Serbia is one of Europe's most culturally diverse countries with incredibly rich Cultural Inheritance. The borders between large empires ran through the territory of today's Serbia for long periods in history: between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire; and between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Empire /later Austria and Hungary/. As a result, while the north of Serbia is culturally Central European, the southern Serbia is rather more Oriental. Of course, both regions have influenced each other and so the distinction between north and south is artificial to some extent forming amazing diversified folklore treasure of Serbia.
In the era of globalization, cultural heritage is of vital importance for a better understanding and respect among the peoples.
Serbia: Ethnic Dress in the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries
Within the rich creative work of the Serbian population related to textiles — due to their role in everyday life and in providing ethnic identity as well as to their visual and aesthetic values — ethnic dress is one of the most valuable and beautiful creations of its cultural heritage. It is mostly known on the basis of preserved collections of clothing items from the 19th and the first decades of the 20th centuries, characterised by a great variety of forms, trimmings, ornaments and colours. The wealth is obvious in men’s clothes, but especially so in women’s clothes, both of which were created as a result of the collective understanding of belonging to the community accompanied by a demonstration of individual leanings and skills based on heritage and tradition. A distinct diversity of clothing items spread as a mosaic from one area to another, with each region being characterised by its different clothes, with a manifold role and meaning. Apart from its primary function of protecting the body in different climatic conditions and its role of adorning the persons wearing it, the dress was not only a telltale sign of a person’s origin, but also, especially in ethnically mixed communities, of the ethnic group they belonged to. From earliest times clothes were used to indicate class, social and professional status, with some elements also having ritual and magical meanings.
The knowledge of the characteristics of the traditional dress is based on material evidence from the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. As for the earlier periods in the history of the peasant dress in Serbia, they are much less known due to scarcity of material evidence and other data, the same as in most countries of South East Europe, i.e. the Balkans. However, fragmentary evidence from some of the earlier centuries (archaeological findings, written and visual sources) and the known course of historical, social and cultural events make it possible to shed some light on the origins of some of the items of clothing worn in the 19th and 20th centuries but they rarely allow for a reconstruction of individual wholes from past epochs.
In the process of getting an insight into the development of ethnic dress and of interpreting and acquiring comprehensive knowledge of the characteristics of garments of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries it is impossible not take note of the ancient Balkan, Byzantine, mediaeval Serbian, Turkish-Oriental and relatively recent European layers along with the basic old Slavonic, i.e. old Serbian, tradition. To a greater or lesser extent, all these cultural influences, whose penetration and expansion were linked to historical events — which in some periods resulted in smaller or greater-scale migrations of the population — affected clothes as well. Thus, beside the marks of the time at which they were created and worn, there are also traces from previous times. Apart from the cultural-historical factors at work through time and space, the creation of dress features was greatly affected by the nature of the terrain and climatic conditions favourable to the development of one or several types of economic activities, whose products made up the basis of life and all other accompanying elements.
The culture of the people living in the mountains, who were mostly cattle-breeders, the culture of the people living in the lowlands, who were farmers, and the culture of the people living in the areas with both hills and lowlands, where they embraced both cattle-breeding and farming, led to the creation of distinct forms of clothing. All this was transposed in original ways bygenerations of anonymous creators, who demonstrated creativity, knowledge and experience in fashioning style of dress patterns well adapted to the living conditions and the environment. In line with the obtaining division of labour in family communes, clothes for household members, except a few items of clothing and jewellery made by artisans, were almost totally made by women. Their job included growing the needed plants and processing them, dyeing, weaving linen and woollen cloth, knitting, sewing, decorating clothing with embroidery, lace and other trimmings. Experience, tradition and skill were passed on from generation to generation.
An analysis of the variety of clothes shows certain peculiarities concerning the combination of functional, visual and aesthetic characteristics present in several areas. The same economic activities, or very similar ones, which were determined by geographic features and the same or similar historical, social and cultural development, led to the creation of similar items of clothing within larger cultural-geographical areas, such as the Central Balkan, Dinaric and Pannonian ones. Given the availability of materials for making and adorning clothes, the cuts, manner of adornment and the tradition of dress styles and cultural layers, each area saw the emergence of many variants, which, on the one hand, bore the basic characteristics of the dress type to which they belonged and, on the other, showed greater or lesser regional and local differences both among the majority Serbian population and among the ethnic minority communities. It is important to note that the spread of the basic types of dress was not strictly limited but that there were transitional belts between them, where the features from the neighbouring areas were intermingled. Also, the cultural-geographical areas spread not just throughout Serbia but also throughout the neighbouring states of the Balkan, Pannonian, Dinaric and Mediterranean regions, where Serbs lived together with other peoples and wore the dress of the said typological groups.
The Central Balkan area
The ethnic dress of the Central Balkan area in Serbia is found in its eastern and southern parts and the regions of Kosovo, Metohija and Rascia. This large territory comprises lowlands, hills and mountains, and the dress is a combination of elements typical of both farmers and cattle-breeders, with traits of the old Slavonic, old Balkan, mediaeval Serbian culture of the Byzantine layer and Turkish-Oriental culture. It is characterised by an elongated visual form of clothes items, a profusion of subtle and luxurious adornments of perfect workmanship and a fine harmony of colours. In all the parts, apart from the common content and visual features, the dress has a number of regional and local differences, with some of these serving to show ethnic origins. The common features up to the first decades of the 20th century were almost identical kinds of homemade materials — mostly hemp, flax and cotton fabrics, white and dark brown sukno (rolled woollen cloth), woollen and flax cloths, often with stripes and finely arranged tiny geometrical ornaments woven into them, as well as processed and non-processed skins. Some factory-made fabrics were also used along with products of Oriental origins.
Despite great differences in their appearance, the cut of the Serbian linen and various woollen and rolled woollen cloth chemises is mostly the same or very similar. In all regions, a straight-lined tunic with sleeves is the basic outer and inner chemise. Almost everywhere the long women’s tunic is the same width, with one or two wedge-shaped inlets at the sides, except in Kosovo, Metohija and Rascia (the centres of Serbia’s statehood in the Middle Ages), where the tunic was transformed into a wide bell-shaped dress with ten or more wedge-shaped inlets. This transformed item of clothing, with excessively lush embroidery, which is also found in other parts and on other objects, and the harmony of ornaments, shows traits of the mediaeval textiles of the Serbian nobility’s attire.
Embroidery of perfect workmanship, showing a refined knack for combining various shapes of geometrical as well as stylised floral ornaments, is applied to the visible parts of the tunic — the sleeves, the collared front and the edges. The embroidered motifs are usually free, but there are also some instances of counted-thread embroidery. Embroidery was done in wool yarn, very often dyed various hues of red. In some regions, the red dye is the only one used, whereas in others it is combined with other colours or silver and gold threads, with an addition of beads, spangles and tassels. Unlike this predominantly red and silver thread ornament, which covers the bodice and the sleeves of the tunic and is mostly characteristic of southern parts, polychrome embroidery of light and dark hues and applied more discreetly was used to adorn tunics in other areas. Another item of garment which significantly defines women’s clothes in the Central Balkan area in terms of typology is the skirt, formed from two halves joined together horizontally, creased and open along the whole length. Girls, brides and married women equally wore it. It has two basic variants. Bojce, zaprega (a short women’s skirt, open along the whole length), which only covers the thighs and reaches down to the knees, adorned with embroidery or patterns of many colours woven into it, is found in Kosovo, Metohija and Rascia. Another type, futa, vutara (a much longer skirt), which reaches almost to the edge of the tunic, open along the whole length, with striped ornaments, was widespread in most other parts of the Central Balkan area. At the same time, sukman, litak, manovil (a sleeveless dress), made from black dyed woollen cloth or, in its summer variety, from hemp cloth, and richly decorated, gave a distinct look to the South East Serbian dress. This dress, which is also known among other Slavonic peoples, is believed to be of old Slavonic origin.
The essential parts of the apparel are a woven sash and a woollen apron, adorned with geometric patterns woven or, less frequently, embroidered, into the items as they were being made. The apron was attached only at the front, except in some parts of North East Serbia, where Walachian women, following an old tradition, also wore a back apron, decorated with long woollen tassels. Wearing two aprons over the tunic is also characteristic of the Albanian women’s apparel, whose general look is dominated by woven geometric ornaments and dark colours.
Of the outerwear clothes worn in summer, and some only in winter, highly widespread were a short jelek (waistcoat), a longer zubun (women’s sleeveless dress open at the front), a long rolled woollen cloth dress with sleeves and gunj (a women’s and men’s chemise with long sleeves, a kind of jacket made from rolled woollen cloth), white or brown, waist-long, all of them edged with braids. Of all these kinds of upper body clothes items, all of which comprised certain local visual and decorative peculiarities, the most beautifully decorated one was the zubun, made from white rolled woollen cloth, reaching to the knees and open at the front. Along with geometric ornaments, there is an abundance of embroidered stylised floral motifs, dyed cloth appliqués, sometimes with tassels and fringes added. Zubuns with rich floral motifs embroidered using red woollen yarn and including a tree of life motif, as well as zubuns found in other places with similar floral shapes made from black or dark brown woollen thread with circular red cloth patches sewn on, or zubuns with embroidery in relief of subtly composed geometric patterns in different hues of red, and zubuns with discreet polychrome embroidered or cloth appliqués, all demonstrate the high achievements of the local artisanship rooted in the tradition of mediaeval values.
One of the prominent features of the Central Balkan region is the headwear, most commonly the trvelji (two plaits made by weaving woollen strands together), which married women weave into their hair and fold by the ears. In some parts natural hair was used in a similar way. Hair done in this way was then covered with towels and hats with a shorter or longer flap at the back. Girls, with their hair sporting one, two or three plaits, wore a small red hat or scarf. Brides wore plaits of a different kind, richly adorned with flowers, pearl strings, silver coins and other trimmings, which, apart from being decorative, also had an apotropaic role. Beside the jewellery for adorning the hair and the headwear (earrings, hairpins, frontlets, diadems) and various types of necklaces, breast ornaments, bracelets and rings used with festive clothes, also highly widespread were pafte (bigger or smaller ornamental clasps for a woman’s sash), made of silver or gilded.
Unlike women’s clothes, which display a large variety of forms and ornaments, men’s garments worn by peasants in the Central Balkan area show more unified features. Apart from a linen tunic and pants worn in summer in flatter areas, the typical dress comprised a chemise, with several chemises being worn in winter in layers. The chemise of the 19th century was made from white rolled woollen cloth. This was retained in some parts of Eastern Serbia as well as among the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija until the first quarter of the 20th century, which was not the case in most other areas, where, in the second half of the 19th century, brown and black rolled woollen cloth was increasingly used.
Apart from the tunic, which had a cut and adornments similar to those of the women’s tunic, the most widespread items of clothing were the rolled woollen cloth dzamadan (a sleeveless waistcoat, with overlapping fronts), waistcoats of different lengths, open at the front, and, of the winter chemises, a gunj with sleeves, also of varying lengths and variously called in different areas.
Along with the woven woollen sash, mostly striped, the other indispensable item of woollen cloth garments, adorned with black woollen braids, was caksire (breeches), with a relatively tight seat and legs. Scholars believe this type of rolled woollen cloth trousers, along with the braids, to be of old Balkan origins. Also worn were items of Oriental origin: caksire with creases and a looser seat, a trabolos (a men’s silk sash of many colours), and a silav (a men’s leather belt with pockets).
The dress worn on special occasions and made of homemade rolled woollen cloth (sukno) or brown sajak (factory-made cloth) and dark blue factory-made heavy-duty cloth (coha) was mostly adorned with a custek (a men’s piece of jewellery of stringed pearls or made of silver and shaped by an artisan).
The headgear included a black woollen hat, a lamb fleece hat, a cilav or custah (a shallow white rolled woollen cloth hat) and, in some areas, a fez (a red men’s hat). It was usual to wrap a cotton towel around the hat or, in winter, a woven woollen scarf. At the end of the 19th century, Serbs started wearing a sajkaca (a stout cloth military hat), which, like a kece (a men’s white rolled woollen cloth cap) of the Albanians, is still being worn as a sign of ethnic identity at the beginning of the 21st century.
Both men’s and women’s clothes are characterised by richly decorated knitted woollen socks and shallow opanci, either made at home or by a craftsman.
In almost all areas, a rolled woollen cloth cloak with sleeves or a wide, semicircular hooded cape was worn over the other garments.
The Dinaric area
The Dinaric cultural and geographic area includes several locations in South West Serbia. In keeping with the natural mountain conditions, sheep breeding was the main economic activity, to which the whole style of life was adapted. The traditional dress was mostly made from wool. After being woven, homemade woollen cloth was taken to special presses, of which there were many at mountain streams. This processed woollen cloth (sukno) was naturally white or brown and was also dyed red. Strict rules were observed when combining different items of woolen cloth, fabrics and knitwear. Ornaments are geometric and floral. The use of three basic colors — white, dark Grey and dark red — gives a special character to both the women’s dress in its variants and the more uniform men’s dress. The basic item of both men’s and women’s dress is the tunic made from homemade hemp, flax and, from the end of the 19th century, cotton fabrics. Made from a single piece of thin cloth folded over the shoulders, the tunic has wedged inlets and flat, broad sleeves. A women’s long tunic is richly ornamented with finely spun wool or, sometimes, cotton. Men’s tunics, which are shorter than women’s, are decorated in a more discreet manner and, apart from red and black embroidery, they have white, hollow appliqués of flax or cotton thread.
Along with the indispensable woven woollen sash, both girls and women attach to the tunic a narrow, elongated and rectangular apron, striped or sometimes with horizontal rows of plant motifs. These three items of clothing, with the addition of a short rolled woollen cloth (sukno), heavy-duty cloth (coha) or corduroy waistcoat, with discreet braids and silver thread embroidery, were the basic parts of summer wardrobe.
The outfit is supplemented with a long zubun jacket of white or dark red rolled woollen cloth and, in winter, a gunj of dark grey woollen cloth and a long white dress with sleeves and made from one piece of cloth. The visually rich adornment makes the white zubun stand out. The upper half of the back is completely covered with black woollen thread embroidery in the form of snail-like curves and spirals, stylistically akin to mediaeval tombstone ornaments. The ornaments on the skirts of the zubun, unlike the geometric pattern on the back, are stylised black woollen or silver thread flowers. It is a well-known fact that no girl in the past could get married until she had embroidered a zubun for herself to prove she had mastered handicraft.
An expressive embroidered ornament of dark red and black woollen thread appears on the bridal hat, which had a long flap at the back. Girls, with their hair divided into two plaits making a wreath around the head, wear a shallow red cap, while married women wrap a scarf around it. Of the jewellery made by silversmiths, most used were a flower-shaped hatpin, necklaces and sash clasps (pafte). Men’s outfit, apart from a linen tunic and pants and an outer black or dark grey rolled woollen cloth chemise, was marked by white or dark grey pelengiri (a kind of wider men’s pants made of unrolled woollen cloth). They are without ornaments, unlike a gunjic (a short waistcoat), which is open at the front, and the dzamadan, whose halves overlap, both of which, like the gunj with sleeves, have braids along the edges. This white-dark grey outfit is supplemented with a woollen sash of many colours, a red shallow hat, with a red woollen shawl wrapped around it in winter like the Oriental headband, then, on festive occasions, with a jelek with toke (silver buttons and platelets sewn in rows on the men’s waistcoat bodice as ornaments), a leather belt called silav, and, on top of all this, a red rolled woollen cloth hooded cloak.
There were changes, beginning from the end of the 19th century, under the influence of urban and military dress. Factory-made fabrics increasingly replaced homemade rolled woollen cloth (sukno), women start wearing long skirts of modern cuts and men start wearing the sajkaca and military style trousers, both to become representative of the men’s ethnic dress throughout Serbia in the first half of the 20th century.
The Pannonian area
The ethnic dress of the Pannonian cultural-geographic area is found in the northern part of Serbia. In the southern belt with several regions, with Sumadija and Kolubara in the centre, the dress is permeated with Central Balkan and Dinaric elements, with the Serbian 19th century urban and military dress showing its influence as well. In the rest of the Pannonian area — in Vojvodina — the dress was exposed to Central European influences and styles, especially during the Baroque period, and, from the end of the 19th century, to the civilian fashions within the European framework. Also significant are old Slavonic elements, which have been best preserved in the Pannonian region.
In this predominantly lowland area, showing complex cultural intermingling, the fertility of the soil, with an abundance of corn and other crops, provided economic wellbeing for the population, which was reflected in all areas of life and contributed to a flamboyant variety of dress forms, decoration and colours. Heavily creased linen garments, worn both in summer and winter, give an impression of lightness and liveliness. Rolled woollen cloth and leather items of clothing are of a broad cut, which perfectly fits the manner in which work is done in the lowlands. Plant motifs are rife, and so are geometric forms of the multicoloured, white and golden appearance of woven and embroidered items, mostly light in colour.
Several kinds of fabric were used to make clothes, with a cotton fabric of airy lightness and a half-silk or fine cotton fabric with vertical stripes standing out because of the excellence of the weaving process. From the second half of the 19th century, apart from homemade fabrics, white, dark brown and black rolled woollen cloth (sukno), sheepskins with the fleece, woollen and cotton yarns, gold and silver thread for weaving and decoration, also used were factory-made cloths, which promoted the cuts of the European urban fashions.
The women’s dress of the older 19th century layer, which is found in several variants, is characterised by a long, heavily creased tunic, made from two rectangular halves of material, with wide sleeves starting from the neckline. Embroidered plant motifs enriched with lace are arranged along the sleeves, the joints of the halves and the hems of the tunic. In the southern, border belt, girls wear only the front apron over the tunic decorated with silver or gilded pafte, while married women also wear the back apron. The front apron is characterised by having been thickly woven and by geometric ornaments arranged all over it, unlike the airy and almost monochromatic back aprons, which have an unostentatious woven or embroidered ornament.
Apart from a short jelek with a narrow waist made from rolled woollen cloth (sukno), heavy-duty cloth (coha) or corduroy with braided or gold embroidery of floral motifs and a zubun with patches made from coloured coha sewn on, also commonly worn, especially in winter, were items of clothing made from coha or sukno and of varying length and with long sleeves, akin to chemises worn for similar reasons in the Central Balkan and Dinaric areas. From the second half of the 19th century, along with the deeply rooted traditional forms of warm items of clothing for both women and men, a long skirt, borrowed from the urban women’s fashion and visually adapted to each area, was worn. Especially prominent is the Sumadija bell-shaped skirt with fine polychromatic vertical and horizontal stripes, which — like the Serbian military uniform modelsadopted for men’s clothes — became not only a feature of the new outfit layer in the first half of the 20th century but also a synonym for and representative of the Serbian ethnic dress in a wider cultural and national sense.
The ethnic dress in the Vojvodina lowlands, unlike the composite garment content of the southern transitional belt, belongs to the culture of expressly Pannonian features.
Among women’s clothes, which were earlier dominated by a long, heavily creased tunic, as early as the beginning of the 19th century, under the influence of European outfits, two-piece linen clothes emerged — a short tunic and skirt, fashioned from several halves of the material. The short skirt for festive occasions, with some transformation of details over time, was made from light cotton fabrics and decorated, especially on the rather wide sleeves, with white and golden woven and embroidered ornaments, often with lace inlets. The bottom part of the outfit is a very wide skirt, decorated with light colour embroidery and white lace, and worn in several layers. The silhouette, marked by the narrow waist, is supplemented by a woollen apron with geometric ornaments, or a pinafore made from corduroy, brocade or silk, often with gold embroidery in relief (flowers, vines), such as is also found on the waistcoat. Necklaces, made from strung gold or silver coins, glass beads and pearls well complemented the gold or silver embroidery.
As the most common headgear for the hair fashioned into pleats that were folded as a wreath around the head or gathered into a bun on the back of the head were the old Slavonic kondja (a fillet with a towel), a scarf formed into a hat, whose crown was placed over the bun and its lower end was let loose down the nape and back, with prominent gold embroidery, which in its most luxurious variant of a Baroque floral pattern is found on a zlatara (a women’s hat covered with gold embroidery), which had two long wimples running down the back. A scarf was worn every day, while brides wore lush floral garlands, hats and crowns.
The men’s dress comprised a tunic and pants, worn in the Pannonian manner, meaning that the tunic was always worn over the pants and mostly fastened with a woven sash. Both the tunic and the pants are rather wide, the width being achieved by combining several halves of linen. As in the case of women’s tunics, decoration was plentiful. Among floral ornaments found on men’s tunics, especially prominent, as a fertility symbol, was the motif of ripe ears of corn. Summer clothes were supplemented by a waistcoat made from heavy-duty cloth (coha), silk or brocade, often with oval silver buttons.
In winter, apart from a white rolled woollen cloth gunj and breeches (caksire), always worn together, and a big black gunj, also common was a white cloak with a square collar that could be turned into a hood. Some had their sleeves sewn closed to serve as pouches for keeping different small objects needed on the road or when tending animals.
The typical men’s and women’s item of clothing in the Pannonian area is the fur coat made from lamb or sheep skin. Adornments on both cloth and fur items of clothing were diverse and lively. Plant motifs were done using woollen embroidery of different colours with appliqués of heavy-duty cloth (coha) on the rolled woollen cloth (sukno) or floral leather appliqués on the leather.
The headdress is characterised by a black, conical fur hat made from lamb fleece, a hat made from black felt (a straw hat in summer), and, in the southern border belt, the military sajkaca hat. In earlier times, pieces of woollen cloth were wrapped around feet, while later on woollen and cotton socks were worn. The footwear includes wide opanci, exquisitely fashioned opanci with finely interlaced leather strips, knee-high boots, shoes and wooden clogs for doing work around the house.
It is important to stress that, as early as the end of the 19th century, the cloth dress — which, in the southern border belt, along with chemises made from factory-made fabrics, retained its traditional features for a long time — was being replaced by heavy woollen cloth dress in imitation of the urban European dress, but often decorated with embroidery. The same was true of the women’s dress, where heavy woollen, cotton and silk two-piece dresses (a waistcoat or a blouse and a long skirt) were worn together with a short tunic and golden hats of the traditional kind. The dress of ethnic minorities — the same as the dress of the majority Serbian population — shows the basic Pannonian characteristics, although it does have some content and visual features characteristic of the wearer’s home country.
All the various kinds of ethnic dress in Serbia, which were developed in altogether different or slightly similar circumstances prevailing in their respective cultural-geographic areas, with their longstanding adherence to traditional values and adaptations to conditions obtaining at the time they were created and worn, will totally disappear from everyday life. This process of change, implying a substitution of the urban European fashions for the traditional style of clothes, triggered by the emergence of new economic and social conditions, the expansion of traffic and trade links and closer relations between rural and urban populations, began as early as the end of the 19th century, and was increasingly obvious after World War I and especially after World War II. Thus ethnic dress became a cultural-historic value as early as the second half of the 20th century, being reduced to its ceremonial uses on certain festive or solemn occasions.
prepared by Mirjana Menkovic, Mnemosyne
with the courtesy of the Etnographic Museum Belgrade - " Narodna kultura Srba u XIX i XX veku," 2003.
Source :
Jasna Bjeladinović-Jergić, Serbian traditional costumes
EMBROIDERY AND THE FOLK COSTUME
In folk embroidery, beside archaic heritage, especially in the mountain regions, much of the style was taken from the art of higher social layers and later eastern and middle European influence was incorporated.
In Vojvodina white and golden embroidery are predominant but there are multicolored embroideries with bright colors also. For the women vests in the Moravian cultural region stylization of the big flowers of peony predominantly of the red and sometimes of the black color are characteristic, while in the Dinaric regions there are more polychromes embroideries on the vests in which dark shades are predominant. In the regions where cattle breeding is the major economy the women's vests are decorated on the bosoms and on the skirts by multicolored wool embroideries. In Serbian Kosovo embroidery especially on the women's vests it is easy to see Byzantine and Serbian medieval items styled in folk forms.
The decoration of the clothing was widely spread, especially of the upper vests by the silk, wool or cotton ribbons and stripes. The pattern of the clothing items is a constructive element and at the same time it has an art dimension as well. The ornaments, embroidery and different applications are on the prominent places: bosoms, sleeves, skirts, scarves and caps. Men's folk dresses in the past were very simple, made of more rough cloth. From the 19th century onward they are more and more decorated by stripes especially the waistcoats. The shoes get different leather stripe crossings and on the socks apart from the different patterns the multicolored embroideries are added.
Opanak /plural: opanci/ - are a kind of traditional shoes worn in the Medieval Serbia. The attributes of the Opanci are :a construction of leather, lack of laces, durable, and have horn-like ending on toes. The design of the horn-like ending indicates the region of Serbia the shoes are from. The name itself comes from the Romanian opinci. Nowadays, they are usually worn in rural areas of Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska and some other parts of former rural Yugoslavia. This type of shoe is typically worn by farmers or field workers who find it convenient and comfortable for working in their gardens. It can be bought at any open air market in Serbia and is genuine souvenir from Serbia.
Kolo /Serbian Cyrillic: Коло, Croatian Latin: Kolo/ is a collective folk dance where a group of people /usually several dozen, at the very least three/hold each other by the hands or around the waist dancing, ideally in a circle, hence the name. There is almost no movement above the waist.
The dance is accompanied by instrumental two-beat music with the same name, made most often with an accordion, but also with other instruments: frula, tamburica or harmonica. This dance is usually very simple to learn, but experienced dancers dance kolo with great virtuosity due to different ornamental elements they add, such as syncopated steps etc.
The tamburitza [tamburitsa] /tamburica; diminutive of tambura/ is the most popular instrument in the folk music of Serbia /especially Vojvodina/ and Croatia /especially Slavonia/. It is a plucked string instrument related to the mandolin of Italy, the bandura of the Ukraine and the balalaika of Russia. The word tambura probably comes from the Persian word "Denbar" or maybe from the Arabic "Tambur". It is first documented in the 14th century, and is said to have first entered Bosnia before being introduced to Bačka and Slavonia
Janika Balaž /Janika Balázs/ was born on December 23rd, 1925 in Lukino Selo near Zrenjanin, died November 12, 1988 in Novi Sad/ was a famous tamburitza musician and band leader from Vojvodina. He was born 1925. in a Hungarian-speaking Roma family with strong musical tradition, which gave him genetic prerequisites to become a musician.
He grew up in Bečej, where he started playing violin in a local kafana with 10 years of age. When he realized that he couldn't become the best violinist, he switched to /"prim" or "bisernica"/ tamburitza which he played ever since. Later, he played with "Braća kozaci" band in the area of Subotica and Horgoš. From 1948 to 1951, he worked in Radio Titograd in Montenegro, where he perfected his tamburitza play.
From its foundation in 1951. to the end of his working career he worked in Radio Novi Sad and was a member of its Grand Tamburitza Orchestra. He was spending nights playing with his 8-men band in kafanas of Novi Sad, especially on Petrovaradin fortress, of which he became one of icons. During his career, he held concerts across the world, including 36 performances in Paris Olympia. Allegedly, he had several offers from United States and Soviet Union to move there and work as a tamburitza teacher, but he never wanted to leave Novi Sad, where he died in 1988. Janika participated in several documentary and feature films. Songs "Osam tamburaša s Petrovaradina" /Eight tambouritza-players from Petrovaradin/ and "Primaši" were dedicated to him. During his career, he worked with many renowned musicians, including Zvonko Bogdan and Julija Bisak.
After his death, the city of Novi Sad raised a monument /authored by sculptor Laszlo Silagyi/, standing on a square opposite the Petrovaradin fortress across the Danube
Trumpet is the aero phonic brass tubing instrument brought to Serbia at the end of 19th century by the ex-warriors that used it as the motivating instrument during heroic Balkan wars. Played together by the local musicians the trumpet is warmly welcomed and accepted by Serb population as one of the most significant instrument. After the Second World War the trumpet playing became specially popular in three Serbian regions : Uzice and Cacak region, Boljevac and Zajecar region and Vranje and Leskovac region.
Sound is produced by blowing air through closed lips, producing a “buzzing” sound into the mouthpiece and starting a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the trumpet. The trumpet is most commonly used in orchestral playing.
The first Dragacevo Trumpeters’ Competition is held on October 14th, 1961. in Guca Church yard.
Serbian very old national music instrument is stringed musical instrument, with a
round wooden back, a skin belly, and one horsehair string secured at the top of the neck by a rear tuning peg. It is played in a vertical position, with a deeply curved bow. It has no fingerboard, the string being stopped by the sideways pressure of the player's fingers. Gusle players or Guslari are among the few performers continuing the oral tradition of epic poetry. Most of their songs are about the era of Turkish rule and were handed down by teachers or older singers. Because the narratives are orally transmitted, variation in content is inevitable. Its songs were basic and often the only way to hand down traditions and memory of Serb people during the rule of foreigners. People gathered around gusle players and listened epic songs about Serb heroes and suffering of Serb nation. Very often, large crowd and players began to cry touched by very emotional contents.
A flute is the Serbian name for a musical instrument which resembles a small recorder or flute. It is an aero phone. Similar instruments are played throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. It is typically made of wood and has six holes and it is held vertically. The frula is a traditional instrument of shepherds and farmers, who would play while tending their flocks. The outer surface of the pipe is angular, but the actual bore is round.
The double flute is made of two connected instruments – pipes, made parallel of one piece of wood. Each instrument has a mouthpiece for blowing air inside, just like an ordinary pipe, and holes for the fingers on both pipes. In Serbia, on the left pipe there are three holes, and on the right there are four. The double flute is played in two ways : a/ one tone on the left pipe, and a tune on the right. b/ a tune on the right pipe, and the accompaniment on the left.
Zurla is an oriental instrument which, most probably, came to the Balkans from
Turkey and Persia. In the Balkans it is present in Kosovo and Metohia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. The pipe of the zurla is cylindrical, but it is very wide at the end, usually made of walnut or plum wood.
The sound is very strong and intended for playing outdoors. The zurlas are often played in pairs with the accompaniment of the large traditional drums. The ensemble “Stupovi” uses special zurla with the “cap, which is placed on the top of the instrument, and used for producing of the sound.
/quoted from Ensemble ”Stupovi” archive/
Shargia is a sort of plucked string instrument. The name comes from the Turkish word
sarki /the East/. It may have 4 to 12 strings. The tune is played on the highest string, and the other strings are used for the accompaniment. It was used for the accompaniment for dancing and singing. The shargia is used in musical practice of Kosovo and Metohia, Macedonia and some parts of Serbia, especialy the Užice region.
/quoted from Ensemble “Stupovi” archive/
Kaval is a chromatic end-blow flute, open from both sides. It is usually made of one piece of ash wood. Kaval is decorated along its whole length. The instrument
tenderly sharpen at the end. Kaval has seven holes for fingers on its forefront and one hole for the first finger on the back side. Holes are equitably distanced. The sixth hole sits at the average middle position of instrument. Kaval is traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, southern Serbia, northern Greece, Romania and Armenia.
The kaval is primarily associated with mountain shepherds throughout the Balkans and Anatolia spread with the inhabitants from the Taurus mountains of southern Turkey into the southern Balkans of southeast Europe. When played, the kaval is held with both hands at an angle of approximately 45° from the body, with the four fingers of the one hand covering the lower holes; the upper three holes and the thumb hole are covered with the other hand. The mouth covers ~3/4 of the end. Change of the breath air pressure also changes the pitch. The kaval is usually mounted on a wooden holder, which protects it from warping and helps keep the interior walls oiled. While in the past kaval was predominantly shepherd's instrument, nowadays it is widely used as instrumental of folk songs and dances.
The gaida is wind instrument originating from the East and used by all European nations. The gaida is one of the most popular traditional instruments along with the kaval. It is typical to all parts of Balkan both for accompaniment and solo performance. Bag is usually made of lamb skin because of better performances.
The gaida is composed by the following parts: gaidunitsa, ruchilo, duhalo, glavini and meh. Gaidunitsa is the most important part of the gaida and is a kind of a pipe with eight holes for the fingers, seven of them are on the front side and the eighth hole is on the back side of the pipe. Before playing, the gajda should be tuned. This is achieved by playing the fifth tone on the chanter (with the upper four holes covered) and adjusting the length of the drone, so that it plays two octaves lower. The gajda is held under the arm (the bag should be inflated from time to time). The chanter is held with both hands, so that the left hand fingers cover the lower 4 holes, while the upper three and the thumb hole are covered with the right hand fingers. The tone possibilities of the gaida are less then these of the kaval. There are two main kinds of gaida. Low (caba) and high (dzhura) - the low type of gaida is diffused in the mountainous regions. The most famous Bulgarian is the so called Rhodope (mountain) gaida, which is used as a lyrical accompaniment of Rhodope songs or melodies. The most used gaida is with the main tone "sol" (dzhura). It has got loud tone possibilities compared to the other kind of gaida. The gajda repertoire includes folk dances and songs, which are performed typically during festive occasions.
The Folklore Ensembles
/proudly engaged by PANACOMP to entertain its guests/
the Ensemble of National Folk Dances and Songs
AKUD „Sonja Marinković"
The Academic Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs "Sonja Marinković" was established at the University of Novi Sad in 1962. The Ensemble creates its programme basing it on authentic cyncretical forms of folk art, melody, steps, costumes and customs and by this kind of programme determination it contributes saving authentic folk art of nationalities of this part of Balkan. Assembling more than over 700 members - students and high school youth, the Ensemble contributes significantly in unity of youth, educating young people in the spirit of brotherhood and friendship, making sense of their free time by artistic activity. The representative part of Ensemble counts from 45 to 80 members and the number depends on facilities for performing and the Ensemble is divided into following parts: folk ensemble, tamburitza orchestra, national folk orchestra and instrumental solo-players.
During 45 years of work, Ensemble won the series of diplomas and awards in our country and all around the world. It took part at many International festivals and visited many countries.
Presently, the folk ensemble has 23 choreographies on the repertoire. Each of them individually represents the originality of the particular area. Dances and songs included in each choreography are based on authentic elements and in that case record the particular event in people's everyday: sowing, harvest, wedding ceremony, celebration of the St. Day and outdoor party. The costumes used in each choreography are quite different and above all very old and valuable. Therefore, all these 23 choreographies are different and at the same time they "cover" the entire territory of Serbia and Montenegro. Duration of the concert may be 10 (or 15), 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 minutes, which depends on occasion.
The Ensemble Orchestra is using the following traditional instruments: gusle (a Balkan musical instrument ), bagpipe, shepherd flute, frula, dvojnice, tambura bisernica (a kind of a small tambura), as well as other instruments originated from this area, rich in folk tradition.
In its repertoire the Ensemble nourishes the vocal traditional singing started from the oldest two-voiced singing with a "second" as the basic interval, singing "on the short and long sound", gunting, ganga (a sort of singing) and modern singing which has preserved the old basis changing only the interval (Quintal ending) which is known in folk etymology as "singing on the bass".
The Ensemble “STUPOVI”
With the blessing of his Grace Bishop dr. Artemije of Raška-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija the band “Stupovi” has taken part in the missionary project “Let’s Renew Ourselves – Let’s Rebuild Stupovi”. The musicians are members of the society of friends of the Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi in Ras. They have performed as church and artistic events as well as at national assemblies. Each vocal and musical heritage which has its origin in folklore possesses great force and the particular expression. It is the experience handed down from generation to generation, which we receive from our ancestors and hand down to our descendents, and which continuously flows, as a river, obtaining only the seal of time in which it lives. The seal is very important in each time, because it is this seal that testifies about the continuity of life and the beauty of floklore, and it communicates the clear message that leads us all to the one Source.
Wishing to express that, The Ensemble “Stupovi” firmly rooted in Serbian traditional music through old, folk instruments /flute, kaval, double flute, zurle, bagpipes, sargija.../ and traditional singing, but creating in this time, gave the characteristics of it to their songs, through contemporary arrangements. The music they perform is mostly based on the heritage of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as on the other parts of Serbia /south and central Serbia/, but the ensemble also has its own artistic expression. In partnership with the other participants who, in different ways perform our traditional, but also spiritual, church music, the ensemble has had, so far, a series of concerts in Serbia, Montenegro and Republic of Srpska. These concerts are mainly musical and stage events enriched with lyrics or songs, read by Serbian famous actors and poets. As a friend of the Monastery of Djurdjevi Stupovi in Ras, the ensemble is a part of the project “Let’s Rebuild Stupovi” and through this they pass the message of a common endeavor, with the same goal : the rebuilding this ancient monastery on the top of Serbia, the rebuilding of the sanctuaries of Kosovo and Metohija, but first of all – the waking of Serbian spirit in the time we live, with the prayer: “Oh Lord, please open and bless our spiritual and physical hearing, and preach Your endless perfection in its completeness of truth, goodness and beauty. Please help us, chastely and soberly, with peaceful spirit and sincere heart singing to You, cleanse ourselves spiritually and physically, so that through singing of this song we may put on the light of love and life in communication with You and all the saints...” (more at page video impressions)
Serbian cultural Center "VUK STEFANOVIĆ KARADŽIĆ", Bačka Topola
was established in Bačka Topola on Feb. 21st, 1990. with the aim to cultivate the Serbian culture, to maintain its spiritual and physical roots, to keep the tradition of ancestors that is to be forwarded.
Within the Center there are following sectors : the folklore session /that numbers the biggest size of performers/, the singing groups, the big orchestra, the small musician school, the session playing the traditional instruments, the children drama, the literary session, the session exploring and teaching traditional customs and old-crafts and folklore costumes workshop.
The folklore session is the largest and number the 53 dancers and 16 orchestra members. There are 26 performance coreographies of the most popular Serbian choreographers continuously presented at national and international festivals and contests. The folklore ensemble is awarded by the highest prizes for their performances, amongst them is the Gratification of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Traditionally the Festival of spiritual and vernacular heritage of dinaric Serbs in Vojvodina, that is unique in our country, named "To our nation and descendants" is held every october, gathering over 1.500 performers during three festival days. The authentic groups of performers from all colonized settlements in Vojvodina play, dance and sing the programs in their best and original way which is the event and experience of incomparable value.
Tamburitza orchestra "PANONIJA", Novi Sad
The tamburitza band “Panonija” was established in 2004., although the basic orchestra members performed their music together for more than six years.
It ranks amongst the three best great tamburitza bands in Serbia, what is recognized by number of performances on festivals in the country and abroad. The band plays popular tamburitza music attending various festivals and concerts in Slovenija and Republic Srpka, as well as the most famous tamburitza gatherings in Serbia. There are over 80 music performances in the orchestra program,collecting vojvodina's, classical, modern and evergreen songs.
The orchestra is conducted by Branimir Jovanović.
Folklore Group “GORA”
“Gora” folklore Group cherishes the Serbian national music. In their repertoire they treasure songs from all the regions where Serbs live or used to live. They interpret the songs authentically, the way they were recorded in the field, while some of them are being enriched by musical arrangements which often include accompaniment of old, traditional instruments such as: flute, kaval (end-blown flute), string instrument called tambura, lute, goblet drum, tapan ( double-headed frame drum), daire ( round single-headed drum)... Some of those aberrations from the original record are also achieved by the presence of violoncello. This is the way the members of the group Gora endeavour to breathe in a new life to the old Serbian songs and this bring the valuable inheritance closer to a modern man, being the residence of urban environment and educated musicians themselves.
In order to show the Serbian musical tradition as completely as possible, they have also enriched their programme by some movements and dancing at the stage. The group was founded by the students that had been graduated from the Secondary Music School “ Mokranjac” at the departmant ethnomusicology, having as a major the Serbian traditional singing.
Group Gora held it's first concert in April of 2002. at the Etnographic Museum. Since then they have performed at the numerous manefestations throughout the country: Ducic days of poetry in Trebinje, Days of transfiguration in Raska, Days of Sava Jeremic, Days of Misic in Mionica, Days of Danube, as well as in various programs in Belgrade, Pancevo, Becej, Pozega, Novi Pazar, Novi Sad, Subotica, Sabac, Mladenovac...
Members of the group Gora are also part of the Musical Ensemble “ Stupovi” and besides the published CD, they participate for four years in numerous concerts throughout Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina within the project “ Renew ourselves, raise the Stupovi”.
They have been guests at the CD of Brankica Vasic-Vasilisa with one song of their own and as the supporting vocals, and the two of their songs are included in the CD compilation Serbian Etno Sound 2, published by Hi-Fi centre. At the concert of Vasilisa in Belgrade they had the opportunity to perform together with the famous musicians that play the traditional musical instruments and that came from Macedonia, Lebanon, Bulgaria, as well as with Teodosij Spasov, Vasil Hadzimanov Band, and the St Georges Strings. They have also been collaborating with the Ensemble “Renesans”, “Joculatores Slavenses”, “Carpe Diem” and with the Jazz Orchestra of Jova Maljokovic. They played in a documentary about young people who are engaged in preserving the Serbian traditional music. Gora has participated in the programmes of the National Television, in the series with similar theme field such as “Jeka”, “Zaboravljeni umovi Srbije”, etc.
“ISKON” ENSEMBLE WAS FOUNDED IN SUMMER 2001. IN SUBOTICA WITH THE AIM TO FURTHER THE RICH SPIRIT AND TRADITIONAL JOY OF THE SERBIAN AND THE BALKAN'S SONGS, SO TO PRESERVE THEIR LONG-SHINNING BACKGROUND AVAILABLE BY THE “ISKON'S” MEMBERS UNIQUE PERFORMANCE. THE ESSENCE OF “ISKON'S” MUSIC IS CREATED FROM THE RICH BALKAN'S MUSIC STYLES PLAYED ON THE TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS /kaval, supelka, gajda, zurla, tambura, tarabuka, tapan/ AND SUNG BY THE SPECIFIC WOMEN VOICES. THEIR GROUP PERFORMANCE FEATURES THE MULTI-ETHNIC MUSIC AND SOUND RECORDINGS BASED ON THE COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH. THE “ISKON” ENSAMBLE PLAYED A DOZEN OF THEIR FAVORITE SONGS AT THEIR LIVE SHOWS FOR THE AUDIENCES IN SERBIA AND ABROAD BY SHARING AND EXCHANGING THE MUSIC KNOWLEDGE WITH PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD /YOUTH FESTIVAL IN LITOCHORO – GREECE, EUROPEAN MUSIC FESTIVAL IN ANKARA – TURKEY, “FIM” FESTIVAL IN BELFORT – FRANCE, OPEN-AIR PERFORMANCES AT THE BUDAPEST AND SZEGED SQUARES IN HUNGARY AND OTHERS....FOR THEIR SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION IN CULTURE ACTIVITIES OF SUBOTICA THE “ISKON” IS AWARDED WITH THE „ DR FERENC BODROGVARI“ PRIZE IN 2005.
THE FULL “ISKON” REPERTOIRE INCLUDES ORIGINAL FOLKLORE SONGS FROM SERBIA AND THE BALKANS, MOST OF THEM FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA. WITH A REPERTOIRE OF OVER 70 SONGS, THEY ARE AMONG THE SOULFUL SERBIAN INTERPRETERS OF ANCIENT BALKAN AND SERBIAN MUSIC INTRODUCING A FLAVOR OF TRADITION, HISTORY AND ORIGINS IN THEIR GREAT PERFORMANCES /festive songs, harvest's songs, love songs, celebrations songs, sorrow songs, songs on Serbian people under the Turkish rule and others/
WHEREVER THEY PLAY, PEOPLE GET UP AND SING AND DANCE AS THE IMMENCE LOVE FOR MUSIC EASILY CARRY THEM TO SHARE AND EXCHANGE THEIR MUSIC TALENT WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
“ISKON” ENSAMBLE MEMBERS :
VUKSANOVIĆ JOVANA – solo vocal
LAZIČIĆ TATJANA – solo vocal
BALŠA PEŠIKAN – violin, saz
DEJAN ANĐELOVIĆ – frulas, tarabuka
OGNJEN ŠUĆUR – tapan
LEONID PILIPOVIĆ – macedonian tambura, tarabuka
SRĐAN SIMIJANOVIĆ – ut
The Ensemble of
National Folk Dances and Songs AKUD „Sonja Marinković"
The Academic Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs "Sonja Marinković" was established at the University of Novi Sad in 1962. The Ensemble „Sonja Marinković" creates its program basing it on the authentic cyncretical forms of folk art, melody, steps, costumes and customs and by this kind of program determination it contributes preserving authentic folk art of nationalities of this part of Balkan. 
Assembling over 700 members - students and high school youth, the Ensemble „Sonja Marinković" contributes significantly in unity of youth, educating young people in the spirit of brotherhood and friendship, making sense of their free time by unique artistic performances. The representative part of Ensemble „Sonja Marinković" counts from 45 to 80 members and the number depends on performing facilities, so the Ensemble is divided into following parts: the folk ensemble, Tamburitza orchestra, National Folk orchestra and Instrumental solo-players.
During 45 years of work, Ensemble „Sonja Marinković" won the series of acknowledgments and awards in Serbia and all around the world. It took part at many International festivals and visited many countries.
Presently the Folk Ensemble has 23 choreographies on the repertoire. Each of them individually represents the originality of the particular area in Serbia. Dances and songs included in each choreography are based on the authentic elements, recording the particular event in people's everyday habits : sowing, harvest, wedding ceremony, celebration of the Feast and outdoor party. The costumes used in each choreography are quite different and very old and thus significantly valuable. Therefore, all these 23 choreographies are diversified and "cover" the entire territory of Serbia and Montenegro.
The Orchestra Ensemble perform the following traditional instruments : gusle (a Balkan musical instrument ), bagpipe, shepherd flute, frula, dvojnice, tambura bisernica (a kind of a small tambura), as well as other instruments originated from Serbia, especially rich in folk tradition.
In its repertoire the Ensemble nourishes the vocal traditional singing including the oldest two-voiced singing with a "second" one as the basic interval, singing "on the short and long sound", gunting, ganga (a sort of singing) and modern singing which has preserved the old basis, changing only the interval (Quintal ending) which is known in folk etymology as "singing on the bass".
Concert tours: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, India, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis, Turkey ...
