Политиката на Българския земеделски народен съюз за подобряване на материалното положение на учителите и за осигуряване на средства за строеж на училища (1919 – 1923)

Author(s): Emilia Enicharova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2016

The article comments on legislative initiatives of the Cabinet of Alexander Stamboliiski, which aim to alleviate the material status of teachers and to provide more funds for the construction of new school buildings. And all this against the backdrop of economic collapse, which relegated the country after three wars, the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Neuilly and huge casualties given in hostilities.

Въобразяването на София: град, памет и индивид в българската литература на XX и XXI век

Author(s): Blagovest Zlatanov Velichkov,Anne Liebig / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2016

The interdisciplinary field of memory studies and literary science is a relatively new research subject that immediately attracted the attention of scholars from across various areas. In the case of Bulgarian literature, however, no comprehensive study has yet been attempted. This article strives to make a first, tentative contribution in this direction. By analysing three Bulgarian literary works – Čavdar Mutafov’s Smărten săn, Dimităr Korudžiev’s Predi da se umre and Vladislav Todorov’s Dzift – with regard to their interrelationship between city, memory and individual, this paper offers a thematically limited, but concise glimpse into some of the manifestations of a memoryscape in modernist and contemporary Bulgarian literature.

Полусамостоятелни владения в северозападните български земи от края на XII до началото на XIV в.

Author(s): Hristin Lalev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2018

The article focuses on the semi-autonomous possessions in the north-western Bulgarian lands between the end of the XII and the beginning of the XIV century. The main accent is placed on Vidin region. The political model formed there at the end of the XIII and the beginning of the XIV century was mentioned as the basic prerequisite for the future development of the area in the middle and the second half of the XIV century.

Албум 3618 – семейна история на половин столетие

Author(s): Elka Mincheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2017

In the centre of this study is an album kept in the archive of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum – BAS. Its inventory number is 3618. The album contains eighty family photographs. The aim of the research is to reconstruct a family history by studying the memory of a Bulgarian kin in the period between 1870 and the 1930s. The fashion tendencies in clothing which stand out,the hair-styles and the studio accessories used for the photographs give information about the type of communication between relatives and friends. By summarizing the results of the analysis, the article attempts to define the social status of the individuals photographed. The aspiration of the author is by means of the photographs to look for and mark the changes which occurred in the family in the concrete period. The topic is examined in two aspects: technical – the technology of making studio and reportage photographs in this period (the paper, the photographic processes etc.); and ethnological – as a family history in certain space, time, family relations etc. Because of the limited size of the article, the emphasis is laid on the ethnographic aspect of the topic.

В търсене на „Семейство Стоянови. Изложба с намерена фотография“ от колекцията на Imaginary Archive

Author(s): Anna Gencheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2017

Power and Society in Pleven on the Verge of Two Epochs: the Fate of the Mihaloğlu Family and its Pious Foundations (vakf) during the Transitional Period from Imperial to National Governance

Author(s): Maria Kiprovska / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2017

The end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the subsequent decisions taken at the Berlin Congress of 1878 set the beginning of the state-building process of modern Bulgaria. The newly established nation-state quite naturally and purposefully sought an immediate emancipation from its political past and radical breaking with the inherited Ottoman institutions. This particular goal found direct reverberation in the consequent “de-Ottomanization” of Bulgaria during the process of homogenization of the Bulgarian nation. The Ottoman pious foundations (vakf) and their vast possessions, whose incomes provided for the maintenance and the functioning of the religious and other buildings, regarded by some as a direct implementation of the Ottoman imperial past, fall at the center of the state-building policies of the new Bulgarian state. The article examines one such particular charitable foundation, namely the vast vakf of the Mihaloğlu family in the region of Pleven, during the years after the establishment of the independent Bulgarian state and argues that it could be considered as an emblematic case elucidating aspects of the state-building ideology in the Bulgarian national politics in general and the uneasy process of decisive rupture with the imperial heritage that the new nation-state had to walk through in particular.

Читалища, селищни общности и фолклорна култура през Възраждането

Author(s): Stela Nenova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2018

The author studies the first years after the introduction of the chitalishte institution when these cultural centres appeared and established themselves in the dynamic sociocultural context of the local communities – first in some of the well-developed Bulgarian towns and later in many of the Bulgarian villages. Chitalishte is a cultural and educational institution and is thus studied in the context of the modernization, educational and nation building ideas pertinent in the 1860s and 1870s. At that time the institution developed its specific features (its local nature, complex functions, autonomous social form of governance). The article presents the decisive moments certifying for the institutional activity of the chitalishta with an accent on these issues which show close relations to the folk culture, which was as a need and as a type of communication dominant in the local culture.

Национална научна конференция с чуждестранно участие „Фолклористика и етнология в Средна и Югоизточна Европа“ в чест на 60-годишния юбилей на проф. д-р Владимир Пенчев

Author(s): Irina Kolarska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2018

60th Anniversary of Prof. Vladimir Penchev, PhD

Боримечката – мит, история, фолклор

Author(s): Konstantin Panayotov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

The article analyzes the figure of Ivan Borimechkata (The Bear-Fighter) – one of the most famous heroes of April 1876 uprising – from the viewpoint of its hyposthases: as a literary character that gained popularity with Ivan Vazov’s novel “Pod Igoto“ [“Under the Yoke“]; as a historical personality with a concrete biography on whose basis Vazov created his literary character; as a mythical figure that found various representations in the national and local memory, in art, public discussions, etc.Analyzing comparatively diverse folklore and historical sources about Borimechkata, the article traces the processes of taking the concrete personality out of historical anonymity and turning it into a hero and a kind of myth. In the course of these processes, the historical indicators about the martyrdom of Ivan Borimechkata appear silenced by the voice of the heroic memories about him – ones created and affirmed through the character’s interpretation in literature, monumental representations,visual arts, and cinema. The article shows how the novel “Under the Yoke“ testifies not only of Vazov’s return to the “idealized epoch“ of the April 1876 uprising, with its ideas and heroes, but was also a powerful instrument in coining heroic characters and narratives connected with that time.

Вечерната проверка-заря: структура, символика, функция. 1. Основни символични действия и церемониален мизансцен

Author(s): Grigor Har. Grigorov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

The paper analyzes the symbolic layers in the major commemorative ceremony in Bulgaria – the roll-call. It is divided in two parts. The first one (Bulgarian Ethnology,2018, № 1) interprets the symbolic actions comprising the basic tools for producing ceremonial meaning: saluting and rendering military honors, ritual silence and lack of action, battle cry, ceremonial mise-en-scène (monument, guards of honor, etc.)– these are recognized as specific devices for removing symbolically the border between the living and the dead, between heroes and descendants. The second part(Bulgarian Ethnology, 2018, № 2) examines the ceremonial scenario as a prospectivelyun folding narrative – each symbolic action is interpreted as a successive move in the overall plot. This approach acknowledges that the ceremony is made up of three parts: preparatory, commemorative, and triumphal, whereas the scenario as a whole embraces the following logic: listing and honoring the heroes in the commemorative part is succeeded by their posthumous enwreathing and symbolic immortalization as stars in the night sky through the use of fireworks.

Трансформация на места на памет – местността „Паметниците“ при Свищов

Author(s): Iskren Velikov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

The preservation of the memory for the past is part of the system that forms identity.“The sites of memory“ (after Pierre Nora), which surpass the frames of the physical space of the event and also include the characters-participants and the event itself as a phenomenon, are building a symbolic construct, which is often comprehended bylocal communities as heritage. The present research examines the development and transformation of places of national memory in Bulgaria. Case-study of the report is the “Monuments“ Park of the town of Svishtov in Northern Bulgaria – the original site of the landing of Russian troops in 1877, the beginning of the Liberation War. Duringits 140 years of history, the “Tekir-dere / the Monuments“ area witnesses three stages of development. In the initial years following the Liberation the area is affirmed as a site for commemoration and homage to the bravery of the Russian soldiers. OnБългарска етнология, бр. 1 (2018) / 91occasion of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the war, the narrative was expanded with the presentation of the Bulgarian volunteer troops in the process of achieving Freedom. In the beginning of the 21st c. the process of “acquiring“ the historical territory continues by introducing the revolutionary Filip Totyu and his detachment in 1867. With the expansion of the urban territory, the space also acquires the functions of a town park. Thus, despite the physical distance from the settlement,the area has turned nowadays into a place for relaxation and walk for the citizens of Svishtov, which is assisted by the activities for the socialization of the park.

„Посмъртната съдба“ на Христо Ботев през призмата на местата на памет

Author(s): Maria Angelova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

The article discusses the main indicators for perceiving Hristo Botev in the public space, by eliciting some of the debates and the attempts for appropriation of his figure. The ideas about the personality, which has in different periods been an occasion for diverse opinions and interpretations, are presented from the perspective of their significance in the culture of memory and of their role in explicating time and identity (Assmann 2001: 20). These notions diverge the figures of correlation to national parameters, but also to unrelated to the initial ideas trends, which is presented in the text with the theme about the appropriations and the popular uses of this character. Separate attention in the article is paid to the monuments dedicated to Hristo Botev in different periods and parts of the country and to the changing emphases in the commemorations to the national hero. The discussed examples outline a comprehensive presentation of different studies on the topic and raise new questions, which are important in view of future research.

Оръжието на революционерите в българските музеи като наследство

Author(s): Reneta Roshkeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

The article discusses the weapons that are preserved until today in Bulgarian museums of the revolutionaries who participated in the struggles for political independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1867–1878. On the basis of observations made within the project “Traces of the Heroic Time,“ as well as of the experience with exhibitions dedicated to this topic, the article makes an overview of the weapons in Bulgarian museums that had belonged to participants in the national liberation struggles – of Georgi Rakovski, Vassil Levski, of the voevods Hadzhi Dimitar Assenov and Stefan Karadza, of Panayot Volov, of Petrana Obretenova, Rayna Popgeorguieva, etc.Raising the issues about the identification of the revolutionaries’ weapons and the interpretation of the facts around them, the author points out that these important artifacts for the construction of historical memory are insufficiently studied in Bulgaria. The article argues that – as materialized history, these weapons facilitate the heroization of the nationally important personalities. Regardless if being truly authentic or not, weapons – similarly to myths, are an important resource for construing the heroism of the national consolidation processes and for the creation and maintenance of the “big historical narratives.“

„Поздрави от ... Италия и България“ или за какво разказват пощенските картички

Author(s): Elka Mincheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

Следи от критско и венецианско влияние в историята на Бачковския манастир

Author(s): Teodor Peev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 16/2018

Bachkovo monastery is a subject of research interests over the years of a number of Bulgarian and foreign scientists. A part of paintings in the parvis of the main church was restored in May 2016. We have better opportunities for precise observations in frescoes because of that. This was one of the most important occasions for writing this material. Un¬known and very qualified painter signed the walls with images of almost unknown Saints. There are items related to Crete and Venice in the monastery museum collection in the same time. There is a church and chapel devoted to the most respected Cretan icon in the town of Asenovgrad, etc. All these facts lead us to the idea of the existence of links between the Bachkovo monastery and the island Crete, whose residents have long time been under Venetian domination.

Ще бъде ли разкрита „Българската Троя“

Author(s): Ivan Nenov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 16/2018

The ancient village Dospey, near Samokov, has a legend that before Bulgaria fell under the Ottoman rule, the local people “collected every¬thing from the other nearby churches and covered it completely with earth.” Another legend claims that manuscripts handwritten by Patriarch Euthymius, which were sent from Tarnovo to the Rila Monastery but never arrived at their final destination, are inside some of the buried sacred church vessels. The mound, which allegedly contains the hidden sacred vessels, exists to this very day. The author of this book strongly believes that it should be explored and urges the archeologists to conduct the needed research.

Ориентацията на ислямските надгробия – допълнителна възможност за етноконфесионални изследвания

Author(s): Lyubomir Tsonev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 16/2018

If examined in detail – by means of archaeological excavations plus objective dating techniques – аt least 20 Islamic burials (direct task of ethnology and archeology) they will create a database. A database can serve as an additional heuristic tool in the field studies (reverse task of ethnology and archeology) that aim to clarify the various ethno-confes¬sional processes occurred during the last seven centuries when the Islam attended the Balkans.

Каменно стадо („Господ ма пусна“)

Author(s): Vladimir Demirev,Nikolay Sirakov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 16/2018

An attempt has been made to search for an explanation of the existence of a rock relief depicting animal heads near the town of Sliven through ethnology point of view. Initial specious speculation has been made in accordance with the se¬mantics of the depicted images. They were possibly part of an ancient rock sanctuary. The ancient origin of these depictions has been brought into question because of the lack of preserved information in the local knowledge, their topographic position, which distinguishes them and its immediate vicinity to the town of Sliven and to an ancient settlement. The appearance of an eventual contemporary “author” claiming that it is his work puts many questions for discussion.

О metodach rekonstrukcji modelu obrzędu (Na przykładzie obrzędu sobótkowego)

Author(s): Tomasz Rokosz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 16/2018

The subject of the article concerns the reconstruction of the Midsum¬mer Night’s ritual. The author gives answers to the questions: What is a ritual? How should it be studied? What should be the methodology of description and interpretation of its complicated morphology? Regional variants of the rite are analysed and on the basis of them a model ritual (its invariant) is reconstructed. The article is based on archive materials and accounts collected personally by the author, mostly in Poland, in the years 2009–2014. The period of the most intense activity of the sun, falling on the second half of June, was generally regarded as extraordinary time in the folk tradition. The culmination of ritual activities took place on the night preceding the holiday of the nativity of St John the Baptist, usually celebrated on the 24th of June (also on the 7th of July in the Orthodox tradi¬tion). This time was marked by many ritual practices resulting from the system of traditional beliefs and views on the world. The article discusses the relics of beliefs and ritual behaviour connected with the summer solstice and their most important functions (magical, protective, purificatory, courtship and matrimonial, conveying beliefs, in¬tegrative and ludic). Furthermore, the article presents the main causes of disappearance, degradation and simultaneous modernization of the sum¬mer solstice rites.

Вечерната проверка-заря: структура, символика, функции. 2. Церемониалният сценарий като наратив

Author(s): Grigor Har. Grigorov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2018

The paper analyzes the symbolic layers in the major commemorative ceremony in Bulgaria – the roll-call. It is divided in two parts. The first one (Bulgarian Ethnology,2018, no. 1) interprets the symbolic actions comprising the basic tools for producing ceremonial meaning: saluting and rendering military honors, ritual silence and lack of action, battle cry, ceremonial mise-en-scène (monument, guards of honor, etc.) – these are recognized as specific devices for removing symbolically the border between the living and the dead, between heroes and descendants. The second part examines the ceremonial scenario as a prospectively unfolding narrative – each symbolic action is interpreted as a successive move in the overall plot. This approach acknowledges that the ceremony is made up of three parts: preparatory, commemorative, and triumphal,whereas the scenario as a whole embraces the following logic: listing and honoring the heroes in the commemorative part is succeeded by their posthumous enwreathing and symbolic immortalization as stars in the night sky through the use of fireworks.