Petar Klepac/Peter Klepec/Pitr Kljepc: A Borderland Hero and the Manifestations of his Strength

Abstract

Storytelling and mythology are as old as humanity. According to some scholars the role of myths is "to unify the groups, tribes, nations or other entities where they are being told around certain common ideas, values and orientations" (Stugu 2003). Nations, in particular, need a unifying element, which they usually fi nd in mythology, where the character of the hero often embodies desirable characteristics of the nation. Since mythology knew no boundaries until "the birth" of nation-states, some heroes are shared by more than one nation. One such hero is Petar Klepac (in Croatian)/Peter Klepec (in Slovenian)/ Pitr Kljepc (in local dialects), a hero of the Kupa and Čabranka Valley in the Slovenian-Croatian border region, who still appears in the local narrative tradition. He is a mighty hero with a "dual citizenship" and hero legends about him are part of the heterogeneous intangible heritage of the valley. The subject of this article is the strength of this folklore hero, manifestations of his strength in the border region, as well as, more broadly, in the folklore and literary heritage throughout the territories of both countries, his diverse roles in the creation and mobilization of identities and in tourism promotion.

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“…Sangkuriang's magical power is told to shape several landscapes in Bandung and is believed to be the origin of Mount Tangkuban Parahu, which attracts the attention of tourists. Similarly, other heroes with powers in Croatia and Slovenia are remembered and used as tourism promotions in an area called the Kupa Valley (Moric & Lewis, 2018).…”

“…The existence of Mount Tangkuban Parahu, a mountain that resembles an overturned boat, can shape the imagination of tourists about the story behind it. Based on the study by Moric & Lewis (2018), the existence of Mount Tangkuban Parahu is a physical manifestation of a fictional oral tradition in the form of the continuity of a story with a place. The story behind a place is usually related to a toponym, site, or landscape object (Svborg & Valk, 2018;Sofield et al, 2017).…”

“…legends, myths, or fairy tales. The myth of the Wind Lion in China (Tsai & Chen, 2019), the history of Peter Klepac in Croatia and Slovenia (Moric & Lewis, 2018), and perhaps the most famous the story of Robin Hood in England (Everett & Parakoottathil, 2018) have successfully helped the development of tourism in each respective region. It shows that the existence of folklore as oral literature in several areas has been utilized in tourism development.…”

“…It shows that the existence of folklore as oral literature in several areas has been utilized in tourism development. It cannot be separated from the tourism products offered, so folklore becomes a valuable resource for promoting destinations, increasing economic potential, and attracting tourists (Everett & Parakoottathil, 2018;Ironside & Massie, 2020;Moric & Lewis, 2018). Tourism and folklore have deep links from a theoretical and applied point of view, which are multidisciplinary and have the potential to address sociocultural and socio-economic problems in society (Chakraborty, 2011).…”

“…Research on efforts to integrate folklore into tourism is not new in the literature. Some studies have focused on development strategies, challenges and opportunities, presentation methods, destination image, tourist satisfaction, and experience while others have discussed causal relationships between constructions (Hemme, 2005;Ironside & Massie, 2020;Kutin & Telban, 2021;Lovell, 2019;Moric & Lewis, 2018;Qiu & Zhang, 2021). Nevertheless, very few studies have addressed the issue of tourists' responses to the existence of the Sangkuriang story and its relationship to the physical condition of Mount Tangkuban Parahu.…”