Traditional Istrian folk customs, old crafts and folk beliefs

Način života nekadašnjih seljaka u Istri razlikovao se uvelike od današnjeg, ali zahvaljujući sačuvanim podacima iz tog razdoblja moguće je stvoriti sliku o tome kako je nekad izgledalo živjeti na istarskom selu. Veliku ulogu u životu imali su narodni običaji, koji su ustaljeni načini ponašanja, karakteriziraju neku određenu zajednicu te obilježavaju život, odnosno čine nematerijalnu baštinu jednog naroda. Dijele se prema trima vrstama, a to su godišnji, gospodarski i životni. Radi se o običajima za Božić, Uskrs i ostale svetkovine i blagdane tijekom godine, o običajima o pokladno vrijeme, običaje vezane uz načine sadnje usjeva i brige o njima, njihovu zaštiti od tuče i nevremena i ostalih nepogoda, običaje pri svatovima, pogrebu i rođenju djeteta i sl. Osim narodnih običaja, okosnicu istarskih života činila je poljoprivreda i briga o svojim domaćim životinjama, za što su koristili alate koje su sami izrađivali tradicionalnim starim zanatima, naučenih od svojeg oca ili djeda, majke ili bake. Riječ je tu o drvodjelstvu te ukrašavanju drvenih predmeta u kući, obradi kamena i željeza, kulinarstvu, odnosno narodnim jelima i pićima čiji su se recepti sačuvali i do današnjeg dana. Da bi imali što odjenuti i čime se pokriti, često su sami tkali svoju odjeću i pokrivače, a zanimljivost je da su u Istri tkale i žene i muškarci. Nakon izvršavanja svojih dnevnih obveza, svoje su slobodno vrijeme upotpunjavali i pričama o fantastičnim bićima koja žive tajnim životom u njihovoj zajednici. Često su ta nadnaravna bića okrivljavali za bolesti i nepogode koje su ih snašle, kako njih i stoku, tako i usjeve i plodove, a s obzirom na plodnu prošlost o životima tih bića, danas mjesta diljem Istre prema vlastitim narodnim predajama kreiraju priče i turističke ture prema njima. Osebujan život istarskih seljaka u prošlosti ostavio je dio svakodnevice i današnjim ljudima Istre. Nerijetko se ljudi drže određenih narodnih običaja, čuvaju stare predmete i alate prethodnih generacija, spremaju tradicionalnu hranu, govore o postojanju fantastičnih bića, valoriziraju te priče i tako čuvaju bogatu nematerijalnu baštinu od zaborava.The way of life of people who lived in Istrian villages in the past differed on many levels from the life that people in Istrian villages live now, but with the help of the preserved data from those past times, it is possible to imagine what it was like. Folk customs played a major role in their lives and since such customs represent the established ways of living typical of a certain region, thus marking one’s life, they constitute intangible heritage of a nation. Folk customs are divided into three types – annual, field related ones and life customs. To be more precise, these are customs for Christmas, Easter and other holidays throughout the year, customs related to the methods of planting crops and caring for them, protecting them from hail, storms and other disasters, customs at weddings, funerals, births and the like. In addition to folk customs, the backbone of Istrian life in the past was agriculture and caring for domestic animals, for which Istrian villagers used tools that they made by themselves utilizing traditional old crafts learnt from their fathers or grandfathers, mothers or grandmothers. This implied carpentry and the decorating of wooden objects for the house and the field, working with stone and iron, preparing traditional dishes and beverages whose recipes have been preserved to this day. In order to have something to wear and cover themselves with at night, they often wove their own clothes and blankets, and it is interesting that both women and men wove in Istria. After having completed their daily duties, villagers would spend their free time telling stories about fantastic creatures living secret lives in their communities. It was often the case that these supernatural beings were blamed for the diseases and disasters that had struck the community, its animals, crops and fruits. Given the fact that the stories about the lives of these creatures were numerous, today, throughout Istria, there are festivals, events and tours based on the storytelling technique created in order to familiarize everyone with such past. The distinctive and unique life of Istrian villagers in the past has left a fraction of its everyday life to the people of Istria today. People frequently stick to certain folk customs, preserve old objects and tools from the previous generations, cook traditional dishes, talk about the existence of fantastic creatures, cherish these stories and, in doing so, prevent the rich intangible heritage from falling into oblivion