Croats

By Jasna Capo, Jakov Gelo, Trpimir Macan, Olga Supek, and John Beierle

Croatian, Hryat.

The Croats are a Slavic people. They began to form as a distinct group in the seventh century as part of a process that was completed during the modern national integration in the nineteenth and twentieth century. At various times, the name "Croatian" was used for the contemporary Croats as well as for two other Slavic tribes (in Poland in the area of Krakow, and in northeast Bohemia). It was used for the first time as a personal name (Horóathos, Horúathos) in the second to third century in Tanais on the river Don, and on some historic monuments (Trpimir, dux Chroatorum; Branimir, dux Cruatorum) from the ninth century. Science has not yet solved the question of the origin nor of the meaning of the name Croats. Croatia encompasses 56,538 square kilometers, and is located between 42 degrees 23 minutes and 46 degrees 32 minutes north latitude and 13 degrees 30 minutes and 19 degrees 26 minutes east longitude. The north plain--the biggest, the most populated and economically the most active part of the country--is separated from the coastal part in the south (east coast of the Adriatic Sea) by the central mountainous region. Considering its location, Croatia is a Pannonian and Adriatic region, at the juncture of the central Danubian Plain and the Mediterranean. The climate in the north is continental, in the central region mountainous, and in the south mediterranean.

The majority of Croats (3.5 million) live in Croatia itself; an additional million live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Slovenia. It is estimated that emigrant Croats to western Europe, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand number more than three million. Although the number of live births exceeded by three percent the number of deceased persons between the last two censuses of 1971 and 1981, there were 100,000 fewer Croats because they identified themselves as Yugoslavs.

The Croatian language is a south Slavic language and encompasses three major dialects (Stokavian, Cakavian and Kaikavian). Literary Croatian, developed since the twelfth century on a south Stokavian base (with some influence of other dialects) was accepted in the first half of the nineteenth century as the national language. Since then it has been standardized and has become the uniform means of communication in professional, scientific and artistic expression. The alphabet is Latin (25 consonants and 5 vowels). In the past, Slavic alphabets were employed, including GLAGOLJICA, which was used in some areas around the Adriatic until the nineteenth century.

After settling into today's homeland in the seventh century Croats organized a state. From the beginning of the twelfth century, after the demise of the national royal dynasty, the Croatian state unified with Hungary (linked to it by the same ruler); after 1527, the Austrian royal family of Habsburg ruled Croatia. With the consolidation of the Republic of Venice on a large section of Croatian coast (only the Republic of Dubrovnik kept its independence), and with the Turkish conquests since the fifteenth century, Croatian lands were divided and to a certain extent the ethnic structure was changed (emigration of Croats and immigration of the population from the Balkans). Subsequently, Croatian history has been marked by a struggle for national and cultural survival, for maintenance of state independence, and for territorial integrity. Following the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in World War I the Croats removed themselves from it, proclaimed independence and joined the new South Slav state (the kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. After the liberation struggle in World War II and socialist revolution, Croatia has been a federal state (Socialist Republic of Croatia) in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1991, following the fall of Communist rule and a bloody civil war, Croatia became an independent state, the Republic of Croatia. In the course of developments since the mid-nineteenth century, Croatia has lived through political, social and economic change. Since the time of Christianization in the early centuries after settling the region, the Croats have belonged to the Western-European cultural milieu. The organizational foundation of the contemporary scientific and artistic life is a branchlike system of institutions of higher education (e.g., University of Zagreb since 1669, universities in Split, Osijek and Rijeka); scientific institutions (e.g., the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1867, The Archive of Croatia and the National University Library in Zagreb), museums, galleries, theaters (the central Croatian National Theater in Zagreb); and academies of arts. The cultural life is expressed also in literary and fine arts, films, radio and television programs.

The percentage of rural population by residence has always been very high, with significant differences between geographic regions, ranging in the 1980s from a high of about 70 percent in the central region to a low of 40 percent in southern Croatia. Traditionally, there were wide differences among different settlements in the house style and interior design. Today, however, there is a tendency toward uniformity. Settlements are either clustered (mainly in the north and south) or dispersed (mainly in the hinterland in the south and central region). Clustered settlements are either compact and centered around a square or stripped into perpendicular streets. In the south, houses are made of stone, with roofs of reed (the oldest tradition), or stone slabs or convex tiles (the newest tradition). They are usually two story buildings along the coast and one story buildings in the coastal hinterland. Elsewhere, the material is wood (oak logs or trimmed wooden planks), clay mixed with chaff, or more recently brick (at first adobe) and concrete. The roofs are covered either with shingles, thatch or flat tiles (the most recent tradition).

Somewhat less than half of the population is economically active (working outside the home). About 45 percent of the active population is employed in the service sector, 35 percent in industry and 20 percent in agriculture. Eighty-five percent of the agricultural activity is on small peasant farms and 15 percent on state farms. Until 1990, peasant farms are limited by law to 15 hectares (of cultivable surface) and therefore, although it is widely mechanized, agricultural production is not profitable. The predominant agricultural products are maize, wheat, milk, and meat.

The production of wine and fruits is also important, while production of industrial plants (flax, hemp, sunflower etc.) is less significant. Almost all agricultural products are used by the domestic population; only a small part of the produce (meat, maize, tobacco, and wine) is exported.

The dominant industries are shipbuilding, textiles, and food-processing. Less important are the chemical and timber industries. The industrial sector of the Croatian economy creates 50 percent of the gross national product (GNP) while employing one third of the working population. In the 1960s and 1970s, big industrial enterprises were developed in Croatia, while in the 1980s, smaller ones, especially in electronics, metalworking, and plastics also emerged there. The problems faced by the industry are insufficient energy (most oil is imported), and the need to import chemical products, raw materials, and industrial machinery.

About 10 percent of the population employed in trade creates about 17 percent of the GNP. Large state enterprises (stores, supermarkets, specialized shops) dominate this sector. Recently, small specialized private shops (fruit and vegetables stores, stores for other food products and textiles) have been emerging.

Traditionally, women were assigned domestic tasks (cleaning, cooking, tending babies etc.) but also shared some agricultural tasks, which, otherwise, were dominated by men. Today, women are still occupied by household and family work, but women also comprise one-third of the work force. They are most frequently employed in education and medicine where they outnumber men, and also in tourism and trade).

Descent is traced patrilineally and the social emphasis on father's lineage is reflected in more elaborated terminology for father's relatives. Kin groups were based traditionally on patrilocal residence and patrimony, which was jointly owned and managed by father and his married sons (ZADRUGA). Matrilineal kin was less important in social practice and lived at a distance. Further patrilineal kin often inhabited the same hamlet or nearby villages. The ZADRUGA system disappeared by the early twentieth century, and due to migrations and intensive urbanization, patrilineal kin groups are presently more dispersed, with their interaction associated mostly limited to yearly or life cycle rituals, while in everyday practice one's mother's and father's relatives have equally important roles. Post-/world War II family law gave a married woman the opportunity to keep her maiden name or hyphenate it with her husband's surname. This practice indicated a shift toward bilaterality. Children, however, rarely receive other than their father's surname. Inheritance of parental property also have become largely bilateral.

Marriages are monogamous. In the past, they were arranged by corporate kin groups and parents. Marriage partners were sought from neighboring hamlets and villages (regional endogamy). Residence was traditionally patrilocal. As a consequence of rural-urban migrations as well as education and employment of women, ambilocal residence has become predominant, while neolocality is the ideal for young couples. The divorce rate is constantly rising (177 per 1000 marriages in 1988) peaking in the city of Zagreb were every third marriage ends in divorce. Divorces are "no fault", by agreement, with laws mainly oriented towards the protection of the rights of children.

The domestic unit is that group of people who sleep and eat "under one roof" and who jointly manage family (OBITELI) resources. The structure of this group has changed from ZADRUGA type to three- generational stem family (parents with children and one or two grand-parents), nuclear family (parents with children) and even smaller "fragmented" types of domestic units. While the three- generational family is still common in rural areas, the average number of persons in domestic units in Croatia is hardly above three. Less than a half of the domestic units have a nuclear family structure, whereas others include single persons (16 percent), childless couples (24.6 percent), mothers with children (8.4 percent) and fathers with children (1.5 percent). The reasons of such fragmentation, besides divorce, are labor migration, a drop in the fertility rate, and a decrease in the contracted marriages.

Traditionally, sons inherited equal shares of patrimony, while daughters married out with dowries in land, cattle or money. Presently property is divided equally among all children, often allotted to them gradually during the parents' life, in order to help the children establish their own households. Remaining property is divided equally upon parents' death. However, cases of daughters who fight for their share in court against their brothers are not infrequent.

Children are raised by parents or grandparents. Great emphasis is placed on achievement through education as it is the main means of climbing the social ladder. For this reason children are often excused from assuming early responsibilities in domestic and productive spheres. Social-economic opportunities are restricted, and parents sacrifice their labor and money to support their children for a long time, frequently into adulthood.

Since the socialist revolution of 1945, no social classes have been officially recognized, but there are distinguishable social strata. The class of large landowners and industrialists was discredited after World War II, making wealth only a minor marker of social status. Instead, occupations associated with education and with access to power (as in the case of the bureaucratic elite) have become a major basis of social stratification. Differences in the standard of living and in subjective evaluations of status exist between the agricultural and industrial population, that is, between the rural and urban populations. Since the 1970s, the difference has been diminishing, due to secondary urbanization of rural settlements on the one hand, and deteriorating quality of life in the cities, on the other. A trend towards stratification on the basis of wealth has developed, since the sector of private artisans, entrepreneurs, merchants, services, and professions is gaining strength again. Considerable social mobility is secured through the educational system which is open to everyone. Yet, many social routes are also open through informal personal networks and loyalties, such as those based on familism and localism.

From 1945 to 1991, Croatia was one of six federal republics that made up the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. After the death of Marshall Tito in 1980, it elected a delegate to the board of the "Presidency" -- the collective head of the Yugoslavian state -- and a number of delegates to the Federal Assembly, the supreme body of government. As a federal state within Yugoslavia, Croatia had its own government, of which the parliament (Sabor) and the president of its executive council were the supreme bodies. A multiparty political system was reestablished in 1990. The nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) won the parliamentary elections that year, taking the majority of seats in the Sabor and having its leader indirectly elected president of Croatia. The new government declared the independence of Croatia in October 1991, amid civil war and aggression from Serbia. Regional and political reform is pending. Croatia is still divided into 115 communes (OPCINA), each comprising a number of villages and hamlets. Their population varies in size and density. Communes are clustered into 10 municipalities, each with a major urban center. The division reflects historical, cultural, economic, and administrative divisions so that regional identity and loyalty remains strong. A significant portion of rural-urban migration takes place within municipalities, oriented toward regional urban centers. Each OPCINA has an assembly and its executive council and president. There are also boards which take care of schools, health services, public roads, and the local economy; offices for tax collection, vital statistics, and urban planning; and courts and police. An OPCINA center also has secondary schools and religious establishments.

Under the former system, a strong mechanism of social control, both institutionalized and ideological, was the League of Communists, which, although formally separate from the state, exerted influence at all levels of social organization. Preceding the elections of 1990, there was a proliferation of alternative movements (ecological, initiatives for democratic reform, new women's movements, agitation for human rights, etc.), creating considerable social impact, and causing a concomitant weakening of the ideological grip of the League. In 1990, the League was renamed the Socialist party and became oppositional after the elections. A number of other movements were transformed into political parties at the same time. Informally, gossip and personal alliances on the basis of kinship and common local origin remain a strong means of social control.

Dominant values regarding conflict and warfare are ambivalent, due to the complex history of Croatia: historical border areas (the mountainous zone) emphasize fighting for freedom and undefeatable frontiersmen; while areas of historical feudal states with a tightly controlled population, place more value on passive resistance, mediation, clever avoidance of imposed duties and outwitting opponents in inconspicuous ways. Under the Yugoslav system, courts were formally independent from the legislative and executive branches of government, but nevertheless, politics had influenced them greatly. Courts were organized on five levels: communal, regional, state, federal and supreme courts. In addition to regular courts, there were mediating agencies of different kinds, for business conflicts (e.g., "Social Defense of Self-Management"), or for private matters (e.g,, obligatory counseling with a social worker before divorce). Reform of the judicial system is pending.

Croats are mainly Roman-Catholic, with small percentages of Uniates (Eastern Orthodox Christians, recognizing the Pope), Protestants and Muslims. Some pre-Christian elements have been integrated into Christian beliefs and practices. Other influences on Croatian religious beliefs and practices have come from European and Near Eastern cultures, from rural and urban traditions alike, resulting in an amalgam of different heritages. Sacred and religious aspects of traditional culture were neglected during the Socialist period because religion was relegated solely to the private sphere of life. The first post-Communist government is reintroducing the Catholic church into public life in many conspicuous ways. In traditional culture, there had been many beliefs connected with the dead, as well as many beliefs in fairies, in vampires ( who disturb their relatives by sucking their blood), witches (demonic women), mythic female beings who determine the fate of the child, or others who choke people during sleep. There is still a widespread belief in evil eye, in the power of casting spells over people or over their property, and in various protective magical acts. Traditionally, people paid special respect paid to animals to which they attributed supernatural properties (e.g. snake as a house protector). Such beliefs have disappeared or are slowly fading away, but they have been transmitted through and persist in myths, legends, tales and poems.

Ceremonies and rituals can be divided into several types-- annual celebrations associated with church holy days, life-cycle events, and work rituals (the latter group is connected with harvest, building of a house, etc.). The most prominent among calendrical rituals are those of Christmas Eve-- (BADNJAK, the burning of the yule log, an older tradition; the decoration of a Christmas tree, a newer tradition; and all sorts of practices linked to the cult of the deceased-- and KOLEDA, men's processions during the period between Christmas and New Year's. Mardi Gras carnival celebrations featuring processions and burning of a straw effigy have been revived recently thanks to the mass media and tourist agencies. In spring, in addition to Easter celebrations (including coloring of eggs), there used to be various village processions (on St. George's Day, First of May, Ascension Day, Whitsuntide, etc.) and bonfires (especially on St. John's Day in June). Those processions and bonfires were apotropaic rituals meant for the protection of people, fields, and cattle and for promoting fertility. There were also new rituals created in the Socialist period, such as celebrations of Workers' Day on May 1st, and on International Women's Day on the 8th of March. Both were canceled in 1991. Among life cycle rituals, most important are those centering around birth, marriage, and death. Today some new ones have emerged (e.g. the day of graduation, especially in cities), while the old ones have an impoverished repertoire. A wedding traditionally has been the most important family and community event. It once consisted of a complex of ritual events such as solemn carrying over of the bride's trousseau, humorous negotiations over false brides when the wedding party arrived at the bride's house, and symbolic acts by the bride upon arrival at bridegroom's home (holding a male child in her lap, sweeping the floor, starting the fire on the hearth, etc). Death gave rise to numerous beliefs, most important being the belief in life after death, marked by feasting ceremonies and loud laments after the deceased (NARICANJE.)

A wide variety of folk music is found among the Croats. Specific features are exhibited in tonal relationships of tunes and instrumental melodies. The musical styles range from a rather old, narrow intervals style (in which the intervals in the tonal ranges are sometimes narrower than the intervals between the twelve equal semitones in an octave), in central and south Croatia, to contemporary widespread style called "in bass" singing, in eastern Croatia. Folk music is interwoven with all kinds of everyday and festive activities (especially working songs, weddings, and spring processions). Today, its main function is entertainment. The main instruments used to accompany the singing are cordophones and aerophones. Dances differ as much as do tunes and instruments. Today they are almost restored to the pre-World War II forms, thanks to their revival on stage; the couple dance, a closed circle dance (DRMES), and circles and lines. Artistic expression can be found on decorative clothes, wood carving, pottery, pictures painted on glass, metal work, and even egg painting. Oral literature is dominated by epic poetry. Among lyric poetry, the Dalmatian ballads are noteworthy (Adriatic coast). The earliest recordings of oral literature are from the sixteenth century and point to a wide variety of genres. Croatian art also includes church architecture, frescoes, reliefs, and decorated facades and balconies. In the twentieth century, painting, sculpture and music have exploded in various styles. Architecture suffered under the planned socialist economy.

Folk medicine was imbued with magic, but it was also rational, especially in the identification, preparation, and use of medicinal herbs. The pharmaceutical industry has incorporated some of this folk knowledge in the production of herbal drugs.

Documents referred to in this section are included in this eHRAF collection and are referenced by author, date of publication, and eHRAF document number.

The Croats file consists of five English language documents. None of these, however, can be considered as comprehensive works dealing with all of Croatia as of the 1990s. The closest to a general survey of the region is the study of southwest Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Dalmatia made by the Croatian economist Rudolf Bicanic in 1935 (Bicanic 1981, no. 2). This work provides much ethnographic data on the areas outlined above but is restricted to the period of the author's field work (i.e., 1935). Gilliland and Olsen's writings (Gilliland 1986, no. 1 and Gilliland 1989, no. 4) are basically community studies of the town of Milograd (a pseudonym), a medium-sized industrial town in the Slavonian region of Croatia. Gilliland (no. 1), who studied Milograd during 1981-1982, discusses family values in terms of various aspects of the ethnography (e.g., ritual occasions, courtship and marriage, etc.). Gilliland (no. 4), who did field work in 1983, concentrates on socio-economic changes in household structure, particularly in relation to authority and in patterns of conflict and sharing. Bennett (Bennett 1974, no. 1), a social anthropologist, presents a detailed study of socio-cultural change in the village of Sutivan on Brac Island on the Dalmatian littoral in Croatia. This study, based on the author's field work in 1970-1971, provides much cultural data on the population of this island. The final document in the Croatia file by Olga Supek (Supek 1983, no. 5), based on field work in 1977- 1980, presents a general discussion of the relationship of Mardi Gras (carnival) to social stability and/or instability and change. The time coverage for this file extends from approximately 1840 to 1983. For more detailed information on the content of the individual works in this file, see the abstracts in the citations preceding each document. We thank Gerald Creed for suggestions regarding possible sources to be included in the files.

This culture summary is from the article, "Croats," by Jasna Capo, Jakov Gelo, Trpimir Macan, and Olga Supek in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. 4. 1992. Linda A. Bennett, ed. Boston, Mass.: G. K. Hall & Co. The geopolitical units have been updated in June, 1996 by John Beierle, who also prepared the synopsis and indexing notes.

• Agricultural Workers Association -- category 474

• Agriculturalist's Association -- category 474

• BANOVINE -- provinces -- category 635

• Croatian Peasant Party -- category 665

• district mutual assistance associations -- category 452

• Djurovic factory -- a manufacturing plants producing heavy engineering equipment -- category 392

• Fishermen's Association -- category 474

• GOSPODA -- the Croatian elite -- categories 571, 565

• KARMINE -- funeral feasts -- category 765

• KUM -- the "best man" at a wedding and also godfather to the future family -- categories 585, 608

• MJESNA ZAJEDNICA -- village council; a council, similar to a town council, but operating at the community level - - category 623

• NAROD -- the people (peasants -- category 565

• OP'CINA -- a governmental unit comparable to an American county sometimes referred to in the literature as a commune) -- category 634

• SABOR -- parliament -- category 646

• SEDMINE -- commemoration celebrations seven days after the funeral -- category 765

• tourist society -- category 485

• ZADRUGA -- the extended family household -- categories 592, 596

Erlich St., Vera (1966). Family in Transition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Gavazzi, Milovan (1988). Godine dane hrvatskih narodnih obicaja. Zagreb.

"Hrvati" (1988). Enciklopedija Jugoslavije. Vol. 5, 1-151. Zagreb: Jugoslavenski Lekslkoyrafski Zavod.

Statisticki gudisnjak SR Hrvatske (1985). Zagreb: Statisticki Zavod.

Statisticki Kalendar, Jugoslavije (1989). Biograd: Savenzi Zavod za Statistiku.