Village Self-Government in the Period 1944-1955 in an Anthropological Perspective: The Example of the Village of Dobri Do

Abstract

Rural self-government is an insufficiently researched topic in domestic and foreign anthropological literature. What is more, the extent to which archives of local self-government bodies can be useful as sources for anthropological research has not been sufficiently studied. For this reason, an attempt was made to provide a contribution to a better understanding of these scientific issues on the example of the village of Dobri Do in the vicinity of Pirot, and on the basis of material in the Historical Archive of Pirot that refers to the work of the Local People's Committee in this village. The period after the Second World War was chosen, due to the state of the materials in the archival collections and the fact that the period was marked by numerous processes that highlighted scientific problems more clearly. It started from the assumption that the local self-government, as a mediator between the rural community and state authorities, was primarily directed towards protecting the interests of the rural community itself.

The analysis showed that MNO archives can be very useful sources, and that they can be combined with classical anthropological research methods (participant observation, interview, biographical method). Nevertheless, a critical attitude must be taken towards this archival material, because it is incomplete, insufficiently conscientiously collected and organized. Based on the available material, it is possible to see many questions that have not been raised so far about the relationship between the local community and state institutions. Further research will show to what extent it is possible to improve the use of this material within ethnological and anthropological research.