Kuzman Shapkarev

Kuzman Shapkarev decorated with the Bulgarian Order "For Civil Merit", 5th Class

Kuzman Anastasov Shapkarev, (Bulgarian: Кузман Анастасов Шапкарев), (1 January 1834 in Ohrid - 18 March 1909 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian^[1][2] folklorist, ethnographer and scientist from Macedonia, author of textbooks and ethnographic studies and a significant figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. He is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia.

Biography

Kuzman Shapkarev was born in Ohrid in 1834. He was a teacher in a number of Bulgarian schools in Ohrid, Bitola, Prilep, Kukush (Kilkis), Solun (Thessaloniki) (1854-1883). In these towns he was especially active in introducing the Bulgarian language in local schools. Не initiated the establishment of two Bulgarian high schools in Solun in 1882–1883.

He wrote the following textbooks: "A Bulgarian Primer" (1866), "A Big Bulgarian Reader" (1868), "Mother tongue" (1874), "Short Land description (Geography)" (1868), "Short Religion Book" (1868) and others. Shapkarev shared the view that the codified Bulgarian language should have more features of the Macedonian dialects. He considered the dialect of some of his textbooks as "more comprehensible for Bulgarians from Macedonia" ("A Big Bulgarian reader book", 1868, p. 4).

Shapkarev was a contributor of many Bulgarian newspapers and magazines - "Tsarigradski vestnik" (Constantinople newspaper), "Gayda" (Bagpipe), "Macedonia", "Pravo" (Justice), "Savetnik" (Adviser), "Balgarska pchela" (Bulgarian bee) and others. Shapkarev was a collaborator of the revolutionary Georgi Rakovski and in the field of ethnography, he assisted the Miladinov Brothers.

After 1883 he lived in Bulgaria - in Plovdiv, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Vraca and Orhanie (Botevgrad). Along with his scientific and public occupation in Bulgaria he worked as a notary and a judge.

From onwards 1900 he was a regular member of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

His autobiographical book is called "Materials for the Revival of Bulgarian national spirit in Macedonia".

The son of Kuzman Shapkarev - Climent Shapkarev was one of the leaders of VMORO.

Works

Scientific works

• Rusalii. The old and too interesting Bulgarian custom preserved in Southern Macedonia, Plovdiv, 1884
• "The Serbian Greatideas' endeavours and our scientifists", 1888
• "Several notes about Macedono-Slav collection of P. Draganov" 1895
• "Collection of folk monuments (Bulgarian folk tales and beliefs), 1885
• Collection of Bulgarian Folklore (Сборник от български народни умотворения), vol. І-ІІІ, Sofia, 1891–1894
• Materials for biography of Miladinov Brothers - Dimitar and Konstantin (Материали за животоописанието на Братя Миладинови, Димитрия и Константина), Plovdiv 1884

Textbooks

• "A Bulgarian Primer", 1866
• "A Big Bulgarian Reader", 1868
• "Mother tongue", 1874
• "Short Land description (Geography)", 1868
• "Short Religion Book", 1868
• "The Bulgarian Folklore Collection" (Сборник от български народни умотворения), in several volumes:
  • Books I,III,IV,V,VI - Песни (Songs)
  • Book VII: Български обичаи, обряди, суеверия и костюмы (Bulgarian customs, rituals, beliefs and costumes), 1891
  • Books VIII and IX: Български прикаски и вѣрования съ прибавление на нѣколко Македоновлашки и Албански (Bulgarian folktales and beliefs with some Macedo-Romanian and Albanian) 1892, 1894 (same, in a modern edition, with modernized spelling)
  • (Note: Book II did not exist)^[3]

Autobiographical books

• Contribution to education in Macedonia. One autobiography of Kuzman Shapkarev, Macedonian review, Sofia 1927, vol 2
• "Materials for Revival of Bulgarian national spirit in Macedonia", Sofia 1984

References