Curkovic.ca

Duvno (Županjac) – Narodni život i običaji

The following article about Duvno was first published in 1899 and was co-authored by Stojan Rubić and fra Anđeo Nuić. I thought I would post here for those that share roots in the Duvno or Tomislavgrad area. It is a good example of the Croatian štokavian-ikavian dialect that the Duvno and Livno areas are famous for. The article mainly deals with the folk customs and traditions of the Duvno area.

Duvno (Županjac) – Narodni život i običaji

The article was originally published in Zbornik za narodni život i običaje [4] (1899), 254-301. You can find the entire publication in it’s entirety at: http://hazu.arhivpro.hr/index.php

Maradona’s Croatian Roots

This latest article should be of interest to all soccer fans of Croatian heritage. It was first published a few weeks ago on Croatian Times and sheds more light on the Croatian heritage of legendary footballer and current Argentinian head coach, Diego Maradona. He will always be known for his controversial “Hand of God” goal that eventually helped Argentina win the World Cup in 1986.

Maradona´s great-grandfather comes from Praputnjak, Croatia

Argentinean football team coach Diego Armando Maradona’s predecessors come from the western Croatian village of Praputnjak, according to historians quoted in the weekly Vrime.

“Maradona’s grand-grandfather Matej Kariolic, the father of the footballer’s grandmother Salvadora, comes from the tiny village of Praputnjak. Our local priest has researched it and found it all in church books”, pensioner Stanko Kariolic has told to the weekly Vrime.

Stanko Kariolic has also said Maradona a few years ago has visited the nearby place of Novi Vinodolski and when asked about his grand-grandfather “he has made a joke asking whether there was some land left to sell”.

The new theory denies the version that Maradona’s great-grandfather emigrated to Argentina from the southern Croatian island of Korcula.

“I’ve researched the church books and found no Kariolic surname in Korcula since the 14th century”, local priest Bozo Banicevic told the paper.

Introducing…The Next Generation

Regular visitors to my blog may have noticed that I haven’t been posting very much over the last few months. My focus has shifted somewhat. I still enjoy researching my family history but my priorities changed a bit when I found out I was about to become a first-time father.

The months of waiting and preparation (if that’s possible) finally came to a joyful end recently with the arrival of my son (seen below). He marks the third Ćurković generation of my family in Canada.

What does this mean for my blog? Well, I’m not sure. I will continue to maintain a web presence but my posts will likely be more sporadic and shorter in nature. I enjoy researching my family’s history but for now, I am committed to being the best dad I can be. And who knows, with a little seasoning, there might be another contributor to this website within a few years. Let’s hope so. Tata needs all the help he can get!

Restaurant Dinara in Santiago, Chile

This blog post features a short 2-minute clip from the Croatian travel show, Idemo na put. The show is an episode from 2008 when the host, Goran Milić, went and did a feature on Santiago, Chile. There he found Restaurant Dinara, the one and only Croatian restaurant run by 2nd and 3rd generation members of the Churkovich family. The restaurant name is a reminder of the mountain near the family’s former home in Bitelić, Croatia (near the town of Sinj).

When watching the video, one thing remains clear – height has and probably always will be a defining trait among the wider members of the Dinaric Ćurković family.

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Parish in Vinica to Celebrate 125th Anniversary with New Book

Bordering Croatia, in the western-most reaches of Tomislavgrad in Bosnia-Hercegovina, lies a community named Vinica. The Roman Catholic parish in the community was founded in the year 1885 to help serve the spiritual needs of the surrounding area. The year 2010 marks the 125th anniversary since the parish was founded. To celebrate, the parish is putting together a historical monograph about the church and the surrounding community, including its many families.

My ancestors once lived in Vinica before moving up towards Buško Blato so I have a sentimental attachment to the place. For this reason, I am helping to spread the word about this great project. I have translated the message that I have found on the Zavičajno društvo Zavelim website.

HELP NEEDED FOR THE CREATION OF A MONOGRAPH ABOUT VINICA PARISH

The fulfillment of this plan will vary in terms of work: writing and collecting files, support and aid, broadcasting messages about this work to anyone interested, to the furthest reaches of the world wherever Croats from Vinica live. Let all criticism be supportive and creative so that this work becomes the foundation for a new Vinica and Croatian family, which originated and has spread across parts of Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Europe and the world, including for those who have remained here to maintain their shrine together with all of us, regardless of where we are.

If you wish to help out with this worthwhile project by submitting material, contact me and I will tell you how you can get involved.

Where to Find Your Surname in Croatia

ImeHrvatsko.net is a website that I have talked about before. But it has been a while since I last visited the website and it’s worth noting that it has improved remarkably since my last visit. Regular visitors to the website will now notice more features, including a tool to help you locate your surname in Croatia today.
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Parish Records in the Nova Gradiška Area of Croatia

I happened to come across the University of California, Berkeley Croatia Project website the other day and noticed that they have rounded up a number of Catholic church records from Croatia surrounding the Slavonian town of Nova Gradiška.

I remembered that the 1948 census of Croatia listed one Ćurković family in the town of Nova Gradiška. I was curious so I decided to see if the Ćurković families here were relative newcomers to the area or among an older group of established families.
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Family History Research Made Easier Through Google Books

Researching and gathering material to document your Croatian family history can be a difficult task. For those who live outside of Croatia’s borders, this is especially true. Let’s face it, for many of us in North America the cost of travel to Croatia to research material first hand can be a costly venture, both in terms of time and money. Even if money and time were not a problem, visiting archives and libraries to scan all the books and documents for a particular reference alone would take us more than a lifetime.

However, what would you say if I told you of a way where you could save on cost, time and effort? Almost too good to be true you say? I kid you not. I will share with you now one of my favourite tools for research.
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Fit for a Falcon: Croatian Poetry at It’s Best

I recently found an interesting poem on YouTube. It is of interest to me since it bears my surname. The poem, of course, has been known to me for years and is simply entitled Marko Ćurković. The poem was first published by the legendary Croatian monk, Andrija Kačić-Miošić (1704-1760), in his book of folk poetry, entitled Razgovor ugodni naroda slovinskoga (Pleasant Conversations of the Slavic People). His work was first published in 1754 and soon became a popular classic across Europe, interweaving elements of Croatian folk poetry and history. It also arguably ranks second, next to the Bible, as the most widely read Croatian book in history.
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Contact Form Working Again!

My Gmail inbox was just filled with emails today. For the last few months up until today, I had been having issues with my contact form page. It seems that my server was blacklisted for some unknown reason. Some of you had wrote asking for help on a number of subjects. I am reading these messages for the first time now. I hope to respond to these emails eventually. I promise you will get a response. Thanks for understanding.