Gabrovo Jokes in Print. On the Origin of the Image of a Bulgarian Industrial Town Cover Image
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Печатани вицове от Габрово. Към nроизхода на образа на един български индустриален град
Gabrovo Jokes in Print. On the Origin of the Image of a Bulgarian Industrial Town

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

Summary/Abstract: The canny Gabrovian has become a stereotype in Bulgaria, just as the “stingy Scotchman” has all over the world. Jokes about Gabrovians are only rarely to be found in the folklore collections of the 19th century. Their avalanche-like appearance in the 20th century is due to their publication in periodicals and a large number of chapbooks. As proved by old folklore collections and by living oral tradition the extreme thrift, economy and ingenuity are no exclusively Gabrovian features. The inhabitants of Koprivshtitsa, Troyan, Panagyurishte, Kotel, Elena, etc. boast of the same virtues. The jokes about canny misers reveal an aspect of the way of life and the social mood typical of the inhabitants of the fast-growing centers of Bulgarian trade and industry of the 19th century. Thus: jokes about the famous “Gabrovian thrift” do not characterize an ethno-regional group, but the social type of a “classical craftsman” of the Bulgarian Renaissance. The reasons why they are widely attributed to Gabrovians are complex. Gabrovo’s economic and cultural development gives the objective basis for the annexation of plots. The distribution of the jokes was, however, considerably stimulated by literary means up to the present day. Gabrovian jokes are yet another confirmation of the interaction between oral tradition and literature.

  • Issue Year: XVII/1991
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 3-11
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Bulgarian