Bećarac

Bećarac is a humorous form of folk song, originally from rural Slavonia, Croatia, and eventually spreading to southern Hungary and the Vojvodina region of Serbia. Its name comes from the

Description#

Bećarac uses a strict form of couplet in trochaic decasyllable, always sung to the same music, played by a tamburitza orchestra, less common accordion or samica, and the best ones are spread and reused for later parties. Bećarci are often difficult to translate and to be understood by outsiders due to the use of puns, reference to local events and cultural allusions. For example, “Mala moja, visoki jablane / Je l’ ti mjesec vidio tabane?” literally translates to “My little one, tall apple tree / Has the moon seen your soles?”.

History#

It is believed that bećarac originated in the late 19th with the abolishment of the Croatian Military Frontier, a borderland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Friedrich Salomon Krauss, an ethnographer born in Požega, studied and collected around two thousand bećarac songs.

UNESCO’s protection#

In 2009, Croatia submitted the bećarac among others for inclusion in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. In 2010, the attempt was again unsuccessful, and English translations were made for better reference. In 2011, it was finally included on the list.

Bećarac museum#

In 2017, it was announced that a museum dedicated to bećarac would be opening in the town of Pleternica, Croatia. The concept was described by the director as contemporary museum which would tell the traditional heritage of bećarac in a modern setting. Due to bećarac being a vital part of the intangible cultural heritage of Croatia, 85% of the museum project was funded by the European Union, with expectations of it having a positive impact on the well-being of the town and the entire region.

External links#

*UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Genre family: Croatian folk music