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The Pecalba Tradition In Macedonia, A Case Study, Joel Halpern

Joel M. Halpern

The following narrative has been excerpted from an account by a pravoslavni (Eastern Orthodox Christian) peasant from a village in the hills above Struga, near Lake Ohrid. It is especially interesting for historical perspective on the social ties and obligations between Orthodox and Moslem villagers, often members of the same village community, particularly with regard to the carrying out of pecalba, the migrant labor pattern characteristic of this region.