Към проблема за балканската телесност
On the problem of the Balkan corporeality

Summary/Abstract: The body code on the Balkans defined by duality in archaic beliefs reveals some significant features of the regional mentality and brings to light its orientalism. The latter can be detected in emphasizing body limits and the predominance of the inner over the outer. The article demonstrates the Balkan inclination with the inner corporeality in various codes - from food to art and literature. The oriental roots of body perception can be seen in a variety of dishes made of bowels such as shkembe corba and many others (mainly Greek food tradition). The examples from some other fields are used to support the assumption: the inside out turned bodies in the paintings by V.Velickovic (Serbia) and some drastic images in Ivo Andric’s novel ‘The trunk’ (Bosnia). The interiorised corporeality on the Balkans asserts its own and Oriental as opposed to the alien and European. In respect of mentality the issue has to do with a tendency of self-destruction while in terms of semiotics it signifies the trend of neutralization.

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