Folk Culture and Communism
Back in April I had the unique opportunity to speak at the Slovak Embassy in Washington DC. I was invited by the Slovak-American Society of Washington DC to talk about my experiences in Slovakia and about my book. I thought a long time about what I wanted to talk about and in the end I gave a speech about the characteristics that I think make Slovaks unique from other European ethnicities.
The first characteristic I talked about is in my opinion is one of the most significant characteristics that separates Slovaks from other Europeans: the strong sense of folk culture. By folk culture I mean the music, dance, song, and art local to a particular region or country.
I knew Slovak folk culture was strong even before I stepped foot into Slovakia. After all, I danced for an amateur Slovak dance ensemble out of San Diego, California. If that’s not an example of the long the arm of Slovak folklorism, I don’t know what is.
Once after I was already living in Slovakia, I met a group of Germans in their 30’s who came every year to the Detva folk festival. When I asked one of them why he came he told me that “in Germany folk culture is for old people” and that he really thought the participation of young people in Slovak folk culture was amazing. That really stuck with me because I had never made that connection before and sure enough, if you are lucky enough to attend one of the summer folk festivals, you likely see a lot of young people in addition to the performers.
A very good Slovak friend of mine is an ethnologist and I asked her, how is it possible that folk culture is so strong in a country like Slovakia where in other neighboring countries like Austria or Germany, folk culture is considered “for old people”? She told me something that totally shocked me: thank the communists for it.
What?! The communists?!! What do they have to do with folk culture?
First I have to back up just a little. Folk culture was the way that predominantly rural Slovaks passed down their values and traditions from generation to generation. Since strong industrialization didn’t happen in Slovakia until the 1950s, Slovakia’s rural way of life remained unbroken for centuries and allowed for folk traditions and knowledge of these traditions to remain active.
Mirka, my ethnologist friend told me that the communists (in power from 1948 to 1989) believed folk culture was an important element of the education of, in her words, a “good socialist society”. She said the communists were afraid that, “the cosmopolitan thinking and opinions of the middle class would misorient the working class to admire the culture and art of foreign countries.” With encouraging interest in their own folk art, music, dance, etc, the attention is drawn to local and national traditions. So the communists were instrumental in organizing and shining a strong spotlight on local and national folk culture.
The government sponsored the creation of professional ensembles such as Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív (SL’UK) (translated as the “Slovak Folk Art Association” but they are a dance group), and Lúčnica. Both groups were established in the late 1940s and showcase Slovak folk dance at its most professional level (though not necessarily the most authentic). In addition to the professional groups, smaller groups were organized locally.
The promoting of folk dance and culture was a wonderful thing across all communist counties but the communist’s motives in part to promote their ideals diminish something. Still, it’s interesting. What else is interesting (and sneaky) is how the communists used folk-culture events to distract people from religion. What do I mean? The largest and most significant Slovak folk festival takes place at Východná. Not only do the best groups from Slovakia perform, but there is also amazing international performances as well. The festival takes place the first week in July every year and wouldn’t you know it, it takes place exactly at the same time as the most important annual Catholic pilgrimage from the town of Levoča to the Mariánska hora – the chapel on Marian Hill. Several Slovaks mentioned this to me, by the way. This is not me simply making an observation.
One last thing: I chose the photograph that is the cover of my book because it a perfect example of strong folk culture, and the photo is totally authentic. It was taken in a small village north of the Tatras, just south of Poland. Several young people got dressed up in their traditional kroj- folk costumes to celebrate the last day of fašiangy. No one asked these guys to dress up, or to play an instrument and dance, or to pose for a picture. They were participating in a cultural event that happens every year and the photographer, my friend L’ubomir just happened to take an amazing picture. That’s an image of Slovak folk culture at its finest.
Note: The photograph of the woman in the head dress was taken by Tomáš Nehera and posted from www.slovakia.travel.sk
