Page 349 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 349
peasant “economic industriousness” in slovenian ethnology (19th–20th centuries)
ive oil and wine production was exported. In Gorenjska, Slovenian Koroš-
ka and western Štajerska the homemade corn covered the domestic needs,
while in eastern Štajerska the corn was imported and the wine exported.
According to her, in the 19th century peasants would have been more inten-
sively directing towards other economic activities. A report of the econom-
ic structure for Carniola from the time under French authorities in 1811
says, that the region is “passive” (not self-sufficient) in producing corn and
cattle, but they have a surplus production of linen and iron. Another report
states that the inhabitants of Notranjska are engaged with the transporting
of goods or they are employed as timber workers. A report from 1838 for
the region of Ribnica states that because of overpopulation the home made
products were not enough for living, that’s why the people were “obliged”
to make their living with trade in other provinces (of the Austrian empire).
Concerning gardening as an additional activity (in Ljubljana, Prekmurje,
Primorska) it’s mentioned that the inhabitants of Osp in Primorska start-
ed gardening chicory around 1900 due to the growing demands for vege-
tables in Trieste and many locals could tell, that in that time many houses
“grew up on chicory.” In the Primorska region a strong activity of the 18th
and 19th century was also silkworm rearing which presented an “addition-
al” occupation and for some even the main source of income (Makarovič
1978, 9, 70, 188).
It’s interesting to note that in the main ethnological monographs sur-
veying peasant economic activities, salt production is frequently missing. I
would suggest to add it as it seems a clear example of activity intertwined
with agriculture and a form of peasant income integration. In fact, the
peasants spent almost half of the year working on salt pans, from the end
of April until the first rain in autumn.3
My concluding remarks will derive from a position of an ethnolo-
gist working for the first time in the frame of the economic history, which
gave me a different viewpoint. Going through all these hundreds of stud-
ies of peasant economic activities I realised that there is a big gap between
these two disciplines, ethnology and economic history. The main distinc-
tion consists of the essential question: while the economic historian tries to
grasp peasant activities by placing them into their whole economy, the es-
sential ethnological question lies more in the technical description of single
3 As can be seen in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Ministry of Cul-
ture (http://www.mk.gov.si/fileadmin/mk.gov.si/pageuploads/Ministrstvo/Razvidi/
RKD_Ziva/Rzd-02_00042.pdf, 7. 10. 16).
347
ive oil and wine production was exported. In Gorenjska, Slovenian Koroš-
ka and western Štajerska the homemade corn covered the domestic needs,
while in eastern Štajerska the corn was imported and the wine exported.
According to her, in the 19th century peasants would have been more inten-
sively directing towards other economic activities. A report of the econom-
ic structure for Carniola from the time under French authorities in 1811
says, that the region is “passive” (not self-sufficient) in producing corn and
cattle, but they have a surplus production of linen and iron. Another report
states that the inhabitants of Notranjska are engaged with the transporting
of goods or they are employed as timber workers. A report from 1838 for
the region of Ribnica states that because of overpopulation the home made
products were not enough for living, that’s why the people were “obliged”
to make their living with trade in other provinces (of the Austrian empire).
Concerning gardening as an additional activity (in Ljubljana, Prekmurje,
Primorska) it’s mentioned that the inhabitants of Osp in Primorska start-
ed gardening chicory around 1900 due to the growing demands for vege-
tables in Trieste and many locals could tell, that in that time many houses
“grew up on chicory.” In the Primorska region a strong activity of the 18th
and 19th century was also silkworm rearing which presented an “addition-
al” occupation and for some even the main source of income (Makarovič
1978, 9, 70, 188).
It’s interesting to note that in the main ethnological monographs sur-
veying peasant economic activities, salt production is frequently missing. I
would suggest to add it as it seems a clear example of activity intertwined
with agriculture and a form of peasant income integration. In fact, the
peasants spent almost half of the year working on salt pans, from the end
of April until the first rain in autumn.3
My concluding remarks will derive from a position of an ethnolo-
gist working for the first time in the frame of the economic history, which
gave me a different viewpoint. Going through all these hundreds of stud-
ies of peasant economic activities I realised that there is a big gap between
these two disciplines, ethnology and economic history. The main distinc-
tion consists of the essential question: while the economic historian tries to
grasp peasant activities by placing them into their whole economy, the es-
sential ethnological question lies more in the technical description of single
3 As can be seen in the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Ministry of Cul-
ture (http://www.mk.gov.si/fileadmin/mk.gov.si/pageuploads/Ministrstvo/Razvidi/
RKD_Ziva/Rzd-02_00042.pdf, 7. 10. 16).
347
