National Celebrations from an Outsider’s Perspective. May 17th in Bergen as an Expression of Social Memory

The focus of this paper is the social memory dimension of May 17th, the Norwegian Constitution Day, as organized and acted out in Bergen in 2005. The celebrations are approached through Pierre Nora's concept of "realms of memory". The author places emphasis on the participants' sensory and bodily experience. She also discusses the way her outsider's gaze into May 17th reflects the way she experienced national holidays in Croatia. The event is perceived from two different perspectives: by following in the foot-steps of the main orgabizers, the May 17th Committee members, and by experiencing the day in the company of members of a family living in Bergen. In that way, the author obtained some insight into the official discourse about May 17th, as well as into one private interpretation of the occasion. For these informants, rememberance and the national component played a significant part of their celebrations. The author concludes that not only motifs relating to 1814, the year of the drafting of the new constitution at Eidsvoll, were noticeable at the celebrations. Motifs evoking the Viking era and WW2 were also present. This is why the author concludes that it is the glorious past that societies remember during contemporary May 17th celebrations

Wedding Presentations in Croatian Carnival Customs

Autorica ukazuje na pojavu svadbenih motiva u hrvatskim pokladnim običajima te analizira predstavljačke oblike kojima se oponaša, a istodobno i karikira, svadbeni tijek. Prikazuje različite oblike pokladnog predstavljanja svadbe i njihovu rasprostranjenost. U radu se razmatraju sastavnice kojima se u pokladnome kontekstu dočarava svadbeno zbivanje, izgled sudionika i kôd ponašanja koje pojavljivanje u takvoj "svatovskoj povorci" uključuje, kao i mogući razlozi vezivanja ovoga predstavljačkog oblika upravo za pokladno razdoblje.The author points to the phenomenon of the existence of the elements of wedding ceremonies in Croatian carnival customs and analyses one of the most common carnival performances which mimics and, in the same time, mocks the wedding ceremony. The motifs of wedding inserted in certain important moments in traditional calendar or lifecycle customs can also be observed outside the framework of calendar customs: during wedding ceremony itself, on work related meetings of young people, during funerals, during ceremonial elections of king in koleda, during religious and other processions (kraljice, ljelje, čarojice). However, in these occasions wedding motifs are found only sporadically or are secondary to the occasion. Sexuality was subdued and there were no traces of parody trans-dressing and contemporary breaking of social norms, which were the main characteristics of the carnival presentations of weddings. The article presents various forms of ‘carnival weddings’ and their distribution. In many parts of Croatia, real ‘wedding processions’ were formed and wedding roles very carefully assigned. In mountainous regions the analogies between carnival processions and wedding customs were limited only to the participation of selected wedding guests. In other regions the presented wedding scenes were interpreted as the wedding of carnival dolls, Karneval and Karnevalica, and these newlyweds were burned at the end. Sometimes the wedding motifs are found only in the songs performed by the participants in the carnival processions while they walk around the village and collect presents. The author also analyses the distinctive elements which, in the carnival context, embody the wedding ceremony, the appearance of the participants and the type of behavior which is expected during such appearance in a ‘wedding procession’. Finally, she outlines the possible interpretations of the presence of wedding elements in the framework of carnival customs, seeing them as re-actualizations of the mythic divine wedding. The mimicry of wedding ceremony can be seen as one of the elements which, on the level of everyday reality, re-imposes the new order in the world. Every wedding meant the repetition of this sacred pattern and thus ensured the happiness for the married couple. However, the fragments of the divine wedding can be also found in annual customs in the moment of the establishment of the new order, at the beginning of the agrarian year. Hence, the carnival customs present one of the cycles of customs which were inherited from the pre-Christian New Year customs

Wedding Presentations in Croatian Carnival Customs

Autorica ukazuje na pojavu svadbenih motiva u hrvatskim pokladnim običajima te analizira predstavljačke oblike kojima se oponaša, a istodobno i karikira, svadbeni tijek. Prikazuje različite oblike pokladnog predstavljanja svadbe i njihovu rasprostranjenost. U radu se razmatraju sastavnice kojima se u pokladnome kontekstu dočarava svadbeno zbivanje, izgled sudionika i kôd ponašanja koje pojavljivanje u takvoj "svatovskoj povorci" uključuje, kao i mogući razlozi vezivanja ovoga predstavljačkog oblika upravo za pokladno razdoblje.The author points to the phenomenon of the existence of the elements of wedding ceremonies in Croatian carnival customs and analyses one of the most common carnival performances which mimics and, in the same time, mocks the wedding ceremony. The motifs of wedding inserted in certain important moments in traditional calendar or lifecycle customs can also be observed outside the framework of calendar customs: during wedding ceremony itself, on work related meetings of young people, during funerals, during ceremonial elections of king in koleda, during religious and other processions (kraljice, ljelje, čarojice). However, in these occasions wedding motifs are found only sporadically or are secondary to the occasion. Sexuality was subdued and there were no traces of parody trans-dressing and contemporary breaking of social norms, which were the main characteristics of the carnival presentations of weddings. The article presents various forms of ‘carnival weddings’ and their distribution. In many parts of Croatia, real ‘wedding processions’ were formed and wedding roles very carefully assigned. In mountainous regions the analogies between carnival processions and wedding customs were limited only to the participation of selected wedding guests. In other regions the presented wedding scenes were interpreted as the wedding of carnival dolls, Karneval and Karnevalica, and these newlyweds were burned at the end. Sometimes the wedding motifs are found only in the songs performed by the participants in the carnival processions while they walk around the village and collect presents. The author also analyses the distinctive elements which, in the carnival context, embody the wedding ceremony, the appearance of the participants and the type of behavior which is expected during such appearance in a ‘wedding procession’. Finally, she outlines the possible interpretations of the presence of wedding elements in the framework of carnival customs, seeing them as re-actualizations of the mythic divine wedding. The mimicry of wedding ceremony can be seen as one of the elements which, on the level of everyday reality, re-imposes the new order in the world. Every wedding meant the repetition of this sacred pattern and thus ensured the happiness for the married couple. However, the fragments of the divine wedding can be also found in annual customs in the moment of the establishment of the new order, at the beginning of the agrarian year. Hence, the carnival customs present one of the cycles of customs which were inherited from the pre-Christian New Year customs

GENDER INVERSION IN CROATIAN CARNIVAL AND WEDDING CUSTOMS

Autorica analizira prerušavanje u "rodnog drugog", kojim se ostvaruje ludički iskorak u okviru hrvatskih pokladnih i svadbenih običaja. Pojavu kontrastira sa svakodnevnim transvestizmom, kao i s usvajanjem atributa suprotnoga spola do kojeg sporadično dolazi u drugim običajima. Prikazuje inačice takva maskiranja i sredstva kojima se preobrazba ostvaruje. O običajnoj inverziji spolova raspravlja kao o dopuštenom, pa i poželjnom, periodičkom prijestupu.The theme of the paper is cross-dressing as the "gender Other" by which a playfully inventive breakthrough is achieved within Croatian Carnival and wedding customs. This is a means of representation entrenched in the theatrical forms of folklore, which include costume transformation, a change in voice, mimicry, gesticulation, mode of walking and the imitation of physical attributes and behaviour patterns that the community conceives as being gender characteristics. The author contrasts this phenomenon with everyday transvestitism, as well as with sporadic adoption of opposite gender attributes in other customs, among which Carnival and wedding disguises stand apart due to their comical nature. She shows the variants and techniques of masking development and tries to establish the junctures within the Carnival and wedding context at which they are regularly present. The author poses the question on the relation between parodied gender inversion and partial attempts to look as much as possible like the personage being portrayed. She considers the relation between male and female gender inversion, at the same time analysing in which situations and in which localities women also practise gender inversion, how they behave in so doing and if one may speak of whether "the woman is treated primarily as an object, and not as a subject of symbolisation". Customary ritual gender inversion is discussed as a permissible and even desirable periodical offence. She does not incline to the theory of the mythic androgyne, in the light of which the phenomenon is interpreted as a fusion of the characteristics of both genders. In her opinion, the fictitious identity of the gender cross-dressed personage is not ambivalent, but rather underscores those gender differences that the community regards as the most obvious, thus confirming this social dichotomy

Kulture sjećanja, krajolici zaborava: primjer Partizanskog groblja u Mostaru

The war and political turmoil in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s had an impact on the creation of new cultural and political identities, but also mnemonic systems. In order to delineate the social dynamics we considered the changes that the spaces shaped during socialism as places of memory had gone through. By researching that process, the creation of the landscapes of forgetting is being analysed. The paper focuses on the Partisan Cemetery, a monument from 1965 in Mostar. It sheds light on the changes in spatial planning practices, but also everyday practices related to the memorial cemetery. In conclusion, younger generations of Mostar residents’ narratives on the Partisan Cemetery and its (possible) usages are analysed.Ovaj se članak bavi materijalizacijama sjećanja kojima se pristupa kao važnim sastavnicama politika pamćenja. Naglasak je pritom na spomenicima kao objektima koji se proizvode u skladu s aktualnim društvenim trenutkom kako bi se poželjno sjećanje na odabrane povijesne epizode od nacionalnog značenja upisalo u prostor i učinilo dijelom svakodnevice. Komunikacija između materijalnosti u prostoru i ljudi koji joj pridaju ili oduzimaju značenje ključ je etnološkog i kulturnoantropološkog proučavanja spomenika. Temeljno pitanje koje se ovim radom problematizira glasi: što se događa s materijalizacijama sjećanja na onu prošlost koja, promjenom političkog poretka, više ne predstavlja jedan od simboličkih temelja države te, u novim okolnostima, postaje marginalnom i nepodobnom? Procesi koji se tada zapažaju u prostoru mogu se definirati kao tvorba krajolika zaborava. Navedena se pitanja osvjetljavaju na primjeru spomeničkog kompleksa Partizansko groblje, autora Bogdana Bogdanovića, koje je podignuto u Mostaru 1965. godine kao spomen na borbu za oslobođenje grada protiv njemačkog Wehrmachta. Dok je ovaj spomenik u socijalističkoj prošlosti Bosne i Hercegovine, u skladu s ondašnjom ideologijom, predstavljao značajno spomen-mjesto vezano uz Narodnooslobodilačku borbu, tijekom ratnih događanja u devedesetim godinama prošlog stoljeća potonuo je u kolektivni zaborav. Zbog zapuštenosti i devastiranosti, Partizansko groblje pretvara se u mjesto na kojem rez sa socijalističkom prošlošću postaje vidljivim. Dinamički odnos političkih strategija, spomeničke baštine grada Mostara i građana u različitim razdobljima promatra se višeglasno, pri čemu se nastoji prikazati kontekst nastanka, ali i suvremenog (ne)korištenja spomeničkog kompleksa. Iz toga se razloga istraživanju pristupilo primjenom različitih kvalitativnih metoda, pri čemu se primat daje terenskom radu: promatranju ljudskih praksi na samom Partizanskom groblju te intervjuima sa stanovnicima Mostara. Naracije mlađih Mostaraca upućuju na to da se ova lokacija može promatrati i onkraj etničkih podjela u gradu i državi te da i dalje predstavlja bitnu točku u mentalnim mapama građana

Inverzija spolova u hrvatskim pokladnim i svadbenim običajima

Autorica analizira prerušavanje u rodnog Drugog, kojim se ostvaruje ludički iskorak u okviru hrvatskih pokladnih i svadbenih običaja. Pojavu kontrastira sa svakodnevnim transvestizmom, kao i s usvajanjem atributa suprotnoga spola do kojeg sporadično dolazi u drugim običajima. Prikazuje inačice takva maskiranja i sredstva kojima se preobrazba ostvaruje. O običajnoj inverziji spolova raspravlja kao o dopuštenom, pa i poželjnom, periodičkom prijestupu

Carnival Elements in the Wedding Customs in Lovretic\u27s Otok and their Counterparts in Other Croatian Regions

The attempt of this paper is to elucidate the role of Josip Lovretic (1865 - 1948), a dedicated researcher of traditional culture of his birth village Otok, near Vinkovci, in collecting and analysing carnivalesque elements in local customs, especially weddings. The author of the paper takes several directions in examining the carnivalesque elements in Lovretic\u27s Otok. She presents the most common “carriers” of the carnivalesque features in Otok weddings (the master of the ceremony, musicians, cooks and chefs). She refers to certain moments during the wedding party which are most frequently related to the carnival forms of presentation. She analyses specific carnival paraphernalia which appear in wedding customs, first and foremost the wedding doll. Finally, she draws attention to specific humorous forms of presentation whose aim is to parody life in the community and inveterate hierarchical relationships within the family. All the mentioned wedding elements were examined in a broad spatial and chronological context with a reference to their analogies in other Croatian places. From these examples the author of the paper concludes that Lovretic’s Otok stands out from what used to be the inveterate idealising way of presenting the traditional life and customs. Also, the descriptions of characters, plays and procedures which show signs of symbolic inversion of the relationships in the community and transgressive freedom of presentation are exceptionally rare in the book. Instead, the book quite clearly shows the author’s awareness of the fact that the humorous dimension is an integral segment of the wedding customs to the same extent as they are determined by their ceremonial parts

Who Would Even Want to Be a Living Karnavol? Tonči Kukoč Bager as the Carrier of the Local Carnivalesquesness

Pitanje koji su kriteriji odabira nositelja karnevalskoga predstavljanja autorica nastoji rasvijetliti kroz lik Tončija Kukoča Bagera i kroz njegov položaj unutar bolske lokalne zajednice. Pritom o Bageru ne raspravlja kao o osobi izraženih predstavljačkih vještina; govori o liku Bagera, onakvom kakvim ga određuju odnosi unutar zajednice i grupna potreba za figurom koja će grotesknim prerušavanjem kritički preispitati uvriježene svakidašnje norme.An insight into ethnographic and folklore material on Croatian carnival customs leads to the conclusion that attention was seldom paid to the criteria for choosing carriers of transgressive disguising and performance. The author attempts to illuminate this issue in a case study conducted in Bol on the island of Brač, where the leading character is Tonči Kukoč Bager, a man perceived by his fellow townsmen as a person with exceptional inclination for ludicrous performances. In so doing, she does not analyze the personality of Bager as someone owing great presentational skills; she discusses the figure of Bager, as it is determined by relationships within the community and by the group’s necessity for a figure which would occasionally question the border between social order and disorder using grotesque disguise. In the well known narratives about Bager’s “otherness” the author recognizes the means of his exotization within the local community. She analyses the moments which Bager chooses for his performances, and concludes that Bager’s carnivalesque transgressions are not carried out only in the frame of Carnival customs; the comic events in Bol gain their legitimacy by Bager’s performative presence, which sometimes also turns serious segments into parody. Furthermore, the author presents most common Bager’s roles and ways of transformation, with a special emphasis on the gender reversal roles. She shows the construction of Bager into a trademark of Bol, as it is presented in the media discourse. Finally, the author concludes that Bager is needed in the community as much as he needs its members to be his audience; for the people of Bol his performances are a welcome periodical break from the everyday life, a whit of disorder placed within the local “normality”

Etnološki i kulturnoantropološki pogled na stvaranje grada umjetničkim izvedbama

Naglasak koji je tako zadržan pri ovome etnološkom i kulturnoantropološkom istraživanju umjetničke izvedbe jest polaženje od tijela i materijalnosti, od djelovanja i praksi u javnom prostoru. Svako djelovanje u javnom prostoru s predstavljačkom svrhom može se promatrati kao izvedba (Goffman 2000). Svaki se sudionik u njemu može tretirati kao izvođač, koji nastoji što uvjerljivije odigrati svoje društvene uloge, koje variraju u skladu s određenom situacijom, kontekstom i lokacijom. Utoliko svaka lokacija može postati mjestom izvedbe, u ovom projektu ne prvenstveno scenografskom intervencijom, nego samom izvedbom. (Iz Zaključka