Българите мюсюлмани - идентичност и музикален фолклор
Bulgarian Muslims – Identity and Musical Folklore

Summary/Abstract: The goal of the current paper is the construction of the identity of one confessional group in Bulgaria –of Bulgarian Muslims from four villages in the region of the Teteven Balkans. Thinking of themselves as unique and, at the same time, as “different” and “other,” construes the notion of the community of itself, as well as distinguishes it from the surrounding communities. The musical folklore tradition of this group is very strong, and the current text investigates the signs of modeling communal identity through the musical folklore that the community bears. In certain situations the Bulgarian Muslims from Teteven region perceive their musical folklore as “threatened” by unification and they build a protective model. Preserving their song patterns, they defend their affiliation with the community, and, respectively, their own communal identity. The diachronic view on the song repertoire of this population shows a high level of preservation, as well as the vitality of the tradition in the models of transferring “their” songs from generation to generation. The evaluation of their musical folklore as preserved and in this sense – as intonationally different from everything that surrounds them, turns into a motivation for the community to preserve and sustain their song tradition. The appreciation of the musical heritage brings appreciation to the community itself.

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