A way toward Dužijanca

Abstract

This paper discusses possible methodological inquires related to research about dužijanca, a specific ancient ritual/magic complex of behavior dedicated to ensure grain prosperity and productivity in the minicipalities of Subotica and Sombor. Some of the key moments/years important to this ritual are: 1911, 1948, 1968, 1993, and 2006. In time, the ritual, in the past reserved for the fields and families involved, altered to become to a more open, public ceremony-type, to be exercised in public places, such as a village, city or club event, or even with Church participation. Customarily, it is performed by the members of the Bunjevac group, or Croatian Bunjevacs and gerontological clubs. These clubs members belong mostly to the Bunjevacs groups. The ritual itself is always a parameter for the local but also global social relationships. In this paper, I propose eight separate methodological phases in the research of this ritual, in order to gain a better understanding of the same. This methodology suggests wider comparative, ethnological and linguistic research of the South-Slavic, Slavic, European and non-European people who are familiar/celebrate the ritual; also, the methodology proposes historical, functional and meaning-related research of dužijanca in the northern and middle Backa region during the 20th and 21st centuries.