The Shared Vanga. Local Identity Construction in the Border Region of Petrich, R. Bulgaria and Strumica, R. Macedonia

Authors:

Pages: 174-179
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/ABFL4872

Abstract:

The paper directs the attention to the border region of Petrich, Bulgaria and Strumica, Macedonia. Throughout the centuries, this area has developed a common ethnic identity on a regional basis. The final establishment of the political border between the two regions in 1944 led to changes in the traditional markers of common local identity. As a result, today the population is in a process of establishment of new communal symbols. One of these shared symbols is Vanga in whom the population on both sides of the border recognizes itself and who stands in between the two regions but not as a border, which divides but rather as a connecting link.

Keywords:

Vanga, local identity, border region

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