От традиционното хоро до сценичното изкуство и културното наследство. Културни политики и социална трансформация
From traditional horo dances to stage art and cultural heritage. Cultural politics and social transformation

Author(s): Krasimira Krastanova
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Пловдивски университет »Паисий Хилендарски«
Keywords: life transitions; social transformations; cultural politics; ‘invented traditions’; cultural heritage
Summary/Abstract: The specifics of life transitions are often constructed in relation to social transformations generated by political, economic, cultural demographic causes. Changes come as the result of actions of community members who build their strategies, participate in meaningful events and/or routine activities that transform the environment but also the people. Life transitions can affect the separate person but also the whole community, reflecting and becoming included in the process of social transformation. The text is a case study (the Thracian dance of Kalekovtsi) and analyses the transitions in the life of the village community, seen through the construction and uses of cultural heritage. There is a role for the conceptualization of life transition played by the cultural politics carried out through the activities of the local community culture clubs (chitalishte), and the changes are traced from the 1930s to the 2020s. Before WWII, the chitalishte worked mostly in the direction of educating and spreading information. During the socialist period, their task was to contribute for the establishment of homogeneity of the working and peasant class in everyday life. Elements of festive customs were extracted from their ‘natural environment’ and proclaimed as folk art. Through the chitalishte, the idea of that art’s reworking and modernization was carried out with the purpose of inscribing it in a new manner into people’s life. Thus the traditional Kalekovtsi Horo became the raw material for its reincarnation as a stage dance, as only some elements were emphasized to give it a specific characteristic and recognizability on the stage. This puts it into the category of ‘invented traditions’ (after Hobsbawm). Since more than two decades ago, the contemporary politics have been directed towards the preservation and valorization of cultural heritage. The people of the local community (re-)conceptualise their idea of cultural heritage and they take the stage version as an important element of their ofn past and present. The analysis of the material reveals the processes of social transformation that are manifested in cultural practices and inheritance.

• Details
• Contents