“Bulgaria, the homeland of yogurt”: traditional food as ethnocentric  Cover Image

„България, родината на киселото мляко“ – или за традиционната храна като етноцентричен дискурс
“Bulgaria, the homeland of yogurt”: traditional food as ethnocentric

Author(s): Maria Yotova
Subject(s): Anthropology
Published by: Институт за етнология и фолклористика с Етнографски музей при БАН

Summary/Abstract: The essential ethnographic and anthropological research is focused on the home (pre-industrial) production of yogurt, its place in the milk processing culture and the traditional value system of Bulgarians. However, few studies pay attention to the changes that occured under the influence of socialism, the transition to market economy, and globalization. Consequently, we understand little how yogurt has acquired new values and “mythological“ meanings for Bulgarians, and how it has acquired the status of a national emblem. Trying to complement the existing studies on Bulgarian dairy culture, the aim of this research is to examine the formation and development of various discourses related to yogurt in the socialist and postsocialist Bulgaria on a national and international level. To fully understand the meanings and values attached to this traditional food today, this article follows the conceptualization of “Bulgarian yogurt“ in scientific research, during and after socialism, and its rise from a traditional product to a branded commodity of national and international value. The main argument is that through its transformation into the Japanese top brand “Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt“, this traditional food product has provided an alternative mirror in which the Bulgarian people can find a beautiful self-image of the nation. Thus, it has become an antidote to the collective sense of Bulgaria’s ever more marginalized position in the global geopolitical landscape, especially after the collapse of socialism.

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 33-55
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Bulgarian