P.S. ETHNO HER. 2018 SLAVONIA

Slavonia Slavonia is a historical and geographical area in the eastern part of Croatia and it mostly spreads out in the Pannonian lowlands. It consists of the land between the Sava River in the south and the Drava River in the north, the Ilova River in the west the Bosut River and Vuka River in the southeast. The name comes from S(c)lavonia, a name from the Middle Ages meaning “the land inhabited by the Slavs“. It is a diverse geographical area that features mountains, hills and flatlands and is known for its oak forests and high quality soil ideal for growing grains, grapevines and various fruit cultures, as well as farming domestic animals sold on the market. The economic power of the Slavonian villages was evident in the traditional clothing that stood out with its diversity and richness of domestic cloths, jewellery and embellishments. During the second half of the 19th century, especially in the eastern Slavonia, the growth of the economy provided for procurement of expensive materials, such as silk cloths from the central Europe, France and Italy made of either real or artificial silk threads. This is the time when silk brocades with flower design were popular and were used to make visible parts of women's clothing: blouses, skirts and aprons. Prior to the beginning of the 20th century, girls and women in Đakovština wore skirts made of multi-coloured brocade silk with flower motifs during the winter months that were called granare, granaši. At the start of the 20th century, in the Village of Gorjani there was a fashion trend of procuring and wearing large silk scarves with flower motifs women used to wrap themselves with during the procession of the spiritual custom entitled ljelja, giving the scarves the name ljeljare.