Odjeci dekapitacije vola u Pupnatu na otoku Korčuli: Hrvati između tradicionalizma i modernizma
Echoes of the Decapitation of an Ox in the Village of Pupnat on the Island of Korcula: The Croats between Tradition and Modernity

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of newspaper articles, the author analyses public opinions regarding the revitalised custom of beheading of an ox in the village of Pupnat on the island of KorËula, particularly in relation to the role allocated to that custom in creating the image of modern Croatian identity. Public reactions showed the current intensive dilemmaes and uncertainties in the construction of Croatian identity as belonging to the East (the Balkans) or to the West ("Europe"). They are reflected in internal political squabbles in 1999. The discussions about the decapitation of the ox's head show how supportive citizens of Croatia were of a more modern image of the Croatian state and nation. Although their advocacy here is primarily based on giving prominence to a new sensibility towards animals, they testify to the wish of Croatian citizens that Croatian identity be more firmly linked with the value system of modern European societies, and not with the particularities of their own history and traditions. In a dilemma between tradition and modernity they opted for modernity, which for them is epitomized in Western Europe. Public discussion about the ox's decapitation thus speaks of the failure of Croatian identity production in the nineties based on historical tradition and the negation of modernity.

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