| 1. Barbara Krader found no references
to "identity" in indexes of such fundamental ethnomusicological books as
Merriam's The Anthropology of Music (1964) and Nettl's The Study
of Ethnomusicology (1983), or in Merriam's list of ten functions of
music. She also quotes Lawrence Krader saying, "The search for identity
is called for when the identity is called into question... in times of
rapid change, upheaval or revolution, or is the result of the impact of
one people on another, by conquest, acculturation, or exploitation." (Krader
1987:15-16) back
2. "Croats" in this text refers to people who identify themselves as Croats. Its use is not necessarily limited to Croats in the ethnic sense, but may also include people who for various reasons and to various degrees claim Croatian identity, for instance, as Croatian citizens or, outside Croatia, due to Croatian ancestry or origin. back 3. "Continuous partition of Croatian lands, conquered and divided by various foreign rulers whose cultural and religious values were often completely different from the Croatian values, produced among the Croats emphasized and ever-lasting regional character" (Banac 1991:7). back 4. This was not the case throughout their presence in Europe. According to Ivo Banac, throughout the Middle ages "although Catholic (and therefore separated from the Orthodox Slavenism), Croatia continuously opposed Latin universalism of the Roman church and as such was not a typical representative of the tendencies in the Catholic Slavonic countries" (Banac 1991:24-25). back 5. Croatian Western self-image in music is sometimes emphasized by the fact that Croatia's neighboring countries to the East got their first composers using Western compositional techniques as late as the nineteenth century (more in Cvetko 1981). Stanislav Tuksar claims that "there exists an essential differentiation (from the period from approximately the late Middle Ages until the mid-nineteenth century) of two spheres in the field of musical culture as a whole and in a series of components: firstly, the sphere of Catholic-Protestant Slavs from Central Europe (Poles, Czechs/Moravians, Slovaks, Slovenians, Croats), and, secondly, the sphere of Orthodox Slavs from the east and the south-east of Europe" (1993:7). back 6. One can relate the Balkans to the Ottoman legacy as "the region that after 1699 was directly or indirectly under control of Turkish empire ... " (Sentija 1977:396), and "it is the Ottoman elements or the ones perceived as such that are mostly invoked in the current stereotype of the Balkans" (Todorova 1996:11). back 7. This point of view is evident in various written sources, from school books (more in Jelavich 1990), to classics of Croatian literature, e.g., Ivan Mazuranic's 1846 epic poem Smrt Smail-age Cengica, which portrays Turks in negative terms. Non-Muslim Balkan peoples today generally consider the five centuries of Ottoman rule a "traumatic" experience. Nationalist movements, states, and policies led to ignoring of Ottoman cultural heritage and even political discrimination against Muslim minorities (Kurkela 1996). back 8. For instance, additive rhythms (7/8, 9/8). One of the strong symbolic acts which the new carriers of political power in Croatia employed to emphasize the post-Yugoslav orientation of the country was the name change of a prominent Zagreb cinema theater from "Balkan" to "Europa." back 9. According to Rihtman-Augustin, only when there is a political, economical, or some other pressure, the affiliates of different ethnic groups look for symbols that emphasize otherwise rather small cultural differences (ibid). back 10. These folk music areas, named on the map of Croatia (Illustration 1), include: Istria and the Kvarner bay, Dinaric area, Dalmatia, Slavonia and Baranja, Medimurje and Gornja Podravina, and North- Western Croatia (Bezic 1984). back 11. Video example 1: Pannonic zone. Dance from Posavina, accompanied by characteristic tamburica plucked-lute ensemble. Video example 2: Adriatic zone. Old dance from Split, accompanied by characteristic mandolin ensemble. Video example 3: Dinaric zone. Dance from Vrlika, with no instrumental accompaniment. All three examples are performed by members of the culture club "Filip Devic" from Split and appear on the commercial video tape KUDZ Filip Devic. Copyright: International Video Service (IVS). back 12. They are sometimes portrayed in a way that resembles the image of Appalachian hillbillies in the United States. back 13. Commenting on the typical Dinaric opinion expressed by a member of the Croatian government, an ethnologist observed that "a modern state cannot function if it is organized like a patriarchal community, with family relations prevailing over the law, if the rulers have their regional or family proteges" (Vidulic 1996:11). A journalist who was astonished to see a guslar (performer of epic songs to Dinaric gusle bowed lute accompaniment) singing in the heart of Zagreb wrote, "I was watching people peacefully walking next to the Zagreb guslar, exercising in this way their European [sense for] tolerance, but not aware enough of the hundred-times-damned sound going through their ears, the sound that requires one-sided brains, that looks for listeners who are unable to think abstractly, unable to predict, wish, phantasize ... " (Jergovic 1996). back 14. They call them all Vlaji (Vlachs). For other appellations such as "Morlachs" and even "Serbs" see Bezic 1996. back 15.
16. This festival, founded in 1967, is of central importance for the popularization of klapa singing in general. back 17. In spite of the widely appreciated refrain of the modern popular song "Tamburicu ja, mandolinu ti" that glorifies the compatibility of tamburica as a symbol of Slavonia (Pannonic zone) and the mandolin as a symbol of Dalmatia (Adriatic zone), ethnomusicologist Nikola Buble has grounds to criticize the current cultural policy, asking what makes tamburica "more Croatian" in comparison to mandolin (Buble 1994). 18. Nevertheless, "neither the all-encompassing education based on the postulates of West-European culture, nor the way of life permanently reflecting the achievements of Western-European civilization, were able to remove from Marun's conscience [Lujo Marun (1857-1939), distinguished archaeologist born within the Dinaric zone] the almost fanatical appreciation for music of his own broader region," comments Croatian ethnomusicologist Nikola Buble (Buble 1993:126-127). back 19. For instance, V. Zganec studied in Vojvodina (Yugoslavia); J. Bezic in Austria, Slovakia, and USA; G. Doliner in Australia; R. Bonifacic in Austria; S. Pettan in Australia, Kosovo (Yugoslavia), and USA; and J. Caleta in Canada. Some research has been done by non-Croatian scholars such as M. Forry, J. Foy, R. March, and others. back 20. The 1991 census was boycotted by the major ethnic group in Kosovo, the Albanians. back 21. The nearby Novo Brdo used to be the principal mining center of medieval Serbia and the site of the Dubrovnik consulate. back 22. The amplified Western-type pop band that was active in Janjevo in the 1980s exemplifies this dichotomy. It performed traditional Turkish-style music and modern Western rock music on Western, amplified instruments. back 23. Audio example 3: "Nevestice, doma li si"
(Young bride, you are at home).
24. At the same time, klapa singing had better potential to stress their uniqueness within Kosovo than the plucked lutes which dominate traditional music of their Albanian and Turkish neighbors. back 25. Economic and political reasons that made people leave Croatia were sometimes mutually related. back 26. Mato Tkalcevic graphically described population movements in 1947 and 1948, "Somewhere on the high seas of the Indian ocean, ships with pro-Yugoslavia oriented returnees from Australia headed for Yugoslavia would eventually meet ships with pro-Croatia oriented emigrants on their way to Australia" (Tkalcevic 1992:46). back 27. There are indications that Croats were among the first emigrants to Australia in about 1800 (Tkalcevic 1992:13). back 28. According to Josko Caleta's study of klapa in Vancouver, Canada, one can conclude that some klapa singers "sacrificed" their own musical traditions (two members were from the Pannonic and one from the Dinaric zone) in order to join the majority (Caleta 1994). back 29. Due to the prominent role of the accordion in Novokomponovana narodna muzika, some modern Croatians sometimes see it as a Serbian musical symbol. Croatian singer Zlatko Pejakovic is among the most prominent critics of this view. "The Austrians, Hungarians, and Slovenians use accordion as well. It is only we who claim that it is not our instrument, because it belongs to the East ... Are we such a rich people that we dismiss an instrument appreciated for years?" (Pacek 1996:31). back 30. This position is easier to achieve if there is a large group of people originating from the same region. back 31. This distinction is further developed in Music, Politics, and War: Views from Croatia (Pettan, ed., forthcoming). back |
