Drotárske piesne z obce Veľké Rovné
Tinker Songs from the Village of Veľké Rovné

Summary/Abstract: The village of Veľké Rovné (region of Považie), in north-western Slovakia, was originally one of those localities with a well-developed shepherd culture of the upland type. The first documents relating to a tinker craft in the village come from the 1820s. Later this village became a unique centre of the tinker trade, from which inhabitants went forth to practise their skills not only all over Slovakia but also in many other regions of Europe and overseas. Linked with the tinkers’ profession was a distinctive tinkers’ subculture, one component of which was traditional singing. The specific song repertoire associated with tinker craft is represented by a group of seven songs, which have been preserved in local memory in the village to the present day. This song group was taken as an object of analysis concerning the genesis of individual song types, style features as well as occasions for singing. In the all-Slovakian context this song group (as a whole) was not recorded in the older published sources, nor do the systematic studies of Slovak folk songs take account of it. The tinker songs belong to the category of occupational songs associated with traditional crafts.

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