Upon the occasion of the International Museum Day 2021, with the theme The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine, we present the works of elementary school students from the elementary school Cavtat who showed their knowledge and love for the traditional Konavle wedding toast.
Throughout history, the Konavle wedding toast has been described as a distinctive example of rhetoric and the ability to use language for complex forms of expression in a rural setting. We know that it has been performed for more than 150 years, in the past it was performed even on other festivities. It was first printed in 1886, which provided an understanding and deeper insight into this traditional rite. Until the middle of the 20th century, almost all men in Konavle knew how to say a wedding toast in its entirety, while today toastmasters are mainly invited only to do that, specific honor to the newlyweds at the wedding dinner. Same as in the past, blessings are invoked at all levels for newlyweds: agriculture, property, health, joy, descendants, and so on. The toastmaster will end each unit with As it will be, if God wills it! To which those present, standing on their feet, respond: Amen, God willing!
It is interesting that in the past scientists weren’t optimistic about the survival of the toast. For example, Radić predicted its imminent oblivion because it could not be improved any further. Fortunately, they were wrong, so even today the toastmaster performs it in front of the wedding party just before the main course at the wedding dinner or lunch.
Although the Konavle wedding toast is only a part of the rich Konavle heritage, we can certainly call it the crown of Konavle’s oral literature. This solemn speech, which is always the same in shape and content, is used on the specific occasion of toasting for the health and well-being of newlyweds. Same, unchangeable through the past and today. It’s the only complete surviving toast in Konavle, and since 2021 it has been a protected intangible cultural asset of the Republic of Croatia.
At the universities, it is openly talked about as the most beautiful toast, it is listened to carefully, with the respect at wedding ceremonies, and it is passed on to younger generations in primary schools throughout the Konavle region. As the elderly in Konavle passed on their knowledge and love for the Konavle wedding toast from generation to generation, so even today the youngest receive this power from the past, which is still a source of the best wishes. So, we will optimistically predict it a long life, and why – see for yourself!
