ПОРОДНАТА СТРУКТУРА НА ТРАДИЦИОННОТО БЪЛГАРСКО ОВЧАРСТВО
THE STRUCTURE OF TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN SHEEPBREEDING ACCORDING TO BREEDS

Summary/Abstract: An attempt is made in the paper for ethnographic interpretation (predominantly based on Bulgarian material) of the concept of the interrelation between a definite breed of sheep and the variety of shepherd culture functioning with it, starting from the premise that the different breeds have different spatial localizations and require different breeding methods. This has led to the differentiation of zones with their own production, social, cultural, everyday life and other characteristics within the context of sheep-breeding as a whole. On this basis the right of ethnography to include the problem of the breed structure of the domestic animals is proved. In spite of the limited empirical material, the author claims that the breed structure of Bulgarian sheep-breeding was formed during the remote antiquity and was basically preserved until the mid-20th century. Within the framework of traditional Bulgarian sheep-breeding, the author distinguishes five breeds with clearly differentiated habitats. The first zone comprises the western mountainous and semi-mountainous regions, reaching the central part of Northern Bulgaria, the western regions of Sredna Gora Mountain and the eastern part of the Rhodope mountains. The second zone is located to the east of it and covers Northeastern Bulgaria, Dobrudja and Thrace. The third zone (of the so-called copper-red sheep) occupies an intermediary position with respect to the first two. The fourth zone includes the Strandja Mountain region and Southeastern Thrace. The last zone covers the Aegean region. The breeds in the different zones are of different origin: local or imported from the Middle East, Egypt and Libya, or from the Northern European area. In the author's opinion, the five zones with the different breeds correspond to five variants of traditional Bulgarian sheep-breeding.

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