FOLKLORE HERITAGE

 

The folklore, together with the other segments of material and spiritual culture, confirms in the most beautiful way the creating maturity of Macedonian people, strongly influencing to their national and living shape through the centuries. Folk culture started being created since earliest times, spent in hard struggle for survival in conditions of centuries long slavery during which people were deprived of the essential possibilities for more continuous creating development. Only the creating gift of folk genius could enlighten the dark centuries of every day survival. That deep spiritual tremble found space for expressing of what emerged spontaneously from the soul in numerous spoken genres and types, where the song narrating. Gift, linguistic treasure etc., were permanent values, which stood beyond any destruction. This solid folk structure was supported by: folk dance, folklore clothes, instruments, embroidery-that master piece of Macedonian woman’s diligent hands, as well as all other spontaneous expressions of the big folk heart which could not hide.

    Due to the known historical, economic and cultural conditions in the past, the possibilities of a more organized spiritual life, especially in the last and this century, were significantly better in the cities, being more developed cultural environments. Bitola, as a famous cultural center in this period, together with numerous rural settlements around it preserved quite a lot of folklore culture. Here we primarily have in mind the so-called old-city folklore, even though no strict distinction can be made in the national folklore nourished either in the city or the village. One common characteristic is evident-almost perfectly developed spoken, manual, dance, instrumental and custom folklore creation of spiritual values. And it came “from the heart”. Being unable to leave written traces and other documents, the anonymous folk creator, sang, played instruments, narrated and spoke of his sorrow joy, love and liberty, not burdened with any rules, patterns or style frames, which had often been the case with the other creating types.

    Despite its common characteristics, Bitola ethnic-region has something own something recognizable at least in some details, that distinguish it from others. It has been said many times that Bitola is the City whit the most numerous number of sings dedicated to it in Macedonia, or perhaps even wider. It reveals the fact that, directly or indirectly, folk singer was somehow linked to this city, joy or sorrow-whit no big difference. What affected his soul, transformed into a song, the memory of which among the people, no one could tell how long it will last. Fortunately for our city, there are plenty of such unforgettable songs.

    Or the case with the folkdance tradition. It was in the folk dance that the Macedonian one or the one originating from Bitola- as you prefer, the slim dancers created the epic of our existence with filigree precision of body movements. Despite them, the older, wearied of the difficulties of the time, praised the first ones and ringleaders. That is the why the question arises- is there a more powerful collective means for mobilization of human soul, instigation of his feelings and the specific Macedonian rhythm, the folk dance bears all the marks of collective art, expressed in the strong poetical and musical lyrics. The mass step, accompanied by music and the specific Macedonian rhythm, told a lot: of love and hate, good and bad, and the desire for an abundant crop, giving a special accent to all that was a pleasure to the young man. 

    In Bitola and its surroundings plenty of different folk dances were nourished which were characterized by something specifically own even in each micro-region. For instance, in Mariovo region the most frequently seen folk dances were: Maskoto,  Starskoto, Aramiskoto, Kucanoto etc. In the field very popular were: Zaramo, Poljanskoto, Radoborskoto, Za rekata, Shetanoto, Marica, Dafina etc. In the border region of Moshtan villages, and the villages under Baba Mountain and Gavato, dancers, young man and women presented themselves as real artists, dancing Kalamatiano, Chamiko, Germancheto, Dvojnoto, Mashkoto za ramo, Pajduskoto, Beranshe, Buvanskoto, Chanakate, Komitskoto, Resenskoto, and many other folk dances. In the urban environments, including Bitola, despite most of the already mentioned folk dances also Pileto, Gornoselskoto, Chamshe, Vasilichoto, Dafino oro and others were also present. Regional  differences in the dancing style are also interesting: somewhere slow with a slow step, in other places quick and rapid; stepping on the whole foot, characteristic national costume and embroidery: Potpelister, Moshtan, Mariovo, Poljanski, Demir Hisar etc. Even though perhaps the national costumes were subjected to broader changes, it is known that the embroidery was more resistant to the new challenges brought by time. The folk oral reports say that Slavs nourished their embroidery art since their old fatherland times. This is proved by the Greek chronologist Prisk, who, in the 5th century AD spoke of Slavic women working in the palace of Africa and helping his wife to make “colorful clothes”.

    The national costume and its embroidery have always been an expression of the strength of maiden fantasy, deep youth emotions and desires shown in a precious mosaic of patterns, colors and lines of individual intimacy. Perfectly embroidered as a filigree, it was a kind of a landmark of the family, but also a unique mark of the place and region of its author. This is why it was jealously kept in the most beautiful chests, cupboards and wardrobes, as something sacred that was supposed to be transferred to the next generation, one after the other, in order not to prevent the design of Macedonian woman from oblivion.

    The fans of this folk art form say that despite the general characteristic of Macedonian national costume to be in white color, a specific line, different decorations, red and black lines, cords and tassels, the embroidery of these areas is thicker, the colorfulness of which fills the interesting ornament and other imagined piece on the work. So, the national costumes of Bitola and Prilep areas can be divided into three groups according to the embroidering technique : “polneti”, “grabeni”, “levi”. Other famous embroideries are: “pisan”, “ikoncheto”, “(big and small” “shuto kopito”), “kinat” as well as other types of embroidery. In most case they are dominated by remarkably rich colors: red, black etc. Only rarely blue and green can be seen.

    Out of all these national costumes, the most original is the one from Mariovo. It is made of wool, being a characteristic, basic product of that region, it contains plenty of details and patterns, decorative tassels with geometric embroidery and styled flowery ornaments. The basic colors of this national costume are: cynober-strikes with its weight-together with the jewelry it weighs 50 kilos. In order to make this, embroider and knit this, worth showing wonder of beauty, which strikes eyes intensely, as people say, time probably ceased to exist for the master and become unmeasurable. The more such folklore costumes the girl made, together with the presents for the close relatives of the groom, the higher the estimation of her values and diligence of the future bride was among the relatives and others. The thought of how much industrious labor was needed for this richness to be created really astonishes. It was that Macedonian women embroiders, who created a unique life sonata, not on the piano, but on white thick cloth, as a certain notation, but with a cloth and a veil decorated with buttons in different colors, beads and other decorations. Since early age, at the beginning of maiden period, Macedonian maid high in stature and beautiful as an icon, with decorated pony tail on the head, started to prepare and embroider her dowry. It was supposed to reveal all her spiritual and mental maturity, because for the world, relatives, neighbors and other, except being beautiful, of nice stature and ruddy face she had to confirm her ability by the number of embroidered shirts, scarves, socks so that the dowry box is full to the top The embroidery was the best  indication of the diligence of the female child, a characteristic widely expected in the new groom’s house.

    We pointed out only a few segment of Bitola folklore in this text. They are more numerous.