Islam and Communism as Local Phenomena: the Roles of the Elderly People in a Rhodope Village Cover Image

Ислямът и комунизмът като локални явления: ролите на възрастните хора в едно родопско село
Islam and Communism as Local Phenomena: the Roles of the Elderly People in a Rhodope Village

Author(s): Detelina Tocheva
Subject(s): History, Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Social history, Islam studies, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , Gerontology, Globalization, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН
Keywords: vernacular Islam; vernacular communism; moral reasoning; elderly people; Rhodope Mountains

Summary/Abstract: The article analyses the contemporary role of the elderly in a village community through the lens of the local notions and practices related to “Islam“ and“communism“. These two ideological commitments can be found only among the elderly people. The members of the younger generations show respect but also stay at significant distance from religious practice. They unanimously consider communism as an ideology that is fading away. In spite of this lack of engagement, over the past three decades, the tensions between the local expressions of Islam and communism, as well as their numerous entanglements, have played a key role in shaping social relationships, moral reasoning and community cohesion in the village. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a village located in the southern part of the central Rhodope Mountains.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 35-55
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Bulgarian