akritas
06-04-2006, 08:20 AM
All the parties involved in the Macedonian Question claim that Macedonia is more than a name; they imply that the real debate is over identity, tradition, history, language, culture nd, inthe end, territory; all in all about a people’s heritage. One way to deal with the matter is to consider this heritage as an entity, indeed a patchwork of various cultures, national and local, high and low, Greek and Slavic, a true cultural salad. The outcome of such an approach is the emphasis put on multiculturalism, on interplay, communication, and the inevitable perception that modern national identities and cultures are but thin, transparent layers over a mosaic which is the real culture, identity, and heritage of the region. This is not, however the case in Macedonia.
Indeed in Macedonia, very much as in any other Greek, Balkan, or European region a variety of local cultures co-existed. A group of villages on a mountain slope, in a valley or on a particular moor, practiced intermarriage for centuries, and thus shared tunes, dances, decoration motives, some local myths, even a linguistic idiom. Regardless of the language spoken, these peti-cultures shared enough elements to make people feel at home or to be considered perfect strangers. Minor differences were either extremely important or completely negligible. No definite line of distinction could be drawn, no barrier was evident as one moved from village to village, from Epirus and Thessaly to Macedonia or from Macedonia to Thrace, or Bulgaria, or Serbia. This was not and is not the Macedonian culture and heritage under question.
As national ideologies spread in 19th century Balkans, and Macedonia in particular, heritage acquired an additional meaning. For the Greeks and their brethren in Macedonia first and foremost it was the classical past, the legacy of Philip and Alexander. The Greeks of Macedonia took pride in claiming descent from the Ancient Makedones and exhibited Greek inscriptions, coins, and archaeological findings as indisputable proof of their identity. The creation of an independent Bulgarian Church (1870) and the schism with the Ecumenical Patriarchate (1872) alone provided additional ways for self-identification: they were the true heirs of Byzantine heritage. Local chieftains who fought during the war of Greek independence, two or three generations of 19th century revolutionaries and those who struggled against the Bulgarian committees in early 20th century completed the national pantheon of Macedonian Hellenism.
In the days of nationalism the cultural heritage of Macedonian Bulgarians emerged around the legacy of the Greek Byzantine Apostles to the Slavs, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, the Archdiocese of Ochrid, and the medieval kingdom of Tsar Samuel. Serbians created their own Macedonian heritage with tzar Stefan Dusan’s midieval empire as its central point of reference. They were joined by the notorious I.M.R.O. leaders and the protagonist of the Ilinden Rising against the Turks in 1903. Romanian nationalism targeting Macedonian Vlachs drew in its turn from the glory of Rome, Latin tradition, and the Roman legions.
After 1912, the aforementioned cultural heritages were altered in various ways. and are still undergoing transformation. In Greek Macedonia, local peti-cultures—to the extend they have resisted cosmopolitanism—were enriched by refugee traditions; they are not far from producing a genuine breed encompassing recycled (via Goran Bregovic) local tunes, Pontic lyre music, hard rock and reggae with Greek lyrics. The national pantheon of Macedonian Hellenism has also been enriched by the victims of Bulgarian occupation in two world wars, the veterans of the Albanian front, and the Resistance chieftains.
The Bulgarian and Yugoslav parts have also been affected by cosmopolitanism and rock and even more by the socialist post-war culture of Eastern Europe. But the most impressive reassessment of cultural heritage took place in the post World War II Socialist Republic of Macedonia. A major endeavor was made to Macedonianise what had been percieved in the 19th century as Bulgarian heritage and also to establish some links with the classical past (i.e. Alexander) by dissassociating Ancient Macedonians from the Greek national heritage. An equally ambitius and much more decisive enterprise, which is in fact still in progress, has been the integration of Slav culture with the Albanian, Turkish, and Vlach traditions into a single Macedonian national high culture. In the years to come it will be seen if this new culture will succeed in creating its own heritage.
All in all, very much like the people, there are various Macedonian heritages equally important for Greek, Macedonian Slav, and Bulgarian national feelings. The fact that Macedonian culture became known to the west as a Balkan salad does not necessarily imply that its ingredients are not or were not identifiable.
source:http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr
Indeed in Macedonia, very much as in any other Greek, Balkan, or European region a variety of local cultures co-existed. A group of villages on a mountain slope, in a valley or on a particular moor, practiced intermarriage for centuries, and thus shared tunes, dances, decoration motives, some local myths, even a linguistic idiom. Regardless of the language spoken, these peti-cultures shared enough elements to make people feel at home or to be considered perfect strangers. Minor differences were either extremely important or completely negligible. No definite line of distinction could be drawn, no barrier was evident as one moved from village to village, from Epirus and Thessaly to Macedonia or from Macedonia to Thrace, or Bulgaria, or Serbia. This was not and is not the Macedonian culture and heritage under question.
As national ideologies spread in 19th century Balkans, and Macedonia in particular, heritage acquired an additional meaning. For the Greeks and their brethren in Macedonia first and foremost it was the classical past, the legacy of Philip and Alexander. The Greeks of Macedonia took pride in claiming descent from the Ancient Makedones and exhibited Greek inscriptions, coins, and archaeological findings as indisputable proof of their identity. The creation of an independent Bulgarian Church (1870) and the schism with the Ecumenical Patriarchate (1872) alone provided additional ways for self-identification: they were the true heirs of Byzantine heritage. Local chieftains who fought during the war of Greek independence, two or three generations of 19th century revolutionaries and those who struggled against the Bulgarian committees in early 20th century completed the national pantheon of Macedonian Hellenism.
In the days of nationalism the cultural heritage of Macedonian Bulgarians emerged around the legacy of the Greek Byzantine Apostles to the Slavs, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, the Archdiocese of Ochrid, and the medieval kingdom of Tsar Samuel. Serbians created their own Macedonian heritage with tzar Stefan Dusan’s midieval empire as its central point of reference. They were joined by the notorious I.M.R.O. leaders and the protagonist of the Ilinden Rising against the Turks in 1903. Romanian nationalism targeting Macedonian Vlachs drew in its turn from the glory of Rome, Latin tradition, and the Roman legions.
After 1912, the aforementioned cultural heritages were altered in various ways. and are still undergoing transformation. In Greek Macedonia, local peti-cultures—to the extend they have resisted cosmopolitanism—were enriched by refugee traditions; they are not far from producing a genuine breed encompassing recycled (via Goran Bregovic) local tunes, Pontic lyre music, hard rock and reggae with Greek lyrics. The national pantheon of Macedonian Hellenism has also been enriched by the victims of Bulgarian occupation in two world wars, the veterans of the Albanian front, and the Resistance chieftains.
The Bulgarian and Yugoslav parts have also been affected by cosmopolitanism and rock and even more by the socialist post-war culture of Eastern Europe. But the most impressive reassessment of cultural heritage took place in the post World War II Socialist Republic of Macedonia. A major endeavor was made to Macedonianise what had been percieved in the 19th century as Bulgarian heritage and also to establish some links with the classical past (i.e. Alexander) by dissassociating Ancient Macedonians from the Greek national heritage. An equally ambitius and much more decisive enterprise, which is in fact still in progress, has been the integration of Slav culture with the Albanian, Turkish, and Vlach traditions into a single Macedonian national high culture. In the years to come it will be seen if this new culture will succeed in creating its own heritage.
All in all, very much like the people, there are various Macedonian heritages equally important for Greek, Macedonian Slav, and Bulgarian national feelings. The fact that Macedonian culture became known to the west as a Balkan salad does not necessarily imply that its ingredients are not or were not identifiable.
source:http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr