АУТОР / AUTHOR(S): Ljupcho S. Risteski 
DOI: 10.46793/CSGE5.80LR
САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:
Considering the cultural topography of a region as an anthropological phenomena and as a form of identification of people according to their local regional ethnic and cultural characteristics was very clearly pronounced in the folk tradition of the Macedonians and was probably one of the most significant cultural forms for the formation and preservation of cultural characteristics in conditions when it was still difficult to talk about a national identity, which, usually, follows the processes of the creation of nation-states, as well as the initiation of revival processes. In that sense, regional identification was one of the most powerful mechanisms for the survival of cultural values and, in a long historical process, perhaps the only form of identification of collectivities, until the formation of ethnic or national representations of the existence of peoples, nations, etc. Even during field research in modern conditions, people’s extremely strong sense of belonging to the local regional ethnic communities can be observed.
However, in order to be able to proceed with the further analysis of some of the aspects of the spatial concept of the ethnographic landscape, we need to start by determining the conditional definition of the region. The region is understood as a separate, relatively independent ethnic and social organizational unit, in which, under certain historical, social, and political conditions, the members create, keep, and use common elements of identification, which on the one hand create mechanisms for mutual cultural connection, and on the other hand, elements of differentiation from others. The members of a certain region are in the largest number of cases connected through a system of common clan’s affiliation, that is, they connect the representations of the common origin, the same ancestor, or some other type of mutual connection. At the same time, the basic methodology and mechanisms in the formation of local-territorial identities correspond to the basic principles and principles of the creation of collective identities, which is why this problem largely remains in the domain of identity studies. Here, the spatial structure and organization of the area will be significant, as part of the elements used in building this type of identities.
КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:
ethnography; cultural topography; region; identity; space