Monografia má šesť častí, ktoré pojednávajú o geografických, krajinných, ekologických a floristických danostiach rozložitého karpatského horstva, o genéze a etnických súnáležitostiach karpatského salašníctva, o regionálnej diverzite salašníctva v priestore karpatského oblúku, o vplyve karpatského salašníctva na tradičnú kultúru Slovenska a napokon o šľachtiteľských a plemenárskych výsledkoch v chove oviec na Slovensku. Aj keď nám história mnohé skutočnosti neodhalila a stopy valachov v Karpatoch odvial čas, cieľom monografie bolo ich nájsť v historických dokumentoch a v dosiaľ zachovanom karpatskom salašníctve.
Za najpodstatnejší prínos posudzovanej publikácie považujem ašpiráciu jej tvorcov predstaviť slovenskej odbornej verejnosti fenomén karpatského salašníctva ako špecifický kultúrnogeografický jav, ktorý je jednou z najpozoruhodnejších stránok karpatského horstva. K docieleniu tohto zámeru uplatnili náročný metodologický koncept. Jeho východiskom sa stalo jednak rámcovanie problematiky salašníctva celokarpatskými reláciami, ako aj jej rozpracovanie v multidisciplinárnom zábere, ku ktorému sa dopracovali bádatelia v odvetviach prírodných, poľnohospodárskych a sociálnych vied. Vďaka takémuto prístupu zrodil sa doteraz teritoriálne najcelistvejší a tematicky najkomplexnejší obraz o agrikultúrnej podobe salašníctva v Karpatoch. Je koncepčne originálnym a obsahovo cenným prínosom k poznaniu jedinečného a európsky významného fenoménu, pre ktorý sa zaužívalo označenie karpatské salašníctvo. Má predpoklady naplniť nielen dôležité poznávacie poslanie. Zaiste prispeje aj pri uskutočňovaní celospoločensky závažných a globálne významných snažení, medzi ktoré sa zaradil aj Rámcový dohovor o komplexnom prístupe a spolupráci pri ochrane a trvalo udržateľnom využívaní Karpát.“
V historických etapách vývoja ľudskej spoločnosti dochádza k neustálym zmenám. Kolonizácia valachmi na valaskom práve (od 13. storočia), spojená s rozsiahlym odlesnením horských oblastí v celom karpatskom oblúku, vytváraním nových plôch pasienkov, ktoré sa dovtedy hospodársky nevyužívali, prechodom na salašný chov oviec, bola jednou z nich. Postupným osídľovaním horských regiónov Sedmohradska a Maramureša v Južných Karpatoch Rumunska, Moldavska, Východných Karpát v Podkarpatskej Rusi (Zakarpatská Ukrajina a východné Slovensko), Haliča a Podhalia v Poľsku, a pohraničných oblastí vonkajších (Západné Karpaty spolu s Moravským Valašskom a Tešínskym Sliezskom v Česku) a vnútorných Karpát Slovenska sa karpatská krajina začala výrazne meniť. Po odlesnení časti Karpát boli v priebehu histórie vytvorené nové plochy pasienkov, obnoviteľné zdroje potravy pre chované hospodárske zvieratá. Okrem produkcie plnili ochrannú, zásobnú, ekologickú a estetickú funkciu aj pre človeka. Salašníctvo s tým spojené predstavovalo dôležitú hospodársko– ekonomickú i kultúrnu oblasť vývoja ľudskej spoločnosti. Aj keď na jednej strane primárne súviselo s bezprostredným získavaním trvalej obživy, na strane druhej sa od neho odvíja materiálny, spoločenský a duchovný život rodín, etník, národov, ale aj novodobých štátov.
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The Walachians moved onward along the Carpathian arc from Southern via Eastern up to the West Carpathians. Their expansion was connected with the new system of sheep breeding, the economic usage of newly created pastures after deforestation, the settlement and completion of settlement in the mountain areas. It created the favourable economic and social conditions in the regions of the Carpathians. This was valued positively not only by the feudal landowners but even by the colonized shepherds who began their agrarian-breeding way of life after the permanent settlement. In our monograph we were searching for the associations related to the colonization of Slovakia based on the Walachian right and the answer to an important question, which has not been replied satisfactorily so far: what was the ethnic character of the colonization based on the Walachian right headed to our country along the Carpathians. In particular, we were interested in the fact of what nationality were the shepherds who settled at our territory in 15 – 17 century and what was the origin of their culture connected with the ways of the Carpathian sheep-dairy farming. The historical written documents have proved so far that the shepherds who settled in Slovakia came from Walachia (in Romania) and they were of the Romanian origin. The comparative research of pasturage in the Carpathians and in the Balkan peninsula showed that the ethinicity of shepherds transmigrating along the Carpathian mountain range was being changed several times. The Walachs from the Balkans, predominantly from Romania, populated mountain pastures in the Ruthenia. They were introducing the mountain sheep-dairy farming as a new way of husbandry. The Ruthenians, who were coming to the mountain areas of the Eastern Slovakia, had already used this system of husbandry. The Walachian way of sheep breeding at higher located mountain pastures was taken hold. After the coalescence of the arriving Walachs with the autochthonous population the Carpathian sheep-dairy farming was spread further to the West. Then the Slovak Walachians were coming to the territory of the Moravian Walachia. The regular yearly grazing stabilized the class composition of flora and fauna of the pastureland vegetation, which contributed to the formation of the Carpathian landscape. Nowadays, in order to preserve biodiversity and stability of the unique grass ecosystems it is important to continue the regular usage by grazing with the appropriate number of animals to prevent the disturbance, ruderization and iterative self-afforestation. As the ecosystems have been created by the anthropogenic activity a man has played and will always play an important role in keeping balance and harmony in the relation to the nature. The Carpathian Convention – a framework agreement on the complex approach and cooperation in the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians should contribute to this effort. The sheep–dairy farming, predominantly of original sheep, but also bred Walachian sheep was forming the Carpathian landscape for decades and centuries into its today`s shape. This way of sheep breeding at the mountain pastures and the cultural phenomena related to these activities remained unchanged basically in the whole Carpathian arc. The activities include e.g. the ways of summer and winter sheep breeding, ways of shepherds´ lives on their sheep farms, processing of dairy products (equipment, working processes, products and their names), shepherds` buildings (shepherds` huts, sheep pens and their names), some of old habits of sheepmen, names of breeds, etc.). Although the Walachian culture was holding its original character in the basic features it was adapted to the new economic, social and cultural conditions in some details in the particular regions. The Walachian culture is also created by many phenomena which appeared after the shepherds` arrival to the Slovak territory. By this modification the original foreign cultural phenomena acquired Slovak character at our territory. They involve e.g. the ways of shepherds` farm organization, some kinds of typical Slovak sheep cheeses, predominantly smoked and steamed ones, shepherds` clothes and their accessories, fine art (mainly products made of wood), customs and habits, musical folklore, etc. Unlike other Carpathian countries the specialized workplaces emerged, apart from the shepherds` farms, in Slovakia in the past – they are sheep cheese (brynza) plants. There the composition of cheese is being made softer so that it is tastier and the taste meets the needs of a city dweller. The Slovak dairy products, mostly those made of sheep milk, were sent to the markets (Vienna, Budapest, Prague, etc.) therefore the way of transport and storage was required to be more hygienic and esthetic. The sheep cheese (brynza) was transported in the typical wooden containers – pails. Nowadays, Slovak dairy products such as sheep cheese (brynza), smoked sheep cheese, steamed sheep cheese as the unique product of the cheese making in the Carpathians and shepherd`s farm sheep smoked cheese obtained the trademark as unique foodstuff from Brussels. This trademark means the protected geographical brand. The pastoral culture is a phenomenon which has influenced significantly many spheres of existing way of life. The Balkan shepherds – nomads (Walachs) crossed several European countries where they assimilated with the autochtonous population. In Slovakia their culture has left the most noticable traces of cultural heritage that exist in some forms until now. In some mountain regions sheep farming became the important source of subsitence for inhabitants. It had impact on the original peasant culture in some way and it added certain specific and characteristic features to this culture. Sheep farming also formed the way of life and folk culture. The material culture involves not only the buildings at sheep farms – huts, sheep pens, etc. but also the whole sheep farming inventory, wooden utensils and containers for sheep milk processing. The sheep shepherds` clothes and the characteristic clothing accessories represent the intersting sphere as well. They involve wide leather multibuckled belts, shepherds` pouches, sticks, hatchets, hats, typical jewellery and decorations. The sheep farming is also connected with many phenomena from musical folklore. The characteristic Slovak folk musical wooden wind instrument a shepherd´s fife and music performed with this instrument were recorded by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Paris in November 2005. The spiritual culture includes also dances and verbal expressions, working customs and habits, rituals, shepherds´ conceptions of nature, superstitions, magic acts and curative procedures. The sheep shepherds were typical of the remarkable esthetic and art talent that was evident especially in the shepherds´ woodcarving art. The dissemination of the Walachian culture in Slovakia did not mean only the passive takeover of the foreign culture but it involved also the creative enrichment of the folk culture by the values of cultural heritage of nations from the South–East and Southern Europe. The sheep farming enriched not only culture, folk art, alimentation but also settlement and the whole way of life of the Slovaks. Taking into account these aspects we can consider the sheep shepherds´ culture in Slovakia as one of the basic components of the traditional Slovak folk culture which formed the national culture. The sheep breeding in the Walachian way had the important impact on the way of life and culture of the Carpathian population since the Middle Ages during several following centuries. Therefore it represents the essential deposit of the national cultures into the European cultural traditions.
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