Milleks meile kohapärimus? Vahekokkuvõtteid piirialadelt
Place-lore – why and for whom? An interim synopsis from the contact areas

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the necessity of place-based tradition as a multidisciplinary thematic area. A survey is given of the value of place-lore, including place legends, as a subject of research in Estonian folklore studies, beginning from the early days of folklore collection in the late 19th century until today. The concept of place-lore came to broaden the earlier genre- and text-based approach in the early 1990s, right after Estonia had regained its independence, when various paradigm shifts were due in science, as well as in society. This was also when a more in-depth research in place-lore began at the Estonian Folklore Archives. In 1998, in collaboration with archaeologists of the University of Tartu, a digital database of place-based tradition was created, with a special team to go with. The old cardfiles are still there, but the system is hardly comparable to the options of the modern database, now over 36,000 records strong. By now the team has contributed to a number of publications on place-lore and archived a lot of modern fieldwork recordings. The team members have participated in large-scale implementation projects, such as study of memory landscapes in national parks, or inventory of natural sanctuaries. The activities of the Archives workers have been connected with research in archaeology, semiotics, geography, toponymy and other humanities. The growth of interdisciplinarity and prestige of place-lore over the past three decades motivates finding new ways to enable continuation of research, storage and publication of the relevant material at the Folklore Archives. This is particularly important at a time when many an enduring value relating to nature and traditional culture is losing ground. Place-lore and its interpretation are important not only in scholarly context: the local communities still surviving in Estonia are in need of support and knowledge to maintain their regional cultural continuity. Hence the steady demand for vernacular collections of intangible heritage and for digital map applications.

• Details
• Contents