Bačka

Bačka

Bačka is a historical and geographic region dating from the Middle Ages which used to consist of two administrative parts: Bačka and Bodroška County. After the Turkis had been expelled from the region, these two counties united, using the name Bačka which was derived from Bač, the name of a fortress near Odžaci. This geographic region is located between the Danube, the Tisa and the Hungarian border. The predominant forms of relief are: plains, sandy regions and alluvial fans near big rivers. There are a few lakes which attract the attention of tourist: Palić, Ludoško, Krvavo and Slano. The traffic is well-developed due to the fact that Bačka is a busy transit region. The area is characterized by demographic stagnation and in the past the population was increased mainly due to migration.

The biggest towns are: Novi Sad, Subotica and Sombor. The region is famous for granges inhabited by generations of farmers, who gave them purpose and original appearance. The granges have given inspration to many poets and painters for centuries.

Ubrađaj is a kind of headdress worn by Serbian women in Sombor and on the surrounding granges. It  was worn by young women who got it from their mothers-in-law. On the first Sunday after the wedding the bride would wear it to church, accompanied by her mother-in-law. It was worn only on Sunday and holidays, until the birth of the first child but not longer than three or four years. Rarely, women wore them until they could pass them on to their daughters-in-law. Sometimes, the mother-in-law wore it on her son's wedding day and gave it to her daughter-in-law later in a ceremonial manner.

Ubrađaj consisted of three parts: a piece of wide golden lice, a large rectangular white scarf and artificial flowers. The lacy part, around 15 centimetres across, bordered the whole face and was tied below the chin. The lace completely covered the hair so that it could not be seen. Since the lace was very stiff, the chin was usually protected by a piece of velvet. The scarf was made of a rectangular piece of a very thin white cloth (its dimensions were 1.75m x 1m). In the corner, at the joint of the two sides and along their borders, it was decorated with a wide piece of golden lace, about 10 centimetres across. On the shorter side of the rectangle, alongside the lace, was a relief golden embroidery with floral ornaments, about 20 centimetres wide. This part of the ubrađaj was worn in such a way that the side with the golden lace and beautiful frills covered the chest, and the shorter part with the lace and embroidery hung down the back. The flowers were mostly artificial, made of velvet or silk. Those were usually roses, poppies and wheatgrass. They were placed on both sides of the face, near the ears. If the flowers were big, they even stuck out high above the head.