Issue 1, Vol. 84 (2025)

Evidence of folklorism in the town of Velká Bíteš (western Moravia) dates back to the first half of the twentieth century, whereby these efforts reflect a blending of various types of collective identities. After a period of decline following World War II, we can observe a resurgence of interest in folk traditions, leading to the establishment of the Bítešan Folklore Ensemble in 1965. In the 1990s, the organisational structure and future direction of the ensembles were influenced by its association with a club formed around the local museum. The current leaders of the children´s groups are motivated by their own identity-based attitudes, which they aim to cultivate in the children alongside their relation to tradition. The ensemble plays an important role in strengthening local identity and serves as a key element in the construction of regional identity.

This study examines the educational and life ambitions of Roma pupils in Central Slovakia through the lens of cultural capital. Using Bourdieu’s concept, it analyses how family background, socio-economic conditions, and cultural resources shape students’ academic outcomes. Based on surveys and field research conducted in two schools with a high Roma population, the findings indicate that limited cultural capital and poverty constrain educational opportunities. Despite these barriers, school initiatives and teacher support help to mitigate these disadvantages, fostering a positive reading culture and student aspirations. The study emphasizes the need for parental engagement, support structures, and policy measures to enhance educational outcomes for Roma pupils.

The theme of Whitsun king rides has not yet been studied from the perspective of the entire western-Moravian region of Podhorácko. This is primarily due to the early disappearance of the tradition by the end of the nineteenth century and the delayed interest in local ethnography. Recently, renewed attention has been drawn to the revived Ride of the Kings festival in Ketkovice - the only event of its kind currently held in the region. Thanks to the care of the local municipal authority and the Podhorácko Ensemble of Ketkovice, the ride was recently nominated for inscription on the List of Intangible Elements of Traditional Folk Culture of the South Moravian Region. The motivation of those involved consisted in safeguarding this long-standing festival for future generations. Our treatise aims to place the Nomination File, primarily describing the current state of the element, into a broader spatial and time context.

The study explores the multifaceted personality of the Czech physician Duchoslav Panýrek (1867–1940), who, in addition to his medical practice, scientific interests, and popularization of medicine, also engaged in writing and translation. Among his travelogues, those inspired by his journeys in the Caucasus hold a prominent place. As a keen observer with the insight of a physician, he documented the peculiarities of Caucasian ethnic groups at the end of the 19th century (paying particular attention to Caucasian women) and described the regions of the Caucasus he traversed, especially the Georgian Military Road and the spa town of Pyatigorsk. He compiled his contributions about his journey to the Caucasus (and other parts of the Russian Empire) in the book From the Neva to the Kura ([1901]) [Od Něvy po Kuru].

The paper deals with the erection of a joint maypole in the mixed Ukrainian-Slovak villages Huta and Storozhnytsia, in Transcarpathia (Ukraine). The erection of a joint maypole is a new cultural phenomenon based on the traditional custom of erecting individual maypoles in front of young girls’ houses. In Huta, however, a collective version of this custom was practiced briefly. The paper aims to describe and trace the development of this phenomenon and to analyse why people in these villages perform it. All information collected in the paper were obtained during field research conducted in the mixed Ukrainian-Slovak localities of Transcarpathia between March and June 2024.