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Foto: Ante Gašpar
Piše: Paul Bradbury
Discover the Rich UNESCO Heritage ‘Behind the Mountain’ in Zagora
By Paul Bradbury
Away from the beach Dalmatia offers a wealth of diversity in the relatively undiscovered hinterland of Zagora. It is a region of outstanding natural beauty or mountains, rivers, lakes and exansive plains, as well as a place of tradition and heritage, some of which has been captured by the UNESCO list of intangible heritage.
Foto: Zoran Alajbeg
This is a region with a proud history and tradition, and nowhere is there better demonstrated perhaps than with by the Sinj Alka, a unique knights’ tournament which takes place every August, attracting some of Croatia’s top dignitaries, including the president itself. Next year will mark 300 years of the famous lifting of the Siege of Sinj, and the annual Alka tournament was named Croatia’s top cultural event in 2012.
Dalmatia, of course, is a magical land of song, and its world-famous musical contribution is klapa, A Capella singing with themese of love, longing and the sea, which are performed usually (but not always) by male groups. The klapa of Dalmatia was inscribed as UNESCO intangible heritage in 2012.
Zagora has more specific musical heritage which has been recognised by UNESCO, and the Ojkanje two-part singing from Vrlika and Knin is performed by two or more singers (male or female) using a distinctive voice-shaking technique created by the throat. Each song lasts as long as the lead singer can hold his or her breath.
Foto : Branko Čović
From unique singing to unique dance, the Nijemo Kolo is practised by communities in Inland Dalmatian. Performed in a closed circle with male dancers leading female partners in energetic, spontaneous steps, the male dancer publicly tests the skills of his female partner, seemingly without defined rules. The defining feature of the silent circle dance is that it is performed exclusively without music, although vocal or instrumental performances may precede or follow the dance.
A world away from the beach, inland Dalmatia offers the traveller a throwback in time, to a world away from modern life, where time in communities has stood still. Dalmatia is changing, albeit slowly, and now presents a great opportunity to experience this exceptional region.
This post is also available in: Croatian
