Mealtime - Interwar years in Travnik One of the most detailed
studies of peasant life in Yugoslavia between the wars was made
by an English woman named Olive Lodge. She spent large amounts
of time in the country between the two world wars and her book
appeared at precisely the moment that much of the world she
described was about to vanish forever – in 1941. Unfortunately
her book is mostly forgotten and has long been out of print,
although it is easy to find an original edition on the internet.
Lodge paid particular attention to the lives of women, right
down to a detailed account of the different types of
contraception used at the time. This excerpt forms part of her
description of mealtime, and includes a particular reference to
Travnik. At that time many peasants still lived in zadrugas, or
family compounds in which work and land were shared. The domaćin
was the head-man of the zadruga and a sofra a low round table
for eating off: Before and after meals a girl goes round,
pouring water from a pitcher over