Original scientific paper
THE LEGEND OF THE PICOKS [LEGENDA O PICOKIMA] IN THE LIGHT OF GLOBAL AND NATIONAL (CULTURAL) POLICY
Zorica Vitez
; Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The Legend of the Picoks [Legenda o Picokima] is a manifestation that has taken place every year since 1968 in the Podravina town of Đurđevac. Over time, it has beoome an important event in the local community and a point of reference for its identity. The core content of the three-day event is the staging of the popular oral legend on the defence from the Ottomans of the Đurđevac fortress and on the origins of the nickname Picok. Many of the inhabitants of Đurđevac and the surrounding area were engaged in the stage presentation of the legend, starting from the idea, to writing the script, the directing of the production and the acting. Many amaterur actors and singers, members of culture and art and sports associations, took part, as well as firefighters and school-children, while a valuable contribution was made through the technical know-how and experience of associates working on wiring for sound, lighting, scenography and the fire-works effects. The show is performed in the place spoken of in the legend, in front of the Đurđevac fortress, Stari Grad [Old Town]. Along with the participation of amateurs, it has become the practice with time to engage professional directors, actors and technical staff. There is an ever-present dilemma about language, that is, the dialect or local speech in which the stage presentation should be performed, and about the participation of professional theatre people. Although two written scripts exist and the names of their authors are known, the production has retained the character of a collective work, while the local community experiences the legend and its staging as an integral entity and as its cultural heritage, with which it identifies and also represents itself outside of its immediate native place. In our time, the Legenda o Picokima has been inscribed in the List of Protected Non-material Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia, and it has outgrown its local significance thanks to Croatian cultural policy and the globally expanded activities of UNESCO, as well as to the Croatian implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Keywords
legend; Picoki; cultural heritage; protection
Hrčak ID:
23263
URI
Publication date:
19.12.2007.
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