CROATIAN INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE - TRADITIONAL SINGING AND PLAYING (BEĆARAC) IN REGIONS OF SLAVONIA, BARANJA AND SRIJEM

Traditional singing and playing (bećarac) in regions of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem Bećarac is the best known and most widespread traditional, vocal and instrumental musical form in the region of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem which serves to establish communication, express one's thoughts and feelings which cannot be expressed in everyday, decent conversation. It is rarely performed without instrumental accompaniment. It is assumed that this way of singing originates from the so called “nightly singing of men” which was noted at the end of the 19th century. The name of this musical form became customary around the middle of the 20th century and originates from the word bećar, of Turkish origin, referring to a merry person, young boy, single person, usually a bachelor, inclined to life without obligations and with lot of fun. On a melody pattern ten-syllable double verses are sung, often with love and lascivious, erotic themes, but also themes that describe everyday life and events; in these songs the accent is on one’s own virtues, capabilities, beauty, wealthiness in contrast to other persons or communities, on which occasion quite often the mocking, defiance and spite are expressed. It is often performed by oversinging of two or more singers accompanied by instruments – in older times by pipes and tamburitzas and recently by tamburitsa bands or even mixed violin, accordion and tamburitza bands. The singer usually sings the first verse or part of the verse which presents a kind of meaningful thesis and then the second verse - which is often a humorous antithesis to the first verse, is sung by all singers. Appreciated singers are those with strong, enduring voice who are familiar with the old repertoire of ten-syllable double verses, who are creative and can quickly improvise, combine and invent new verses during the performance, who can create a theme by referring to persons which are present or the context of the performance on the spot. This kind of singing (bećarac) is very popular also today and performed on various merry occasions, especially on wedding celebrations. It is an indispensable repertoire part of many folklore and musical associations which perform it often and with pleasure on various occasions. Bećarac is performed also by many stage artists and because of its popularity the word bećarac is also used to name various dishes and cakes of the manifestation. Croatian artist Zlatko Bourek it used it in 1966 as the theme for an animation movie. Bećarac from the region of Slavonia, Baranja and Srijem was entered into the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2011. Dr. sc. Tihana Petrović Leš