1969 Iga vas – Grandmother’s Cow

Prispevek smo prevedli in je na voljo v slovenski verziji.

The photo was taken in about 1969 of Frančiška  Zigmund (1886-1970) at the front of her house, Antonova hiša, Iga vas 26(28).

“ Why is stara mama standing behind a cow ?”    I asked my father with the natural curiosity of a child.  He replied that it was her “favourite cow”.   Not  a pet (as I thought) but that she produced milk for the household and more importantly excess to sell.

The krava (cow) looks straight at the camera as if she knew she was special. It is obvious to all that she has been very well looked after by Frančiška.

Frančiška wearing a  headscarf, thick stockings and zip up slippers  looks like any other stara mama in the village.

But I knew, she was my stara mama! Though her face is obscured, instantly I recognize the shape of her forehead and eyebrows. These features have been inherited by her son, Jože (my father) and a grandson, Eddie.

In the older photos elderly women usually posed as the mother or grandmother of the house, otherwise they tended to remain in the background. Perhaps, my stara mama and women of her generation did not feel comfortable to be focus or subject of photographs.

Written by: Maria Capelli, Australia

Location: Iga vas
Date: 1969
Author: unknown
Collection: Neda Zigmund and Joze Zigmund (dec), Perth, West Australia
Scanned: February 8th, 2012 (by Maria Capelli)
Format: photograph