Патриотизъм, национализъм и настроения към ромския етнос в България

Author(s): Plamena Stoyanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The political changes after 1989 in Bulgaria and the country’s difficult economic transition, temporarily led to a decline in patriotic feelings among the Bulgarian people. With few exceptions, such as Bulgaria's triumphant performance at the 1994 World Cup, which led to unprecedented national pride, the idea of belonging and unity began to dissolve in the harsh and uncertain conditions of the transition from socialism to a market economy. This led to a deterioration of relations in Bulgarian society, a sharp revision of values, a decrease in tolerance, and the entering into everyday life of the so-called language of hatred. Political parties were created which, under the guise of patriotism, openly promoted more radical sentiments toward various types of minorities. An increase in domestic crime at the time proved to be a fertile ground for such rhetoric. The fact that from the beginning of the new millennium until now, some Bulgarians have been invariably supporting nationalist parties, shows that these political formations are an expression of permanently present sentiments in the Bulgarian society. The current text will focus on nationalist manifestations towards the second-largest ethnic minority in the country – the Roma. For this purpose, specific events will be examined and analysed, and an attempt will be made to provide answers to several questions such as: What is the role of the Bulgarian minorities in these nationalist attitudes? Is it possible to build an identity based on the rejection of the other, and what are the manifestations of this rejection? How do such manifestations of intolerance and confrontation reflect on the identity of the minority itself? Who benefits from this rhetoric, and what are its consequences for the Bulgarian society?

Блог адаптацията на рускоговорещите жени имигрантки в България: специфики на процеса, онлайн поведението и идентичността

Author(s): Mina Hristova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The article proposes to refine the periodisation of Russian and Russian-speaking immigration in Bulgaria. It examines the necessary context, describing changes in motivations and identity projects of these groups from (relatively) 2013 to 2023. The text outlines the specific tool - the blog, reinvented in a modern context – the text highlights the differences between it within the visual platform Instagram and its classical visual version. Thus, some of the main features of Russian-speaking users’ own online representations are brought to the fore through the implicit and (counterintuitively) explicit discourses of Russian-speaking users. They focus the analysis on their identifications and the specifics of adaptation and its dynamics, maintaining a sense of community but also accumulating social capital that directly reflects their plans and strategies for the present and future.

Етническата памет в топонимите на Артануджи (историческа Грузия)

Author(s): Inga Ghutidze / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Artanuji, the oldest city of Klarjeti, historical Georgia, is within the boundaries of Turkey on the grounds of Kars Treaty (1921). According to the data, gathered through the fieldwork in 2010‒2014, ethnic Georgians were exiled from Artanuji after the World War II. The article deals with the written sources and field data, providing detailed information about the Artanuji population, ethnic Christian Georgians as well as Muslim Georgians. The historical past in this region reminds of itself through the toponyms that appeared in the places of historical Georgia and through the speech of population and covers the history of the ethnic groups. The toponyms attested on the territory of historical Georgia have a great importance for they shed light on a certain period of history and are the only witnesses of Georgian settlement here.

Св. Георги в грузински културен контекст

Author(s): Nino Abakelia / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article briefly evaluates the vast literature relating to the worship of St. George in Georgia and draws on the ethnographic data collected by the author in the years 1977 to 1987. It explores the worship of St George in the Caucasus Georgia both in the past and present. Consequently, it discusses such categories as religious practice, belonging to the parish and territory, identity and, sharing holy places, epithets of the Saint, hybrid cults, etc. The materials used are: written historical sources, ethnographic data attested in the writings of Christian Missionaries (Christopher Castelli, Jean Chardin, Arcangelo Lamberti, etc.), the ethnographic data gathered (during 2018-19) among Internally displaced persons, and contemporary emic and etic researches undertaken by anthropologists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The argument of the present contribution is based upon a series of ethnographic observances that present traditional feasts of the saint and their transformations in the light of current political processes. Accordingly, detailed ethnographic field data and observations are contextualized in time and space, using the explorations and studies of anthropologists and historians. The article tries to show how once traditional Christian site (lieux de mémoire in Pierre Nora’s sense) with its real environment and with is firm identity is deterritorialized and transformed into a shared place of mixed and ambiguous pilgrimage place through the political processes and hybridization.

Религиозност в трансформация: народни и нормативни религиозни практики в Източна Грузия

Author(s): Ketevan Khutsishvili / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Georgian everyday life is highly tied up with the rich religious traditions that have been developed as a result of the centuries-long synthesis of pre-Christian and Christian practices and worldviews. The Soviet period caused the fragmentation of the traditional religious knowledge and the practice moved to the household level and was paganized. In the post-Soviet period, the burst of religious sentiments and search for identity increased the involvement of big masses to religious practices. The transformations were accompanied by a process of individualization of religion, which has led to a change of forms of religiosity. Based on the ethnographic data of East Georgia, the article discusses the correlation of the normative, vernacular and resistant forms of religiosity. Historical-comparative and parallel analyses are used to research two examples of religious practice: Lomisoba and Berikaoba. Lomisoba is analyzed as an example of hybrid, massive, collective holiday. Berikaoba is more local, not connected to a sacred site, performative festival. It is argued that the contemporary processes are having an impact on the religiosity and the religiosity of certain groups is trying to be defined in new forms. All the old and new forms of religiosity are explicitly displayed and played out in contemporary Georgia. At the same time there are some hidden, or rather implicit practices.

Шедьовърът на Руставели – ренесансова поема или средновековен роман?

Author(s): Yordan Lyutskanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article introduces to the late medieval romance in verse Vepkhistq’aosani by Shota Rustaveli – the central artefact in Georgian cultural self-awareness and the top item of ‘high’ Georgian cultural export. It briefly presents its narrative content, indicating the correlation of two plot-lines (initially through enframing, after some point though horizontal interlacing). It briefly introduces to the main fluctuations and 20th-century tendency in translating the work’s title, interpreting the fluctuations as indicative of aesthetic differences, and the tendency as an indication of the ‘cultural market’ success of the Soviet-Georgian (in its ideological and aesthetical basis –a Stalinist and socialist-realist) image of Rustaveli’s masterpiece. It presents two influential to dominant claims of Georgian Rustvelology – that the work is a poema (and not a novel/romance) and that it displays, at least partially, Renaissance outlook and poetics, – considering these claims as tools (1) of Soviet “Culture Two” to allot a proper place to Georgian nation within the alternative modernity of the USSR and its premodern background-under-construction, and (2) of Soviet-Georgian cultural nationalism to define a usable past in post-Soviet conditions; and (3) as beliefs. It revitalises the option to contextualise the work of Rustaveli (and, indirectly, Georgian cultural identity) in non-Eurocentric terms, providing some factographic and theoretic clues from the field of macrohistory (J. Abu-Lughod et al.) and a methodological one from sociology of arts (P. Bourdieu).

Имиграцията и „градината като работилница“: българските градинари в Унгария в края на XIX и началото на XX век

Author(s): Nikolai Vukov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

The article presents the specific dimensions of the “garden as a workshop” developed by the Bulgarian immigrant gardeners in Hungary at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The importance of various factors (availability of land, water resources and urban markets, etc.) is outlined. These influenced the arrival and settlement of gardeners in the Habsburg Empire, but also – with the new approaches to cultivating the land and placing the produce – testify to a specific process of modernization in theterrain of agriculture. The article highlights the significant role of Bulgarian gardeners in this process, thanks to which they could not only establish themselves and respond to the new social demands, but also laid the foundations for their long-term presence and interaction with Hungarian society.

Гурбетчийското градинарство като локално наследство: българо-унгарски паралели върху процесите на оценностяване. По примери от селата Поликраище и Драганово. Част 1

Author(s): Valentin Voskresenski / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

The article examines, from a historical and contemporary perspective, the processes of valorizing diaspora gardening as local heritage in two significant "gardener villages": Polikraishte and Draganovo (within the municipality of Gorna Oryahovitsa). Based on field studies conducted in Bulgaria and Hungary, the research describes journeys to and from ancestral places, emphasizing their significance and functions in constructing local heritage. The text explores interpretations of diaspora gardening within the settlement's history. In the study, the valorization of gardening as local heritage in Bulgaria is considered a means of establishing connections between the two countries and an integral part of constructing the cultural memory and identity of the Bulgarian community in Hungary.

„Третият път“ – Националната земеделска партия в Унгария и българските градинари в периода между двете световни войни

Author(s): Ferenc Bódi / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

The article is dedicated to a hitherto unexplored element of the Bulgarian–Hungarian relationship from the period between the two world wars – the Hungarian popular movement (March Front), whose ideas found inspiration from the Bulgarian gardeners in Hungary. The movement that later the National Peasant Party put the “Garden Hungary” program on its banner in which the agrarian reforms and the wider civil participation of peasants in Hungarian society held a special place. Many of the elements in this program drew examples from the Bulgarian gardeners in Hungary with their specific organization of labour, collectivist spirit, and a sustainable economic model linking the land work and the new market relations at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. In his study “Towards Garden Hungary” Imre Somogyi described in detail the techniques that Bulgarian market gardeners used in vegetable growing. In the social philosophy of László Németh, “Garden Hungary” had the meanings of a socio-economic model that could eliminate rural poverty.

Интеграция на българските градинари в местното общество. Примери от Югоизточна Унгария

Author(s): László Mód / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

The immigration of the Bulgarian market-gardeners to Hungary was one of the most important international economic migrations for Bulgaria in the 20th century. The paper does not intend to deal with a contemporary migration phenomenon, but rather tries to interpret the integration of the members of a special social group in the host communities in a historical context. It was not by chance that the author chose Szentes and the surrounding villages as the site of the research. This area is one of Hungary's most important vegetable-growing regions thanks to the activities and influence of the Bulgarian gardeners. The steps of the integration process can be outlined with the help of different types of sources. Its final result was that in the host communities the Bulgarians became land and real estate owners, who, after a while, sought to obtain Hungarian citizenship as well.

Здравка Байчева от Поликраище: създателка на една малка България в Братислава

Author(s): Georgi Georgiev,Trifonka Popnikolova,Mariyana Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

Materials about Bulgarian Gardeners in Central Europe

Културно наследство и институционализация на българските исторически и съвременни мигрантски общности отвъд Европа. Автори: Вл. Пенчев, А. Авджиева, М. Борисова, В. Воскресенски, Н. Вуков, Л. Гергова, Я. Гергова, Б. Кулов, Т. Матанова, Щ. Щерев. Софи

Author(s): Katya Mihailova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2024

Book reviewCultural Heritage and Institutionalization of Bulgarian Historical and Contemporary Migrant Communities beyond Europe [In Bulgarian]. Authors: Vladimir Penchev, Aneliya Avdjieva Mariyanka Borisova, Valentin Voskresenski, Nikolai Vukov, Lina Gergova, Yana Gergova, Boyan Kulov, Tanya Matanova, Shteryo Shterev. Editors: Vladimir Penchev, Tanya Matanova, Aneliya Avdjieva. Sofia: Paradigma, 2023

ILLUSTRATIONS

Author(s): Rossen Malchev,Konstantin Rangochev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 23/2024

Free to hate. Ключово изследване на Мартин Маринос за отношението между медиите и десния популизъм в България

Author(s): Orlin Spassov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 16/2024

This review presents Martin Marinos's Free to Hate: How Media Liberalization Enabled Right-Wing Populism in Post-1989 Bulgaria (University of Illinois Press, 2023). Marinos's in-depth analysis reveals the close link between the media and the rise of right-wing populism in post-socialist Bulgaria. Marinos focuses on the connections between phenomena such as neoliberalism, racism, populism, and media commercialization.

Hell and Individual Punishment Scenes in an in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour at Gardenitsa, Mani (Greece). With Special Attention to a Depiction of the ‘Time of Man’.

Author(s): Panayotis Katsafados / Language(s): English Issue: 8/2024

L’une des plus curieuses représentations du cycle du Jugement dernier de la péninsule de Mani (La-conie) peut être admirée dans le narthex de l’église de la Transfiguration, dans le village de Gardenitsa. Les représentations des pécheurs ont été initialement attribuées à un artiste du xviiie siècle, mais des travaux de restauration récents ont remis en question l’ancienne datation en faveur du xve siècle. L’Auteur montre, grâce à une analyse paléographique, que les caractéristiques des lettres et un certain nombre de particularités stylistiques peuvent être attribuées à un peintre local, Nomikos, dont l’oeuvre comprend d’autres églises peintes dans la région au début du xive siècle : l’église Saint-Georges à Marasse / Kitta, l’église Saint-Nicolas à Nymphi et le catholicon du monastère de Phaneromeni. Les peintures et les inscriptions de Gardenitsa pourraient être datées d’environ 1326/1327 et elles seraient, peut-être, parmi les dernières créations du peintre Nomikos. Contrairement aux châtiments individuels de pécheurs tels qu’on les connaît dans les peintures crétoises, chypriotes ou même serbes, le cycle peint sur la voûte ouest de l’église de Gardenitsa présente quelques traits qui le particularisent. Dans les huit cadres, regroupés en deux groupes de quatre sur les côtés nord et sud de la voûte, l’accent est sou-vent mis sur le clergé et les personnes qui lui sont liées (les femmes des prêtres, par exemple). Il n’y a pas de péchés de nature agricole ou familiale, et l’une des scènes représente un personnage mystérieux, ac-compagné d’une inscription qui se réfère au ‘Temps de l’homme’. C’est d’ailleurs la seule représentation d’un pé-cheur à Gardenitsa qui ne trouve pas de terme de comparaison dans les cycles de pécheurs d’autres régions du Commonwealth byzantin. L'auteur identifie un certain nombre de modèles qui semblent avoir fusionné pour créer une représentation entièrement nouvelle. Le premier est certainement la parabole du mauvais riche et de Lazare, dont la place est souvent parmi les scènes accompagnant le Jugement dernier, sauf que le riche représenté à Gardenitsa ne conserve que certaines caractéristiques iconographiques de la scène attendue. Une autre image qui semble avoir été utilisée dans la scène de Gardenitsa peut être celle de l’homme poursuivi par une licorne dans une parabole de l’histoire de Barlaam et Josaphat. L’arbre sur lequel s’appuie le riche de Gardenitsa et les deux chiens noir et blanc (au lieu des souris), symbolisant le jour et la nuit, sont des éléments qui semblent avoir été repris de cet autre modèle. Le troisième modèle pourrait être une série d’images que l’on retrouve dans des psautiers occidentaux. Après un inventaire succinct d’autres représentations occidentalisantes retrouvées dans la péninsule de Mani ou dans le reste du Péloponnèse, l’auteur conclut que les modèles fusionnés par l’artiste de Gardenitsa proviennent de manuscrits. Il pourrait s’agir des mêmes manuscrits que le donateur (aujourd’hui anonyme) semble offrir au Christ dans la scène votive. On suppose que ce fondateur est peut-être à l’origine des innovations iconographiques en question.

Българските народни песни с мотив „Девойка спасява Малта“ – публикации, изследвания, въпроси. Част 1

Author(s): Snezhanka Gencheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The article summarizes the concepts of historicism of the folklore-poetic works established in our science at the end of the last century. It reviews the recordings and publications of Bulgarian folk songs with the motif "A Virgin Rescues Malta" and examines the research and opinions concerning them. The article also analyses the metadata, associated with the already published versions, throwing more light on the context of their existence at the time of their recording in written form.

Гурбетчийското градинарство като локално наследство: българо-унгарски паралели върху процесите на оценностяване. По примери от селата Поликраище и Драганово. Част 2

Author(s): Valentin Voskresenski / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The article examines, from a historical and contemporary perspective, the processes of valorizing diaspora gardening as local heritage in two significant "gardener villages": Polikraishte and Draganovo (within the municipality of Gorna Oryahovitsa). Based on field research conducted in Bulgaria and Hungary, the publication investigates how diaspora gardening becomes part of the local festivities and commemorative practices. The article traces how transnational gardening, while practiced as a local livelihood, is connected to traditional festivities and examines the changes in the local dimensions of the festive calendar during socialism and more recently. A separate section is dedicated to the new festivity (its emergence, development, and messages) as a current means of transforming local livelihood into cultural memory and the local heritage of the two settlements.

Концептът „родина“ при завърнали се българи

Author(s): Tanya Matanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The present text includes a brief review of the publications and research on the theme of the motherland in Bulgaria and abroad. In the context of the contemporary migration movements some possible aspects and ways of studying motherland concept are also presented. By analyzing the attitudes of the Bulgarian expatriates coming back, the author presents the relation and the images associated with the motherland – i.e. the native home, the coziness of the home, the well-known nature, as well as some fragrances and feelings.

Активните граждани в Гърмен: социализиране на религиозното културно наследство с местно значение

Author(s): Magdalena Slavkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

The article aims at presenting the activities of the people of the municipality of Garmen, Southwest Bulgaria, related to the socialization of tangible immovable religious heritage of local importance and their vision for changing it into a tourist product. There is no specialized local policy regarding cultural heritage, but voluntary initiatives to restore Orthodox sites and the spaces around them involve people of different faiths. As a result of their civic activism, a collective sense of attachment to heritage is strengthened, which in turn becomes an important element of their regional identity. The results of an ethnological study conducted in April–May 2022 in the villages of Garmen, Dabnitsa and Skrebatno are presented. The data were collected through open-ended interviews with representatives of the municipality of Garmen and people who live near the cultural values and are committed to the cause of their restoration and socialization.

Фолклористика и етнология в Средна и Югоизточна Европа. Юбилеен сборник в чест на проф. д-р Владимир Пенчев. Съст. Екатерина Анастасова, Мариянка Борисова, Таня Матанова, Райна Рождественска. София: Издателство на БАН „Проф. Марин Дринов“, 2023

Author(s): Stanoy Stanoev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

Book review