A tiny treasure trove: Exploring Macedonian cultural heritage in the smallest ethno museum
Article was originally published HERE.
You can easily learn about Macedonian history and culture in Tetovo, you just have to come to the smallest ethnological museum of Simeon Zlatev-Mone in the village of Dzepciste where he keeps about 2000 old objects. Out of these, 900 are placed in just 9 square meters, making this room and facility the uncrowned smallest ethnological museum in the world.
Both adults and school children get to know the rich Macedonian cultural heritage when they come here. In the courtyard of the museum are the national costumes, which, in a way, welcome the visitors.
“This is handmade, there is nothing machine-made, our great-grandmothers were very hardworking and that is why we Macedonians have great wealth, thanks to their thoughts and hard work. About men’s (folk) costume – there was grain here and they threw it. Men had simple clothes, they also wore opinci (traditional peasant shoes)” explained Simeon Zlatev-Mone.
And inside is the treasury that Simeon Zlatev has been creating and keeping from oblivion for 33 years. People cannot remain indifferent to the thousands of objects that remind us of the past.
In 1991, in this summer house in Dzepciste in Tetovo, only the closest relatives and friends had the opportunity to directly get to know Macedonian history. But since he accepted the idea of it being in the form of a museum, for more than three decades, Mone’s huge collection has been an opportunity for thousands of people here to see a part of what the Macedonian people used and lived with for centuries with their own eyes.
“I became a person who presents our national treasures on a higher level. Since then, groups, schools, and colleges have been coming to examine them, to record some rare objects, and I had two students graduate on the topic about the Museum. One female person obtained a master’s degree in Vienna on the thesis about the Museum, and one person obtained a doctorate using parts of objects of the Museum, at the “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University (UKIM). I was really surprised, then, in order to extend the lifespan of these objects, I also published 12 books which I am the author of,” Simeon Zlatev told us.
The small room of nine square meters has most of the approximately 900 objects. In the anteroom there are several hundred more, or a total of about 2000. They are arranged by purpose, groups and categories. Mone estimates that over 60,000 people have already visited his museum.
“The smallest object in the museum, some were interested about which is the smallest, I say a voting ball, it’s rubber. It has a diameter of a centimeter. Centimeter by centimeter, like a ball. The heaviest object was and still is a stone mill for grinding grain. My biggest object is a copper sofra (low round dining table), which is vivid itself. Apart from the fact that it was used by the rich aghas and pashas as a dining table, and it is so stylishly processed with vegetative plastic that you can really eat on it, set a meal, that’s why some people used it and hung it on the wall, like a picture, as a decoration,” says our interlocutor.
Many foreigners know about this treasure aswell. The actor Warwick Davis, as one of the shortest people, with a height of one meter and seven millimeters, known for his roles in the films Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, passed through this door, which is over 200 years old. He was there with Carl Pilkington in 2010 with whom they filmed an episode of the series ” Following in the Footsteps of Marco Polo” on Discovery TV. Our host says it was one of the most memorable days at the museum.
“The organizers told me that the shortest English actor Warwick, who acted in Harry Potter, wanted to visit me. The smallest actor in the world in the smallest ethno museum in the world. They came with special cameras, I was surprised. Neighbors brought out chairs, tables, and many people gathered,” Mone recalled.
Photo: Warwick Davis received a gift from Simeon Zlatev – Mone, the owner of the museum
Apart from published books, the word about the smallest ethno museum is also spread through regular exhibitions in which Simeon Zlatev-Mone participates with some of the objects. The Tetovo enthusiast regularly registers the museum as a place to visit as part of the “European Days of Cultural Heritage” event.
Author of the article: Aleksandar Samardziev
Photo and video: Tetovo Info
