The Field Journal of Elena Marek – Balkan Expedition, 1927

This notebook, kept by anthropologist Elena Marek during her 1927–1930 Balkan expedition, contains detailed ethnographic observations, local legends, and phonetic transcriptions of traditional songs. Her meticulous work became a cornerstone for the study of Balkan oral traditions.The journal was restored and digitized in 2023 as part of The Threads of Memory Initiative, ensuring long-term preservation of her pioneering cultural research.In the spring of 1927, anthropologist Elena Marek began her journey across rural Bulgaria and North Macedonia, intent on documenting disappearing folk traditions. Her weathered journal, now carefully restored, is one of the earliest ethnographic records of Balkan oral culture.
Across 214 handwritten pages, Marek captured fragments of songs, proverbs, wedding rituals, and sketches of village life. The journal also includes her phonetic notations — rare evidence of early ethnomusicological practice.
Rediscovered in a private family archive in 2021, the notebook underwent a full conservation process before being digitized by Ancestra Trust in 2023.
Marek’s work reminds us of the power of documentation at a time when oral storytelling was vanishing under political and industrial change. The journal bridges personal curiosity and collective memory.