Singing on the Village Patron’s Feast and New Year’s Carols: the Case of the Village of Ugovizza (Italy)

Abstract

Until recently, the inhabitants of the Val Canale (Sln. Kanalska dolina, Ger. Kanaltal, Fur. Val Cjanâl) spoke Slovenian, German, Italian, and Friulian, but today Italian predominates. The article presents the folk customs of the village patron’s feast and New Year’s caroling and greetings in the village of Ugovizza (Slo. Ukve, Ger. Uggowitz, Fur. Ugovitse), where the Slovenian dialect and multilingualism, intertwined thoroughly in the ritual events, have been preserved for the longest time. The collaborators of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology and the Audiovisual Laboratory ZRC SAZU from Ljubljana participated in these events for several years and filmed customs, the stories of the locals, and scenes from the life in the village and the mountains. The author focuses on singing, songs, and linguistic communication, pointing out the great importance of multilingualism for preserving traditional culture and vice versa. Especially where the population does not receive education in the mother tongue, which is otherwise suppressed from public life, traditional culture offers people a rare opportunity to speak their mother tongue or the native dialect in public in a relaxed manner. It is because it expresses the meaning of the entire ritual.