|
Tija's Story
|
Tija's story is a poetic performance using physical theatre combined with sign language and storytelling. It was created for the Krasopis festival – Festival for the research, promotion and protection of Dinaric karst and performed above the Vinodol valley on the karstic glades of Mount Tić, at an altitude of about 700m above the sea level. It was prepared site-specifically regarding the topic and the location; at amazing area of free grazing places of the firstly neglected, and then later abandoned horses which have turned into wild horses through the course of time. The Festival was, among other topics, covering the process of their bewilderment and their current life.
The performance told the story of the wedding day of a young girl Tija and Tija's resistance to the hardships of women's life in karstic-cultural landscapes. It focused on a true event; the traditional wedding transfer of the bride on a horseback. Custom included taking the bride from her village to the groom's village. It was happening at the beginning of the 20th century in the vicinity of the city of Knin in Croatia under the mountain Dinara.
|
|
Young girl Tija was taken close to the groom's house and left on the horse. It was considered highly inappropriate for a bride to come down from the horse on her own. By doing so, she would bring bad luck to the new family. Her selected husband-to-be didn't mind leaving her on the horse the whole day and night. So Tija stayed where she was supposed to. The horse, on the other hand, didn't mind carrying her all the night, and while freely grazing he took her the across the polje/poje, the karstic field, where she stayed throughout the night, on the horseback, warmed by its warm 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 is 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 is 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
