Preliminary communication
Carolling and Kissing the Infant Jesus in Postira on the Island of Brač: a Historical Overview and Ethnomusicological Context
Mislav Čargo
Abstract
This article presents the findings of an ethnomusicological study conducted during the Ethnomusicological research course at the Department of Music Theory and Composition, Arts Academy, University of Split, during the 2024/2025 academic year. The research was primarily carried out in October and November 2024, with partial data collected in previous years. The paper focuses on the traditional musical aspects – both historical and contemporary – of the Christmas cycle within the liturgical year of the Parish of St. John the Baptist in Postira, on the island of Brač. This cycle remains deeply interwoven into a number of (para) liturgical chants of Glagolitic origin.
In addition to the performance of specific sections of the Mass and selected texts from the Liturgy of the Hours – considered the foundation of Postira’s traditional musical heritage – the community formerly maintained a folk practice known as kolendanje (i.e. carolling). This custom, once prevalent during the Advent and Christmas period, had largely disappeared by the early 1970s. The most recent records (dated 1973) document three carolling chants: Mi smo došli k ovoj kući ovdje, Mi smo ljudi iz Postira, and Kad se Bog čovik učini. Of these, only the latter remains in use today, albeit no longer in its original carolling context, but rather as part of the liturgy on the Feast of the Epiphany.
The study also examines an additional liturgical and communal practice characteristic of Midnight Mass and Epiphany celebrations in this island parish: a procession featuring the statue of the Infant Jesus, known locally as jub'jȇnje Ditȉća (“Kissing the Child”). The article includes musical analyses and transcriptions of the associated chants. These were transcribed by the author based on performances by the parish choir Karmel – of which the author is also conductor and organist – as well as from personal familiarity with the local musical tradition, being a native of the community.
The article contributes new and partially forgotten data with the aim of enhancing public awareness and fostering the potential revitalization of carolling traditions and repertoire in Postira, a goal toward which there is noticeable interest among local singers.
Keywords
Carolling (kolendanje); Kissing the Infant Jesus (jub'jȇnje Ditȉća); Glagolitic Chants; Postira, Island of Brač; Christmas Traditions
Hrčak ID:
340236
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2025.
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