intangible cultural heritage

Pupet Show Entitled Mejaši

area : Srce Slowenije
category : performing arts
Mejaši is an old puppet show which was usually played at weddings. It is quite unique and its equal is not to be found among European puppetry. This is why we speak of a typical Slovenian-Kajkavian puppet form. It was also often staged in the area of Šmartno near Litija, today it is only put on stage on special occasions.
The first professsional notes on puppetry in Slovenia appeared in 1941: they describe a puppet scene entitled “Lawsuit for the borderline” at Dravsko polje. Even as early as that time older people told that that was an “old prank” at weddings. According to the stories told by Ida Delšek\\\'s father Gregor Pivec, born in 1928, who had seen the play several times, puppets appeared in Javorje above Bogenšperk during the first years following World War I. Puppets are called mejaši and in the surroundings of Javorje they are also called “mlatiči” (threshers) since the players quarrel over the borderline between their properties.

The play was performed at wedding celebrations by folk musicians who were usually younger men. The following are the stage props required for the play: a bench, two blankets, two wooden sticks (dressed in two jackets) and a hat. At the beginning one blanket is laid down and the bench is placed on the blanket; under the bench, a male actor lies down. The second blanket is used to cover the bench from the top. Then the actor holds the bench with both hands and legs. Two men cover the bench with the lower blanket and bring the bench on the stage. They partly unfold the blanket and the actor descends down onto the floor. Their hands (puppets) rest on the bench while he hides the legs under the upper blanket. Everything but the puppets is hidden. The puppets come to life; each has a name, for instance Jože and Miha. “What are you going to do today?” “I thought I would thresh. Will you help me do some?” “You know I will, you are my neighbour, aren’t you? “All right, let\\\'s start.”

They start threshing, the strokes can be heard: pi-ka po-ka. For a while everything goes smoothly and then a flail falls down hard on the neighbour. The latter begins to complain about having been hit. The first offers a pretext that he meant no harm and asks the neighbour that they continue working. After they have been threshing for some time the fight starts again, only this time it gets much worse. A third person comes up to them, the so-called arbitrator: “What are you fighting about?” They explain to him how the fight started and it turns out that they have had this dispute for quite some time over a boundary stone which is supposed to be “on this side”, and Jože pounds the bench with his right hand. Each shows his own side of the border. The arbitrator gives judgement as to where the border stone should be, and then they make up and keep on threshing. When they take up the fight again it turns out that it is all about the women: Miha is supposed to cast glances at Jože\\\'s wife from time to time. Big words followed and in the end they agree that Miha will leave Jože\\\'s wife alone while Jože will give in with respect to the border stone. Thus they make up again, shake hands and the play is over. The actor holds tight to the bench and the two men carry him off the stage.

One actor plays two roles (two neighbours) and another is an arbitrator. First uses different voices for the roles and the audience does not know how many actors there are under the bench. This makes the play even funnier. The names of the characters were usually borrowed from nearby neighbours who have actually had a dispute.

Ida Dolšek, artistic director of the Cultural and Arts Society Folklore Group Javorje, saw the play several times when she was a child and then brought it back to life by means of folklore groups. They gave a performance at the international meeting of puppeteers in Ljubljana in 1992. The play is very special since it cannot be seen anywhere else. Nowadays the Society stage the play when they give a performance as a guest theatre; however, they do wish that the technique of playing would be learned by the young.

links

The Heart of Slovenia
Development Centre Litija
Society Folklore Group Javorje
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