Katarina Zupančič
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April 30, 1860
Katarina Zupančič – Živčkova Katra | |
|---|---|
| Born | Katarina Zupančič April 30, 1860 |
| Died | November 2, 1918 (aged 58) |
| Occupations | field labourer, straw plaiter, folk singer. |
Katarina Zupančič, also known as Živčkova Katra, (30 April 1860 – 2 November 1918) was a Slovenian field labourer, straw plaiter and folk singer.
She was born on 30 April 1860 into a poor Slovenian family in Kamnica.[1] Her mother was the field labourer Marija Cotman, born in Trnjava, and her father was the shoemaker Janez Zupančič (1815–1893), born in Podgora pri Dolskem.[1] She was an only child.[1] They lived as tenants on a small farm.[1] Her mother liked to sing and was also singing in parish choir.[1] From her, Katra learned many songs, which her mother in turn had learned from her own mother.[1] She did not attend school, as the nearest school was in Polje, twelve kilometres away, so she remained illiterate all her life.[1]
Work
All her life she earned a living as a field labourer, like her mother.[1] She earned additional income by plaiting straw braids for hats for the straw hat factory in Domžale.[1] At Carnival time she dressed up every year, went from house to house and sang.[2][1] At the age of twenty-seven, on 26 June 1886, she gave birth to her only child, Pavel.[1] His father is unknown.[1] She and her son lived as tenants on a small farm in Vinje.[1]