Original scientific paper
The Carnival in Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slavena and the Contemporary Carnival in Croatia
Ivan Lozica
; Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research
Abstract
The article compares data on the carnival published in the Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slavena [Annals of the Life of the People and Customs of Southern Slavs] from 1896, until the present, with data on the current state of the carnival in Croatia [based on the author's own research].
The first section of the paper presents certain thoughts on the meaning of the interpretations and understanding of rites and customs. The second section extends the hermeneutic introduction from the first section, considering the problem of the meaning of the carnival and the importance of a thick description, as pre-requisite to interpretation. The third section presents A. Radić's understanding of the dichotomy of the culture of the gentry and the culture of the common people, which is the basis for the Zbornik za narodni život i običaje Južnih Slavena , and the author's opinion on the consequences of this concept for collection of material on the carnival. The fourth section presents a concise survey of carnival material in the Zbornik. The fifth section compares data from the Zbornik and the current carnival, with the framework of a supplemented systematization of the semiological phenomena of theater performances by Polish author T. Kowzan. In the sixth section the author isolates essential componentc; of the complex
structure of carneval events in our time. Although some of the
elements are more recent; it is not difficult to conclude, on the
basis of the comparison, that there are almost no complete
descriptions of carnivals in the Zbornik. The recorders showed only partial interest, mostly for village carnivals and fertilityrelated
magic. Many of the other aspects of the carnival have gone unremarked. Data in the Zbornik , although interesting and valuable, can only serve as a starting point for new research.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
49888
URI
Publication date:
15.3.1986.
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