Dla nas to jest świętość
For us it is sacred

Folklorism in the context of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage

Author(s): Karolina Dziubata-Smykowska
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: folklorism; intangible cultural heritage; cultural heritage; folklore; anthropology of folklore
Summary/Abstract: The monograph focuses on the relationship between folklorism and the protection of intangible cultural heritage on the example of wedding ritual performances in the Wielkopolska region. Its aim is to identify the function of the performances in the local cultural landscape on the example of the activities of selected performances and the folklore ensembles performing them. The book is set in the paradigm of anthropology of folklore and anthropological folkloristics, and is an attempt at an anthropological answer to the question whether wedding ritual performances, perceived as a phenomenon belonging to the category of folklorism, constitute a form of protection of intangible cultural heritage. The monograph presents the motivations and consequences of undertaking such activities by the members of the folklore groups studied, the ways in which folklore is understood, the reproduction and management of heritage elements, and their use for social, economic and political purposes. The case studies represent: Szamotuły Weddings, Przyrostynia Weddings, and Biskupizne Weddings. Although scholarly studies of individual wedding performances have been produced, the ethnological literature lacks any monograph devoted to a processual and holistic comparative analysis of this phenomenon. The book deals with the following issues: (1) the role of folklorism, as exemplified by wedding rituals in the local and regional cultural landscape; (2) the motivations and experiences of members of the local community related to these practices; (3) the impact of the UNESCO intangible heritage protection policy and system on how traditional folklore and folklorism functions; and (4) the ways in which folklore and folklorism are perceived and the resulting ways in which intangible cultural heritage is protected. The publication outlines the process by which performances have become an important element of local and regional cultural landscapes, and permanently embedded in the lives of inhabitants

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