Paper short abstract:

In this paper theories on nonverbal communication will bi applied to bugaršticas (long verse epic poems which are considered to be the older layer of South Slavic oral tradition) for the first time in order to show how these theories correspond with well-known theories of their feudal origin.

Paper long abstract:

Bugaršticas are a long verse epic poems which are considered to be the older layer of South Slavic oral tradition, that disappeared a century before they were even published. Many scholars who have studied them have agreed on theories of their feudal origin (Schmaus, Soerensen, Lalević). In this paper, these theories will first be presented and then the knowledge on nonverbal communication and emotional manifestations will be applied to bugaršticas in order to show how it corresponds with mentioned theories. The paper represents a new, additional view on bugaršticas poetics in the context of previous studies, which, in socio-cultural sense, contributes to the understanding of social structures that are manifested in these poems, as well as their cultural heritage.