„Богоизбраният народ” на Балканите
“The Chosen People” in the Balkans

Summary/Abstract: The paper gives cultural interpretation of the mechanisms for creating and utilizing the national myths. It treats some regional variants of the chosen people myth spread in the Balkan countries. The starting point of the discussion is that the concept of ethnic choice cannot be interpreted as common ethnocentrism. The chosen peoples are not only unique; they also have a mission to the other peoples – a mission determining their moral obligations and quite a specific historic fate. Noteworthy is the fact that this myth most often has a written source and is being secondarily popularized and folklorized. Thus the narratives spreading the myth among the members of a given ethnic-cultural community are structured in a specific manner. The paper is divided into several sections: • Ethnonym • Ancient Origin and Glorious History • Language and Letters’ Achievements • Faith and Wisdom of Tradition • Direct Evidences of the Mission • Challenges • The Fate of the Balkans and My Own Fate (Instead of Conclusion) Different aspects of the chosen people myth and the cultural images which turn into a part of its entire structure and meaning have been discussed in the above sections. The importance of these images for the motivation of human activities and the jeopardy of their being deliberately developed and spread has been emphasized.

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