Postać obcego w polskiej obrzędowości dorocznej. Od obcości do wspólnoty
The figure of the foreigner in Polish annual rituals. From foreignness to community

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of data from various genres, the author analyzes the range and cultural functions of the images of ethnic foreigners in annual rituals. These include: the Jew, Gypsy, Turk, German, Hungarian, Cossack and a generalized figure called “the foreigner”. Some of them, e.g. the Hungarian or the Turk, only appear in some genres and rituals, whereas the Jew appears in a wide spectrum of genres. The article analyzes in greater detail the following exponents of foreignness: the language, clothes, appearance, gestures, singing and music, knowledge and skills, attributes and religion.The author also stresses that the figures of the foreigners, in contrast to commonplace stereotypes, are also manifestations of intentional and symbolic admissions of the people to the community. The process is multidimensional and is realized through Polonization (mainly in attire), functional equivalence to other figures, a change of semantic valuation (from negative to positive) or a socially grounded treatment of the foreigners as both addressees and participants of rituals.

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