Local Legends from the Pohorje Mountains above Slovenska Bistrica: Between Cultural Heritage and Literalization

Abstract

Presentations of narrative folklore in situ, i.e. in their cultural landscape, are relatively common today. As the intangible heritage of an environment, they are included in educational activities, tourist and cultural offers, and are increasingly exploited also for commercial purposes. For example, the narrative folklore in the Pohorje area above Slovenska Bistrica was included in a research project, and the tales associated with ten sites in the area have been included in a guidebook in literalised and reinterpreted form. The process of “ ironing” the narratives by transforming folklore (the art of spoken language) into literature means a greater or lesser deviation from the original narrative. Only material in its original form with the most accurate metadata is useful for scholarly research. The article presents the unpublished and less accessible units that formed the basis of literalisation. The method of field research, and characteristics of the individual transcriptions are described, and the differences between present-day field material and the older written material are also highlighted.