The Pecalba Tradition in Macedonia, A Case Study

The following narrative has been excerpted from an account by a pravoslavni (Eastern Orthodox Christian) peasant from a village in the hills above Struga, near Lake Ohrid. It is especially interesting for historical perspective on the social ties and obligations between Orthodox and Moslem villagers, often members of the same village community, particularly with regard to the carrying out of pecalba, the migrant labor pattern characteristic of this region

The Rural and Urban Economies

In the following pages we will examine how the natural economies of Laos are reflected in the villager\u27s level of living and the extent to which the products of field, forest and the hunt are directly consumed or the ways they are exchanged for other goods. Also examined is the extent to which the Lao farmer participates in the cash economy. Tribal economies, economic interdependence and the urban economy is surveyed with the emphasis on growth, commercial patterns and general problems