Paper short abstract:

Based on interactions of zoofolkloristics, anthropology, philosophical discourses, the paper will reflect the role and importance of Lipizzaner horses through folklore and literature, and reconsider the man/animal relationship on the basis of ecocritical analysis.

Paper long abstract:

The paper discusses the Lipizzaner horses, a part of the natural and cultural heritage of the Slovenian nation (claimed also by the Austrians). Lipizzaner horses are typically perceived as the national cultural monument (educated and trained stallions) owned by human community, and not as non-human animals which were, only by way of domestification, destined to serve human. Based on interactions of zoofolkloristics (Marjanić, Zaradija Kiš, Kõiva), anthropology (Ilomäki)) and the philosophical and legal discourses (Ingold, Tzavela), the paper will reflect the role and importance of Lipizzaner horses through folklore and literature, and reconsider the man/animal relationship by establishing non-hierarchy between animal and human on the basis of ecocritical analysis (Zapf, Heise, Grewe-Volpp). The focus of the analysis is on folkloristic materials (texts), customs and traditions associated with the community horse/human, as well as literary works that discuss the Lipizzaner horses. The aim of the contribution is to acknowledge the intrinsic value of the animal and cultural patterns that exist irrespective of human intervention, which deprived the animal of its "wildness", separating the animal from its natural environment. In this context, the discussion will also involve the discourse of speciesism (Dunayer) and abolicionism (Francioni, Best).