Political Anthropology in Time and Space

On Slovenian Independence Ritual

Abstract

An anthropological analysis of the annual public celebrations of the Statehood Day between 1991 and 2005 reveals how the fathers of the Slovenian nation, ritual specialists and theatre directors adapted the past in the transitional period to describe and justify the present and motivate citizens for the future. The article discusses various aspects of political mythology and cultural heritage. Special attention is paid to mass media and technology in the process of social and ritual construction of national space-time.