Linđo () is a popular dance of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

and the Dubrovnik region of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. It is danced to the accompaniment of

lijerica ) * Gudok (''russian: гудок'' '' uk, гудок'') * Kemenche * Rabel (instrument) * Rabāb (Arabic الرباب) * Rebec * violin The lijerica () is a musical instrument from the Croatian region of Dalmatia and Croatian parts of eastern Her ...

(an old Southern

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n instrument with three strings), which came from the

Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...

in the late 18th century and spread on the

Adriatic coast The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

in the 19th century. It is now extensively performed in the Dubrovnik's coastal region, in

Konavle Konavle () is a municipality and a small region located southeast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is Cavtat. Demographics The total municipality population wa ...

area, in

Dubrovačko Primorje Dubrovačko Primorje ("Dubrovnik Littoral") is municipality situated northwest of the city Dubrovnik in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Croatia. The municipality's borders extend all the way up to Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia ...

(Dubrovnik west coast) on the

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the top o ...

Peninsula and on the islands of

Mljet Mljet (; la, Melita, it, Meleda) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea be ...

and

Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-governm ...

, as well as parts of

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

. In the past, it was performed exclusively to the accompaniment of the bellows. The dance master plays sitting, with lijerica on his left knee, while stamping with his right foot, thus dictating rhythm to the dancers. They move in a circle around the dance master, who gives commands (in rhyme, humorous and often with double meaning). He also decides who will dance with whom and dictates the change of dance figures, along with encouraging the dancers to compete in improvisations. The tradition of Linđo is kept alive by Dubrovnik's ''The Folklore Ensemble Linđo''.

Origin of the name

The dance got its name after one-time legendary dance leader, Nikola Lale known as Linđo from

Župa Dubrovačka A župa (or zhupa, županija) is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavs, South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "parish", later synonymous "kotar", commo ...

. His descendants nowadays live in Župa Dubrovačka. Today, his great-great-grandson Mario continued the tradition and plays lijerica in Linđo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindo Croatian folk dances Tourist attractions in Dubrovnik