opera or the theatre.
Regardless of ethnic affiliation, the inhabitants of Banat valued work and diligence. Almost everyone interviewed mentioned that they had been accustomed
to work since childhood. Nevertheless, none of them complained about it; on the
contrary, they found that their years of working proved to be useful later in life.
For the inhabitants of Banat, prosperity or wealth was a direct consequence of
117
work. There are many aspects that generated such a high valorization of work.
One of them was the wish to be like the others: The way of not making a fool
of yourself, of following a pattern, of not trying to be different than others
these are the characteristics of the people from Banat (K. S., German, T.E.
Found. Arch.).
In a community where the interpersonal relationships were very close,
neighbours had a strong influence, punishing any deviation from the community rules: If you hadnt painted your facade for Easter, everybody would have
laughed at you. That is, the others had their houses painted, and you didnt
So you were the laziest person in the village (K. S., German, T. E. Found.
Arch.). And these were not the only consequences; even worse, no young girl
should get married to a lazy man Thus, the reason the male inhabitants of
Banat had to learn from an early age was very clear: if he worked, he would be
accepted and respected as a member of the community; if he was lazy, he would
simply be marginalised, even excluded from the community, as it became impossible for him to raise a family. Another aspect that contributed to the foundation of the valorization of work in Banat could have been an outcome of interethnic contacts. Many of the interviewed persons are convinced that the prosperity
of Banat is due to the fact that the people here copied the best features of each
ethnic group, from the agricultural tools or techniques to the sense of duty and
discipline.
The wealth of the families living in the rural area of Banat was represented
by the land they owned. The villagers living in this area of the country, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, wanted to acquire as much land as possible. The
presence or the absence of land was reflected in the educational projects that
parents wished their children to take part in. In the Banat region, the German
system was adopted: Ein-Kind-System, which was a protective tool against
land division. They would decide to have a child or two at the most, and then
they would keep their children at home so that they might inherit their parents
fortune and carry on with their work. This is what they would do in Banat. My
mother was an only child and so was my father, they didnt have many children
so that the land might be kept close to the family, they were quite tied to their
land and took care of it (D. W., T. E. Found. Arch.).
The persons interviewed for the purpose of exploring the regional identity
of the people in Banat do not have only pleasant memories. Life does not always follow a linear trajectory, as dramatic moments occur during ones life
time. These essentially change the individuals identity and the way in which
he or she perceives social reality. Traumatic events of an individual or collective nature are mentioned; the latter affecting the lives of an entire generation.
For the inhabitants of Banat, born in the interwar period, deportation was one
118
Simona Adam
such a traumatic event that was part of the collective memory of all the people
who lived there.
At the beginning of 1945, as a result of losing the Second World War, approximately 70000 German ethnics were deported to the Soviet Union, for a period ranging from one to five years. (Leu, quoted in Vultur 2000: 28). In 1951,
following a political decree, 44000 residents of the south-western part of Romania, most of them from Banat, from different ethnic groups and living in villages at about 25km from the Yugoslav border, were deported to Brgan. The
tragedy of these people was hidden from the public for several decades. Their
voice was made public only after 1989, thanks to the interest and efforts of some
researchers who investigated this subject. S. Vultur, who has researched the deportations to Brgan since 1991, has created a corpus of life story interviews
from persons who were deported there. Under her coordination, during the following years, interviews with Germans who were deported to the Soviet Union
have also been conducted. One objective of these deportations was the destruction of the Banat rural community, of the interpersonal and familial bonds, as
well as the traditional axiological patterns in order to create a new type of person for the ideal communist society. In the traditional Banat milieu, the most
prominent familial type was the extended family, consisting of several generations living under the same roof. In the case of the Germans deported to the
Soviet Union, the targeted population was made up of the men aged between 17
and 45 and women between 18 and 30 (Vultur 1997:19).
Subsequently, for the German population, deportation meant severing family relations, being torn away from parents, children or other relatives, which
made the situation of deportees even more difficult: My mother was there as
well. I can see her there even now, after so many years, and she cried. My
mother was left there alone with my boy who was four years old back then.
My husband, my father and I were taken away by Russians (K. K., German,
T.E. Found. Arch.).
The deportation to Brgan redefined the solidarity networks and determined regional self-identification, by relating it to the native population of
Brgan. The good interethnic relations, frequently evoked in the life story interviews, helped them to bond more easily, even during those difficult times.
The deported peoples solidarity was a consequence of their official stigmatization as exploiters and resulted in a collective identity defined in opposition
with the political regime.
The discourse of the people deported to Brgan is often built on the myth
of the good colonizer, which was also used by the Germans who were colonized in Banat. As with Germans who came to Banat in the eighteenth century,
the deportees to Brgan believed that they had turned a hostile environment
into a prosperous one.
119
The interviews given by the persons born in the 1950s, belonging to the second generation, also reveal other features of the Banat peoples identity. The
identity-shaping process of the individuals of this generation was highly influenced by politics. The communist state focussed on creating a new type of citizen and wished to achieve the conformity of the individuals from all Romanian
regions. Thus, they tried to wipe out any regional difference by applying precise
political strategies. Despite of all this, the interviewees still have certain particular regional features. Further on, the ethnic tolerance is frequently mentioned,
but it emphasizes the self identification defined in relation with the regional other. While the 1980s were considered the darkest period of Romanian communism, the residents of Banat frequently mention the high living standard of this
region. In the case of the first generation, this was generally explained by some
qualities that the people from Banat region had, such as hard work and discipline, qualities they were born with, or qualities they acquired by living close
to the other ethnic groups. In the case of the generation born in the 1950s, the
higher standard of living was attributed to the geographical position of the region, more precisely, to the fact that it is close to the West. It was said that whilst
during the interwar period the inhabitants of Banat were leading a good life
because they were working harder than those from other regions of the country,
in the 80s, they were less affected by the scarcity of goods because they had the
possibility to obtain some of them from abroad. The differences regarding the
standard of living are made larger by relating them to the other regions.
The discourses of the interviewees belonging to the third generation, i.e.,
the people born in the 1970s, reveal how the regional self-identification and the
categorization of the regional other in the autobiographic discourse function. If
the ethnic affiliation is rarely mentioned, the regional identity is well defined
and marked by the reference to the regional other.
The theories of R. Jenkins regarding the role the parents play in internalizing the social categorizations during childhood are also confirmed here. Many
times, the social categorization of the regional other was done only by absorbing the stereotypes that were present in their parents narratives, before the interviewees had come into direct contact with inhabitants from a different region
of the country and before they could have come up with a definition of the regional other for themselves: This was instilled in our subconscious, ever since
we were children. My parents would say that the people from Oltenia and Moldavia1 were poor and looking forward to make a fortune in Banat. They were
disliked not only by my family, but by all the people in the village (N.H., T.E.
Found. Arch.).
1
Oltenia and Moldavia are two historical regions of Romania: Oltenia is situated in SouthWestern part of Romania, and Moldavia is situated in Eastern part of Romania.
120
Simona Adam
An element of the regional self-identification, mentioned frequently in the

interviews, is either pride or boasting. The analysis of the interviews shows that
this pride is a characteristic that is present more in the rural than in the urban
society. The people in the region were very proud. This could be seen, for instance, when we would go to a rural celebration to other villages. Each one of us
would try and stand out through our manner of dancing. People from different
villages would not really mix; those from our village would dance in a separate
group and try to be better than the rest. The emphasis on looks on these occasions was mentioned as well: Yes, especially during holidays and rural celebrations: one had to have new clothes, one new piece of jewellery (N.H., T.E.
Found. Arch.). The competition among the villages, the imperative of being as
good as the others, if not better than them, are elements that were frequently
mentioned by the respondents, which was brought about by social interaction
and by the use of all the self- and hetero-defining mechanisms.
The model set by the people born in Banat is a collocation that is frequently used both in the media and in daily interactions. It is charged with multiple
stereotypical features and is mentioned in numerous social situations. I have
tried to show how this model is built and rebuilt in the autobiographic accounts,
how the identity of the Banat residents is defined starting from childhood, and
what the role of the primary and secondary socialization is in this process of
shaping ones identity. The analysis also reveals the patterns of intercultural socialization and the role of various social institutions in the development of interethnic tolerance.
Literature
Berger, Peter, Thomas Luckmann 1999: Construcia social a realitii [The
Social Construction of Reality]. Bucharest: Univers.
Jenkins, Richard 2000: Identitatea social [Social identity]. Bucharest: Univers.
Miller, Robert 2000: Researching Life Stories and Family Histories. London:
Sage.
Sclater, Shelly Day, Molly Andrews, Corrine Squire, Amal Treacher (eds.)
2004: The Uses of Narrative: Explorations in Sociology, Psychology and
Cultural Studies. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Vultur, Smaranda 1997: Istorie trait, istorie povestit [Lived history, narrated
history]. Timioara: Amarcord.
Vultur, Smaranda 2000: Germanii din Banat prin povestirile lor [The Germans
from Banat through their life stories]. Bucharest: Paideia.
121
Abstract
The paper focusses on the aspects that form the regional identity of Banat residents, on how this identity is shaped through social interactions, as well as on
the relationship between ethnic and regional identity. In this research I used
the inductive analysis applied to the life story interviews from the archive of
the Group of Cultural Anthropology and Oral History, from the Third Europe
Foundation in Timioara. The analysis of life story interviews given by individuals from different generations and ethnic groups emphasizes ethnic and regional prejudices and stereotypes. I have thus tried to show how the identity of
the people from Banat is defined starting from childhood and what the role of
primary and secondary socialization is in this process of shaping ones identity.
The analysis also reveals the patterns of intercultural socialization and the role
of various social institutions in the development of interethnic tolerance.
RegionalandEthnicIdentityintheRuralAreaofTimiCounty,Romania
RegionalandEthnicIdentityintheRuralAreaofTimiCounty,Romania
byLaureniuruMelindaDinc
Source:
Regional and Ethnic Identity

in the Rural Area of Timi County, Romania
Melinda Dinc, Laureniu ru, Timioara
1 Introduction
At the juncture between traditional village identity, national identity, and European identity, the current period of identity construction offers not only the
opportunity to observe a new and transformed situation of historic and sociocultural value, but also the possibility of capturing the moment of intervention
for the validation and confirmation of the cultural values of the Romanian rural milieu.
Taking a look at the period since 1945 and including the migratory wave1 of
two decades ago, the changes in the ethnic composition of villages in the Banat
caused by population movements, structural changes caused by the exchange of
properties, the development of the infrastructure and the means of mass communication confront the present rural communities of Banat with new identity
configurations through equally novel social mechanisms. For instance, in order
to become integrated in the German community of tiuca in Banat, the inhabitants of Ukrainian nationality who now represent 85.8% of the villages population, chose to practice German customs, celebrate German holidays, and borrow
some of the ritual elements from the Roman Catholic Kirchweih2 for the celebration of the patron saint of their Orthodox church. At the same time, in order
to preserve the particularities of their group, they keep intact social practices
brought from Maramure four decades ago with the arrival of the first colonists
from the Poienile de Sub Munte Village. Today, with an open gate towards other
faiths (there are six well represented faiths and three churches built after 1990,
In Romania, after the anti-Communist revolution of 1989, the entire population suddenly
enjoyed the possibility of traveling abroad. Thus, the massive departures of the past two
decades (from 1989 until today) that have led to the partial or total exodus of the German
population in many of the villages of the Banat might be considered as the last migratory
wave of the Banat.
2
Kirchweih is the village celebration of the Roman Catholic patron saint, a manifestation
of the religious and social identity, requiring the participation of the entire community. The
display of the Swabian traditional costume, dancing, and traditional rituals are some of the
elements of identity affirmation and membership to this spiritual community. The Orthodox correspondent to this celebration is called Ruga.
1
124
Melinda Dinc, Laureniu ru
besides the two existing ones), the inhabitants of Jamu Mare speak nostalgically
about the image it once had as a German village (only 1.89% German ethnics
remain today), and that it was from these ancestors that they had inherited positive traits such as honesty and cleanliness. Today they regard the farm owned
by an Italian3 as the most beneficial investment in the life of their rather isolated
village. And these are only two examples of the attitudes people exhibit in Banat: tolerance, acceptance and integration of strangers, whoever they may be.
2 Methodological observations
Due to the interdisciplinary character of the social identity approach (Cerulo
1997), our research (Chelcea 2001) applied a methodology taken from sociology,
social psychology, and social anthropology. Thus, in a preliminary phase (July
September 2004), we used questionnaires, scales for measuring attitudes, and
demographic analyses in order to delimit the investigated reality. This was complemented by historical data and monographs in order to provide the necessary
quantitative data for the second phase (July September 2005) in which we
used structured interviews and direct observation and collected folk narratives
and documents from the local archives (cultural centres4, church registers). The
combination of quantitative and qualitative data provided rich and complex data.
The area of investigation was determined by the territorial and administrative borders of Timi County. Situated in western Romania, with an area of
8697km 2, this county makes up 3.65% of Romanias territory, the largest in the
country. Together with the counties of Arad, Cara-Severin, and Hunedoara,
Timi is part of the West Development Region and represents an important pole
of economic and social development in Romania.
In order to portray the regional identity we have to present some preliminary observations. Romania consists of 42 counties which have administrative,
territorial, political, and financial dimensions. Timi County belongs to the region of Banat, a name associated with the inhabitants for over three centuries.
The Banat does not indicate a particular political, military, administrative or financial belonging, but is only the name of a geographical region with a sinuous
In Jamu Mare, in July 2004, there was only one private enterprise, and for this reason it
was emblematic for the inhabitants. This enterprise, engaged in agricultural activities, was
owned by an Italian citizen.
4
According to law number 292/27 of June 2003, concerning the organization and function
of cultural institutions, the cultural centre (Cmin Cultural in Romanian) is a public institution in all the existing commune centres. Its main purpose is to preserve and promote
moral, artistic and technical values of the local community, but also the national and universal heritage.
3
125
and complex history. The Banat has a definite historical meaning, hence the
definite article is often used before its name. It covers an area of 28562km2,
out of which 18966km2 belong to Romania, 9276 km2 to Serbia, and a small
northwestern part to Hungary (284 km2). As regards its administrative organization and size, in 2004 Timi County had two cities, Timioara and Lugoj,
eight towns, Snnicolau-Mare, Jimbolia, Buzia, Fget, Deta, Ciacova, Reca i
Gtaia, 85 communes5, and 313 villages.
According to the Census of March 2002, the countys population consisted
of 52.08% female and 47.91% male inhabitants, of 60.72% urban dwellers and
39.7% villagers. The average density of the population in Timi County, as well
as in the entire western region, has slightly decreased in relation to the national
average. The ethnic structure of the population in the rural areas of Timi County is the following: Romanians 81.95%, Serbs 2.24%, Hungarians 6.41%, Germans 1.49%, Bulgarians 1.37%, Roma 3.82%, Ukrainians 2.05%, Other 0.66%.
3 National and regional self- and hetero-identification in rural
TimiCounty
In the investigated situations, the delimitation of personal, national, and regional identity was conclusive, with general and specific features given to each definition: self- and hetero-identification6 (by applying the Who are you? test by
Kuhn), social distance (by measuring attitudes based on the Bogardus scale),
linguistic behaviour, population movements (inter-regional migrations), and the
importance given to central features (by applying the language test by Zavalloni)
(Ilut 1999, Bogardus 1925, Doise, Deschamps, Mugny 1999).
3.1 Personal identity
Defining the social in-groups self-identity has changed in accordance with the
situational context in which identity was outlined by the subjects. Thus, in the
absence of distinctive markers, where personal identity is concerned, respondents defined themselves in mainly positive and general terms. The frequency
of self-attributed descriptive terms points sporadically towards specific defining tendencies, such as the term old self-attributed by 5% of respondents. In a
non-specific context, that of self-defining ones identity in the absence of terms
of comparison and difference, the subjects came up with definitions based on
strong, essential features such as faith, nationality, occupation, age, gender, etc.
Commune is a basic administrative and economic unit, consisting of one or more villages
and run by a mayor.
6
Hetero-identification is the identification made by members outside the ethnic group.
5
126
But none of the identifications that target these identity categories had a significant percentage in the answers to the open question: Who are you? This does not
mean that the above-mentioned identities are not important to the respondents
or that it is not sufficiently inclusive from a social point of view. It only points
out that, in the absence of a categorization condition, self-evaluations remain
general and positive. In their answers, the subjects did not place themselves in
a comparative register towards one social class or another, towards the groups
they belong to or the relevant out-groups, therefore their identity orientation was
not steered towards any category. Thus, in the absence of relating to the other, the features evinced by the subjects do not indicate a certain social identity.
They situate themselves in a more general social context und use attributes that
are positively valued in any rural community such as righteousness (good), work
(hardworking, diligent, thrifty) or honesty (honest, fair).
3.2 National identity
Similarly, the analysis of national self-identification categories ranks the villagers openness towards the communitys social life as the most important trait
and presents the specific identification features valid on the level of social representations. Thus, the question Who are we, Romanians? Produced the following answers: openness towards ones community (positive: 71.5%, negative:
11.5%), poverty (2.5% of responses), education (through positive assessments
such as clever, schooled, well-informed: 2.2%), other specific attributes (1.6%)
and moral-religious identity (1%). Just like in the case of personal identity, those
attributes that refer to the general context of values and norms (mentality, work,
education) are mentioned more frequently. However, apart from stereotypical
images such as we, Romanians, are hospitable, good, hardworking, and
clever, we can also notice well-defined self-identifications pertaining to the dynamic social life of the villagers. This is why poverty, a current problem for the
population in rural areas, registers only 2.5% of responses, ranking third place
in the order of importance among Romanians self-identifications.
As regards national or ethnic identity, defined with the help of a comparative
register (through the social distance from the other national groups and through
the hetero-identifications of the latter), the majority of Romanians in the Banat
region display intense attitudes of social acceptance towards all the other national groups. This is to say that between 44.5% and 49.5% of Romanians declare
that they would marry members of other ethnic groups, with the exception of the
Roma (who are approved only by 30.2%). According to the Romanians perception, the social distance to the Roma group is greatest (7.2% of Romanians want
the Roma population expelled from Romania). The Romanians hetero-identifications with the other national groups are positive. There are stereotypical so-
127
cial images such as: the Germans are fair and cold, the Jews are good business
people and belong to a special religious group, whereas the Roma are thieves,
lazy and dirty. The following diagram shows the attitudes of the Romanian majority in more detail:
Figure 1: Image of the main national groups in Timi County in the Romanians perceptions.
Graphic representation of responses with highest frequency to the open question What are
the Germans (Serbs, Jews, Roma, Hungarians, Bulgarians) like?
Interconnecting the results of the last two aspects, we can notice the social distance that correlates directly with hetero-identification. The significant differences between the frequency with which Romanians apply negative features to
the Roma (50%) and the negative hetero-identifications for the other mentioned
groups (frequencies between 8% and 16%), clearly show the tendency to declare
the most negative representations about the group situated at the greatest social
distance, the Roma.
The analysis of marriage and linguistic behaviours confirms the results of
the Who are you? test as well as those on the social distance scale for national
128
identity. The increased endogamy among the inhabitants of Romanian nationality in Timi County is explained by the strong presence of Romanians in the total
population (81.95% at the time of the 2002 Census). The degree to which Romanians represent the majority is evident when we think of Romanian to Romanian
marriages rising to 79%. Similarly, in the case of the other national groups, the
Bulgarians, Ukrainians, and Roma also display a high rate of endogamy.
The Bulgarians of Banat represent a small community. In Timi County,
there are three rural communities with a significant concentration of Bulgarians,
which accounts for the local endogamy among the three villages the Bulgarian to Bulgarian marriages make up 74% of the cases. Moreover, the results of
Bulgarian hetero-identification show a positive image, but devoid of specific features for this national group. Thus, Bulgarians score few positive attributes with
notable frequency from Romanians: they, the Bulgarians, are good (15%)
and hardworking (13%). This positive, but bland image denotes weak links and
infrequent social interaction between Romanians and Bulgarians. In the case of
Ukrainians, the significant percentage of endogamous marriages (69%) finds its
reasons only partially in the explanation valid for the Bulgarian ethnicity, since
Ukrainians are not confined to only a number of villages but are spread across
a larger area of Timi County. Adding these results to the analysis of linguistic
behaviour and data from a case study on a community where Ukrainians represent the majority population, one notices that certain dimensions of the Ukrainians way of life that have survived intact to this day have a great influence on
the choice of a life partner. Therefore, for the Ukrainians the life partner comes
from the same language community (Ukrainian), religious faith (old rite Orthodox), follows similar social customs (a significant demographic increase as opposed to the one in Romanian communities, male seasonal or temporary work
migration), shares the same history and origins (the organized migration of families, kith and kin that today embody the founding heroes of Ukrainian villages
of Timi).
As for the Roma population, the reasons behind endogamy belong in the area
of prejudices, negative stereotypes, and intolerance. They are easily noticeable
in the results of the Who are you? test in the variant They, the Roma are and
in the maximum social distance as perceived by the subjects of Romanian nationality. The intolerance exhibited by the other national groups (at times by social, cultural, and sometimes spatial isolation of the Roma through social practices still alive in the collective memory) explains the negative social image, the
maximum social distance in the subjects perception, as well as the endogamous
behaviour of the Roma population (valid for more than half the population of
this ethnicity). The noticeable endogamy within minority national groups can
be partly explained by the socio-linguistic behaviour of these communities, as
mentioned above. The Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Russians, and Roma are ethnic
129
communities that use their mother tongue in almost all investigated social situations: at home, in the family, with close friends, with neighbours, in public. In
this way, the relatively isolated communities of these national groups in Timi
County have the advantage of being able to preserve their way of life, customs,
and socio-cultural traditions. At the same time, however, there are drawbacks to
this segregation concerning the values cultivated as a result of endogamous behaviour, but also the restrictions of socio-economic and cultural exchanges with
other communities from the proximal social space.
3.3 Regional identity
Regional identity has been analysed based on the data obtained by applying
the same tools. The self-identification of people from Banat is positive, i.e.,
80% consider themselves as being good, hardworking, industrious, and honest.
Pride is a specific cultural element of the Banat region: the inhabitants are
proud and ahead of everybody in their songs, games, and celebrations.
The rural populations in Timi coming from other Romanian counties is remarkably high. They are from Maramure (18.3%), Hunedoara (12.8%), CaraSeverin (8.8%), Bihor (7.7%), Satu Mare (5.9%), Neam (5.1%), Botoani (4.4%),
Suceava (4%), Bistria Nsud (3.7%), Mehedini (3.7%) and Iai (3.3%). The
counties with the highest numbers are those adjacent to Timi and those in Transylvania, i.e., neighbouring areas with frequent social interactions. They attract the most favourable hetero-identifications in rural Timi County, while the
regions poorly represented in the migration to Timi, namely those in Moldova (the counties of Neam, Botoani, Suceava, and Iai) and partly in Oltenia
(Mehedini) are identified by negative stereotypes. Thus, the people from Transylvania are calm, those from Oltenia are quick, while the inhabitants of Moldavia are poor and lazy. The results of the measuring of social distance are strongly linked to those of hetero-identification: the Moldavians are those whom the
people from Banat perceive to be at the greatest social distance (based on the
Bogardus scale). The Transylvanians receive positive social evaluations in Banat
and, at the same time, find themselves at the smallest social distance from them.
Thus, the social distance attributed by the people of Banat displays significant
differences between regions and reaffirms the results of the Who are you? test
adapted for regional identity. At the same time, the lack of a significant presence
of immigrants from the Muntenia area, its geographical distance, and the weak
links and infrequent social interactions with this region have created a neutral
image of the Muntenians among the villagers in Timi, an image without nuances and defining aspects.
130
4 Three villages. The dynamics of identity and traditional cultural models

Our study revealed that the identity-building strategies are based greatly on the
type of rural community (Voicu M., Voicu B. 1996). Different communities
have adopted different strategies to define their social identity. Taking into account the particularities of the region, its socio-economic, cultural, and demographic conditions, the proximity to or distance from an urban settlement, we
found three types of rural communities with regard to the mechanisms used by
the villagers to define their social identity.
(1) Heterogeneous communities, generally situated in the vicinity of cities or
towns (Timioara, Lugoj, Deta, Buzia, Snnicolau Mare, Jimbolia, Fget,
Reca, Ciacova sau Gtaia), with a greater migration dynamic, reveal an exogenous community in change, such as Becicherecu Mic. A socio-culturally diverse community located close to an urban centre (Timioara), Becicherecu Mic is a village with a high social mobility (with 18% of its stable
population originating from Timioara), a low percentage of native population (only 28% of inhabitants were born in Becicherec) and an increasing diversity of denominational groups. Becicherecu Mic is a community exposed
to the powerful dynamics of social change and subjected to the impact of
the vicinity to the urban area. This only reinforces the identity of the local
community; the inhabitants of Becicherecu Mic take any opportunity to emphasize their local identity: they celebrate the villages historical and present
heroes, they recall the moments when the villages cultural and historical
foundations were laid and they preserve the ritual elements specific to each
village event.
(2) Homogeneous communities, like Jamu Mare, are average with regard to the
number of inhabitants and households. They are situated at relatively great
distances from urban centres, and the population is relatively stable from the
point of view of territorial mobility (in Jamu Mare, 42% of the population
were born in the village). In its lack of urban influences and mobility (Jamu
Mare has few commuters, the population is stable and old, the village has
not succeeded in attracting any investors from outside the community), Jamu
Mare has adopted a strategy of declaring an identity that is rather passive and
oriented towards the past, because things were better in the old times.
(3) As an atypical community, we have investigated the Ukrainian village of
tiuca. The strategy of constructing and maintaining identity hinges on
structures of opportunity (Ritzer, Smart 2001). Oriented towards social development, the Ukrainian community, which today represents the majority
in the village, adopts almost totally the cultural patterns of the native population in order to integrate in the new social context.
131
The three investigated rural communities Becicherecu Mic, Jamu Mare and
tiuca have developed complex strategies for the construction and affirmation of their identity based on elements of cultural models specific to each of the
three types of communities. The case study intended to describe and analyse elements that form the basis of social identity construction, such as symbols, identity heroes, Christian and secular celebrations, the community spirit, national
and religious groups, as well as kinship relations through marriage. The groups
relevant for our analysis also include national and religious groups.
4.1 Inter-ethnic relationships
In Jamu Mare and Becicherecu Mic, the majority population is Romanian (over
86%), whereas in the village of tiuca we come across a community consisting
of people of Ukrainian descent (85.88%). Inter-ethnic relationships are positive
and integrating: here your ethnicity doesnt matter; people get along very well
with each other. Look, Im Romanian but I get along well with the Russians
(); the Gypsies here do a good job. And then there are the Ruthenians and the
Lipovans. The members of national minority groups are good people because
they are ours.
We can notice the predominance of social integration over any segregationist tendency. Despite the conservative attitude towards certain social practices
brought from the Maramure region, the Ukrainians have borrowed cultural
models from the German population, which represented the majority in tiuca at
the time of the Ukrainians arrival. They now celebrate the patron saint of their
Orthodox church through practices espoused from the Catholics, they adopt the
architecture of the Banat Swabians (with big houses, whitewashed every spring,
etc.) and they integrate the newly arrived Ukrainians into these village practices. Similarly, the Roma population is integrated into the village community despite their generally negative image. We can say that the more the frequency of
significant social interactions with a foreign group increases in duration, the
faster do intolerance, segregation or social isolation towards this group disappear. By means of social control, the community integrates the foreigners and
once they have been integrated, the other becomes one of us. This mechanism
of contradictory references coexisting within the same group proves how much
social identity depends on belonging to a social category and on more or less direct social experience with the other relevant group. People place themselves on
the opposition resemblance identity scale in accordance with previous social
experience and the social categories based on socially inculcated perceptions
and representations.
132
4.2 Inter-denominational relationships

The most significant religious group in the three communities in terms of
number of parishioners is that of Orthodox Christians. However, there are slight
differences in the practice of the old and new Orthodox rites: in Becicherecu
Mic, the Serbian community respects the old calendar. This is also the case of
tiuca where the majority population is Ukrainian and old rite Orthodox. Although the Catholic German group has diminished in the region in the past few
decades, the Catholic Church occupies a second place in terms of the number of
parishioners. Another fundamental modification is represented by the appearance of new religious faiths. In almost all rural communities of Banat there are
new religious communities with a solid socio-economic organization, and the
three villages are no exception. Becicherecu Mic and Jamu Mare are ahead insofar as they have the highest number of Pentecostals, Baptists, Jehovahs Witnesses, and Seventh Day Adventists. In Jamu Mare places of worship have been
reconstructed and revived since 1989. Inter-religious relationships are open and
positive.
5 Conclusions
The villagers of Timi county show a high degree of tolerance towards other
regional groups. Based on self-placement on the scale of social distance from
other regional groups and through the hetero-identification of regional groups
from the whole of Romania, the Banat residents appear as a tolerant regional
group with positive attitudes towards even the regional group of people from
Muntenia with whom they do not have any real interactions and of whom they
have a vague image. At the same time, they have positive stereotypes of all ethnic groups living in Banat, each of them being characterized by a variety of
attributes, recognizing them as entrepreneurial, hardworking, kind-hearted,
good administrators. Totalling almost 15% of the rural population of Timi, the
ethnic minorities are well integrated into the communities, and ethnically mixed
families have become an everyday occurrence. Inter-ethnic relations are positive and integrating: Here your ethnicity doesnt matter; people get along very
well with each other. Look, Im Romanian but I get along well with the Russians
(male, 74 years old, from tiuca); furthermore: the Gypsies here do a good job.
And then there are the Ruthenians and the Lipovans (male, 77 years old, from
Becicherecu Mic).
In the ethnic collage of Timi, the Roma group is the only one depicted with
negative attributes; however, when people refer to the Roma in their village, the
image is always positive. Thus, the members of minority groups are good people when they are one of us. Being one of us in the Banat villages means, in
133
the words of the great majority, being good, proud, hardworking, industrious,
prosperous, and honest. As a consequence, the integration of strangers rests on
these qualities which they have to demonstrate in order to become one of us.
In general, people tend to paint a palatable picture of their group and have
a positive social representation of their in-group. This accounts for the high
number of responses that reflect positive attributes of personal, ethnic, and regional self-identification, resulting from the open-ended questions of the modified Who are you? test. Social identity consists of quality attributes of ones own
group because identity tends to be positive. This idea is supported by numerous studies and theories claiming that identity is an adjuvant of self-esteem in
the construction of ones social and psychological self. Identity attributes, real
or presumed real, are used in order to create a positive self-image within a concrete social context.
In our study, we have considered social identity under its relational (Tajfel,
Turner 1981) aspect and not under its aspect of substance, departing from the
premise that identity manifests itself in its relationship with the out-group or
with the other. In any case, its affirmation, validation, and reconfirmation are
determined by the extent to which we have social interaction (Barth 1969). The
individuals bring their positive aspects or those which they consider to be
positive aspects to the interactional field, and this happens regardless of the
level or form of interaction. Thus, identity has to be constructed through positive attributes presenting the own group in a favourable light. These attributes
re-configure in an optimal structure in order to provide members with a positive self-esteem for each new social situation. It is renegotiated with each social
context being overwhelmingly determined by the groups characteristics (in our
case, that of the community). In the absence of interaction, identity is asserted
only through ready-made social images, such as stereotypes and prejudices. In
this respect, we believe that the modification of the Roma populations image
in the investigated rural communities social representations is relevant. Generally, when other Roma populations are discussed, the hetero-identifications are
predominantly negative, but when respondents refer to our Roma, from our
village, the image changes considerably into a positive one. In the same line
of thought, we can recall the example of the image of people from Muntenia
which is, in spite of little contact, is fairly neutral or even positive in the village folklore.
Thus, we can say that there is no such thing as a primary identity. We cannot
find elements of historical or socio-cultural tradition that do not undergo modifications. If until recently we used to believe that religion, nationality, gender
or belonging to a particular social category provides us with a stable identity,
constant values. and certain belonging, today we are given evidence to the contrary, even in the world of the Romanian village. In conclusion, in this day and
134
age, continuity is open to change while traditions, customs, and mores are being questioned.
Literature
Barth, Fredrik 1969: Ethnic Groups and Boundaires. The Social Organization
of Culture Difference. Oslo: Universitets Forlaget.
Bogardus, Emory Stephen 1925: Measuring Social Distances. In: Journal of
Applied Sociology 9: 299308.
Cerulo, Karen A. 1997: Identity Construction: New Issues, New Directions. In:
Annual Review of Sociology 23: 385409.
Chelcea, Septimiu 2001: Metodologia cercetrii sociologice [Methodology of
sociological research]. Bucharest: Editura Economic.
Deaux, Kay, Gina Philogne (eds.) 2001: Representations of the Social. New
York: Blackwells.
Doise, Willem, Jean Claude Deschamps, Gabriel Mugny 1999: Psihologie
social experimental [Experimental social psychology]. Iai: Polirom.
Ilu, Petru 1999: Identitatea multipl i condiia cognitiv-axiologic a studentului [The multiple identity and the students cognitive-value condition]. In:
Sociologie Romneasc [Romanian Sociology] 3. Bucharest: Institutul Social Romn.
Tajfel, Henri, John C. Turner 1981: Social Identity Theory. In: Human Groups
and Social Categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP.
Voicu, Mlina, Bogdan Voicu (coord.) 2006: Satul romnesc pe drumul ctre
Europa [The Romanian village on its way to Europe]. Iai: Polirom.
Abstract
This study presents results of a field survey of the rural population of Timi
County in Romania focussing on the strategies of identity construction and affirmation on the levels of personal, national, and regional identity. As part of a
quantitative survey, three case studies have been carried out in three villages attempting a qualitative description and analysis of elements of rural identity construction. Social identification processes, by which each member of society can
easily determine the social identity of any other member, emphasize the functionality of the socio-cultural system. Our study revealed, among other things,
that in Banat for all ethnic groups and strangers to become one of us depends
largely on living and acting in conformity with the values and behaviours which
are considered typically Banatian by the local population. On the village level this includes also the Roma whose stereotypical image is generally negative.
RegionalIdentity:TheSerbsinTimioara
RegionalIdentity:TheSerbsinTimioara
byMirjanaPavlovi
Source:
Regional Identity: The Serbs in Timioara

Mirjana Pavlovi, Belgrade
This paper deals with the complex questions of the construction of Banat cultural identity, as well as the analysis of its relation towards ethnic/national identity and local identity in the Serbian community in Timioara from the point of
view of its members. The history of Banat and Timioara, as well as the most
significant features of the Serbian community in this city, were summarized
previously. The basis for this analysis consists of data gathered through field research in the period 2002 to 2006 and of data taken from scientific literature as
well as from Naa re (Our Word), a Serbian language weekly newspaper published in Timioara.
Banat, a region in Southeast Europe that today is part of three nation states,
used to be from the Middle Ages to the end of the First World War a uniform historical, political, and cultural area under the rule of Medieval Hungary,
the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, and Austria-Hungary. The exact time of Serbian colonization in Banat is uncertain. Some indications suggest
that already during the migrations of the Slavs a group of Serbs settled in Banat.
In Timioara itself historical sources mention them for the first time during the
reign of the Hungarian king Mathias Corvinus (14581490) (Popovici 1933: 22).
But already a document of 1366 referred to Serbs as very persistent in their religion (Cerovi 1997: 12), while a document from 1543 stated that Timioara
was situated in medio Rascianorum (Popovi 1955: 32). Escaping the Turkish
invasion, Serbs immigrated in several waves after this period, so that the majority of todays inhabitants of Banat and Timioara descend from the migrants
from Serbia between the fifteenth and the nineteenth century.
According to the Turkish traveller Evliya Celebi, in the Ottoman period Banat was a swampy and scarcely populated territory, while Timioara was a Turkish market-town fortified with palisades, although it represented the administrative and military centre of the sandak (Guboglu 1970: 30). A major change in
the history of this area occurred with the liberation from the Turks and the annexation into the Habsburg Monarchy1. Radical changes that Austria introduced
into the economy and social life of the region only became more widely accept1
The Habsburg Empire had a succession of names: Habsburg Monarchy (or Austrian Monarchy) 15261804/1867, Austrian Empire 18041867, and Austro-Hungarian Monarchy
18671918.
136
Mirjana Pavlovi
ed by the end of the nineteenth century and it was then that the region experienced a real transition towards the modern, central European model. Besides a
sizable economic development primarily in industry and trade, the demographic
explosion also changed the ethnic structure of the region. Colonization, but also
spontaneous settlement of Germans and later of Hungarians and Romanians,
occurred in that period (Cerovi 1997: 53). Four major nationality groups lived
mostly in separate villages or town quarters, which enabled their members to
preserve their specific ethnic and cultural characteristics.
In Austrian Timioara, in the eighteenth century and earlier national belonging was deeply affected by religion. Among the Serbs the church was seen as the
dominant power, not only in regard to religion, but also culturally and politically
(orevi: 317318). Besides, privileges which Arsenije arnojevi2 fought for
and gained from the Austrian Monarchy applied to the Orthodox church and the
Illyrian nation, which included Serbs, Romanians, Armenians, Greeks, namely,
all members of the Orthodox church. While some scholars assumed that there
was a unique Serbian-Romanian confessional or Illyrian nation, M. Milin has
pointed out that, although religion gave ground for solidarity, the national quintessence of these peoples is completely different (Milin 1995: 78).
At the same time the official legal system of the Habsburg Monarchy recognized only three privileged nations (the Hungarians, Skely/Szekler3 and Saxons) and four privileged religions (Catholicism, Calvinism, Lutheranism, and
Uniatism), which included neither the Serbs nor the Orthodox religion. Serbs
used to be called Illyrians or, more often, the nation or language of Rascia. Professing the Orthodox religion was eventually legalized, and the Serbs were entitled to possess land and occupy clerical positions (Stojkovi 1990: 234). Aware
that they represented a separate nation, both ethnically and politically, and also
aware of their position and national interest, the Serbs in Hungary declared their
first national programme at the Convention in Timioara in 1790 (Gravamina
et postulata) and demanded a special territorial (administrative) autonomy. But
these demands were not fulfilled because of Hungarian opposition (ibid., 233).
After the annexation of Banat into Hungarian districts in 1780, the situation
changed drastically with the first wave of Magyarization and concomitant efforts to turn Timioara into a free royal city. This status was acquired in 1782
Arsenije arnojevi was the Patriarch of the Serbs and leader of The Great Migrations
of the Serbs in 1690. About 200000 Serbs settled in the Pannonian Plain up to Buda and
Szentendre. Privileges granted by Emperor Leopold recognized the Serbs in the Habsburg
Monarchy as a separate political entity (corpus separatum) under the Serbian Orthodox
Church.
3
Szkely/Szekler are a special group of Hungarians living in Romania, in the eastern part of
Transylvania (Mala enciklopedija 1959: s.v. sekleri).
2
Regional Identity: the Serbs in Timioara
137
and provided a certain defence to open assimilation (Cerovi 1997: 91), but it did
not stop it completely. The evident effort to accelerate this process was manifested by the introduction of Hungarian as the official language in 1847.
In 1848, opposing Magyarization, the Serbian national movement declared
the Dukedom of Serbia and Tami Banat, with its centre in Timioara. But this
creation was abolished by the Austrian Court in 1860 (Stojkovi 1990: 234). It
was only after the agreement of Austria and Hungary in 1867 that Timioara
came under full Hungarian administration. The ensuing second wave of (open
and forced) Magyarization, which continued until the First World War, was
based on numerous laws on education, civil marriage, and civil registry books,
the change of names of streets and places, and a policy directed against the Orthodox church, which led to the establishment of an independent Hungarian Orthodox church (ibid., 235). According to the Trianon Agreement after the First
World War Banat was divided into three regions, the largest and most important
one including Timioara going to Romania, a smaller part to Yugoslavia, while
the smallest part went to Hungary.
Major characteristics of the historical Banat area were its multicultural and
multi-religious reality, the cohabitation of various ethnic groups, among which
the most numerous were the Romanians, Germans, Hungarians, and Serbs.4
Since the newly established states after the First World War were defined as
unified nation states, although major parts of their Hungarian, Serbian or Romanian populations were left outside their nations, new frontiers in the region
led to a drastic breakdown of old and intensive economic, political, social and
cultural ties as well as of family, friendly and personal contacts. Besides centralization tendencies in Romanian Banat, which is the focus of this paper, there
was an increased Romanian colonization and Romanization. The same tendencies continued after the Second World War, but nevertheless Romanian Banat,
and especially Timioara, have preserved some of the qualities of a multicultural
environment up to the present day.
Today the Serbs of Timioara represent a small community with well-developed
networks of various types of minority organizations, such as educational, sociopolitical, cultural, and sport ones. Furthermore, Timioara still stands out as the
cultural, religious, and political centre of the Serbian national minority in Banat, and even in Romania.
According to the official register of 1910 in Banat there lived: 39% Romanians, 26% Germans, 17% Serbs, 12% Hungarians. By 1930 the numbers had changed in Romanian Banat
to 55% Romanians, 25% Germans, 10% Hungarians and 6% Serbs (Kosti 1940: 102). According to the 2002 census there were 89% Romanians, 5,6 % Hungarians, 2% Germans
and 1,9% Serbs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banat#Romanian_Banat_2).
138
Mirjana Pavlovi
The paper examines the specific historical, cultural and political conditions
and their influence on creating a feeling of Banat regional belonging as well as
its relation to the sense of national/ethnic or local belonging in the Serbian community of Timioara. My analysis will begin with an outline of the most important concepts relevant to this study.
The paper uses the modern concept of ethnic identity or ethnicity which is
based on the situational approach and on a combination of cultural and social
factors while emphasizing both the subjective dimension and the symbolic nature of ethnic togetherness and diversity. Thus ethnic and/or national identity is
a group identity which the members of a group build on the basis of a series of
symbolic conceptions of their unity or difference, or by which the others identify them as the members of another group (Pavlovi 1990: 8386). In the Serbian community in Timioara it is founded primarily in the consciousness of
the common, but also unique, culture and tradition, in the meaning of a common historical background. Its most important symbols are language, religion,
traditional customs, and folk music and dance, the kolo (Pavlovi 2003: 371).
However, although the definition of national identity reserves a significant
place for culture, cultural and national identities do not have to, and in fact often do not, coincide. Cultural identity can be defined as the pattern of common living and thinking, common experience and also the common framework
of values which indicates to individuals what is desirable and what is not, from
the standpoint of the given culture (Golubovi 1999: 34). In accordance with
the quoted definition of national and cultural identity, regional identity would be
cultural identity, that is, the consciousness of common features and a common
cultural heritage of the population of a certain region, irrespective of their ethnic
background. Another concept describes regional identity as not based so much
on common heritage as on common problems, and even more on similar structural reactions to new challenges which at present are European integration and
globalization (Mitrovi 2002: 26). Local identity is also the construction built
around some shared and different cultural characteristics, but within a narrower
community or identity.
In the definitions of multiculturalism it is often emphasized that it is not only
normative existence or even respect of certain rights of national minorities (to
which the understanding is often reduced), but the real interweaving of ethnic
and national cultures and the establishment of the sovereignty of the citizen, that
is, the symbiosis of different national cultures, and not their parallel existence.
In order to emphasize this, the term interculturalism has come to be used more
and more frequently.
Romanian anthropologists have shown that, throughout a certain period of time,
two convictions which also represent the backbone of their regional identity
139
have been formed in the consciousness of the population of Banat, the Romanians above all: on the one hand, the conviction that Banat is the region in which
interethnic relations and tolerance are inherent, and on the other hand the conviction that the Central European culture and its values are immanent to Banat
(Baga 2003, Chelcea 1999).
First-hand reports of my informants as well as the articles in the weekly Naa re make it clear even at first sight that in the Serbian community in
Timioara the ethnic identity is most evident. Accordingly, the great majority of
informants deny the possibility of a dual or multiple identity. You are either a
Serb, or a Romanian. You may be well familiar with both cultures, but you belong to one or the other nation only.
At the same time, for them the regional identity was much stronger in the
past, and only an insignificant number of the informants have a fully developed
consciousness of Banat regional belonging. Thus a seventy year old man said:
Iam a Serb from Romania, but I was not born anywhere but in Banat. However, in recent years the regional identity has been expanding gradually among
the younger generations.
Although Banat identity is not a mass phenomenon in the Serbian community in Timioara, a noticeable majority of those interviewed think that Banat,
together with its centre Timioara, is marked by specific cultural characteristics. Among the most important ones are good relations and tolerance among
nationalities.
Relations between nations are good no problem. All of them are
my friends the Romanians, Bulgarians. There arent international
problems.
These were, in their opinion, especially evident before the Second World War.
Till the Second World War relations between nationalities in Timioara
had been very good. Everything went on beautifully, people lived in harmony. They had shops, one next to another, a Serb, a German and a Jew.
They respected one another. The Catholics did not work on a Catholic
holiday, and the Jews did not work on Sabbath.
Harmonious relations and tolerance among different communities in Timioara
were most often manifested in contacts between individuals and their families.
We, from our village, went to a neighbouring German village to dance,
and the Germans, too, loved Serbian feasts.
Or: Acquaintances and relations in Timioara do not depend on nationality. I attended the Romanian Grammar School and never felt as a
foreigner.
140
Mirjana Pavlovi
Or: I went to a German Kindergarten (before WWII). Other nationalities, and the Hungarians, also went there. Nobody minded going to the
German Grammar School.
Cooperation was also visible at the institutional level. Neither in the past nor
today do the various Serbian minority organizations advocate ethnic isolation
but have, instead, developed traditional ties with similar organizations of the
other ethnic communities, both at informal and formal levels.5 Thus, for instance, the Serbian singing company occasionally exchanged singers, choir-masters, scores, music halls and the piano with the Timioara German philharmonic
singing company since the 1870s, while the Serbian singing company Sloga
performed at the 25th anniversary of the Hungarian singing society Magyar
Dolarda in 1929 and on the occasion of the consecration of the flag of the Romanian singing company Speranca in September 1934 (Stepanov 1994: 39).
Besides, Serbian organizations often also printed their programmes, invitations,
and other material in German, Hungarian and/or Romanian.
Especially in the period of the undivided Banat, the atmosphere of good relations and cohabitation among nationalities led to the interweaving and assimilation of cultural elements, even complete holidays, in different ethnic or cultural
communities. The examples evident in language, food, traditional customs, music, and folklore are numerous. As a fifty-year-old narrator explained:
We grew together, all mixed, and so we were assimilated. In our dancing there are Romanian elements, in Romanian, there are German and
Serbian ones.
Another seventy-year old woman added:
I accepted the All Souls Day the 1st of November, so instead of going
to the cemetery on our Zadunice (Serbian Day of the Dead), I go there
and bring flowers on the 1st of November. Its a Catholic holiday, but everybody has accepted it and everybody goes.
On the other hand, and contrary to the stereotype of multiculturalism and tolerance, there were sporadic examples of intolerance and clashes, even prosecutions of some minorities. This was especially characteristic of the period before
the Second World War, when the Iron Guard was active. This atmosphere led to
mistrust and even the closing of the Serbian community in Timioara. This gives
reason to present opinions that the acceptance of different cultural elements is
viewed more kindly today than in the past.
On the rich institutional cooperation see Pavlovi 2006: 309318.
141
For St. Nicholas Day a twig of mistletoe is put in the window to let know
that there is something (a present) in there. Now I buy it for my son, too.
But once, as a child, I bought a twig and brought it to my mother, and
she said: Why did you bring me that Swabian tree?!
However, not even today are the Serbs in Timioara positively oriented towards the assimilation of all foreign cultural elements. One may easily be of
the impression that they are more open to cultural influences from the groups
who have always inhabited their city and Banat, while their view of changes
brought about by globalization is often negative.
Because of the influence of Western culture and television the Romanians begin celebrating Halloween, and they do not celebrate their own
similar holiday Dragobel. Its a new fashion. Stupid, if they had wanted
to celebrate something, why not their own holiday? Children today also
celebrate Valentines Day. Its monkey business.
Most of our middle-aged or older informants feel that globalization only imposes the values of a consumer society which largely suppresses the national culture
of the Romanian majority, and especially the Serbian minority population, and
that this has disastrous effects, particularly on the younger generations.
Another set of qualities which, according to my informants, characterize the
population of Banat and differentiate it from other regions of Romania, are certain aspects of their mentality. They often crop up as stereotypes, but are manifested, for instance, in their temper (People of Banat are good hearted, not
sharp, and often inert.), in their relation towards work (In Banat people were
entrepreneurial, hard-working, and responsible both in villages and in towns,
it was the influence of the German folk.), or in their attitude towards possessions or generally towards prosperity (Folk in Banat learned to be pragmatic,
but not selfish.).
The above-mentioned and many other personal characteristics, especially
those that are evident in personal responsibility for social life and personal relations, represent to my informants an element of the Central European heritage
and a higher level of civilization. Thus the pride of multicultural tolerance and
the heritage of Central European cultural values in the inhabitants of Timioara,
including the Serbs, generate the conviction of economic and cultural superiority of Banat, and of Timioara in particular.
Compared to other parts of Romania Banat is little America, and
Timioara little Vienna.
And Banat is the example that should be followed by other parts of Romania.
142
Mirjana Pavlovi
the city on the Bega could serve as examples how different nations
can live in peace, concordance, and reciprocal brotherly cooperation
(Velimirovi 2002: 17).
At the end of the twentieth century Banat and Timioara were perceived by the
local inhabitants including the representatives of the Serbian community as
the gateway to Europe which had to return and bring all of Romania under
the shelter of Europe. This actually happened in 2007, when Romania became a
member of the EU. For the Banat Serbs this means that they now have the mission to bring Serbia closer to Europe.
Apart from the revival of the old images of tolerance and multiculturalism,
the shared regional sensibility is also manifested in the attitude that Banat should
provide leadership in economic reforms and in the pluralistic democratization of
Romanian society. In fact, Banat is the basis for numerous international cooperations in the fields of economy, culture, tourism or administration, such as the
Euroregion Danube Cris Mures Tisza.
However, the popular stereotypes of Banat tolerance conceal the extant conflicts between the ethnic groups. The examples of intolerance and even persecution of minorities, both before and after the Second World War, are attributed
by the Serbian community to the policy of the state and its centres of power (Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest). At the same time, it is emphasized that ordinary people neighbours, acquaintances and friends, namely Romanians from
Banat and Timioara have always demonstrated tolerance, even goodwill, towards the Serbian minority in Timioara. They even helped the Serbian community or its individual members in periods of crisis. At the same time present
examples of intolerance and international conflicts in Banat are looked upon as
individual incidents and are usually attributed to Romanian nationalism which
is considered, however, to be more evident in other parts of Romania, and thus
is manifested mostly among those Romanians in Timioara who moved in from
other regions of the country.
In the Serbian community in Timioara the consciousness of a narrower regional or local identity is quite obvious. There is an awareness of difference
within the Serbian population of Banat, mostly between the inhabitants of Upper
Banat or Lala and Lower Banat or Klisurac. Local difference is observable
also in the dialect and customs, but the only one that is usually stressed is the
difference in mentality. According to my informants, the Lalas themselves are
good-hearted, kind, and slow and are thus the real representatives of Banat and
carriers of its multicultural values, while the people of Klisura are more ill-tempered, sharper, more choleric, and as such often deviate from Banat tolerance
and are rather representatives of Balkan values. Although manifested as cultural, these local differences in effect represent a struggle for the leading positions
143
in the Serbian community in Timioara and are often seen as destroying the national consciousness of individuals and the community.
The Serbian community in Romania is small, but according to the
Balkan recipe typically divisions are present at all levels. It is a taboo
of its kind, a topic which is not discussed in public, but which we all
feel, and, unfortunately, we suffer its consequence (Perinac-Stankov
2002: 14).
We can conclude by saying that in the Serbian community in Timioara the consciousness of Banat regional belonging is not yet fully established. But deeprooted views of the specific cultural values of Banat as a symbol of a multicultural European region are the model on the basis of which it is relatively easy
and under favourable political circumstances possible to expect a strengthening of the feeling of regional belonging among the Serbs in Timioara. The
same pattern can also serve as a basis for the awareness of belonging to Europe
and its values; this tendency can as yet be observed only among a small number
of younger members of the community. In an anonymous poll at the Serbian
Grammar School in Timioara a student declared that she felt like a Serb, a Romanian and a European.
Furthermore, Banat regional identity combined with European, Serbian and/
or Romanian, as well as local identity, will gradually clear the way for confidence in the free manifestation of multiple identity, which is one of the basic values of multicultural, or more precisely, intercultural and civil Europe.
Literature
Baga, Eniko 2003: Sailing in Troubled Waters: Drinking Water Provision in
Timioara. In: Research Group Transnationalism Working Paper No. 1.
URL: https://bscw.scrver.uni-frankfurt.de/pub/bscw.cgi/d203098-1/*/wp/
download/wp001_baga.pdf.
Cerovi, Ljubivoje 1997: Srbi u Rumuniji od ranog srednjeg veka do dananjeg
vremena [Serbs in Romania from the early Middle Ages to our days]. Novi
Sad: Matica srpska.
Chelcea, Liviu 1999: Why Did Banat Region Become Multicultural? Social
Transformations and collective memory in a region from Romania. URL:
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW1/GSW1/07%20Chelcea.pdf
Golubovi, Zagorka 1999: Ja i Drugi antropoloka istraivanja individualnog
i kolektivnog identiteta [Me and the Others anthropological analysis of individual and collective identity]. Belgrade: Republika.
Guboglu, Mihail 1970: Cltoria lui Evliya elebi Efendi n Banat (1660). In:
Studii de istorie a Banatului. Timioara: Universitatea din Timioara, 2360.
144
Mirjana Pavlovi
orevi, J. 1940: Dositej kao sociolog [Dositey as sociologist]. In: Letopis

Matice srpske 354. Novi Sad: Matica srpska, 309318.
Kosti, Slobodan 1940: Srbi u rumunskom Banatu [Serbs in the Romanian Banat]. Temivar: tamparija Dojna.
Mala enciklopedija Prosveta [Little encyclopedia Prosveta]. Belgrade 1959.
s.v. sekleri.
Milin, Miodrag 1995: Vekovima zajedno [Together for centuries]. Timioara:
Demokratski savez Srba i Karaevaka u Rumuniji.
Mitrovi, Ljubia 2002: Sudbina kulturnih i etnikih identiteta u procesima globalizacije i regionalizacije na Balkanu [Destiny of cultural and ethnic identity in the processes of globalization and regionalization in the Balkans]. In:
Kulturni i etniki identitet u procesu globalizacije i regionalizacije Balkana.
Ni: Junior, 1531.
Pavlovi, Mirjana 1990: Srbi u ikagu: Problem etnikog identiteta [Serbs
in Chicago: the problem of ethnic identity]. Belgrade: Etnografski institut
SANU i Izdavaka zadruga Idea.
Pavlovi, Mirjana 2003: Serbii din Timioara: structure etnica a comunitatii
minoritare [Serbs in Timioara: ethnic structure of the minority community]. In: Minoritarul imaginar minoritarul real. Colectia minoritati 5. Arad:
Complexul muzeal Arad, 364374.
Pavlovi, Mirjana 2006: Institucije srpske manjine u Temivaru [Institutions of
the Serbian minority in Timioara]. In: Probleme de Filologie Slava XIV.
Timioara: Universitatea de Vest din Temisoara, 309318.
Perinac-Stankov, Ljubinka 2002: Intervju [Interwiev]. In: Naa re, 22. November 2002.
Popovi, Duan 1955: Srbi u Banatu do kraja 18. veka [The Serbs in the Banat
up to the end of the 18th century]. Belgrade: Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti (Posebna izdanja CCXXXII. Etnografski institut No. 6).
Popovici, Virgil 1933: Ortodoxismul i biserica national romneasc din
Timioara [Orthodoxy and the Romanian national church in Timioara].
Timioara.
Stepanov, Ljubomir 1994: Mladost ubori, srcu govori [The youth murmurs,
telling to the heart]. Temivar: Demokratski savez Srba i Karaevaka u
Rumuniji.
Stojkovi, Momir 1990: Srpska nacionalna manjna u Rumuniji [The Serbian
national minority in Romania]. In: Seobe Srba nekad i sad. Belgrade: Institut za meunarodnu politiku i privredu i Matica Srba i iseljenika Srbije,
234250.
Velimirovi, Pera 2002: Intervju Dragi Mirjani [The interviews by Draga
Mirjani]. Rubrika Varoani. In: Naa re, 22. Novembar, 17.
145
Abstract
The paper deals with the construction of a Banat regional identity among the
Serb minority and its relationship to the ethnic and local identity in the Serbian
community in Timioara. The data were collected during field research between
2002 and 2006, as well as from primary and secondary printed sources.
TheLiteraryOpusofBoraStankoviandtheConstructionofaLocal
Identity
TheLiteraryOpusofBoraStankoviandtheConstructionofaLocalIdentity
bySanjaZlatanovi
Source:
The Literary Opus of Bora Stankovi

and the Construction of a Local Identity1
Sanja Zlatanovi, Belgrade
Virtually all descriptions of the south Serbian town of Vranje, whether historical, travel or literary, accentuate the tumultuous past that it owes to its position
on a crossroads of major routes and cultures. Until 1878, Vranje was part of the
Ottoman Empire. The towns favourable geographical location attracted the nobler representatives of the Empire to settle there and build numerous mosques,
public baths or hammams, inns and caravanserais. The able merchants of the
town spoke both Turkish and Arabic, travelled across the border and found ways
of cooperating closely with representatives of the Ottoman authorities. After
1878, there was a massive exodus by the Muslims, and mosques and other buildings testifying to the Ottoman period were destroyed. In the clash between old
and new values, respectable merchant families came to ruin. This is the period
at the turn of the century, between 1878 and 1910, when the old forms of life
were being swept away, repressed or replaced with new ones, while the old and
the new clashed in harsh contrast, that Bora Stankovi portrays in his works.
Bora Stankovi was born in Vranje (there is some doubt as to the year of his
birth but it is usually assumed to be 1876; he died in 1927) where he finished
primary school and seven years of Gymnasium (secondary school). He completed his eighth and last grade in Ni, and went on to study in Belgrade, where he
took up residence. He lost his parents at an early age and in fact barely remembered them. He was raised by his fathers mother Zlata, who told him inspiring stories of the old Vranje. Boras grandmother Zlata was originally from a
well-respected but impoverished town family. When he was about twenty years
old, he lost her too, and in financial straits two years later was forced to sell the
house in Vranje. Even though almost the entire literary opus of Bora Stankovi
takes place in Vranje, he visited it only rarely. There is no information that he
even visited any of the nearby villages. He had deep emotional ties to the place
and with clear nostalgia described past times and the old days (one of his stories, The Old Days, was published in 1900). His novels were artistic works, not
1
The article is part of research conducted within the framework of the project Ethnicity, Contemporary Processes in Serbia, Neighbouring Countries and the Diaspora, no.
147023, financed by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.
148
Sanja Zlatanovi
chronicles of facts, with some of which he was clearly unfamiliar, such as the
geographical location of certain places etc. In one of his lectures, Stankovi
himself explained that he modelled his literary characters on stories he had
heard, integrating the elements of several human destinies into one, so as to
achieve fullness and an artistic completeness (cited according to Stanisavljevi
1998: 304305). Notwithstanding all this, many ethnographic and folkloristic
articles identify his literary work as being indisputably in the Vranje tradition,
a realistic description of life and customs in Vranje at the turn of the century.
Literary criticism mainly identifies Stankovis work as realism, while pointing out that in some of its attributes it leans towards naturalism. New criticism places him among the forefathers of modern Serbian literature. His novel
Neista krv (Tainted Blood, 1910)2 is held to be a masterpiece of Serbian literature and the beginning of modernism. Bora Stankovi himself had little knowledge of literary theories or movements and an exceptionally negative attitude towards intellectual constructions of any kind. He introduced the Vranje dialect
into literature, writing slowly and with difficulty, living out the drama of the
lives of his characters in great depth. He used to say that he suffered through
each one of his stories. Stankovis literary contemporaries criticized his language and style, pointing out that he never entirely adopted standard Serbian,
and that he had problems with sentence construction and syntax. Educated in
the West or on the products of western culture, they distanced themselves from,
or even attacked, his writing virulently, branding it as illiterate and oriental,
while underlining their own European superiority over his oriental backwardness. The originality and artistic range of Stankovis work has led to his being characterized as a raw, unbridled talent, and his style as the stuttering of a
genius (see Bogdanovi 1970: 64, Vinaver 1970: 3950). Velibor Gligori, then
the young editor of a Belgrade magazine, came to interview the already famous
writer, leaving us a vivid picture of Bora Stankovis physical appearance in the
orientalist manner (Said 2003):
Before me was a face typical of the South, bearing the oriental stamp of
unrefinement and hardness, seemingly harsh and uncultivated. His suit,
though European, seemed to me to be made of thick Vranje material,
his attachment to the land was so great and his behaviour, movements
2
The novel Neista krv has been translated into English as Sophka, after the name of the
heroine (by Aleck Brown, London 1932). Norris (2002: 152) observes that the translator
took a rather free approach, especially in abridging parts of the book, but that the translation remains sufficiently precise and catches the tone of the original. For an inspirational
analysis of the representation of town life in the period following the liberation from Ottoman rule and annexation to the expanding Serbian state, using the example of the novel
Neista krv, see Norris 2002: 151163.
149
and attitude towards family and guests so patriarchal [] I saw no city

intellectual before me, rather a poor man of the people, but original, authentic (cited according to Stanisavljevi 1998: 314315).
This type of orientalist discourse (Said 2003) about a man from Vranje in Belgrade, who had in spite of great family and financial misfortunes managed to
acquire a degree in law and write works that were translated into many foreign
languages, is current even today and raises numerous questions on the relation
between internal and external constructions of local identity.
Vranje: orientalising, self-orientalising and vice versa
In the course of my field research on the wedding ritual in Vranje,3 my informants, in recalling the atmosphere of the old days and mentioning the monologue of one of the main characters, Mitke, from Stankovis drama Kotana,4
a play with music and dance, described their weddings by saying: Vranjanci
like us are cheerful people, meraklije5, sevdalije6. There was an evident need
to establish a cultural continuity with the Vranje described in the works of Bora
Stankovi, and for this a feeling of belonging, shared values, symbols and memories were essential.
My intention in this article is to analyse the ways in which the people of
Vranje think of themselves and define their identity. As identity is always the result of an interaction of continuing processes of internal and external determinations, the one cannot be understood separately from the other (Denkins 2001:
97, 127, 285). Identities are variable and subject to negotiation, and in these
processes an important role is played by the external definition or categorization, the relation of power and domination (ibid., 91, 291). Bearing this in mind,
I did my research work on the wedding and the construction of ethnic and local identity in
Vranje between 1996 to 2001 (see Zlatanovi 2003), where I have continued doing field research to this day.
4
Kotana was first published in 1900. In the same year it was performed at the National
Theatre in Belgrade. Stankovi rewrote the text many times, changing the selection and
sequence of the songs, so that several versions exist. Kotana is a favourite among Serbian
audiences and one of the most frequently played. The composer Petar Konjovi transposed
the text of Kotana into an opera of the same name, first performed in Zagreb in 1931.
5
Mrk ka, m. (Ar.): 1. relish, zest, gusto, enjoyment, 2. passion, desire, desire for something. Merklija, m. (Ar.-Tur.): one who likes enjoyment and a good time, one who knows
how to enjoy himself and have a good time (kalji 1989: 458459).
6
Svdh ha, m. (Ar.): love, love longing, love passion. Sevdlija, m. (Ar.-Tur.): one who
is in love, and generally prone to being passionately in love (kalji 1989: 561562).
3
150
Sanja Zlatanovi
my objective is also to consider the image which others have of Vranje and its
people. Here I also touch upon the relation between ethnic and local identity.
The literary work of Bora Stankovi plays a key role in the story the people of Vranje tell about themselves. He is our Bora7, many have his collected
works at home and are very sensitive to newer and freer interpretations of his
artistic achievements. Many important town institutions bear his name or the
name of one of his literary characters: the Gymnasium, founded in 1881, was
named after him in 1959, the theatre, the town library, the Kotana shoe factory,
the Kotana pastry shop in the town centre, the literary association which since
1992 has awarded an annual prize under his name for the best book of prose
published in the Serbian language. An annual event in his honour is Boras
Week, established in 1967, and since 1976 beginning on 23 March, the writers
birthday; another one among several cultural manifestations is Boras Theatre
Days. In 1954, a monument to Bora Stankovi was erected in the town park,
and in 1964 the municipality bought his house from its new owners, in 1967 officially opening it as a museum home.8 The launching of Boras Week, in particular, encouraged the symbolization of local identity through Bora Stankovi.
The above-mentioned critic Velibor Gligori writes:
Always when I pass near Vranje or call in for a visit, I have the feeling
of the presence of Bora Stankovi hovering in the air, in the landscape,
over its houses and gardens (Gligori 1970: 66).
The construction of a Vranje identity and an identity of the people of Vranje
through images and symbols evoked by the literary work of Bora Stankovi began from outside, from the cultural elite of the country at the time, accepted
and supported by the production of new-old images from inside, from within
Vranje. His work has aroused the interest of many researchers, artists, and adventurers, inspiring them to visit Vranje in order to satisfy their curiosity for
something they perceive as oriental, other, and therefore exotic, thus enriching
their own work. In the Socialist era, several films were made from his writings,
and his theatre plays were televised. The play Kotana was especially popular
in Serbian theatres, several films were made, and the number of songs in the
His real name is Borisav, abbreviated to Bora by everyone including those studying his
work.
8
Only a few authentic objects are to be seen in the house. The curator, Srboljub Aritonovi,
told me in conversation that visitors coming from other parts, under the influence of strong
emotion, usually say that everything is just as they imagined it and that there is an air
of old Vranje in the house. In the visitors book, filled with impressions and effusions of
gratitude and respect for the great author, they say that they have experienced the atmosphere of the old Vranje, Boras Vranje, that all is pervaded by Kotanas beauty, and
that they have felt her presence.
7
151
Billboard announcing Boras Week
plays was usually considerably expanded far beyond the original script. In the
films and theatre plays, the characters and actions are often schematic and simplified in an orientalizing mould. The external effect of colourful costumes,
song and dance are brought to the fore, overshadowing the dramatic plot. Bora
Stankovi himself was dissatisfied with the Belgrade National Theatre production of Kotana, a drama of tragic destinies represented as a merry piece of theatrical entertainment. He was also displeased with the actors costumes, commenting that he had never seen anything of the kind in Vranje (Stanisavljevi
1998: 116). During the Socialist period, certain songs from Kotana acquired
great popularity, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, but they also underwent artistic remake and a kind of censorship. They were abridged; elements such as
dialect or unfamiliar Turkish idioms considered undesirable according to the
criteria of the time, or verses celebrating love between young people of different religions were expunged. In this way they became more understandable to
the public at large, while remaining recognizably vranjanske [from Vranje].
Folklore societies, which under socialism had the function of celebrating and
symbolizing a much-vaunted brotherhood and unity, presented the Vranje area
152
Sanja Zlatanovi
through choreography and costumes of oriental type. The image of Vranje, thus
constructed, was propagated to the point of a total stereotype. In magazines and
similar publications, Vranje was discussed exclusively in the light of Boras
Vranje9. Adaptations of his works in the last fifteen years, advertising themselves as a new reading of Bora Stankovi, introduce elements never present in
his works, additionally eroticizing Vranje and adding to the stereotypes through
which it is perceived.
The image of Vranje and its people formed from Stankovis works (which
are not really known)10, and especially from the numerous theatre and film adaptations, is upheld and supported by the people of Vranje. Through it they see
themselves. It is the corner stone of their local identity. However, the artistic
transposition of reality in his work is seen as actually representing the reality
of long ago. Thus, for instance, in the play Kotana, Stankovi introduced two
songs with a Vranje theme by Dragutin Ili (Ilij 1884: 7174), brother of the famous Serbian poet Vojislav Ili who spent a year working in Vranje (18811882),
and set to music by Josif Marinkovi. Today, these songs: ano, duo [Shano,
dear] and Stojanke, bela Vranjanke [Stojanka, fair Vranjanka], appear in
the guise of old, traditional Vranje songs. Both are sung in an amended and
abridged form. At weddings and other social gatherings and festivities, there is
always an obligatory medley of Vranje songs. It is noticeable that they are not
sung to the end, or are run together so that several of them make a whole. Only
those which have been artistically remade and are heard in the media are sung.
Those which are not present in the media are virtually unknown. The wedding
song Hadi-Gajka devojku udava [Hadji Gajka is to wed a daughter], very
popular in Vranje in the nineteenth century, appears in no less than four of Bora
Stankovis works and occupies an important place in the novel Neista krv. The
song tells of a daughters unwilling marriage, and in Stankovis writing is associated with scenes depicting the higher, hadji class. I have no record of it ever
having been sung at a wedding, or of it being known to any among those who
invoke the old Vranje. In Vranje and throughout Serbia, some of the favourite
For over seventy years, newspapers have been publishing headlines such as: The Vranje
of Bora Stankovi, Nursery of Song: People of Vranje Slaves of Love and Passion (Vreme,
21 July, 1936, Belgrade, p. 7), Vranje, Town where the Blood Runs Hot (Politika Magazine, no.268, 17 November, 2002, Belgrade, p. 4).
10
One of my informants, a highly educated young man, commented that everyone in Vranje quoted Bora but rarely read him, and even more rarely understood him in any depth. I
would add here that few attend Boras Week. At the Vranje town library I was told that
the only books by Stankovi to be borrowed by readers are those on the school reading
lists.
9
153
Vranje songs are Mito, bekrijo [Mito, you drunkard]11 and the song which
begins with the verse Volela me jedna Vranjanka [I was loved by a girl from
Vranje]12, both of recent composition in the latter half of the twentieth century,
but with a thematic connection to Vranje.13 The image thus constructed of Vranje as a town of sensual and fatal women and bekrija men constantly carousing
and drinking in taverns is additionally confirmed by these two songs, written
in the tavern style.
The work of Bora Stankovi has also greatly influenced local writers and
artists. Paintings on the walls of homes usually depict the old Vranje such as
the Stankovi Museum and the White Bridge (built during Ottoman rule, legend
associates it with the love of two young people of different faiths, Christian and
Muslim). The people of Vranje say of themselves that they are meraklije, that
they do everything with merak, or meraklijski [merak fashion], which means
slowly, measuredly, with a fine sense for beauty and enjoyment. According to
them, the Vranje songs are sung gently and meraklijski and can only be sung
properly by singers who hail from Vranje.14
The Vranje Association in Belgrade, which represents a kind of virtual homeland, every year organizes very festive and well-attended gatherings with variations on the same theme Days of Vranje in Belgrade, Vranje Evenings etc.
This celebration, which can last several days, is attended by the political elite of
Vranje, as well as the actors of the local theatre who are there to play segments
Bkrija e, m. (Ar.): a person who likes to drink and make merry, a rascal, a rake (kalji
1989: 133). The choice of the male name Mitke alludes to one of the main characters in
Kotana.
12
The song refers to the works of Bora Stankovi. Its first verse goes: I was loved by a girl
from Vranje/ I left my youth with her/ She is neither Sofka, nor is she Kotana,/ but the
most beautiful Jela-Jelena. Sofka is the heroine of the novel Neista krv and Kotana of
the play of the same name.
13
While researching the wedding ritual, I would ask informants who professed to like the
music of old Vranje what their favourite songs were. It was only with difficulty that they
managed to name two or three. During the filming of a TV programme Na izvor u Vranje
[To the spring in Vranje], script by Saa Srekovi and Maa Vukanovi, 2006, a poll
was carried out among young people in Vranje on whether they could give the name of an
old Vranje song. They would usually mention one of later date whose theme referred to
Vranje. I thank my colleague Saa Srekovi from the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade
for enabling me to examine unedited material.
14
As for merak among the people of Vranje, I would like to point out here that the atmosphere of Stankovis works is sensual, but never explicit. The thread from which his stories
are woven is the motif of unattainable love and unlived passion, unfulfilled desires, yearning for something that never was, which never took place, which was lost (cf. Bogdanovi
1970:60). The obstacles are of a social nature, but there are also deep conflicts in the subconscious of his characters.
11
154
Sanja Zlatanovi
from Kotana. In a restaurant atmosphere, with abundant food, drink and dancing to old Vranje songs, performed by singers from south Serbia, the old
Vranje is evoked. People from Vranje living in Belgrade link their identity to the
times described in Stankovis works in a clichd symbolism, even though the
real Vranje in which they were born and spent their youth, and for which they
perhaps feel nostalgia, looked completely different.
Self-identification and identification by others
(ambiguities, ethno-nationalism and so on)
Edward Saids concept of orientalism as a discourse of power which constructs
and essentializes the Other based on the east-west dichotomy (Said 2003), is
often applied to the analysis of the post-Yugoslav context (Baki-Hayden, Hayden 1992; Baki-Hayden 1995; Jansen 2001a, 2005, 2005a; ivkovi 2001). In
the former Yugoslavia, gradations have been constructed according to which it
is always some other that is more east or more south and thus more suitable
for branding as oriental. Baki-Hayden and Hayden explain that this constructed hierarchy can be represented as a scale of decreasing values moving from
north or west (marked as the highest value) towards the south or east (marked
as the lowest value). All cultures and regions south or east from us are perceived as primitive, conservative, which is a form of nesting orientalism that
reproduces itself in this way (Baki-Hayden, Hayden 1992: 4). In Serbia, qualified by the more northern and western republics of the former Yugoslavia as being more south and east and thus more culturally backward, the orientalist discourse shifts towards the southeast, to a broad region south of the town of Ni
known pejoratively as the juna pruga [the southern (railway) line]. Within
this broadly established southern line Vranje enjoys a special status: apart
from the backwardness and primitivism ascribed to the Orient, thanks to the literary work of Bora Stankovi an exotic and sensual sumptuousness is added to
the picture. In the post-Yugoslav context at the beginning of the 1990s, the term
southern line increasingly began to mark the external identity of Vranje. At
a time of ethnic conflict, international economic sanctions and the hyperinflation of 1993 when the Serbian economy collapsed, Vranje was a developed industrial centre. At all the multiparty elections in Vranje, Milosevics Socialist
Party of Serbia always won. Vranje businessmen maintained close connections
with the regime, taking full advantage of life in a border area in the light of the
new division of the country. The construction of local identity at this period was
clearly branded with the signs of the times. Vranje smugly declared itself the
155
Switzerland of southern Serbia15 or the economic miracle of southern Serbia,

and the people of Vranje like the Japanese; others (on the outside) identified it
with the southern line, red Vranje, the socialist fort, to junije, to tunije
[the further south you go, the sadder it gets], i.e., all the connotations of an
undemocratic, primitive and conservative environment.16
The identity constructed of Vranje is comprised of contradictory elements,
both in its endogenous and exogenous features, which are interconnected and interdependent. On the one hand, the combination of artistry and abandon in giving oneself over to song and dance, the sensuality and exoticism, are all components of an image which for the people of Vranje holds a high identity value.
They construct and reconstruct this image of themselves over and over again,
resorting to self-exoticization as a strategy in reacting to stereotypes, playing the
card of their positive valences (cf. ivkovi 2001: 100). Thus, for instance, on
the homepage of Vranjes official website, designed to present the town in the
first years of the new century stood this verse:

Let everyone who comes to Vranje,

take care of his soul, lest it melt,
for in this town there is something not for eyes to see,
nor for hands to reach, nor for the mind,
but only for the heart and the soul,
and these two should be protected here.17
This verse was also printed in promotion material for the municipality, on paper bags etc. Girls in oriental costume were shown in tourist catalogues. The
folk-dancing society is called Sevdah18 and the dancers appear on stage in oriental costumes. What is on offer is an embodiment of the orientalist stereotypes
of the observers and potential users of tourist services. Externally, this image is
accepted and usually meets with a positive response. Its influence and duration
can be observed and followed up in many sources. For instance, literary critic
Milo Savkovi, enamoured of Vranjes past, arrives in the real Vranje in 1931
This slogan is ascribed to Dragan Tomi, general manager of the Vranje Simpo furniture
factory and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister during the Miloevi regime.
16
Vuk Drakovi, leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, the largest opposition party in
Serbia in the 1990s, in response to a convincing win by Miloevis party in south Serbia,
used the phrase the southern railway line in the pejorative sense. This quickly became general parlance.
17
At the celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Vranje Gymnasium in 1981, writer amil Sijari (1981: 593) recited a long prose text the beginning of which was later
turned into this verse. Sijari spent part of his life in Vranje and was a pupil of the Vranje
Gymnasium.
18
See footnote 6.
15
156
Sanja Zlatanovi
in search of the specific atmosphere of Stankovis works only to run up against

local everyday life. At first he writes delightedly:
The most passionate lyrical songs about woman and gold, silk and yatagans, poplar trees and horses, have been created here. Here trade, art and
adventure all went hand in hand (Savkovi 1933: 192),
only to conclude resignedly at the end of his visit:
In vain do you grope along the alleys in the scent of old vines that hang
over low leaning balconies. Not a dertlijska19 song to be heard! Instead of
the daire [tambourine] only the blare of a saxophone across the marketplace [] For consolation, you may still find one or two oriental songs on
a gramophone record (Savkovi 1933a: 457).
Parallel to the self-production of orientalism, the people of Vranje strive to separate themselves from the Orient with which others continue to associate them.
In literary criticism of Bora Stankovis works, most of the attention is focused
on the atmosphere of eastern sultriness because of Vranjes pre-eminently oriental colouring. Orientalism, as Maria Todorova (1997: 14) explains, generally
has frankly sexual connotations. The scene of women bathing in the (h)amam
(Turkish bath) described in Neista krv inevitably grasps the imagination of virtually all who study Stankovis works. They delight in describing it as exotic,
eastern, vivid and sensual. Literary criticism defines Vranje as a place where
the liminal character of the Balkans and oriental sensuality overlap and blend:
Borisav Stankovi was born just at the place which was perhaps the hub
of countless national and racial crossings, historic clashes and mixings,
which in fact made of the Balkans such a tangled riddle. [] Borisav
Stankovi evokes what is Balkan in the life of his home town Vranje,
deeply stamped with Oriental sensualism, more visible here than anywhere else (Bogdanovi 1970: 5455).
Hand in hand with descriptions of the oriental sensuality characteristic of the
old Vranje in literary criticism go the classic orientalist theories of biological
degeneracy (Said 2003: 206207). In the following example it is women:
Vranje is an old half-Turkish nest. [] The women were freed of all
care, blood warmed by our southern sun, passion fuelled by examples of
eastern sensuality, the body offered every variety of food and delicacy
until satiety turned to perversities of sweets and gurabije [small oriental
19
Drt, m. (Pers.): sorrow, worry, sadness, pain. Drtlija, m. (Pers.-Tur.): one who is pitiful,
full of care, sad (kalji 1989: 213).
157
cakes] [] It is natural, that with such a life degeneracy came as a unavoidable consequence and that tainted blood is their characteristic trait
(orovi 1970: 277278).
Draped in orientalist clichs, Vranje is, as an area of merak, sevdah, and dert,
opposed to the Dinaric warrior tradition. Jovan Dui, poet and diplomat, in accordance with the discourse of his time (1929), writes about the literary work of
Borisav Stankovi:
It is there in his Vranje that the wave of our epic literature recedes and
an exclusively lyrical wave begins. This wave then spills over into a wide
area of old Macedonia and Bosnia, into feelings of deep yearning, known
by the Turkish word sevdah, and the feeling of sadness called dert, so
two feelings which remain unknown to the other parts of the heroic rhapsody, and which seem insufficiently Serbian, even insufficiently Slavic.
[] Sofka [the main heroine of the novel Neista krv] is neither Serbian
nor Slav at all. [] This eastern spirit is quite foreign to the epic and gusle-playing sphere of that other belt of the Serbian land, as though they
were two different worlds [] In Vranje there is something of the Greek
and Turkish, more than of the Serbian. [] Dert is not at all a Serbian
feeling. [] If Vranje has long ceased to be Turkish, it has still remained
on the threshold of the East (Dui 1970: 1016).
In this quotation, in many literary and journal articles and indeed in daily discourse, there is a more or less explicit opinion that the people of Vranje are not
actually real Serbs. The objections are that they lack a heroic tradition and that
their dialect in particular contains many Turkish idioms. The Vranje speech belongs to the Prizren-South Morava type in the Prizren-Timok dialect zone (Ivi
1985: 115118). The basic characteristics of this speech are: the use of only one
expiratory accent, the use of only two cases20 (nominative and a general
case which fulfills the role of all the dependent cases), many archaisms, some
features shared with Bulgarian and Macedonian (ibid., 110115, 118125). Since
the spoken language is usually taken as one of the objective criteria of ethnicity and is its most obvious manifestation, the speech of Vranje is ridiculed by
speakers from other dialect zones and of standard Serbian, who perceive it as
some kind of mixture which they cannot understand. To this stigma people from
Vranje react in various modalities, varying from being hypercorrect in contact
with those speaking the standard language, to self-exoticization (cf. ivkovi
2001: 100) (a Vranje-Serbian dictionary has been published titled Vranjski bez
muku u 25 lekcije [Vranjanian in 25 Easy Lessons], Milovanovi 2006).
The standard Serbian language has a four-accent system and seven cases.
20
158
Sanja Zlatanovi
The orientalist discourse directed at Vranje and the Vranjanci branches into
two parts. The first refers to the meanings and symbolism deduced from the literary work of Bora Stankovi. He was the product of a high culture, accepted and perfected in Vranje itself and therefore reflexively functional, present in
both public and everyday discourse and relations. This type of orientalism was
dominant in the Socialist period. People from Vranje who travelled around Serbia at that time or who visited or lived in Belgrade heard positive comments on
Vranje music and dance, the famed beauty and erotic nature of the women 21 and
the Vranje merak. The second branch of the orientalist discourse, predominant
in the period following the collapse of the federal state, calls Vranje the southern line and the sticks, and Vranje people peasants who cannot speak properly and are culturally backward. This kind of orientalism is characteristic of
everyday practice. If someone is recognized by accent as being from the south,
the reaction is often a contemptuous expression and a question as to where s/he
comes from. The reply is often followed by the comment: Ah, the southern
line! Many informants from Vranje have told me that when they inquire about
taxi prices at a Belgrade intercity bus station (whether the driver charged by the
metre or by his own estimate of the fare), they would hear remarks of the type:
You southern liners, you cant even speak properly, but you already know how
we drive in Belgrade! One of the most illustrative examples of orientalism in
everyday practice were the reasons given for ending a relationship between two
highly-educated young people, a young woman originally from Vranje (who held
a PhD) and a young man born in Belgrade. He (according to what she told me)
criticized her way of speaking, her terrible accent, something that he could
simply not accept; he even expressed concern that he himself might in time begin speaking that way.
In his brilliant analyses of anti-nationalist discourse, Stef Jansen (2001,
2001a, 2005, 2005a: 109167) speaks of post-Yugoslav orientalism which,
through a series of dichotomies (urban/rural, European/Balkan, civilized/primitive), is directed against the peasant and in general against the population
21
The stereotype of Vranje women was so strong that, according to my older women informants, it was sufficient to tell a man that they were from Vranje to automatically provoke a
response of courtship or at least receive a compliment that Vranje was known for its beautiful women. This stereotype was also upheld and strengthened from within in Vranje itself.
In the Vranje-Serbian dictionary mentioned above, there is an explanation that the easiest
way for the reader to learn the Vranje language is to listen to how the Vranjanci speak,
or even better, the Vranje women. Because when they speak, every word is a song. Those
who learn the Vranje language will be able to court and flirt with every Vranje woman
and it is well-known how beautiful they are and what fire erupts from them (Milovanovi
2006: 6970). In Vranje, there are many inter-group jokes about how attractive but also
unfaithful Vranje women are.
159
originally from areas in the interior. Anti-nationalists who fight against discriminatory discourses tend to be discriminatory themselves and openly express
their negative stereotypes of the rural population with which they share the
same nationality (2005a: 111). This urban orientalism, according to Jansen,
deals in stereotypes which combine different elements such as accent, manner
of speaking and dressing, etc. (ibid., 125). Referring to Saids definition of orientalism (Europe needs a constructed Other, the Orient, in order to establish its
own identity), Jansen explains that analogous to this, the notion which citizens
have of peasants and newcomers as the personification of primitivism, serves
as a negative used for the construction of their own urban identity. The incomplete process of modernization in Serbia and the frequently unclear boundaries
between urban and rural could embarrassingly remind them of their own peasant origins (the foreigner or peasant within us). Ideas of the ruralization of the
town for native town dwellers bring to the surface a primordialism and normative connection of place and culture, which is all completely at odds with antinationalistic discourse (ibid., 122, 131132, 144).
The division into (urban) citizens and peasants, natives and newcomers, exists in Vranje itself today. By a number of inventive swearwords directed at the
town peasants, the self-styled old Vranjanci show their urban identity. It is
said in Vranje that the old Belgraders have moved abroad, that the old and
real Vranjanci have moved to Belgrade, and that there are settlers living in
Vranje today who have come from the surrounding villages and have ruralized (poseljaili) the town. I have heard a similar but slightly altered story in
the Gornja arija in Vranje, one of the largest Roma settlements in south Serbia. The Gornja arija22 is an area that used to be the heart of town during Ottoman rule. Inhabitants of the Gornja arija speak of themselves as natives,
the old Vranjanci, unlike the local Serbs who mainly originate from rural areas and settled in Vranje during the rush to industrialize following the Second
World War. In their opinion, the old Vranjanci (Serbs) have long since moved
to Belgrade and the only remaining real Vranjanci are the Roma from Gornja
arija, who have been living there for centuries and generations. People from
Gornja arija have a pejorative attitude, which shows in their facial expression, towards all those whom they consider to be peasants. The town/village
opposition in their discourse signifies culture versus primitivism (cf. Jansen
2005a). They express pride of being Vranjanci, identifying with the image of
Vranje constructed from Bora Stankovis literary work (the Vranjanci as especially gifted for song and dance, with a refined talent for enjoyment). They are
extremely proud of their part in the positive aspect of this stereotyped image (in
22
This term means the upper town. rija, f. (Pers.): the town trading quarter (kalji
1989:165).
160
Sanja Zlatanovi
the play Kotana, the heroine is a Roma singer and dancer). They speak Serbian
as their second language, and this in a dialect variant which in some aspects
comes comparatively close to the standard language. I supposed this happened
because they learn the language from the media, and not from direct communication with the local Serbs. In the company of a large group of young people, I
once made a comment to this effect. Everyone laughed and explained to me that
they, unlike the Serbs, spoke the town language. It was entertaining listening to them imitate the dialect formulations of the majority group.23 The reproduction of orientalism (Belgrade, Vranje: Serbs and Roma) provides interesting
copies of the original.
In Vranje, in the wave of ethno-nationalism of the 1990s, the homogenization of identity and cultural purism towards the influences of others resulted
in endeavours to erase the oriental echelons (and with them a part of their own
identity). The elements of the oriental heritage are on the one hand treated as
something that gives Vranje its specific colouring and makes it recognizable on
the symbolical map of Serbia, and are therefore highly valued and constantly
(re)produced. At the same time, during this period characterized by attempts at
constructing a new national identity in which there was no place for the Other24, there were some attempts to have them removed as something which was
not ours, but the ethnic cleansing of culture and language is much harder than
the cleansing of territory (Bugarski 1997: 100). In an area moulded by different cultural influences, intertwined and indiscernible, anything marked as exclusively ours is disputable. In articles in the local papers, and also by word
of mouth when telling and retelling stories of the appearance of folklore dancers
in alvare25, the fact that in Stankovis works female characters are portrayed
wearing alvare was overlooked. The main headline in the local papers on that
particular occasion read: Our folklore the Muslim way: Serbian kolo danced in
alvare (Slobodna re, issue 2110, 1 August, 1997, Vranje, p. 10). Many sources testify that in Vranje, from the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, Christian and Muslim women dressed in the same way. In
other words, the town dress for women was Turkish.
There is an evident ambivalence in the self-identification of the Vranjanci.
As Ditchev has suggested, the process of identity construction can be observed
through a constant tension between that which is presentable and that which is
embarrassing (Diev 2003: 279). Feeling inferior on account of their dialect and
For the Janus faces of Roma identity in Vranje, see Zlatanovi 2007.
As Maleevi explains, the pattern taken for the new national identity in this period in Serbia is one which defines culture as a closed homogeneous system within a national frame,
decontaminated of the influence of others (2005: 222225).
25
lvare, pl. t. (Pers.): very wide trousers (kalji 1989: 580).
23
24
161
life in an area marked as periphery, they mobilize Boras Vranje as a more

presentable aspect of their identity.
It is interesting that the image of the Vranjanci as merry fellows and meraklije survives along with the perception of them as being hard working, thrifty,
petty and calculating, hardly a construction of compatible elements. Besides, the
people of Vranje are also perceived as braggarts, and the saying: Sto kila svinja,
dvesta kila mast [Pig weighs a hundred kilos, two hundred kilos of lard] is
ascribed to them. Within their own community, they themselves speak of their
pettiness, illustrating it with a joke about the man from Vranje who, when lending an egg, weighs it first. There is, thus, an obvious dichotomy in both internal
and external definitions.
Merak as the Vranje brand
Vranje is a town with multiple layers of reality, but its image from within, and to
a great part from outside, is connected only to one part of its past and that only
to the oriental symbols and motifs emerging from the works of Bora Stankovi,
whose meanings continue to multiply. Even the names of restaurants in Vranje
such as Haremluk26, Old Vranje, Vranjski Merak are allusions to Boras
Vranje. In recent years, transitional shifts, the context of globalization, and
commercialized nostalgia require a pragmatic understanding of the local identity (see Boym 2001: 67). Making up ancestors and continuity has now become
anachronous. The trend is to fabricate and create the specific, exotic, and palatable, locally recognizable in the global context (cf. Diev 2003: 279280). Symbols with an oriental stamp are already there simplified, familiar, recognizable, likeable and ready to use. So, for instance, the current commercial for Aqua
Heba mineral water shows a belly dancer in Haremluk with the slogan Voda za
Merak [Water for Merak]. Buildings harking back to Turkish Vranje are
now being restored and renovated; there are attempts at adapting some of the
newly-built ones to fit better into the style of this context. Turkish or Boras Vranje is again becoming a powerful symbolic and commercial resource
of this area (in some ways similar and in others different from the one we have
already seen). All this does not mean that ethno-nationalism has been left in the
past, in the unhappy years of the 1990s. The attempts cited as a pragmatic un Harmluk, m. (Ar.-Tur.): the womens quarters in a Muslim house. Old Muslim houses had
a harem or haremluk, quarters for the female family members which the men did not enter, and a selamluk, where guests men were received (kalji 1989: 315). In the centre
of Vranje, the National Museum is located in the Selamluk building, known as the Pain
konak (built in 1765). Next door to the Selamluk is the Haremluk building. It has been
restored and today houses a luxurious restaurant and business club of the Simpo factory.
26
162
Sanja Zlatanovi
derstanding of local identity at the beginning of the new century in Vranje are
an expression of changed political circumstances in Serbia, a tendency to try to
adapt to global circumstances, to create a new democratic face of Serbia and
break with the past. However, an opposite tendency also exists in the political
life in Serbia, especially prominent in recent years in the rhetoric on Kosovo.
In Vranje, since the introduction of an international protectorate for Kosovo in
1999, ethno-national topics are burning and omnipresent. As one expression of
events related to the declaration of independence of Kosovo we can take the topic of this years Boras Week, Literature and the Nation. The highly regarded
Borisav Stankovi literary award went to Miroslav Toholj, an extremely nationalist author.
Whose is This Song? Construction presented as deconstruction
The film Whose is This Song? (directed by Adela Peeva, Adela Media Ltd.,
Periscope Productions NV, 2003) begins in an inn in Istanbul where a group
of friends (a Greek, a Macedonian, a Turk, a Serb, and the author, a Bulgarian
woman) hear a song which all of them begin singing in their own language. A
discussion breaks out among them whose is this song? The author of the film
begins her research with the goal of answering this question. In Istanbul, she
finds out that this is an old Turkish song, dedicated to a handsome scribe, a favourite with the women. She hears the melody of the same song in Turkey in
the form of a military march. Searching further for an answer, the author travels to Greece, to the island of Lesbos, and then to Korca (Albania), on to Sarajevo (Bosnia), Skopje and Prilep (Macedonia), to Vranje (southern Serbia), and
the circle of Balkan countries closes with her return to Bulgaria. The author discusses the song with local experts and ordinary people, and they are all adamant
that the song is theirs and theirs alone. Until she tells them, they are not even
aware that this song is sung in another country, to other words and in another
language, apart from their own. Whenever the author informs them of this, they
reject the possibility, often vehemently. The film ends with the question whether it is possible for one song to cause so much hatred, and concludes that in the
Balkans, the sparks of hatred are easily ignited.
In Vranje, this song takes the form of a dialogue between a young man and
a girl and begins with the verse: Aj, ruse kose, curo, ima/ ali li gi ti? [Ah,
girl, you have abundant hair/ do you regret it?]. Bora Stankovi included this
song in his play Kotana (not in his other works), but the words differ slightly. The song in Kotana begins with the verse: Mirjano, oj Mirjano/ ima ruse
kose, Mirjano! [Mirjana, oh Mirjana / you have abundant hair, Mirjano!].
When the film shows Adela Peevas visit to Vranje, Stankovi and the Roma
163
Kotana who sung it are mentioned, and this is illustrated by a clip from the
film Ciganka (directed by Voja Nanovi). In her search for information on the
song and Kotana, the author finds herself at the celebration of the Hidirellez/
Djurdjevdan27 holiday in the Roma quarter of Gornja arija. As chance would
have it, I found myself there at the same time. I saw that the dance to a brass
band on the square in Gornja arija, and the ensuing procession towards the
river above the town, was being directed by a television crew. The spontaneity
of the holiday had been subordinated to the television shoot and timing. Curious to find out which television station this was, I approached Adela Peeva and
introduced myself as an ethnologist from Belgrade. She just gave me a look
and moved away. There was a lot of talk in Vranje those days about a journalist from Bulgaria who had interviewed many people. From a local professor and
expert in the folklore of south Serbia, I learned that he had shown her his article on this song published in the local papers. In it he had written that the song
was of Turkish origin, and discussed the ways in which it might have spread.
He told me, and as I learned, the journalist too, of the references available on
this song (Djukanovi 1969: 6061, Oy 1984). However, the film does not show
this professor, or any of the other informants who spoke in a tolerant manner of
the song, or allowed that it was possible that it could be sung in other parts and
other countries in different languages. Instead, the film shows an incident which
broke out in a Vranje inn, when the author accidentally played the recording of
the song in another language. Whether this mistake was intentional or not I do
not know. It is clear, however, that the situation in the inn prior to the incident,
judging by the guests present who could not have been there by accident (the
curator of the Bora Stankovi Museum, two well-known journalists who write
about culture in Vranje, etc), and the choice of Roma women to do the dancing
(which is not something which takes place in inns around Vranje today), was not
realistic but constructed.
The story of the film Whose is This Song? is constructed so as to accentuate
the narcissism of small differences (cf. Maleevi 2005: 229) and present the
Balkans in an orientalist key, as an area of permanent hatred and an easily ignitable powder keg. A construction sold as a deconstruction.
27
The Hidirellez holiday (6 May) is now more frequently called Djurdjevdan (St. Georges
Day) by the Roma in Vranje, who have adopted the Serbian name. For more on this see
Zlatanovi 2007: 6871.
164
Sanja Zlatanovi
Literature
Baki-Hayden, Milica, Robert M. Hayden 1992: Orientalist Variations on the
Theme Balkans: Symbolic Geography in Recent Yugoslav Cultural Politics. In: Slavic Review 51, 1: 115.
Baki-Hayden, Milica 1995: Nesting Orientalisms: The Case of Former Yugoslavia. In: Slavic Review 54, 4: 917931.
Boym, Svetlana 2001: The Future of Nostalgia. New York: Basic Book.
Bogdanovi, Milan 1970: Realizam Borisava Stankovia [The Realism of
Borisav Stankovi]. In: Borisav Stankovi, Stari dani/ Boji ljudi. Sabrana
dela Borisava Stankovia, book I. Belgrade: Prosveta, 5165 (first publ. in
1956).
Bugarski, Ranko 1997: Jezik od mira do rata [Language from peace to war].
Sabrana dela, part 11. Belgrade: igoja tampa i Biblioteka XX vek (third
edition).
orovi, Vladimir 1970: (bez naslova) [untitled]. In: Borisav Stankovi, Neista
krv. Sabrana dela Borisava Stankovia, part III. Belgrade: Prosveta, 276
287 (first publ. in 1918).
Dui, Jovan 1970: Borisav Stankovi. In: Borisav Stankovi, Stari dani/ Boji ljudi; Sabrana dela Borisava Stankovia, part I. Belgrade: Prosveta, 932
(first publ. in 1929).
Diev, Ivajlo 2003: Eros identiteta. In: Duan I. Bjeli, Obrad Savi (eds.), Balkan kao metafora: izmeu globalizacije i fragmentacije. Belgrade: Beogradski krug, 269284 (orig.: Ditchev, Ivaylo: The Eros of Identity. In: Duan I.
Bjeli, Obrad Savi (eds.), Balkan as Metaphor. Cambridge, Mass., London:
MIT Press 2002, 235250.).
Djukanovi, Marija 1969: Kroz tursku poeziju [Through Turkish poetry]. Belgrade: Filoloki fakultet.
Denkins, Riard 2001: Etnicitet u novom kljuu: argumenti i ispitivanja. Belgrade: Biblioteka XX vek. [orig.: Jenkins, Richard 1997: Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations. London: Sage].
Gligori, Velibor 1970: Poezija u delu Bore Stankovia [Poetry in the work of
Bora Stankovi]. In: Borisav Stankovi, Stari dani / Boji ljudi. Sabrana dela
Borisava Stankovia, part I. Belgrade: Prosveta, 6671 (first publ. in 1967).
Ilij, Dragutin 1884: Pesme [Poetry]. Belgrade: tamparija beogradskog
dnevnika.
Ivi, Pavle 1985: Dijalektologija srpskohrvatskog jezika: uvod u tokavsko na
reje [Dialectology of the Serbo-Croatian language: introduction to the to
kavski dialect]. Novi Sad: Matica srpska (second edition).
Jansen, Stef 2001: The Streets of Beograd: Urban Space and Protest Identities
in Serbia. In: Political Geography 20, 1: 3555.
165
Jansen, Stef 2001a: Svakodnevni orijentalizam: Doivljaj Balkana / Evrope u Beogradu i Zagrebu [Everyday orientalism: experiences of Balkan / Europe in Belgrade and Zagreb]. In: Filozofija i drutvo XVIII
(Belgrade) 3371.
Jansen, Stef 2005: Whos Afraid of White Socks? Towards a Critical Understanding of Post-Yugoslav Urban Self-perceptions. In: Ethnologia Balkanica
9: 151167.
Jansen, Stef 2005a: Antinacionalizam: etnografija otpora u Beogradu i Zagrebu [Antinationalism: an ethnography of resistance in Belgrade and Zagreb].
Belgrade: Biblioteka XX vek.
Maleevi, Miroslava 2005: Tradicija u tranziciji: u potrazi za jo starijim
i lepim identitetom [Tradition in transition: in search of a new, more
ancient and more beautiful identity]. In: Etnologija i antropologija: stanje
i perspektive, Zbornik radova Etnografskog instituta SANU 21 (Belgrade)
219234.
Milovanovi, Radmilo aplja 2006: Vranjski bez muku u 25 lekcije: vranjskosrpski renik [Vranjanian in 25 easy lessons: Vranje-Serbian dictionary].
Vranje: Vranjske.
Noris, Dejvid E. 2002: Balkanski mit: pitanja identiteta i modernosti. Belgrade:
Geopoetika [orig.: David Norris 1999: In the Wake of the Balkan Myth:
Questions of Identity and Modernity. Basingstoke: MacMillan].
Oy, Aydin 1984: Une chanson populaire a la fois en turquie et en Yougoslavie.
In: Makedonski folklor 34: 181188.
Said, Edward W. 2003: Orientalism. London: Penguin (Routledge 1978).
Savkovi, Milo 1933: Pisma iz Vranja [Letters from Vranje]. In: Misao XLII,
14: 189196.
Savkovi, Milo 1933a: Pisma iz Vranja [Letters from Vranje]. In: Misao XLII,
56: 446458.
Sijari, amil 1981: Priuvaj u Vranju srce i duu [Look after your heart and
soul in Vranje]. In: Vranjska Gimnazija 18811981. Vranje: Odbor za proslavu stogodinjice postojanja i rada Gimnazije, 593595.
Stanisavljevi, Vukain 1998: Pesnik Vranja [A poet of Vranje]. Belgrade:
Agena.
Stankovi, Borisav 1970: Sabrana dela Borisava Stankovia [Collected works of
Borisav Stankovi]; part IVI. Belgrade: Prosveta.
kalji, Abdulah 1989: Turcizmi u srpskohrvatskom jeziku [Turkish words in
the Serbo-Croatian language]. Sarajevo: Svjetlost (6th edition).
Todorova, Maria 1997: Imagining the Balkans. New York, Oxford: Oxford UP.
Vinaver, Stanislav 1970: Bora Stankovi i pusto tursko [Bora Stankovi and
the desolate Turkish]. In: Borisav Stankovi, Stari dani / Boji ljudi; Sabra-
166
Sanja Zlatanovi
na dela Borisava Stankovia, part I. Belgrade: Prosveta, 3950 (first publ.

in 1952).
Zlatanovi, Sanja 2003: Svadba pria o identitetu: Vranje i okolina [The wedding a story of identity: Vranje and its surroundings]. Belgrade (Posebna
izdanja Etnografskog instituta SANU, 47).
Zlatanovi, Sanja 2007: The Roma of Vranje: Kurban with Five Faces. In: Biljana Sikimi, Petko Hristov (eds.), Kurban in the Balkans. Belgrade: Institute for Balkan Studies SASA, special editions 98: 5187.
ivkovi, Marko 2001: Neto izmeu: simbolika geografija Srbije [Something
in between: the symbolic geography of Serbia]. In: Filozofija i drutvo XVIII
(Belgrade) 73110.
Newspapers
Vreme, 21 July 1936, Belgrade, p. 7.
Slobodna re, issue 2110, 1 August 1997, Vranje, p. 10.
Politikin Magazin, no. 268, 17 November 2002, Belgrade, p. 4.
Abstract
Virtually all descriptions of the south Serbian town of Vranje, whether historical, travel or literary, accentuate the tumultuous past that it owes to its position
on a crossroads of major routes and cultures. Until 1878, Vranje was part of the
Ottoman Empire. After 1878, in the clash between old and new values, respectable merchant families came to ruin. This is the period between 1878 and 1910,
when old ways of life were replaced by new ones, clashing in the harsh contrast
portrayed in the works of Bora Stankovi (Vranje 1876 Belgrade 1927). Literary criticism mainly identifies his work as realism or even leaning towards naturalism. New criticism places him among the forefathers of modern Serbian literature. His novel Neista krv (Tainted Blood, 1910) is held to be a masterpiece
of Serbian literature and the beginning of modernism.
The literary work of Bora Stankovi plays a key role in the story the people of Vranje tell about themselves, and the manner in which they determine
their identity. The paper analyses the processes of orientalising, self-orientalising, self-identification and identification by others; here I touch upon the relation between ethnic and local or regional identity. The Vranje identity is made
up of contradictory elements, both in its endogenous and exogenous features,
which are interconnected and interdependent. The paper also analyses the way
in which, at a time of a pragmatic understanding of identity and commercialized
nostalgia, images and symbols connected with the work of Bora Stankovi become the Vranje brand.
TheConstructionofIdentityinaMultiethnicCommunity:ACaseStudyon
theTorbeiofCentarupaCommune,WesternMacedonia(FYROM)
TheConstructionofIdentityinaMultiethnicCommunity:ACaseStudyonthe
TorbeiofCentarupaCommune,WesternMacedonia(FYROM)
byKarolinaBieleninLenczowska
Source:
The Construction of Identity in a Multiethnic Community:

A Case Study on the Torbei of Centar upa Commune,
Western Macedonia (FYROM)
Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska, Warsaw
In numerous anthropological theories regarding ethnicity, the basic indicators

which are typically used both for self-identification and designation of others to
a particular group are kinship, territory, customs, national affiliation, religion
and language; these indicators are more or less highlighted depending on circumstances and needs (see e.g. Nash 1989: 1014). In some situations there are
also other factors, at times more important than the above-mentioned, for example gender, age, social position, and profession. According to Thomas Hylland
Eriksen, there are several different criteria for ethnicity that are not universal
and vary according to the group. In Mauritius, he writes, of the four groups
two are defined in relation to religion (Hindus and Muslims), one in relation
to geographic origin (Chinese), and one is a residual category containing people
with their origins in France, Africa and/or Madagascar (general population)
(Eriksen 1993: 34). In this paper, I will treat national identity as a collective
identity defined by language, territory, religious and ethnic affiliations,1 as well
as citizenship. I will argue that in the case of the Torbei, religious affiliation is
the factor of utmost importance, and that it prevails over ethnic2 affiliation, that
is, that they treat themselves first as Muslims, and only then as Macedonians.
In the Republic of Macedonia one can find certain ready-made categories,
or even stereotypes, that characterize people according to their religion, nationality, and language. Thus, Orthodox are usually regarded as Macedonians who
speak Macedonian or Serbs who speak Serbian, and Muslims are Albanians
who speak Albanian, Turks who speak Turkish and Gypsies/Roma who speak
Romani. However, since Macedonia is a multiethnic society, there are numerous
It is important to note that the term identity is an etic (scientific) category, while affiliation is an emic one, concerned with our respondents statements about belonging to a certain religious or ethnic group.
2
In Macedonia, the term ethnic group (etnika grupa) is not in use. Instead, the terms
nationality (nacionalnost) and nation (nacija, narod), or after the Ohrid Framework
Agreement of 13 August 2001, even the official term community (zaednica) are applied.
Therefore, in the further text, the term ethnicity will be used as an etic category, and the
term nationality as an emic category.
1
168
Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska
examples of multiethnic families in which identity is being negotiated in each

particular situation.
It is noteworthy that according to my fieldwork in the Republic of Macedonia, people usually have only one ethnic identity, even in ethnically mixed families: one is either Torbe, or Macedonian, or Turkish, or Albanian, or Macedonian Muslim. Even those who say that they are Macedonians and at the same
time Turks or Muslims, for example, separate ethnicity and citizenship, or ethnicity and religion, and do not assume double or multiple identity (see Melchior 2004: 406 and her classification of ethnic identities according to the situation). Furthermore, the identity declared by a person is not always the same
as that perceived by others. Thus, we have to distinguish self-identification, in
which the individuals or social groups themselves attribute definite social or cultural features to themselves, thus actively taking part in identity construction,
from social categorization, a process of conferring an identity on individuals or
groups by third persons or institutions (Luba 2007: 174).
The region where I conducted my fieldwork was the Macedonian-Albanian
borderland, inhabited mostly by Albanians, but also by Macedonians and Turks;
this region displays considerable flexibility and fluidity of the above-mentioned
factors. Baskin Oran, a Turkish scholar, writes that, among Macedonian Turks,
the most important indicator is nationality. He cites a statement placed in the
Turkish newspaper Birlik: Our nationality is above everything. Individuals
from other nationalities say: Well, I am a Muslim but first of all my identity
is this or that. I think we should defend the same position (Oran 1994). However, this statement was first published immediately before the census of 1991.
Nowadays, religion is obviously the most important differentiating factor, since
intermarriage between representatives of different ethnic groups are allowed
as opposed to the marriages between different faiths. Moreover, marriages between Muslims of different ethnicity are not considered mixed marriages at all.
Whenever I asked about intermarriage, my informants answered either that they
have or do not have Christians in the family. Therefore, the question of identity
concerns, above all, confession. As one of my interviewees says: What do you
mean: nationality (nacionalnost)? You mean faith? Or nation (nacija)? I mean
nation. Well, Im Turkish
However, since a large majority of people in the commune studied are Muslim, language, territory and ethnicity are secondary differentiators. Most probably this is connected with the fear of being regarded as Albanian. But there is
another problem mother tongue does not define nationality: there are people
who declare themselves as Turks but do not speak Turkish, or as Macedonians
whilst their mother tongue is Turkish.
The object of this paper is to analyse the way in which the identity of the
Macedonian Muslims Torbei, living in the Centar upa commune (optina
The Construction of Identity in a Multiethnic Community
169
Centar upa), in the region of western Macedonia, is constructed according to

the socio-political context as well as local determinants (such as the multiethnic
neighbourhood, the merging of different languages and customs). Some explanations of who a Torbe is vary according to the speaker, but no clear definition
was given either by the Torbei themselves, or by others.
My conclusions are based upon fieldwork conducted in September 2006,
May 2007, and August 2007.3 Part of the data was collected by my students,
Dominik Derlicki, Aleksandra Fory and Agnieszka Mikowska, with whom I
worked in the Republic of Macedonia. The fieldwork methods we were using
included interviews and participant observation. Interviews were both formal,
carried out in accord with a standardized questionnaire (e.g. with local officials,
our host or the head teacher of a local school), and informal, involving spontaneous conversations that were not recorded or written down afterwards.
Our respondents were predominantly the above-mentioned officials and
young men. Contact with women was very limited in Centar upa as they hardly appeared in the public sphere which was especially the case with young
girls. I did, however, manage to conduct informal interviews with a few Torbei
women in Brotica village.
Centar upa and the region of Western Macedonia
Centar upa (also known as Debarska upa)4 is a commune5 in western Macedonia, close to the town of Debar. Recently, is has been inhabited mostly by
Turks or by people who declare themselves as Turks. Conversely, villages and
towns in western Macedonia are predominantly inhabited by Albanians. Most
of them are Muslims, although there are some Macedonian Orthodox communities as well. Moreover, in almost all villages in Centar upa (as in other villages and towns of the Struga region and the whole of western Macedonia) Orthodox Christians lived up to the 1960s, after which they migrated to Skopje or
other Macedonian cities. At the same time, Muslims either stayed in the villages
of western Macedonia or migrated abroad (see analysis about the Struga region
by Hausmaninger 2005). Today, upa has about eight hundred permanent residents, while every August the population increases to two thousand. August is
the month when pealbari, as work migrants are called, return home, predomi My research was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (a
grant from the Department of Scientific Research Macedonians and Albanians a neighbourhood in the face of conflict, grant number: N10901532/0635) as well as by the Foundation for Polish Science (a scholarship start for young scholars).
4
The official name of both, the municipality and the main village, is Centar upa.
5
Commune (optina) in this case is an administrative unit consisting of a group of villages.
3
170
nantly from Italy. Traditionally, pealba was a male seasonal migration within
the Balkan Peninsula (characteristic for the second half of the nineteenth century), and to Europe and America (from the beginning of the twentieth century)
(Hristov 2003). But for the last ten to fifteen years (especially after the dissolution of Yugoslavia) the model of migration has changed. Now whole families
migrate, the husband usually being the first to go, while bringing his wife and
children afterwards. Most men work in factories, as bricklayers or car mechanics. Women, both those living in Macedonia and abroad, usually do not work.
According to the 2002 census, there are 6519 inhabitants in Centar upa,
of whom there are: 5226 Turks, 814 Macedonians, and 454 Albanians. Villages
are either mixed, for example Centar upa (Macedonian-Albanian-Turkish) and
Balanci (Macedonian-Albanian), or mono-ethnic, e.g. Brotica, (Macedonian),
Bajramovci and Mal Papradnik (Turkish). However, Mal Papradnik is inhabited
predominantly by Turks who do not speak Turkish or for whom Turkish is not
their mother tongue. True Turks6, that is, those who speak only Turkish (most
women do not speak Macedonian at all), live in so-called Upper upa, to which
the villages of Novak, Dolga, Elevci and Bretani belong.
The official statistics presented above, however, are not in accord with the
real situation. The reasons are the following:
1. People who declare themselves as Turks in some cases are, in fact, Macedonian Muslims. The most important indicator is religion, and Islam is perceived as a Turkish religion (at least in this commune, since, in Macedonia
as a whole, Islam is associated with the Albanian nation).
2. Those who declare themselves to be Macedonians very often use the category of citizenship, that is, they link up their identity with a territory, and emphasize their loyalty to the state. For example: By nationality (po nacionalnost) I am Muslim. However, I am Macedonian because I live in Macedonia.
3. Because of the multiethnic character of the population in Centar upa, there
are intermarriages between Albanians, Macedonian Muslims and Turks.
Hence, different members of mixed families may declare a different affiliation. Usually, this is linked to differing education. For example: I have a
Turkish mother and a Macedonian father. I am Macedonian, but my brother
claims he is Turkish. He was at a Turkish school and I was at a Macedonian
one. As I mentioned above, the notion of intermarriage used by my informants refers only to marriages between adherents of different confessions and
not to those between different ethnic groups.
Torbei themselves are anything but unanimous in their self-identification. Some
declare their affiliation to the Macedonian nation, while others consider themselves to be members of an autonomous group, for example Torbei, Nainski
6
This expression is used by my interlocutors.
171
or Muslim. Others consider their origin to be Turkish. According to some nonTorbei informants, Torbei are in fact Turks who declare themselves to be Macedonians only to obtain privileges, such as easier access to a career in the administration. For example: He is Turkish. But he speaks Macedonian. He is
Turkish, because he is Muslim. But he claims that he is Macedonian. Well, if
he had admitted that he was Turkish, he could not have become a policeman. On
the other hand, those who consider themselves as Turks who forgot their mother tongue are perceived by other Macedonian Muslims (e.g. from Brotica) as
Torbei and not as true Turks. For example: They are not Turks. Turks live
in Upper upa, in Novak or Kodadik. Those from upa are in fact Macedonian Muslims they only pretend to be Turks.
At this point, a key term needs to be clarified. The name Torbei is used to
describe all Islamized Macedonians in the Republic of Macedonia, but this ethnonym originally referred only to those from the areas of Debar and Reka, and
from the northwest part of Macedonia (Svetieva 2003: 51). Along with the name
Torbei, the term Nainci or Nainski (derived from na our) is sometimes
used and, in official discourse, they are named Macedonian Muslims (or Macedonian-speaking Muslims). The terms Pomaks and Gorans are also used, but
these in fact refer to Muslims living in Bulgaria and in the borderland of Macedonia and Kosovo respectively. There is also one term, Poturk, which is especially pejorative and relates strongly to Turkish nationality. All of these names,
however, refer to Slavic-speaking Muslims. The situation between Pomaks and
Torbei is comparable to some extent, especially when it comes to ethnic identity. As they are above all religious groups, national identity is connected either
with confession or with language. Pomaks consider themselves to be Bulgarians
(since they speak Bulgarian) or Turkish (since they are Muslim), or just Pomaks
(Ahrjani) (cf. Brunnbauer 1999: 3839).
Because of its etymology, the term Torbei is quite often perceived as pejorative as well. There are several theories about the origin of this term: the scientific one links Torbei with the Old Slavic tribe name Torbachei; another relates it to certain employees of the Turkish army and candidates for janissary
who carried bags (torbi in Macedonian, Torba Oglanlari/ Torba Asemileri in
Turkish); yet another links it to the Persian word Torbe which indicated a
travelling salesman who sold halva and oriental drinks. There is also a hypothesis that the name is connected with the religious Bogomil movement since Bogomil missionaries (kutugeri) carried bags. However, the most popular etymology is connected with religious identity and describes the Torbei as those who
sold themselves for a sack of cheese (or, in another version, seen only in literature flour): they are said to have sold their Christian faith to the Turks. Yet another explanation given to us by our informants was that the Torbei were hard
workers who could easily adapt to new situations. This explanation was given by
172
Torbei in a positive light, and by non-Torbei in a negative one, in other words,

they could very easily change their values in order to benefit themselves. For
example: You know, if they need to be Macedonians, they are Macedonians. If
Turks, they are Turks. When Turks came, they changed their religion immediately, because it was better for them.
Torbei as Macedonians
Torbei who consider themselves Macedonians, emphasize Macedonian as their
mother tongue and a strong affiliation to Macedonian culture, tradition and
state. In Centar upa, those living in the village of Brotica and, in some cases,
people from other villages (those who do not speak Turkish) consider themselves
Macedonians. This is obvious from a statement made by an old man from Bajramovci: I am Macedonian, Muslim. I cannot speak any Turkish. Most people
in this region do not like using the term Torbei, because they do not consider
themselves any different from other Macedonians.
The vast majority declare their Macedonianness through their use of the
Macedonian language and observance of traditional cultural traits regarded as
indigenous to Macedonia. Moreover, they claim to be better, that is more authentic, than other Macedonians, since they still practise the traditional way of
life.
Although Torbei are of Muslim faith, they speak the Macedonian language
in a variant very close to the literary language. Since 1945, the Torbei have
been allowed schooling in the Macedonian language. On 8 May 2007, the Macedonian Commission of Education stated that only Macedonian was to be taught
in villages where the population was Macedonian speaking, regardless of religious affiliation (Friedman 1993: 88). Those Macedonian Muslims emphasize
the purity of their language and indicate that it is even better than the Macedonian spoken in the capital. I met a professor from Skopje who told me that she
was very ashamed when an elderly lady from one Torbe village corrected her
Macedonian! In fact, the literary Macedonian language is based on the PrilepBitola dialect group, from the central and southwestern parts of the country.
The attachment of the Torbei to such important aspects of Macedonian culture as Orthodox sacred places, such as monasteries and churches, is of particular interest. Although the Torbei are Muslims and do not worship in Orthodox
churches, they financially support monasteries, go on pilgrimages to Orthodox
holy places and sleep in monasteries. This is done for several reasons. The first
meeting of the Torbei cultural organization, set up in 1970, was held at the
Monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski in western Macedonia (Poulton 2001:115).
In Brotica, although Muslims do not have their own mosque (the old one is a
173
ruin, and the new one is still under construction), they are renovating an old Orthodox church with the support of the Orthodox population whose ancestors
lived in the village. Muslims consider Orthodox churches to be holy places (e.g.
I was in a monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski maybe ten times; my mother was as
well. It is a normal thing to do, it is the house of God ), but not in the same way
as mosques. For instance, they visit Orthodox churches, light candles and take
their babies for healing. Also, an Orthodox woman from Melniani (the only
Christian village, now inhabited by one family) claimed that, at Easter, Albanians go to church and take consecrated water: They give it to children and drink it
before work. No one ever mentioned using a mosque for such healing purposes,
but when it comes to churches, it is a widespread practice.
The history of Islamization shows that so-called bi-confession was widespread, that is the situation in which people officially changed faith, but still
practised their former religion. As numerous historians have claimed, the main
reason for religious conversion was economic. Muslims in the Ottoman Empire
enjoyed political privileges and did not pay high taxes to the authorities. Therefore, in many situations, religious conversion was only superficial. That is why
there were a lot of people with two names, for example Hasan-Bogdan or Mustafa-Nikola, who both baptized their children and circumcised them, got married
in churches and so on (Matkovski 1971: 164). Also, because of these practices, a
kind of syncretistic Islam arose that included a lot of non-Islamic elements such
as the cult of saints and the crucifix, visiting churches and monasteries, keeping
icons in homes and observing both Christian and Islamic feasts and holidays.
More than in Centar upa, where the population is almost exclusively Muslim,
all this is more noticeable in mixed regions, such as Debar. However, in some
villages, for example Gorenci or Dolno Melniani, there are Orthodox people
who admit that they observe both Christmas and Bayram, as well as exchange
coloured eggs at Easter with their Muslim neighbours. Also, even though no Orthodox Christians live in Kosovrasti, the inhabitants of this village still observe
some Christian holidays, such as Gjurgjovden (St. Georges Day) and Vasilica
(the Day of St. Basil). In fact, until the 1960s or even 1970s, in almost every village of the upa commune, there were Muslim and Christian parts (Rusi 1957).
As a result, a lot of elderly people remember bi-confessional neighbourhoods
and recall the life of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence in them.
There are some villages in Centar upa that are perceived by neighbours (and
in some cases by the inhabitants themselves) as Torbe. These are Brotica in
the Centar upa commune and neighbouring villages of the Reka region, such
as Dolno and Gorno Kosovrasti, Rostue and Lazaropole. People from those villages declare themselves to be Macedonian Muslims, speak Macedonian as their
174
mother tongue, differ from their neighbours in wearing characteristic dress7

and have a strong attachment to traditional customs. They do not want to use
the name Torbei, since they are aware of the negative popular etymology of
this word. Moreover, some of them do not consider themselves to be a different group from Macedonians. As one of my informants from Brotica said: We
are Macedonians, our nation (nacija) is Macedonia, we speak Macedonian and
we are loyal to our motherland. We are Muslims, and? What is the problem?
We have to separate religion from nationality. People from Kosovrasti as well
as Brotica emphasize that they have the most beautiful weddings and that they
are the best of dancers. They stress that their surnames differentiate them from
Turks: they are Turkish names with the Macedonian morpheme -ski, as in Ramadanovski, Ismailovski, Bajramovski. First names are typically Muslim: Ismet,
Amir, Razija, Fata.
However, as I noted above, attachment to Macedonianness very often assumes loyalty towards the state and is not related to ethnicity. After all, the Macedonian state recognizes Torbei as Macedonians. Nevertheless, when the state
established an organization under the name The Culture and Science Centre of
Macedonian Muslims, its official line was: Torbe are local people, they are
Macedonians, but the Ottomans converted them forcefully. Of course, Torbei
themselves do not agree with this statement, and regard the chairman, Nijazi
Limanoski, as a traitor (Oran 1994). In Macedonian official discourse, opinion about forced Islamization is widespread after all, in numerous publications about Torbei the term Islamized Macedonians is used (Svetieva 2003).
A similar situation applies to the Pomaks, whose name is explained as related
to pain, torture (bulg. mka). Analysing the narratives about the origin of
the Pomaks, Ulf Brunnbauer writes that in order to be able to declare that the
Pomaks were Bulgarians and to cope with the fact that they believed in Allah
the god of the former oppressors! a history of forced Islamisation was invented (Brunnbauer 1999: 41). And indeed, in 1958 a book was published On
the Past of the Bulgarian Mohammedans in the Rhodopes in which one of the
chapters was devoted to the enforced Islamisation of the Rhodope Bulgarians.
The above-mentioned ethnologist and Macedonian Muslim, Nijazi Limanoski,
in his writings understood Macedonianness through language, customs, origin,
and folklore common to all Macedonians. Islam was, in his opinion, an additional feature that had not deeply changed the social and spiritual life of the
Macedonian Muslims. Islamization and isolation of Torbei from the rest of the
Macedonian nation is described as the beginning of a heroic path, the path full
of sacrifices for the Muslim population of Slavic origin in the territory of Macedonia, the end of which will be the recognition of the Macedonianness of this
7
Traditional dress worn only by women.
175
population by the rest of the Macedonian nation (Luba 2007: 174). Nowadays,
only some Macedonian Muslims agree with Limanoski. The others do not want
to diminish the role of Islam in their collective identity.
Torbei as Turks
Religion associates the Torbei with Turks and Albanians. Also, customs, rituals, and certain gender differentiations bring the Torbei closer to these Muslim
minorities. Therefore, depending on the political context, they can be regarded
either as Turks or as Albanians. Such appropriation of Torbei is a purely political act if Turks or Albanians can prove that they are more numerous, their vote
in demanding minority rights becomes stronger. Under the Ottoman Empire, religion was the only important factor defining identity. The millet system segregated the population into Muslims and non-Muslims: all Muslims were considered Turks and all Orthodox Christians Greeks (certainly, we cannot relate
those names with the modern notion of nationality). During the time of socialist
Macedonia they were first treated as ethnic Turks, then (in the 1950s and 1960s)
they were encouraged to adopt the Macedonian national identity. However, it
was only in the late 1970s that a more serious and coordinated attempt to integrate Muslims into the Macedonian majority was undertaken and an organization of Macedonian Muslims was established with the support of the Macedonian branch of the Yugoslav League of Communists who wanted to diminish the
influence of the Albanians in western Macedonia. Nowadays, Islam in Macedonia is predominantly associated with Albanians. Both the Torbei and the Turks
complain that they have been assimilated by the Albanian majority via the Albanian language used in worship in mosques, Albanian hojas, and representatives
in Islamic organizations, etc. Moreover, there is an extremely pejorative attitude
towards Albanians linked especially with the conflict of 2001.8
Numerous scholars drew upon examples of this process of Albanicization.
As Victor Friedman writes: In recent years many formerly Macedonian Muslim villages have become Albanian-speaking as Albanian Muslims fleeing violence and oppression in Kosovo have settled in villages vacated by Macedonian Muslims who emigrated to Turkey, and as Macedonian-speaking Muslims
8
In 2001 an armed conflict between Macedonian security forces and the Albanian National Liberation Army (UK) took place in North-western Macedonia (mainly in Tetovo). It
was concerned with the rights of the Albanian community, above all with access to public
higher education in the Albanian language, with the recognition of Albanian as one of the
official languages of the Republic of Macedonia, and with regard to the Albanian nation
having the same status as the Macedonian one. The conflict was terminated with the signing of the Ohrid Framework Agreement on 13 August 2001.
176
have shifted to Albanian when the religious factor dominates the linguistic factor in ethnic identity. A striking example is (Gorno Vranovci), which was a Macedonian Muslim village when 9 was first
published there in 1944, but which is now Albanian (Friedman 1993: 89). The
same situation prevails in other localities in western Macedonia. An activity
of the predominantly Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia
(PDP Partijata za demokratski prosperitet) resulted in numerous declarations
of Torbei as Albanians. In 1990 Riza Memedovski, Chairman of the Torbei
organization, sent an open letter to the Chairman of the PDP on the subject of a
quiet assimilation. He accused this party of abusing religion for political ends
through attempted Kosovoisation and Albanicisation of western Macedonia
(Poulton 2001:115).
Aneta Svetieva writes that the Albanicization of the Torbei began before the
Balkan Wars and First World War and she connects it to Bulgarian and Serbian
propaganda. Then, during the occupation of western Macedonia by Italy (in
fact by Albania) during the Second World War, methods such as education in
the Albanian language, the use of non-verbal ethnic symbols as the indispensable white hat (keche) for men or the change of names and surnames to Albanian
ones were introduced. The Macedonian state did not take any action to change
these names back to Macedonian. Svetieva considers it the sign of vitality of
an old formula An Albanian equals a Muslim and vice versa and the absence
of negative attitude regarding Torbeis ethnic background (Svetieva 2003: 53).
The Torbei from Centar upa highlight either their Macedonianness or
Turkishness and make every effort to avoid being associated with Albanians. As
one informant said: Im Macedonian, but I have the Turkish faith. So, maybe
Im Turkish as well. So, maybe you are Albanian? No, for sure, Im not Albanian. However, there are Albanians who claim that the Torbei are in fact Albanian, e.g. Those [from Lower upa] are not Turkish. They are all How can
they say that they are not Albanians? Everyone here has a mother from Debar
[the nearest town inhabited predominantly by Albanians] or from Albania. How
can they say they are Turkish? Those from Upper upa, from Novak, Kodadik,
Elevci or Bretani are really Turks. Yes, they came from Turkey. Nevertheless,
I did not hear one statement admitting Albanian nationality, even in this example: What is your nationality? Turkish. Do you have any Macedonians or
Albanians in your family? Yes, my mother is Albanian. Do you speak Albanian? Yes. And Turkish? A bit. How do you communicate at home? In
Macedonian. The only village in the Centar upa commune where people con-
Nova Makedonija (New Macedonia) the oldest daily newspaper in Macedonia.
177
sider themselves to be Albanian is Balanci (although most here are from ethnically mixed families).10
The Torbei sometimes derive their descent from the Turks who came to
Macedonia before the Ottomans (Oran 1994). Hence, they reject the statement
that they were Islamized by force. Following this line of argument, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire they were required to learn Macedonian and no
longer used their mother tongue. E.g. We are Turks who forgot our language.
Or: Are you Macedonian or Turkish? Im Turkish, because Im Muslim.
So, your mother tongue is Turkish? No, Macedonian. In 2002 in the primary
school Moa Pijade in Centar upa, Turkish was introduced as the third official language of instruction alongside Macedonian and Albanian. Sometimes,
parents here send one of their children to a Turkish class and another to a Macedonian one (see the statement above about differences in national declaration in
an ethnically mixed family). However, for several years, the number of children
who are educated in Turkish in Centar upa has been increasing. In this school
year (2007/08), only several children were enrolled in the Macedonian class.
Such situation refers also to the Pomaks, who currently have rejected their Bulgarian background and consider themselves as either Turks or Pomaks.
The number of Turks who forgot their Turkish mother tongue is considerable in the villages of Centar upa, Golem Papradnik, and Mal Papradnik. According to people from other villages, they are not true Turks, since they do not
speak Turkish and they take no part in Turkish cultural events. There is a similar
situation regarding Albanians who forgot the Albanian language in different
parts of the region of western Macedonia they declare themselves as Albanians only because of the association of Islam with Albanian ethnicity. Since from
1953 to 1966 many Muslims migrated to Turkey, the census in 1981 depicted
numerous declarations as Muslims, Albanians or Roma. The Yugoslav authorities, worried about the rise of Albanian nationalism, asserted that many Turks in
Macedonia had been Albanized under pressure. In turn, Albanians explain that
those people who declare themselves as Turks are in fact Illyrians turned into
Turks who were now returning to their flock, that is, rejoining the Albanian
mother nation (Poulton 2001: 118).
It is worth mentioning that people from Brotica, who had previously lived in the vicinity of the present village of Balanci, deny that true Albanians live in Balanci They are
Macedonian Muslims, as we are. They only pretend to be Albanians. True Albanians live
in Debar, in Tetovo.
10
178
Torbei as Muslims
In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia the term Muslim acquired two meanings:
religious and ethnic. The latter meaning was introduced by President Josip Broz
Tito for the Slavs that were practising Islam, especially in Bosnia-Hercegovina
and Sandak. In 1961, Muslims were recognized as a nationality (narodnost)
and in 1971 as a nation (narod) (Bringa 1995: 27). Therefore, I have heard
statements such as: By nationality I am Muslim or I am Muslim by nationality
because my religion is Islam.
Nowadays in other republics of former Yugoslavia the term Bonjak is also
used. It was created in order to single out citizens of Bosnia, regardless of ethnicity (Bosanac, in plural: Bosanci), and Muslims who are neither Turks nor
Albanians (Bonjak, in plural: Bonjaci). The latter term is sometimes noted in official discourse in Macedonia, but it was not mentioned by any of my
informants.
The group of Muslims by nationality is the smallest one in Centar upa and
to identify them is almost impossible since, for almost every one of these people, the religious identity is more important than ethnicity. Thus, most of my
interviewees claimed that they are Muslims and only after that they would use
one of the nationality categories, for example I am Muslim. And what is your
nationality? Nationality? Turkish, we are Turks here.
As I mentioned above, a lot of Macedonian Muslims from western Macedonia vote for the Albanian PDP party. It is claimed that PDP politicians convinced
the Torbei that their religious affiliation was stronger than their ethnicity, that
is, that they declare themselves as predominantly Muslim (as a nationality) rather than Macedonian. This was done in order to reduce the number of Macedonians in the censuses. Moreover, Albanians are registered as Albanians, not as
Muslims (Friedman 1993: 89). In Centar upa, as I noted above, Albanicization
is not as prevalent as was Turkicization, but the strategy is precisely the same
(here an activity of the Democratic Party of Turks in Macedonia DPTM
Demokratskata Partija na Turcite vo Makedonija).
Torbei as a group in-between
Thomas H. Eriksen writes that there are some groups or individuals who are
betwixt and between, who are neither X nor Y and yet a bit of both. Their actual group membership may be open to situational negotiations, it may be ascribed by a dominant group, or the group may form a separate ethnic category (Eriksen 1993: 156; see also Melchior 2004: 406 who names this kind of
identity as an identity of third way). Since religion is an indicator of utmost
importance, people who are Macedonian but not Orthodox (the same situation
179
occurs with the so-called kreti, Albanian Orthodox) could be perceived as liminal, in-between. For instance, in conversation, a Turkish lady from Novak, a
very isolated Turkish village in upper upa, used the name Macedonian only
for Orthodox Christians, while she defined Macedonian Muslims as Nainski.
E.g. Do you have Macedonians in your family? No, we have only Muslims:
Turks, Nainski. Albanians we do not have. But we have a godfather who is
Macedonian from Skopje.
Certainly, the Torbei do not consider themselves as an in-between group.
Furthermore, this is an external category introduced by anthropologists. Since
religion is the most important differentiator, it replaces ethnicity. Therefore, Orthodox becomes a synonym of Macedonian. In the region analysed, the term
Muslim is ambiguous; however, in Macedonia as a whole, it is starting to become synonymous with Albanian. Thus, the Torbei are perceived either as
Albanians, or more frequently in Centar upa as Turks, but not as Macedonians. It is more comprehensible to recognize them either as Albanians or as
Turks due to certain socio-political gains and not to introduce obscure categories. However, in some pejorative stereotypes, as I mentioned above, Torbei are
found to be very flexible and their declarations to depend on their needs.
Conclusion
The Torbei example confirms the fluidity of the categories that make up identity it shows how they change, are redefined, and are constantly being renegotiated according to the context. Moreover, no clear definition is given either
by the Torbei themselves, or by their neighbours, Turks or Albanians. Turks
perceive the Torbei as Turks who declare themselves Macedonian in order to
obtain certain benefits, or who just forgot their Turkish. Albanians consider the
Torbei to be Albanian or Turkish, but not Macedonian. Both groups, because of
their shared confession, name them Nainci (derived from na our) or use
the term Torbei that is pejorative in most cases. In turn, Torbei themselves
emphasize either their attachment to the Macedonian language, culture, and
state, or their Turkishness, because of their religion. The only certainty is that
Torbei (at least in Centar upa) do not consider themselves to be Albanians.
Neighbours, in turn, do not want to accept the Macedonianness of the Torbei,
since they do not consider Muslims to be Macedonians. This fact again connects
Macedonian Torbei with Bulgarian Pomaks, since Orthodox Christianity is an
important component of national identity both for Macedonians and Bulgarians.
Thus, Muslims constitute a classification problem for their neighbours, combining in their culture close (language) and alien (Islam) traits (Luba 2007: 173).
Torbei themselves, as they are more a religious than an ethnic group, empha-
180
size their attachment to Islam, and in their collective identity the religious rather
than ethnic factor prevails.
Finally, and probably most importantly, the changing of national declaration
results from the fact that each ethnic community in the Republic of Macedonia
wants to incorporate the Torbei in order to increase their own number, be it
Macedonians, Albanians or Turks. This is, however, a topic that should be analysed more closely in future research.
Literature
Bringa, Tone 1995: Being Muslim the Bosnian Way. Identity and Community in
a Central Bosnian Village, New Jersey: Princeton UP.
Brunnbauer, Ulf 1999: Diverging (Hi-)Stories: The Contested Identity of the
Bulgarian Pomaks. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 3: 3550.
Eriksen, Thomas Hylland 1993: Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological
Perspectives. London: Pluto Press.
Friedman, Victor 1993: Language Policy and Language Behavior in Macedonia: Background and Current Events. In: Eran Fraenkel, Christina Kramer
(eds.), Language Contact Language Conflict. New York: Lang, 73106.
Hausmaninger, Anna 2005: The Constructions of Identities in a Trans-Local
Context: Inter-Ethnic Relations in a Macedonian Village during Socialism
and Transition. URL: http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/esc/esc-lectures/hausmaninger.pdf.
Hristov, Petko 2003: Gurbetijstvo/pealbarstvo v centralna ast na balkanite
kato transgranien obmen [Gurbetijstvo/pealbarstvo in the central part of
the Balkans as a transborder exchange]. In: Da ivee tam, da se sanuva
tuk. Emigracionni procesi v naaloto na XXI vek [Living there, dreaming
here: emigration processes in the beginning of 21th century]. Sofia, 223235.
Luba, Marcin 2007: Nijazija Limanoski and the Disputes on the National Identity of Macedonian Speaking Muslims. In: Sprawy Narodowociowe [National Affairs]. Special issue ed. by J. Sujecka et al., Pozna-Warsaw.
Matkovski, Aleksandar 1971: Islamizacijata kako metod na pacifikacija na Debarskiot kraj [Islamization as a method of pacification of the Debar region].
In: Makedonci Muslimani [Macedonian Muslims]. Skopje, 3759.
Melchior, Magorzata 2004: Zagada a tosamo. Polscy ydzi ocaleni na
aryjskich papierach. Analiza dowiadczenia biograficznego [Holocaust and
identity. Polish Jews survived on Aryan documents. An analysis of biographical experience]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo IFiS PAN.
Nash, Manning 1989: The Cauldron of Ethnicity in the Modern World. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press.
181
Oran, Baskin 1994: Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims:
A Comparative Study on Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Kosovo. URL:
http://www.ceri-sciencespo.com/publica/cemot/text18/oran18.pdf.
Poulton, Hugh 2001: Non-Albanian Muslim Minorities. In: Pettifer James (ed.),
The New Macedonian Question. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 107123.
Rusi, Branislav 1957: upa debarska. Skopje: Filozofski fakultet na
univerzitetot.
Svetieva, Aneta 2003: Politicization of the Ethnic Identity of the Torbesh (the
Nashinci). In: EthnoAnthropoZoom, URL http://www.iea.pmf.ukim.edu.
mk/EAZ/EAZ_03/EAZ_2004_PDF/EAZ_2003_Ponizeni_Balkan_Ang.
pdf.
Abstract
The subject of this paper is the analysis of the way in which the identity of the
Torbei, living in the Centar upa commune, western Macedonia, is constructed depending both on the socio-political context and local determinants such
as the multiethnic surroundings. The Torbei themselves are not unanimous in
their self-identification. In part they declare their affiliation to the Macedonian nation, in part they consider themselves as autonomous ethnic group, while
some derive their origin from the Turks. The majority, however, declare their
Macedonianness by their use of the Macedonian language, their practice of
many traditional elements of culture regarded as indigenously Macedonian, and
their visits to Orthodox holy places. Religion associates Torbei with Turks and
Albanians; therefore, depending on the political context, they are regarded by
others either as Turks or Albanians. The example of this in-between group suggests a certain fluidity in the categorization of identity: the manner in which
identity change has been redefined and is constantly being renegotiated within
particular contexts.
IdentityoftheNation(s),IdentityoftheState:PoliticsandEthnicityinthe
RepublicofMacedonia,19902000
IdentityoftheNation(s),IdentityoftheState:PoliticsandEthnicityintheRepublicof
Macedonia,19902000
byNevenaDimova
Source:
Identity of the Nation(s), Identity of the State:

Politics and Ethnicity in the Republic of Macedonia,
19902000
Nevena Dimova, Sofia
This paper follows the political developments in the Republic of Macedonia,

from its split from Yugoslavia in 1991 to the armed clashes between Albanian paramilitary organizations and the Macedonian police and army in 2001. It
shows the debates and behaviours of political and intellectual elites and the general Albanian and Macedonian public in the Republic of Macedonia and how
these practices have developed along a more or less straightforward line that
of continuous distancing between the two communities. I argue that multiparty
democracy has fortified the relations of distance between Macedonians and Albanians inherited from state socialism by opening space for new voices and new
means to be engaged in the debates about the constitution of the Macedonian
state. In the polemics about the state and the populations residing on the territory of Macedonia, intellectual and political elites from both sides utilize the
global concepts of civil society, multi-ethnicity and pluralism as discursive tools
to put forward nationalist arguments, and undermine those of their opponents.
Furthermore, I attempt to show how, in their social commentary of the current processes in Macedonia, Albanian and Macedonian elites incorporate the
concepts of multiculturalism and civil society in modernist discourse, through
which they reinforce images of modern vs. primitive, progressive vs. backward
and legitimate vs. illegitimate to claim right to organize the state and deny that
right to the other. Thus, although new language is used in the nationalist polemics in Macedonia, it nevertheless reproduces modernist images: two national
groups competing for their right to create their nation-states.
In this discussion I follow the political events from 1990 to 2001, and the
period following the signing of the Ohrid Agreement of the same year. Simultaneously, I analyse the political debates and social commentaries put forward by
Macedonian and Albanian political and intellectual elites about the current political events, the relations between the two communities, and about each other.
My analysis is based on interviews conducted in 1999 and 2000 with Albanian
and Macedonian elites who actively participated not only in public debates, but
who also were engaged in the political life of the country as deputies in parliament, speakers for different parties, and even as ministers. Over a period of almost two years I have met formally and informally with these elites and with
184
Nevena Dimova
some of them I have established more personal relations. In addition, I have also
read and analysed public statements, newspaper columns, and publications produced by these individuals.
With the creation of the Macedonian Republic as one of the six constituent
republics of Yugoslavia in 1946, at first all citizens were considered Macedonians, i.e., the citizens of the Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, without regard
to ethnos. This was also the beginning of the creation of Macedonian national
institutions, literary language, history, and state infrastructures. The establishment of standard literary Macedonian as the official language of the Republic
of Macedonia in 1946 was a major contribution to the construction of a distinct
Macedonian nationality (Friedman 1975, 1985, 2000; Danforth 1995: 67). This
was the materialization of Macedonian national aspirations and the endorsement
of the Macedonian national project. With help from Belgrade, Macedonians embarked on the path of building and confirming the Macedonian state and nation.
The situation of the Albanians in new Yugoslavia was quite different. After
the Second World War Albanians were recognized as a nationality (narodnost)
of Yugoslavia, but not as a nation (narod) the Albanian national homeland
being outside of Yugoslavia (Rusinow 1977). Kosovo, where the majority of Albanians lived, was granted the status of an autonomous region within Serbia,
while the rest of the Albanians remained in compact settlements in the Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro. This put a hold to the nationalist aspirations
of some Albanians to unite all Albanians in one state, an idea which has proven
to be very potent and vital up to the present moment. Yet, as a nationality, the
Albanians enjoyed a number of cultural and educational rights (Poulton 1995:
125, Biberaj 2000: 224). By 1951 there were more than 200 Albanian schools
in the Republic of Macedonia employing at least 600 teachers and working with
more than 2600 students, while by 1973, this number expanded to 248 schools,
with over 6000 pupils (Kantardzhiev, Lazaroski 1974: 110). Additionally, there
was an Albanian newspaper Flaka, Albanian television and radio programmes.
In 1968 an Albanian language university was opened in Pritina. Albanian was
recognized as an official language in Kosovo, Albanians were permitted to display their national flag and federal economic assistance was increased. In Macedonia, Tito pressed the ethnic Macedonians to include minorities, especially
Albanians in party and state government positions.
The Golden Age of Albanians in Yugoslavia came with the new Yugoslav
Constitution of 1974. Kosovo, like Vojvodina, was recognized as a constituent
element of the federation and was granted wide administrative and cultural autonomy (Rusinow 1977, Vickers 1995, Mertus 1999, Clark 2000). The Constitution of 1974 allocated more power to local governments and stimulated ethnic
and cultural self-expression. Self-expression was seen as the right of all peoples of Yugoslavia to create social, cultural, religious or sports associations in
Identity of the Nation(s), Identity of the State
185
their respective languages, and to celebrate their own cultural heritage (Rusinow
1977). In Macedonia, the cultural associations, schools, and sports teams of Albanians consisted exclusively of Albanians, and this was for the most part also
true for the Macedonian associations. The state did not interfere in the ethnic
configurations of state-sponsored cultural and sports activities and both Albanians and Macedonians chose to practice homogeneous socialization. The parallel
existence of the two communities spread to all levels of social life. In addition,
as Brunnbauer has pointed out, the socialist policies of Yugoslavia and Macedonia impacted the specific familial and cultural traditions of the two communities
in different ways (Brunnbauer 2004: 565). As discussed, these policies created
significant differences in the reproductive and economic behaviours of the two
communities, thus marginalizing the Albanians even further and adding to their
establishment as a separate community (Brunnbauer 2004: 567).
In their everyday life Albanians and Macedonians practised social distance.
Several studies capture the relations between the two groups. Nikolai Botev
studied the intermarriages in Yugoslavia between 1962 and 1989, finding that
there was no upward trend in the proportion of mixed marriages (Botev, Wagner 1983). Most importantly, however, Botev states that there was a considerable
regional variation in Yugoslavia in the percentage of mixed marriages. According to him, the barrier between cultural traditions was the least permeable in
Macedonia, because there was a long history of tension between the Macedonian
majority and the Albanian minority. While in other republics the permeability of
the barrier has increased and decreased through time, as is the case with Bosnia
and Herzegovina, in Macedonia it has been decreasing since the early 1970s.
Supporting Botevs argument, a study published by the sociologist Ilija Josifovski on the Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish populations in the villages of
Prolog, around the areas of Tetovo and Gostivar (with mixed Albanian and Macedonian populations, but predominantly Albanian), shows that 95% of the Albanian and Macedonian and 84% of the Turkish heads of individual households
would not let their sons marry a woman of different nationality, while for their
daughters, the percentages were even higher (Josifovski 1974). The study also
proved that mixed marriages between Macedonians on the one hand and Albanians and Turks on the other hand did not exist. Thus, although the aim of the
brotherhood and unity ideology promoted by the communist authorities was
to ameliorate the differences between the ethnic groups in Yugoslavia at large,
and in Macedonia in particular, and to stimulate interethnic tolerance, the actual
picture of the relations between Albanians and Macedonians was one of segregation, mistrust, and increasing alienation.
This was mirrored in the continuous relocation (migration and moving) towards ethnically homogeneous settlements, i.e., physical separation reflected
the virtual lack of mixed marriages between the two communities. Up to the
186
Nevena Dimova
late sixties and early seventies, Albanians and Macedonians lived in their own
worlds, at times cooperating in agricultural activities, or socializing during the
cities market days. Their cultural and social differences were emanated in the
mutual willingness to socialize with ones own people and more so to exclude
the other from social interaction. Both groups could develop culturally, practise
their own religions, and speak their own languages in federal Yugoslavia. At the
personal level, people from both communities maintained civil attitudes towards
each other, mostly since there was no mutual interaction.
After the death of the Yugoslav president, Josip Broz Tito, in 1980 and
with the new rotating state presidency system that succeeded him, the Albanian national movement gained strength. In Macedonia, Albanians experienced
renewed repression, which was actually harsher than in Kosovo. The Macedonian authorities went after Albanian names and prohibited their usage for places and newborn children under the pretence that they were nationalist (Perry
2000). In 1986 4346 parents, largely Albanian, were reportedly fined for sending their children to private religious schools rather than to state schools (Perry 2000:275). Consequently, in 1987 the Macedonian government announced
that instruction in secondary schools was to be carried out in Macedonian only.
Macedonian and Albanian students were integrated and taught in Macedonian.
Macedonian officials argued that this was due to the fact that there was a shortage of Albanian-speaking teachers. Also, the state forbade the instruction of the
Quran to Muslims in schools, especially to children under the age of 15 (Poulton
1995: 331f.), in an effort to prevent the growth of Albanian national consciousness, which the authorities presumably in part associated with religion.
For my Albanian informants one of the most humiliating state measures
in Macedonia was the tearing down of traditional walls surrounding Albanian houses in Arachinovo, a village just outside of Skopje. Traditional Albanian
houses are surrounded by high brick walls, which for Albanians have come to
signify their traditional way of life, while for Macedonians they are a symbol of
backwardness, closedness, and isolation of the Albanian community. In the eyes
of my Albanian informants, the tearing down of the walls of the Arachinovo
houses was a deliberate act of humiliation, aggression, and disrespect of their
traditional and cultural distinctiveness. Furthermore, the high birth rate was a
matter of concern to the authorities and they introduced measures in 1988, aiming at the reduction and control of the birth rate of Albanians. Families with
more than two children (most Albanian families) would have to pay for medical
services for the extra children and possibly even suffer financial penalty. Tensions boiled over in 1988 with demonstrations by young Albanians in Kumanovo
and Gostivar, demanding that their rights be guaranteed as in the constitution of
1974 (Poulton 1995: 130, Biberaj 2000). As a result, some Albanians were imprisoned both in Kumanovo and Gostivar.
187
During the same period, Macedonian national identity was growing and asserting itself. The establishment of the Skopje University in 1956 and the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1968 marked the most important steps
in the creation and realization of the Macedonian national program. Scholars
from both institutions, who were either members of the socialist government
or their advisers, launched a nationwide campaign for producing textbooks that
created, explained, and promoted Macedonian national history, heroes, and culture. Macedonian language and cultural achievements were sponsored and promoted by the government and the media reinforced Macedonian nationhood.
By the late 1980s there were already two generations of Macedonians who had
grown up with a Macedonian national identity in the new Macedonian state.
In Macedonia, as in the other parts of Yugoslavia, ethno-national identifications were created and integrally tied to the organization of socialism. The creation of the socialist Macedonian state in 1946 radically altered the dynamics of
local concepts of identity. The acquisition of a state for the Macedonians, the
later policies of decentralization, national self-determination and self-expression created two distinct and fixed communities by routinizing the distinctions
between Albanians and Macedonians. This was accompanied by a process of
continuos distancing between the two communities. Group differences grew increasingly pronounced and articulated after the declaration of independence in
1991. Those ethnic markers, boundaries, and identities became politicized and
radicalized under the banner of Macedonian and Albanian nationalisms.
With the establishment of the independent Republic of Macedonia in 1991,
both communities and their political representatives put forward competing images of the new state and nation(s). For the Macedonian politicians and general
public, the Macedonian nation was seen as the sole bearer of statehood, in their
homeland Macedonia, where Albanians were defined as a minority. On the other hand, the Albanian politicians and general public demanded that the Albanians in Macedonia acquire the status of a second nation in the state building
project. These images have influenced the relations between the two communities. The state of forbearance prevalent throughout the existence of Yugoslavia
seems to have worsened as the competition between Albanians and Macedonians over the right to define the state ethnically progressed during the 1990s. In
the political scene, nationalist parties from both sides made ever more radical
arguments in order to justify their concept of the nation-state, while the two
populations diverged even further in their everyday life. What was once peaceful co-existence, although in two separate worlds, was transformed into political competition and sometimes physical conflict. Eroding economic conditions
as a result of the nearby wars in former Yugoslav republics, together with the
collapse of the socialist Yugoslav economy, and the high unemployment rate in
188
Nevena Dimova
the country (officially about 35%) in the 1990s also intensified conflict between
Albanians and Macedonians over scarce economic resources.
The nation in post-socialist politics
After the fall of state socialism in Eastern Europe, multiparty politics became
the central arena where different groups began to utilize nationalist rhetoric and
practices as a way of reconstituting political legitimacies and seeking to retain
or obtain power, while undermining that of other political subjects. Verdery and
others have argued that there was a connection between post-socialist nationalist rhetoric and socialist structure of privilege (Verdery 1996, 1998; Sampson
2002). In Romania, she attests that extreme nationalist rhetoric was used by individuals or groups of people who were privileged under socialism and who, after the system crumbled, sought to retain power in the new political arena (Verdery 1996: 84104).
In the early 1990s such nationalist organizations and individuals began to
use internal arguments, i.e., anti-Semitic, anti-Gypsy, etc. rhetoric all over
Eastern Europe (the anti-Gypsy rhetoric was most prominent in Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the anti-Semitic discourse resurrected in Poland and Russia) to
blame painful transformations on the other within. Also, nationalist rhetoric was used to oppose the newly emerging discourse of marketization and reform used by competing political subjects (Verdery 1996, Hann 1996, Kligman
1990). In the multitude of political subjects, Verdery points out that the previously privileged groups may resort to nationalist rhetoric because there were no
other discursive fields left to them; their opponents have appropriated the discourse of return to Europe, leaving them with the defence of the nation as the
only means to retain power (Verdery 1996: 86). Such nationalist rhetoric was
often times also justified with external arguments by blaming the West, associated with the painful and unwanted reforms, for imposing its will on Eastern
Europe, and thus threatening the national economy and even the national sovereignty (Sampson 2002).
Besides the nationalist rhetoric of certain political parties directed against
the internal other or the external other or both, nationalist practices in postsocialism also included the formulation of the constitutions of the new states.
Hayden has argued that nationalist practices, such as the formulation of the new
constitutions of the former Yugoslav republics, were used to exclude large numbers of the population from citizenship rights and political protection, while
including members of the nation, understood in its ethnic connotation, living
in other states (Hayden 1992: 654). In nearly every former block country, the
189
premise of the new constitutions has been that the state sovereignty resides in the
majority ethno-nation, not in individual citizens (ibid.).
In Macedonian politics after 1991, the tactical use of the national card became the shortest road to retain or achieve power and to undermine the legitimacy of competing political organizations. In contrast to other East European
political dynamics after socialism, in Macedonia the national card was used not
only by previously privileged groups, but by all political subjects. The tactical
use of nationalist rhetoric and symbols was due, on the one hand, to competition for power over newly decentralized institutions, but, on the other, mostly
because it resonated well with the broader society. Unlike other East European
countries, where societal receptivity of nationalist rhetoric was due to affinities between the self of socialism and a psychic economy in which other national groups become symbols, used for explanation and blame (Verdery 1996:
101), in Macedonia it was primarily due to the social divide between Albanians
and Macedonians inherited from state socialism. The very structure of post-socialist parliamentary democracy radicalized that social divide and transformed
it into relations of uncertainty, suspicion, and blame of each other. By opening
space for a multitude of voices and demands, as well as providing those voices
with means to argue for their demands, parliamentary democracy facilitated the
politicization and further distancing of the relations between Macedonians and
Albanians. Using nationalist rhetoric, Albanian and Macedonian parties tapped
into and often times created (Brown 2000) larger cracks between the two communities in order to achieve power and to foster their competing images of the
nation(s) and the state. The post-socialist multiparty arena fortified the Albanian Macedonian relations of distrust and articulated them as an outright political
conflict, in which the identity of the nation(s) and the state became the subjects
of discord.
Macedonias first multi-party election in 1990 saw three main political forces
emerge, which continue to define the political landscape of the country (Poulton
1991, Burg 1996, Brown 2000). The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE),
styled as a nationalist party, won the single largest bloc of seats in the Assembly.
Lubo Georgievski, a 25-year-old literature student, was elected as the partys
president. What Georgievski offered was a revival of the Macedonian values of
the Ilinden uprising of 1903, which included the independent and sovereign Republic of Macedonia, a state for all Macedonians including even Macedonians
from neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria and northern Greece. Second in
line were the reform communists, who in 1992 changed their name to the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and elected Branko Crvenkovski
as the partys president (Poulton 1995). The party to a large extent inherited the
ideas and behaviours of the previous League of Communists.
190
Nevena Dimova
At the same time, this was the moment when Albanians in Macedonia also
had their chance for political visibility and eventual realization of their national
programme which, for some, meant even the creation of a state of their own.
Thus, the third largest bloc was comprised of two parties that shared the bulk
of the votes cast by ethnic Albanians, the Peoples Democratic Party (NDP) and
the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP). In the words of Teuta Arifi, a prominent Albanian intellectual and politician, the events of the early 1990s were a
serious turning point for the Albanians in Macedonia:
The last decade of the twentieth century is particularly important for
the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. For the first time they have
organized themselves into political parties and become an organized political and social subject. The rights of ethnic Albanians and their representation in all spheres of society is a priority for the Albanian political subject, particularly with a tendency to improve the bad score of the
representation of Albanians inherited from the former Yugoslav practice.
I believe that it is particularly important to consider the process of the
politics and the rhetoric of the Albanian political parties in the Republic
of Macedonia. Political beginnings in the Republic of Macedonia are not
characterized with political pluralism. Departing from a previous political tradition, within which Albanian political organization was considered as a severely punishable sin, the first established Albanian political
party PDP had more elements of a movement than characteristics of a political party. The first group of the Albanian members in the Macedonian
parliament was the leader of the first promotion of the ideas for equality
of the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia (Arifi 2001: 136).
Thus, from the beginnings of the establishment of independent Macedonia, the
Macedonian and the Albanian national aspirations entered the political scene
as opposing political consciousness and goals. While Macedonians enjoyed the
possibility to exercise freely their political will to create a Macedonian state for
the Macedonians (based on the principle of self-determination), defined exclusively in ethno-national terms, the Albanians expressed their political will to
determine their own place in the new pluralistic circumstances. The polarity
of the two national ideologies inherited from socialist Yugoslavia started to become an uneasy political competition. Another prominent Albanian intellectual
and politician, Ismet Ramadani, describes the atmosphere of the first parliamentary elections:
The election campaign, the promotion of the programme determinations and the election platforms of the political parties, accompanied by
great euphoria, at the same time meant big pleasure, fear, and insecurity
191
for them. Actually, if for one party its political platform was a pleasure
and perspective, then for the others, it was fear and insecurity. Such a
phenomenon was caused between the Macedonian and the Albanian political parties regarding the issues that concerned the inter-ethnic relations. It can be said that the Albanians for the first time spoke out loud
about some of their national problems in the election campaign, but, on
the other hand, the Macedonians heard for the first time certain Albanian problems that so far had been a taboo. In such a tense situation, with
matured and transparent inter-ethnic disagreements, the first pluralistic
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia was established (Ramadani
2001: 285).
In the 1990 elections four political parties won almost 90% of the parliamentary
seats: VMRO-DPMNE, the SDSM, the Albanian PDP, and the Reformists. Two
of these, VMRO-DPMNE and PDP, were typical national parties. They exploited the unstable inter-ethnic situation in the country to secure the largest numbers
of seats, a pattern, Barbarovski and Dauti (1998: 14) argue, that was followed by
the other parties. After VMRO-DPMNE proved unwilling and unable to work
with other parties, SDSM partnered with smaller Macedonian parties and the
PDP in autumn 1992 to form a coalition government. The political competition
between the Albanians and Macedonians was thereby based on ethno-national
understandings of the political space from both sides and even more so on the
view that sovereignty was seen as an ethnic, not as a civil category. The question for both groups had become: Who has the right to organize the state, i.e.,
to whom does the state belong?
In August 1991, the Referendum for the Independence of Macedonia illustrated the states severe ethnic divide. Only Macedonians participated in the
referendum, while Albanians boycotted it (Danforth 1995, Rossos 2007). The
question that the citizens of Macedonia had to answer was: Are you for an independent and sovereign state of Macedonia, with the right to enter the future
Union of Sovereign States of Yugoslavia? The opinion of most Macedonians is
summarized here in a statement from Macedonian journalist Katerina Blazeska:
Despite the strong criticism from the public directed towards the ambiguity of the second part of the question, the referendum was successful
and the Parliament brought about a declaration, which says that the citizens have their plebiscite confirmed, the statehood and the sovereignty
of the Republic of Macedonia, and expressed their will that it should be
constituted as an independent and sovereign state (Blazeska 2001: 121).
In this statement Blazeska envisions the citizens of Macedonia as ethnically defined. The image Blazeska creates confirms the concept of the nation-state: the
192
Nevena Dimova
state guarantees not the sovereignty of all its citizens, but of the majority population, ethnically defined.1 This, however was not the view of the Albanians. As
Ramadani, an Albanian intellectual, states:
we have to mention the Declaration for the Equal Status of the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia submitted by the parliamentary
group of the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP). This Declaration
was not accepted by the parliament, the government, or the president of
the state with the explanation that our requests were unreal. Albanian citizens responded to this by not responding to the Referendum for the Independence of the Republic of Macedonia. Also, the Albanian members
of parliament did not vote for the adoption of the first Constitution of independent Macedonia since their suggestions and amendments, such as
that the Albanian nationality should mean equal status for the Albanians
as citizens and as a nation, were not accepted. Proportionally, with the
adoption of certain decisions and actions the feeling of insecurity among
the citizens of all nationalities grew (Ramadani 2001: 286).
The Albanian demands, from the inception of the independent state as presented
by Ramadani, also included an image of Macedonia as a nation-state, the difference from the view of the Macedonians was that they saw it as a two-nation
state. Again, Albanians also did not argue for the organization of the new state
as a guarantor of the sovereignty of all citizens, but rather as a guarantor of the
Albanians seen as a separate group, a second nation, ethnically defined.
The Albanians, led by their PDP party, favoured Macedonian independence,
but in February of 1992 they also organized a referendum on Albanian cultural
and territorial autonomy in western Macedonia, which was popularly known as
Ilirida (Barbarovski, Dauti 1998: 12; Poulton 1995; Brown 2000; Biberaj 2000).
In the same way, Serbs organized similar referendums in Croatia and Bosnia.
Since then, Albanian political parties in Macedonia used this referendum as
a secessionist threat. Macedonians also used it to accuse Albanian parties of
separatism.
The main political events of the early 1990s, such as the Referendum for Independence and the adoption of the new Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia are especially revealing because they illustrate that the divide between the
two communities had become a political competition over the right to decide the
identity of the state, according to their own visions. On their side, Macedonian
political subjects and the Macedonian population declared with the Referendum
for Independence that they would achieve a sovereign territory, regardless of
the views of the other peoples living on the same territory. The Constitution of
1
See Hayden 1992: 65 for a discussion of similar process in other former Yugoslav republics.
193
1991, especially its Preamble, assigned the Macedonians the position of the sole
nation on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, residing with several minorities. It gave the Macedonian language the role of the official language of the
state, while the Macedonian Orthodox Church was the only one mentioned by
name, thus not treating all faiths equally, though giving them equal rights (Danforth 1995, Hayden 1992, 1996). Similarly, after achieving independence, the
governments of all republics of former Yugoslavia adopted constitutions which
did not guarantee sovereignty to all their citizens, but rather privileged the nation of the majority (Hayden 1992, 1996). Hayden has termed this phenomenon
constitutional nationalism (Hayden 1992). Furthermore, as Hayden has argued, the formation of a state for each of the nations of former Yugoslavia was
justified by the principle of self-determination: it is clear that the various
formerly Yugoslav republics are considered to be manifestations of the right to
self-determination meaning the right to form ones own state of the majority,
titular nation (narod), even when some expression is given to the equality of the
minorities (Hayden 1996: 791).
For the Albanians the independence of Macedonia was a desirable event,
but not without guarantees that they would be treated equally. The Constitution,
however, became completely unacceptable for the Albanian political subjects
since the Albanian political aspirations had already gone beyond the legislative
definition of a minority. In relation to their demands to be constituted as a nation in the Macedonian Constitution, Albanian politicians argued that Albanian
should be given the status of an official language in the Republic of Macedonia, Albanian national symbols should be publicly displayed on Albanian holidays, and the question of the Albanian language higher education, specifically
the status of the University in Tetovo, should be resolved. The issues of education in Albanian, Albanian textbooks, and different cultural programmes have
become the symbols of Albanian resistance (Kostovicova 2001). As Rozita Dimova has also argued, education in Albanian has been, and still is, an important
field of social struggle (Dimova R. 2006: 305f.) and a major pillar of Albanian
nationalism.
The second parliamentary elections of 1994 resulted in the victory of the
Alliance for Macedonia, a coalition between the left-oriented parties SDSM,
the Liberal Party, and the Socialist Party. VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic
Party pulled out from the second round, accusing the government of securing
victory through manipulation and irregularities. Due to sharp differences between SDSM and the Liberal Party, the left coalition fell apart. However, SDSM
invited the Albanian PDP to join the government and this coalition survived its
second full term.
The main critic of the Albanian PDP was the other Albanian party the
Democratic Party of the Albanians (DPA), which regularly accused the govern-
194
Nevena Dimova
ing coalition of sharing the ideals of the Macedonian Social Democrats from
their socialist past (Brown 2000). The newly formed DPA, with Arben Xhaferi
as its head, presented themselves to the Albanian public as the antipode of the
communist nomenclature of the PDP party which, according to the DPA, functioned as a corrupt attachment of the SDSM and worked against the interests of
the Albanians in Macedonia (Blazeska 2001: 125). The split of the DPA from
the PDP signalled that the growing inter-ethnic tensions were causing the dissolution of the Albanian political bloc itself. One of the reasons for that was the issue of higher education of Albanians in Macedonia, who not being able to solve
this issue institutionally, established their own university in the Tetovo village
of Mala Reica (Biberaj 2000). Although the coalition partner PDP supported
this initiative, the state sanctions against this stillborn para-university, as they
called it, escalated to the severe intervention of the police, during which one
Albanian was killed (Biberaj 2000, Brown 2000). The unfulfilled expectations
of the Albanians regarding the realization of their perceived rights gave Arben
Xhaferi the impetus and legitimation to form the DPA as a party which, according to him, would offer faster and more radical changes in the situation of the
Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. According to what he told me in an
interview in 2000, the goals of the PDP and the DPA had always been similar,
the difference lying in the pace of change and in the methods of action that the
DPA was willing to initiate.
Several incidents, such as police action against a juvenile cigarette smuggler,
the killing of three Albanians in the Old Bazaar in Skopje, and the imprisonment of the mayors of the predominantly Albanian towns Tetovo and Gostivar
(Vickers, Pettifer 1997: 176), brought tensions very close to an ethnic conflict
of great dimensions. After these incidents, in the words of Sami Ibraimi, an intellectual and member of the DPA: The feeling of insecurity among the citizens was present everywhere, and the Albanian citizens lost their faith in the
state institutions when similar events happened (Ibrahimi 2001: 182). The DPA
openly called for the resignation of the PDP from the coalition government on
the basis that they could not guarantee the security and normal life of the Albanian citizens of the Republic of Macedonia. At the same time, the Macedonian
opposition during this period, the VMRO-DPMNE, which still propagated nationalist ideals for the defence of the Macedonian state, nation, and language,
became extremely discontent with the governing SDSM party, because of the
concessions it made to the Albanians. The discontent escalated with the adoption of the draft-law for the languages in which instruction was to be performed
at the Faculty of Pedagogy in Sts.Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.
Most controversial was the inclusion of Albanian as a language of instruction.
The students from the University in Skopje, led by the oppositional VMRO-DPMNE, initiated mass anti-Albanian protests in Skopje and in all major cities in
195
the country. The protests in Skopje culminated in a few days hunger strike and
picketing with nationalist slogans against the greedy Albanians and the government of traitors.
By the end of 1997, inter-ethnic incidents and governmental decisions on
ethnic issues, together with corruption and slow economic changes, became the
causes for general dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition between the Macedonian SDSM and the Albanian PDP. Specifically, the treatment of the inter-ethnic situation in the country by the ruling government was used by the opposition
parties of both Albanians and Macedonians to criticize and ask for resignation
of their respective parties in the government. The inter-ethnic card became the
most effective weapon of Macedonian and Albanian opposition parties against
their respective opponents in power. The question of the inter-ethnic relations in
the country, well manipulated by the political parties, became a potent tool for
gaining or losing power.
In the 1998 elections, the Social Democrats of President Kiro Gligorov were
soundly defeated in the parliamentary elections by the right-wing nationalist
VMRO-DPMNE (Rossos 2007: 276). As under the Social Democrats, the new
government was to be a coalition, this time including also the more radical nationalist Albanian party, the DPA. Political parties, whose demonstrations revealed slogans of the type: Gas chambers for the Shiptars! (derogative term
for Albanians) and Albanian, and only Albanian will be spoken had become,
it seemed, political partners with statements underlining understanding and stability (Arifi 2001: 137). The main issues in the 1998 elections were stability,
independence, and the preservation of Macedonias territorial integrity, both
according to the political leaders and to the voters. In a view shared by Macedonias political parties, independent intellectuals, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations, the core for the countrys stability were
the inter-ethnic relations, especially the delicate balance in the political representation of Macedonians and Albanians (Barbarovski, Dauti 1998: 15). However, as seen by the results of the 1998 elections, the rhetoric of understanding, stability, and better inter-ethnic relations in practice meant opting for the
two more nationalist parties VMRO-DPMNE and DPA for voters from both
sides. Actually, instead of choosing milder political representatives, Albanian
and Macedonian electorates saw the two nationalist parties as better guarantors
of each ethnic groups position. Stability, independence, and territorial integrity
were once more seen in ethnic terms.
By the year 2000, when the new president, Boris Trajkovski, the VMRO-DPMNE candidate, was appointed after three very difficult rounds of elections, the
politicians from both sides had become radical in their uncompromising views
of the state and its structure. The most painful questions became those of the
territorial integrity of the Macedonian state and the relations between Albanians
196
Nevena Dimova
and Macedonians in the country. The Macedonian public and politicians feared
that the Albanians wanted to federalize the state, because they argued for parallel institutions and structures in education, local government, and state symbols
(Brown 2000). In their opinion, Albanians were a minority, as defined in the
constitution, and they should have certain rights as such. A discussion or compromise about the constitution was not a possibility in their opinion. The fear of
civil war had already penetrated the Macedonian political rhetoric.
By the year 2000,the Albanian public and politicians had adopted the position that they had nothing to loose and so therefore they would fight for their
concept for a dual nation-state with all means available. From their perspective,
the integrity of the state could be preserved only if Albanians were defined and
treated equally as a second nation in Macedonia, their language constituted as
official, and their rights to separate educational, cultural, and religious symbols
not curtailed (Perry 2000). What had started as two opposing national ideals
in the making in the early 1990s, had by the year 2000 hardened into two very
concrete, definite, and completely opposed views of how the state of Macedonia
and its relation to the citizens should be defined.
As a result, in 2001 the country experienced events described as civil war,
when tensions amounted to armed clashes between Albanian paramilitary groups
and the Macedonian security forces. Dissatisfied with the slowness of the political progression toward achieving concessions for the Albanians, radical Albanian elements, connected to the Liberation Army of Kosovo (UK) attempted
to occupy parts of western Macedonia and claim them as an autonomous part
of the state. This civil war, as the clashes were described by many observers,
was ended by the signing of the Ohrid Agreement by four major ethnic Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties in the country. This agreement was to extend the rights and powers of the Albanians and amend the new constitution so
that the Albanian minority could exercise their collective voice in state matters
(Brunnbauer 2004:565). Although since then the country has experienced relative peace, the Agreement has been perceived as unacceptable by representatives
of both communities. It is seen by the Macedonians as giving too many and disproportional rights to only one of the populations in the country. Unhappy with
the international intervention through which the Agreement was reached, the
Macedonians see it as the de facto partitioning of the country.
The execution of the Agreement was left with the coalition government of
the Macedonian SDSM and the Albanian DUI, which came to power in 2002.
However, to the Albanians not much has been done towards putting the Agreement into practice. The level of representation of Albanians in state administration has increased significantly, the Albanian-language university in Tetovo received official recognition in 2004, the Territorial Organization Act of the same
year increased the number of districts in which Albanians comprise more than
197
20% of the population, and thus Albanian became the second official language
in these districts. However, this was not seen as sufficient for the Albanians and
their political representatives. With the unilateral declaration of Kosovos independence on 17 February 2008, VMRO-DPMNEs Albanian partner in the governing coalition DPA seized the opportunity by leaving parliament on 13 March
and claiming that many of the Agreements treaties had not been fulfilled. The
DPA asked for the immediate recognition of independent Kosovo by the Macedonian parliament, but also for a wider integration of Albanians into public office, for the recognition of Albanian as the second language in Macedonia, and
for further concessions on the use of the Albanian flag in municipalities with a
largely Albanian population. Also, the list of demands handed to the VMRODPMNEs leader and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski included social benefits
for ethnic Albanians who fought in the 2001 insurgency and closure of cases
against former Albanian guerillas who fought Macedonian security forces in the
same insurgency. Tensions boiled to a political crisis when after Greeces blockage Macedonia did not receive an invitation to join NATO at the Alliances summit in Bucharest in April 2008. To counter a further deepening of the crisis, the
parliament dissolved itself in expectation of new parliamentary elections. The
ever more radical demands put forward by the Albanian political parties, together with the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo and the delay in the
accession to NATO add, in my opinion, to a very uncertain future for Macedonia and the populations living in its territory. It is my contention that, although
with the constitutional changes following the Ohrid Agreement the multiethnic
character of Macedonia was affirmed, the very intentions and practices of nonmixing between Macedonians and Albanians have determined their political behaviour and public discourse. While throughout the past 17 years of multiparty
democracy, Albanians and Macedonians have entered into fragile political coalitions, the ever more radical parties coming to power, especially on the Albanian
side, have signified the will of voters and politicians to pursue ethnically defined
political spaces. In political rhetoric, this process has been mirrored by the projection of competing images in nationalist debates. Albanian and Macedonian
political and intellectual elites have utilized the global discourse of multi-ethnicity, civility, and dialogue not as a way to overrun discontent, but to advance
their nationalist visions of the Macedonian state.
Civil society and multi-ethnicity in public debates
The rhetorical usage of concepts such as civil society, multi-ethnicity or
Europe became a major discursive tool in Eastern European politics after the
fall of socialism. Sampson observes that irrespectively of the fact whether pro
198
Nevena Dimova
or anti-European forces took the political upper hand, all political subjects felt
obliged to take some kind of a marked position on the questions of European integration, the development of civil society, and multi-ethnicity in post-socialist
politics (Sampson 2002). Thus, Europe became a grand symbol and civil society, multi-ethnicity, and democracy sub-categories around which political intention and even national identity were declared and defined. In this manner civil society, Europe, and multi-ethnicity could be seen and analysed
more as a political discourse than as a societal organization. Throughout Eastern Europe, opposition parties monopolized the rhetoric of the market economy
and reform seen as parts of the larger symbol of Europe, which they claimed
to represent in the new political space. Older apparatchiks, on the other hand,
were left with the defence of the nation, since opposition to undesired and painful market reforms appeared as the defence of national values.
This, as Verdery (1996) and Sampson (2002) have argued, was all part of
the larger process of reconstituting political legitimacies, of seeking to construct
moral authority for ones own party and undermine that of others. However, the
appearance and utilization of the anticommunist rhetoric of marketization, reform, and return to Europe did not mean unlimited support after the fall of
socialism. Verdery argues that in Romania political space limits what intellectuals and politicians from the opposition can do with symbols like civil society
and Europe and they are compelled to address the national idea despite their
aim of constructing a new political object democratic society of European
form (Verdery 1996: 105).
The rhetorical usage of the concepts of civil society, multi-ethnicity, and Europe, which in many East European countries had become the domain of the
opposition parties (Hann 1996, Sampson 1996), in Macedonia became the language through which all political subjects put forward their claims. Irrespectively of left, right or central political orientation, Albanian and Macedonian
parties (almost exclusively organized on ethnic principles) utilized the ideas and
symbols of multi-ethnicity, Europe, and civil society to further their nationalist
claims and to undermine those of their opponents (Dimova, N. 2004). In that
sense, politicians saw themselves not as partisans of civil society and Europe,
as politicians in Poland or Hungary had claimed to be, but rather used this rhetoric to argue for nationalist ideas. In Macedonian political rhetoric, Europe
was used by Macedonian political parties and individuals as a symbol of order,
as a long tradition of legislative and state practices which have regulated the relations among the populations living in European countries (as majorities and
minorities) through state documents, such as the constitutions. To the contrary,
Albanian political subjects and parties counter used the rhetoric of Europe to
present it as a symbol of the kind of democracy they wanted to see in Macedo-
199
nia: multi-ethnicity, where Albanians would not be defined as a minority, but as

a constitutive nation.
The categories of civil society, democracy, multi-ethnicity, and tolerance, which were imported to Macedonia with the establishment of independence, became the discursive tools through which some Albanian and Macedonian intellectuals could effectively attack the other groups national aspirations and
make a convincing case for their own national visions. Furthermore, the concepts of pluralism, democracy, and civil society are used by some Macedonian intellectuals to covertly argue for the assimilation of the Albanian community into the Macedonian national and state projects. On the other side, some
Albanian intellectuals utilize concepts such as minority or human rights to claim
a separate nationhood and argue either for equal participation in a shared state
project, or for the development of separate national and state projects.
A case in point is a round table discussion among the presidential candidates
in Macedonia in 1999. It illustrates the level of divisions and political strategizing based on ideas of multi-ethnicity, civility, and images of Europe as a point
of reference and legitimacy. This discussion was held on the 29 October 1999,
on the private TV channel A1, with Tito Petkovski, candidate from the SDSM,
Nejepi from the DPA, Nezvat Halili from the PDP, Boris Trajkovski from the
VMRO, and Stojan Andov from the Liberal Party. The journalist asked all candidates to comment on the state of inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia. This is
how the discussion went:
Petkovski: Macedonia has a resolution, the constitution is the best resolution, which guarantees all European standards for the minorities. The
constitution must not be changed. Not like the PDPA who do not want
Macedonian hymns and flags, they are not real Macedonians. We have to
have a future for all, (turning to the Albanian representatives) I want you
to want Macedonia like I do. The cultural and educational rights should
not be changed, we already have them, no great Albania, no asking for
the territorial integrity of Macedonia. Albanian leaders want to live as if
it was 200 years ago.
Nejepi: We showed so far that the DPA is responsible for the peace in
Macedonia and the region (the Kosovo crisis). The DPA has no other demands. Is Macedonia independent, in relation to Yugoslavia? Albanian
hymns, Albanian flags we use is not asking the integrity of the state. Albanians will be loyal to the state as far as the state is loyal to them.
Halili: Nationality (nacionalnost) is a made-up hybrid category, but we
have historical presence in this territory, historical past, in 1878 there
was the Macedonian-Albanian league, the Krushevo Republic of 1903,
we were equal to the Macedonian people then, therefore we should be
200
Nevena Dimova
treated as equal people now. As far as higher education is concerned it

should be for everybody. 100% of Albanians were in the Ss. Cyril and
Methodius University, in Macedonian, in Bitola also both universities
are ethnic Macedonian universities. In Tetovo, why should there not be
an ethnic university there?
Trajkovski: Macedonia is a unitary state, local government, civil democracy, sovereignty of the citizen. In the constitution it says that Macedonia
is a unitary state, we have to have a positive attitude.
Andov: As far as the nationalities are concerned, we cant federalize the
country, country of two peoples leads to separatism, we cant do that.
We have to go to the strengthening of minority rights, but not change the
constitution.
Petkovski: We are members of the UN and we are in good relations with
Albania, we did that.
Nejepi: Albania for us is small, we want a big Europe, to be part of civilized Europe. Albanians will have the right of political representation.
Andov: We have to decide all ethnic questions in a civilized way, like in
Europe, with conventions. The European way is with conventions. We
have to do it with the Albanians non-intervention in other countrys internal affairs in relation to ethnic questions. You want an Albanian flag
for all Albanians, the Albanian flag is for Albanians in Albania, in Macedonia, on the other hand, this raises territorial questions. Europe is surprised that we allowed Albanian flags, at what we are doing. They are
symbols of another state, this is part of the dream of big Albania, nothing
else. Your platform is for a change of the constitution. (to Nejepi) lets
say farewell to these dreams, because they brought blood to the Balkans.
We have to respect and leave the constitution alone.
Halili: In Macedonia it is proven that the constitution is not a good
enough frame for ethnic equality, that does not mean great states. All
citizens should be equal in Macedonia, there should be decentralization
as a basis for religious and cultural rights, the break-up of the country is
not the goal.
Andov: Bosnia and Herzegovina did not expect what wouldl happen with
territorial change, neighbours killed each other. The world after the Second World War has decided how to resolve the ethnic questions. It will
be bad to ask ethnic questions, it leads to Bosnia.
Petkovski: Why am I so sceptical towards the Albanians? I am not sceptical, but transparent. A two-nation constitution means that all other minorities besides the Albanians will be threatened.
Nejepi: We always ask for the Macedonian identity when the split up
with Serbia is in question. Multi-ethnic state it is a reality in Europe
201
already, in the correct way, the results of such a model can be seen in
Europe. Higher education, languages, in Europe have been resolved for
500 years.
Petkovski: The Macedonian national flag, the hymn, all the citizens must
respect them. The Tetovo University is bending the Law for Higher Education. In the world, nobody knows of an ethnically based university.
In the commonly expressed desire of all political parties to join NATO and the
European Union, references to these structures are often made in political discourse. What happens, however, is that the imported ideas from Western Europe, such as civil society, civil rights, minority or individual rights, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic state acquire various, and often times opposing meanings
when used by political opponents. Thus, in the discussion transcribed above,
Andov argues for a European model of inter-ethnic relations, where these relations are defined according to international conventions. Nejepi, on the other
hand, also uses Europe as a model for multi-ethnic societies, where the education and language of the different ethnicities have had equal status for hundreds
of years. Thus, Andov using the rhetoric for Europe, promotes his convictions
that there are majorities and minorities in the European states and that their status is well defined in different legislative documents. Quite to the contrary, using the same popular rhetoric about Europe, Nejepi argues for his belief that
Albanians in Macedonia should be the second nation in the state. According to
him, Europe stands also for legislative organization of relations between different ethnic populations, but the populations in the country are defined as equal
groups sharing power in state decisions. For both Andov and Nejepi, Europe is
a point of reference, a symbol of legitimation, strategically utilized to support
their opposing claims. In this way, the popular discourse of multi-ethnicity, civil
society, and Europe is used to further the competing nationalist claims of both
Albanians and Macedonians, quite the opposite to what such concepts were intended to bring about. Furthermore, instead of offering an alternative to conflictive distinctions, the strategic utilization of the discourse of civil society and
Europe in fact reproduces and strengthens already existing differences.
Before 1989, but especially after the fall of communist regimes throughout
East Central Europe, discourses of democracy, human rights, and civil society
played a major role in imagining communities. Utilized by local as well as international actors, these imaginings have several features in common. The most
important is that the new (and also older) political and cultural communities create a positive image of Europe (representing democracy, freedom, and market
economy) and relate their own communities with this image. As anthropologists
of Eastern Europe have argued (Baki-Hayden, Hayden 1992, Hayden 1996),
this image of Europe serves several, primarily politically motivated goals: to
202
Nevena Dimova
distinguish ones community from a backward other (Russia, in the case of

Central European intellectuals, and the ones to the East and South of oneself in
the cases from former Yugoslavia) and by creating a positive image of oneself,
to claim a rightful desire to join Western Europe. The discourses of democracy
and civil society are used to solicit eventual economic support from Europe or
a support of liberation movements. However, most dramatically, such images
of East vs. West and democracy vs. backwardness, have served to justify separation for the Yugoslav Republics (Baki-Hayden, Hayden 1992; Hayden 1996),
which has led to bloody wars. Simultaneously, the images of democracy, human
rights, and civil society are reified quite uncritically by the international actors.
Such discourses have led to many times incoherent and ill-informed politics towards East European countries while, at the same time, perpetuating a congratulatory self-image of Western Europe. In Macedonian public debate, images of
Europe are also used to justify political action, however not as a justification
to join Europe but as a symbol of civilization to exclude the other from ones
civilized self. The concepts of pluralism, civility, democracy, and development are employed in social commentaries and in the interviews I have
had with Albanian and Macedonian elites to make modernization and civilization arguments as a tool to present the other in negative terms and thus undermine their capacity to organize as a nation and make sound state decisions.
The Albanian as barbarian, the Macedonian as modern
One of the major features of the new national discourse after 1991 has been the
mutual negative stereotyping between Albanian and Macedonian political and
intellectual elites. While during the socialist era negative slurs and images of
other ethnic groups could not be publicly manifested, in the post-socialist public space negative stereotyping became a rather common tool for degrading the
others body, aspirations, and essence. Because of the obvious need for legitimation of such negative images, not only to ones own ethnic public, but also to
international audiences, Macedonian elites used the discourse of modernity
and civilization to undermine the essence behind all Albanian aspirations
their claim to a nationhood. As Baki-Hayden and Hayden have argued, such
negative stereotyping is utilized in the Balkans to symbolically create a positive
image of oneself and practically exclude others from that image (Baki-Hayden
1995, Hayden 1996).
The several Macedonian intellectuals I spoke with in 1999 and 2000 took
a favourable position towards the way in which Macedonians have handled the
process of co-existence with the Albanian population and the ways they dealt
with the post-1991 situation of increased ethnic tensions in the country. One of
203
the main editors of the weekly Forum pointed out that the changed social conditions after 1991 found Macedonians in a state of distress, because of the falling apart of their state. In a paper published by the Center for Strategic Research
and Documentation, the same person continued with the excusatory tone in analysing the history of Tetovo University he argued that the Macedonian side,
represented in this conflict by the Macedonian government and institutions, did
their best to accommodate the needs for education of the Albanian population.
He quoted the different measures the government had taken to secure secondary education for minority females and saw the failure of these measures in the
fact that at the beginning of a new South-East European epoch democracy
ethnic Albanians in Macedonia were caught between their low level of secondary and tertiary education enrollment, and a need to develop a modern, educated community in a democratic and market oriented society. In his opinion,
the Macedonian state had taken all the necessary steps to stimulate education
among Albanian females, but, because of the traditional or religious factors,
ethnic Albanian parents consider that primary education is sufficient for female
children.2
Furthermore, in his treatment of the establishment of the Albanian language
University in Tetovo (a major issue of discord between the two communities), the
same informant again favoured the Macedonian public with the explanation that
the ethnic Macedonian part of the general public was politically disgusted, taking this [the establishment of the Tetovo University] as further proof of the secessionist intentions among the Albanian minority in the country, which was to
start with the establishment of a parallel state system. Equally, in his analysis
of another point of discord between the two communities, the Preamble of the
Macedonian Constitution, he supported the 1991 formulation of the state as a
national state of the Macedonian people, in which full equality as citizens and
permanent co-existence with the Macedonian people is provided for Albanians,
Turks, Vlachs, Romas, etc with the obvious need to secure ethnic-Macedonian statehood perspectives in the complicated domestic and regional political and
security circumstances.
He added, as a reason for these changes, a clear sense of fear among the
Macedonians that, if given a status of constitutive people, Albanians would
have asked for federalization of the state as a first step to secession from Macedonia and their accession to the concept of Great Albania. He described Serbs
and Albanians as the most confused nations in the Balkans which, in the case of
the Albanians, he attributed to the falling apart of the traditional Albanian society. In this treatment of the issues that divide the two communities, what came
2
See Said 1978, Chatarjee 1989, Zarkov 1995 for a detailed analysis on the connection between orientalising discourses and gender.
204
Nevena Dimova
across was the seemingly objective tone of the author, who explained why things
happened the way they did, but words, such as distress, a need to secure,
and fear show that the author sees the reactions of the Macedonian public as
a natural response to a wrongdoing from the other side. Furthermore, the image of the Macedonians as threatened exposes the vulnerable side of that community, which is intended to evoke compassion from the audience. Even in such
a state of vulnerability, the Macedonian community, and, by extension, its political decisions, are portrayed as accommodating and tolerant. In that way, the
author portrays the Macedonians as victims, which equals innocence.3
At the same time, Albanians are seen as uneducated, traditional, religious,
and, by extension, primitive and backward. In this rhetoric of democracy and
development, the Macedonians are placed at the far end on the line of development as reasonable state and law makers, highly modern and developed, able to
soundly run a state. The Albanians, on the other hand, are situated at the opposing end, where religion and tradition, viewed as backward, prevent them from
exercising reasonable political decisions. Along the line of progress, Albanians
need to develop and become part of the modern world, where Macedonians already live and function. Thus, in this discourse Albanian claims to state affairs
are diminished, because the Albanian community and therefore their leaders do
not have the necessary modern skills to participate in the organization of the
state.
The descriptions of Albanians by Macedonian elites ranged from moderate
compassion to outright demonization. Demographic arguments were quite popular among Macedonian intellectuals and the general Macedonian public as a way
to portray Albanians as backward. These arguments were used as further proof
that Albanians are primitive and breed like rabbits (i.e., implying that they
are more like animals than humans), and quite freely selected numbers about Albanian natural growth are often quoted. Albanians are also seen by some Macedonian elites and generally by Macedonians as cowards, they talk big, but act
small, they will never have the nerve to tell you in the face what they think,
but they will, after you turn your back against them. Such orientalising statements imply that Albanians are not real men (Zarkov 1995, Chaterjjee 1989).
The demonization of Albanians goes much further. I was warned by a university
professor in Skopje to be careful while driving to Tetovo (a predominantly Albanian city 20miles west of Skopje), because the shiptari (a derogatory term for
Albanians) are such bad drivers that they will splash me on the road.
On several occasions, when the subject of the Albanians was first discussed,
Macedonian elites were careful enough to say either something neutral or find
3
See Benny Morris 1999 for a discussion of depictions of self-assertion by Israelis and
Palestinians.
205
a way not to answer the question directly. In following conversations, however, the same people did share their true feelings on the Albanians. At first, one
Macedonian intellectual, when I asked him about his opinion of the Albanians,
told me together we were partisans (reminiscent of the brotherhood and unity rhetoric) as a way of avoiding this discussion by saying something positive.
Further in the conversation, however, he volunteered to explain to me that there
are elements amongst them. He clarified that by saying that in his opinion
54% of Albanians are drug users and extremely closed natured. Then he went
on to tell me that he sees a problem with the Albanian family, because it is patriarchal, clan oriented, and men usually go to the West to earn money, while
the women stay at home and have no life. In his opinion, the young Albanians
are more connected to their business than to their family, which he found to be
a positive trend. This intellectual concluded his explanation by saying: I think,
ethnically, time goes against them.
However, the most straightforward description of the evil and cunning
Albanian I got from one of the best known public figures in Macedonia, an active participant in the political and intellectual life in the country. In his words,
Albanians have a dualistic nature they say one thing and at the same time
they give their support for the other Albanians [i.e., the more nationally radical]. Albanians constantly express rhetorical solidarity for their brothers. But
this is only a rhetorical threat. This is all double coding on the one hand, they
are national romantics, on the other, they belong to a tribal organization. In Kosovo, for example, pluralism means conspiracy, collective voting Otherwise,
they are divided amongst themselves, as well. There are the old settlers and the
newcomers in Macedonia. Also, in Kosovo they are divided In 1981 they
were 21.7% and in 1994 22.9% of Albanians in Macedonia, well? For them
Macedonia is the best. This intellectuals statements summarize in essence the
attitudes of the majority of Macedonian elites and the opinion of the general public towards the Albanians. Albanians are seen as untrustworthy, conspirative,
secretive, they say one thing and then go and do the opposite. The above statements target Albanians not only at the level of the nation, but at familial and
personal levels. Accusations of a dualistic nature, cowardliness, and drug use,
are used to attack the individual, the body of the Albanian and depict it as polluted, morally and physically.
The physical degeneration is transferred to the familial relations of the Albanians as well. Relations between men and women are portrayed as classically
patriarchal, men only work away from home, women stay at home and have no
life. In this picture the family is a symbol of backwardness, of something that
holds progress and development back. Tribal and clan oriented are images
invoked to signify social organization of pre-modern societies. Thus, the claim
to nationhood is denied to Albanians on the basis of a civilizational discourse,
206
Nevena Dimova
according to which the personal and social structure of the Albanians are allocated to pre-national times. Even in the cases when Albanians act as a nation,
such as the elections in Kosovo, they fail to perform as such, because of their inability to internalize contemporary concepts, such as civic. A strong argument
of Macedonian elites against the Albanian claim to nationhood is that, according
to them, culturally, socially, and economically Albanians are divided. Again,
this argument is used to attest that Albanians do not belong to one homogeneous
group, and therefore do not comprise one nation. Thus, portraying Albanians at
the bodily, familial, and social level Macedonian intellectuals attack the ability
of Albanians to organize, act as, and represent a nation.
The Macedonian as oppressor, the Albanian as victim
For their part, Albanian elites also see the Macedonian population in negative
terms. The images created of the Macedonian population are of intentional aggression and conscious ill-doing against the Albanian population. A director of
an NGO for female, ecological, and political strengthening of the Albanian population, told me that at the central coffee shop in Skopje, where everybody goes
to socialize, the waiters do not serve people from Kosovo, and asked rhetorically, how then can the problems be solved? This alleged intentional ill-treatment can be seen in the words of the media relations director in a major NGO
who, explaining the relations between Albanians and the Serbian state before
1991, stated that the Serb propaganda that the Albanians in Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo are different nations, was readily taken up by the Macedonians
after 1991, so that Albanians should not have aspirations to unite. He said that
this was done, because if the Macedonian government sees the Albanians as
one nation, then the borders between Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia become
problematic. This logic of territorial ethnic states has been put forward by other populations in former Yugoslavia (Hayden 1992, 1999; Borneman 1992). The
same person also told me that in the 1960s Rankovic4 coined the term suspicious citizens for the Albanians in Yugoslavia, and that Macedonians were assigned the role of guardians against Albanian nationalist aspirations. Albanians are always seen as suspicious in Macedonian policies and in need of being
controlled: before they called us anti-communists, now they call us disloyal.
He went even further, telling me I am not a Macedonian, sometimes I identi4
Aleksandar Rankovi was one of the leading Yugoslav communists of Serbian origin. After
the Second World War he held high political positions, such as Vice-President of the Government of Yugoslavia and Minister of Interior (until 1953), and afterwards Vice-President
of Yugoslavia. In 1966 he was accused of abusing his position in the state security service,
was deprived of his offices and expelled from the Yugoslav Communist Party.
207
fy more with the Macedonian state, but others, more with the Albanian. Well,
I guess, we belong more towards one civilization (Albanian), but live with the
problems of the Macedonian state. The ex-speaker for one of the Albanian parties saw the ill-intended behaviour of the Macedonian population towards the
Albanian as a feeling of identity crisis of Macedonism.
In these images, Macedonians are portrayed as aggressors who attack and
violate Albanian rights (discriminate against Albanians in public places) as a
group. Moreover, it is Macedonian policies which discriminate against the Albanian population most, i.e., an organized effort by the Macedonian government. In Albanian discourse, Macedonian policies are often seen as an extension
of Serbian policies, thus denying Macedonians independent political decision
making. Furthermore, Albanian rhetoric challenges the motives and practices
of Macedonian politicking, thus questioning the establishment and organization
of the Macedonian state. In contrast to Macedonian intellectuals and the general Macedonian public, Albanian elites do not see the state as something given,
but rather as an institution to which one can choose to be loyal to or not. Simultaneously, and like the Macedonians, Albanians portray themselves as victims.
They see themselves as being oppressed by Macedonian state structures and policies as a present day extension of Serb policies. This logic is used to justify the
above-stated position that if the state is suspicious of that Albanian, he does
not feel a part of the state. Besides questioning the practices of the Macedonian policies, Albanian elites challenge what Macedonians hold as an irrefutable
fact, their national unity, based on an alleged shared feeling of Macedonism. In
that way, denouncing the nation of the Macedonians, the Albanian intellectuals denounce the Macedonians status as state makers. Again, the state is what
is under question.
Albanian intellectuals most often see the Albanian community as the victims (Biberaj 2000). Uniformly, Albanian intellectuals described their life under
socialist Yugoslavia as repressed, humiliating, and difficult. All of them mentioned that the times of the interior minister of Yugoslavia, Rankovic, brought
them to the edge of their patience. One Albanian intellectual described how
Macedonians treat Albanians: Albanians get less and less schooling, the idea
is that they should not have intellectuals. They (the Macedonians) call them
shipteri, fundamentalists, men are seen as the most uneducated, women as
the most unattractive. But Albanians are very successful abroad, well, there are
also Albanian losers. Portraying themselves as victims has a long history within the Albanian community, both in Kosovo and Macedonia. In fact, such images hold a strong potential for compassion from the international community and
were lavishly used before and during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.
The common perception among Macedonians that Albanians are divided
amongst themselves by religion, old settlers/newcomers, regionally, and educa-
208
Nevena Dimova
tionally is not shared by Albanian intellectuals. Without exceptions, in different

publications, media statements and interviews with me, Albanian intellectuals
said that Albanian political parties have identical platforms, just their methods,
the speed for action may differ. Otherwise, according to all those interviewed
there are no cultural or regional differences among Albanians. The fact that
Macedonian public figures insist on the internal divisions amongst the Albanian
population, while Albanians were even surprised at such a question, again shows
that each community creates images of inclusion, as a nation, while simultaneously excluding, and even denying the other such possibilities. In the debates
about who can claim to be a nation and therefore claim rights to state affairs,
negative stereotypes are used as political manoeuvring (Baki-Hayden 1995,
Hayden 1996). As one Albanian journalist put it: Each community speaks only
to itself. The Macedonian public figures rely only on the Slav Macedonian audience, and so do the Albanian. The complete lack of interest and knowledge of
the other can be seen in this one to one ethnic communication which results in
a completely closed circle, creating stereotypes and images out of proportion.
Facing a problem common to ethnic groups whose members have been perceived as backward, but desperately wanting to be presented as modern
some Albanian intellectuals were critical of trends within the Albanian community in Macedonia. Yet, they blamed Macedonian policies for these features,
for example religion, as a defence mechanism. They used the same language as
Macedonian intellectuals, but portrayed themselves as the victims of Macedonian political decisions. According to some Albanian intellectuals, Islam has
become such a fundamental feature of Albanian life in Macedonia because of
Macedonian politics: the ex-President Gligorov focussed his treatment of Albanians on their religious side, which gave us even more impetus to become religious. One intellectual told me that Kiro Gligorov5 sponsored the so-called
Gligorov families Islamicized (referring to state policies in the late 1970s
to create organizations promoting Macedonian Muslim families). At the same
time, another Albanian intellectual told me: Albanian Islam is not so fundamentalist, as the Arabic Islam, but still prevents Albanians from developing.
Criticizing Islam is one of the discursive mechanisms of some Albanian intellectuals for presenting an image of themselves as modern and progressive.
Another common characteristic that Albanian intellectuals seem to share in
their analysis of the Albanian community is an argument again situated within
the discourse of development and modernity: a favourable economic comparison
5
Kiro Gligorov was a member of the Presidency of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and President of the Parliament of SFRY in the 1970s. In 1991 Gligorov became the first
president of the independent Republic of Macedonia and served two terms in this function
until 1999.
209
between Macedonians and Albanians. In several interviews Albanian intellectuals mentioned that Albanians work abroad and make much more money than
the Macedonians. They work abroad and invest money in Macedonia. Since
Albanians are better businessmen than Macedonians, they have firms and private companies. As a response to public Macedonian accusations that Albanians are primitive and backward, Albanian elites present an image of economic
prosperity as a sign of high development and sophistication. Within the rhetoric
of development and the post-socialist stress on market economy, Albanian intellectuals counterpose a negative image of backwardness by presenting a positive
image of themselves as mobile, cosmopolitan (working abroad), loyal to their
state (investing in Macedonia) and modern (have private firms and companies).
In this way, using the same language as the Macedonian intellectuals, Albanian
intellectuals defend themselves as a compatible community, a nation of a compatible standing in the world of democracy and market economy.
Conclusions
In Macedonia, like in the other former Yugoslav republics, ethnic definition of
the state and citizen rights were in direct connection with the constitutional creation and support of national differences during the previous socialist period and
the actual living of these national identities. After independence in 1991, the social divide between Albanians and Macedonian was fostered through the political rhetoric and behaviours provided by the multiparty system. The Macedonian
case shows that in a context of already existing inter-ethnic tensions, parliamentary democracy can reproduce social distinctions and increase the process of
separation between the communities. Furthermore, after 1991 Macedonian and
Albanian nationalist debates have been reproduced and played out through the
new means of post-socialist global discourses.
Civil society, multi-ethnicity, and pluralism are invoked as symbolic constructs in ways that are completely nationalistic, and thus incompatible between
the Macedonian and the Albanian elites and communities, even though they use
the same rhetoric. Thus, while as societal models multiculturalism and civil society are intended to put a lid on pre-existing ethnic tensions in Macedonia,
in particular, but also throughout Eastern Europe and in post-colonial states,
their strategic use as a discourse, as a narrative tool in local politics, in fact often times serves opposite purposes. The analysis of current nationalist struggles in Macedonia shows that global flows, more specifically the global discourse of civil society, multi-ethnicity, development, and pluralism do little to
challenge peoples everyday experiences and understandings of life as organized
around bounded, separate, and discrete units of ethnicity, nationality, and iden-
210
Nevena Dimova
tity. Against theories of rupture of fixed units of social organization, I have

argued that entering a context of nationalist struggles, global flows could actually reify political, national, and ethnic units.
Literature
Arifi, Teuta 2001: Safety of the Word. In: Inventory Macedonia 19891999.
Skopje: Open Society Institute, 136137.
Baki-Hayden, Milica 1995: Nesting Orientalisms: The Case of Former Yugoslavia. In: Slavic Review 54, 4: 917931.
Baki-Hayden, Milica, Robert Hayden 1992: Orientalist Variations on the
Theme Balkans: Symbolic Geography in Recent Yugoslav Cultural Politics. In: Slavic Review 51, 1: 115.
Barbarovski, Georgi, Dauti Daut 1998: Politics: Macedonia Votes for Change.
In: Reporting Macedonia: The New Accomodation. Skopje: Institute for War
and Peace Reporting and Search for Common Ground, 121.
Biberaj, Elez 2000: The Albanian National Question: The Challenges of Autonomy, Independence, and Separatism. In: M. Mandelbaum (ed.), The New
European Diasporas: National Minorities and Conflict in Eastern Europe.
New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 214289.
Blazeska, Katarina 2001: Ten Years of Macedonian Pluralism. In: Inventory
Macedonia 19891999. Skopje: Open Society Institute, 121126.
Botev, Nikolai, Richard Wagner 1983: Seeing Past the Barricade: Ethnic Intermarriage in Yugoslavia During the Last Three Decades. In: Anthropology
of East Europe Review 11, 12: 2734.
Borneman, John 1992: Belonging in Two Berlins: Kin, State, Nation. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Brown, Keith 2000: In the Realm of the Double-Headed Eagle: Parapolitics in
Macedonia 199499. In: J. Cowan (ed.), Macedonia: The Politics of Identity
and Difference. London: Pluto Press, 122140.
Brunnbauer, Ulf 2004: Fertility, Families and Ethnic Conflict: Macedonians
and Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia, 19442002. In: Nationalities
Papers 32,3: 565598.
Burg, Steven 1996: The Field Mission. In: B. R. Rubin (ed.), Toward Comprehensive Peace in Southeast Europe: Conflict Prevention in the South Balkans. New York: Twentieth Century Fund (Preventive Action Reports 1).
Clark, Howard 2000: Civil Resistance in Kosovo. London: Pluto Press.
Chatarjee, Partha 1989: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Colonized Women: The
Contest in India. In: American Ethnologist 16, 4: 622633.
211
Danforth, Loring 1995: The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a

Transitional World. Princeton: Princeton UP.
Dimova, Nevena 2004: Civil Society or a Nation-State? Macedonian and Albanian Intellectuals Building the Macedonian State and Nation(s). Unpublished
PhD thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
Dimova, Rozita 2006: Modern Masculinities: Ethnicity, Education and Gender in Macedonia. In: Nationalities Papers 34, 3: 305320.
Friedman, Victor 2000: The Modern Macedonian Standard Language and Its
Relation to Modern Macedonian Identity. In: V. Roudometof (ed.) The Macedonian Question: Culture, Historiography, Politics. Boulder: Colombia UP.
Friedman, Victor 1985: The Sociolonguistics of Literary Macedonian. In: International Journal of the Sociology of Language 52: 3157.
Friedman, Victor 1975: Macedonian Language and Nationalism during the
Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. In: Balkanistica 2: 8398.
Hann, Chris 1996: Introduction: Political Society and Civil Anthropology. In:
Chris Hann, Elizabeth Dunn (eds.), Civil Society: Challenging Western
Models. London: Routledge, 127.
Hayden, Robert 1992: Constitutional Nationalism in the Former Yugoslav Republics. In: Slavic Review 51: 654673.
Hayden, Robert 1996: Imagined Communities and Real Victims: Self-Determination and Ethnic Cleansing in Yugoslavia. In: American Ethnologist 23:
783801.
Hayden, Robert 1999: Blueprints for a House Divided: The Constitutional Logic of the Yugoslav Conflicts. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Josifovski, Ilija 1974: Optestvenite promeni na selo. Makedonski, albansko
i tursko naselenie na selo vo Prolog. Socioloka studija [Social changes in
the countryside. Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish populations in a Prolog
village. Sociological study]. Skopje: Institut za socioloki i politiko-pravni
iztrauvanja.
Ibrahimi, Sami 2001: Life at the Crossroads Traffic Lights. In: Macedonia
Inventory 19891999. Skopje: Open Society Institute, 181183.
Kantardzhiev, Risto, Lazo Lazaroski 1974: Schools and Education. In: Mihailo
Apostolski, Haralampie Plenkovich (eds.), The Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Skopje: Macedonian Review Editions.
Kligman, Gail 1990: Reclaiming the Public: A Reflection on Creating Civil Society in Romania. In: East European Politics and Societies 4, 3: 393438.
Kostovicova, Denisa 2001: Albanian Schooling in Kosovo 19921998: Liberty
Imprisoned. In: M. Waller, K. Drezdov, B. Gokay (eds.), Kosovo: The Politics of Delusion. London, Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass.
Mertus, Julie 1999: Kosovo: How Myths and Truths Started a War. Berkeley,
London: University of California Press.
212
Nevena Dimova
Morris, Benny 1999: Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 18811999. New York: Knopf.
Perry, Duncan 2000: Conflicting Ambitions and Shared Fates: The Past,
Present and Future of Albanians and Macedonians. In: V. Roudometof (ed.),
The Macedonian Question: Culture, Historiography, Politics. Boulder: Colombia UP, 259299.
Poulton, Hugh 1995: Who Are the Macedonians? Bloomington: Indiana UP.
Poulton, Hugh 1991: The Balkans: Minorities and States in Conflict. London:
Minority Rights Publications.
Ramadani, Ismet 2001: Why Do the Citizens of Macedonia Feel (In)Secure? In:
Macedonia Inventory 19891999. Skopje: Open Society Institute, 285286.
Rossos, Andrew 2007: Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History. Stanford,
CA: Hoover Institution Press (Studies of Nationalities).
Rusinow, Dennison 1977: The Yugoslav Experiment 19481974. Berkeley, Los
Angeles: University of California Press.
Said, Edward 1978: Orientalism. London: Pluto Press.
Sampson, Steven 2002: Weak States, Uncivil Societies, and Thousands of
NGOs: Western Democracy Export as Benevolent Colonialism in the Balkans. In: Sanimir Resi, Barbara Tornquist-Plewa (eds.), The Balkans in Focus: Cultural Boundaries in Europe. Lund: Nordic Academic Press.
Sampson, Steven 1996: The Social Life of Projects: Importing Civil Society to
Albania. In: Chris Hann, Elizabeth Dunn (eds.), Civil Society: Challenging
Western Models. London: Routledge, 121143.
Verdery, Katherine 1998: Whither Postsocialism? In: C. M. Hann (ed.), Postsocialism: Ideals, Ideologies and Practices in Eurasia. Routledge: Routledge
UP.
Verdery, Katherine 1996: What Was Socialism and What Comes Next? Princeton: Princeton UP.
Vickers, Miranda 1995: The Albanians: A Modern History. London, New
York: I.B. Tauris.
Vickers, Miranda, James Pettifer 1997: Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan
Identity. New York: New York UP.
Zarkov, Dubravka 1995: Gender, Orientalism, and the History of Ethnic Hatred
in Former Yugoslavia. In: Crossfires: Nationalism, Racism and Gender in
Europe. London: Pluto Press, 105120.
213
Abstract
In this paper I follow the political developments in the Republic of Macedonia,
from its split from Yugoslavia in 1991 to the armed clashes between Albanian
paramilitary organizations and the Macedonian police and army in 2001, and
the period following the signing of the Ohrid Agreement of the same year. Simultaneously, I analyse the political debates and social commentaries put forward by Macedonian and Albanian political and intellectual elites about the current political events, the relations between the two communities, and about each
other. I argue that multiparty democracy has fortified the relations of distance
between Macedonians and Albanians inherited from state socialism by opening
space for new voices and new means to be engaged in the debates about the constitution of the Macedonian state and nation(s). In the polemics about the state
and the populations residing on the territory of Macedonia, intellectual and political elites from both sides utilize the global concepts of civil society, multiethnicity, and pluralism as discursive tools to put forward nationalist arguments
and undermine those of their opponents. These concepts are incorporated in
modernist discourse through which Macedonian and Albanian intellectual and
political elites reinforce images of modern vs. primitive, progressive vs. backward, and legitimate vs. illegitimate to claim the right to organize the state and
deny that right to the other. Thus, while as societal models multiculturalism and
civil society are intended to put a lid on pre-existing ethnic tensions in Macedonia, in particular, but also throughout Eastern Europe and in post-colonial
states, their strategic use as a discourse, as a narrative tool in local politics, in
fact often times serves opposite purposes. Entering the context of pre-existing
nationalist struggles, global flows can actually reify political, national, and
ethnic units.
TransborderExchangeofSeasonalWorkersintheCentralRegionsofthe
Balkans(19th20thCentury)
TransborderExchangeofSeasonalWorkersintheCentralRegionsoftheBalkans
(19th20thCentury)
byPetkoHristov
Source:
Trans-border Exchange of Seasonal Workers

in the Central Regions of the Balkans (19th 20th Century)
Petko Hristov, Sofia
Introduction
The reasons for (temporary or permanent) labour migrations among various social groups, for migration processes and the dynamics of their progress, for the
ways in which changes reflect in the migrants everyday culture, their concepts
and mentality these are some of the issues that researchers in Balkan migration history have always had to face. Similar problems also arise in the complex
research of labour mobility on the Balkans in historical and modern perspective,
since such research makes no exception from the common tendency for international migrations to become a focus of political debates rather than an object
of analysis in regard to their underlying dynamics and socio-cultural characteristics (Kearney 1997: 324). Scholars rarely ask themselves to what extent the
urge for (temporary) labour migration is a personal decision, part of the private
sphere and family relations, and to what extent it is a result of traditional patterns and inherited cultural models of behaviour in entire regions, especially
in the mountain regions of the Balkan peninsula.
My article focusses on the social phenomenon of male seasonal labour migrations (gurbet or pealbarstvo) in its socio-cultural and ethnological aspects,
showing its historical roots, specifics, and stages of development, with the example of the Central Balkans, rather than giving exact definitions and generalizations on the issue of labour migrations on the Balkans. This issue became
even more up-to-date in the last decade of the twentieth century, a decade of
transition for Eastern Europe, characterized by the movement of new waves of
labour emigrants and gastarbeiter to Western Europe and America. Still, migration researchers conclude that even during the 1990s in Bulgaria temporary seasonal migrations dominate upon the permanent ones (Guentcheva et al.
2003: 5). Thus, a few questions may be asked. Is it possible to speak of traditional cultural models of labour mobility in certain regions of the Balkans? Is there
a centuries-long continuity in the development of seasonal (temporary) labour
migrations (mainly among men, cf. Palairet 1987: 33)? How does this life-inmoving lead to changes in the everyday life and the cultural specifics of local
216
Petko Hristov
communities in certain regions, as a consequence of the social and economic

transformations during the ninetenth and twentieth centuries? Is it possible to
agree with the statement that the lives of mountain people were not only determined by geographic time that is hardly touched by change, but also by the
rhythms of economy and political events? (Brunnbauer 2004: 131).
I will briefly present the results of my historical investigation and ethnographical fieldwork from 2001 in these parts of the peninsula, where today the
frontiers of three states come together the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic
of Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia.1 This region is known from literature
as opluk a region with unclearly defined borders and cultural specifics (Hristov 2004a: 6782, Malinov 2008: 424436). When speaking of regional specifics on the Balkans, this region with differently defined borders shows common,
stable cultural specifics, despite the fact that the local population shares different national identities over the last 150 years; it is a historical fact that during
the last 125 years these regions have changed their state affiliation five times
(Hristov 2002: 6980). National and/or ethnic groups are not denoted once and
for all, they change in the course of history and by definition are modified after
changes in state borders (Preli 1996: 115) at least this is the way it has been
on the Balkans. One of these stable traits of social life in the region during the
entire nineteenth and twentieth centuries is the seasonal labour mobility of the
male population that shaped the traditional cultural model of local communities
and the region, such as the social organisation, the feast calendar, and the rituals
of the life cycle. This region has only sporadically been mentioned in previous
studies of migrational movements on the Balkans (cf. Palairet 1987: 225235).
The phenomenon of Balkan labour mobility
Seasonal labour mobility and temporary trans-border2 migrations of large groups
of male population from the home place to other (foreign) regions within the
frames of the Balkan Peninsula (typical for the second half of the nineteenth
century), and to Europe and America (from the beginning of the twentieth century on) are traditionally called in Balkan languages as gurbet, gurbetlk and/
or pealbarstvo. In general, as known from historical sources, temporary la-
The mass of data of my ethno-historical research was gathered in the regions of Trn in
Bulgaria, Crna Trava and Pirot in Serbia, and Kriva Palanka and Kratovo in the Republic
of Macedonia.
2
In the sense of (trans-)ethnic, religious, cultural borders and later state frontiers on the
Balkans.
1
Trans-Border Exchange of Seasonal Workers
217
bour migrations (gurbetlk3) during the last decades of the Ottoman Empire
could be connected to a broad range of economic activities in the agricultural
sector and in a number of specific crafts (Palairet 1987: 225235, Brunnbauer
2004: 141f.). In the agricultural sphere, seasonal migration represented mainly
movement of labour force from mountain regions (according to Fernand Braudel
zones characterised by archaism and poverty) to the rich lowlands and river
valleys in the season of crop harvesting:4 a typical process for the entire Balkan
and Mediterranean area (Braudel 1998: 30, 4043, 5153). The scarce land and
its insufficient fertility very often forced mountain villages to open up to the
market, for example through (seasonal) labour migration5 and development of
trade and handicraft (Brunnbauer 2004: 134).
In the agrarian sector, seasonal hired shepherding (fixed in the traditional
calendar between the feasts of St. George and St. Demetrius), combined with
different kinds of agricultural labour, was also typical of the nineteenth and the
first decade of the twentieth centuries. The need for market-oriented production
triggered a fast increase in male agrarian mobility (gurbet) in the central parts
of Bulgaria (Veliko Trnovo region, especially Ljaskovec, Gorna Orjahovica,
and Trjavna). Male gardeners would rent land in the surroundings of large cities
(at first around Istanbul, later also in Dobruda and Wallachia) and start intensive production of early vegetables for the market (Palairet 1987: 25, 41f.). During the last decades of the nineteenth century, male agrarian labour migrations
increasingly acquired the characteristics of market production. Male gardeners
from Central Bulgaria developed to perfection the production of early vegetables
for the big city market in Central Europe (mainly the Habsburg Empire) and became famous far beyond the boundaries of the Balkans. They also formed the
mass of market-oriented agrarian temporary migrants to Sofia, delivering their
goods to the so-called Womens market in the capital of newly liberated Bulgaria (Bliznaka 1984: 118).
These seasonal migrations for agricultural labour had their age and gender
characteristics in the different parts of the Balkans, but their female version
Word in South Slavic languages, from Arabian-Turkish gurbet foreign country. At the
end of the nineteenth century19th cent., according to N. Gerovs dictionary, the Bulgarian
verb gurbetuvam means to go abroad (Gerov 1895: 26), and gurbetija is foreigner
(Gerov 1908: 83).
4
Compare with the Bulgarian going down to Romanja (at harvest).
5
For example: In 1853 the report of the Austrian vice-consul in Sofia, von Martrit (published in Vienna in 1853), stated that the Christians citizens of the region around the town
of Trn were so poor that they could hardly pay their taxes, therefore a big part of these
would leave the native places in the spring to go elsewhere and seek for opportunities to
earn money in Istanbul, even Asia Minor, from where they came only as late as in the winter (Mihov 1943: 331332).
3
218
Petko Hristov
na tva (for harvest) was exclusively maidens (Hristov 2005: 8788). The
opluk mountain regions were a constant source of seasonal maiden workers
that migrated towards the lowland regions (the lowlands around Sofia in Bulgaria and Ove pole in Eastern Macedonia) at the time of crop harvesting. But
traditionally, after marriage, the woman would stay with her husband and new
family at home the patrivirilocal model of post-marital residence dominated in
the mentioned regions even until the middle of the twentieth century. The intensifying of agricultural production during the first decades of the twentieth century put an end to the seasonal maiden mobility; yet, the growing needs of the
new bourgeois society in the capital forced the quick development of new types
of temporary maiden labour being a maidservant in a rich urban family became important for the socialization of girls from a number of villages near Sofia (Palairet 1987: 34). The maidservant market in Sofia, organized twice a year
at the Djulgerska piazza (a week after St. Georges day and after St. Demetriuss
day), became an important topos in the capital of Bulgaria after World War One
(Hristov 2005: 87).
In the mountain regions of the central and the eastern parts of the peninsula
male craftsmans labour away from home (pealbarstvo) was popular and traditionally prestigious (Bobev 1902: 107, Petrovi 1920: 18, Cviji 1931: 134).
This referred especially to the region in the heart of the Balkans, known as
opluk: legends were told about masters who can shoe the flea and split the
sole-leather into nine (Cviji 1906: 194).
The seasonal mobility of the pealbari, well documented in the period after the Crimean War (185356), were predominantly connected to construction
work (dungerstvo) and pottery-making (crepnjarstvo): men were going about
from early spring to late autumn all over the Balkan peninsula from Serbia
(Morava region, umadia, Belgrade) and Wallachia to Istanbul and Asia Minor
(Izmir) as builders (dungeri), masons (dzidari), tile-makers (ciglari), potters
(kaljavci), and crepari (making flat clay baking pots crepnja or podnica),
and from some villages also as stone-cutters (cf. Nikoli 1910: 29, MironovaPanova 1971: 65, Palairet 1987: 2346). According to some authors, the tradition of construction-work migration was rooted in the special status of the local
population in the Ottoman Empire, connected with the obligation of road-fortification works (Mironova-Panova 1971: 65). However, it is more probable that the
genesis of male seasonal migrations in these mountain regions was conditioned
by the decay of well-developed sheep-herding, which was previously organized
and encouraged by the state for the needs of the army in the early times of the
Ottoman Empire.
219
Labour mobility in the Ottoman period: motives and growth

During the early Ottoman period (fifteenth to seventeenth centuries), Ottoman
registers in the central part of the peninsula had fixed a very well-developed
network of delepkeani (sheep-breeders)6 supplying the state, the army, and the
capital of Istanbul (Grozdanova, Andreev 1986: 121). Many of the villages had
the privileged status of guardians of mountain passes (dervendiani) and also
of supporting the Sultans army (vojnuk). These services for the Empires army
brought to the local villages (mainly Christian) tax privileges and local autonomy, granted by the Ottoman government (Brunnbauer 2004: 139). In contrast
with some Balkan regions close to opluk (such as umadia in Serbia), where
economic progress in the late eighteenth century was connected to swine-breeding, these mountain regions in the heart of the peninsula developed intensive
sheep-breeding. The destruction of the agrarian system and the profound social
crisis in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of
the nineteenth century, caused by the unrest of the Krdali marauders and the
weakening of the central power7 led to a decrease of pastures and uncultivated
lands in the mountain regions, an increase of population, and a prolonging of the
cycle of complexity in family-kin households (zadruga). These processes gave
Maria Todorova grounds to argue that the zadruga as one of the forms of complex family/household was a late phenomenon, which originated as a new (or
cyclic) response to the specific peculiarities in the development of the Ottoman
Empire after the eighteenth century (the expansion of iflik landowning) and in
the specific ecological niches of the herding and mixed (herding-agricultural)
regions of the Balkans, especially in Western Bulgaria (Todorova 1993: 151).
And, as Maria Todorova holds, the geographical frequency of the zadruga distribution invariably follows the curve of the mountain terrain in the Balkans,
overriding ethnic boundaries (Todorova 1993: 174).
In my opinion this specific development of the socio-economic conditions
in the Ottoman Empire is a prerequisite for the popularization in the central
regions of the peninsula of male labour mobility for construction-work gurbet
after the first quarter of the nineteenth century. An indirect proof for the comparatively late (nineteenth century) genesis and growth of the labour migrations
(pealbarstvo) of builders from the central part of the Balkans are the legendary narratives of learning the craft directly from Italian masters (Palairet 1987:
65) or with the mediation of debarani (seasonal workers from Western Mac-
Cf. Detailed Register of D elepkeani from 1576 in the Bulgarian National Library, Oriental Section, f. 95, file-number 23.
7
In opluk, the central power sent as governor one of the most famous leaders of the Krdali
bands of soldiers, Kara Feiz, who was followed by his son Ali.
6
220
Petko Hristov
edonia8, cf. Todorov 1940: 462). In certain parts of opluk (such as Pirot) the
growth of pealbarstvo was also stimulated by the lean years (e.g. 18971898)
and the devastation of vineyards by phylloxera in the end of the nineteenth century (Petrovi 1920: 18f.). The seasonal pouring out of male mountain population (u pealbu, u rabotu) to other parts of the Balkan Peninsula made
for the stability in time of the complex family households (zadruga type) and for
increasing the importance of womens position in the family (Brunnbauer 2004:
144). However, the deeply entrenched traditional role models for men and women in this patriarchal socio-cultural milieu inhibited the quick modernization in
these pastoral local communities. Here I agree with Michael Palairets conclusion (Palairet 2002: 147).
The mens labour mobility, their seasonal absence from their local village
communities and their continuous work outside the home region also resulted in
the proverbial strength of kinship networks in these regions. An important condition for the continuous conservation and the great significance of the familykin structure of the entire village life was the traditional form of organization
of the migrants groups (pealbarska tajva) of construction workers. They were
based upon the kinship principle and up to the beginning of the twentieth century did not know any written form of regulation (of the guild type); not earlier than the nineteenth century, the first attempts were made at the centralized
regulation of the traditional craft of construction (dungerstvo) in these regions.
After the 1890s, in Crna Trava (Serbia) special three-month courses were organized in the winter period for the preparation of master-constructors (Petrovi
1920: 23) and in 1903 in Trn (Bulgaria) a Construction School was opened
which was well known all over the country and is functioning up to this day.
Traditionally migrant male labour groups followed the norms of customary
practice: a hierarchy of masters (majstor), journeymen (kalfa), and apprentices
(irak) was selected mainly among kin and, rarely, among the village community. This peculiarity, as well as the fact that during the entire period after the
liberation of Bulgaria the official state statistics did not take into account seasonal workers hired for less than six months (Natan et al. 1969: 408), forces our
choice of research strategy for the historic-ethnographic reconstruction of seasonal cross-border mobility based predominantly on the use of narrative sources. For this reason, memoirs, scattered information from regional research in
Actually these were masters, mainly Christians, from the Mijak region in the southwestern part of the present Republic of Macedonia, which at that time was within the borders
of the Debar district (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire (cf. Palairet 1987: 28). The presence
of these master builders throughout the Balkan parts of the empire was well documented
even before the 1870s, during the construction of the Russe-Varna railroad (Barkley 1877:
5657).
221
Bulgaria and Serbia, and oral family history narratives turn out to be the basic
source of information for studying seasonal or temporary labour migrations of
men from the central Balkan regions.
Liberation, modernisation, and changes
The directions, destinations, and character of seasonal labour of male migrant
groups changed several times in the nineteenth and the first decades of the twentieth century in accordance with the turbulent and complicated history of this
part of the Balkans (Manolova-Nikolova 1997: 159173, Stojanevi 1995: 283
331). Before the Liberation of Bulgaria (1878), the main centres of attraction for
the groups of migrants from the regions of Crna Trava, Trn, Caribrod, Pirot,
Leskovac, Vranje, Lunica, Kumanovo, Kratovo and Kriva Palanka were Serbia and Vlako (Wallachia, today southern Romania), which were already free
at the time; within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire it was the region of
Zagore (near the Bulgarian towns of Vidin and Lom) in northwestern Bulgaria, Dobruda in northeastern Bulgaria, and the capital of Istanbul. The main
stream of construction workers used to set out for Istanbul. They started their
journey on some of the great spring feasts, Mladenci (The Forty Holy Martyrs) or Djurdjovden (St. Georges Day), but according to tradition mostly on the
first Monday of Long Lent. In the middle of May (St. Constantine and Helens
Day) they were already at work (u rabotu) (Petrovi 1920: 14). The groups of
pealbari for Wallachia used to gather in the town of Gode in Bulgaria. Over
the Petrohan pass, the town of Lom and the ports of Turnu Severin and etatja
on the Romanian bank of the Danube, they reached the villages in southern Romania (Hristov 2007: 465473). These builders were famous for their houses
of rammed earth construction (bienica or punjenica), which were especially
popular among the Wallachian population (Mironova-Panova 1971: 6970). In
a number of villages in the regions of Timok, Pirot (Zaglavak and Visok), Caribrod and Gode, towards the end of the nineteenth century the male population
spoke Romanian fluently, a language they had learnt during their seasonal labour migrations in Wallachia (Nikoli 1910: 28). Compared to the hired agrarian workers who spent the entire day on the field and were only fed with mamaliga once in the evening, the builders in Wallachia had a much higher prestige
as craftsmen they were both better fed and better paid for their work (always
in gold) (Petrovi 1920: 18).
Meeting points for Serbia before 1878 were the (at that time) border settlements of Smederevo, Parain, Jagodina, and uprija, from where the groups of
seasonal migrant constructors went around all over umadija. One of the first
big construction contractors in Serbia and in the capital of Belgrade came from
222
Petko Hristov
the region of Crna Trava (today in Serbia) and Trn (today in Bulgaria) (Petrovi
1920: 23). The legendary master-builder Grozdan Iliev Nasalevski (called Captain Grozdan for his participation in the National Liberation Wars), who came
from the village of Nasalevci, Trn region, used to lead large groups of 500 of
1000 construction workers to Serbia every year. From the meeting point they
split up into groups of ten and went along the roads of umadija.
Labour mobility among these men from the central regions of the Balkans
and the resulting possibility for them to often pass the borders between the Ottoman Empire and the already autonomous (i.e., free) Christian Serbia and
Wallachia gave them the opportunity to actively organize and join the struggles for the National Liberation of the Balkans, hoping for political independence from Ottoman rule. At this moment the predominantly Bulgarian population made its Christian and Slavic identity a priority the connections already
established due to the labour mobility were the basis for the joining of these
masters and their construction groups in the Liberation Wars; it was in uprija
in 1862, soon after the founding of the First Bulgarian Legion in Belgrade,
where Grozdan Nasalevski, at the request of Georgi S. Rakovski, formed three
Bulgarian volunteer detachments of constructors from Trn, which had to take
part in the forthcoming war of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire (Petriev
1940a: 140).
Some of the leaders of these male pealbari groups acquired military ranks
in the Serbian army and later participated actively in the Serbian-Turkish War of
187677 as volunteers in the Slavic Corps of the Russian General M. ernjaev.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 187778, which led to the liberation of Bulgaria and the independence of Serbia, local workers, formerly seasonal workers
in Serbia, were the main force of the op (or Trn) uprising, which resulted in
the liberation of their homelands. The uprising was led by another prominent citizen of Trn, Simo Sokolov, who was promoted to the rank of officer. His revolutionary detachments, acting in co-ordination with the Russian and the Serbian
Armies, liberated consecutively the regions of Trn (today in Bulgaria), Vranje
(today in Serbia) and northeastern Macedonia to the line Vranje Kriva Palanka Kratovo (Petriev 1940b: 163171, Iliev 2000: 94114). They also participated in the Kresna-Razlog uprising, which broke out after the Berlin Congress
in the Bulgarian regions that remained within the borders of the Ottoman Empire. Although divided by the new political frontiers, the opluk population in
many aspects kept for decades its common traditional specifics as a cultural region in the heart of the Balkans.
Over the course of years, the annual journeys of men from the central parts
of the Balkans for work and for gain shaped specific features of the feast-
223
ritual system and folklore9 of the population of these regions. The most important family-kin feasts (of the svetc type, the feast of the family patron-saint,
cf. Peeva 1960: 739) were grouped in the period from St. Demetrius Day to
St. Johns Day, reaching their culminations in the feasts of Randelovdn (St.
Michael the Archangels Day), Nikuldn (St. Nicolass Day) and Boi (Christmas) (Hristov 2001: 193). The weddings were similarly concentrated in the
winter period. Along with that, local folk tradition shows a stable migrant
ritual complex connected with seeing off and meeting the construction groups
of pealbari. Seeing off the migrants took place in the following way: On both
sides of the house gate the eldest woman of the household scattered live coals
from the fireplace, which the men had to walk over to acquire magical protection, just like in traditional weddings the guests from the mans side (oglednici)
were sent to bring the bride and her dowry (ruba) (Mironova-Panova 1971: 181).
The women used to accompany their husbands and sons far away from the
bounds of the settlement to a traditionally fixed place, marking the regions
boundary, where the groups of the departing pealbari assembled. The toponyms of such pealbari spots are most often connected with lamentation and describe touching scenes of (temporary) family separation. These migrant toponyms of separation were a type of lieux de mmoire, if we use Pierre Noras
terminology, an important part of regional migrant culture. Probably connected
to the traditional migrants destinations and rituals of seeing off and meeting
is the origin of the old name of the Kurbet Mountain, separating the region of
Niava from the valley of the Morava River (Ireek 1978: 48).
After the liberation of Bulgaria (1878) the new capital Sofia soon became
an attractive centre for temporary labour migrants from the central parts of the
Balkans. The majority of the seasonal construction workers in Sofia were from
mountain villages in the border regions between Bulgaria and Serbia and from
the regions of Kratovo and Kriva Palanka, which remained within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. The most famous construction contractors in the
Bulgarian capital were born in Trn or in Macedonia (Petrovi 1920: 23). The
seasonal construction workers had their own gathering and hiring place, Djulgerska Piazza, which came to be an important place in the capital as early as
the end of the nineteenth century (Hristov 2005: 86). At the beginning of the
twentieth century, the construction workers were still seasonal guests in the
big city: They worked and earned in the capital, but spent the winter months in
their home villages. Soon after the Ilinden uprising it became clear that the dec-
A developed song cycle of the type Tugjina idem, ostavjam raj (I go abroad, I leave
paradise).
224
Petko Hristov
ades-long destinations of the pealbari also traced the route of the refugees from
the central parts of the peninsula.10
Organized around the kinship and/or local principle, the groups of temporary migrants (pealbarski tajvi) developed their specific subculture in the big
cities (Istanbul, Thessalonika, Belgrade, Sofia). For example, the masters from
different villages of the Trn region specialized in different constructing operations: The best plaster masters were from Glavanovci, the best tile-makers from
Vidrar, etc. The seasonal workers had permanent places where they met and
communicated in Sofia, such as the famous Znepole Hotel (for the pealbari
from Trn) and the Razlog restaurant (for those from Macedonia). Their specific dialect came to be their language marker (and an original secret language)
both in Bulgaria and in Serbia (Cviji 1922: 219).
The local population on both sides of the (political) frontiers also accepted
the migrants groups as specific communities, and their seasonal moving from
early spring to late autumn was compared to the flocks of migratory birds
(cranes, cf. Hristov 2005: 85). These craftsmens communities were traditionally closed in their specific subculture: the penetration of workers from other
regions into their construction groups was a rare exception even as late as in the
1940s.11
In the beginning of the two Balkan Wars and during the First World War,
many of these pealbari from the central regions emigrated to America to avoid
military service. As early as the end of the nineteenth century, America became
an attractive place for free labour forces from the region at first from Macedonia, and later on from Bulgaria and Serbia (Petrov 1909: 36). Some of these
Americans returned to their homes in the 1920s, but most of them stayed in
America as immigrants.
The new political borders on the Balkans after the Balkan Wars and the First
World War, the restrictive national legislation in the individual countries, and
the complex political environment in most Balkan countries (both victorious and
defeated in the wars), only further intensified by nationalist propaganda, and led
to a drastic decrease in trans-border labour mobility of men from the studied regions. During the inter-war period the Balkan market for seasonal trans-border
migrants virtually collapsed not only was the USA closed as the pechalbars
Eldorado, but also the social situation in Bulgaria, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia,
Here is only one example: Ofut of 74 construction workers in Sofia from the village of
Radibu (Kriva Palanka region in the present Republic of Macedonia), 72 enrolled as volunteers in the Macedonian-Odrin volunteer corps of the Bulgarian Army to participate
in the First Balkan War, hoping to liberate Macedonia (personal fieldwork records).
11
It is still said in Sofia that you can only steal but not learn the craft from the Trn
masters.
10
225
and in Greece drastically reduced the opportunities for labour migration (Palairet 1987: 34). This led to a change in the model of temporary labour among
the men from these regions their seasonal movement was redirected towards
the big cities at the hearts of their own countries. This new labour mobility still
had the traditional characteristics of temporary labour, though: The men earned
money in the city and their families stayed in their home villages in opluk,
where the men spent the inactive winter months. The increase of the internal
temporary labour migrations, however, created the social conditions for the permanent emigration to the cities that became a fact after the Second World War
and was stimulated by the intense industrialization of the new socialist governments of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.
Labour migrations after World War II:
new models and gastarbeiter culture
After the end of the Second World War the regions in the central parts of the
Balkans became border zones of the new Peoples Republics, which dramatically changed the situation on the labour market and the character of labour relations in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Macedonia. The accelerated industrialization of
the 1950s turned the seasonal migrants into socialist workers and resulted in
the mass depopulation of villages. Becoming city dwellers, the builders brought
to the big cities their families and gradually lost their connection to the land.
Only the elderly remained in the villages.
The century-old model of seasonal labour migration was reversed again in
the second half of the twentieth century in the regions of former Yugoslavia. In
the 1960s it began with the recruitment of migrant workers by some West European countries and, through family reunions in the 1970s, the process continued, with most West European countries successively becoming countries of
immigration (Guentcheva et al. 2003). During this period, temporary migrants
from the territory of former Yugoslavia (specifically the builders from southeastern Serbia and the Kriva Palanka region in Macedonia) settled permanently
in Western Europe, mainly in the Federal Republic of Germany. This was a consequence of the new policy and the new possibilities granted by some European
countries such as West Germany. Being invited as legal workers for a certain
period of time because of the need of labour force in some sectors of the economy, the gastarbeiter from the Balkans soon brought their families along and
emigrated permanently in their host country. West Germany shared the model
and the term gastarbeiter for temporary labour migrants with the rest of the
West European countries. This also radically changed the model of the (temporarily) separated families in the regions I have studied, especially in Macedonia.
226
Petko Hristov
The traditional gurbet model of seasonal migration and labour outside the region
(the families stay in their home places and the men earn abroad, but send money and spend what they have earned at home), was transformed from the early
1970s on into the model of the gastarbeiter culture.
Today, many of the pealbari villages are deserted. Nevertheless, the nostalgia for the home place still remains after retirement some of the gastarbeiter
return from all over the world to their native villages in order to die at home.
In Bulgaria, Serbia, and the Republic of Macedonia there are also villages which
have been completely abandoned for decades, but every year the local people
return for their patron saints feast in order to make the collective offering (kurban) and the common table, as if the village were still there (Kato da postoi
seloto, cf. Bocev 2001: 113119, Hristov 2004b: 117f.). However, the break-up
of the former Yugoslav Federation, accompanied by wars and ethnic conflicts,
the formation of new independent states in the Western Balkans, and the drawing of new state borders difficult to cross changed the traditional pealbari/gastarbeiter models in many ways, bringing about new life strategies and expectations among the young generations.
In Bulgaria, in the years of transition in the 1990s, the labour mobility of
the Bulgarians reproduced a number of features of the described trans-border
gurbet model, but with some new elements, known from the gastarbeiter culture of the temporary labour migrants from former Yugoslavia. At first groups
of several men (recently more and more often also groups of women) leave their
home places to work in the countries of Western Europe and send money for
the support of their families in Bulgaria. In the 1990s, the predominant transborder labour migration away from Bulgaria was illegal men and also women
entered the host country as tourists and their families stayed back home. Later, temporary labour migration developed on the classical scheme of chain migration. In some cases their families come to live with them in the host country, but even then the wish to return home, including the desire to show off the
success achieved in gurbet, still remains. What happens, however, to these
temporary labour migrants (pealbari) is the object of another research, and the
future will show what their perspectives are under the new conditions of Bulgarian EU membership.12
12
The first historical-cultural and ethnological observations in this direction for the region
of the Rhodopes in Bulgaria are already available in a book titled Living there, dreaming
here (Karamihova 2003).
227
Conclusion
In summing up one can say that the traditional temporary migration of males
from the mountain regions in the central parts of the Balkans generated specific
transformations of the entire traditional socio-cultural model of the local population in its social organization, in its family models and marriage strategies
geared at prolonging the cycle of complexity of the family households, and in
the specifics of the gender roles. The Balkan Wars in the early twentieth century changed the course of these temporary migrations and the new migration
policy in Europe from the 1960s onward transformed the entire character of the
social relations in the regions sending pealbari from the Balkans. The changed
socio-economic situation on the peninsula in the last decade of the twentieth century turned some Balkan countries like Greece from countries sending migrants
into host countries for seasonal/temporary labour migrants. At the same time
the pealba tradition and the specific gurbet mentality show remarkable stability in a number of regions in the Balkans, which are a source of new waves of
gurbetia (pealbari), who, under the influence of the new conditions in the region, settle permanently in the host countries and become immigrants. The entire socio-economic development in the Balkans and the geopolitical future of
the separate states will determine to a great extent whether the pealbari from
the region will become permanent emigrants or continue to aspire a return to
their native countries.
Literature
Barkley, Henry C. 1877: Between the Danube and the Black Sea. London:
Murray.
Bliznaka, Eva 1984: Vlijanieto na gradskata kultura vrhu razvitieto na
zemedelieto v Sofijsko sled Osvobodenieto [The influence of urban culture
on the development of agriculture in Sofia region after liberation]. In: Veselin Hadinikolov, Ivanika Georgieva (eds.), Narodnata kultura v Sofija i
Sofijsko [The traditional culture in Sofia and Sofia region]. Sofia: Blgarsko
istoriesko druestvo, 113120.
Bobev, Stefan 1902: Sbornik blgarski juridieski obiai [A collection of Bulgarian legal practices], 2. Sofia: Peatnica na P.M. Bezajtov.
Bocev, Vladimir 2001: ivotot vo pustoto selo Papavnica [Life in the abandoned
village of Papavnica]. In: Too Spiridonov (ed.) The Border. Sofia: DIOS,
113119.
Braudel, Fernand 1998: Sredizemno more i sredizemnomorskijat svjat po
vremeto na Filip II [The mediterranean sea and the mediterranean world at
the time of Philip II], 1. Sofia: ABAGAR.
228
Petko Hristov
Brunnbauer, Ulf 2004: Environment, Markets and the State: Human Adaptation in the Balkan Mountains, 19th early 20th Century. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 8: 129154.
Cviji, Jovan 1906: Osnove za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije [The basics of the geography and geology of Macedonia and Old Serbia].
Belgrade: Srpska kraljevska akademija.
Cviji, Jovan 1922: Balkansko poluostrvo i junoslovenske zemlje: osnovi antropogeografije [The Balkan Peninsula and the land of the Southern Slavs],1.
Belgrade: Knjiarnica Gece Kona.
Cviji, Jovan 1931: Balkansko poluostrvo i junoslovenske zemlje: osnovi antropogeografije [The Balkan Peninsula and the land of the Southern Slavs],2.
Belgrade: Knjiarnica Gece Kona.
Gerov, Najden 1895: Renik na blgarskija ezik [Dictionary of the Bulgarian
language] 1. Plovdiv: Sglasie.
Gerov, Najden 1908: Doplnenie na blgarskija renik ot Najden Gerov [Additions to Nayden Gerovs dictionary of the Bulgarian language]. Plovdiv:
Peatnica Trud.
Grozdanova, Elena, Stefan Andreev 1986: Blgarite prez XVI vek [The Bulgarians during the 16th century]. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na OF.
Guentcheva, Rossitza, Petya Kabakchieva, Plamen Kolarski 2003: Sharing Experience: Migration Trends in Selected Applicant Countries and Lessons
Learned from the New Countries of Immigration in the EU and Austria,1. Sofia, Vienna: IOM.
Hristov, Petko 2001: Ahnenkult in Westbulgarien: das Fest des Schutzheiligen.
In: Ulf Brunnbauer, Karl Kaser (ed.), Vom Nutzen der Verwandten. Soziale
Netzwerke in Bulgarien (19. und 20. Jahrhundert). Wien: Bhlau, 187199.
Hristov, Petko 2002: The Use of Holidays for Propaganda Purposes. The Serbian Slava and/or the Bulgarian Sbor. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 6:
6980.
Hristov, Petko 2004a: Granicite na opluka i/ili opi bez granici [The Boundaries of Shopluk and/or Shops without Boundaries]. In: Biljana Sikimi (ed.),
Skrivene manjine na Balkanu [Hidden minorities in the Balkans]. Belgrade:
Balkanoloki institut SANU, 6782.
Hristov, Petko 2004b: Praznikot na pustoto selo (Sliki ot ritualniot proces vo
R.Makedonija i R. Bugarija) [The feast of the abandoned village (Pictures
of the ritual process in the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria)]. In: Makedonski folklor 62: 105122.
Hristov, Petko 2005: The Market and the Piazza for Hired Hand in Sofia as
Places to Exchange Cultural Stereotypes. In: Ethnologia Balkanica 9: 8290.
Hristov, Petko 2007: Vlako kato vana destinacija za sezonnite rabotnici
(pealbari) ot centralnata ast na Balkanite [Wallachia (Vlako) as an im-
229
portant destination for seasonal workers (pealbari) from the central part of
the Balkans]. In: Probleme de filologie slava [Problems of Slav Philology] 15
(Timioara) 465473.
Iliev, Nikolaj 2000: Kapitan Simo Sokolov (Trnskoto vstanie ot 1877) [Captain Simo Sokolov (The Trn uprising of 1887)]. Sofia: Propeler.
Ireek, Konstantin 1978: Istorija na blgarite [History of the Bulgarians]. Sofia:
Blgarska akademija na naukite.
Karamihova, Margarita 2003: Da zivee tam, da se snuva tuk: Emigracionni procesi v naaloto na XXI vek [Living there, dreaming here: Emigration
processes in the beginning of the 21st century]. Sofia: IMIR.
Kearney, Michael 1997: Migration. In: Thomas Barfield (ed.), The Dictionary
of Anthropology. Oxford: Blackwell, 322324.
Malinov, Zorano 2008: The Macedonian Shops (opi): Borders, Identity and
Perspectives. In: Elena Marushiakova (ed.), Dynamics of National Identity
and Transnational Identities in the Process of European Integration. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 424436.
Manolova-Nikolova, Nadja 1997: Sredna Zapadna Blgaria 18771879 g.: Pre
hodt medu dve epohi v Trnsko-Breznikoja kraj [Central Western Bulgaria, 18771879: The transition between two epochs in the Trn-Breznik Region]. In: Rodina 34: 159173.
Mihov, Nikola 1943: Prinosi km trgovskata istorija na Blgarija, 2: Avstrijski
konsulski dokladi [Contributions to the commercial history of Bulgaria, 2,
Austrian consuls reports]. Sofia: BAN.
Mironova-Panova, Stojanka 1971: Trnskijat kraj [Trn Region]. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na OF.
Natan, ak, Ljuben Berov, Veselin Hadinikolov (eds.) 1969: Ikonomikata na
Blgarija do socijalistieskata revoljucija [The economics of Bulgaria before
the socialist revolution], 1. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo.
Nikoli, Vasa 1910: Iz Lunice i Niave [From Lunica and Niava]. In: Srpski
etnografski zbornik, 16. Belgrade: Srpska kraljevska akademija.
Palairet, Michael 1987: The Migrant Workers of the Balkans and Their Villages
(18th Century World War II). In: Klaus Roth (ed.), Handwerk in Mittel- und
Sdosteuropa. Munich, 2346.
Palairet, Michael 2002: The Balkan Economies c. 18001914: Evolution without Development. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Petriev, Lev 1940a: Trnskite dobrovolci v srbsko-turskata vojna 1876 godina [Trn volunteers in the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876]. In: Radoslav Todorov
(ed.), Trnski kraj. Sofia: Druestvo Ruj, 147162.
Petriev, Lev 1940b: opskoto vzstanie prez 1877 godina na trnskoto opl
enie [The Shop uprising of 1877 of the Trn Volunteer Corps]. In: Radoslav
Todorov (ed.), Trnski kraj. Sofia: Druestvo Ruj, 163171.
230
Petko Hristov
Petrov, Gjore 1909: Emigrantskoto dvienie za Amerika v Makedonija [Macedonian emigration to America]. In: Kulturno edinstvo 78: 36.
Petrovi, Jelenko 1920: Pealbari, naroito iz okoline Pirota [Pealbari, particularly from Pirot Region]. Belgrade: Tipografija.
Peeva, Rajna 1960: Edin starinen semeen praznik. Praznuvane na svetec v
Severozapadna i Zapadna Blgaria [An ancient family feast. Celebrating
the svetec in northwestern and western Bulgaria]. In: Vladimir Lekov (ed.),
Ezikovedski-etnografski izsledvanija v pamet na akad. Stojan Romanski. Sofia: BAN, 731754.
Preli, Mladena 1996: Posle Frederika Barta: Savremena prouavanja etniciteta
u kompleksnim drutvama [After Frederic Barth: Contemporary research on
identity in complex societies]. In: Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU 45:
101121.
Stojanevi, Vladimir 1995: Srbi i Bugari 18041878 [Serbs and Bulgarians
18041878]. Novi Sad: Prometej.
Todorov, Radoslav 1940: Trnanint kato stroitel [The Trn villager as a builder]. In: Radoslav Todorov (ed.), Trnski kraj. Sofia: Druestvo Ruj, 461463.
Todorova, Maria 1993: Balkan Family Structure and the European Pattern.
Washington: The American UP.
Abstract
This is a historical overview of the destinations preferred by builders (dunggeri)
coming from the central parts of the Balkan Peninsula. Before the year 1878 the
major routes led to both Istanbul as the capital of the Ottoman Empire and to autonomous Serbia and Wallachia. After the liberation of Bulgaria, its new capital
Sofia turned into an attractive centre for all the earners (pealbari) from the regions of Western Bulgaria, Eastern Serbia, and Macedonia. The annual journeys
of men from the central parts of the Balkans for work or for gain (pealba)
over years developed specific features of the ritual system and the folklore of
the villages of these regions. The paper presents both the transformations of local societies and the formation of trans-border communities in the modernized
city. The century-old model of seasonal labour migration from the centre of the
Balkans was reversed during the second half of twentieth century, when temporary migrants from former Yugoslavia settled down permanently in Western
Europe, America, and Australia with their families. These changes, as well as
the entry of Bulgaria into the EU, have led to the depletion of entire villages in
the regions under scrutiny.
LesjeuxdelaconstructiondunergionmtropolitainedanslaRoumanie
aprsle1989.LecasdelazonemtropolitainedeBucarest
TheGamesoftheConstructionofaMetropolitanRegioninRomaniaafter1989.The
CaseoftheMetropolitanZoneofBucharest
byDoraAlexaMorcov
Source:
Les jeux de la construction dune rgion mtropolitaine

dans la Roumanie aprs le 1989.
Le cas de la zone mtropolitaine de Bucarest
Dora Alexa-Morcov, Bucarest
La construction de la Roumanie Unifie a t ralise, au fil du temps, travers

les structures territoriales administratives. Ces structures, qui ont subi beaucoup
de changements et de remodelages selon une volont politique ou une autre et selon les compromis issus de diffrents types de conceptions administratives, restent aujourdhui figes. Au dernier projet communiste deux niveaux la commune et le dpartement fait pour que le centralisme dmocratique soit mieux
appliqu, on superpose maintenant les nouveaux principes de gestion: autonomie locale, dcentralisation, subsidiarit. La structure a t vide de son sens
pour lui en donner un autre. Quel est le rsultat?
Aujourdhui, dans les pays occidentaux, se dveloppe un grand dbat autour
des relations entre fluidit globale, morcellement local et dmocratie (Mongin
2004: 175). Un des concepts qui sy rattachent est celui de la mtropolisation
qui dsigne le processus de transformation qualitative, fonctionnelle et morphologique des trs grandes villes (Elissade 2004). Les problmes de la phase actuelle du dveloppement urbain ( la fois concentration et talement) sont interprts comme leffet dune inadquation entre les territoires fonctionnels et les
territoires institutionnels (Ghorra-Gobin 2004: 159) et insistent sur les changements des politiques de gestion territoriale plus prcisment son passage au
niveau rgional.
La Roumanie se trouve dans une situation particulire par rapport aux pays
occidentaux. Aprs 1989, les collectivits territoriales ont gagn leur autonomie
mais, prsent, elles se trouvent confrontes, outre un morcellement du pouvoir et des responsabilits, un manque de ressources (matrielles, humaines et
institutionnelles) qui les empche de bien grer leur territoire. Dans ces conditions les villes srigent en pionnires de linnovation institutionnelle en vue de
crer de nouveaux espaces de dveloppement et de rduire des dsquilibres
entre le milieu urbain et son environnement rural. Appeles zones ou rgions
mtropolitaines, ces nouvelles formes de coopration intercommunale se heurtent souvent la rticence des voisins ruraux. Les questions qui senchanent
sont lies, donc, la construction dune action collective par rapport aux dcisions politiques publiques des rgions urbaines de la Roumanie: quels sont les
232
Dora Alexa-Morcov
mcanismes? Quelles sont les logiques daction des acteurs locaux? Quelles sont
les conditions et quels sont les enjeux?
Un nouveau champ disciplinaire appel Sociologie de la gouvernance (Le
Gals 2003) essaie de comprendre travers une perspective territoriale, les dconstructions et les reconstructions des relations sociales et politiques survenues
suite au changement dchelle aux niveaux conomiques, politiques et sociaux
dus au processus de mondialisation. Le concept de gouvernance urbaine dvelopp par ceux-ci se distingue de la gouvernance idologique lance comme recette dune bonne gouvernance, mais il prend en compte la multitude des acteurs et des intrts qui sy associent et vise comprendre la superposition des
nouvelles structures aux anciennes et le rsultat qui en dcoule.
Lanalyse du cas de la constitution de la zone mtropolitaine de Bucarest tend
montrer que la construction dune rgion-projet nest pas, en effet, le rsultat
vident dune rgulation fonctionnelle tablie entre des acteurs publics locaux
autonomes; il sagit plutt dune ngociation entre des acteurs aux ressources
ingales et qui exercent des pouvoirs pour amliorer leur position dans un rseau dacteurs. Ce cas, prsentant des caractristiques presque idales pour que
lanalyse soit claire, car il entrane des units administratives trs diffrentes
du point de vue des ressources conomiques, dmographiques et politiques, dmontre que le rle des acteurs ainsi que leur faon dagir sont beaucoup plus importantes quon pourrait le penser et que les ingalits conomiques et sociales
() sont une donne fondamentale pour comprendre le droulement dune relation de pouvoir donne, elles ne se refltent que rarement telles quelles et mcaniquement dans celle-ci (Crozier, Friedberg 1977: 65).
A travers un processus en cours dimplantation des nouveaux instruments de
gestion administrative, dajustement des territoires administratifs (institutionnels) aux diverses fonctions, comme lintercommunalit, lagglomration urbaine, les rgions, on peut comprendre le rle des acteurs individuels et collectifs dans la construction institutionnelle. Lorsquun nouvel espace de gestion,
comme cest le cas de la Zone Mtropolitaine de Bucarest, se heurte la rticence des acteurs impliqus, la rponse pourrait se trouver dans la simple relation entre structure, fonction et acteurs.
Linitiative institutionnelle caractre optimal de la Zone
Mtropolitaine de Bucarest une politique de lespace?
En 2004 la mairie de Bucarest a initi le projet: Plan dAmnagement Territorial Zonal la Zone dAgglomration Urbaine et Zone Mtropolitaine de la
233
Ville de Bucarest1 au sein de son Centre de Recherches Urbaines et avec la collaboration de plusieurs entreprises pour la planification urbaine.2 Trois lments
de cette initiative me semblent importants pour comprendre les ventuelles rticences ou la mobilisation des rapports de forces: la proposition dun espace
fonctionnel optimal (1) o les acteurs publics locaux peuvent cooprer sur des
domaines trs divers (2) et une superposition de cet espace aux anciens territoires subordonns la ville de Bucarest (3).
Dans le contexte o les recherches, les valuations et les thories rcentes
sont de plus en plus sceptiques sur lexistence dun optimum territorial qui pourrait satisfaire tous les besoins fonctionnels, ce groupe de professionnels a dlimit un espace optimal qui pourrait rpondre lintention stratgique dassurer la rduction des disparits et satisfaire les conditions du dveloppement
durable pour la zone qui entoure la mtropole de Bucarest. La zone ainsi dlimite comprend la mtropole de Bucarest, 10 villes et 83 communes de 5 dpartements et mesure 5046 km2, ayant une population denviron 2,6 millions dhabitants, dont 1926334 vivent sur le territoire municipal de Bucarest. Cet espace
de coopration intercommunal serait lespace qui traditionnellement tait subordonn, fonctionnellement et administrativement, la ville de Bucarest et dans
lequel sont comprises dimportantes zones agricoles, les sources dalimentation
en eau et les quipements affrents, les principales zones dagrment, dimportantes voies de communication qui font partie du rseau europen comme le projet de navigation sur le Danube. Ces limites devraient tre soumises la consultation des acteurs publics locaux impliqus.
Lanalyse de la construction institutionnelle, en tant que telle, nous rvle un
caractre gnral et ambigu du projet. Celui-ci propose une intgration politique
et synergtique qui englobe tous les niveaux de gouvernement des organismes
locaux, rgionaux et centraux, qui vise laugmentation de la capacit de ralisation des objectifs fixs au niveau local, o les domaines de coopration et les
comptences transfres sinscrivent dans un cadre extrmement large. Ainsi,
sous la condition de lautonomie locale, les conseils locaux peuvent cooprer
dans les domaines suivants: amnagement et gestion du territoire, des logements
(laboration de programmes communs de logements, laboration de politiques
de logements sociaux, activits damlioration de lensemble des logements existants), de dveloppement conomique (optimisation de la croissance et de la
Centre de Recherches Urbaines de la Mairie de Bucarest (CPUMB) 2005: Plan dAmnagement Territorial Zonal. La Zone dAgglomration Urbaine et Zone Mtropolitaine de la
Ville de Bucarest. Etude non publie.
2
Parmi lesquelles lInstitut National des Recherches pour lUrbanisme et Amnagement du
Territoire Urban Projet o je suis employe et par le biais duquel jai pu faire partie de
lquipe qui a ralis le projet.
1
234
Dora Alexa-Morcov
diversification des activits conomiques), environnement, services publics

voiries, et rseaux divers (eau potable, eaux uses, lectricit, tlphone, gaz),
transports publics, gestion des dchets, service du feu, ducation et culture, sant et scurit des citoyens.
Est-ce que la rticence des communes impliques nous montre quelles ne
comprennent pas limportance de linitiative (comme les professionnels laffirment), ou bien serait-elle un signe quun discours fonctionnaliste ne peut plus lgitimer des rapports de force entre des acteurs publics locaux?
Devenue capitale de la Roumanie en 1659, la ville de Bucarest a commenc
son panouissement aprs lindpendance de 1877. Son dveloppement est directement li ses alentours car selon plusieurs auteurs la zone priurbaine
(Iordan 1973) de Bucarest (avec ses dimensions dynamiques dans le temps) a reprsent le territoire le plus important dans lapprovisionnement de la ville Capitale. Nomme la valle lgumire de Bucarest, elle tait la source des produits agricoles pour la Capitale. Plus la ville se spcialisait dans des fonctions
tertiaires comme ladministration, la politique, les services de la sant, la culture
ou le marchandage, plus sa zone dapprovisionnement sagrandissait. Ainsi, Ion
Iordan montre quaprs 1929 une zone dapprovisionnement vers le nord-ouest
se superposait aux limites du dpartement dIlfov de lpoque. Paralllement
la modernisation des routes et la croissance de la population, la zone priurbaine sagrandissait et atteignait un rayon de 3435km. Cest ainsi que la ville
a essay avec ses premires organisations territoriales davoir le contrle sur les
ressources de la zone environnante en dveloppant lide de commune sous-urbaine (une commune qui se trouve sous la tutelle de la ville).
De 1918 1950 la ville de Bucarest appartenait au dpartement dIlfov qui
comprenait lpoque 7 plase (units intermdiaires entre le dpartement et
la commune) et la ville de Bucarest dont le territoire englobait 12 communes
sous-urbaines.
La zone priurbaine est traverse de rivires comme la Dmbovia, lArge
et la Neajlov. Aprs 1948, les besoins en eau dus la croissance de la population
et aux changements fonctionnels de Bucarest (comme limplantation des grandes
industries) ont augment. Ainsi, la Capitale va capter leau dans les territoires
des communes priurbaines dans les valles de lArge et de la Dmbovia. Les
besoins en eau de la Capitale nont pas cess daugmenter jusqu nos jours, et
leau est donc devenue une importante ressource pour une communaut priurbaine qui nvite pas de la ngocier: Bucarest veut toujours quelque chose
de nous comme si ctait eux, ils ont besoin de leau, ils jettent leurs dchets,
mais quest-ce quils offrent? (Conseiller dpartement dIlfov). Lexistence des
rivires a conduit galement lextraction des matires minrales utilises dans
la construction. Situes au dbut dans la Valle de la Colentina, les carrires
se sont dplaces dans la Valle de lArge en suivant lextension des zones
235
construites. Le patrimoine riche en forts et en lacs constitue des lieux de loisirs

pour les bucarestois. Ces richesses ncessitent limplantation de structures de
services (htels, motels, campings, restaurants etc.) et de transports. Cette zone
avait attir lattention des nobles et des boyards depuis longtemps. Cest ainsi
quen 1930 ont t amnags les lacs sur la Colentina, les forts de Vlsia, les
lacs Cldruani, Snagov, Blteni et aussi de nombreuses constructions rsidentielles comme les manoirs et les palais, dune beaut reconnue, et qui reprsentent aujourdhui le patrimoine culturel de la zone.
Pendant la priode de lconomie centralise, toutes ces zones riches en ressources naturelles sont exploites pour le bien-tre de la ville capitale. LEtat
a cr des industries trs diverses (lies plutt aux ressources de ptrole), des
fermes agricoles, etc. Lune des preuves peut tre lorganisation administrative
mme de Bucarest et des alentours. De 1950 1968 le statut de Ville Rpublicaine de Bucarest fit preuve de la volont de lEtat centraliste de mobiliser tous
les moyens pour son dveloppement. Les villes rpublicaines reprsentaient la
priorit nationale selon le modle import de lUnion Sovitique. Cet objectif a
provoqu llargissement du territoire administratif en englobant 28 communes
sous-urbaines. La rgion de Bucarest tait compose de 15 rayons, quivalents
5dpartements daujourdhui: Teleorman, Giurgiu, Clrai, Ialomia, Ilfov et
une partie du dpartement de Dmbovia.
Entre 1968 et 1981 Bucarest faisait partie de nouveau du dpartement dIlfov
mais elle na plus le contour dantan mais un autre beaucoup plus grand. Les communes sous-urbaines au nombre de douze ntaient pas non plus les mmes.
Lorganisation administrative de la Roumanie entre 1968 et 1989 a t dune
stabilit exceptionnelle on nobserve quun seul changement. Ce changement
a affect les alentours de Bucarest en ce qui concerne la construction des dpartements dIlfov et dIalomia. A la suite de cette rorganisation, deux dpartements de plus ont t crs Clrai et Ialomia. Le dpartement dIlfov est
maintenant englob dans la ville de Bucarest et appel le Secteur Agricole dIlfov qui comprend 41 communes et une ville. Par cette organisation la ville de
Bucarest a assur son espace vital, mais il a cr des grands disfonctionnements
au niveau des autres dpartements (Clrai, Ialomia et Giurgiu) par leur dcoupage trs allong. Ses effets ngatifs vont samplifier aprs 1990.
En suivant les principales tapes de lorganisation administrative de la ville
de Bucarest en relation avec ses alentours et avec la dynamique conomique de
la zone, jai voulu prouver le lien quil y a entre les nombreux changements au
niveau de dcoupage et le besoin dune grande ville comme Bucarest de prserver son espace de respiration, son espace vital de dveloppement.
Aprs 1989 le seul petit changement au niveau de lorganisation administrative est la transformation du Secteur Agricole de Ilfov en dpartement autonome
sans aucune modification au niveau de la forme et du contenu. Les nouveaux
236
Dora Alexa-Morcov
principes que la Roumanie doit appliquer, comme lautonomie locale, la dcentralisation ou la subsidiarit, superposs aux anciennes structures crent beaucoup de dysfonctionnements et deffets inattendus.
Les territoires dun territoire-projet
Les analyses existantes sur cette zone ont rvl le fait que le territoire-projet propos unifie politiquement des territoires htrognes au niveau du capital
communautaire, matriel et humain.
On sait que la ville de Bucarest et le dpartement dIlfov qui, dailleurs, reprsentent la Rgion de dveloppement Bucarest-Ilfov, conformment la loi,
dpassent visiblement en dveloppement les autres rgions (que ce soit du point
de vue de la dmographie, de lconomie, de laccs aux services, des transports, etc.). Toutes les tudes le dmontrent (Popescu 1999): Bucarest et Ilfov
sont en haut de la hirarchie. A loppos se situent les dpartements de la rgion du Sud dont une bonne partie entrent dans la cration de la zone mtropolitaine (Clrai, Ialomia, Giurgiu). Ils sont parmi les moins dvelopps du pays.
Cette situation est visible dans les revenus budgtaires au niveau des dpartements. Ainsi, pour une population de 275893 habitants rpandus dans 39units
administratives (102 villages), le dpartement dIlfov a un revenu total de 2929
919 millions de lei, dont les revenus propres sont de 2075750, 4 millions de
lei (~80%), alors que pour une population de 288018 habitants rpandus dans
46units administratives, le dpartement de Giurgiu a un revenu total de 1519
337,6millions de lei dont 469793 millions de lei (~30%) reprsentent les revenus propres. Le dpartement de Clrai avec une population de 320387 habitants rpartis dans 48 localits, na que 1804083 millions de lei de revenu total
et 519819,8 millions de lei (~28%) de revenu propre.
Cest partir de cette situation quon trouve 5 communes dveloppes sur
26dans les dpartements en dehors dIlfov. Les communes moins dveloppes
de la zone mtropolitaine se trouvent au croisement de deux situations dfavorables: lappartenance un dpartement peu dvelopp dans son ensemble et
la position priphrique dans celui-ci (dont la distance jusquau chef-lieu du dpartement atteint entre 80 et 100km). Daprs cette logique, mme si les communes dont jai parl plus haut sont assez proches de la ville de Bucarest (entre
15et 30km) et si au niveau individuel cest possible que cette situation ait une
influence sur lemploi ou lducation, elles ne peuvent pas trop tirer profit de
cette situation au niveau communautaire, car tous les services publiques, transports intradpartementaux, quilibrage du budget local etc. sont assurs par leur
dpartement.
237
A linverse, Ilfov est le dpartement le plus petit (en surface) de la Roumanie

et ses units administratives sont localises uniformment autour de la ville de
Bucarest (juste un petit allongement est visible dans la partie au nord du dpartement). Vu cette situation, les communes tirent un double avantage: dune part
le dpartement qui devient de plus en plus riche et dautre part la municipalit de
Bucarest qui installe des infrastructures de services (gestion des dchets, traitement des eaux uses, sant publique difficile handicap psychique) sur le territoire dIlfov, en vue de prserver son territoire. En plus, toute linfrastructure
des transports, dont la Capitale de la Roumanie a besoin, passe sur le territoire
dIlfov (routes, autoroutes, aroports). Linstallation des infrastructures sur son
territoire lui donne deux types davantages: dun ct lutilisation de celles-ci et
dun autre ct largent obtenu de leur installation dans le territoire. Cette situation est la rsultante du fait que le territoire qui a fait partie de Bucarest pendant
10ans est, maintenant, gr dune faon autonome, ce qui lui donne la possibilit de disposer de son territoire.
Nouveaux jeux dans des anciens territoires
En connaissant une structuration objective du champ tudi jai utilis une
mthode de recherche qualitative, travers des entretiens semi directifs, pour
dvoiler les bonnes raisons des acteurs en ce qui concerne leurs positions face
au projet dintercommunalit, en explorant la situation subjective, telle quelle est
vcue par ceux-ci. Prcisment, les entretiens dont les sujets sont les acteurs de
ladministration locale les maires, vice-maires ou les conseillers envisagent de
comprendre les diffrentes motivations en ce qui concerne leur attitude par rapport au projet. Lenqute sest droule dans deux priodes de temps: (1)entre
le 9 et le 15 Avril et (2) entre le 2 et le 6 Mai 2006. La zone tudie tant assez
grande (94communes) jai ralis cette recherche aprs un choix de communes.
La slection des communes a t faite sur la pertinence de leur situation en essayant dapprhender la diversit des contraintes qui dirigeront dune faon ou
dune autre les actions entreprendre.
Dans un premier temps, jai essay de comprendre comment les acteurs
conoivent la situation organisationnelle dans laquelle ils se trouvent. En ce sens
jai pris trois directions de questionnement:
1) la perspective que les acteurs ont sur leur position dans le systme organisationnel administratif tel quil se trouve en ce moment. Cest--dire quel est
leur rapport avec ladministration dpartementale, avec ladministration municipale de la ville de Bucarest et avec les administrations voisines.
2) les enjeux politiques quils mnent.
238
Dora Alexa-Morcov
3) le fait que le projet ne soit pas encore clair au niveau de sa conception,

chose que je veux investiguer, mais galement ce qui a t compris du projet
par les diffrents acteurs. En gnral jai voulu saisir quels seraient, dans la
vision des acteurs, les risques et les opportunits dune acceptation du projet.
Dans un deuxime temps je mets en relation le cadre des contraintes qui dfinit
aussi les zones dincertitude et les ensembles des stratgies pour clairer le jeu
dans lequel toutes ces stratgies sinsrent. Celui-ci pourra maider sur la structuration des relations de pouvoir qui lie les divers acteurs.
Mon analyse utilise la dialectique de territoire zone et territoire rseaux
(Veltz 1996) pour caractriser les disparits qui existent entre les territoires envisags. Je mappuie sur le concept de capital spatial communautaire deux
dimensions: position (priphrie/centre, distance par rapport la ville de Bucarest, accs linfrastructure des transports) et situation (appartenance dpartementale, les relations institutionnelles formelles ayant comme indicateur le
taux du budget parvenu une mairie par la politique du rquilibrage). Ainsi je
peux parler de quatre types de territoires comme ceci:
Territoires branchs3: des communes ou petites villes qui appartiennent au
dpartement dIlfov et qui bnficient en mme temps dune proximit de la ville
de Bucarest (moins de 15 kilomtres), de routes modernes, dun grand budget et
dune bonne relation avec ladministration dpartementale reflte dans le taux
du budget provenant de ladministration dpartementale travers la politique du
rquilibrage.
Territoires accrochs: des communes qui appartiennent au dpartement
dIlfov mais qui se trouvent une distance de plus de 15 kilomtres de la ville
de Bucarest et qui disposent de routes moins importantes (route dpartementale),
qui nont pas un grand budget, mais qui bnficient dune partie assez importante de leur budget provenant de ladministration dpartementale.
Territoires retranchs: des communes priphriques appartenant aux autres
dpartements (Clrai, Ialomia, Giurgiu intgres que partiellement dans le
projet), mais qui se trouvent une distance de moins de 20 kilomtres de Bucarest. Elles ont des petits budgets et bnficient dun pourcentage infime provenant de ladministration dpartementale.
Territoires enclavs: des communes priphriques appartenant aux autres
dpartements (Clrai, Ialomia, Giurgiu intgrs que partiellement dans le
projet) qui se trouvent une distance de plus de 20 kilomtres de Bucarest, qui
ne bnficient que des routes dpartementales et qui ont la fois des budgets
rduits et un pourcentage infime provenant de ladministration dpartementale.
Les dnominations sont prises, pour leur expressivit, de Jacques Lvy (1999), mais je leur
donne ici un contenu diffrent.
239
A travers lanalyse des actions collectives lintrieur des contraintes de Crozier et Fiedberg, jai considr les attitudes des acteurs comme des signes des
actions stratgiques. En suivant les raisons pour lesquelles les acteurs ont adopt une attitude plutt quune autre, jai essay de comprendre le jeu du pouvoir
structur autour de lincertitude dans la matrise dun environnement spcifique
chaque partie.
Dune part Bucarest dtient linformation sur les objectifs publics mais elle
na aucun moyen lgislatif, dans le contexte de lautonomie locale, pour simposer dans la zone environnante en tant que centre chose qui paratrait logique au
vu de la force conomique de Bucarest et pour installer ses objectifs dinfrastructure publique dans ces territoires. Ainsi, la constitution dune zone mtropolitaine comme une zone de coopration volontaire devient cruciale pour que
Bucarest sassure un espace o elle peut construire des objectifs qui, au niveau
de lintrt politique, apportent une visibilit importante (cest le cas de limplantation dun aroport et de la continuation du canal navigable Bucarest-Danube commenc lpoque communiste). En ce contexte le dpartement dIlfov,
avec sa forme danneau qui fait de Bucarest une enclave, a une position spatiale
faire jouer comme zone dincertitude pertinente. Les acteurs institutionnels du
dpartement dIlfov, conscients de leur position spatiale (qui les aide la fois
utiliser toutes les avantages dune grande ville et faire de celle-ci une enclave
territoriale, une le) lutilisent pour renforcer leur situation spatiale cest--dire
pour agrandir la marge de libert par rapport aux autres acteurs territoriaux
(leur pouvoir dans un rapport de forces) qui leur donne, la fin, la possibilit de
tirer tous les avantages politiques impliqus.
Au niveau communautaire les attitudes ngatives et positives des acteurs institutionnels locaux ne sont ni trs claires, ni trs diffrentes dans leur nature car
elles font partie la fois dun jeu de rapport de forces et dune contradiction des
rationalits des acteurs. Dailleurs il faut dire que tous les acteurs, que ce soit
pour ou contre, ne regardent pas ce projet comme un renouvellement des
moyens de gestion administrative, mais plutt comme une rorganisation administrative que le pouvoir central Bucarest- veut imposer. En plus, il faut souligner que les discours des maires ont rvl le fait que ladministration de Bucarest est vue parfois comme une administration centrale. Cette confusion est
lie une limite assez diffuse que les acteurs institutionnels locaux conoivent
entre ladministration, les acteurs de ladministration et le parti politique auquel
ils appartiennent (cest--dire une confusion entre lorganisation centrale du parti et ladministration de Bucarest o se trouvent, dans quelques cas, les notables
des partis).
En fonction des capacits spcifiques, les acteurs jouent une position territoriale qui devient pertinente dans le nouvel enjeu institutionnel pour gagner une
meilleure position dans le systme organisationnel territorial (et tirer les avan-
240
Dora Alexa-Morcov
tages qui sen suivent). Mais ils se trouvent dans un dilemme car ils sont devenus maires dans le systme actuel, o tout changement peut impliquer la perte
de leurs positions. Ainsi, en fonction de la situation et des caractristiques de
lindividu, de son capital de relations etc., ils essaient de sassurer le gain le plus
sr que possible. Cest ainsi quun acteur institutionnel dune petite communaut
ne va pas affirmer ouvertement ses intentions, mais il va essayer de ngocier le
gain le plus sr pour lui et pour sa communaut.
Vu la situation au niveau du dpartement, jai voulu comprendre les attitudes
des acteurs institutionnels au niveau communal travers la situation spcifique
de chacun (par lintermdiaire des catgories tablies pralablement) et la faon
dont celle-ci est vcue par les acteurs telle quelle est rvle par les entretiens.
Ainsi, les acteurs des communauts appartenant aux catgories Territoires retranchs ou Territoires enclavs voient comme les plus graves problmes de
leur communaut le manque dinfrastructures de transports, le chmage qui sen
suit et la dpendance ladministration dpartementale (en ce qui concerne la
manque de personnel, le manque dinformation, de bureaucratie et parmi eux la
dpendance financire qui sen suit de lincapacit de ramasser les taxes et impts spcifiques en comptant presque totalement sur les revenus provenant de
ladministration dpartementale par la politique dajustement budgtaire). Dans
cette situation les acteurs ragissent positivement au projet de lintercommunalit
mtropolitaine mais sous diffrentes rserves. Premirement, ils nadoptent pas
des moyens visibles pour sen sortir face lopportunit qui leur est offerte par
le projet de cration dune zone mtropolitaine mais ils essayent de sassurer que,
dune faon ou dune autre, ils vont tirer des avantages de cette situation en ngociant leur position lintrieur de leurs partis. Deuximement, les acteurs qui
ont encore en mmoire lexprience vcue (en 1981) lintrieur du dpartement
dIlfov ont une raison en plus de croire que mme si une nouvelle administration
ne va pas soccuper deux non plus, ils vont avoir nanmoins beaucoup gagner
de celle-ci plutt que de celle en place actuellement. Par contre, ceux qui nont
pas connu cette exprience (les maires plus jeunes) sont assez sceptiques en ce
qui concerne la possibilit de tirer des avantages dune structure lintrieur de
laquelle ils nont pas non plus une position trop favorable.
Les acteurs qui grent les communauts appartenant la catgorie Territoires branchs, voient la question foncire et celle des services publiques
comme tant les problmes les plus difficiles. Le premier fait rfrence lexplosion des constructions rserves aux zones constructibles selon le plan durbanisation (dit intravilan) et au fait quils doivent assurer tous les services ncessaires. En outre, les litiges fonciers sont de plus en plus nombreux. Des deux
maires que jai rencontrs, un tait, avant darriver la mairie, grand entrepreneur dans le domaine de limmobilier et lautre snateur. Leurs discours montrent bien quils se situent dans un rseau financier et politique qui les rend peu
241
dpendants dune administration dpartementale ou autre. Jai observ que leurs

attitudes plutt ngatives, justifies par lexacerbation des luttes dans le domaine
foncier, cachent des intrts plus fins. La croyance, en outre, que la constitution dune zone mtropolitaine pourrait accrotre les prix des terrains, les mne
penser que celle-ci pourrait leur apporter des bnfices, soit personnels (voire
leurs proprits de terrains), soit au niveau communautaire (en ce qui concerne
le problme des populations tsiganes, ou pauvres, qui vont tre plus tentes de
vendre leurs terrains et de quitter ces communes).
Sachant que sans leur accord, la cration dune Zone Mtropolitaine est
compromise (voir leur position centrale dans le cadre de cette construction),
lattitude ngative quils montrent est plutt lie aux dsirs de ngociations en
vue dattirer des grands objectifs, envisags par la mairie de Bucarest, sur leur
territoire.
En suivant ces logiques il est vident que les acteurs utilisent une position
spatiale, travers leur rationalit limite, en fonction de leurs croyances sur ce
quun tel projet peut leur apporter, en vue de garder ou amliorer une situation
dans un rseau dacteurs territoriaux. David Stark nous montre bien que dans
les pays de lEurope Centrale et de lEst on rencontre des acteurs dj accoutums faire avec les ambiguts des formes sociales contradictoires, sadaptant
aux nouvelles incertitudes en improvisant partir des routines prouves (Stark
1999: 95). Selon Stark linnovation organisationnelle mme, est, en ralit, une
modification, une recombinaison des anciennes caractristiques qui ne sont
plus vues, comme dans la thorie classique, seulement travers les contraintes
quelles crent, mais aussi travers leur potentiel rapport un possible avenir.
Peut-on conclure, donc, quune ancienne structure dorganisation territoriale qui subordonnait Ilfov Bucarest (cette dernire fournissant Ilfov des
ressources naturelles et conomiques), devienne le pouvoir qui contraint sans
effort lancien dominateur? Son pouvoir rside dans sa position danneau autour de Bucarest. Gr maintenant dune faon autonome, le dpartement dIlfov peut dire Oui et Non toutes les initiatives que le Bucarest prtend faire sur
son territoire.
De la mme manire, un territoire priphrique et oubli devient un territoire dcisif lheure de la constitution dun nouvel espace de gestion (le cas des
communes priphriques des dpartements de Clrai, Ialomia et Giurgiu avec
leurs tranges formes trs allonges). Les acteurs institutionnels locaux sont
conscients de leur pouvoir qui vient, donc, de la matrise dune position territoriale, ils lexploitent selon leurs intrts politiques ou conomiques et en sappuyant sur leurs relations.
242
Dora Alexa-Morcov
Bibliographie
Centre de Recherche Urbaines de la Mairie de Bucarest (CPUMB) 2005: Plan
dAmnagement Territoriale Zonal. La Zone dAgglomration Urbaine et
Zone Mtropolitaine de la Ville de Bucarest (tude non publi).
Chiriac, Dumitru, Cristina Huma, Sofia Manuela Stanculescu 2000: Dezvoltarea comunitar rural a Zonei Metropolitane Bucureti. [Dveloppement
communautaire rurale de la zone mtropolitaine de Bucarest]. In: Calitatea
Vieii XII, nr. 14: 111133.
Crozier, Michel, Erhard Friedberg 1977: Lacteur et le systme. Les contraintes
de laction collective. Paris: Editions du Seuil.
Elissade, Bernard 2004: Mtropolisation. En: Hypergo, mars 2006. URL:
http://www.cybergeo.presse.fr/libergeo/hypergeo.htm.
Ghorra-Gobin, Cyntia 2004: Ltalement de la ville amricaine. Quelles rponses politique? En: Esprit Mars Avril 2004: 159.
Iordan, Ion 1973: La zone priurbaine de Bucarest. Bucarest: Editura Academiei Romne.
Le Gals, Patrick 2003: Le retour des villes europennes. Socit urbaines,
mondialisation, gouvernement et gouvernance. Paris: Presses de Sciences
Po.
Lvy, Jacques 1999: Le tournant gographique: penser lespace pour lire le
monde. Paris, Belin: Mappemonde.
Mongin, Olivier 2004: La mondialisation et les mtamorphoses de lurbaine.
Mgacits, ville globales et mtropoles. En: Esprit Mars Avril 2004: 175.
Popescu, Corneliu-Liviu 1999: Autonomia local i integrarea european. [Autonomie locale et intgration europenne]. Bucarest: All Beck.
Stark, David 1999: Sommes-nous toujours au sicle des transitions? Le capitalisme est-europenne et la proprit recombinante. En: Politix 47: 93.
Veltz, Pierre 1996: Mondialisation, villes et territoires: lconomie darchipel.
Paris: PUF.
Abstract
The Games of the Construction of a Metropolitan Region in Romania after
1989. The Case of the Metropolitan Zone of Bucharest
The paper discusses the difficulties of collective action construction regarding
the process of urban/regional public decision-making in Romania. Building a
metropolitan area of Bucharest, an innovative proposal in urban management
(including, first of all, cooperation between local actors) resulted in numerous
conflicts between local and central authorities, even though it was supposed to
decrease the development disparities between regions and provide a better func-
243
tioning of public services. The focus of the paper is on power games between
local stakeholders. These games became relevant when the new proposal for
a territorial administration (metropolitan area) tried to change the old management form. By granting local autonomy to village administrations, the old relations of formal and informal subordination changed. The spatial position of
villages is the main tool in these negotiations. This position depends on mental
strategies of local stakeholders and on what they consider to be possible advantages (at individual or community levels) of getting involved in such a project.
PhysicalExpansionandSubregionalDisparitiesintheGrowing
MetropolitanRegionofBelgrade
PhysicalExpansionandSubregionalDisparitiesintheGrowingMetropolitanRegion
ofBelgrade
byJasnaPetriTamaraMarii
Source:
Physical Expansion and Subregional Disparities

in the Growing Metropolitan Region of Belgrade
Tamara Marii, Jasna Petri, Belgrade
1 Introduction
As with other former socialist countries in Central and Southeastern Europe
that are still fighting their socialist legacy, but also with an additional economic setback caused, among others, by the wars in the region in the 1990s, Serbia
has suffered from an isolated position on the European and global scene. At the
same time, the incorporated strong, centralized power pursued to broaden the
division of the countrys territory between the centre (capital city) and periphery, something which can be noticed not only in the case of Serbia but in many
other countries governed by the political idea that people, assets, and territory
could be efficiently controlled by methods and techniques of strict centralization
(Pui 2004:3). The research of S. Tsenkova (2004:6) shows that the concentration of the population in large urban agglomerations is a characteristic feature
of countries in Central and Southeastern Europe. At the same time, S.Sassen
(2000:210) argues that, the geography of centrality and marginality, which in
the past was seen in terms of the duality of highly developed and less developed
countries, is now also evident within developed countries and especially within
their major cities.
Considering that the Belgrade metropolitan region is characterized by a distinctive position and status in Serbia, the development of the city and especially
its physical expansion should require special attention and a well-thought concept of balancing the sub-regional disparities. It can be asserted that many issues
of regional disparity of the country replicate at the lower scale within the Belgrade region; however, this situation of disproportionate development between
the city centre and its periphery has gradually begun to change.
Belgrade agglomeration is defined as a complex functional system of urban
and non-urban settlements whose integration derives from the functional ties
and interactions made between their structural elements. Although the network
of settlements in Belgrade metropolitan region is quite heterogeneous, spatial
and functional ties between the settlements stand in a functional hierarchy. The
main holders of the comprehensive development processes of Belgrade are its ten
inner (urban) municipalities. However, the metropolitan region is characterized
by significant peri-urbanisation processes and spontaneously developed edge
246
Tamara Marii, Jasna Petri
settlements, which typically continue to grow in a less structured way, lacking the proper infrastructure and with insufficient transportation links between
them and the urban core.
Even if the suburbanization of Belgrade may not have been driven by exactly
the same reasons as in the more developed countries or in some other former socialist countries, it is still a powerful factor that brings about the physical expansion of the city. Its origins go back to the period straight after the Second World
War, which was marked by accelerated economic modernization and intense urbanization. The socialist regime of former Yugoslavia had to find creative ways
to cope with large numbers of new urbanites, while having limited resources to
satisfy their housing needs. The population influx created intense pressure on
Belgrades housing stock, which was partly treated through state companies and
institutions that were entitled to develop flats for their employees. While this effort resulted in the creation of model settlements on vast vacant sites, e.g. Novi
Beograd, it could not fully meet the high demand for housing. The rest of the
incoming population to Belgrade, such as the commuting industrial labour force,
had to seek accommodation in the former agricultural communities around Belgrade which often became mere dormitories. This created urban disproportions in which different groups of migrants ended up at different ends of the
spectrum of inequality. While certain categories of migrants, namely those who
were accommodated in state-owned housing, were effectively integrated into
the life of the city, other categories were forced to build their own homes, often
illegally, in certain parts of the citys periphery. The state policy thus resulted
in the development of two peripheries a relatively well-serviced, organized
periphery, and an autonomous, wild periphery with a suburban composition
of privately built, privately-owned houses, but largely devoid of infrastructure.
In the recent past, another considerable wave of an immigrant population
that came to Belgrade (as well as to some other parts of Serbia) included war
refugees from all over the former Yugoslavia and internally displaced persons
from Kosovo and Metohija. Recent statistics show that, on average, every sixth
citizen of Belgrade was an immigrant and every fourteenth came as a refugee.
However, when observing the share of immigrants in the total population of
the central and peripheral parts of Belgrade, there are noticeable differences.
For example, the municipalities of the very city centre (e.g. Stari grad, Vraar)
have a proportionally much lower immigrant/refugee population than some urban municipalities further away (e.g. Novi Beograd, Zemun). Similarly, certain
suburban municipalities (e.g. Barajevo, Grocka) have an even larger proportion
of immigrants, especially refugees; this can be partly ascribed to the property
prices which are much lower at the periphery than in the central parts of Belgrade. The housing deficit in Belgrade, which is confronted with the need for
accommodating the new populations, has caused significant residential pressure
247
on the suburbs and green-fields of Belgrade agglomeration (e.g. the Zemun corridor, the belt of motorways to Surin, Batajnica, Novi Sad; Ibar direction; Avala direction; Zrenjanin direction, etc.). Still, it is important to stress that such
a boom of the metropolitan periphery is imminent not only to post-socialistic
East European or Balkan countries, but also to the developed metropolitan areas
of Western Europe (Zekovi et al. 2007: 2425).
The key issue here concerns the concept that would enable Belgrade to pursue its development and at the same time curb its physical expansion. With the
international tendency to shift the production and services from the city centre
to the periphery, and with the direct foreign investments being placed rather
into the metropolitan periphery of Belgrade, the role of the local city authorities
should not be just to service the invisible hands of the market. Furthermore,
the complex issue of the sprawl of the Belgrade metropolitan region should be
effectively tackled by the future regionalization of the country.
2 Review of some conceptual and practical issues of regionalization
Present discourses consider regionalization as an inevitable strategy in guiding
development processes that have spatial implications. It is one of the goals of regionalization to bring the economic, demographic, and social developments into
harmony. Therefore it could be said that the main task of regionalization is to
offer conceptually elaborated solutions that are applicable in practice with the
aim of achieving optimal spatial organization. Ultimately, this would produce a
higher quality in the sphere of physical planning as well as the development in
the socio-economic sphere.
A resurgence of interest in regionalization as an exceptionally complex and
contradictory issue has been apparent over the past decade or so. As Murdoch
and Norton (2001: 109) point out, regionalism is now at the centre of attention of
academic and policy discourses, since the regional modes of governance seem to
play a key role both in discussion of new economic forms and in the emergence
of new strategies for sustainable development.
For more than a decade, regionalization has been the focus of attention of
Serbian planners, economists, politicians, etc., with both advocates and opponents. On the one hand, it has been attacked as a concept leading to federalization, which in turn, can potentially cause disintegration of the country.
However, on the other hand, there are many more arguments in favour of regionalization, which, for example, support the idea of the government as a subsidiary, according to which central authority should perform only those tasks
which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate or local level. The
key motive for the engagement of the state in the regionalization of Serbia lies in
248
the existing huge intra- and inter-regional imbalances, which restrain development and initiate the migration flows and depopulation of large territories. Surely, regionalization in Serbia is not a panacea to all inherited problems including
the new regional transitional poverty. However, the forming of regions could
facilitate the realization of pragmatic goals, which may ultimately lead to considerable benefits for the whole country and its society, under the condition that
it is performed not hastily and without any connection to the prior territorial organization of the country.
Regionalization, understood as the process of forming regions that reflects
the way in which the national development policy has been conducted, should
take into consideration the specific needs of certain areas, ensuring their balanced development. In most countries, regionalization is fundamentally a political issue, which stands both for the already existing (real) regions and for the
planned (nodal) ones, the latter being formed to achieve the goals of socio-political organization, economic development, and prosperity in general. While the
confluence of economic, social, and political trends at the regional level is taking place almost everywhere in Europe, these trends can take different forms in
different contexts (MacLeod, Goodwin 1999). Basically, regionalization arises
either as a top-down phenomenon that follows from functional integration
or institutional restructuring driven by the state or economic pressures, or it
arises as a bottom-up political or civic demand. Each form of regionalization
is likely to comprise its own strengths and weaknesses. Namely, in the case of
regionalization that follows a top-down approach, while the ensuing regional
tier may be strongly linked upwards into the nation state, there may be problems in establishing linkages downwards to local stakeholders, whereas when
regionalization follows from bottom-up political mobilisation, there may be
difficulties in establishing networks into the nation-state and beyond (see Murdoch, Norton 2001: 111).
The Region should be considered as a part of a whole, where it represents a
specialized natural-geographic, anthropo-geographic, economic, historical, ethno-cultural or civilizational entity, which can fully express the advantages of its
uniqueness as well as the harmony with its surroundings (Vojkovi 2003: 9).
Either as an administrative (province, district, county), functional (tourism, industrial, energy, etc.) or planning-statistical component, the region is designated to facilitate the planned development at the mezzo level. Also, it allows for
much easier identification of the territorial capital, i.e., its tangible and intangible resources.
However, a specific group of problems and dilemmas re-opens when one
tries to define the regions size and boundaries. In formal terms, it is often the
number of inhabitants which is among the parameters to substantiate the size of
a region. For example, the official NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
249
Statistics) system for the regions categorization given by the Eurostat statistical office in Luxembourg insists upon a hierarchical structure of territorial levels of management and standardization of regions according to their size (Stojkov 2000). On the other hand, the strict demarcation of regions according to
this parameter, especially when they are featured by strong function-gravitation
links and dynamic population movements, may seem a short-sighted task with
arguable results.
In a broader perspective, the region is a powerful institution that can achieve
spatial, economic, cultural, and other integration in the two following ways:
(a)by functional and shared interest among neighbours in tackling the common
issues and concerns (traffic, infrastructure, tourism, environmental protection,
cultural heritage, security, etc.), and (b) by thematic and functional cohesion
at the three integration levels: trans-border (cooperation between neighbouring
border regions), trans-regional (collaboration between the regions with themes,
problems, and ideas they have in common) and trans-national (cooperation between regions linked by a large territorial system that crosses several states, e.g.
the Danube, Alps, Black Sea, etc.).
Although we may talk about a regional renaissance, the strength and
degrees of autonomy of regions still possess great divergence across Europe.
Moreover, the meanings ascribed to the term region vary a lot depending on
the criteria used for its definition, e.g. geographic homogeneity, functionality,
etc. Therefore, it is always essential to fully take into account the local context
in which regionalization takes place.
3 Regional and subregional differentiation in Serbia
Regional disproportions in Serbia have been growing larger during the last decades. Some of the major issues that lead to the relative lagging behind of Serbia
in comparison to its neighbours can be summed up as:
1. extremely uneven regional development, which exceeds the ratio of 1:10 between the most and least developed regions. The backward regions in the
east, west, and, above all, in the south of Serbia face demographic and economic collapse with significant damage to the country as a whole. On the
other hand, the economic backbone of Serbian development is represented
by regions along its three major rivers, Danube, Sava, and Morava, where
the Belgrade metropolitan region dominates as a strong hen among frail
chicken.
2. weak territorial cohesion, with centralized power at the state level following the centralist French model, and the sequence of autarchy exercised by
centralized municipalities which, under the circumstances of underdevelop-
250
ment and the lack of policy (strategy) for Serbian regional development, lead
to the weakening of sense and responsibility for the whole, on the one hand,
and incapability of the state to successfully deal with the piled-up problems
of regional development, on the other.
3. insufficiently used, underused or wrongly used territorial capital, i.e., inadequate use of natural, human, and material potentials, and insufficient promotion of cultural, ethnic, and natural assets and diversity, etc.
4. the issue of competitiveness, which implies the level of economic ability of a
region or state to enter the open and sometimes quite restrictive competition
of the European market with its own resources and products.
There are two principal regional-geographic units that dominate the Serbian territory: the Vojvodina-Panonian-Danubian macro-region, which is characterized
by relatively large homogeneity, and the Central Serbian-Balkan macro-region
with a much more complex regional structure (Radovanovi 1993/4: 92). However, it is the model of administrative-territorial organization of Serbia rather
than its morphological structure that influences the regional disproportions in
the country. In reference to this, we may discuss polycentricity (the network of
settlements in the morphological sense) and polycentrism (the policy which sustains polycentricity as a functioning system for urban centres within the decentralized state), the latter not being incorporated in the Serbian state policy (Stojkov 2007:17). Here, one should note that several decades before the 1980s, the
former state (Yugoslavia) was practising one of the most decentralized systems
of planning and policy, but with the radical re-centralization of the system in
the 1990s, the entitlement of local authorities was largely reduced. The Law on
Local Self-Government (2007) has strengthened the municipality and city level, providing the opportunity for Belgrade to enact the Law on the Capital City
that would comprehensively treat the position of Belgrade in accordance with its
characteristics and needs.
The issue of the regionalization of Serbia was raised once again through the
preparation of the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia. At the time of a sensitive political, social, and economic situation,1 discussions about macroregions
and subregions seemed too complicated for centralized government, and the regionalisation policy in Serbia was based mainly on the stimulation of undeveloped regions, especially in mountainous and border provinces (Veljkovi 1998).
However, the official regional differentiation in Serbia (since 1992) has presumed the existence of 29 districts (okruzi), although they have not really been
the proper regions. Having been constituted by way of gerrymandering, they
rather represent field/territorial offices of the federal ministries (Vujoevi
1
The Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia was adopted in 1996 when Serbia suffered from
numerous external (economic sanctions imposed by the UN) and internal problems.
251
2004: 28). Apart from recognizing the above mentioned districts, according to
the model of territorial organization in the 1990s, the Republic of Serbia defined
two of its provinces (Vojvodina; Kosovo and Metohija), 189 municipalities, and
23urban settlements with city status plus the City of Belgrade, which represents
a special territorial unit according to the Constitution. Other towns in Serbia
have found themselves more or less on the margins of the system, and such a
situation pinpoints again the necessity to incorporate polycentrism.
When analysing possibilities of the new territorial organization of Serbia,
one cannot neglect the issue of its adjustment to the Eurostat system, which has
not yet been endorsed in Serbia. A number of ideas in this respect also derive
from the endorsed Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia. For example, the research which was conducted during the preparation of this plan suggested that
1. Serbia could have 7 macro-regions (Vojvodina, Timoka Krajina, Podrinje,
umadija, Juna Srbija, Kosmet, and the City of Belgrade) which, in present
terms, would roughly correspond to the NUTS 2 level;
2. Serbia could have 34 districts organized around functional urban areas of regional and subregional importance (corresponding to the NUTS 3 level);
3. Apart from Belgrade as the capital, Serbia has 5 macro-regional centres
(Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Ni, Pritina, and, potentially, Uice). The remaining issue is that Timoka Krajina does not have any macro-regional centres;
4. Polycentrism as the national policy could lead to more rapid and efficient
regional development as well as to better activation of a regions territorial
capital, thus producing its better competitive position in wider surroundings.
4 Growth of Belgrade Region in the Serbian Context
The city of Belgrade (Belgrade metropolitan region), which is one of the seven
Serbian macro-regions, comprises 17 municipalities, out of which ten are urban and seven are suburban, and it covers approximately 3222 km2, or 3.6%
of the Serbian territory. Belgrade region is a complex system of interconnected urban and rural settlements, with a strong hierarchy and diverse functional
connections.
The metropolitan region of Belgrade, with its 1.6 million inhabitants2 (21.5%
of the Serbian population without Kosovo and Metohija), demonstrates one of
the key issues of imbalance the concentration of population and political power
in the capital city of a country, the situation which is not exclusive to Serbia, but
Estimate on 30.6.2005: 1596919 in Belgrade and 7440769 in Serbia without data for Kosovo and Metohija (Optine u Srbiji 2007) due to the fact that since 1991 the Albanian ethnic group has boycotted all censuses conducted by Serbian authorities.
252
can be seen in many other European countries, e.g. Hungary, Croatia, Greece,
to name a few. With the lack of proper regionalization, this notable centralization (after the French model) is characterized by a domineering metropolitan
capital, where most economic development, trade, services, and human potential are concentrated.
The Belgrade administrative region was formed after the Second World
War (when the city experienced its highest economic and demographic boom),
and with time it gradually expanded through the inclusion of municipalities or
their parts. Today, almost 80% (1.25 million3) of its population live in urban
municipalities.
Having adopted Le Corbusiers model of urban development, Belgrade followed the example of other socialist metropolises the construction of multistorey buildings, which in turn resulted in high population densities. The most
intense construction of social housing took place in central urban municipalities, especially in Novi Beograd. The absence of a real estate market shaped
Belgrade quite differently from its Western counterparts: density and land allocation between different uses reflected administrative decisions. The Belgrade
urban area today has an average population density which is two times larger than in West European cities, three times larger than in Canadian cities,
and six to seven times larger than in US American or Australian metropolises
(Jovanovi 2005: 33). Many ex-socialist capitals (Moscow, Budapest, Prague)
built metro-systems, so the majority of workplaces were concentrated in the city
centre, while housing density was higher on the periphery. The housing density
in Moscows suburbs is double the density in the city centre. This kind of spatial distribution was supported with very cheap public transport, almost totally
financed by the state. Although there were plans for a underground rail system
under the River Sava, envisioned to connect the centre of Belgrade with Zemun, Belgrade always lacked the financial resources to develop such projects.
However, it developed a good public transport system (expressed in number of
vehicles/km per inhabitant) almost identical to the one in West European cities
(Jovanovi 2005:336). The main problem here is inadequate quality and structure of public transport service the rail systems are of a poor standard, and
vehicles are often overloaded due to high demand.
The drastic social changes (or shocks) in the beginning of the 1990s (civil
war, economic crisis, depopulation of rural and periphery regions, great immigration waves of refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the latest
migrations of the temporarily displaced persons from Kosovo and Metohija),
in combination with the key processes and factors of post-socialist transition
(privatization accompanied by the plunder of social property, lack of concern
3
Estimate on 30.6.2005 (Optine u Srbiji 2007).
253
for environmental issues, weak instruments for planning and construction regulation, etc.) have led to diverse problems. The most important ones are: an extremely high unemployment rate (officially it is 22% in Belgrade, compared to
the Republics average of 28,5%4, but estimates are that it is running over30%),
the prolonged crisis of economic growth, pauperisation of the majority of people
(together with even greater economic stratification and loss of the middle class),
brain drain5, over 113500 refugees and over 56000 temporarily displaced persons, environmental pollution, degradation and deterioration, illegal construction6 that led to an urbanistic chaos, unhygienic (Roma) settlements in central
city districts, etc.
These inside and outside pressures have altogether led to the current situation where Belgrade, despite its excellent geographic position in the region (link
to the European transport corridors VII and X), is seriously lagging behind in
regional (Balkan), European, and global economic competition between the major cities. Although it has always been considered as the gate to the East and the
door to the West, during the last decade of the twentieth century Belgrade has
certainly lost its competitive position in the regional, European, and global hierarchy. However, the recent positive changes (including economic and social development) have brought Belgrade back in focus, because in 2006 it was awarded the title City of the Future in Southern Europe by the Financial Times.
The Master Plan of Belgrade (2003) and the Regional Spatial Plan of Belgrade Administrative Area (2004) aim towards the activation of urban potentials in creating a dynamic and vibrant city by envisioning (Stupar, Hamamcioglu 2006: 29)
the old city centre as a place of cultural identity;
Novi Beograd as an alternative centre suitable for business and commercial
activities;
the riverbanks as the future multipurpose centres with marinas, recreation and
leisure activities; and
the suburbs as new industrial and commercial areas.
Republiki zavod za statistiku Srbije, Optine u Srbiji, 2005. Belgrade 2006.

That is, the emigration of highly educated persons who are facing numerous difficulties at
home such as unemployment, low wages, housing shortages, obstacles to career development and a worrisome overall outlook. The estimates of the number of young and educated
people who have left their country vary from 30000 to more than 300000.
6
When the Law on Planning and Construction (2003) envisaged the legislation of illegally
built buildings, about 150000 legislation applications were submitted in Belgrade alone,
but an estimate is that this accounts only for 60% of illegal construction in the city (see
Petovar 2007).
4
5
254
5 The role of socio-economic factors in creating subregional disparities

acase study of an urban and a suburban area in expansion
An analysis of the economic activity pattern shows that Belgrade has the same
attributes as other multi-million cities around the world. The economic activity
imbalance is expressed at the city level all business activity is concentrated in
two municipalities: Stari Grad and Novi Beograd, where the latter has a tendency of becoming Belgrades focal point of business and finance (Gali 2007: 28).
As previously mentioned, a huge number of refugees (around 380000) came
to Serbia in the 1990s, and more than a third of them were attracted by the capital and its perceived advantages. If there had been no refugee immigrants, urban decline would have been a possibility, due to negative natural growth and
emigration flows abroad (Petrovi 2007: 126). While all of Serbia suffered from
a small decline in the number of inhabitants (around 1.1% between the last two
censuses 1991, 2002), the population of Belgrade slightly increased in number,
mainly due to the refugees (7.1% of its inhabitants in 2002 were refugees). However, there are noticeable socio-economic differences between Belgrades urban
and suburban municipalities.
Belgrades urban municipalities7 are the main development stakeholders. The
average salaries here are much higher (sometimes more than double) than in the
suburban municipalities (with the exception of Lazarevac, due to its strong economic base). Also, the concentration of law firms and shops is the highest in the
ten central municipalities, the majority of them being located in Novi Beograd
(17% of Belgrades law firms and 14.4% shops).
The suburban municipalities8 of Belgrade are quite diverse in terms of size,
location, facilities, GDP, which depends on their geographical position (in the
Panonian plane or at the umadija hills), and functional characteristics (residential suburbia, weekend-housing, industry or mining centres, etc.). While smaller
settlements in some Belgrade suburban municipalities (Lazarevac, Mladenovac,
and Obrenovac) have enough inhabitants and facilities to become secondary development poles, in other suburban municipalities (Barajevo, Grocka, and Sopot) the concentration of population, business, and services is still not sufficient
enough to allow a larger autonomy. As expected, there are more daily migrations of active population and scholars from suburban to urban municipalities
than in the opposite direction.
In order to manage the infrastructure problems and increase its inner connectivity and efficiency, Belgrade improved its road and telecommunication net-
Vodovac, Vraar, Zvezdara, Zemun, Novi Beograd, Palilula, Rakovica, Savski venac,
Stari Grad, and ukarica.
8
Barajevo, Grocka, Lazarevac, Mladenovac, Obrenovac, Sopot and Surin.
7
255
work. There are several important projects in plan which are supposed to solve
the traffic problems in the city area, such as a light rail system, an inner city
ring road, a new bridge over the River Sava.
For further analysis and understanding of sub-regional disparities, changing lifestyles, and spatial patterns in the Belgrade metropolitan region, we will
focus on two of its municipalities (one urban and the other suburban), namely
Novi Beograd as the most developed one, with extremely good perspectives, the
largest population, and high salaries; and Barajevo which is insufficiently developed, with dominant agricultural activity, and with the lowest salaries in the
Belgrade region. A common feature of both municipalities is their high percentage of refugees that came in the 1990s and impacted the development in both
cases.
5.1 Case study of Novi Beograd
Novi Beograd is one of ten urban municipalities in Belgrade. By a number of
criteria (economy, population, services) it is today one of the most developed local communities in Serbia (Strateki plan optine Novi Beograd 2006:3). Since
1952, when it was constituted, the municipality has expanded to an area of
around 4100 ha. It is located in the plain, at altitudes between 72 and 110m.
With 217773 inhabitants in 2002 and presently an estimated 300000 inhabitants, it is the most populated municipality in Serbia and Belgrade (with almost 15% of Belgrades population), and with an average population density of
5328persons/km.
Only 60 years ago, Novi Beograd was marshland which for centuries had
served as a no-mans-land between the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. Although there have been some attempts to plan the urbanization of the
left bank of the River Sava9, the area was mostly neglected until the end of the
Second World War. The only structure was the Old Belgrade Fairground, built
in 1937. Mass reclamation actions in Novi Beograd began in 1948, when this
vacant site (with no urban history) was designated as the new beginning of the
new state, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Novi Beograd,
as the heart of the capital of the new socialist state had to represent it in a
strong ideological spirit, in sharp contrast to the monarchy, and as an expression of radical modernisation and urbanization. It was foreseen as the centre of
administration, culture, and economy, planned as a modern and functional urban area. It was designed by the most prominent Yugoslav architects in order
9
Appendix to the Master Plan of Belgrade 1923, Revision of the Master Plan of Belgrade
in 1939, Sketch for the regulation of Belgrade on the left bank of the River Sava by Nikola
Dobrovi in 1946.
256
to differ both from the Soviet model of socialist realism and from the Western
international style. The result was a new concept of urban landscape (largely
influenced by Le Corbusier and Hans Sharoun), combined with the invention
of contemporary socialist architecture which reflected the specificity of Yugoslav self-management socialism. At that time, the celebration of the state
and party seemed more important than the social life of people in the new city
(Blagojevi 2007:172). The monumental architecture based on the simple expression of primary geometric forms dominated in the massive apartment buildings for the working class. Actually, this was the prevailing form of housing in
all socialist countries.
People used to say that Novi Beograd was built to look great from above.
Stiff zoning emerged from the mega-transport matrix of wide boulevards that
forced the inhabitants to focus on their micro-communities, their blocks. The
prefabricated building of unified urban forms and flat structures led to the loss
of identity in the blocks. The need for an efficient communication and orientation system stimulated people to create innovative names for the blocks which
were initially known only by numbers.10
It should be noted that the use of prefabricated panel systems was not unique
to socialist countries. Many cities in Western Europe built subsidized housing
for low income households in distant suburbs. The difference is that these types
of high density residential housing areas were not built anymore after the mid
1960s (Bertraud 2004: 48).
This mass of collective social housing left no space for commercial functions, therefore people were forced to go to the city centre for the purchase
even of basic goods. The monotony of the buildings and the absence of human
measure led to the alienation of the inhabitants (Savi 2000: 353). This made
the task of creating an identity of place quite difficult. Sociological studies have
shown that youngsters possessed a higher degree of adaptability to this environment and identified much easier with it, thus creating the specific image of Novi
Beograd.
Only in the recently built blocks, with market oriented design, is there a
new approach to architecture: the forms are diverse, the street network is better adapted to peoples needs, there are shops in residential buildings. Today
there are many facilities that did not exist in socialist times, such as large commercial developments and new churches, satisfying both material and spiritual
needs (Picture 1).
For example, a part of Block 21 is called Chinese wall, Block 28 Horseshoe, then there
are Three sisters, Six corporals, TVs, Mercedes, The west Belgrade gate, The
matchbox, etc.
10
257
Picture 1: Skyline of Novi Beograd (T. Marii, 2009)
From 1961 to 1991 the population of Novi Beograd grew continuously, mainly as a result of the immigration of people from other parts of the country. Surprisingly, the population analysis shows that there was a small decline (-0.4)
in the number of inhabitants between the last two censuses, partly due to negative natural growth of population (-2.4) and lower pressure of emigrants from
the rest of Serbia. In the same period, the number of households increased by
14%. This reflects the latest tendency of having smaller families (instead of
three generations there are just one or two generations, with less children), so
that the average household size has rapidly decreased in only one decade, from
3.2 individuals per household in 1991, to 2.7 in 2002.
A large portion of refugees coming to Serbia (14.5%) settled either temporarily or permanently in Novi Beograd. In 2002, they comprised 7.4% of Novi
Beograds population and thus made a significant demographic contribution.
Without this group of immigrants, the population of Novi Beograd would have
shrunk even more (-7.3). The age structure shows that the largest is the age
group between 40 and 59 years (30% of the population), followed by the group
between the age of 20 and 39 (27%), the elderly population of 60+ (24%), and
the young ones of under 20 years (19%). As for the structure of the workforce,
almost 70% of the population are of working age, and 64% are economically
active. People are generally well educated: only 1.6% do not have elementary
education, 50% have secondary education, and 31% have completed higher education or university.
With some 200 skyscrapers and 600 large buildings, this highly urbanized
area has around 86000 flats, the majority of which have central heating and other facilities. The average size of a flat is 67m. Despite the relatively high prices
of residential space (1100 to 4000 per m), the demand is still large. Construction never stops, owing to the availability of lots; in 2005, 900 new apartments
were built in Novi Beograd. The main developers are private investors.
Owing to the rapid and huge economic development, mainly pointed to the
tertiary sector (services), the residents of Novi Beograd on average enjoy the
second highest salaries in the Belgrade region, 18% higher than the average for
258
Picture 2: Single housing of Barajevo (S. Radenovi, 2009)
Belgrade. The municipality has the highest GDP in the entire Belgrade region;
it has plenty of qualified labour and some 5000 companies, most of them privately owned, and it boasts the largest number of crafts and trade shops (7580)
in the Republic. Since 2000, Novi Beograd has had the greatest investments in
Serbia and has become the most attractive destination for domestic and foreign
investors.
5.2 Case study of suburban Barajevo
Barajevo is one of Belgrades seven suburban municipalities whose rural character has changed only gradually. With its 213km2, Barajevo covers approximately 6.6% of the territory of Belgrade region. It is located some 30 km to
the southwest of the city centre and connected to the city by a major highway,
the Ibar Highway11. The railway from Belgrade to port Bar (Montenegro) runs
through the municipality.
11
This highway got its name for running along the valley of River Ibar.
259
Picture 3: Collective housing of Barajevo (S. Radenovi, 2009)
The first mention of the name Barajevo dates back to the sixteenth century.
Because of the Turkish invasion many inhabitants migrated to the lands north of
the River Sava, while Serbs from southern regions moved in. The modern history of Barajevo begins in 1956 when it gained municipal status and became an
administrative part of greater Belgrade. In 1957 the municipality of Beljina, and
in 1960 the settlements of Meljak and Vrani were annexed to Barajevo. The
13settlements of Barajevo are quite scattered, albeit the terrain is flat or slightly
inclined (Picture 2). There are only a few more densely populated settlements
(Picture 3), most of them along the Ibar Highway.
As a suburban municipality, Barajevo has a much lower population density
(116persons/km2) than Belgrade (489persons/km2), which is due to the dominant type of housing (single-family houses). One of Barajevos main features
is the large number of weekend houses not only in the settlements but also on
the vacant territory between them, especially in the southern parts. Most of the
houses were built in the 1970s, when many Belgraders used their savings for
building a second home at the outskirts, which could also be used as a permanent residence after retirement. However, with the economic crisis that struck
the country in the 1990s, many houses changed their owners and became per-
260
manent homes for immigrants, many of them refugees looking for a better life
and jobs in Belgrade. In addition, there was a lot of illegal construction, a problem haunting all of Belgrade, most of it in the centre and along the Ibar Highway.
Barajevos population is one of the fastest growing in the Belgrade metropolitan region. According to the last census (2002), it had 24641 inhabitants, approximately one third of them (8325) living in the municipal centre. The population is growing at an average annual rate of 2%, which is due exclusively to
immigration, as the natural population growth is negative (-5.3 in 2004). In
the period between the last two censuses, 2730 refugees (or 11.08% of the population) came to Barajevo, pushing up the growth rate to 15.3% between 1991 and
2002; without refugees it would have been just 4.5. The number of households
has decreased, although not at a much slower rate than in Novi Beograd, and
the average household size has dropped from 3.5 individuals per household in
1971, to 3.0 in 2002. The largest age group is the one between 40 and 59 years
of age (30%), followed by those between 20 and 39 years (25%), the elderly of
60+ (24%), and lastly the young ones less than 19 years old (21%). The educational structure is not favourable, as there are many adults without completed elementary education (21%), joined by those who only completed primary school
(25.7%). Almost 46% of the adult population have secondary school education,
but there are merely 6% with higher education or a university degree. 64% of the
population is of working age, but only 45% of them work actively. This means
that Barajevo is economically underdeveloped, an indicator of which is the low
average income per capita of only 52.8% of the Belgrade average. The GDP of
Barajevo is the lowest in the entire Belgrade region. As a predominantly agricultural area (52% of the total income stems from this activity), Barajevo has a
mill, a large orchard farm, a veterinarian station, and the hunting and forestry
company of Lipovika uma. There are some small construction and electronic
companies and a ball bearing factory. There is a growth of the so-called mixed
households, where younger household members are typically engaged in nonagricultural activities and still help the older household members in agriculture.
Due to the relative proximity of Belgrade, a number of Barajevo residents
commute daily to the city which offers them better job opportunities. Since the
price of property is relatively low (250 per m 2 of residential space as compared
to over 2000 in central Belgrade), many migrants to Belgrade settle in a suburban municipality like Barajevo, because they can afford a bigger house and
can do some agriculture to support them while earning their main income in
Belgrade. The average size of housing accommodation in Barajevo is 72m2. As
regards the building of flats, instead of the proposed 3000 new flats only one
quarter has been built so far, but the lower housing prices may stimulate programs of housing development. The high population growth of 2,9% per year
in the municipality seat is not accompanied by an adequate development of the
261
infrastructure: the road infrastructure, the waterworks, sewage system, and organized waste disposal are inadequate.
Even though it is growing rapidly, the municipality of Barajevo does not have
the required level of residents concentration in order to take a more prominent
role as a tertiary pole for development in the metropolitan region of Belgrade.
Barajevo, which is characterised by a spontaneous functional development as a
satellite-dormitory of Belgrade with suburban development, has not had enough
economic power to gain a higher level of autonomy, nor has it developed urban functions to transcend the threshold which could link Belgrades urban tissue with this periphery. Apart from the goal to reduce Barajevos dependency
on Belgrade, it is necessary to offer a higher quality service provision for the
whole territory of this municipality, in order to retain the population that would
both live and work here, and thus enable growth in the economic performance
of this area.
6 Conclusions
Although the consequences of long isolation and economic collapse can still be
seen, it is evident that Belgrade is turning a new page in its history by taking
steps forward. Due to favourable natural conditions and resources, together with
good transport connections, Belgrade is resuming a leading role in connecting
Serbia with Europe in political, economic, cultural, and social terms.
However, the problems of urban and regional development are numerous.
There are (1) obstacles which all local communities in Serbia are facing, such as
political instability, the slow process of EU accession, the lack of laws and their
implementation, and slow decentralisation; there are (2) problems related to the
urban and suburban municipalities in Belgrade, such as the undefined status of
the municipalities, the lack of material resources, the lack of detailed regulation
plans, high unemployment rates, etc.; and finally there are (3) specific problems
in each municipality. In addition, there is a noticeable imbalance in the development of different Belgrade municipalities, particularly between urban and suburban ones, as the comparison between Barajevo and Novi Beograd has made
clear.
Owing to its potentials and comparative advantages, Belgrade is in a strong
position to become an administrative and business centre of Serbia and Southeast Europe, based on sustainable economic development and regional cooperation. In one of its most prosperous urban municipalities, Novi Beograd, recent
development has created a multi-functional core of business, housing, and culture as was envisaged at the founding of this municipality. Thus, Novi Beograd is giving strong impulses to the development of the entire Belgrade region.
262
Analogous to the increase of regional disparities in Serbia, where metropolitan areas such as Belgrade thrive at the expense of border regions or mediumsized towns, there is also a lack of an adequate policy for synchronizing the
development of urban and suburban regions. Thus, besides supporting the development of Novi Beograd and other central municipalities, Belgrade needs to pay
greater attention to encouraging and promoting programmes and policies for the
development of predominantly agricultural suburban municipalities (e.g. Barajevo, Grocka, Sopot), which are the main local food suppliers for the city, especially since few cities have the advantage of such fertile hinterlands.
Belgrade is trying to reconcile the layers of its past, present, and future in order to strengthen its position in the new skyline of new centres of power (Stupar,
Hamamcioglu 2006:32). A strategic vision of the future perspective for the Belgrade metropolitan region (as a part of the community of European capitals)
needs to consider a harmonized economic and ecological development in order
to create favourable social and economic conditions. The ideal balance between
a successful economic centre and a desirable place for living can be achieved by
supporting the clean environment, a healthy way of life, quality housing, and the
broadening of leisure services.
Literature
Bertraud, Alain 2004: The Spatial Structures of Central and Eastern European Cities: More European than Socialist? In: Zorica Nedovi-Budi, Sasha
Tsenkova (eds.), Winds of Societal Change: Remaking Post-Communist Cities. International Conference 2004. Proceedings. Champaign: University of
Illinois, 4564.
Blagojevi, Ljiljana 2007: Strategies of Modernism in the Planning and Construction of New Belgrade. In: Swen Gustavsson (ed.), Stockholm Belgrade.
Proceedings from the Third Swedish-Serbian Symposium in Stockholm
2004. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien,
Konferenser 63, 165177.
Gali, Jelena 2007: Seductive City. In: Ekonomist. Special edition, March 2007:
2831.
Godinjak Republikog zavoda za statistiku Srbije: Optine u Srbiji 2005 [Republic of Serbia Institute for Statistics Yearbook: Municipalities in Serbia
2005]. 2006, Belgrade.
Jovanovi, Miomir 2005: Meuzavisnost koncepta urbanog razvoja i saobraajne strategije velikog grada [Interdependece of the concept of urban development and the traffic strategy of a large city]. Belgrade: Geografski fakultet
Univerzitet u Beogradu.
263
MacLeod, Gordon, Mark Goodwin 1999: Space, Scale and State Strategy: Rethinking Urban and Regional Governance. In: Progress in Human Geography 23: 503527.
Murdoch, Jonathan, Andrew Norton 2001: Regionalisation and Planning: Creating Institutions and Stakeholders in the English Regions. In: Louis Albrechts et al. (eds.), The Changing Institutional Landscape of Planning. Burlington: Ashgate, 109132.
Petovar, Ksenija 2007: The Social and Political Basis of the Destruction of Belgrades Built Environment at the Close of the 20th Century. In: Swen Gustavsson (ed.), Stockholm Belgrade. Proceedings from the Third Swedish-Serbian Symposium in Stockholm 2004. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets
Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Konferenser 63, 117125.
Petrovi, Mina 2007: Belgrade Socio-Demographic Development: Recent
Changes and Challenges. In: Swen Gustavsson (ed.), Stockholm Belgrade.
Proceedings from the Third Swedish-Serbian Symposium in Stockholm
2004. Stockholm: Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien,
Konferenser 63, 126146.
Pui, Ljubinko 2004: Sustainable Development and Urban Identity: A Social
Context. In: Spatium. International Review 11: 16.
Radovanovi, Milovan 1993/94: Regionalizam kao pristup i princip i regionalizacija kao postupak u funkcionalnoj organizaciji geografskog prostora sa
nekim aspektima primene na Republiku Srbiju [Regionalism as an approach
and principle and regionalisation as a procedure in the functional organization of geographic space with some aspects of application in the Republic
of Serbia]. In: Zbornik radova Geografskog instituta Jovan Cviji SANU
[Collection of Works of the Geographic Institute Jovan Cviji of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts], 4445.
Sassen, Saskia 2000: A New Geography of Centers and Margins: Summary and
Implications. In: Richard T. LeGates, Frederic Stout (eds.), The City Reader.
London, New York: Routledge, 208212.
Savi, Marko 2000: Novi Beograd Stvaranje identiteta mesta [New Belgrade
creating identity of place]. In: Izgradnja 54: 353357.
Stojkov, Borislav 2000: Procesi regionalizacije u zemljama centralne, istone i
jugoistone Evrope [Processes of regionalization in the countries of Central,
Eastern and Southeastern Europe]. In: Glasnik LX, 1. Belgrade: Srpsko geografsko drutvo.
Stojkov, Borislav 2007: Status grada, decentralizacija i policentrinost Srbije
[City status, decentralization and polycentricity of Serbia]. In: Dejan Milenkovi, Duan Damjanovi (eds.), U susret novom statusu gradova u Srbiji
realnost i potrebe [Facing the new status of cities in Serbia realities and
needs]. Belgrade: PALGO centar, 1124.
264
Strateki plan Optine Novi Beograd 2006 [Strategic plan of New Belgrade Municipality]. Belgrade: Gradska optina Novi Beograd.
Stupar, Aleksandra, Cenk Hamamcioglu 2006: Chasing the Limelight: Belgrade and Istanbul in the Global Competition. In: Spatium. International Review 1314: 2733.
Tsenkova, Sasha 2004: Managing Change in Post-Communist Cities. In: Zorica
Nedovi-Budi, Sasha Tsenkova (eds.), Winds of Societal Change: Remaking Post-Communist Cities. International Conference 2004. Proceedings.
Champaign: University of Illinois, 320.
Veljkovi, Aleksandar 1998: Tipovi regiona i njihova primena u prostornom planiranju [Types of regions and their employment in spatial planning]. In: Geografska struktura i regionalizacija Srbije II. Posebna izdanja Geografskog
instituta Jovan Cviji [Geographic structure and regionalization of Serbia
II. Special issues of the Geographic Institute Jovan Cviji] 53. Belgrade:
Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, 130.
Vojkovi, Gordana 2003: Stanovnitvo kao element regionalizacije Srbije [Population as an element of regionalization of Serbia]. In: Stanovnitvo [Population] 14: 742.
Vujoevi, Miodrag 2004: A Europe of Regions on Flux and the Regional
Deficit in Serbia: Options in Adjusting the System and Practice of Regional
Governance and Planning. In: Der Donauraum. Zeitschrift des Instituts fr
den Donauraum und Mitteleuropa 2004,1/2: 2632.
Zekovi, Slavka, Nenad Spasi, Tamara Marii 2007: Development of New
Economic Poles in Metropolitan Areas: Belgrade Example. In: Spatium. International Review 1516: 2127.
Abstract
The Belgrade metropolitan region has always been one of the key elements of
Serbias main development axes. Despite more than a decade-long international isolation and visible environmental, social and economic problems, Belgrade
has continued with its territorial expansion and facilitated the creation of a further gap between the countrys underdeveloped southern, border and mountain
regions on the one hand, and the more developed northern regions on the other
hand. Since there is a specific disparity in growth of the different municipalities
of the Belgrade region, in this paper we will focus on two of them which in the
last decade have been faced with the biggest population growth. One of the analysed areas belongs to the inner urban municipalities and the other one could be
characterized as the suburban one. Their example may serve as a reference point
265
in understanding sub-regional disparities and the process of changing lifestyles

and spatial patterns within the Belgrade metropolitan region.
AddressesofauthorsandeditorsInstructionstoAuthors
AddressesofauthorsandeditorsInstructionstoAuthors
byNOAUTHORSPECIFIED
Source:
The following ad supports maintaining our C.E.E.O.L. service

Editorial Board
Prof. Milena Benovska-Sbkova, e-mail: mbenovska@yahoo.com
Prof. Keith Brown, e-mail: Keith_Brown@brown.edu
Prof. Ulf Brunnbauer, e-mail: Ulf.Brunnbauer@geschichte.uni-regensburg.de
Prof. Jasna apo-mega, e-mail: capo@ief.hr
Prof. Nicolae Constantinescu, e-mail: nicolacon@from.ro
Prof. Christian Giordano, e-mail: christian.giordano@unifr.ch
Prof. Robert Hayden, e-mail: rhayden@ucis.pitt.edu
Dr. Deema Kaneff, e-mail: kaneff@eth.mpg.de
Prof. Karl Kaser, e-mail: karl.kaser@uni-graz.at
Dr. Jutta Lauth Bacas, e-mail: bacas@academyofathens.gr
Damiana Otoiu MA, e-mail: damiana.otoiu@icp.ro
Prof. Klaus Roth, e-mail: K.Roth@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Prof. Franois Ruegg, e-mail: francois.ruegg@unifr.ch
Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers MA, e-mail: Sschwand@aol.com
Prof. Vesna Vuini-Nekovi, e-mail: vvucinic@f.bg.ac.rs
Authors and editors of volume 12

Simona Adam, PhD
Department of Teacher Training, West University of Timioara
Str. V. Parvan, nr. 24, RO 300223 Timioara
adamsimona@yahoo.com
Dora Alexa-Morcov, MA
National Institute for Regional Planning and Urbanism
Nicolae Filipescu 5355, RO 020961 Bucharest 37
doramorcov@yahoo.com
Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska, PhD
Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw
ul. urawia 4, PL 00-503 Warsaw
k.bielenin@gmail.com
Nevena Dimova, PhD
New Bulgarian University
67B Tsanko Tserkovski St., BG 1421 Sofia
Nevenadi@hotmail.com, ndimova@nbu.bg
268
Melinda Dinc, PhD

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West University of Timioara
melindadinca@gmail.com
Petko Hristov, PhD
Ethnographic Institute with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
ul. Moskovska 6a, BG 1000 Sofia
hristov_p@yahoo.com
Miglena Ivanova, PhD
Institute of Folklore, BAS
ul. Akad. G. Bonchev, Block 6, BG 1113 Sofia
miglenadi@gmail.com
Prof. Evgenia Krsteva-Blagoeva, PhD
Department of Anthropology, New Bulgarian University
ul. Montevideo 21, BG 1618 Sofia
evgenia_blagoeva@hotmail.com
Tamara Marii, MSc
Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73/2, SE 11000 Belgrade
tamara@iaus.org.yu
Aleksandra Markovi, MA
Music Centre of the Netherlands
Rokin 111, NL 1012 KN Amsterdam
a.markovic@uva.nl
Alexey Pamporov, PhD
Institute of Sociology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
13a Moskovska Street, BG 1000 Sofia
apamporov@gmail.com
Mirjana Pavlovi, MA
Ethnographic Institute, SASA
Kneza Mihaila 35, SE 11000 Belgrade
mirjana.pavlovic@sanu.ac.yu, pavlomir@sbb.co.yu
Eckehard Pistrick, MA
Institut fr Musik, Universitt Halle-Wittenberg
Kl. Markstr. 7, D 06108 Halle
eckehard.pistrick@freenet.de

Jasna Petri, PhD
Institute of Architecture and Urban & Spatial Planning of Serbia
Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 73/2, SE 11 000 Belgrade
jasna@iaus.org.yu
Prof. Klaus Roth, PhD
Institut fr Volkskunde/Europische Ethnologie,
Ludwig-Maximilinas-Universitt Mnchen
Ludwigstr. 25, D 80539 Mnchen
K.Roth@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Laureniu ru, MA
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West University of Timioara
tarulaurentiu@gmail.com
Danijela Velimirovi, MA
Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, University of Belgrade
ika Ljubina 1820, SE 11000 Belgrade
dvelimir@f.bg.ac.yu
Prof. Vesna Vuini-Nekovi, Ph.D.
Department of Ethnology and Anthropology,
School of Philosophy, University of Belgrade
ika Ljubina 1820, SE 11000 Belgrade
vvucinic@f.bg.ac.rs
Nikolai Vukov, PhD
Institute of Folklore, BAS
ul. Akad. G. Bonchev, Block 6, BG 1113 Sofia
nikolai.vukov@gmail.com
Sanja Zlatanovi, MA
Ethnographic Institute, Serbian Academy of Sciences
Kneza Mihaila 35, SE 11000 Belgrade
szlat@eunet.yu
269
Ethnologia Balkanica is a refereed journal. We welcome submissions by ethnologists, folklorists, ethnographers, cultural and social anthropologists as well
as scholars from related disciplines working on the ethnology of Southeast Europe. Submissions should meet the criteria below. The decision about acceptance
or rejection rests with the editorial board. When a manuscript has been accepted the full text incl. notes, references, and summaries must be forwarded as a
printout and as a data file on diskette or by e-mail. Data files should contain no
styles and a minimum of formatting. Authors should send their full postal and email addresses as well as their affiliation together with their paper to the editors.
Length: Articles should have a minimum of 4500 and a maximum of 9000
words.
Languages: Manuscripts can be submitted in English, French or German.
Authors who are not writing in their mother-tongue must have their text checked
by a native speaker of the language of the text. Titles of publications in southeast European languages must be followed by a translation in the language of
the text in brackets [ ].
Abstracts: All manuscripts must be supplied with an English summary of 150
words that summarises the main arguments and findings of the article.
Spelling: Though we prefer British spelling for texts in English, American spelling is also acceptable. In any case the spelling must be consistent.
Transcription from Cyrillic alphabets should follow the scientific style (ISO
standard). Do not use ch, zh, sh, iya but , , , and ija (see transcription list
on next page). If your programme does not know these letters, use the popular
form of transcription but mark all letters that require diacritical marks with a
*. Romanian names must be written in the original, i.e., with all diacritical
characters.
Citations and References: Citations should be in Harvard style, author, date and
page as follows (Verdery 1983: 27); if there are two or more authors, separate
authors with commas. This applies also to footnotes. No comma after the authors name. Dont use p. or pp. Always cite page numbers where you are quoting or paraphrasing from a specific part of a text, and avoid too much citation
where a work in its entirety is referred to. Avoid the use of ibid. and op.cit, but
if you do so, make sure you use them correctly. Note that cf. means compare to, not see also; if you mean the latter, say so. If a cited scholarly work
is not (yet) published, use for example (Smith forthcoming) if the work will be
published with certainty. References to archival sources should be given in footnotes, particularly when they are lengthy. Make sure that you use dashes between numbers and dates, for example April May, 2230, and not hyphens(-).
271
All references cited, and only these, should be listed under the heading References or Literature, according to the style indicated below. Always give page
numbers for papers in edited volumes or journals. Do not forget to mention the
publisher.
For all questions of style, format, headings, quotation, notes, and references please take earlier volumes of this journal as a model. Other styles are not
accepted.
Pictures and diagrams: Please always send photographs, graphics, and diagrams
separately, never imported into the text. Photographs should be saved in the TIF
format; please avoid all compressed formats such as JPEG. Resolution should be
from 300 dpi (photographs) up to 600800 dpi (drawings, caricatures). If you
send pictures taken with a digital camera please adjust to maximum resolution
and minimal compression.
The author will get one free copy of the journal and a free supply of 10 offprints.
Table: Transliteration of south slavic cyrillic characters (ISO standard):

a
b
v
g
d
e
z
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
r
s
t
u
f
h
c
y
j
ju
ja
, (dj)
dz
lj
nj

Ethnologia Balkanika.2008.No.12.

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Ethnologia Balkanika.2008.No.12.

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

ImpressumContentlist

Access via CEEOL NL Germany

Region, Regional Identity

Lit VERLAG Dr. W. Hopf Berlin 2009

Fresnostr. 2 D 48159 Mnster

Distributed in North America by:

Phone: +1 (732) 445-2280

Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)

Region and Cultural Production

Evgenia Krsteva-Blagoeva, Sofia

Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova, Sofia

Danijela Velimirovi, Belgrade

Alexey Pamporov, Sofia

Constructing and Deconstructing Regional Identities

Simona Adam, Timioara

Melinda Dinc, Laureniu ru, Timioara

Mirjana Pavlovi, Belgrade

Sanja Zlatanovi, Belgrade

Karolina Bielenin-Lenczowska, Warsaw

Nevena Dimova, Sofia

Petko Hristov, Sofia

Planning in Metropolitan Regions

Tamara Marii, Jasna Petri, Belgrade

Addresses of authors and editors

Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)

Munich, February 2009

Access via CEEOL NL Germany

Mnchen, Februar 2009

Ce volume de Ethnologia Balkanica, la revue de lAssociation internationale

Munich, fvrier 2009

Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

The Balkans and Balkanism

Access via CEEOL NL Germany

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

An ambassador of the Balkans

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

ductory segments of almost every interview and article about Bregovi, as if to

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

Bregovis recycling compositional technique is embedded in the context of

The second notion expressed in Bregovis appreciation of Roma musicians is

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

Goran Bregovi, the Balkan Music Composer

Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

Access via CEEOL NL Germany

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

alga Oriental-style new folk music, very popular in Bulgaria.

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

Informant M. Hristova, 40 years old, recorded by Maria Aleksieva.

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

Informant avdar, 26 years old, barman, recorded by Silvia Stefanova.

Informant Miroslav Stefanovi,owner of the place, recorded by Tanja Trajanova.

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

Tasting the Balkans: Food and Identity

Ethnologia Balkanica 12 (2008)

Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities:

Access via CEEOL NL Germany

Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova

Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities

Nikolai Vukov, Miglena Ivanova

Food Labels, Meal Specialties, and Regional Identities