Podpoľanie (Regionálna materiálna kultúra: východiská pre súčasnú prax 1) [Podpoľanie

Abstract

Kinces reviews Podpol'anie (Regionálna materiálna kultúra: východiská pre súcasnú prax 1) [Podpol'anie (Regional Material Culture: The Basis for Contemporary Practice 1)] by Zuzana Benusková and Veronika Kotradyová.

ZUZANA BEŇUŠKOVÁ, VERONIKA KOTRADYOVÁ Podpoľanie (Regionálna materiálna kultúra: východiská pre súčasnú prax 1 [Podpoľanie (Regional Material Culture: The Basis for Contemporary Practice 1) Bratislava: SPEKTRUM STU and IESA SAS, 2023, 80 p.

The regional publication Podpoľanie authored by two professors, ethnologist Zuzana Beňušková and designer Veronika Kotradyová (Beňušková, Kotradyová, 2023), represents the first and boldly pioneering publication output of the interdisciplinary project IDENTITA SK (Identity Slovakia), which has been gaining momentum for several years.1 This publication offers a fresh perspective on Slovakia's material culture, highlighting the "authorisation" of its regional specifics for both contemporary and future design use and new applications in this area. Upon first glance, the reader might ask: What challenges can the interconnection of design and material culture in its regional reflections present in this publication?

The research on Podpoľanie was designed in alignment with the overarching focus of the IDENTITA SK project.e study encompasses various aspects, including nature and traditional agriculture; architecture and construction; cras, design, and employment; catering and traditional cuisine; and culture, which are meticulously documented and described to capture the origins of this unique central Slovak region.e exploration of these topics forms the main framework for the core text, which is divided into the following chapters:Historical Context; People and the Environment; and,e Sources of Sustainability of Traditional Culture and Landscape. e latter chapter, representing the primary focus of the publication, underscores the research's emphasis on the "living" manifestations of the region's material culture.

An essential parameter of any research is its territorial or spatial embeddedness. While the project itself, aware of the instability of the regional organisation, can be criticised in some cases (current and retrospective) for the insufficient cultural and regional division of Slovakia (emphasis on historical regions and, for example, in the region of Dolné Považie, overlap with its geographical definition Between the Carpathians and the Váh River) - despite the existing, relatively solid theoretical and source base of Slovak ethnologists on Slovakia's cultural regionalisation (Mojmír Benža,2 Ján Podolák,3 Adam Pranda,4 Soňa Švecová5), the publication addresses this aspect with precision and appropriateness (at the expected level of cities and municipalities). This is undoubtedly due also thanks to the long-term work of co-author Zuzana Beňušková, who is dedicated to the cultural regionalisation of Slovakia (Beňušková et al., 2005).

The selection of the Podpoľanie region was both a double-edged sword and a significant challenge. On one hand, the region of Central Slovakia has been extensively documented over the years, providing the authors with a wealth of resources. On the other hand, this extensive documentation places them in a professionally challenging situation, requiring a careful assessment of the existing literature and the application of relevant heuristics. This challenge is further compounded, as the publication itself notes, by the fact that "several very specific cultural manifestations of Podpoľanie have become symbols of Slovakia"(Beňušková, Kotradyová, 2023: 7).

I acknowledge that the authors, in their efforts to identify the cultural identity of the Podpoľanie region, considered both narrower and broader concepts of the territorial definitions of regions. After all, such an approach is necessary, as seen in the neighbouring region of Horehronie. Although I do not fully agree with the inclusion of municipalities in the Starohorské vrchy area within the "wider Podpoľanie" concept - due to the mining context of these municipalities and their connection to the city of Banská Bystrica, in contrast to the agricultural traditions of Podpoľanie municipalities since the Wallachian colonisation - I appreciate the consideration of interregional contacts between Podpoľanie and neighbouring cultural regions. The controversial question remains the extent to which it is possible to discuss common features of a homogeneous region versus the products of mutual influence between neighbouring regions, such as the use of lace in Staré Hory in traditional Podpoľanie clothing.

The publication, which closely resembles a monograph, provides a concise yet comprehensive examination of various aspects of the region, including demography, historical heritage, cultural context, natural conditions, and social aspects of people's lives and their specifics. With a focus on architecture and urbanism - particularly in the urban environments of

Detva and Hriňová - as well as agriculture and industry, the publication offers thorough evaluations. Separate and adequate attention is given to scattered settlements on the Podpoľanie hillsides and to regional uniqueness, such as the terraced fields of Hriňová (which resisted managed soil collectivisation during the socialist period) and folk carved wooden crosses.

The publication exemplifies an active research approach, engaging various regional stakeholders including local farmers, craftsmen, vendors and advocates of folk art, as well as active citizens and their associations. It also acknowledges the contemporary relevance of regional gastronomy, which, along with dialect as a linguistic-geographical phenomenon, emerges as crucial for forming new regional identities or reinforcing longstanding ones.

The authors prudently highlight the semantic distinction between "detviansky"(referring to Detva origin) and "podpoliansky"(referring to Podpoľanie origin), addressing the semantic challenges and aligning with current approaches outlined in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. They also recognise locally represented protected geographical indications. Leveraging regional resources, the research considers the existence of smaller, purpose-built associations of local governments such as the Podpoľanie Local Action Group, the Northern Podpoľanie Microregion, and the Regional Tourism Organisation of Tourist Novohrad and Podpoľanie.

The IDENTITA SK project marks the beginning of several publications poised to offer a contemporary portrayal of the vitality, strength, and significance of cultural self-determination in Slovakia's regions, focusing primarily on specific (mostly material) elements. A notable discrepancy arises when comparing the project's declaration of 19 regions or regional areas on its official website with the introduction in the publication Podpoľanie. Here, it is revealed that short-term field research conducted during the 2018-2019 period covered "only" eight regions and part of a ninth (Gemer, Hont, Horehronie, Liptov, Orava, Podpoľanie, Šariš, Záhorie, northern Zemplín - which in terms of nomenclature, it is more appropriate to refer to it as Horný Zemplín).

In addition to its practical paperback format, the publication is readily accessible online through the Slovak Academy of Sciences' website, with a functional link also available on the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences' website. The core text of the publication is appropriately complemented by a wealth of accompanying photo documentation, strategically integrated into relevant sections of the text.

In conclusion, this publication successfully achieves the authors' objective of defining the identity of the Podpoľanie cultural region through vibrant and enduring expressions of its material culture. I recommend last year's debut project,Podpoľanie, to both professionals and the general public as a valuable contribution to documenting the cultural realities of Slovakia's regions.

MARTIN LUKÁČ KINČEŠ, Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology SAS

Footnote

1 Official website of the IDENTITA SK project: https://www.projektidentita.sk/ (accessed June 2, 2024).

2 Benža, M. (2011). Regionalizácia Slovenska.Kontexty kultúry a turizmu,2, 13-19.

3 Podolák, J. (1957). Etnografické oblasti na území Slovenska ako podklad k monografiám o ľudovom staviteľstve.Slovenský národopis,5(5), 529-537.

4 Pranda, A. (1966). K otázke vzniku oblastí ľudovej kultúry na Slovensku.Slovenský národopis,14(4), 511-562.

5 Švecová, S. (1988). Etnografické skupiny na Slovensku.Národopisné informácie,2, 7-102.

References

REFERENCES

Benža, M. (2011). Regionalizácia Slovenska.Kontexty kultúry a turizmu,2, 13-19.

Beňušková, Z. a kol. (2005).Tradičná kultúra regiónov Slovenska. Bratislava: VEDA - vydavateľstvo Slovenskej akadémie vied.

Beňušková, Z., Kotradyová, V. (2023).Podpoľanie (Regionálna materiálna kultúra: východiská pre súčasnú prax 1). Bratislava: SPEKTRUM STU a ÚESA SAV, v. v. i. Available at: https://doi.org10.31577/2023.9788022753678.

Podolák, J. (1957). Etnografické oblasti na území Slovenska ako podklad k monografiám o ľudovom staviteľstve.Slovenský národopis,5(5), 529-537.

Pranda, A. (1966). K otázke vzniku oblastí ľudovej kultúry na Slovensku.Slovenský národopis, 14(4), 511-562.

Švecová, S. (1988). Etnografické skupiny na Slovensku.Národopisné informácie,2, 7-102.

Internet sources:

Official website of the IDENTITA SK project: https://www.projektidentita.sk/ (accessed June 2, 2024).