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The folk tradition
dubrovnik neretvA CountY
The people of Dubrovnik and the surrounding regions
proudly maintain their folk tradition, which you can still
see at festivals, folklore performances, and processions
on feast days; in museums and sometimes even on your
waiter in rural restaurants. Every region, and in some cases
every settlement had its own style of folk attire, which often
showed the social status of the wearer. So, for example,
in Konavle, where the tradition is perhaps strongest to
this day, unmarried girls wore red pillbox hats decorated
with gold braid, while married women wore stiffly starched
headscarves shaped like horns, to scare their menfolk into
submission, we presume.
The costumes, mainly in white, red and black fabrics, were
decorated with embroidery, particularly on decorative
fabric breastplates with gold silk tassels on women, and
waistcoats and cummerbunds on men. Silk was produced
and coloured at home. On special occasions, people wore
fine velvets and silks richly embroidered with gold thread, a
style influenced by Dubrovnik’s excellent trading links with
the nearby Ottoman Empire. Luxurious clothes indicated
the wealth of the owner, but rich folk lent fine clothes to
poorer neighbours to ensure a good celebration.
Jewellery has for centuries been a way for women in
particular to invest their wealth. Dubrovnik at its zenith,
had many goldsmiths and silversmiths who, in addition
to adorning the city’s churches and palaces also made
jewellery, an integral part of folk costume. You can still buy
traditional earrings in gold or silver filigree, large hoops or
drop earrings adorned with baubles. If you’d like to take
home an original Dubrovnik souvenir, you can also find tiny
backstreet workshops where women produce tablecloths,
bags, purses, pictures, slippers and more embellished with
traditional embroidery.
dubrovnik.inyourpocket.com
On your travels around the region, you can see many
more facets of folk culture. If you’re on Korčula island,
you may meet a procession of drummers in medieval
costume on their way to a performance of the traditional
Moreška sword dance (performed across the region in
high summer). And if you’re lucky enough to be on distant
Lastovo in the two days before Ash Wednesday, you’ll
see the Poklad festival, eagerly awaited every year by the
islanders, and a riot of fun, celebrating the salvation of the
island from attack by Catalan pirates in 1483. The men
dress in scarlet traditional costumes with embroidered
sashes and hats decked with more flowers than Ladies
Day at Ascot – a truly unique experience!
Linđo
The folk tradition is very much connected with music
and dance. During the Dubrovnik Summer Festival you
will surely have the chance to see Linđo, Dubrovnik’s
foremost folk troupe, going strong since 1964. The
region’s folk music is centred around a one-stringed
instrument called a Ljerica. Legend has it that one
Niko Lale was an especially talented player even
though one of his fingers was broken. One day, he
had enough of working in the fields and screamed “No
more farming for me!” – oddly, in perfect English. From
then on he was a full time party animal and became
known as Linđo.
Winter 2011/2012
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