We will now examine more closely this curious institution, which, in these countries, impresses on property in land sodifferent a form from that which it has assumed with us in the West. The social unit, the civil corporation, which owns theland, is the family community, that is to say, the group of descendants from a common ancestor, dwelling in the same houseor in the same inclosure, labouring in common and enjoying in common the produce of agricultural labour. This communityis called by the Germans Hauskommunion , and by the Slavs themselves druzina , druztvo , or zadruga , words which havemuch the same meaning as "association." The head of the family is called gospodar , starchina , or domatchin . He is electedby the members of the community, and has to transact the business of the community. He buys and sells the produce in thename of the association, in the same way as the manager of a joint-stock company. He regulates the work to be done, butacts in concert with those subject to him, who are always summoned to deliberate on resolutions to be formed, whenever thesubject is an important one. There is, in fact, a free parliamentary government in miniature. The chief represents thecommunity in its transactions with any third party, and in its relations with the state. He settles all disputes which arisewithin the family circle, and is the guardian of all infants. The gospodar has the executive power, while the united associate***ercise the legislative power. The authority of the head of the family is far less despotic than in the Russian family. Thespirit of independence here, too, is much more pronounced. The gospodar , who attempted to act without the advice of hisassociates, would be an object of detestation, and would not even be tolerated. In Bulgaria every inhabitant has the right ofveto on important questions. When the head of the family feels himself growing old he usually resigns his office, agreeably tothe Servian proverb: ko radi, onaj valja, da sudi , "he who toils should govern." His successor is not always the oldestmember of the group; but is that one of his brothers who seems most capable of managing the common interests. The eldersare respected, and their experience secures a ready hearing for their advice; but they do not enjoy the almost sacred prestigewhich surrounds them in Russia. The wife of the gospodar , or some other woman, chosen from the family group, the domatchica , regulates the household and takes care of its domestic interests. She directs the education of the young andchants the national poems to them in the evenings. Her place at table is by the side of the gospodar . She is consulted in allmarriages, and is respected by all.
The dwelling of a family community consists of a considerable number of buildings, often constructed entirely of wood,especially in Servia and Croatia, where the oak is still abundant. Within an inclosure surrounded by a strong hedge or apalisade, and generally in the middle of a lawn planted with fruit-trees, rises the principal dwelling-house, occupied by the gospodar and his children, and occasionally by another couple with their offspring. In this house is the large room, where thefamily take their meals in common, and meet at night for the evening. (2) In buildings adjoining these are rooms for the othermembers of the family. In Servia the starshina's house is distinguished by a very high and pointed roof covered with woodentiles. It is carefully whitewashed, and contains, besides the common hail, from two to four sleeping-rooms. The othercouples have small dwellings constructed less carefully on piles, at some distance from the ground, like the barns in theValais. Sometimes young couples make themselves a separate home within the inclosure, without, however, leaving theassociation. On one side are stalls for the cattle, barns, sheds, and a drying-room for maize, which together make aconsiderable block of buildings, or farmstead, reminding one very much of the large chalets of Simmenthal, in Switzerland,with their numerous dependencies. Each community consists of from ten to twenty persons. Some are found numbering asmany as fifty or sixty; but these are exceptional. In Herzegovina there are generally from twenty to five-and-twenty persons.
The larger the family the more fully is the blessing of heaven supposed to rest upon it. Distress, they tell you, never comes,except when communities are dissolved. "The isolated family has more pain than joy," says the proverb. Nevertheless, thecommunities are never sufficiently numerous to constitute a village. There are villages where all the inhabitants bear thesame name, but yet they form several zadrugas .
The population, hitherto, has not increased very rapidly. New generations replace those which pass away, and so thecomposition of a family community remains nearly constant. In those which I have visited in Croatia and in the MilitaryConfines, I have generally found three generations collected under the same roofthe grandparents reposing after their toil,the sons devoted to labour, one of them discharging the functions of gospodar , and finally the young children of differentages. When a family becomes too numerous, it divides, and two communities are formed. The difficulty of finding adwelling, the merging of individual advantage in the well-being of the association, and the living in common, are all obstaclesto early marriages. Many young men go to service in the towns, join the army, or devote themselves to liberal professions.
They retain, however, the right of resuming their place under the common roof, so long as they are not definitely settledelsewhere. The young women on marrying pass into their husband's family. Sometimes, but very rarely, when the number ofworking hands is short, the daughter's husband is received into the family. In this case he enters the community, and acquiresthe same rights in it as the others.
