Prilog istraživanju predaja o starom narodu na području Like i Podgorja
Contribution to the Presentation of Research about the ancient People in the Region of Lika and Podgorje

Summary/Abstract: The material remains of the life of the ancient people, the population which according to legend inhabited this region in an undefined past time, the people are recognised in various ruins and abandoned structures which do not remember the time of origin. In the region of Lika and Podgorje, the old population were often called Grci or Nemri. They lived in mythical times when the sea was so high that they anchored their boats on the peaks of today’s mountains, they were of a giant’s stature, they were gifted with superhuman powers and exceptional longevity. They were exceptionally affluent and prosperous, but over night they were forced to leave their homes due to adverse weather conditions, such as snow which fell in the midst of summer or when the "bura" northern wind which blew non-stop for years drove them away. Other oral literary texts state how conquerors expelled them, who in turbulent times of the past had passed these regions. Forced to escape, the ancient people left behind their treasure which they could not take with them and protected it with spells so that no one would be able to find it and take it away, whilst for additional security placing fantastic creatures as keepers. Texts of such topics are embroidered with elements of various beliefs and magical practices of great diffusion, and they frequently performed a role in folk oral chronicles in the absence of written history. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the complex of motives noted in the region of Lika and Podgorje, in the context of the analogy from oral literature of the population of the Dinaric cultural areal (where such narratives generally appear). The analysis is based on data published in expert literature, archive sources and systematic field research which the author undertook in the period from 2007 to 2012.

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