THE SAINT’S FEAST AND SKOPSKA CRNA GORAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE D. B. Rugusorrom University of Manchester The slava is an important ceremony in parts of Yugoslavia. The term ‘slava’ refers to a class of ceremonies, and the purpose of this article is to determine their meaning and im- portance in peasant thought and social life. The article begins by contrasting the slava with other types of ceremonies found within a single region of Yugoslav Macedonia. This is done in order to isolate its distinctive features which are shown to be (1) a focus on certain Eastern Orthodox saints; (2) an emphasis on the symbols of openness, peace, and community in slava ritual and belief; and (3) a special relationship between certain categories of hosts and guests at slava feasts. Once the common features have been isolated, the analysis proceeds to con- trast one type of slava with another. The central meaning of the ceremony is thus revealed through this systematic examination of similarities and differences. I In this article I offer an interpretation of the slava, a ritual of great importance among the Serbs of Yugoslavia.! This celebration is one of the high points in the year’s activities and it is the focus of great anticipation. Villagers begin their preparations months in advance for they expect guests from far and wide. On this occasion many city residents will return to their country birthplace and separated relatives will reunite. This is also an occasion when the prestige of household and village is at stake. But while it is clear that the slava is a signal event, it is by no means obvious why the slava is such a momentous occasion or what gives it such special significance for local participants. In attempting to uncover its inner mean- ing, we must consider certain features of slava symbolism and explore some of the connexions between categories of ceremonies and certain social categories. I begin by examining the prevailing interpretations of the slava, Since my own differs from these interpretations in important respects, it will help to orient the analysis to suggest where these differences lie. There are a number of richly detailed descriptions of the slava in the ethno- graphic literature. But since many of these are published in Serbo-Croatian, they are not easily accessible to most social anthropologists. Many have been published in the Srpski Emografski Zbornik, an excellent series of studies devoted to ethnology and human geography. Now numbering almost one-hundred volumes, this series is the product of almost a century of meticulous Yugoslav scholarship.? It is a rich storehouse of information, yet since it is devoted largely to questions of origin, the movement of populations, and to folk life, it provides only limited answers to the questions of social anthropology. I draw upon it primarily for descriptive detail. ‘Man (N.S.) 14, 18-34.D. B. RHEUBOTTOM 19 In English there are a number of references to the slava, but no detailed analysis has been published and only a few descriptive passages are of any length (cf. Maxwell 1891: 65-72; Halpern & Halpern 1972: 110-15; Lodge 1941: 227-32). One interpretation suggested in this literature holds that the slava is a survival from pre- Christian times when each descent group had its own particular deity. This may be true but it does not account for the persistence of the celebration or for its special significance in present-day village life. In a second interpretation the slava is understood to be, as Eugene Hammel has defined it, a ‘Feast of the patron saint of a household or lineage’ (1968: 99). Let us begin with the second relationship, that between the saint and his client lineage. Now in the villages it is common to find that all the households of a single lineage hold their slavas (slava, sg.; slave, pl.) on the same day. The correspondence is not perfect, however, since the members of one lineage might hold different slavas for different saints (Halpern 1956: 238; Hammel 1968: 21). Similarly, several different lineages may slava the same saint. But on the basis of the close association between lineage membership and slava celebration, the inference has been drawn that the slava symbolises common descent (Halpern & Halpern 1972: 110; Hammel 1968: 21; Simié 1973: 117). In Skopska Crna Gora, the region in Yugoslav Macedonia where my field inquiries were made, four different types of slava were celebrated. Only one of these, the household slava, could possibly symbolise common descent. The others —the village slava, church slava, and monastery slava—have no association with lineages and the notion of descent. If we are to understand properly the significance of the slava, then our interpretation must embrace all the ceremonial occasions included in this category, not just one. The four types of slava are not peculiar to Skopska Crna Gora. Several authorities have made reference to them, but their interpretation concerns only the household variety (Halpern 1956: 237; Lodge 1941: 232). But with this objection noted, can we conclude that the household slava might still recognise the lineage patron and symbolise common descent? I do not think so. It is true that the obligation to hold the household slava is transmitted from father to son in the same manner as lineage affiliation. But the correspondence between lineage membership and slava celebration does not demonstrate either common descent or saintly patronage for the lineage. If that is to be demonstrated, then we might expect to find the several houscholds of the lineage coordinating their activities for the slava celebration. We might also expect to find lineage representa tives performing rites to the saint on behalf of the lineage. Or, to take a final example, we might expect that villagers would refer to the event by a term which translates as ‘lineage slava’. But none of these expectations is met. On this basis I do not think it is warranted to interpret even the household slava as a lineage rite. Therefore as a descriptive statement, it is misleading to say that the slava is the feast of the patron saint of the household or lineage. The statement is also in- adequate as an interpretation. It leaves unexplored the relationship between the saint and the client unit. We should expect our analysis of the slava to place these celebrations firmly in their religious context. I do not think it acceptable to treat the religious aspects of the slava as decorative frosting on the cake of social organi- sation,20 D. B. RHEUBOTTOM. I In this article I begin by contrasting the slava with other types of ceremonies. By proceeding in this fashion, I will isolate a number of features which are shared by all types of slava, As we shall sce, some features are also shared by other types of ceremonies, but the entire cluster is unique to the slava and gives it, as it were, a distinctive stamp. There is a common theme which runs through this cluster of features and gives the slava its special significance. Then, after exploring the similarities, I will contrast one type of slava with another to see how these differences add to our understanding. Given the turbulent history of the Balkans and the different threads that run through its social and cultural fabric, it does not surprise us that each region is both similar to, and different from, its neighbours. The entire area is a glorious display of overlapping themes and variations. It should occasion no surprise, therefore, that the details of the slava in Skopska Crna Gora—the region where this study was conducted—should differ in some respects from the slava elsewhere. ‘The region of Skopska Crna Gora lies just to the north of Skopje, the capital of Yugoslav Macedonia. As one leaves the city and travels due north, the road climbs gradually through rolling countryside until it reaches a semi-circle of hills and mountains. These separate Skopska Crna Gora from Serbia and Kosovo-Metohija to the north, and from the Kumanovo plain to the east. Most of the eleven nucle- ated villages abut against the foothills of the mountains and their fields point in, like ‘spokes’, towards the ‘hub’ of Skopje. About 9,000 people live in these villages. They are peasant cultivators who grow wheat and other cereals, beans, tomatoes, peppers, grapes, and a variety of other produce. Some households also keep herds of sheep in the mountain pastures. Cra Gorci, as they are known locally, are divided into two groups. On the one side are the ‘Serbs’ who claim to speak Serbo-Croatian, on the other are the ‘Macedonians’ who speak Macedonian. The differences between them are said to be sharp and clear. They concern language, dress, level of ‘civilisation’, trust- worthiness, tendency to commit violence, and so on. While these differences are of great significance within the region, outsiders find them trivial and amusing. At this point it is sufficient to note that most villages are either all Serbian or all Macedonian although there are a few villages that contain groups of each. Cra Gorci are also divided into a number of named, exogamous patriclans. ‘With very few exceptions, all clansmen live within a single village. All Crna Gorci, however, are Eastern (Macedonian) Orthodox. The region is richly en- dowed with churches and monasteries of great antiquity. Their frescoes have been painstakingly restored by the Yugoslav government for these are of great signifi- cance for the history of art. Because of this the government has plans to develop the region as a tourist attraction.3 it The saints Crna Gorci distinguish several kinds of celebrations. One broad category in- cludes all those celebrations that occur irregularly. Weddings and baptisms are examples of this type. A second broad category includes annual observances such as Christmas, the ‘Days of the Souls’, slavas, and so on. As these examples indicate,