Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta SANU
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The Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnography SAS (I-VII)/ SASA (VIII/) is a scientific periodical of international significance which publishes papers in ethnology/anthropology. From its inception in 1952, the Bulletin publishes the results of scientific research projects of scientists and associates of the Institute and other affiliated institutions in the country and abroad. In addition, discussions and articles, supplements, field data, retrospectives, chronicles, reviews, translations, notes, bibliographies, obituaries, memories, critiques and similar are published as well. The Bulletin was founded as a means to publish the results of research of settlements and origins of populations, folk life, customs and folk proverbs. However, the concept of the Bulletin, like that of any other contemporary scientific journal, changed over time to accommodate the social, cultural and political processes and research trends in the social sciences and humanities.
The Bulletin (GEI) is referenced in the electronic bases: DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Ulrich's Periodicals Directory and SCIndex (Serbian Citation Index). All articles are digitally available in a form typographically true to the original (in .pdf format). The Bulletin is also available in the same form on the website of the Institute of Ethnography SASA.
The Bulletin (GEI SANU) can also be found and read at CEEOL (Central and Eastern European Online Library): http://www.ceeol.com
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- Revitalising and innovating tradition
- This study focuses on new songs based upon the folklore tradition. It evaluates field research in the Slovácko region carried out over several years. The study analyses the role played by the individual as a creative figure, who builds upon the region’s song tradition and folklore studies in the latter half of the 20th century. Three specific cases are used to demonstrate individuals’ varying motivation, their personal creative input, and the various ‘compositional’ approaches. Further, the article discusses the difference between maintaining the cultural heritage and innovating tradition. The author highlights conflicts between the urge to preserve the cultural heritage and to innovate traditional forms. The presentation of folklore in the mass media over time, for instance, has resulted in a large cross-section of the public preferring well-established, familiar versions of some songs-the so-called ‘correct’ versions. Songs codified in recognized songbook additions are also taken to be correct. By contrast, innovation of tradition, including new songs, is rejected. The effort to preserve folklore, as a result, has erected a barrier that stands in the way of further development of the tradition.
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- Revitalization of ethnic identity among the Germans in Sremski Karlovci
- During the 1990's, many members of the German national minority have awaken from the several decades long sleep in 'ethnic hibernation'. Several associations have been founded at that time, with an aim to gather and encourage ethnic feelings of the Germans living in Vojvodina. These associations work toward revitalization and reconstruction of the German ethnic and cultural identity. There are quite a few of such institutions today, and one of them is German association promoting good neighbor relations Karlowitz, Sremski Karlovci. This paper will discuss transformation of an ethnic identity strategy among the Germans in Sremski Karlovci; in addition, I will analyze modus operandi by which this local association aims at keeping and encouraging certain elements of the ethnic and cultural particulars. The results of the research point out how a relatively small group, without social power, can define and redefine its own identity, in regards to historical, social and economic conditions.
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- Ridiculed death and the dead
- Theories about black humor usually regard that it as a contemporary phenomenon and a culmination of the literary modernism and beginning of post-modernism. My intent in this paper is to refute the thesis that the black humor is a modern invention. I am going to prove its existence still in Greek antiquity, quoting and analyzing humorous epitaphs and black humor epigrams. Putting in relation black humor with the joy and humor in religious (fertility and funeral) rituals, I am also going to set a question about the attitude to death and life inherent for this kind of humor, arguing that its origin should be searched in the folk tradition.
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- Role models and health of Serbian Roma women
- We examine role model choice among Serbian Roma women and describe the relationships found among preferred role model type and socio-economic and health variables. Data were collected in 2015-2016 from 274 Roma women, averaging 55 years of age. Most often, Roma women chose female family members as role models, but some women also chose role models outside their ethic group. We discuss how the values of the two disparate role model choices, i.e., kin and non-kin, each with associated differences in underlying behavior, may be a critical component of influence on the Roma girls’ outcomes. Role models can have an effect on health, and in the case of Roma women, this effect is found in differential level of stress.
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- Route of the Olympic flame
- It is without doubt that the 2008 Olympic Games in Peking will be remembered as the most grandiose, most spectacular and most expensive sport manifestation ever organized. Ratings are uniform: it will be very difficult to attain a standard posed by Peking in any recent time. Again, through the organization of this manifestation, China resurfaced as a powerful, wealthy and modern country, ready for the challenges of the 21st century. However, a shadow is cast upon China, in spite of its economic power, due to the country's autocratic political system. China's lack of democracy, human rights and liberties and position of minorities have provoked a harsh criticism among the Western countries, reflected at the time when China was granted Olympic games for 2008. Since then, the criticism continues especially directed at the decision of the Olympic committee, with several calls to boycott the Games itself. Anti-Chinese rallies were intensified this spring, when the Olympic torch started its way from Greece to Peking. Thousands of demonstrators worldwide- defenders of the Tibet's freedom- have tried to stop the carriers of the torch, trying to put out 'the eternal flame' and disable its route to the final destination. The torch has changed its route many times in order to deceive the protestors and takeover was also a subject to change and many manipulations. In any case, the broadcasted scenes of conflict between the demonstrators and Chinese official escorts and citizens, charged with emotions at both sides, will remain as a recall of the Olympic Games 2008 for a long time. Regardless of the possible justified cause of this protest, in the worldwide broadcasted scenes for many months there was a totally paradoxical change of roles: the Olympic flame, as well as the idea, China has defended as its own, as a highest value and also as a source and holiness of its own past and identity, while the Europeans, on whose territory that same idea and values were once created, attacked fiercely those same notions. How are we to understand these contradictory images? How it came about that China experience itself as heiress of the Olympic tradition and how it happened that the pride of the Chinese nation concentrated in the flame, be hurt by the attempts of the European demonstrators to put it out? Modern Olympic Games, founded in 1896, presented itself as one of the echoes of centuries' long fascination of the Antique era experienced by the Westerners. This phenomenon of the Antique admiration has brought about a new redefinition of the European past and civilization ranging from abandoning Biblical story and gradual building of the secular one which we came to call modern history. In that modern history, Ancient Greece and Rome became the two main references about origin. The same process has lead to formation of national states, which, besides making their own national history, had in common the perceived joint origin in the Ancient Greece. Of course, Gauls, Franks or Germanics had very little in common with the ancient Greeks; the common characteristics of the modern European nations are precisely the invention of the Antique images and a firm belief in it as a source of the cultural identity. For instance, the French and British have believed, at the end of the 18th century, they could trace their origin back to the Ancient Greece; in addition, they have managed to successfully 'sell' the story to the modern Greeks and afterward to the rest of the world. In this sense, it is not possible not to see the parallel with the modern China. Adopting the Western model in almost everything, from communist ideology as its first phase of westernization, to liberal economy, and finally to Olympic Games, China implicitly adopts the European story on origin. Critiques however, do not clearly see the range of this discrepancy that the country with such rich tradition has made in the last several decades toward the West. An arrogant colonial European mind holds it understandable that China accepts the Olympic tradition, since it wants to 'look like us'. This same arrogance fails to question, for example, if a golden medal in gymnastics that He Kexin won at this Games, is a victory for China or the West.
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- Run away illness where a rooster does not sing
- In fables, verbal messages meant for curing, illness is never sent into underworld, nor is it wished for its death. After the analysis, the author concludes the reason for this attitude is in the understanding of the underworld: according to this view, the deceased inhabit the underworld hence sending off an illness to the underworld could harm the dear deceased. The fables, according to the author, find some other way, by life and activity and sound, that is, their absence- mark a space of no-life and nothingness. An illness is sent off into this space, implying so an illness termination.
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- Rural - urban migration in the second half of the 20th century in Serbia
- Migration from rural to urban areas begun in the period between the two world wars, as a result of launching economic and cultural transformation of the former Yugoslav state. The culmination was reached in the first decades after World War II due to development of industrialization and urbanization within the society. An additional incentive for mass migration from rural to urban areas was achieved by strengthening the role of urban centers in the commercial, economic, cultural and educational terms, starting in the sixth decade of the 20th century. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 47016: Interdisciplinarno istraživanje kulturnog i jezičkog nasleđa Srbije. Izrada multimedijalnog internet portala: Pojmovnik srpske kulture. Podprojekat 2: Etnološko i antropološko tumačenje tradicije]
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- Sacred journeys
- From the anthropological linguistics perspective this paper tries to trace the transformations of pilgrimage to the Roman Catholic shrine in Letnica (Kosovo), in the Day of Assumption over the course of the previous century. The analysis is based on the fieldwork data collected in the Serb Kosovo enclaves and refugee centers in 2003. Contemporary internet data on Letnica shrine and documentary video material containing interviews with pilgrims, were also used as reliable data on subjective perception of the shrine. Serb oral testimonies on their personal ways of travelling and reasons for pilgrimage to Letnica were combined with historical and anthropological data.
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- Sad destiny of the children of the cruel parents
- Two folk stories have almost the same beginning but a different outcome. In the beginning, a husband and wife, accidentally, try human meat and they like it so much so they decide to eat their own children. In both stories, the children managed to escape, and while their lives develop in different directions, the stories omit their reintegration into human society. After a detailed analysis, the author concludes that the stories’ message is to warn that there is no life in a deviant society. The stories note that a deviant behavior exists indeed, but at the same time, they mark it as something that does not belong to a society, culture and in addition, the stories point out to a way of overcoming such behavior. The way to overcome a deviant behavior consists in appropriate maturation of a female and male gender, in maturation that includes self restrain.
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- Sanitary cordon
- One of the primary goals of the Venetians in the 18th century was to maintain trade with Turkish markets; economic and political interests stretched out to the Middle East and the "Gulf" (the Adriatic Sea). The developments of health institutions, sanitary measures, epidemic diseases and epidemic prevention are closely connected with the development of maritime affairs sea-borne trade and economic development in general. Even before the 18th century, the Boka Kotorska Bay developed maritime affairs, preconditioned by the existence and development of health institutions. The goals of the latter were to promote a health culture and to assure free development of naval and trade activities. Infectious diseases were the main risk posed to mariners and maritime affairs; therefore, a number of legal activities were applied in order to prevent epidemics and protect the local population. Based on the rich archival materials, this paper attempts to discuss the work of health committees, quarantine hospitals (for people and merchandise), and regulations and measures administrated by the Health Civic Authorities of Venice in order to prevent epidemics and to include the total population in the process of the health culture.
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- Science of people and anthropology of man
- A determination of a relationship between ethnology and anthropology with etymology as a starting point, loses a developmental dimension. Besides, a reduction in anthropology to the question:' What is a man' and discussion of 'general characteristics of human existence' represents reduction of anthropology to only one subject, which is the cause of the anthropology's marginalized position. On the other hand, a notion of ethnology is being discharged from the content by a break-up with a metaphysically constructed conception of 'folk spirit' and all the rest 'ethno' dispositions. Hence there is no point in discussing the relationship of a totally reduced anthropology and de-constructed ethnology. Current state of affairs within academically constituted disciplines in Serbia has shown that the vacancy originated by an ethnology de-construction was not filled in by anthropology, reduced to 'anthropology of Man' but a considerable 'anthropologization' of ethnological institutional frame.
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- Scientific and Research Proceedings of the Institute of Ethnography, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
- Сажетак Протекло је шездесет година од када је донета одлука о оснивању Етнографског института Српске академије наука и уметности, чији је првобитни задатак био да организује систематско и планско проучавање насеља и порекла становништва, народног живота, обичаја и веровања, као и фолклора у нашој земљи и код наших народа. Још давне 1894. године, на предлог академика Стојана Новаковића, Етнографски одбор при Српској краљевској академији (СКА) почео је са штампањем Српског етнографског зборника (СЕЗб), са циљем да се у њему објављују резултати истраживања живота и обичаја српског народа. Издавање Српског етнографског зборника представљало је наставак и темељито проширење делатности Друштва српске словесности (основаног 1847. г.) и Српског ученог друштва (основаног 1865. г.), у чијим су издањима били заступљени описи српских предеоних целина. Програм систематских и стручних етнографских истраживања на основу упитника уведен је у СКА 1886. године.