The Use of Oral Memory Traditions Embedded in Somatic Psychology Practices by South Slavic Female Survivors of War and War Crimes

Abstract

Interdisciplinary war trauma research suggests wars involving ethnic cleansing have debilitating and serious impacts on the physical and mental health of survivors. There has been a lack of focus on female-specific victimization, although female-driven cultural practices are altered as a result of traumatization. The South Slavic female survivors of the Balkan War partake in extensive cultural practices that have been shaped by their experiences of trauma. The current study used a qualitative approach to understand how women's traumatic experiences are manifested in and ameliorated by their oral memory traditions, or the cultural practice of sharing transgenerational information. Specifically, data from psychosomatic clinical sessions spanning a ten-year period were analyzed to identify how the somatic practice of the Kolo, or the round dance or sharing of information in a circle, has provided the women an outlet for their cultural expression and healing. Results are discussed in terms of psychosomatic themes that help us understand the effects of trauma.