I’ve been lurking now for a couple of months on this platform, admiring the content people create here. As a digital artist and photographer, it was only a matter of time before I decided to make my first contribution. I have chosen this particular photo to be my first post on Steemit. My original photography will be exclusive on Steemit only. (Besides photography I also create digital art, game art and illustration.)
I'd like to share with you, the story of the dancing fairies from Zadar.
In 2018 I was walking through the old town of Zadar, Croatia when I took this photo. I saw three girls playing outside, dressed in traditional Croatian clothing. A pretty unusual sight in the streets of a city center. Soon I discovered there was a folk festival that day, where locals would perform folk dances and music, at the Forum ruins nearby, not far from where this photo was taken.
I caught manny interesting shots that night because the street scene was very colorful and alive. Once I got home I went through the photos, and took a better look at them. This one caught my attention because it reminded me of the painting “Dancing Fairies” (Swedish: Älvalek) by the Swedish painter August Malmström (1829–1901).
Altho seemingly outnumbered by the fairies from Malmström's compositions, the three girls seem playful and careless, just like little fairies. One is looking at the camera, shy and giggling, the other turned away from us, and the third gazing at her reflection in the windows, while her feet seem like they're floating above the ground, barely touching it. All three are wearing traditional dresses and have their hair divided in the middle of the scalp, split into two braids, that either fall on the back, front, or in this case, wrapped around the back of the head. All three variations are traditional Slavic ways of wearing hair for girls.
According to Nordic, Slavic, and most other European folklore, the elves or fairies live free in nature, and can be seen dancing in the woods, meadows, over river streams and around burial mounds, but also in the mountains. The most famous of all fairies in Slavic mythology are the “Gorska Vila” (Mountain Fairy), as the area around Zadar is very mountainous, containing also the largest mountain range in all Croatia, the Velebit, a part of the Dinaric Alps that stretches all across the Balkans.
The Malmström painting is a juxtaposition of the physical realm and the spirit realm, depicted by the translucent fairies floating over the water, in a secluded landscape setting - an interplay of two different worlds. As they glide over the stream, one particular detail is interesting, and that is the one fairy gazing into the water, seeing her own reflection. Aside from the moon, this area of the painting is also the brightest with light. This detail reminds me on the third girl from my photo. Like the fairy, she is also gazing at her reflection, but not in water, rather in the window of the building.
There are many interpretations of elves and fairies in our folk stories across the Balkan countries, but sadly the older generations are now dying out, and with them the oral transmission of folklore. The younger generations are moving out to western and central European countries in search of a better future, mostly because of economic reasons. The tales of the old, and all the mythological lore is fading away just like Malmström's fairies when the sun rises...
At least some of the traditional wear, dance and music is still preserved by folk ensembles across the countries, and passed on to the next generations. But it is questionable for how long these communities will last if the young are leaving the countries, as these communities are mostly comprised of volunteering retirees and their grandchildren.
All images and text are my original content. ©2019 direwolfslair All rights reserved.
