Абаджийският занаят в Средните Родопи (краят на XVIII - началото на XX в.)
The craft of making homespun cloth in the Central Rhodopes (End of the 18th - Early 20th cc.)

Summary/Abstract: The article considers the upsurge and the decline of one of the widest-spread crafts in the Central Rhodopes — the manufacturing of homespun cloth — which occupied a prominent place in the livelihood of the local population for a long period of time. On the basis of historical data the author has pointed out the reasons for the flourishing of that trade in the 19th c. and has discussed the factors responsible for its decline after the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman bondage in 1878. Special attention is devoted in the study to the process of differentiation and specialization of the craft of homespun-making during the period under review, as a result of the impact of the extensive domestic and foreign market for the articles produced. The article also examines the organization of production, the markets for the homespun cloth and the clothes made of it, the different forms of sale of these goods, the training of workers and the relations between the master claftsmen and the senior and junior apprentices. The social role of the guild in the life of the settlements in the Central Rhodopes is also sought It is pointed out that the craft of making homespun cloth and garments survived longer in the Rhodopes, as compared with the rest of the country, due to some specific characteristics in the historical development of that region. The reported material serves as a basis for the analysis of the specific development of this trade in the Central Rhodopes and of its role for the socio-economic and cultural development of the region during the period under review.

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