Folk tradition and Folk culture in Slovakia

The educational curriculum at our UTA contains, among other topics, a course named Ethnography and Folklore. In order to receive a wide spectrum of information opinions from UTA students and project VECU task solvers it was decided to seek answers from a group of senior students seated around a table. Topics were selected in relation to folk culture in Slovakia, the need to maintain traditions, mechanisms of their transfer onto the young generation, the most effective ways of such transfer and so on. Based on statements received and utilizing available literary sources we divided the matter to be investigated into 4 categories.                    1. material culture   2. social life and spiritual culture   3. folklore   4. language dialectsAll participants were female and we have to note that only 8, that is one third from a group of 24, volunteered their statements.

Material culture contains traditional forms of agriculture, native dwellings and buildings, performing folk art and traditional meals. Participants of an informal round table discussion were prepared to deal with eating habits only.
Social life and spiritual culture contains family and social life, traditional family customs (birth, weddings, funerals) and traditional yearly events (winter time and summer time habits).
Those discussing these matters showed closer relation to them, statements were fuller and more to the point. It was obvious that they were more intimate in questions of spiritual culture and social life. Their knowledge of it is larger hence a richer discussion followed.
The third topic, folklore, contains verbal tradition (folk tales and ways of telling folk legends) folk songs instrumental music and folk dancing.

The local languages (dialects) meaning the verbal communication among people, differing and characteristic for Slovak regions are a separate area of folk culture.
Statements obtained varied and were influenced by individual experiences.
Statements on material culture only touched on traditional architecture and focused mainly on eating habits. We spoke about ways of making bread, processing fruit, eating at mass action such as grape harvesting, pig slaughtering , religious feasts, and wedding celebrations.
Spiritual culture was the most extensively discussed topic.

Statements from answering the following questions:

Q: is it important to keep our traditions and why?
A: Yes. Within the family it is important to pass on experiences between generations.
By our entry to EU one tends to loose a specific national identity but thanks to traditional folklore we should not loose it altogether. People used to live in accordance with the nature and managed to live in harmony with it and extract many of their needs: Folk medicine, gastronomy, feeling for culture, maintained their natural consciouness by playing theatre, congregating in clubs. All of this is now disappearing and would be worthwhile to be maintained.

Q: On what ground should traditions be maintained?
A: In the family in the first place. In Slovakia family traditions have been strong, family ties are close. Today these values are diminishing but traditions, either religious or cultural should be transferred to the younger generation. Traditions enliven and bind together families and enhance family life. The family is a foundation, social life is important nevertheless. Traditions keep a merry feeling in the family.
I experienced wearing of national costumes in villages, not only on holidays but work and child wear. Here local government in towns, townships and villages play a significant role, it is essential that local leaders show an interest and feeling for the maintenance of folk culture and folk wisdom. Village people are more enthused towards maintaining tradition than in towns. In towns the matter receives only limited interest.
In Slovakia it is not only the family and the village but the school also. We grew up in different surroundings to that of our children and nowadays parents spend less time upbringing their children than in the past. The school should therefore take on this task. At present commercial influences play a significant role. The church has also a role to play. Children are taught folk singing not only spiritual ones.

Q: Who is the holder of traditions?
The traditional image of mother and father has changed following progression changes in the society. In many families the traditional role of the father diminished and was taken over by mothers. It is important that children are lead from the early age to appreciate our traditions. Progress is however unstoppable. Traditions should be preserved by means of books such as written by our seniors who describe their own experiences.

Q: Which cultural traditions are you familiar with?
A: Bread and pastry are blessed ceremoniously to date in the Liptov region (near the High Tatras mountains) and in eastern Slovakia. Elsewhere pastry and food in a basked is blessed around Easter.
Mourning women used to attend funerals where singing farewelled the deceased. Today it is not performed often. Village people knew each other more intimately. This habit is also dying out since the dead are no longer laid out in their homes, but taken to funeral parlours where people go to pray which also changed the habit of singing. In the past songs used to be sung at death bed, now singing is done only during the ceremony.

Bride begging is now mainly practiced in the villages; a significant difference can be seen between towns and villages. Life in town is different; couples often live together without being married. Grooms used to visit the bride at the family home asked her parents for their permission to marry in a formal way. In the past wedding gifts used to be delivered before the wedding day and thus wedding used to take up to three days. Today gifts are handed over at the weddings. Some traditions such as breaking plates and sweeping up broken chinaware look to be out of place.

Q: How to ensure the transfer of the traditions?
The above mentioned printed publications should be presented, discussions organized, schools visited in person. Collected works by our seniors donated to high school students is an attempt to illustrate the transfer of cultural information and we expect in a certain extent that it should motivate young students at least to a partial degree. It is shown that children brought up with certain habits often ask for them when they are no longer pratcticed in their families or in their lives. As a good example may serve for instance visits to folk shows, singing of folk songs. It is important that children do not feel that anything is being imposed upon them. Lullabies used to be starters.
Children born into families of musicians take it as matter of course. It is desirable that children are exposed in the very young age. Little children usually show interest, which is diminishing in adolescence to reaper in adulthood again.
A great role in maintaining tradition belongs to regional cultural centers and local museums. They are not sufficiently propagated and not visible enough. It is necessary to report and argument these cultural establishments. Ordinary people living in villages play a significant part in transferring traditions and they are disseminaters of traditions and information.

Q: Slovaks living abroad and traditions?
Our children often realize once they live abroad how beautiful our nature is and what traditions we have. When abroad they miss the most our cultural values. Slovak roots are strongly felt and even if they go abroad to seek work most of them sooner or later return home.
Slovak communities living in diaspora meet regularly and perform cultural programs based on showing traditions. At these meetings they find home away from home and all they miss.
Some have acquired folk costumes and wear them at various functions. Slovak living abroad often speak better Slovak then we here at home. Many foreign Slovaks regularly attend folk festivals in Slovakia to experience folklore. It was a general opinion that Slovaks originating from eastern regions of Slovakia keep together the strongest.

Q: What do we consider as traditions?
Next to the above mentioned folk architecture is significant. Many country buildings are however falling apart, e.g. grain silos. Such buildings outlived their usefulness and there is no interest in maintaining them.
Verbal culture and literature are significant. Giving books to children is of little benefit since they do not read them. Computers  attract them .
It is important to have a certain amount of folk songs in store since without them family feasts lack effectivity.
Gastronomy: foreigners, tourists are interested in our traditional dishes.
Other happenings: Christenings: Seating during ceremony and feast is determined by everyone’s status within the family.
Grape harvesting, local fairs are held in villages and suburbs on local patron saint's day or to celebrate anniversaries of local churches.
Easter feasts, erecting totem trees in May in the honor of local maidens is still performed at some localities.
Harvest feasts used to be held at the actual end of the grain harvest. Nowadays they remain as themes utilized by many local folk ensembles.
Pork slaughter- pork meat used to be shared around the village (so called: carmina) so that fresh pork meat was received from others at other times in return. Nowadays only close family members are included. Dinners are no longer as opulent as in the past.
Goose feather processing sessions were a social and work happening at which local gossip and small talk was exchanged.

Local customs such as fruit picking and jam making used to be called Song collecting since brandy was distilled from some fruit and people liked singing when mildly intoxicated. Fruit dumplings used to be made and jam was prepared.
Today new traditions appear. A cabbage feast is held yearly in western Slovakia when summer harvest is stored in barrels in autumn.
 
Sacral culture: Three wise men and visits by well wishers. X-mass Carol singing is practiced, children collect money for charities. Furthermore close ties are established between neighborhood kids.

Suggestions by seniors: A subject called Ethno-Cultural Traditions should be introduced in all Slovak high schools not only in selected ones.
Work out methodology and school curricula for children in a playful way inoculation is made toward transfer to future generations.
A collection of “ Essays and Memories “ of seniors should be placed  on internet for all to read and get motivated toward maintaining and developing cultural traditions for future generations.