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Tija's Story
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Tija's story was a poetic performance using physical theatre combined with sign language and storytelling. I created a site-specific performance for the Krasopis festival – Festival for the research, promotion and protection of Dinaric karst and performed it on the karstic glades of Mount Tić 700 meters above the Vinodol Valley.
The setting is the home of a herd of wild, free-grazing horses, who were once domesticated before being neglected and then abandoned. Over time, they returned to their original feral state and now live free in the wild. Their return to the wild was one topic covered at the Festival. This location was perfect as it helped to incorporate the lives of the horses to serve as a natural backdrop to Tija's story.
The setting is the home of a herd of wild, free-grazing horses, who were once domesticated before being neglected and then abandoned. Over time, they returned to their original feral state and now live free in the wild. Their return to the wild was one topic covered at the Festival. This location was perfect as it helped to incorporate the lives of the horses to serve as a natural backdrop to Tija's story.
The performance told the story of the wedding day of a young girl Tija and her resistance to the hardships of women's life in karstic-cultural landscapes. It was a reenactment of a true event: the traditional wedding custom at the beginning of the 20th century near the city of Knin, Croatia, of taking a bride from her village on horseback to the groom's village.
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According to custom, Tija was taken close to her prospective groom's house and left on the horse, where she was to remain until he came to retrieve her. It was highly improper for the bride to dismount the horse on her own, because by doing so, she would bring bad luck to her new family. Her husband-to-be left her on the horse the whole day and night, not carrying what might happen to her. Tija remained seated on the horse as she was supposed to all night, waiting for her groom to come. The horse didn't mind carrying her. He took her across the karstic field (polje), as he grazed on the grass growing there. Tija stayed on the horse all night, warmed by its body.
The performance tells a true story dedicated to the unspoken voices of women in karstic cultures, testifying to the ruthlessness and superhuman endurance with which they went through life, as well as the collective pain of the womb that connects us all. The artist expressed these voices and their absence, using Croatian sign language, physical theatre, a folk song, and the narration of Tija's experiences.
An important element in the performance was also the sun-baked yarrow (Achillea millefolium), which the artist holds sealed in her mouth; a prickly bridal bouquet of sun-baked amethyst eryngo (Ernygium amethystinum); a living common whitebeam (Sorbus aria) on which a bridal veil is strung and secured with limestone stones; and a living juniper tree (Juniperus oxycedrus), just some of the plants of the Dinaric karstic fields (poja).
An important element in the performance was also the sun-baked yarrow (Achillea millefolium), which the artist holds sealed in her mouth; a prickly bridal bouquet of sun-baked amethyst eryngo (Ernygium amethystinum); a living common whitebeam (Sorbus aria) on which a bridal veil is strung and secured with limestone stones; and a living juniper tree (Juniperus oxycedrus), just some of the plants of the Dinaric karstic fields (poja).
Photography: Eduard Tucaković, Gordan Godec, Iva Korbar
