THE SEVEN VILLAGES OF KARAŠEVO
Description: Maria Domaneanț from Carașova speaks in her South Slavic mother tongue karaševski about the origin and language of the Krashovans (Romanian: Carașoveni, Croatian: Krašovani), a Catholic minority in Romania who speak a New Shtokavian dialect of Croatian / Serbian, which is similar to the Torlak dialect. Maria recalls a theory according to which the Krashovans originate from Bosnia and refers to the seven villages that they inhabit today.
Cite as: Mi smo sédam séla u Karáševo – The seven villages of Karaševo; performer: Maria Domanianț, camera/ interview: Thede Kahl, Andreea Pascaru, transcription/ translation: Thede Kahl, Andreea Pascaru, Sabrina Tomić, editor: Sabrina Tomić, retrieved from www.oeaw.ac.at/VLACH, ID-number: kara1507ROV0002a.
COMMEMORATION OF THE FAMILY'S PATRON SAINT
Description: The Krashovans are Roman Catholics who declare themselves both as Croats, or as Serbs, or simply as Karaševci (Krashovans). They have retained some elements of probably Orthodox provenance, including the Julian calendar and the tradition of baptism celebration. The "sláven'e" among the Krashovans is the annual ceremony of the family and the veneration of its patron saint, a social event in where the family gathers at the patriarch’s house. It has initially replaced the pagan custom of house deity with a family patron saint. The custom can be found among Orthodox Serbs, who call it "slava", but also among other South Slavic populations (partially Bulgarians), Albanians and some smaller Greek and Romanian communities. In our short clip, the librarian of Carașova village quotes from a collection of church texts in Karashovan dialect. The example read is an expression of thanks for God, the saints (most common St. John the Baptist) and the elements. It was pronounced as a toast for the patron saint’s festival. Serbian "slava" was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in November 2014. The Catholic Church and its literature have influenced the language of the Krashovans, for example with some Ikavian forms which do not exist in their spoken language.
Cite as: Namen'án'e na sláven'u – Commemoration of the family's patron saint; performer: Iacob Domaneanț, camera/ interview: Thede Kahl, Andreea Pascaru, transcription/ translation: Andreea Pascaru, Sabrina Tomić, editor: Ani Antonova, retrieved from www.oeaw.ac.at/VLACH, ID- number: kara1507ROV0001a.