Zadruga System

A zadruga is a large household in the interior. Up to 40 persons live in one compound. They pool the land, the herd, and the timber plot.

The zadruga is the main social unit of the Zala Plain and the Kervan foothills.

The compound [edit]

A compound has five parts.

1. The great house. Two floors. The elders sleep above, the family below.
2. The hearth room. The table, the icon, and the copper pot.
3. The stores. Grain, salt, wine, and tools.
4. The byre. Cattle in winter, tools in summer.
5. The wall. Stone or mud brick, with one gate.

The gate faces east in most compounds. An old rule says the first light must enter the yard.

The elder pair [edit]

Two elders lead the zadruga. They are a man and a woman. The titles are Dedo (male elder) and Baba (female elder).

The pair rules together. A Dedo cannot sell land without the Baba. A Baba cannot accept a bride without the Dedo.

Work and share [edit]

Work is by task, not by hour. A person takes a task and finishes it. The elders check the result.

The share is by mouth, not by output. Every person at the table eats. A sick person and a strong person eat the same.

This rule has a cost. A lazy adult eats like a hard worker. The elders answer with shame, not with a smaller plate.

Property [edit]

The zadruga holds the land in common. No person owns a field. The line owns it through the household.

The state changed the legal form in 1949. The land became the property of a cooperative farm. The zadruga kept the yard, the byre, and a private plot of 0.5 hectares.

See Workers and Farmers for the cooperative farm rules.

The split [edit]

A zadruga can split. The act is called delyba ("the division"). The reasons are three.

1. The household passes 40 persons.
2. Two elders die and no pair takes the place.
3. Two adult brothers cannot agree on the herd.

A split needs the council and the priest. The land divides by mouth count. The split is public, and the whole village watches it.

Why it survives [edit]

The zadruga survives for three reasons.

• It spreads risk. One wage, one harvest, and one herd feed 40 people.
• It holds labour. The state cannot move a whole household easily.
• It holds memory. The elders know the deeds, the wells, and the graves.

The party calls the zadruga "a survival of the old order". The party also uses it. A cooperative farm works through the elders.

Weak points [edit]

• The young want a wage, not a share. See Generational Tension.
• The women want a kitchen of their own. A new bride has the lowest place at the table.
• The tax office counts 40 people as one unit. The rule rewards size and hides poverty.

Other notes [edit]

• Social Structure — how the zadruga fits the rank table
• Coastal Matriarchies — the port system
• Festivals and Calendar — the inland festivals