Dorf – Berg – Heimat

Landschaftsbezüge in lebensgeschichtlichen Erzählungen muslimischer Frauen in Bulgarien

Abstract

This article focuses on the description of landscapes in the life narratives of Muslim women in Bulgaria. The so called Pomaks are a Bulgarian-speaking Muslim minority in the area of the Rhodope Mountains in the south of the country. The cultural and religious determination of how Pomak women perceive landscape varies according to generation. In this article, their experiences are reconstructed with the help of Oral History Interviews and contrasted with official accounts of life in the mountains and villages. The images of the environment are closely embedded in the life narratives of the women and are described in detail. Emotions, anxiety, values and norms are being passed on in these narratives. Notions of nature and its beauty that are relevant in Islam have influenced the perception of the environment. The younger generation, however, has gained a more individualistic experience of the environment via education and the media.