The Šavrinka, Šavrin and Šavrinija in Ethnography and Literature

Abstract

The paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork of migrant workers in Istria and an analysis of selected works of literature which directly or indirectly interpret the phenomenon of Šavrinkas, Šavrins and Šavrinija, and which played a crucial role in the "Šavrinization" of the northeastern Istrian countryside. Our current understanding of Šavrinija arises from semirecent literary production which focuses on female egg sellers, or Šavrinkas, while the ethnographic data reveal shades of overlapping, interweaving and separation among the numerous pedlars and the literary depictions of Šavrinkas, and emphasise the importance of material culture in the formation of literary and regional symbols.