When the Stage Lights Go Down: on Silenced Women's Voices, Dance Ethnography and Its Restitution

The author's reflections on her own research into dance events on the islands of Lastovo and Korčula are presented in this paper. Her research has been focused on casting light on female roles and components: the veiled bula [Muslim woman] in the Korčula moreška sword dance and the lijepe maškare [lovely masques] in the Lastovo Carnival happenings. During the process commencing from field research, through its positioning in relation to the existing literature and authoritative narrations on these phenomena, to writing the ethnographic text and returning it to the community to which it refers, numerous dilemmas appeared, along with the need for multiple negotiations. The author pays particular attention to the issue of scholarly accountability and the restitution of scholarly approaches, descriptions and interpretations.