They are the organisation which gave the world the dormouse festival, and Tartajun on Hvar now has its first female president.
One of the driving forces behind the regeneration of the inland villages of the island of Hvar has a new president, after the annual general meeting of local association Tartajun, their official website reports on January 16, 2016.
Ivana Stancic was voted in as the new president for a two-year period, the first female president to hold the post, one more small step in gender equality in Dalmatia, which is a more traditional and conservative society.
Stancic’s main task will be to continue the excellent work of the local association which started over a beer in a local bar one winter evening and the decision to found a magazine celebrating the village of Dol’s history and heritage, to hosting one of Croatia’s most unusual festivals – and the largest indigenous festival on Hvar – the annual edible dormouse festival, or Puhijada.
Along with the village of Dol on the island of Brac and a village in Gorski Kotor, Dol on Hvar is one of the few places in Croatia where dormice are hunted and eaten. Tartajun decided to showcase the traditions and heritage of the inland village in an annual summer festival called Puhijada, including the eating of grilled dormice – a village staple. A legend was born, and the final night of the now week-long Puhijada dormouse festival now attracts up to 4,000 people.
Festival apart, Tartajun has been instumental in several initiatives to regenerate life in Dol, and together with Pjover from neighbouring Velo Grablje, they have become symbols of efforts of the younger generation to restore ancient traditions and breathe life into villages on an island where the coast is the main focus of attention. A report on a previous Puhijada festival below gives an overview of the breadth of culture and tradition celebrated.
