On Wednesday, December 23, 2020, a virtual exhibition “From Christmas to Christmas – Folk Devotion of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina” by ethnologist and Carmelite Zvonko Martić, was set up on the website of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. Father Martić is the head of the Ethnographic Collection of the Monastery and the spiritual center “Carmel of St. Elias” on Buško Lake near Tomislavgrad and the author of a series of exhibitions and lectures, and co-author of the excellent monography “Vila bana zvala priko Vrana – Traditional clothing, songs and dances of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 21st century ”.

The exhibition presents the intangible cultural aspects of folk culture and folk traditions that follow the liturgical calendar. The customs of the Christmas and Lent-Easter cycle, but also of the days throughout the year, are presented through excellent photographs by Jasmin Fazlagić, which show the transcendence of the spirit of the people in its obsession with the sacred and solemn. The curator of the exhibition, editor and author of the foreword is the ethnologist Ivica Kipre, and the organizer is the Croatian Heritage Foundation – Dubrovnik branch.

Catalog download: https://matis.hr/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Od-Božića-do-Božića-eKatalog.pdf

Exhibition Croatian version: https://matis.hr/home/od-bozica-do-bozica-pucka-poboznost-hrvata-u-bosni-i-hercegovini/

Exhibiton English version: https://matis.hr/en/news/from-christmas-to-christmas-popular-piety-of-croats-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina/

In his presentation CHF director Marić noted that this lexicon aims to be a compendium of our knowledge of Croatians abroad. Marić said that the systematisation of the material presented in this work was a multi-year effort, noting that this was understandably so given the dearth of research of both our ethnic enclaves in neighbouring countries and the complex history of emigration from Croatia. The editorial team of Šakić and Dobrovšak coordinated the efforts of hundreds of young associates from a dozen leading heritage institutions, including the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography and the National and University Library in Zagreb, and from the foremost diaspora organisation in forty-five countries.

As the introduction to the lexicon notes, the idea to launch this publishing venture came from Zdenka Babić Petričević, former head of the CHF board of directors and a member of Croatian Parliament, who was supported in this by writer Hrvoje Hitrec and the late Ljubomir Antić, current and former members of our board of directors. In short, this lexicon bears witness to Croatian achievements from the North to South Pole. The book is a true national lexicographic treasure in which the editorial focus has been directed at material relevant to the Croatian national corpus and culture abroad, said CHF director Marić.

The publication of books that showcase the history, literature, culture and artistic production of ethnic Croatians abroad for a domestic readership is always cause for celebration among the Croatian communities abroad and a clear signal that the homeland has not forgotten them, and that there are still individuals and institutions that share a concern for their fellow Croatians that have throughout our history been compelled by various reasons to leave their native lands, and that have in their new homes preserved the language and culture of their distant ancestors. In his letter from Budapest, read by Željko Rupić of the CHF, reviewer Dinko Šokčević observed that this significant undertaking on the part of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences and the Croatian Heritage Foundation is a true source of delight for our communities around the world.

In his review Vladimir P. Goss notes that the lexicon provides an inventory of the individuals, groups, achievements, and characteristics of people of Croatian ancestry that have roots in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and of those who have partially or temporarily worked and lived abroad. It is ideologically neutral and offers no political agenda. For a land with a relatively large diaspora this lexicon broadens our insight and understanding of the significance of the Croatian people, at least a third of which constitute a truly global presence. This is major step forward in forging the identity of the global Croatian presence and a vital medium in bringing all people of Croatian ancestry around the world together. Furthermore, Goss added, this lexicon constitutes an excellent legitimation to the world, history and ourselves.

The lexicon is a joint publication of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences and the Croatian Heritage Foundation, with cover art by eminent Croatian-Australian painter Charles Billich.

The range of areas covered include multidisciplinary fields of history and sociology, linguistics, cultural anthropology, human geography and the ethnographic attributes of Croatian migrants, artistic endeavour and achievements in the sciences, diaspora publishing activity, and Croatian language instruction abroad. Some one hundred domestic and foreign specialists worked to compile and condense the macropaedic entries concerning the global Croatian emigrant presence. The lexicon also includes micropaedic entries, the most numerous of which are the biographies of prominent individuals, artists and researchers. The careful reader will, among other things, learn of migrant workers, overseas emigrants, members of our ethnic enclaves in the European neighbourhood, dissidents, émigrés, adventurers and those engaged in the trends of contemporary mobility.

The publishing team has created a broad alphabetic database of lexicographic knowledge based on research of migration among people of Croatian roots. This pioneering work has been accessible to the public on the Internet since 2015, with the print edition coming on the eve of the seventieth anniversary of the Croatian Heritage Foundation and the thirtieth anniversary of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences.

The lexicon is a joint publication of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences and the Croatian Heritage Foundation, with cover art by eminent Croatian-Australian painter Charles Billich.

Croatia regained its independence on the pillars of its historical presence and the Homeland War at the end of the twentieth century, and our knowledge of the contemporary Croatian diaspora and ethnic enclaves abroad are a vital element of the Croatian global and European identity. Notably, all the processes that preceded independence involved the engagement of Croatians abroad.

Following the creation of an alphabetical list of entries, the specialists and researchers with the Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography and the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences developed the database. The database of the lexicon currently numbers 12,783 entries and will continually be broadened through information gathering. Over 2,900 entries cover our ethnic enclaves, 9,000 cover diaspora communities, and the remainder covers concepts, places and events. Editor Dobrovšak pointed out that all of the information in the database will be available for the creation of an encyclopaedia of the Croatian diaspora and minority enclaves or separate lexicons (e.g. a lexicon of Croatians in the United States of America, a lexicon of Croatians in Hungary, a lexicon of Gradišće Croats, etc.) and for further research. The just under ten years that have passed since work started on the lexicon have seen the participation of numerous institutions and individuals. As expected, Dobrovšak added, the database includes many more entries than the print edition, which speaks to the great quantity of information concerning the diaspora and Croatian enclaves that still awaits systematisation and that remains unknown to the broader audience.

Among the guests of the presentation of this encyclopaedic tome, which will for understandable reasons see a limited print run, were our ambassador to Argentina Duška Paravić, the chair of the parliamentary committee on Croatians abroad Zdravka Bušić MP, Zdravko Gavran of the foreign ministry, Anja Jelavić of the culture ministry, Milan Kovač and Hrvoje Hitrec, president and member of our board of directors respectively, Croatiana Orešković and Milan Bošnjak of the State Office for Croats Abroad, rector of the Croatian Catholic University Željko Tanjić, academician Ante Markotić, the president of the Prsten association Pavo Zubak, Marin Sopta, Božo Skoko, Tuga Tarle, Drago Šaravanja, Ivana Bačić Serdarević, Darko (Teodoro) Mažuranić, Ruža Studer-Babić, Jadranka Vincek, Kristijan Jusić, and Marijan Lipovac.

CHF director Marić presented Ms Dobrovšak and Ms Kukavica with bouquets as a sign of our great gratitude to all those who have in any way contributed to the achievement of this publishing venture, individuals and institutions, diaspora associations and Catholic missions, and in particular the editors, Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences director Željko Holjevac, project head Vlado Šakić and the joint team that has invested their efforts into this lexicon.

By: Diana Šimurina-Šoufek

Photography: Snježana Radoš

Researcher Zvonimir Navala lived in Johannesburg for a quarter century and has recently published a comprehensive tome, Croats in the Anglo-Boer War, South Africa 1899–1902. In our discussion with Navala, who now lives with his wife and son in California in the United States of America, we learned a number of interesting things about the ethnic Croatians that live in that part of Africa and their fates.

South Africa was a destination for Croatians moving abroad for almost a century and a half, Navala says. There are now some seven thousand people of Croatian extraction in South Africa, making it one of the smallest Croatian communities in comparison to the other major destinations of Croatian emigrants. The reason for this is that the so-called first wave of emigration out of Croatia began in 1880 with tens of thousands of Croatians moving to North and South America and Australia. The Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902 cut short the route to South Africa and led to significant material losses to the Croatian colony, from which it never recovered. During and after the war some of the Croatian immigrants left South Africa to try their luck in the USA. The First World War created further difficulties. At the time Croatians were citizens of Austria-Hungary, which was allied with Germany in its war with the Entente Powers (Britain, France, Russia and others). South Africa, as a British dominion, thus declared all citizens of Austria-Hungary enemy subjects, i.e. subjects to the opposing side, leading to hundreds of Croatians being locked up in prison of war camps. The rate of emigration heading to South Africa picked up after the First and was more intensive after the Second World War. This period also saw the most activity among the ethnic Croatian community, with associations and clubs founded and a number of serial publications produced. Today there is no more Croatian migration to South Africa. The laws and regulations of South Africa effectively make it impossible. The only two institutions that see to the needs of the community are the St Jerome parish in Johannesburg and the Croatian embassy. Despite the fact that a growing number of these ethnic Croatians have been fully assimilated, their emotional bond with and interest in their Croatian heritage and ancestry remains significant.

Navala began his research work in 2016 and it has led to the 400-page book published in October of this year. The book is out in South Africa and Croatia, and had access to the necessary documents in Vienna and London. Although the central theme of the book is the Boer War and the participation of Croats in it, the first part of the book focuses on the colonization of the south end of the African continent beginning in 1652 and the history of Croatian immigration to South Africa up to the outbreak of war in 1899. This was the period that saw the discovery of diamonds and gold, events that hugely impacted the course of historical events in South Africa. The Dutch Cape Colony was formed early into the first phases of the European colonization of the south of the African continent. The British Empire forcibly took over this Dutch possession in 1806 and established the British Cape Colony. An increasing number of emigrants came into conflict with the British administration; 1835 saw the start of the “Great Trek” of immigrants to the interior of Africa. This was followed by the white Boer farmer settlers forming two independent republics, Transvaal in 1852 and the Free State in 1854. Two discoveries, However, changed the situation in the south of Africa. Diamond deposits were discovered on the Free State border in 1867, which increased world production several times. The discovery of gold in 1886 in what is now Johannesburg made Transvaal the world’s leading gold producer, surpassing the previous leader, the United States of America. Although various opinions have been proposed, it is clear that gold was at the heart of the war between the British Empire and the Boer republics. In the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 the British Empire pitted 450,000 troops against 50,000 Boers, today’s Afrikaners. It was the largest scale British imperial assault prior to the First World War.

It is within this historical frame that Navala tells his story of the Croatians that had moved to the south of Africa. The first Croatian emigrants worked as sailors with the Dutch East India Company that settled in the Cape Colony, or had deserted ships in any one of the South African ports. Increased Croat immigration correlates to the discovery of diamonds and gold, and the first part of the book focuses on Croats in the diamond and gold fields. Little or nothing is known about the Croatians that worked in the diamond fields of Kimberley. During his research Navala came across the graves of Josip Sabljić, who hailed from the area around Bakar in Croatia, and Tripa Vučinović from Boka Kotorska at an abandoned cemetery in Kimberley. Researching the archives, he learned what had happened. In 1884 there was a great miner strike in the diamond fields. Both were killed in the clashes after police fired on the strikers. As far as Navala knows Josip Sablić was the first emigrant Croatian to be killed during a labour dispute.

In the Johannesburg gold fields the Croatians were mostly miners, but also worked as builders and farmers. It is a fact previously unregistered in Croatian historiography that ethnic Croatians had a monopoly on vegetable production in the Transvaal and Pretoria. People with roots on the Croatian islands of Krk, Brač and Korčula were the best-known vegetable growers: Milovčić, Kraljić, Sinovčić, Foretić-Kolenda and others. Dr. Erwin A. Schmidl of the University of Vienna writes to this effect in his doctoral dissertation “Osterreicher im Burenkrieg 1899–1902”, in chapter 2.2.3 concerning “Das dalmatinische Gemusemonopol”.

War, as always, is a story to itself. Most of the book focuses on the war and the participation of Croatians in it. In chapter seven it tells of some forty Croatians that fought on the Boer side in the Boer commando and volunteer units. These people had lived along the breadth of the Croatian Adriatic seaboard (Istria, Primorje, Rijeka, Dalmatia) and the Bay of Kotor before moving abroad. A number from the Cape Colony were active as British imperial troopers. In chapter eight Navala tells an interesting and dramatic story about the first experiences of Croatians in the war. In chapter nine he notes that in 1900 and 1901, 55,000 horses were transported from Rijeka for the needs of the British Imperial forces in South Africa, with every twenty horses on board requiring an escort. They were largely recruited in Rijeka and some, like Ivo Marulić of Baška, defected to the Boer camp and fought with them. Chapter twelve is particularly fascinating and tells of the search for fallen ethnic Croatians. In chapter thirteen Navala tells of some eighty Croats that were deported under the charge that they had participated in the July conspiracy of 1900 aimed at assassinating the British lord Roberts, commander of the imperial military forces. In chapter seventeen we learn of twelve Croatians taken prisoner during the war and interned in prisoner of war camps in India, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Saint Helena and Portugal. Among the many photographs published in this book for the first time is one of the grave of Stjepan Dobrić of Novi Vinodolski, who died and was buried on Saint Helena island. Notably, Jan Jerolim Brajević and Ivo Marulić escaped from the camp in Portugal. In his epilogue Navala offers a brief overview of events in South Africa between the Boer wars and the First World War and how the local ethnic Croatians interacted with these events.

Croats took part in all the major battles of the Boer War. Franjo Barac, who hailed from the hamlet of Barci near Crikvenica, took part in the Siege of Mafeking and in the biggest Boer success of the war at the Battle of Magersfontein. He was wounded and captured two months later during the Battle of Paardeberg of February 1900, and wound up at a POW camp in India. Barac was the only Croat to be decorated (1920) by the Union of South Africa. The already mentioned Stjepan Dobrić and Ivan Stepanić from the Rijeka area fought as members of the German volunteer unit on the Boer side. In March of 1900 their unit was retreating northwards from the southern (Free State) front towards Johannesburg. For reasons unknown, eight members had lagged behind the body of the unit, including Dobrić and Stepanić. When they finally made it to the rail station in Sprigfontein where they were to re-join their unit, they found the station deserted. Lacking supplies and exhausted they tied up their horses at the wagons and fell asleep. They were surprised in the morning by a British scouting expedition and captured. Dobrić and Stepanić were interned at a prisoner of war camp on Saint Helena island. Dobrić died and was buried there, while Stepanić manage to leave the island aboard the last ship to transport a British garrison to England. From there he moved on to settle in the United States of America.

At the Battle of Spioenkop, which took place on 23 and 24 January 1900, a Boer force of 8,000 armed with four cannon was taken on by a British imperial force of 20,000 soldiers backed by 36 cannon. Croats from another German volunteer unit took part in the battle. Navala’s research uncovered the names of only two: Ivan Busanic from the Pretoria Commando unit and Jakovic C. H. (possibly a Montenegrin from Boka Kotorska). Jakovic fell in battle and his name is engraved on the monument to the Boer dead at Spioenkop. Ulderik Franić from Vrgorac also took part in that battle as a member of the Carolina Commando unit. Franić was an exceptional person, literate, and a proper soldier. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army, which, in addition to his other qualities, saw him attached to the first Boer scout unit, Edwards’ scouts. One historical curiosity: Winston Churchill and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi took part in the battle of Spioenkop, each in his own role.

On July 24 1900 the Carolina Commando unit clashed with British troops at the Strydkraal farm in the Eastern Transvaal. Ulderik Franić was wounded in the head in that conflict, but a friend managed to pull him out on horseback. Franić was transferred to the Palmietspruit farm where the Boer hospital was located. He died during the night and was buried at the farm. Today, his grave is marked with a modest marble slab set on a concrete base and bearing an inscription indicating that this is the burial site of an unknown citizen from the Carolina Commando unit. Dr Tian Schutte of Nelspruit (now Mbombela) has compiled a document that can be found at the GSSA (Genealogical Society of South Africa) noting that Franić was buried at the Palmietspruit farm near Amerfsfoort in the Eastern Transvaal. Navala also spoke with Franjo Mađarević, one of the most prominent ethnic Croatians in South Africa. He supported the initiative and noted that the new ambassador, Cicvarić, and the Franciscan monastic Sikirić would support it. A Russian delegation comprised of their ambassador and six officers recently unveiled a monument honouring Russian volunteers in the Boer wars at Utrecht in Natal province. This, Navala, notes, would be an initiative worth our attention and support.

Navala plans the Croatian edition for the first half of 2021 and would certainly like to see the promotion done under the auspices of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. He notes that he summers every year in Croatia at a flat he owns in the coastal town of Poreč in Istria County, which he refers to as the California of Croatia. This summer he and his wife began teaching their grandchildren to speak Croatian via the Apple Mac OS videotelephony application FaceTime.

By: Vesna Kukavica

Photography: Archives of Z. Navala

A sixth grade Croatian language textbook published by Profil Klett (www.profil-klett.hr) picked up a BELMA − Best European Learning Materials Award, the publisher announced.

As the publisher announced, the group of Croatian teachers that authored the textbook took the top BELMA award for the high quality of the textbook, which promotes reading in the digital age.

The publisher notes that this is above all the success of the authors of the set of textbooks, Croatian language teachers with many years of experience: Diana Greblički-Miculinić, Lidija Sykora-Nagy, Dejana Tavas, Krunoslav Matošević, Ela Družijanić Hajdarević, Zrinka Romić and Nataša Jurić Stanković.

Diana Greblički-Miculinić notes that the team aimed to produce a modern textbook with a level of quality that invited pupils to read, bringing them closer to literature and opening horizons. She said she was delighted that the BELMA panel of judges had recognised their efforts.

The three-member panel, made up of international experts in the domain of education, highlighted the quality of the material, calling it ideal for promoting a love of reading in the digital age.

It was also pointed out that Croatian literature is clearly positioned in relation to the literature of other nations. In its decision the panel also offered some useful advice to improve future materials, including adding work assignments for work in pairs or groups, debates, and creative projects.

The production of the textbook included a broad team of Croatian specialists, including Marina Hrupec of Studio 2M who produced the graphic design and Dragan Kordić who produced the illustrations.

The digital education content was created in the IZZI digital platform, with the prize going to the team of Dejan Varga, Majda Čolak, Hana Tepeš and Andrijana Mihaljević. The textbook was edited by Klara Šarčević and Diana Greblički-Miculinić. (Hina)

The second to last issue of Matica in 2020 is out. The cover photography by Iva Urh features a pomegranate bursting with seeds. The fruit ripens at this time of the year along the length of our Adriatic seaboard. To back cover pays homage to the late ballerina and ceramic artist Vera Kalan-Benić.

This issue focuses on Šipan, the largest island of the Elaphiti island group, featured in our columns: the history by Marin Knezović, the endemic species of flora and fauna by Darko Mihelj, Sanja Vulić’s cues in communication, underappreciated academy trained painter Marko Murat and Ljerka Galic’s look at a trio of renovated eleventh century pre-Romanesque churches.

Numerous guests of honour joined us at the CHF headquarters for the promotion of a lexicon of our diaspora and ethnic Croatian enclaves abroad. This impressive tome brings to one volume our lexicographic knowledge of Croatians outside the country, presenting an encyclopaedic treasury of the body of knowledge relevant to the Croatian national corpus and culture outside of Croatia (Diana Šimurina-Šoufek).

In his column on Croatian musicians Davor Schopf tells of ballet artist Astrid Turina and her life between Zagreb and Canada. We also look at professional standard dancer Nick Kosovich whose search for his ancestral roots sees him in the Zaostrog area to breathe new life into the ruins of his grandmother’s house (Božena Delaš).

In our newest regular column on Croatian language instructorships, we learn of the experiences of lector Diana Emmanuelle Myriel in London. Dean Miculinić, the head of our Rijeka branch office, tells of the newly opened first Croatian specialised museum of pharmacy.

Cravat Day was celebrated in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev for the first time and is brought to us by a Croatian language student at the Taras Shevchenko University.

In his regular column The Sociological Puzzle Nino Sorić tells of the lighthouses that dot the Adriatic coast.

Svjetlana Lipanović, editor of the Insieme/Zajedno magazine of the Croatian community of Rome, tells of the life of Franciscan nun Stella Okadar.

Željko Rupić keeps us abreast of current events at the State Office for Croats Abroad. Vesna Kukavica covers other current events in her columns Global Croatia and Click: Going Home. Our editor Ljerka Galic invites readers to enjoy these and other articles in this month’s issue.

03 Content

Columns

15 Global Croatia

16 The Sociological Puzzle

20 Croatian Musicians

36 Croatia’s Endemic Flora and Fauna

43 Cues in Communication

58 Click: Going Home

62  Movement/Aberration

4    In Focus: News from the State Office for Croats Abroad

6    Monument to national reform movement figure Ivan Antunović unveiled in Subotica

8      CHF host promo of lexicon on our diaspora and ethnic enclaves abroad

12    Cravat day celebrated in Ukrainian capital

14    Vukovar water tower and Croatian unity memorial opens

22     In search of ancestral roots: Nick Kosovich

24     Pharmacy museum in Rijeka

26     Slavonian theatre troupe in Bitola

27     Eco-corner

28     An interview with Julije Domac, presidential advisor on energy and the climate

32     Some thoughts on the history of the island of Šipan

40     Points of interest on Šipan island

44     Marko Murat, an underappreciated painter

48     An interview with Daria Pichler

49     Folk Costume Review and Pageant winner visits the CHF

50     The Croatian language instructorship in London

52     A monograph on Antun Vidaković

54     Irena Stanić Rašin poetry promo

56     Josip Mlakić’s new novel

60      Vukovar organ festival

61      In memory of Franciscan nun Stella Okadar

64      Crorama

66      Sports news

By: Ljerka Galic

The event participants were greeted by the director of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences Željko Holjevac, the chair of the event programme and organisational committee Marin Sopta, the dean of the University of Osijek’s Faculty of Economics Boris Crnković, the rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras, the prorector of the University of Mostar Vlado Majstorović, the director of the Pastoral Directorate for Croats Abroad Tomislav Markić, state secretary Željka Josić of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, CHF director Mijo Marić, and Dario Magdić, the deputy to the state secretary at the State Office for Croats Abroad.

On 5 and 6 November the Centre for the Study of the Croatian Diaspora staged the 4^th Croatian Diaspora Congress at the Croatian Heritage Foundation headquarters in Zagreb. The event adhered to all the currently imposed epidemiological restrictions.

The event participants were greeted by the director of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences Željko Holjevac, the chair of the event programme and organisational committee Marin Sopta, the dean of the University of Osijek’s Faculty of Economics Boris Crnković, the rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras, the prorector of the University of Mostar Vlado Majstorović, the director of the Pastoral Directorate for Croats Abroad (an office of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina for the Croatian Foreign Pastorate) Tomislav Markić, state secretary Željka Josić of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, Croatian Heritage Foundation director Mijo Marić, and Dario Magdić, the deputy to the state secretary at the State Office for Croats Abroad.

In his welcome speech event programme and organisational committee chair Sopta told the participants that “As at the first three congresses: 2014 in Zagreb, 2016 in Šibenik, and 2018 in Osijek, we want to touch upon the topic of homeland repatriation though our lectures,” adding that, “a massive number of Croatians settling back in the homeland is certainly not going to happen. For at least some of them to come back, we need certain prerequisites and the good will of politicians who need to go on the record as to whether or not they actually support to the repatriation of our emigrants.”

The panel discussions focused on a variety of themes. Among the participants were some repatriates that may serve as examples of how settling back in the homeland can be marked with success. Josip Hrgetić and Don Markušić both moved here from abroad and spoke of their experience at the introductory panel session. The repatriation policy in local communities panel included presentations from another pair of homecomers; Gospić mayor Karlo Starčević and Vis mayor Ivo Radić, while Stipo Hrkač, who moved here from Canada, noted the positive aspects of Croatia in attracting digital nomads.

At the before and now panel Zvonimir Ancić of the Croatian Bishops’ Conference spoke of Croats that have relocated from the Janjevo region to Croatia, with many settling in Kistanje. Vid Kovačić and Mario Bara of the Croatian Catholic University spoke of remaining, surviving on, and returning to the island of Susak, a site of regular diaspora gatherings. Many of these people make extended annual stays on the Adriatic island, but few opt to repatriate. Rebeka Mesarić Žabčić and Ana Malnar spoke of their study of the relocation of Croatians to Austria, which has been since 1 July 2020 a new and attractive destination for Croatians.

An interesting part of the event were online links with Catholic missions abroad. The participants heard from friar Josip Koren who spoke of the sixty years of activity of the Croatian Catholic mission in Vienna. Golden jubilees were celebrated by the missions in Hamburg, London, Darmstadt, Aalen and Heidenheim. Speaking of their activities were friars Anto Bobaš and Ljubomir Šimunović and Nikolina Mesić. The role of our Catholic missions abroad has been and remains of great value, with the church remaining a place of gathering for our diaspora communities.

Day two of the event opened with a panel on migration policy. Tado Jurić, who has spent the last few years researching the latest wave of outward migration, characterising hopes of meaningful repatriation as wishful thinking. “For most repatriation, unfortunately, is not going to happen, while migration itself no longer produces the sense of happiness and fulfilment many expect,” Jurić noted. He presented the data on emigration out of Croatia during the former Yugoslav regime and that on the latest wave of outbound migration that followed Croatian accession to the European Union.

Other topics under discussion were culture and language as pillars of heritage and identity. In the discussion focused on the historical aspects, repatriates Stjepan Šulek and Vlado Glavaš spoke of their experiences, while Darija Hofgräff, Marin Knezović and Koraljka Kuzman Šlogar presented their specialist findings.

The current restrictions imposed due to the epidemiological concerns will see the culture and arts programme, gala dinner and other presentations staged in the spring of 2021 when the conditions allow for them.

Certainly laudable is the tireless team that has for the fourth time staged this diaspora event: Marin Sopta, Tanja Trošelj Miočević, Josipa Mijoč and Vlatka Lemić. (https://moja-domovina.net/)

Lead

The event participants were greeted by the director of the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences Željko Holjevac, the chair of the event programme and organisational committee Marin Sopta, the dean of the University of Osijek’s Faculty of Economics Boris Crnković, the rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras, the prorector of the University of Mostar Vlado Majstorović, the director of the Pastoral Directorate for Croats Abroad Tomislav Markić, state secretary Željka Josić of the Central State Office for Demography and Youth, CHF director Mijo Marić, and Dario Magdić, the deputy to the state secretary at the State Office for Croats Abroad.

Researcher Zvonimir Navala lived in Johannesburg for a quarter century and has recently published a comprehensive tome, Croats in the Anglo-Boer War, South Africa 1899–1902. Navala plans the Croatian edition for the first half of 2021 and would certainly like to see the promotion done under the auspices of the Croatian Heritage Foundation.

Researcher Zvonimir Navala lived in Johannesburg for a quarter century and has recently published a comprehensive tome, Croats in the Anglo-Boer War, South Africa 1899–1902. In our discussion with Navala, who now lives with his wife and son in California in the United States of America, we learned a number of interesting things about the ethnic Croatians that live in that part of Africa and their fates.

South Africa was a destination for Croatians moving abroad for almost a century and a half, Navala says. There are now some seven thousand people of Croatian extraction in South Africa, making it one of the smallest Croatian communities in comparison to the other major destinations of Croatian emigrants. The reason for this is that the so-called first wave of emigration out of Croatia began in 1880 with tens of thousands of Croatians moving to North and South America and Australia. The Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902 cut short the route to South Africa and led to significant material losses to the Croatian colony, from which it never recovered. During and after the war some of the Croatian immigrants left South Africa to try their luck in the USA. The First World War created further difficulties. At the time Croatians were citizens of Austria-Hungary, which was allied with Germany in its war with the Entente Powers (Britain, France, Russia and others). South Africa, as a British dominion, thus declared all citizens of Austria-Hungary enemy subjects, i.e. subjects to the opposing side, leading to hundreds of Croatians being locked up in prison of war camps. The rate of emigration heading to South Africa picked up after the First and was more intensive after the Second World War. This period also saw the most activity among the ethnic Croatian community, with associations and clubs founded and a number of serial publications produced. Today there is no more Croatian migration to South Africa. The laws and regulations of South Africa effectively make it impossible. The only two institutions that see to the needs of the community are the St Jerome parish in Johannesburg and the Croatian embassy. Despite the fact that a growing number of these ethnic Croatians have been fully assimilated, their emotional bond with and interest in their Croatian heritage and ancestry remains significant.

Navala began his research work in 2016 and it has led to the 400-page book published in October of this year. The book is out in South Africa and Croatia, and had access to the necessary documents in Vienna and London. Although the central theme of the book is the Boer War and the participation of Croats in it, the first part of the book focuses on the colonization of the south end of the African continent beginning in 1652 and the history of Croatian immigration to South Africa up to the outbreak of war in 1899. This was the period that saw the discovery of diamonds and gold, events that hugely impacted the course of historical events in South Africa. The Dutch Cape Colony was formed early into the first phases of the European colonization of the south of the African continent. The British Empire forcibly took over this Dutch possession in 1806 and established the British Cape Colony. An increasing number of emigrants came into conflict with the British administration; 1835 saw the start of the “Great Trek” of immigrants to the interior of Africa. This was followed by the white Boer farmer settlers forming two independent republics, Transvaal in 1852 and the Free State in 1854. Two discoveries, However, changed the situation in the south of Africa. Diamond deposits were discovered on the Free State border in 1867, which increased world production several times. The discovery of gold in 1886 in what is now Johannesburg made Transvaal the world’s leading gold producer, surpassing the previous leader, the United States of America. Although various opinions have been proposed, it is clear that gold was at the heart of the war between the British Empire and the Boer republics. In the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 the British Empire pitted 450,000 troops against 50,000 Boers, today’s Afrikaners. It was the largest scale British imperial assault prior to the First World War.

It is within this historical frame that Navala tells his story of the Croatians that had moved to the south of Africa. The first Croatian emigrants worked as sailors with the Dutch East India Company that settled in the Cape Colony, or had deserted ships in any one of the South African ports. Increased Croat immigration correlates to the discovery of diamonds and gold, and the first part of the book focuses on Croats in the diamond and gold fields. Little or nothing is known about the Croatians that worked in the diamond fields of Kimberley. During his research Navala came across the graves of Josip Sabljić, who hailed from the area around Bakar in Croatia, and Tripa Vučinović from Boka Kotorska at an abandoned cemetery in Kimberley. Researching the archives, he learned what had happened. In 1884 there was a great miner strike in the diamond fields. Both were killed in the clashes after police fired on the strikers. As far as Navala knows Josip Sablić was the first emigrant Croatian to be killed during a labour dispute.

In the Johannesburg gold fields the Croatians were mostly miners, but also worked as builders and farmers. It is a fact previously unregistered in Croatian historiography that ethnic Croatians had a monopoly on vegetable production in the Transvaal and Pretoria. People with roots on the Croatian islands of Krk, Brač and Korčula were the best-known vegetable growers: Milovčić, Kraljić, Sinovčić, Foretić-Kolenda and others. Dr. Erwin A. Schmidl of the University of Vienna writes to this effect in his doctoral dissertation “Osterreicher im Burenkrieg 1899–1902”, in chapter 2.2.3 concerning “Das dalmatinische Gemusemonopol”.

War, as always, is a story to itself. Most of the book focuses on the war and the participation of Croatians in it. In chapter seven it tells of some forty Croatians that fought on the Boer side in the Boer commando and volunteer units. These people had lived along the breadth of the Croatian Adriatic seaboard (Istria, Primorje, Rijeka, Dalmatia) and the Bay of Kotor before moving abroad. A number from the Cape Colony were active as British imperial troopers. In chapter eight Navala tells an interesting and dramatic story about the first experiences of Croatians in the war. In chapter nine he notes that in 1900 and 1901, 55,000 horses were transported from Rijeka for the needs of the British Imperial forces in South Africa, with every twenty horses on board requiring an escort. They were largely recruited in Rijeka and some, like Ivo Marulić of Baška, defected to the Boer camp and fought with them. Chapter twelve is particularly fascinating and tells of the search for fallen ethnic Croatians. In chapter thirteen Navala tells of some eighty Croats that were deported under the charge that they had participated in the July conspiracy of 1900 aimed at assassinating the British lord Roberts, commander of the imperial military forces. In chapter seventeen we learn of twelve Croatians taken prisoner during the war and interned in prisoner of war camps in India, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Saint Helena and Portugal. Among the many photographs published in this book for the first time is one of the grave of Stjepan Dobrić of Novi Vinodolski, who died and was buried on Saint Helena island. Notably, Jan Jerolim Brajević and Ivo Marulić escaped from the camp in Portugal. In his epilogue Navala offers a brief overview of events in South Africa between the Boer wars and the First World War and how the local ethnic Croatians interacted with these events.

Croats took part in all the major battles of the Boer War. Franjo Barac, who hailed from the hamlet of Barci near Crikvenica, took part in the Siege of Mafeking and in the biggest Boer success of the war at the Battle of Magersfontein. He was wounded and captured two months later during the Battle of Paardeberg of February 1900, and wound up at a POW camp in India. Barac was the only Croat to be decorated (1920) by the Union of South Africa. The already mentioned Stjepan Dobrić and Ivan Stepanić from the Rijeka area fought as members of the German volunteer unit on the Boer side. In March of 1900 their unit was retreating northwards from the southern (Free State) front towards Johannesburg. For reasons unknown, eight members had lagged behind the body of the unit, including Dobrić and Stepanić. When they finally made it to the rail station in Sprigfontein where they were to re-join their unit, they found the station deserted. Lacking supplies and exhausted they tied up their horses at the wagons and fell asleep. They were surprised in the morning by a British scouting expedition and captured. Dobrić and Stepanić were interned at a prisoner of war camp on Saint Helena island. Dobrić died and was buried there, while Stepanić manage to leave the island aboard the last ship to transport a British garrison to England. From there he moved on to settle in the United States of America.

At the Battle of Spioenkop, which took place on 23 and 24 January 1900, a Boer force of 8,000 armed with four cannon was taken on by a British imperial force of 20,000 soldiers backed by 36 cannon. Croats from another German volunteer unit took part in the battle. Navala’s research uncovered the names of only two: Ivan Busanic from the Pretoria Commando unit and Jakovic C. H. (possibly a Montenegrin from Boka Kotorska). Jakovic fell in battle and his name is engraved on the monument to the Boer dead at Spioenkop. Ulderik Franić from Vrgorac also took part in that battle as a member of the Carolina Commando unit. Franić was an exceptional person, literate, and a proper soldier. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army, which, in addition to his other qualities, saw him attached to the first Boer scout unit, Edwards’ scouts. One historical curiosity: Winston Churchill and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi took part in the battle of Spioenkop, each in his own role.

On July 24 1900 the Carolina Commando unit clashed with British troops at the Strydkraal farm in the Eastern Transvaal. Ulderik Franić was wounded in the head in that conflict, but a friend managed to pull him out on horseback. Franić was transferred to the Palmietspruit farm where the Boer hospital was located. He died during the night and was buried at the farm. Today, his grave is marked with a modest marble slab set on a concrete base and bearing an inscription indicating that this is the burial site of an unknown citizen from the Carolina Commando unit. Dr Tian Schutte of Nelspruit (now Mbombela) has compiled a document that can be found at the GSSA (Genealogical Society of South Africa) noting that Franić was buried at the Palmietspruit farm near Amerfsfoort in the Eastern Transvaal. Navala also spoke with Franjo Mađarević, one of the most prominent ethnic Croatians in South Africa. He supported the initiative and noted that the new ambassador, Cicvarić, and the Franciscan monastic Sikirić would support it. A Russian delegation comprised of their ambassador and six officers recently unveiled a monument honouring Russian volunteers in the Boer wars at Utrecht in Natal province. This, Navala, notes, would be an initiative worth our attention and support.

Navala plans the Croatian edition for the first half of 2021 and would certainly like to see the promotion done under the auspices of the Croatian Heritage Foundation. He notes that he summers every year in Croatia at a flat he owns in the coastal town of Poreč in Istria County, which he refers to as the California of Croatia. This summer he and his wife began teaching their grandchildren to speak Croatian via the Apple Mac OS videotelephony application FaceTime.

By: Vesna Kukavica

Photography: Archives of Z. Navala

La Obra Lexicográfica de la Emigración y las Minorías Croatas, que en 1096 páginas y 3464 palabras clave describe el fenómeno de las migraciones croatas, con acento en aquellas de los últimos dos siglos, fue presentada el pasado 21 de octubre en la sala multimedial del Club Matis en los espacios de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata. El director de la FEC, el prof. Mijo Marić; el director del Instituto Ivo Pilar, el dr. Željko Holjevac; el prof. dr. Vladimir P. Goss, crítico; el director de la Pastoral para los croatas en la emigración, el dr. Tomislav Markić; el dr. Vlado Šakić y la dra. Ljiljana Dobrovšak, editores, hablaron sobre esta obra, que presenta un contenido lexicográfico de importancia para el corpus nacional y la cultura fuera de la patria, incluyendo movimientos, organizaciones, eventos y personajes de 45 países. También dirigió unas palabras a los presentes el vice secretario de Estado y delegado del primer ministro, Dario Magdić. El programa musical estuvo a cargo de la cantante de ópera Antonella Malis. La promoción fue moderada hábilmente por Vesna Kukavica, directora de la Sección Editorial de la FEC. La cantidad de público fue limitada de acuerdo con lo determinado por la Sede local de Protección Civil de la ciudad de Zagreb. La presentación pudo ser vista en tiempo real a través de la página de Facebook de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata.

El director de la FEC, Mijo Marić, destacó entre otras cosas que la Obra Lexicográfica presentada intenta resumir el conocimiento humano sobre la emigración croata entre las tapas de un compendio, y agregó que se trabajó durante años en la sistematización del contenido, como es comprensible, debido a la falta de investigación de la temática de las minorías y a la problemática de los emigrantes de la nación croata.

Los editores Šakić y Dobrovšak trabajaron con un centenar de jóvenes colaboradores de una decena de instituciones líderes en cuanto al patrimonio croata, entre ellos el Instituto Lexicográfico Miroslav Krleža, la Bibioteca Nacional y Universitaria de Zagreb y organizaciones líderes en la emigración en 45 países de todos los continentes.

Según escribe en la introducción de la obra, la idea de poner en marcha este proyecto editorial se atribuye a la presidente de la Comisión directiva de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata y diputada Zdenka Babić Petričević, que contó con el apoyo de Hrvoje Hitrec, escritor, y del dr. Ljubomir Antić (2007), historiador, ambos miembros de la comisión directiva. En resumen, la Obra Lexicográfica de la Emigración Croata y de las Minorías es testimonio de los logros croatas en todo el mundo. Se trata de un verdadero tesoro enciclopédico de tipo nacional en el que la atención de los editores se centra exclusivamente en el material relevante para el corpus nacional croata y la cultura fuera de la patria, dijo el director Marić.

La publicación y la impresión del libro que presenta al público croata en la Madre Patria la historia, la literatura, la cultura y el arte de los croatas fuera de las fronteras de Croacia es siempre un evento de alegría para los miembros de dichas comunidades croatas, ya que es símbolo de que Croacia no nos ha olvidado y que todavía hay individuos e instituciones que se ocupan de sus connacionales que, a lo largo de la historia, se vieron forzados a dejar su lugar natal por diferentes motivos, pero en sus nuevos países de residencia siguieron siendo fieles al idioma y la cultura de sus antepasados.

Este gran proyecto del Instituto de Ciencias Sociales Ivo Pilar y de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata es de gran satisfacción para las comunidades croatas en todo el mundo, según dijo el dr. Dinko Šokčević, editor de la obra, quien se hizo presente a través de una carta leída por el politólogo dr. Željko Rupić, de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata.

Según lo dicho por el prof. dr. Vladimir P. Goss, la Obra Lexicográfica contiene una lista de individuos, grupos, logros, características de personajes croatas que viven de forma premanente fuera de sus patrias, Croacia y BiH, y de aquellos que se identifican en parte o temporalmente con un domicilio no croata. La obra es ideológicamente uniforme y sin tintes políticos. Para un país con una emigración bastante grande, esta obra amplía el comocimiento y la significación de la nación croata como fenómeno global en por lo menos un tercio. Es grande el paso hacia la creación de la identidad de una Croacia Global y es un medio importante de acercamiento de toda la gente de origen croata en el mundo. Además, la Obra Lexicográfica de la Emigración Croata y las Minorías es nuestra máxima legitimidad ante el mundo, ante la historia y ante nosotros mismos, afirmó el crítico Goss.

La obra fue publicada en cooperación con el Instituto de Ciencias Sociales Ivo Pilar y la Fundación para la Emigración Croata. La tapa es obra del renombrado pintor croata de Australia, Charles Billich.

La gama de los conceptos procesados cubre temáticamente las áreas de historia, sociología, lingüística y antropología cultural, geografía humana y caracteríticas etnográficas de los emigrantes croatas, creación artística y logros científicos, ediciones en la diáspora y las escuelas croatas en la emigración, etc. Un centenar de expertos nacionales y extranjeros resumieron los términos macropédicos de la sección de la emigración en la Croacia global. Además, la obra incluye términos micropédicos, siendo los más numerosos las biografías de personajes, artistas y científicos destacados. El lector se encontrará también con trabajadores que se encuentran temporariamente en el extranjero, trabajadores migrantes, emigrantes transoceánicos, miembros de las minorías en los países europeos vecinos, disidentes, exiliados, aventureros y aquellos afectados por la movilidad moderna.

El equipo editorial elaboró una extensa base electrónica de ciencias lexicográficas basada en investigaciones del campo de las migraciones de ciudadanos de raíces croatas, disponible en la edición de 2015 en la red,  cuya publicación impresa saldrá en vistas al 70° aniversario de la Fundación para la Emigración Croata y el 30° aniversario del Instituto Ivo Pilar.

A fines del siglo XX se logro la independencia del Estado Croata sobre las huellas históricas y la Guerra por la Independencia, por lo tanto el conocimiento de la Croacia emigrada y de las minorías croatas en las circunstancias modernas es un componente inevitable de la identidad global y europea. Además, los emigrantes croatas también participaron en todos los procesos que precedieron a la realización de la independencia.

Después de haber hecho el alfabeto de términos para las necesidades del proyecto, los expertos y científicos del Instituto Lexicográfico Miroslav Krleža y del Instituto Ivo Pilar diseñaron una base de datos. De momento, la base de la Obra Lexicográfica contiene 12783 términos, cuyo número aumentará al ir recolectando más información y nuevos conocimientos. Más de 2900 términos corresponden a grupos de minorías, 9000 a la emigración, y los demás a conceptos, lugares y eventos. Cabe decir que todos los datos de la base podrán ser utilizados en el futuro para la elaboración de la Enciclopedia de la Emigración Croata y las Minorías o para obras lexicográficas por temas (por ej. la Obra lexicográfica de los croatas en EE.UU., en Hungría, de los croatas en Gradišće, etc.) y para otras investigaciones, dijo la editora Dobrovščak.

En un proceso que llevó prácticamente una década, participaron muchas instituciones e individuos. Como es de esperarse, la base de datos incluye más términos que los que contiene la edición impresa, lo que atestigua un gran número de conocimientos poco sistemáticos y aun relativamente desconocidos sobre la Croacia de la emigración y las minorías croatas, agregó la editora Dobrovšak.

La ceremonia de presentación de este debut enciclopédico, cuyo tiraje es limitado por motivos comprensibles, fue presenciada por la embajadora de la República de Croacia ante Argentina, Duška Paravić; la presidente de la comisión parlamentaria para los croatas fuera de Croacia, Zdravka Bušić; Zdravko Gavran, del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores; la delegada de la ministra de Cultura de Croacia, Anja Jelavić; el persidente de la comisión directiva de la FEC, Milan Kovač y su miembro Hrvoje Hitrec; Croatiana orešković y el dr. Milan Bošnjak, de la Oficina central gubernamental para los croatas fuera de Croacia; el prof. dr. Željko Tanjić,  rector de la Universidad Católica Croata; el académico Ante Markotić; el presidente de la asociación Prsten, Pavo Zubak; el dr. Marin Sopta; el dr. Božo Skoko; Tuga Tarle; Drago Šaravanja, Ivana Bačić Serdarević, Darko (Teodoro) Mažuranić, Ruža Studer-Babić, Jadranka Vincek, Kristijan Jusić, Marijan Lipovac y otros.

El director Marić hizo entrega de un ramo de flores a Ljiljana Dobrovšak y a Vesna Kukavica, y agradeció a todos los que, de alguna manera, hicieron un aporte a la realización de este proyecto editorial, a las personas e instituciones, asociaciones de la emigración y misiones católicas, y especialmente a los editores, al director Holjevac y al líder del proyecto Šakić y al equipo que trabajó durante años en esta obra.

Texto: Diana Šimurina -Šoufek

Fotos: Snježana Radoš

The October issue of Matica magazine features a twenty-page spread focusing on the island of Ugljan. The cover features the portal to the 1686 Lantana family baroque period palace on the island, photographed by Boris Kačan. The back-cover photo by Silvije Butković celebrates the European Heritage Days. Željko Rupić provides our coverage of events, sports and news out of the State Office for Croats Abroad.

In her The Sociological Puzzle column Nina Sorić looks at what is shaping up to be one of the showpiece museums in Croatia, the baroque style former administrative building of the Rijeka sugar refinery from 1752 currently undergoing a remodelling. In our new section on Croatian language instructorships Nataša Veinović leverages jargon to relate her experience in Beijing. We consider the long history of the interrelationship between the island of Ugljan and Zadar on the mainland (Marin Knezovića), our endemic flora and fauna (Darko Mihelj) figures like publicist Vjekoslav Mavro of Kukljica (Vesna Kukavica), and how a brief visit by writer Petar Preradović to the summer residence of his first wife in Lukoran inspired him to pen his best known poem.

In his column Croatian Musicians Davor Schopf writes of the 135th anniversary of the birth of composer Dora Pejačević. In Vienna a Croatian civic centre has opened ahead of schedule and in Belgrade the local authorities have provided premises for Croatian community ethnic and culture associations. We cover Vladimir P. Goss’ new book on the identity of Srijem Croats, and look at the lives of Michael Palaich and Mile Rupčić. Along with her regular column Vesna Kukavica covers a significant exhibition on 800 years of cultural heritage shared by Croatia and Hungary. We also look at Branko Baf, a tireless emigrant from Istra County, a new film workshop in Orašje, and the Insieme/Zajedno magazine of the Croatian-Italian Association of Rome. Our editor Ljerka Galic invites readers to enjoy these and other articles in this month’s issue.

03 Content – October 2020

Columns

13   Global Croatia

14   The Sociological Puzzle

20   Croatian Musicians

24   Click: Going Home

32   Croatia’s Endemic Flora and Fauna

39  Cues in Communication

62  Movement/Aberration

4    In Focus: News from the State Office for Croats Abroad

6    New premises for Croatian associations in Belgrade

8  Croatian civic centre opens in Vienna

9  The Ars et Virtus Croatia-Hungary: 800 Years of Shared Cultural Heritage exhibition

12 The Zajedno/Insieme magazine

18 170th anniversary of the merger of Gradec and Kaptol

19 Croatia Outside the Homeland III Promo event

26 23rd Rešetari poetry meeting

27 50th Varaždin Baroque Evenings

28 A look at the history of Ugljan island

30 Ugljan’s points of interest

36  A chronicle of emigration out of Kukljica on Ugljan island

40  The Little School goes virtual

42  A database on teaching Croatian as a foreign language

44  A Croatian language instructorship in Beijing

46  A new book by Vladimir P. Goss

48 Books: The Identity of Srijem Croats Through the Prism of Tradition Heritage

50  A Spanish translation of Šenoa’s The Goldsmith’s Treasure

52  Voting rights anniversary

54  A book by Michael Palaich

56  Mile Rupčić’s latest album

57  Recognition of emigrant Gordana Bećirović

58  The projects of emigrant Branko Baf

60  A film workshop in Orašje

64  Crorama

66  Sports news

By: Ljerka Galic

The latest issue covers the fifteenth anniversary of the Vukovar branch office of the CHF, a visit by the Croatian President and a CHF delegation to the USA for the 125th anniversary of the Croatian Fraternal Union in Pittsburgh. We also report on book promotions and publications on diaspora topics.

The island of Susak is featured in the October issue of Matica Magazine. Susak is unique, distinctive and different in many ways. Among other little-known facts about the island is that it is the only sandy island in the Adriatic Sea, and is home to the only women’s folk costume in Europe with a skirt that stops above the knees. With characteristics of the local idiom drawn in from neighbouring influences, Susak tells a story all its own.

We also cover the current events, including the fifteenth anniversary of the Vukovar branch office of the CHF, a visit by the Croatian President and a CHF delegation to the USA for the 125th anniversary of the Croatian Fraternal Union in Pittsburgh. We also report on book promotions and publications on diaspora topics.

Content

Columns

Global Croatia

Histories

The Adriatic Islands

Croatia’s Endemic Flora and Fauna

Cues in Communication

Click: Going Home

Movement/Aberration

15th anniversary of CHF Vukovar

Poetry meeting in Rešetari

Film festival in Orašje

In focus: news from the State Office for Croats Abroad

125th anniversary of the Croatian Fraternal Union

Croatian President visits the United States of America

Croatian graduates in California

Youth forum in Montenegro

Susak: a unique island

Natives of Susak in the USA

Susak island diaspora day

The local idiom of the island of Susak

European Capital of Culture Rijeka 2020

Antonio Rendić memorial plaque in Brač

Days of Brazil in Pula

Diaspora Croats from Labin in Istria County

Zorica Krajinović-Marinić novel promo

A monograph on Frano Radić

Vesna Zorka Mimica short story collection promo in Split

Translation of the memoires of émigré journalist Luka Brajnović

The thoughtful lyricism of Malkica Dugeč

A special edition book on the Croatian Catholic Mission in Bielefeld

In memoriam: Ivo Malec

70th anniversary of Zagreb’s Technical Museum

Zagreb–Novo Mesto cycling marathon

Sports news

Crorama

By: Ljerka Galic