No abstract

Grazing has proven to be a successful management tool in terms of the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity. Sheep and pastoralism can provide a various set of ecosystem services, i.e., benefits for humans from the environment. The Silesian Beskids, the westernmost part of the Carpathian Mountains, is an area with a long tradition of pastoralism. Since the 13th century, sheep have grazed clearings located in forests and in large areas of grasslands in mountains. In this study, we tried to identify all possible aspects of provisional, regulating and cultural services provided by sheep and the pasturage tradition bearing in mind the specificity of this region. The biodiversity maintenance and habitat creation due to grazing and the cultural values of pastoralism was illustrated using a literature review of data concerning cultural heritage, tourism and education and using our own phytosociological field studies performed in nine vegetation types within grazing sites. In order to examine the impact of grazing, an observation of sheep’s daily grazing activity during the vegetation season using tractive GPS locators was conducted. The results showed that grazing has a positive impact on the maintenance of vegetation including EU-protected habitats. In addition, the pastoral activity introduced to the Beskids by the Vlachs contributed to the development of a specific highlander culture that continues to this day. Not all potential ecosystem services associated with the use of sheep are realized in the study area. Amongst the provisional services, sheep bones are not used while dairy is the most popular followed by meat. In turn, the cultural heritage of pastoralism is one of the most important drivers for the touristic attraction of Silesian Beskid.

Streszczenie: Celem opracowania jest ukazanie współczesnych przemian tożsamości Wiślan z Ostojićeva (Banat, Serbia), które są bezpośrednio związane ze zmianami organizacyjnymi zachodzącymi w grupie etnicznej. Przedstawione są aspekty funkcjonowania stowarzyszeń kulturalno-artystycznych, których działalność wpływa na redefinicję tożsamości tej społeczności mniejszościowej w środowisku wieloetnicznym. Jako że wieś Ostojićevo jest obszarem o zróżnicowanej strukturze etnicznej, dochodzi do nieustannych negocjacji granic między grupami ludzi o różnej przynależności etnicznej. Interakcje pomiędzy nimi prowadzą w efekcie do przemian zarówno na płaszczyźnie organizacyjnej grupy, jak i w wymiarze symbolicznym, na płaszczyźnie identyfikacji. Tekst został opracowany na podstawie badań terenowych przeprowadzonych w Ostojićevie w listopadzie 2016 roku.Słowa kluczowe: tożsamość, grupa etniczna, relacje interetniczne, stowarzyszenie, dziecięcy zespół folklorystyczny Summary: The aim of this study is to show the contemporary transformations of identity of minority ethnic group whose ancestors came from Wisła (Silesia, Poland) to Ostojićevo (Banat, Serbia) in the 19 th century. Those changes of identity are directly related to the organizational changes taking place in this ethnic group today. I show the aspects of the cultural and artistic associations, whose activities affect the redefinition of the identity of this minority community in a multiethnic environment. The village of Ostojićevo lies an area which has a diverse ethnic structure, so the boundaries between groups of people are constantly negotiated. Interactions between them lead in effect to changes both in the organizational group and, in the symbolic dimension, at the level of identification. The article is based on field research conducted in Ostojićevo in November 2016.

The Role of Language in Releasing from Inherited Traumas. Negotiations of the Social Position of the Silesian Minority in Serbian Banat The aim of the paper is to show the dependence between language, collective memory (also post-memory) and sense of identity. This issue is analysed using the example of an ethnic minority living in the village of Ostojićevo (Banat, Serbia) called ‘Toutowie.’ Their ancestors came in the 19th century from Wisła (Silesian Cieszyn, Poland); they left their homes because of great hunger and were looking for jobs in Banat. Narratives about the past contain traumatic experiences of the past generations transmitted in the Silesian dialect and constituting communicative memory. At the same time, a new Polish national identity is being constructed, supported by institutions and authorities; it carries a new image of the world and creates a new cultural memory. This new identity – shaped on the basis of national categories – leads to changes of its self-identification and gives the opportunity to raise its social position in the multi-ethnic Banat community.

Recenzja publikacji: Barbara Żebrowska-Mazur, Słowny ludowy folklor dziecięcy. Część 1: Istota folkloru dziecięcego, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków 2020.