KUZMAN SAPKAREV

KUZMAN SAPKAREV was born in Ohrid on February 1st, in 1834, into a family of poor craftsman. He finished primary school but he had to stop studying secondary school because of the hard life and poorness. He was very smart, and a change in his life came when he was offered to take the place of his uncle as a teacher. From then on, he became a teacher and lectured in some of the cities like Bitola, Ohrid, Struga, Prilep and Kukus. During that time he met Dimitrija Miladinov and his brother Konstantin.
A big love for the Macedonian folk songs and poetry was born in him and he started to follow the path of D. Miladinov who was now his father-in-law because he married his daughter. He started collecting folk song. Later when the brothers Miladinovci were put behind bars, he tried to help them to be released but without any luck. After their deaths he went to teach in Prilep and later in Kukus. Then he went to Bulgaria with a thought for a better chance to print his collections which included: Folk poetry, Macedonian customs, old tales, sayings etc. From his collection, K. Sapkarev is considered one of the greatest collectors of folklore, not only by the Macedonian's, but by all the Balkan people in general.
Kuzman Sapkarev died in Sofia in 1909.

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