Serbs

By Richard A. Wagner and John Beierle

Srbi

Serbia is the larger of the two republics that constitute the Federated Republic of Yugoslavia as of 1992. Ethnically homogeneous within Serbia proper, the republic also contains two autonomous provinces. The autonomous province of Vojvodina in the north is mainly Serbian but also contains large minorities of Romanians and Hungarians. The province of Kosmet (Kosovo-Metohija) is located in southern Serbia and has a majority Albanian Muslim population in which Serbs are a minority. Substantial Serbian populations live in the neighboring republic of Montenegro and in the independent states of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia is bounded on the north by Hungary, on the east by Romania and Bulgaria, on the south by Albania and Macedonia, and on the west by Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. Its location is approximately 42-45 degrees north latitude and 19 degrees 30 minutes-23 degrees east longitude. Geographically, Serbia is two-thirds highlands and one-third rolling plains. Sumadija, the agricultural heartland of Serbia, lies west of the Morava River valley, just south of Belgrade. The climate of the plains is markedly continental consisting of dry, warm summers, long, humid autumns, and cold, dry winters. The growing season begins in mid-March and runs through November. Average annual precipitation is 76 centimeters. Temperatures vary from an average high of 23 degrees C in July to 1.6 degrees C in January, the coldest month. Within these patterns, however, considerable variations exist, with recorded highs well over 38 degrees C and lows down to below -10 degrees C.

The population of Yugoslavia in 1990 was estimated at 23,864,000. At this time some 8,591,000 individuals (36 percent) were identified as ethnically Serbian, easily making them the largest ethnic group in the country.

Serbs speak mainly the Ekavian subdialect of the Stokavian dialect of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language from the Slavic branch of Indo-European. Slovene, Macedonian (both spoken in other Yugoslav republics), and Bulgarian are the closest related languages. The Serbs still prefer the use of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, which differentiates them from the Croats who use the Latin alphabet. In recent years this situation has changed somewhat with street signs, bus routes, etc. being written in both scripts, but Cyrillic remains the alphabet of choice for official documents and newspapers.

Early Serbian migration into the then largely unpopulated Balkan peninsula dates to about A.D. 500-600. Moving south from the area adjacent to the Carpathian Mountains, these early settlers arrived with their flocks and herds. The first Serbian state dates to the middle of the ninth century. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, however, internal warfare had facilitated Ottoman conquest of the region. For the Serbs, this conquest is still symbolically remembered today by the defeat at Kosovo Polje (Kosovo Plain) in 1389. Modern settlement of the region dates to the 1700s and the wane of Ottoman power in the area. Prior to this time, much of the population had fled Ottoman conquest and remained in the Dinaric Alps to the west. By 1830, after years of continuous rebellion including the First Revolt of 1804 and Second Revolt in 1815, Turkey was forced to recognize Serbia as an autonomous principality. Serbia was later proclaimed an independent state in 1882, but it was not until 1918 that the first Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established. The modern socialist state of Yugoslavia emerged out of World War II and the concomitant civil struggle between Mihailovic's Chetniks and Tito's Partisans. Modern former Yugoslavia was an ethnically diverse and complicated state. Recent economic hardships coupled with political tensions have resulted in the flaring up of historical ethnic tensions between Croats and Serbs and between Muslims and Serbs. With the Croatian moves toward independence in 1990-91, full-scale civil war between Croatia and the Serbian-dominated Federal army erupted in the summer of 1991, after Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence. Also threatening at the present time are the tensions in the Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians fueled by growing Serbian nationalism. Yugoslavia is formally nonaligned.

Traditionally, neighborhoods or hamlets within villages were composed of closely related kin belonging to the same VAMILIJA (lineage). Today, however, the population of Serbia is predominantly urban: over the past decades a tremendous shift of population to urban centers has occurred. Only about one in every four Serbs now lives in the countryside. Peasant villages in the Sumadija tend to be dispersed in small clusters, with each house surrounded by its own orchards, fields, and outbuildings. Three other types of settlements are found also. Agglomerated villages, in which houses are crowded together along narrow, crooked streets, are found mainly in eastern and southern Serbia. The cross-road village, with its evenly spaced houses and well-planned appearance, can be seen near Belgrade and in the lower Morava Valley. Finally, the CIFLIK, walled and densely packed villages created by Turkish landlords during the period of Ottoman domination of the area, are found in southern Serbia near the Macedonian border. Houses ideally are made of brick and stucco with tile roofs. Wood dwellings, which were common historically, are considered inferior. A pattern of paying as you go in building, rather than financing through a mortgage, means that a new house sometimes takes years to build.

The pre-World War II economy was based primarily on subsistence agriculture with concentration on wheat and maize. Oats and barley are grown as market crops. Raising of pigs, cattle and sheep was also important. A typical diet historically consisted primarily of bread and a variety of stews in a lard base. Fruits and vegetables were normally available on a seasonal basis. Lamb was reserved for holidays and other festivities. Cheese is made and eaten, but milk is rarely drunk. (Kefir is more common.) An important change over the last few decades has been the switch to the use of sunflower oil in cooking.

Postwar modernization and urbanization have resulted in decreased dependence on agriculture. Most rural households have a diversified economic base which includes at least some wage earning. Some Serbian males (between four and five percent) work outside the country, predominantly in western European industry. Yugoslavia as a whole is noted for its labor policy of worker self-management.

Many people engage in part-time craft work, particularly in the manufacture of wood and metal utensils, tools, and furniture.

In addition to Western style stores and shopping centers, open air markets (PIJACA) with an array of fresh meats and produce, as well as handicrafts, are common.

An emerging social pattern is the so-called "feminization" of agriculture as households with male factory workers maintain a diversified resource base. Previously, labor tended to be divided into inside (female) and outside (male) activities. For example, baking, cheese-making, weaving, cleaning, and washing were almost exclusively female jobs while chopping wood and most agricultural tasks were men's work. In urban areas, a similar pattern of women working outside the household has also emerged.

Despite a Socialist government, the vast majority of land is held privately. Attempts in the late 1940s and early 1950s to socialize landholdings met with staunch peasant resistance and were eventually abandoned. Although a few large collectives remain, most peasants continue to work their own land. Current law limits private holdings to ten hectares, but contiguous holdings by different family members often allow joint working of larger parcels. Recently, the government has made some attempts to develop plans for reorganizing private holdings, which have become increasing fragmented, into more productive integrated holdings. This attempt has been poorly received.

The most important kinship group after the ZADRUGA, or extended family household, is the VAMILIJA (lineage). Tracing descent patrilineally from a common known ancestor, sharing a common last name, and having the same patron saint, a VAMILIJA nonetheless lack the corporate functions normally associated with true lineage structure. Lineages are exogamous, and the bonds created by marriages between them, are socially important. In addition, the fictive kin relationships created by godfatherhood (KUMSTVO) and blood brotherhood (POBRATIMSTVO) are important social ties. Descent is strictly agnatic and to die without male heirs is one of the worst personal tragedies that can befall a traditional Serbian peasant. Village society is built on the matrix of male kin relationships as expressed in lineage structures and the relationships between them. Knowledge of this matrix, and one's place in it, are important in knowing who you are and where you came from. It is common for rural men to be able to recall accurately several hundred living and deceased male relatives spanning eight, or even ten, generations.

Serbian kinship terminology is complicated and does not fit readily into conventional categories. On the first ascending generation, however, terminology is bifurcate-collateral for males and lineal for females. In general, terms for consanguineal kin are more specific than for affines. For example, a cover term, SNA or SNAJA, can be applied to all in-marrying females.

In rural Serbia where marriage and childbearing have remained important symbols of adult status, the age at marriage has remained low. Both men and women typically marry in their early twenties and immediately start a family. Postmarital residence is almost exclusively patrilocal. Matrilocal residence is a possibility only in cases where no sons are present. Such in-marrying males are commonly referred to as a DOMAZET. Traditionally, marriages were often arranged. In urban areas, where living space is less available, marriage may be delayed until later. Legal abortion is a principal means of birth control. Divorce has become increasingly common in the postwar era.

The ZADRUGA, or South Slavic extended family household, is the most prevalent rural domestic unit even to this day. Even in cities, domestic units often contain extended family members. Historically, ZADRUGAS consisted of married brothers, their wives and children. Households of ten or more members were common. These extended family households functioned as single units of production and provided a common defense. Normally, married brothers would remain together until after the death of their father, but as their own families matured, the household would be divided. Often this went so far as actually disassembling the dwelling and evenly dividing the building materials. Today these households are typically smaller and lineally, rather than laterally extended. Nonetheless, most rural Serbs continue to live in extended family households. There has not been the pattern of family nuclearization so often associated with modernization.

Historically, land inheritance was strictly through male lines of descent. Land was equally divided between a man's sons when the household was divided. Men without male heirs would frequently seek to find an in-marrying son-in-law (a practice counter to the norm of patrilocal residence). Post-World War II legal codes specify bilateral inheritance, although the laws are still frequently circumvented.

Corporal punishment is a common means of discipline. Emphasis has traditionally been placed on respect for adults and the aged, and on conformity to household goals. It is not uncommon today, however, to hear people complaining that children no longer respect their parents and often ignore their wishes.

The class structure of modern Serbia is occupational and simple. Some pure agriculturalists remain in rural areas, but most households combine agriculture with some wage earning. Landless working people also exist. Successful peasant agriculturalists may still be esteemed, but the urban upper commercial class now wields real political power.

Yugoslavia is a Socialist federated republic with separate heads of state and government. The Communist party as embodied in the National Front remained the principal political force in the country until the late 1980s. After Tito's death in 1980 and the establishment of a collective presidency to replace him, the head of the collective presidency had been rotated between members representing each republic and the two Serbian autonomous regions. By 1991, however, the central government was in danger of disintegrating and the national Communist party, under its old framework, had been dissolved. Late in 1991, Croatia and Slovenia withdrew from the republic and declared their independence. War between the Serb-dominated national army and Croatians has left Serbia in control of some territory within Croatia. The Serbian republic's government remains headed by ex-Communists, as of early summer 1992. Administrative divisions below the republic level have been reorganized several times since 1945. Below this level, however, the village and other local councils are important to local affairs. Village council members are locally elected and responsible for the exercise of federal and republic government policies at the local level, as well as deciding policy on local affairs. Membership in the Communist party is not a prerequisite to being elected.

Public opinion and tradition, coupled with a well-developed federal court system, are important to conflict resolution and the maintenance of conformity.

Serbian history is fraught with warfare, both internal and external. Centuries of war with the Turks is a common theme in traditional oral epic poetry, and is an important symbol of solidarity against the outside world. Serbia, and the former Yugoslavia as a whole, were decimated in both the First and Second World Wars.

Serbian Orthodoxy is the principal religion of Serbia. However, holiday (rather than weekly church attendance) is the norm. Easter is the most important general religious holiday. The saints are highly revered in Orthodoxy, and in Serbia each clan or lineage has its own patron saint from whom help may be solicited.

In addition to the village priest and Western medical facilities, help may also be solicited from a VRACARA, typically an older woman.

The most important holiday in addition to the church calendar is the SLAVA, or feast of the patron saint, held on the saint's day. Formerly, these were lavish affairs often lasting three days.

Serbian culture is noted both for its traditional oral epic poetry, recited with an accompanying GUSLE (a single horse hair string instrument stroked with a bow) and its naive art painting movement.

Modernization has meant increased access to Western medical facilities. Women now give birth in hospitals rather than at home. However, for some types of illnesses, help is still solicited from a VRACAR or VRACARA. Illness may be attributed to many causes, and self-diagnosis has been important to the decision to seek help from a folk practitioner or Western-style physician

Peasant society readily accepts death as part of life, but in contrast to church theology its concept of the afterlife was more one of a continued life in heaven. Funerals are held the day after death. The dead continue to serve an important integrative function both in terms of lineage recall and lineage solidarity. Large graveyard feasts traditionally are held one week, forty days, six months, and one year after the death (Halpern 1967:228).

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 Serbs file consists of thirty-five documents, thirty-three of which are in English and two are translations from Serbo-Croatian (Drobnjakovic: 1973 and Pavlovic: 1973). The most comprehensive coverage in the file is that provided by the husband and wife team of Joel M. Halpern and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern. Their fieldwork, which extended from the 1950s to the 1980s, focused primarily on the village of Orasac, a typical Serbian peasant community. Of their works, probably the best known is Joel Halpern's classic study entitled "A Serbian Village" (Halpern 1967, no. 25). This work is a general ethnography of the community of Orasac in the heart of traditional Old Serbia with a time depth extending from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. In addition to the above, other works by Joel Halpern stress historical and cultural change (Halpern 1986, no. 43; Halpern 1977, nos. 28, 39), and theory (Halpern 1986, no. 44). Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern's works concentrate on ethno-medicine (Halpern 1983, no. 29; Halpern 1989, no. 23), the economy (Halpern 1983, no. 29), linguistics (Halpern 1977, no. 40), oral literature (Halpern 1977, no. 41), ritual laments (Halpern 1981, no. 37), and memory recall (Halpern 1977, no. 42). For an earlier account of Serbian peasant ethnography the reader should consult Lodge's work in this file (Lodge 1941, no. 10), which presents data on cultural history and ethnography from 550 A.D. to 1939 A.D. Many of the other documents in this file also provide limited data on general Serbian ethnography as background to their specific studies, as for example Pavlovic (Pavlovic 1973, no. 19). The remaining monographs, articles, and essays in this file cover a wide range of topics including as major subjects such things as: religion (French 1942, no. 2; Filipovic 1954, no. 12); folk psychology and folk medicine (Kemp 1935, no. 5); the economy (Palairet 1977, no. 33; Palairet 1979, no. 34); kinship (Hammel 1957, no. 14; Hammel 1968, no. 16); the family (Hammel 1967, no. 13; Erlich 1966, no. 15; Hammel 1972, no. 21); nationalism (Hayden 1994, no. 20; Denich 1994, no. 35; Simic 1991, 36); literature (Foley 1976, no. 32); fertility and reproduction (Wagner 1992, no. 31); women's roles (Denich: 1977, no. 38); urban and rural life (Simic 1973, no. 26), and time, in relationship to economic and social development (Spangler 1979, no. 27). For more complete information on each of the works mentioned above, see the abstracts in the citations preceding each document.

This culture summary is from the article, "Serbs," by Richard A. Wagner in the Encyclopedia of World Cultures, Vol. 4. 1992. Linda A. Bennett, ed. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall & Co. The synopsis and indexing notes were prepared by John Beierle in June, 1996.

• BAJALICA -- female "shaman" -- category 756

• BRATSTVO -- brotherhood; an exogamous group whose members are, or consider themselves to be, descendants of a common ancestry; comparable to the Irish-Scottish "clan" -- categories 614, 613

• ESNAF -- craft guild -- category 467

• ethnic cleansing -- categories 726, 727

• genocide -- categories 726, 727

• KOLO -- a circle or line dance -- category 535

• KUCA -- house or household -- category 592

• KUM -- godfather, sponsor -- category 608

• KUMA -- godmother, sponsor -- category 608

• KUMSTVO -- godparenthood -- category 608

• MIRAZ -- land dowry -- categories 583, 423

• non-kin ZADRUGA -- category 592

• PLEME -- tribe -- category 619

• POBRATIMSTVO -- blood brotherhood -- category 608

• PORODICA -- nuclear family or immediate household -- categories 594, 592

• PRELO -- spinning bee; a gathering of girls and matrons; a traditional courtship institution -- categories 461, 584

• ROD -- kin group or "clan" -- category 613

• SELO -- village -- category 621

• SLAVA -- celebration -- category 796

• STARESINA -- household elder; head of ZADRUGA -- categories 592, 596, 554

• VAMILIJA -- lineage -- category 613

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

• ZDRUZENO (SLOZENO BRATSTVO) -- brotherhoods not related by blood -- categories 571, 592

Federal Statistical Office (1983). Statisticki Kalendar Jugoslavije (Statistical pocket book of Yugoslavia). Belgrade.

Halpern, Joel M. (1967). A Serbian Village. Rev. ed., illustrated. New York: Harper & Row.

Halpern, Joel M., and Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern (1986). A Serbian Village in Historical Perspective. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press. (Reissued with additions from the 1972 edition by Holt, Rinehart & Winston.)

Hammel, Eugene A. (1968). Alternative Social Structures and Ritual Relations in the Balkans. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Lodge, Olive (1941). Peasant Life in Jugoslavia. London: Seeley, Service & Co.

Simic, Andrei (1973). The Peasant Urbanites. New York: Seminar Press.