Die Thematik der slowakischen Bergmannslieder im interethnischen Kontext

Abstract

Miners' songs represent a specific group within the song culture of several European nations.

Slovak ethnography and folklore studies have focused on the study of the life and culture of miners since approximately the 1950s.

When examining the themes of Slovak miners' songs in an interethnic context, we identify approximately 3 categories:

1. Songs whose themes are common or similar, perhaps in pan-European contexts, but especially for Slovak, Czech, German and Polish miners' songs.

2. Themes that are not found within our songs or are exceptional.

3. Themes that are characteristic of Slovak song material.

Slovak miners' songs classified in the 1st category are the most numerous and, due to their thematic diversity, we have divided them into 8 thematic groups.