ATHLETIC TOURNAMENT : BELGRADE, SERVIA 



Photo by E- M. Newman 



Following Servia's rise to an independent nation, Belgrade made great progress; so much 

 so that some travelers called it "a smaller but neater edition of Budapest," while others 

 pronounced it almost worthy of the name it assumed, "Petit Paris." Many athletic tourna- 

 ments have been held in the capital. 



riculturist in onr countr}^ in former times 

 delighted to meet with his neighbors at 

 the cross-roads post-office to discuss poli- 

 tics and neighborhood affairs, so the Ser- 

 vian peasant enjoys his evening at the 

 "village wine shop, where he goes to talk 

 politics more than to drink ; for be it said 

 that the Servian takes to politics as nat- 

 urally as the duck takes to water. 



WHERE THE ELDERS RULE 



While in recent years there has been a 

 tendency to break away from the old 

 form of communal life, one still sees 

 many of the old-fashioned "Zadrugas" 

 in every part of the country. These Zad- 

 rugas are family associations, which hold 

 everything in common. The center of it 

 is the large family house, with its great 

 hearth, its community kitchen, and com- 



munity dining-hall. Around this house 

 are grouped a large number of huts called 

 "Vayats." Here the several families of 

 the community live, always going to the 

 central house to eat and to spend their 

 evenings. Sometimes the heads of the 

 community are the grandfathers and 

 grandmothers of its members; at other 

 times they are selected by vote of all the 

 members of the community. They be- 

 come the controlling forces, and the men 

 and women are allotted their duties by 

 them. 



In the matter of marriage, the Ser- 

 vians are among the world's greatest 

 sticklers against the violation of the 

 laws of consanguinity. Cousins never 

 marry, and it is rather rare for a boy to 

 select his bride even in the same village. 

 He usually seeks her at least a day's 



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