Muzeológia a Kultúrne Dedičstvo (Sep 2016)
Salaš-type sheep farms in Detva and in Slovakia (Salašný chov oviec v Detve a na Slovensku)
Abstract
This paper analyzes the history of sheep raising in Slovakia and especially in the city of Detva and the surrounding region (Podpoľanie). The so-called Wallachian colonization in the 14th century introduced a new type of sheep raising centered around the salaš, an isolated farm unit, practiced predominantly in mountainous regions and focused on milk production. This change had a profound effect not only on the population‘s food production, but also on a number of aspects of the traditional culture (dress, household production, folklore, customs etc.) in most of the territory of present-day Slovakia. Indeed the elements of the imported salaš culture, adapted to local conditions and developed in idiosyncratic ways, have become some of the major ethnic identifiers of the Slovak people. In Detva, sheep raising has always been closely tied to the traditional way of life. The - for this region typical - predominance of isolated farms came about as an extension of the Wallachian salaš culture. The focus on sheep raising motivated by the availability of grazing land created a unique individual form of sheep raising specific for the region of Podpoľanie.
