Vasovanje

The play Vasovanje shows how young, unmarried men used to court their sweethearts under their balconies late in the evenings. Although the scenesand the dialogues of the play have not been much changed over the years, the actors perform it with great excitement and enthusiasm needed to re-live the past and traditional Bohinj customs and share it with all our dear guests and visitors of Bohinj.

The first scene shows how love is born among youngsters in the village and how different love relationships are being created. Some of the sweethearts are exchanging gingerbread hearts, some boys are giving promises to their sweethearts that they will play nocturnal visits to them under their balconis and some are having jelous outbursts toward.

Old married men, who are sitting, chatting and drinking, are recalling their memories of the time when they used to go courting in the nights. One man is telling a funny story of his friend who knocked on his sweetheart´s window and instead of reaching his girl’ s hand, he reached something hairy with big horns. He realised that he touched a goat.

In the second scene it got dark outside and all the lights in the village houses are switched off and inhabitants went to sleep. Youngsters are going to court their girls under the balconies. Unfortunately, this is not always the easisest task to do, because some get caught by girl´s awaken mother or the girl they like does not want to accept their declaration of love. He is either too poor and has no land nor horses or she doesn´t like him at all. You will see how does the young man in love react when he is rejected by a girl. He and his friends put a scarecrow with horse harness under the girl´s window so that the whole village could laugh her shallowness in the morning.

Men other villages are not allowed to go to nocturnal visits to girl in this village, and that who dare to try, is being chased away.

The scene also shows how one young man from the village is accepted by the girl. He climbs up to balcony, calls the girl to come out to declare his love to her. She comes out from her room and confirms her love toward him by lighting him a cigar, giving him carnation and gingerbread heart.

The whole event is being monitored by the oldest unmaried boy in the village called mer and his friend who are hidden in the bush near the house. They are offical witnesses of the event and they are appointed by the village companionship of unmarrid boys called fantovščina.

The third scene presents how the village companionship of unmarrid boys called fantovščina accept a new member France. Not everybody could be the gang member of fantovščina. Only the lucky ones, who return from the nocturnal visit to their sweethearts with a lit cigar and carnatin, have this privilidge.

The membership is then offered the ceremony of confession of mer, who baptizes the newcome with wine and by inscribing his name into a special book of all the members.

It is only after going throug all this ceremony, a new member gets the right and the priviledge to be equal to all other members, which means that he can officialy go courting and be also entitled to go drinking and dancing with his friends.

The scene also presents how married ones have problems. Married man has matrimonial argues with his wife after the night spent in the local pub.

But youngsters don´t care about problems of married, they prefer to dance bohinj traditional dances.

We hope you will join us at an enjoyable evening with our performers and that you´ll enjoy our play.