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Sinj and Cetinska Krajina represent an interesting tourist area, and the major attraction is certainly the traditional Tilters Tournament of Sinj (Sinjska alka) inscribed on UNESCO's world intangible cultural heritage list in 2010.
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CROATIA 6 Sinj 2
Located 34 kilometres from Split, in the heart of the Dalmatian hinterland, at an elevation of 320 m and 30 km from the Adriatic Sea, Sinj and Cetinska Krajina represent an interesting tourist area, and the major attraction is certainly the traditional Tilters Tournament of Sinj (Sinjska alka)
The Sinjska Alka is a chivalric tournament that takes place annually, as it has since the 18th century, in the town of Sinj, in the Cetinska krajina region. During the contest, knights ride horses at full gallop along a main street, aiming lances at an iron ring hanging on a rope. The name of the tournament derives from this alka or ring, a word whose Turkish origin reflects the historical co-existence and cultural exchange between two different civilizations
The tournament rules, codified in a 1833 statute, promote ethics and fair play, and stress the importance of participation in community life
Participants must be members of local families of Sinj and the Cetinska Krajina region
The whole community helps to make, conserve, restore and reconstruct weapons, clothes and accessories to support the continuation of the tradition
The Sinjska Alka is the only remaining example of the medieval knightly competitions that were regularly held in the Croatian coastal towns until the nineteenth century
The tournament is also entwined with local religious practices, social gatherings, family visits and festivities at home and in the open air
It has become a marker of local history and a medium for transferring collective memory from one generation to another
In 2010, the Alka was inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists
The ceremony of Alka lasts for three days. The contest starts on Friday for the Bara, whereas the Saturday contest is called the Čoja. The solemn Sunday Alka Knights procession is led by the harambaša and the selected Alka squires (alkarski momci)
The Alka squires march along in the procession, together with their leader (harambaša)
The company of squires, keeping step, march proudly along in time to the music: vigorous mustachioed youths, glancing neither right nor left, carrying over their shoulders long flintlock guns and tucked into their waistband, the "serpent's nest" it is called, a pistol and a dagger
Only men born in Sinjska krajina (city of Sinj and surrounding villages) can take part in the Alka and it is considered a great privilege to participate in the tournament
The costumes worn by the alkar men are the same that were worn by the warriors in the 18th century
Alka squires are dressed in ancient and rich national costumes and armed with old weapons. On his feet the squire has woollen socks with embroidered oversocks, over which he wears peasant shoes made of dried hide of oxen below, and interwoven leather straps above
On the head they wear red caps with dark tassels; the cap is wound with a colourful towel about 1.5 m long and decorated with a small bunch of fresh flowers at the right side
The company of squires White cotton shirt with wide sleeves, over it a short jacket buttoned with filigree cufflinks; the sleeve and the collar are buttoned up with white buttons. Girdle, interwoven with red wool, about 4 m long, wrapped around the waist so that it covers the upper part of the trousers and the lower part of the waistband
Sleeveless jacket (waistcoat) is made of red baize, with silver buttons at the front; the upper part of buttons consist of one-piece, two-piece and three-piece plates, and the lower part consists of a string of parallel small silver buttons; some jackets are decorated with silver rings; at one or at both sides of the aperture there is a string of silver plates
The harambaša, the leader of the Alka squires, wears costume similar to that of the squires, only more elaborate
The company of squires Leather waistband is around the waist into which a long yataghan and two small richly decorated rifles or holsters are tucked. Ammunition-pouch is by the waistband. The squire carries a long flintlock rifle over his shoulder, holding its barrel with his left hand
The armour bearer has a shield on the chest. The shield is of Persian origin and comes from the end of the 17th century. According to a legend it was captured in the defence of Sinj in 1715. It is coated with red silk with stylized brass ornaments and it is precious. Today the original is kept in the museum and the armour bearer carries its copy in the Alka procession
The macebearer with a mace in the Alka procession: mace is a weapon for striking, with carved hilt and iron head divided into flanges, so that people often call it “flanged mace”
Alka squires (alkarski momci) are followed by mace-bearers (buzdovandžije) and the trophy Turkish shield-bearer. At the rear of procession come the edek’s guides. The armour bearer, mace bearers and the guides of Edek are dressed and armed the same as other squires, only they do not carry the long flintlock rifles over the shoulders the guides of Edek
The troop of Alkari, who ride double-rowed, is led by the standard-bearer (carrying the Alka Knights Tournament Society banner, accompanied by the Image of the Madonna of Sinj and Croatian tricoloured flag) with henchmen and the Tournament Master (alkarski vojvoda), the commander of the procession, with his adjutant
The 11 Alkari at least, 15 of them at the most and exceptionally the 17 Alkari comprise the Alka procession The Alkari, dressed in the early 18th century authentic knights attire of Sinj defenders, ride richly decorated horses. On their right side, they are armed with a lance and a sabre
Alkars wear white gloves. Trousers are made of dark blue baize decorated with silver embroidery
A detail from the front part of the alkar clothes: under the long dark blue dolman there is a waistcoat, the back of which is made of white linen. There are ornaments at the chest consisting of horizontally lined thick ribbons ending with loops by the opening
The girdle is made of many-coloured silk and it wraps around the waist several times
The Tournament of Alka originated at the time when there were many similar knightly tournaments throughout Europe. All of them have now fell into oblivion, except the Alka Tournament of Sinj, which is at the dawn of its tercentenary and under protection of UNESCO as world intangible heritage
The alkars’ troop commander, who is at the end of the procession and who is the last to run the Alka, unlike other alkars, wears black uniform with silver ornaments. The uniform of the Alka Duke, who is the master of the tournament, differs from others because its colour is dark brown and it is much more decorated. People use to say: “Duke is all in gold”, as the dolman, waistcoat and trousers are embroidered with pure gold, and all the filigree buttons are golden too. Duke also wears “kalpak” on his head made of dark brown marten-fur with a plume of heron’s feathers. His sabre is gold-bound and richly decorated
The voivode ("Duke") of Alka is a ceremonial title representing the commander of the alkars. It is a great honour to become the alkar vojvoda, and only the most notable men from Sinjska krajina become one
The alkars and squires’ uniforms stand out in the beauty of colours, cut and ornaments. In addition, various kinds of richly decorated weapons give to the procession and the competition even more ceremonious note and significance. Long ago, alkars themselves took care of preserving, renewing and storing the clothes and equipment, but in time the Alka Knights Society has taken over the care about that and all that is kept in the Alka Knights Society collection
