Teachers as collectors of national heritage of customs in Serbia from 1880 to World War I

Abstract

The aim of this research is to define teachers' contribution in the research on Serbian villages in the period from 1880 to 1914. Many of the research were initiated at that time, in the field of geography, anthropology and ethnology. Teachers took part in them and they were among pioneers in the research on family life, with an accent on family upbringing.

Keywords::

• teachers
• collectors
• family type
• zadruga
• household

Notes

^1. The Principality of Serbia 1815–1882; The Kingdom of Serbia 1882–1918.

^2. D.T. Bataković, O Jovanu Cvijiću, balkanologu, antropogeografu i nacionalnom radniku, u Jovan Cvijić, Balkansko poluostrvo i južnoslovenske zemlje, Beograd, Narodna biblioteka Srbije, 2012, 13. [On Jovan Cvijić, a Balkanologist, anthropogeographer and national worker, in Jovan Cvijić The Balkan Peninsula and the States of South Slavs, Belgrade, National Library of Serbia, 2012, p. 13].

^3. In Serbia, until the end of the nineteenth century, there were male teacher training colleges in several towns, but only two operated at the same time. Schools used to change their location and move from town to town, in order to offer better working conditions. During their regular education, teachers had subjects concerning agriculture that empowered them to give peasants good instructions about modern agricultural methods.There was also the College for Girls (Viša ženska škola) in Belgrade that educated female teachers.

^4.The Educational Herald(Prosvetni glasnik) a newsletter of the Ministry of Education of the Principality of Serbia (since 1882 the Kingdom of Serbia), was regularly published in Belgrade until 1915.

^5.The Teacher(Učitelj) was regularly published until 1914.

^6.Statistički godišnjak Kraljevine Srbije: 1900, knjiga V, Beograd, Uprava državne statistike, 1904, str. 54, 77 [The Statistical Yearbook of the Kingdom of Serbia: 1900, book V Belgrade, The Headquarter of State Statistics, 1904, pp. 54, 77].

^7. Ibid. p. 54.

^8. S. Ćunković, Školstvo i prosveta u Srbiji u XIX veku, Beograd, Pedagoški muzej, katalog izložbe, decembar 1970-maj 1971, str. 148 The Schooling and Educational System in Serbia in the nineteenth century, Belgrade, The Educational Museum, The Exhibition Catalogue, December 1970–May 1971, p. 148.

^9. In 1893 a new department of the Serbian Royal Academy in Belgrade (the predecessor of the Serbian Academy of Science and Art) was established – the Ethnography Department and Lexicography Department. In 1896 the Lexicography Department published the instructions on collecting words in the field, in the magazine TheTeacher, in an attempt to create a unique Serbian dictionary. The entire village life and customs were included in those questions. However, that part of the project was not implemented during the period we are examining.

^10.Velika škola was the highest and unique institution of that kind and a predecessor of Belgrade University.

^11. The First Guidelines for Studying of Villages in Serbia and Other Serbian Lands, The Teacher, Belgrade, 1895/96, p. 896–907.

^12. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787–1864), a reformer of the Serbian language and historiographer, collected and published Serbian folk songs, stories, proverbs.

^13. ‘Zadruga, f. Hausgenossenschaft (im Gegensatze der einzelnen Familie), plures familiae in eadem domo (more Serbico)’. Vuk Stefanović, Srpski rječnik, Beč, 1818, p.191 [Vuk Stefanović, Serbian Dictionary, Vienna, 1818, p. 191].

^14. Milan Đ. Milićević (1831–1908) a writer, historiographer, ethnologist, pedagogue and president of the Serbian Royal Academy from 1896 to 1899.

^15. M. Đ. Milicevic, Život Srba seljaka, Biblioteka Baština, knjiga 10, Prosveta, Beograd, 1984, str. 11 [The Life of Serbian Peasants, The Library of Inheritance, book 10, Prosveta, Belgrade, 1984, p. 11] The first edition was published by the The Serbian Royal Academy in 1894, as the first book of Serbian Ethnography Collection.

^16. In the Civil Code there was a particular chapter referring to zadruga (Chapter XV – On Inheritance Rights and Relations in the Zadruga).

^17. Valtazar Bogišić (1834–1908), a jurist and a pioneer in the field of sociology, also a member of the Serbian Royal Academy. His most notable works are research on family structure.

^18. V. Bogišić, O obliku nazvanom inokoština u seoskoj porodici Srba i Hrvata Izabrana dela i Opšti imovinski zakonik za Crnu Goru, Klasici jugoslovenskog prava, Službeni list, Beograd, 1986, 221 [On Form Named Inokoština in Rural Families of Serbs and Croats in Selected Works and General Property Statute Book for Montenegro, The Classics of Yugoslav Laws, The Gazette, Belgrade, 1986, p. 221] The first edition was published in Brussels. (V. Bogišić, De la forme dite Inikostina de la familie rurale shez les Serbes et les Croates, Révue de droit international et de la législation comparée, Bruxelles, 1884). That work was translated into Serbian in the same year and was published in Belgrade.

^19. Ibid. p. 232.

^20. Their names are known only in cases where the authors of published works mentioned them due to appreciation or as a part of correspondence with the members of the Ethnography Board, while many of them who were assistants or companions, writing short enclosures, remain unknown.

^21. As the source we used works from the list of references of Stanoje M. Mijatovic, Todor M. Bušetić, Jeremija M. Pavlović, Savatije M. Grbić, Sava M. Milosavljević, Vladimir M. Nikolić and Ljubomir Pavlović, a professor and a school inspector.

^22. Unpublished manuscripts by Milan Matić, Milorad M. Petrović and Miloš Đ. Škarić, that are part of the Ethnographic Collection.

^23. In the eastern region of Serbia the observations were made by M. Milosavljević (Homolje) and Savatije M. Grbić (Boljevac). The largest number of works referred to central Serbia, particularly to Šumadija (a geographical region covering the area between the Danube and the Sava in the north, the Great Morava in the east, the Western Morava in the south and the Kolubara river in the west. The observations were done by Milorad M. Petrović (northern and central Šumadija), Jeremija M. Pavlović (Kragujevačka Jasenica and Kačer in the central part of Šumadijia, Todor M. Bušetić and Stanoje M. Mijatović (Levač and Temnić, southern Šumadija). Milan Matić wrote on Kruševačka Župa and the area around Western Morava. Ljubomir Pavlović wrote about western parts of Serbia (Podgorina, Kolubara and Valjevska Tamnava), while Miloš Đ. Škarić, wrote about two villages in Valjevska Kolubara.

^24. Archive of Serbian Academy of Science and Art, Ethnographical Collection No 200, chapter Social life, p. 31.

^25. The manuscript of Milan Matić arrived in the Ethnography Department in 1911, but the reviewer was of the opinion that improvements were needed. The part of the manuscript which was in the house of the author during World War I caused tragedy in his family. In 1916, Austrian soldiers made a raid on his home that caused the sudden death of his wife, who was also a teacher. He spent a month in prison, while the authorities investigated what the manuscript was about. After the war he completed it and returned it to the Ethnography Department in 1922, expecting it to be published, but he soon died. Although it was ready for printing, that was not realized in the next decade. The manuscript was recovered in 1943 by his son and became the property of the Academy of Science and Art.

^26.Slava is the celebration of the family's patron saint.

^27. S. M. Mijatović, Temnić, Antropogeografska studija, Naselja srpskih zemalja, rasprave i grada, knjiga III, uredio dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga VI, Srpska kraljevska akdemija, Beograd, 1905, 286 [Temnić, The Anthropologic – geographic Study, The Settlements of Serbian Lands, Disscussions and Material III, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book VI,The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1905. p. 286].

^28. S. M. Milosavljević, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Omoljskog, Običaji naroda srpskog, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIX, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1914, str. 279 [S. M. Milosavljević, Serbian Folk Customs of Omolje district, The Customs of Serbian People, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIX, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1914, p. 279]

^29. Ibid.

^30. S. M. Grbić, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Boljevačkog, Običaji naroda srpskoga, knjiga II, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIV, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1909, str. 311 [Serbian Folkcustom in the Boljevac District, The Customs of Serbian People, book II, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIV, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1909, p. 311].

^31. T. M. Bušetić, Levač, Naselja srpskih zemalja, knjiga II, ur. dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga V, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1903, str. 465 [T. M. Bušetić, Levač, The Settlements of Serbian Lands, book II, ed. Jovan Cvijić, Ph. D., The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book V, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1903, p. 465].

^32. S. M. Mijatović, Temnić, Antropogeografska studija, Naselja srpskih zemalja, rasprave i grada, knjiga III, uredio dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga VI, Srpska kraljevska akdemija, Beograd, 1905, 257 [Temnić, The Anthropologic – geographic Study, The Settlements of Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material III, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book VI, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1905. p. 257].

^33. Archive SANU, E-200, Milan Matić, Župa with its surroundings, p. 31.

^34. The statistics on census from 1834 and 1862/3 also show the highest average number of family members. A. Vuletić, Porodica u Srbiji sredinom 19. veka, Istorijski institut, Posebna izdanja knjiga 35, Beograd, 2002, str. 57, 60 [A. Vuletić, The Serbian Family at [the] mid-nineteenth century, Institute of History, Monographs volume 35, Belgrade, 2002, pp. 57, 60].

^35. Lj. Pavlović, Antropogeografija Valjevske Tamnave, Naselja srpskih zemalja, Rasprave i grada, knjiga VIII, uredio dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1912, 634 [The Anthropologic – geographic Study of Tamnava, the area in Valjevo county, The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material, VIII, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1912. p. 634].

^36. Ibid.

^37. Lj. Pavlović, Kolubara i Podgorina, Naselja srpskih zemalja, rasprave i grada, knjiga IV, uredio dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga VIII, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1907, 509 [Kolubara and Podgorina, The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material, book IV, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book VIII, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1907. p. 509].

^38. SANU Archive, Jovan Cvijic Fund, 13484/931/1-9, A letter sent from Šabac, 10 February 1905.

^39. Pavlović gives one example of a Serb who adopted a man of other national origin. The Davidović family from the village of Gvozdenovići was of Romanian origin. Old Čarapić adopted a Romanian man as his son-in-law, baptizing him. However, but he was not allowed to take over the slava of his father in law, but his slava became the date of his baptism. Lj. Pavlović, Antropogeografija Valjevske Tamnave, Naselja srpskih zemalja, knjiga VIII, ur. dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpska kraljevska akademija, knjiga XVIII, Beograd, 1912, 533 [The Anthropologic – geographic Study of Tamnava, the area in the district of Valjevo, The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material, VIII, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1912, p. 533].

^40. S. M. Milosavljević, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Omoljskog, Običaji naroda srpskog, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIX, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd,1914, str. 280 [S. M. Milosavljević, Serbian Folk Customs of the region of Omolje, The Customs of Serbian People, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIX, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1914, p. 280].

^41. S. M. Grbić, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Boljevačkog, Običaji naroda srpskoga, knjiga II, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIV, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1909, str. 313 [Serbian Folk custom in the region of Boljevac, The Customs of Serbian People, book II, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIV, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1909, str. 313].

^42. S. M. Milosavljević, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Omoljskog, Običaji naroda srpskog, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIX, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1914, str. 280 [S. M. Milosavljević, Serbian Folk Customs of the region of Omolje, The Customs of Serbian People, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIX, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1914, p. 280].

^43. Lj. M. Pavlović, Život i običaji narodni u Kragujevačkoj Jasenici, Život i običaji narodni, ur. Jovan Erdeljanović, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XXII, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1921, str. 113 [J. M. Pavlović, Life and Folk Customs in Kragujevac Jasenica, Life and Folk Customs, ed. Jovan Erdeljanović, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XXII, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1921, p. 113].

^44. Miloš Đ. Škarić also wrote that they used to make agreements and common decisions, SANU Archive, E – 211, Narodni život u Babajiću i Veliševcima u Valjevskoj Kolubari (Folk Life in Babajić and Veliševci i Valjevo Kolubara), p. 38.

^45. Pavlovic did not indicate that there were any differences between them in the right to participate in decision making, depending on how they became members – whether they were related by blood or not.

^46. Miloš Škarić also wrote on common decisions.

^47. In other regions authors noted that he had to be married.

^48. SANU, Archive E 301. Milorad Đ. Petrović writes about the custom in Šumadija of telling the housekeeper everything others wanted to tell the householder, which she would then convey to him.

^49. S. M. Grbić, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Boljevačkog, Običaji naroda srpskoga, knjiga II, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIV, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1909, str. 313 [Serbian Folk Customs in the county of Boljevac, The Customs of Serbian People, book II, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIV, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1909, p. 313].

^50. Arhiv SANU, E- 211, Miloš Đ. Škarić, Narodni običaji u Babajiću i Veliševcima u Valjevskoj Kolubari, p. 35, SANU Archive, Miloš Đ. Škarić, Folk customs in Babajić and Veliševci in Valjevo Kolubara.

^51. Male jobs were physically more difficult – field work, cattle keeping, beekeeping, work in the vineyard. Basic female jobs were home based, while large tasks in the fields required the participation of everybody.

^52. Lj. Pavlović, Kolubara i Podgorina [The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material IV, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Ethnographic Collection VIII, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1907. p. 442].

^53. Four decades later Milenko Filipović, an ethnologist, provided a definition of this type of zadruga; predvojena (which could be translated as ‘divided’). Filipovic differentiates two types of zadruga: a compact zadruga (members living together in the same household throughout the year) and predvojena zadruga (in a particular period of the year a certain number of members used to live separately, but they still had a common economy). M. Filipović, Nesrodnička i predvojena zadruga, Beograd, 1945 [Zadruga of Non-relatives and Divided Zadruga, Belgrade, 1945].

^54. S. M. Milosavljević, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Omoljskog, Običaji naroda srpskog, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIX, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1914, str. 285 [S. M. Milosavljević, Serbian Folk Customs of the County of Omolje, The Customs of Serbian People, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIX, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1914, p. 285].

^55. Ibid. p. 286.

^56. Ibid.

^57. S. M. Grbić, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Boljevačkog, Običaji naroda srpskoga, knjiga II, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIV, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1909, str. 319 [Serbian Folk Customs in the County of Boljevac, The Customs of Serbian People, book II, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIV, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1909, str. 319].

^58. Ibid.

^59. Ibid.

^60. Lj. M. Pavlović, Život i običaji narodni u Kragujevačkoj Jasenici, Život i običaji narodni, ur. Jovan Erdeljanović, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XXII, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1921, str. 116 [J. M. Pavlović, Life and Folk Customs in Kragujevac Jasenica Life and Folk Customs, ed. Jovan Erdeljanović, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XXII, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1921, p. 116].

^61. S. M. Mijatović, Temnić [The Anthropologic–geographic Study, The Settlements of Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material III, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D.,The Serbian Ethnographic Collection III,The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1905. p. 257].

^62. Lj. Pavlović, Antropogeografija Valjevske Tamnave, Naselja srpskih zemalja, knjiga VIII, ur. dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpska kraljevska akademija, knjiga XVIII, Beograd, 1912, str. 635 [The Anthropologic–geographic Study of Tamnava, the area in the county of Valjevo, The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Disscussions and Material, VIII, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1912, p. 635]. His work on Valjevska Tamnava was finished in 1908, but was published only in 1912. The zadrugas he mentioned were partitioned in that period, but he did not state exactly when this took place.

^63. If a widow remarried, in some areas (for example in Homolje, in the eastern part of Serbia) she was not allowed to take her children with her. Children continued to live in their late father's zadruga. In Temnić she would take children with her.

^64. The author did not state how many of these cases existed and he did not give a detailed explanation of this phenomenon. J. Miodragović, Narodna pedagogija u Srba ili Kako naš narod podiže porod svoj, Zadužbina Ilije M. Kolarca, Beograd, 1914, 327 [National Pedagogy Among Serbs – or How Our People Raise Their Offspring, The Foundation of Ilija M. Kolarac, Belgrade, 1914, p. 327].

^65. Mijatović gave an example of the village of Suvaja, inhabited by Romanians – they did not mix with the local Serbian population and they had a problem marrying. Finding a future spouse was very difficult since most of them were relatives.

^66. S. M. Milosavljević, Srpski narodni običaji iz Sreza Omoljskog, Običaji naroda srpskog, Srpski etnografski zbornik, knjiga XIX, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1914, str. 288, 289 [S. M. Milosavljević, Serbian Folk Customs of Omolje district, The Customs of Serbian People, The Serbian Ethnographic Collection, book XIX, The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1914, pp. 288, 289].

^67. Petrović, R. The Letters of a Village Teacher, The Teacher, Beograd, 1905/06, p. 94

^68.The Statistical Yearbook of the Kingdom of Serbia for a year 1900, Belgrade, The Headquarter of the State Statistics, book V, 1904, p. 64.

^69. At the time the research was conducted, it was an independent state with the name ‘the Principality of Montenegro’ (located to the south-west of Serbia).

^70. SANU Archive, 13484/931/II-20. In his letter sent to Jovan Cvijić on 20 April 1907, Pavlović explained that this term included all other Serbs from the Austro-Hungarian territory (except Dalmatia), as well as Croats.

^71. Region in the central part of Romania, (Hungarian. Erdély)

^72. Lj. Pavlović, Antropogeografija Valjevske Tamnave, Naselja srpskih zemalja, Rasprave i grada, knjiga VIII, uredio dr Jovan Cvijić, Srpska kraljevska akademija, Beograd, 1912, 625 [The Anthropologic – geographic Study of Tamnava, the area in the district of Valjevo, The Settlements in Serbian Lands, Discussions and Material, VIII, ed. Jovan Cvijić Ph.D., The Serbian Royal Academy, Belgrade, 1912. p. 625].

^73. Jovan Miodragović (1853–1926), a pedagogue, and a prefect in the Ministry of Education.

^74. He published a call in the Bosnian paper The Bosnian Fairy (Bosanska vila) to all citizens to collect folk customs concerning children, with intention to finish that work in two years. However, his research was prolonged to more than 20 years. He managed to publish his book in 1914.

^75. Tihomir Djordjević (1868–1944), an ethnologist, ethnomusicologist, and professor at the University of Belgrade, a member of The Serbian Royal Academy. He launched the first professional and scientific periodical about Serbian folk life, customs and folk tales in Aleksinac in 1899, named Karadžić, which gathered the majority of contributors to the research on the folk life of Serbs and other Balkan nations.

^76. S. M. Mijatović, Iz narodne pedagogije, ‘Valja se’ i ‘ne valja se’ u domaćem vaspitanju [From National Pedagogy, What ‘should be done’ or ‘should not be done’ in family education, The Teacher, XVIII, Belgrade, 1898/99, p. 499.

^77. Ibid. 710, 711.

^78. The Archive SANU, Legacy of Jovan Cvijić, Ph.D., 13484/770. In his letter of 5 September 1907 he explained what had happened to them in the district of Jagodina (in Šumadija): ‘When we conducted the register of the village of Belica, we had two inconveniences: besides that we got ill on our way due to difficult work, we were twice thought to be “spies”, and the villagers wanted to take us to the police.’

^79. J. Miodragović, Narodna pedagogija u Srba ili Kako naš narod podiže porod svoj, Zadužbina Ilije M. Kolarca, Beograd, 1914, str. 393 [National Pedagogy Among Serbs or How Our People Raise Their Offspring, The Foundation of Ilija M. Kolarac, Belgrade, 1914, p. 393]

^80. In the 1980s an international project, OMEP, on traditional children's games was launched by Ivan Ivić, Ph.D., a psychologist, under the guidance of The Institute for Psychology in Belgrade. Žarko Trebješanin, Ph.D. published recently a book The Concept of a Child in Serbian Culture, Belgrade, 2008, using, among others, the material collected in the period this paper deals with, as well as the work of Jovan Miodragović that has already been mentioned.