Ethnography of the Balkan Cults in Abruzzi and Molise (Italy): Two Case-Studies

This article reveals the mechanisms of rooting the rituals of migrants in new places. We present two case-studies and from there we develop a wider scenario of cultural dynamics. The arrival of the Slavs and Albanians from the other side of the Adriatic toward the coasts of the Abruzzi (from which Molise separated in 1963) has been documented as early as the 14th century. It continues until the 20th century, and it is continually remembered by local historians and ethnographers to underline that the history of resettlement is a preserved component of culture which is reproduced in texts and ritual actions. Along with the memory of the migration process itself, religion often becomes the symbolical centre of the migrant’s life. Therefore, religious rituals are often more preserved than others.