VILLAGE DE RASTOVAČA

The village of Rastovača (pronounced "rastovacha") has about 2,000 inhabitants, 99.8% of whom are Bosnian-Croat. It is famous for its traditional song: the ganga, one of the most powerful polyphonies in the world, originally practiced by shepherds. Classified as intangible heritage by UNESCO since 2010, the ganga is sung by both men and women in a few localities on both sides of the border, in Dalmatia, Tropolje and Herzegovina. The song, of short form, not always melodic and of a very strong sound level, is obtained by the superposition of the voices of a soloist and a choir of two or three people. The result is very impressive. It can sometimes be heard in bars, during village festivals or Catholic celebrations such as the Assumption (August 15) and, above all, during the weekend of St. Elias, around July 20. Since 1995, the association Ilijno brdo ("Hill of Elijah") has been organizing the Olympiad of Ancient Sports (Olimpijada Starih Športova) in Rastovača. At 11:00 a.m., after mass, about a thousand people take part in tug-of-war, stone-throwing, arm-wrestling, long jumping and horse racing. The festival also features bullfights similar to the famous bullfight in Grmeč (Sanski Most region). Finally, in the evening, starting at 8:00 p.m., the ganga concerts begin with the singers, only men, sitting around meat dishes and glasses of wine.