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The present research report aims at revealing the evolution of one of the most typical Bulgarian head ornaments in the region of Veliko Tarnovo, namely of the so-called “sokai”. This ornament was very popular from the 18th c. to the beginning of the 20th c. Its construction is very complex: it consists of several parts which are linked together with the help of a big kerchief and it has a wooden base (“buka”). Each part has a unique name. The big metal section in the shape of a crown is called “krazhilo”. According to some researchers from the beginning of the 20th c. the “sokai” dated as far back as the mediaeval Bulgarian royal court. In the opinion of this author however they were first produced in the 18thcentury. The decoration is typical of the Orient. Some new elements were added to it in the beginning of the 19th century.
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The article follows the research interests and trends in science Ethnology at Veliko Tarnovo University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius “. Presented are all ethnological monographs, symposiums, teaching aids, as well as individual publications, which are out of print in Veliko Tarnovo University. They present the names of senior scholars in the field of ethnology and the young professionals and students. It is shown established tradition of the Veliko Tarnovo University to collaborate with the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” and other regional universities.
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At this stage of development of the Bulgarian Ethnology, in the absence of funds for well-paid professional PR, everyone should be able to stand before a camera or microphone to “translate” in popular language the results of their work. Because the media prefers to communicate directly with scientists, rather than professional PR’s or people responsible for this activity. Science is assessed on its public importance and this means that we can not afford to look at promoting it as something frivolous or as “haltura”.
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The article considers the stages through which passes specialized archive of IEFEM and the tests that have been subjected its classification system.
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This article is dedicated to the creation of the Institute for ethnology and the conditions for its transformation into EIM at BAS. The interest in the topic is generated by the transformation of EIM at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore in the Ethnography Museum in 2010
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The article considers the question of tradition as a cultural heritage or scientific reconstruction. Asking the question whether our understanding of “tradition” covers the concept of a model of transmission of cultural values, the author assumes that the tradition should be understood as a modern interpretation of our own cultural background!
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The article focuses on the importance of ethnographic fieldworks in the construction of young professionals – ethnographers. These are the memories of students, members of the study circle of Ethnography, touching the magic of this science in the 80s of XX century.
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The article follows the stories of the field’s records relating to the magical cure of various diseases. Central to this is the story of one lady, who is a healer from Staro Stefanovo, Lovech area, and who, in 1987, submitted her experience and wisdom to the author.
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This article presents some of the results from a study of tourist tours to Holy Meteora, Northern Greece, one of the most popular destinations for shortterm tourism in contemporary Bulgaria. The aim of this study is to objectively measure, identify, and characterize those tours having (or declaratively designed as having) some characteristics of pilgrimage or religious tourism as a newly emerging phenomenon in post-socialist Bulgaria in a real context, where real choices made by tourists are observed. The main questions to be explored are: if tourism to holy shrines still remains a “pure” tourist trip; if religious tourism to holy places traces its path to turn into a pilgrimage; what the reasons for the observed processes and who the agents to manage this complex process are
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The research attention in the article particular is directed to review and analysis of the Bulgarian-Serbian border fairs, seen as an element of life in the border area. The aim is to present only one aspect of a larger study of public policy, cross-border activities and use of cultural heritage as a resource for local development in border regions. The study has as its basis the conducted from the authors fieldwork in the village of Strezimirovtsi divided by the border of the Neuilly Treaty of 1919. Lower Strezimirovtsi is administratively part of Trun Municipality, Republic of Bulgaria and Upper Strezimirovtsi belongs to the Surdulica municipality Republic of Serbia.
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The article presents the EU as a new, globalization community, whose specificity and organic system is defined by the characteristics that give her cultures of European nations in the process of their further development. The homogenisation process of the EU reveals optimal opportunities for the Bulgarian national community and its culture – to overcome the depersonalization of them today and its negative processes, for their new revival as an organizer of the Bulgarian society and the equal of other European nations and a builder of prosperous Europe.
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The article presents the results of a survey conducted among Polish language teachers (n = 120) on the methods, possibilities, and barriers to implementing environmental humanities in Polish schools. The analysis of the collected material shows that the surveyed Polish language teachers feel responsible for shaping the pro-climate attitudes of their students, and Polish language lessons can strengthen students’ agency in times of the climate crisis.
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Comparative foundation in folklore research should equip us with the necessary tools to disentangle the intricate web of oral pasts of different cultures. This web might be made of the same material, but methods and techniques could vary, and that is the moment in which the comparative scholarship becomes indispensable. This paper aims to show that the dragon-like heroes who exist in Serbian epic poetry under that name, could be a remnant of an older tradition and that we could postulate their existence in other epic poetries, including in particular English epic poetry. The application of the knowledge regarding the interpretations of snakes, dragons and thunder gods in both of these national poetries and their respective folklores, guides the way in which it is discovered that many, if not all, of the interpretations could be applied to the qualities of the dragon-like heroes both in Serbian and English epic poetry. Both Zmaj Ognjeni Vuk and Beowulf can be seen as dragon-like heroes through their virtues of early maturity and enormous strength, through their ability to fight in battle more bravely and more intelligently than other heroes. They are able to beat other dragons due to the qualities which they share with them, they are the champions who are sought in the trying times of numerous kingdoms, and they are the sole protectors of the safety of various mead-halls. The early Christianisation that was carried out on the British Isles probably contributed to the early conversion and negative valorisation of epic heroes of the old, pagan times. Therefore, it takes time to single out the positive elements which are attributed to Beowulf and to put them in the right perspective. However, the epic tradition in the Balkans has had a much greater impact and the negative elements are almost completely diminished. This could be the reason why it might seem rather difficult to put the sign of equation between these two epic heroes. Nevertheless, both of them have the same qualities and exhibit remarkable similarities once they are compared in greater detail: they are both orphaned (historically more or less correctly), they both displayed unusual feats of bravery in their early lives, they are both considered to be of extreme importance to their respective kingdoms as peerless heroes. Yet, at the very first glance it seems almost impossible to say that they are similar. Although many layers have been added over the course of time, the tradition which seems to be shared emerges in both epic poetries in its essential uniqueness, despite different embellishments.
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In this work, the author studies the influences of culture, cultural flows and cultural values on economic development, entrepreneurship initiative and social progress. In the previous decade, many works were written that strove to show a large significance and influence of culture and tradition on economy and economical development. A large gap in economical development between specific states and regions in the world initiated the issue whether the culture is the obstacle for faster development. It has been shown that some cultures and systems of values are giving the support and accelerate the economic development through entrepreneurship, innovation, creation, competition and initiative. On the other hand, there are the cultures that by their traditional values and positions prevent the innovations, creativity and freedom of creativity, which negatively influences the economical growth and economical development. Some cultures create favorable entrepreneurship climate, some not. In order to change that situation, it is necessary that cultural turn and change of cultural values in particular environment and society appear. We find many examples in history that show that cultural turns favourably influenced economical and social development. Such examples are Protestantism, Confucianism, enlightenment, meigi reformation, liberalism, pragmatism. There are also examples that show that cultural turns had negative influence on already achieved level of economical growth and economical development. In the work, we further explore which are the cultural values that favourably influence the development of entrepreneurship in modern societies. We conclude that entrepreneurship initiative, innovation and creation are revealed in cultures characterized by decisiveness, willingness to compete, dynamism, safety, creativity, creation, long-term work, education, knowledge and responsibility. In the end, in the work, the thesis is presented that entrepreneurship is the type of activity that does not disappear „naturally” or spontaneously in societies or by an individual. Entrepreneurship is learnt through education, informing and research.
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Rats have accompanied human habitats for millennia. This complicated coexistence has led to the development of culture-laden narratives that excluded these creatures from the sphere of human moral care. Currently, the existential standing of the genus Rattus appears paradoxical. Contemporary free-living rats are among animals that are widely despised and subject to the most intense extermination. At the same time, due to their social nature and neural structure that is homologous to a large extent to Homo sapiens, they serve as models for research into human psychological properties. Recently, the accumulation of discoveries regarding many nonhuman species’ cognitive abilities has reignited ethical debate about the welfare and even the rights of “higher” animals. However, rats remain outside its mainstream focus. Meanwhile, based on research on rodents one may arrive at the image which is contrary to common beliefs about rats. The article presents the stereotypical views of rats’ social status obtained from research on the perception of social groups in accordance with the warmth and competence dimensions of Susan Fiske’s Stereotype Content Model. Then, Mark Rowlands’ concept of a moral subject is presented. Against this backdrop, a review of the latest findings of cognitive sciences regarding the properties of the Rattus species is carried out, in order to confront those research findings with Rowlands’ concept. The article aims to underscore the contradiction between the tereotypical perception of the rat and the empirical data, to finally indicate fundamental ethical implications of such a state of affairs.
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The dispute over ritual slaughter has been going on for years, not only in Polish discourse. It is commonly indicated that this practice is unethical and inhumane. However, this dispute completely ignores the Jewish perspective on this issue. Jews believe that this is the most humane method of slaughtering animals, and has been commanded by God for their protection from suffering. They emphasize that God’s law cannot be subject to change. The aim of this article is to prove that Jewish ritual slaughter is an ethical practice and permissible under positive law in Poland. The author also points out that the discussion on the admissibility of such slaughter is mainly based on economic arguments. The text, first of all, discusses what the shechita is, and then how the rules of the Torah protect animals from suffering. It also shows the current legal status regarding ritual slaughter, Poles’ beliefs regarding this subject as well as the social teaching of the Catholic Church on religious slaughter.
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In his writings, Eric Baratay advances that the chronicles of people should be supplemented with animal histories as he stands by the side of non-human animals and supports attempts to free history from its solely anthropocentric perspective. Animals are not capable of speaking any human language, they cannot record their experiences in writing / words, which makes them unable to create the great animal history. However, they have human friends. Therefore, the indirect approach, meeting to the goal intended by Baratay halfway, may rely on the stories about animals, their biographies written in the personal notes. The article presents the stories of pigs recorded in the autobiographies and memoirs of Antonina Żabińska, Dorota Sumińska, and Sy Montgomery, which are contributions to the history of animals.
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The article is devoted to the legacy of selected manuscripts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed before the fall of Bosnia in 1463, which is the reflection of the cultural wealth that was created in the area throughout history. At the same time in the texts of manuscripts, their illuminations, we can see elements from different traditions, which main determinant was confession (Slavia Latina, Slavia Orthodoxa). This specific feature will be confronted with the contemporary political and cultural situation of the Polish Kingdom and slightly later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Polish Kingdom and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Res Publica Utriusque Nationis). Example of Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic Missal and the chapel at Lublin Castle is the best paradigm of vital currents associated with infiltration of various ethnic groups and their nurtured artistic traditions. This fact made those two dualistic countries significant centers of art and cultural communication nodes with an extremely strong influence on Europe at this time. A special place in the article will take analyze the cultural perspective and illumination, taking into account the border nature of Balkans art, its homo-and heterogeneity. On this occasion, may be necessary to appeal to the complicated political history of the area, its multiculturalism and multi-confessional nature. Article will also attempt to bring the problem of South Slavic miniature painting, in a little present in the minds of western researchers, which will allow for fuller and more coherent view of the artistic map of Europe in the Middle Ages. The basic argument for the desirability of taken theme is its validity from the standpoint of cultural reconstruction of the full picture of South Slavs in the medieval period, which is an important aspect of miniature paintings, tested and well known in relation to Western Europe. Synchronous perspective of history and culture of BiH and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth will find the universal elements, as well as those who contributed to the uniqueness of the analyzed area.
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