Page 336 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 336
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
Introduction
The present article has two aims concerning the perception and research of
peasant economic activities in Slovenian ethnology. The first research qu-
estion regards the use of the concept, “economic industriousness” (gospo-
darska prizadevnost) in Slovenian ethnology. This concept was used in re-
cent Slovene literature of the agrarian economic activities even before it
was proposed as an innovative interpretation in the field of economic his-
tory (de Vries 1994 and 2008). My aim is to check how much the term was
reflected by its ethnological users, when and in which contexts it was used.
Due to the limited sources of the ethnographic method, relying mostly on
oral sources, the period under examination goes from the 19th century to
the first half of the 20th century.
The second research question concerns the way various economic
fields of the agrarian society in the Slovenian ethnic space were approached
by ethnologists. Ethnologists were attentive to agrarian economic activi-
ties, concentrating mostly on agriculture and stockbreeding, but encom-
passing also the so called “additional” economic activities as for instance
gardening, wine growing, fruit growing, hop growing, forest culture, for-
aging, apiculture, salt production, silkworm breeding, fishing trade, hunt-
ing, and different types of crafts, trade and transportation services (ped-
dling, rafting trade, carrier transport services etc.). As the ethnological
central research focuses on the way of life, which in the past of the Europe-
an ethnological discipline focused on rural population, the aim of this ar-
ticle is to see in what way the ethnologists researched the peasant econom-
ic activities and to show some interesting case-studies.
1. The concept of “economic industriousness” (gospodarska
prizadevnost) in Slovenian ethnology
While the term “economic industriousness” seemed to be widely known
and used by Slovenian ethnologists, by checking some of the major literatu-
re I was quite surprised to find out that it was used only by one single scho-
lar. It’s Janez Bogataj (1992, 84) who used it for the first time in his listing of
different kinds of Slovenian ethnological heritage in the title of a chapter in
his book called, “Heritage of the everyday economic industriousness” (De-
diščina vsakdanjega gospodarskega prizadevanja).
The scholar does not give any explanation as to what he means by the
term “everyday economic industriousness,” but it’s all left to the reader ac-
334
Introduction
The present article has two aims concerning the perception and research of
peasant economic activities in Slovenian ethnology. The first research qu-
estion regards the use of the concept, “economic industriousness” (gospo-
darska prizadevnost) in Slovenian ethnology. This concept was used in re-
cent Slovene literature of the agrarian economic activities even before it
was proposed as an innovative interpretation in the field of economic his-
tory (de Vries 1994 and 2008). My aim is to check how much the term was
reflected by its ethnological users, when and in which contexts it was used.
Due to the limited sources of the ethnographic method, relying mostly on
oral sources, the period under examination goes from the 19th century to
the first half of the 20th century.
The second research question concerns the way various economic
fields of the agrarian society in the Slovenian ethnic space were approached
by ethnologists. Ethnologists were attentive to agrarian economic activi-
ties, concentrating mostly on agriculture and stockbreeding, but encom-
passing also the so called “additional” economic activities as for instance
gardening, wine growing, fruit growing, hop growing, forest culture, for-
aging, apiculture, salt production, silkworm breeding, fishing trade, hunt-
ing, and different types of crafts, trade and transportation services (ped-
dling, rafting trade, carrier transport services etc.). As the ethnological
central research focuses on the way of life, which in the past of the Europe-
an ethnological discipline focused on rural population, the aim of this ar-
ticle is to see in what way the ethnologists researched the peasant econom-
ic activities and to show some interesting case-studies.
1. The concept of “economic industriousness” (gospodarska
prizadevnost) in Slovenian ethnology
While the term “economic industriousness” seemed to be widely known
and used by Slovenian ethnologists, by checking some of the major literatu-
re I was quite surprised to find out that it was used only by one single scho-
lar. It’s Janez Bogataj (1992, 84) who used it for the first time in his listing of
different kinds of Slovenian ethnological heritage in the title of a chapter in
his book called, “Heritage of the everyday economic industriousness” (De-
diščina vsakdanjega gospodarskega prizadevanja).
The scholar does not give any explanation as to what he means by the
term “everyday economic industriousness,” but it’s all left to the reader ac-
334
