From Fence to Wire. Dating and Getting Married in Novi Pazar

Abstract

In the paper, we will give a brief historical overview of the ways in which young couples could meet i.e. enter into a relationship for the purpose of dating or marriage, in the territory of Novi Pazar and the surrounding villages from the beginning of the 20th century until today. We chose this field because of the multicultural and multi-confessional environment that allows us to compare opportunities in two culturally and religiously different communities – Serbian and Bosniak. First, we will follow the genesis of the practice of young people’s dating through socio-political circumstances. We will also present the role of the two religions within the given topic. The third aspect of changes in the way young people connect is the one that has influenced their separation due to antisocialization, while on the other hand giving rise to new ways of connecting couples, namely the emergence of the Internet (applications, social networks and dating sites). Therefore, our goal is to show the ways of getting to know young people, the changes that have occurred in that connection over time, as well as the reasons for which these changes occurred, but let’s also point out the two common threads that, despite the drastic changes, are not missing, namely the intermediary and the need for a soulmate.