The article deals with the situation of Bulgarian ethnology at the
beginning of the 21st century. It addresses three main forms of
institutionalised ethnology: the relevant department of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, university departments and ethnographic museums. The first institution of this type was the National Ethnographic Museumin Sofia (1906). In 1947, an independent ethnographic institute was founded as apart of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the present-day Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum. The text describe in detail this academic institution, summarises its main research activities and mentions examples of past projects. In addition, it references the ongoing “ethnology versus anthropology” debate. The academic discipline of ethnology in Bulgaria has lately suffered financial difficulties and is largely dependent on international and national grants.
The paper discusses handicraft production in Bulgaria from the 19th century until now. It uses a model case of the area of Eastern Rhodopes which is located in south-eastern Bulgaria. In the field of handicraft production, Bulgarian ethnology traditionally distinguishes domestic production and specialized craft. More recent literature also characterizes domestic production. However, in the Balkan folk culture, these forms of handicraft production were not strictly separated. The paper focuses on the most important manufacturing sectors which are typical for the region: breeding of silkworms, processing of wool and goat hair, wood, natural netting, coal and pottery. Traditional production has been declining in the territory of today’s Bulgaria with the penetration of European factory products since the 19th century, but in a greater extent since the beginning and mainly mid-20th century with the development of
factory production - that means it was relatively later than in our country (particularly with regard to textile production). Until 1960s and 1970s, crafts and homemade manufacturing in the researched region basically disappeared. However, homemade production maintained its importance to this day - even if in a modified form.