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SEVENTH “ŠTRAPARIJADA” IN RUMA AND ITS ECHOES
All
Horsepower
“Horses and turkeys are always in fashion”, the witty people of Srem would say. “And logs have
been are in power here for decades” In Bosnia, horses pulling logs are led by “štrapari”. That is how
they call them. It requires strength, skill and practice. When you make a competition in that,
you get “Štraparijada”. Many stories wove around it, by themselves, and many people gather.
And if someone would also invite tambura players...
By: Katarina Filipović
Contemporary agriculture has long
been dominated by machines, various
ones. Working horses, which
were once used to work the land, today
seem to serve only for events. We could
see them again this year at “Štraparijada” in
Ruma, the seventh one, supported by the
municipal cultural fund.
The image of Serbian villages in the recent
past, not further than half a century,
was quite different. Towing horses were
“the main drive and all the machinery”. The
farmers did not have to follow the municipal,
provincial and national competitions
for subsidizing fuel and other things. They
were, literally, “left to their own devices”.
Those who had better horses were better
off. Today we know how much money it
could be saved like this, and the extent in
which it was environmentally friendlier...
Mile Đokanović, a newcomer from Srebrenica,
is telling us that he founded the
event “Štraparijada” in Ruma, modeled after
the one from Drinić, which he saw in
2006. And the first such event was organized
in Bosnia, he says, due to a wager.
– Before my folks from the Republic
of Srpska founded this competition, a lot
of time passed – says Đokanović. – Everybody
claimed that they had the strongest
horse. People placed bets and it was
decided that three lambs and three pigs
Horses and logs
Photo:
Relјa Popović
In western Bosnia, people who are managing horses who are
pulling logs are called “štrapari”. In eastern Bosnia they are called
“furmani”, in Croatia “šlajseri”, in Srem “coachmen”. And they do the
same work, explains Mile Đokanović, organizer of “Štraparijada”
in Ruma at his suggestion, and with his enthusiasm.
SERBIA • N O 55 • 2016
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