Vestuvinių ir iniciacinių apeigų sąsajos dainose

Author(s): Bronė Stundžienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

The author of the article aims at discussing particular episodes in the folk songs’ discourse, characterized by peculiar symbolism. These include scenes displaying meeting of the two young people by the water and some adventures they happen to experience there, quite common in Lithuanian wedding songs, love songs and some other types of folk songs.When extracted from the 19th century printed sources and systematized, these folk song motives alone unexpectedly reveal themselves as an impressive ritualistic and mythopoetic mystery, existing exclusively in folk songs and narrated in an archetypical language. The following scheme reveals the general contents of this mystery. The maiden and the young guy happen to meet by the water; the place may be characterized either as the usual ethnographic landscape, or its mythologized version may be presented. During this meeting several fatal events are bound to happen. Their narration, however, may proceed in two slightly different ways. The first one includes motives signifying loss of symbols and signs, associated with youth and maidenhood. Here are the several typical versions: the guy seduces the maiden, “over persuading” her, and her wreath withers, also the water clouds up – the maiden weeps; the guy asks the maiden for the water for his horse, and as she does not give it, he forcefully tears off her wreath, strips down the ribbons, breaks the buckets and the yoke – the maiden weeps; the maiden’s wreath gets blown away into an open sea, her ring or even herself are drowning – anyway, she asks the guy for help, agreeing to marry him, while the guy sometimes refuses to help, but more often he attempts at saving the above mentioned things and the maiden: sometimes he succeeds, but gets drowned himself, and the wreath either floats away and out of sight or gets carried away by the swans – the maiden weeps. The second line consistently develops the theme of crossing the waters to the other side. The guy and the girl are initially on the different sides, so several ways of crossing the waters may be employed: the guy either attempts at swimming across on his horse, or makes a ship in order to reach the girl and bring her over, or builds a bridge; the maiden either asks a ferryman for help or attempts at wading the waters over by herself – anyway, she always fails and weeps as a consequence...

Еж в космогонических преданиях (Балто-балканский ареал)

Author(s): Tatjana Civjan,Dainius Razauskas / Language(s): Russian Issue: 28/2004

The mythical hedgehog is an ambiguous being. In the available bestiaries it can interchangeably be perceived as a positive (benefactor of humans, God’s helper) or a negative creature (evildoer, Devil’s agent). It remains similarly ambiguous also in the cosmogonic narratives: here it brings up mud on its spines from the bottom of the ocean, so that God could create Earth, or advises God to squeeze the freshly created Earth, in order to make it go under the sky, and thus successfully complete the Creation. On the one hand, the hedgehog acts here as a God’s helper. On the other, however, the squeezed Earth becomes jagged, thus causing emergence of mountains and valleys, which are generally associated with the Devil’s activities. Moreover, the hedgehog sometimes even attempts to harm God. Besides, in some variants of the narrative about squeezing of Earth, to make it go under the sky, the role of the hedgehog is taken over by the Devil, and there are even such stories, wherein Devil is himself squeezing or crumpling the Earth. The cosmogonic stories with hedgehog as an actor have been recorded along the whole length of the “Amber Road”, connecting the Baltic Sea to the Balkans; moreover, hedgehog also appears in the Northern Russia, in the etiological myths of the Finno-Ugrian Veps and Siberian Buriats, describing the emergence of various tribes, and that is not yet the end to it. Because the hedgehog tends to perform the Devil’s functions in the dualistic cosmogonic narratives, in the Balkans it used to be linked up with the Bogomils of the Manichean deviation. However, Mircea Eliade proved this dualism to be of “Slavonic” kind rather than of the Manichean origin. Nevertheless, the cosmogonic story, wherein the hedgehog advises God to squeeze the Earth so that it could go under the sky, is also well known among the Balts, especially Latvians, in whose stories the hedgehog’s role can also be taken over by the Devil. In numerous variants of this etiological legend the origins of the hedgehog’s coat of spines gets explained as well: God has gratefully given it, so that hedgehog could defend itself from its enemies. But there are also quite different stories, interpreting the same thing, e.g. according to one Lithuanian etiological legend, the hedgehog had nice soft hair in the beginning, but after having hurt itself upon the fir tree’s needles it started grumbling, snubbing at the fir tree and boasting of its own soft hair, thus causing God’s wrath. Therefore God gave it “needles” too, and even far more pointed ones, than those of a fir tree. Here, the hedgehog’s spines seem to be God’s punishment, rather than a gift; thus reminding us again of its dualism mentioned above.

Tradicijų sankirtose: ‘Kito’ tapatumas

Author(s): Rita Repšienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

Conceiving ourselves dans l’unité du genre humain [‘in the affinity of the human being’] (Marcel Mauss), we abstract and identify the historical experience, perceive the similarities and differences in the systems of ideas and values and differentiate the unity of the world, postulating it in the definitions of the identity of the ‘Other’. The ‘Other’ is proposed as one of the most conspicuous ideological interpretations of the individual. The earliest records on the Lithuanians were made by foreigners – writing about us the ‘Others’ made our past significant. One of the most interesting historical attestations – the records of the general visitation of the Lithuanian Jesuit College of Vilnius and the diaries of the pastoral activity (Liber Fructuum Spiritualium) of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries – is a kind of key to new interpretations of the past. In a traditional community there are numerous ideological contrapositions between one’s own and alien, similar and different, ordinary and extraordinary. The position of the ‘Other’ is presented on various levels: with respect to nationality, religion, community or gender. The mythical mindset demonstrates the ‘Other’s’ singularity in our culture and encourages the perception of the ‘Other’ from the position of the present.

Laimės laiško pokyčiai moderniojoje komunikacijoje

Author(s): Povilas Krikščiūnas / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

In the focus of the present article there is collection of a chain mail, accumulated by the author in 2002–2004. These letters have been written by literate adults. While examining this material, the author attempts to grasp the modern tendencies of the genre development. He concludes these creations to be of cosmopolitan nature, often of a literary origin, so far displaying no national features whatsoever. As belief in the magical power of these letters weakens, the genre gravitates towards didactics and entertainment. Courteous appeals not to break the chain replace the formerly strict code of the magical etiquette. Recommendations to spread the received letter further become the main differential feature of the chain mail. The textual structure of the letters also changes: e.g., the main text expands at the expense of the former magical one, stories describing negative consequences of the wrong treatment of the letters gradually disappear. Prohibitions against changing the text also disappear; therefore the letters grow more varying, incorporating numerous authorized texts as well as injections from various folklore genres. Appeals to mutual understanding and friendship are very popular, therefore some letters should be called “friendship” letters rather than “good fortune” ones. The above-mentioned changes are anything but idiosyncratic ones in the general perspective of the modern internet lore; they illustrate universal patterns of creativity in the emerging post-folkloric tradition.

Tautosakos mokslas [humanitarinių ir socialinių mokslų strategijoje]

Author(s): Leonardas Sauka,Bronė Stundžienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

The folklore scholarship comprises theory of folklore, methodology of folklore studies, and history of folklore. The folklore genealogy, poetics, systematics, archival work, terenial studies, the applied folklore research, etc. have also established themselves as separate disciplines. Folklore scholarship aims at investigation of meaning, origins, functioning and understanding of folklore. The main spheres of studies include revealing peculiarities of this kind of verbal art, the basis of its existence, character of the visual patterning, and strata of themes, ideas and values; examining the changing role of folklore in the national history; studying peculiarities of structure inherent in pieces of folklore and principles of organizing an artistic text, its relationship with the cultural context and other kinds of art; examining the regional, national and international folklore processes. The leading center of the folklore scholarship in Lithuania is the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. The Department of Ethnomusicology, together with the Chair in Ethnomusicology (1989), situated at the Faculty of the Piano and Musicology, Lithuanian Musical Academy, is the leading center of ethnomusicological research and training of specialists in ethnomusicology. Teachers of the Ethnology and Folklore Department at the Faculty of Humanities, Kaunas University, along with teaching ethnology and ethnomusicology, also give a number of courses in folklore. The university also pursues the scheme for the bachelor and master studies in ethnology and folklore. The scholarly research strategy of the Department of Lithuanian Literature, Faculty of Philology, Vilnius University, includes folkloristics as well. Courses in Lithuanian folklore are also given at the Department of Lithuanian Literature, Faculty of Lithuanian Studies of the Vilnius Pedagogical University. Specialists in folklore work at the Department of Baltic Linguistics and Ethnology, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Klaip􀆡da, together with linguists and ethnologists. This department also administrates the Folklore laboratory, which has 3 employees and functions as basis for accumulating the dialectological, folklore and ethnographical data as well as serving purposes of the education process...

Judėjo įvaizdis lietuvių folklore: viduramžiškų prietarų atspindžiai

Author(s): Laima Anglickienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

The author of the article analyses the image of Jews, confessants of Judaism, as presented by the 19th century – the first half of the 20th century Lithuanian folklore. Examples from nowadays folklore demonstrate the continuation of traditions. Creation of these narratives was influenced by certain specific reasons. Disparagement of strangers and their religion is an international phenomenon. The strange religion tends to be viewed and appreciated from the perspective of one’s own. Rather than trying to understand the doctrine of other religions, people tend to renounce them as evil and wrong, and regard the strange religious rituals and customs as weird or funny. Such sometimes negative and sometimes – neutral constructions and interpretations of differing Jewish religious practices get reflected in folklore. The popularity of the image of Jew in Lithuanian folklore was influenced by both international and local reasons: Jews, the sole believers of Judaism, are recognized for their cultural geniuses; this fact has always been and still is appreciated by all the other ethnic and religious groups. Therefore, international stereotypes and corresponding migration of folk motives contributed to the popularity of this personage in Lithuanian folklore. The blood libel myths telling about Jews harming Christians and even killing them because of the Jewish religious rituals, could be named among the most popular folklore narratives. The stories describe ways of Jews killing Christian children or even adults, and explain the alleged reasons and purposes for the use of their blood. Today, religious practices get rarely reflected in anecdotes; instead, humorous narratives describing sly and resourceful Jewish businessman are enjoying greater popularity. The Jewish practice of circumcision is the favorite theme of the obscene anecdotes.

Tautosakinis gegutės įvaizdis

Author(s): Lilija Kudirkienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

Unlike some other images, such as those of the Sun, an orphan, etc., there is no unanimous interpretation of the cuckoo’s image in folklore; no clear dominant can be discerned: neither in terms of values or aesthetics, nor in semantical functional aspect. The diversity and inconsistency of the cuckoo’s image could be explained by motivation stemming from different sources: in some cases it is based on mythical beliefs, whereas in others – on the natural peculiarities of a real cuckoo. Almost all the European peoples see cuckoo as a fortune-teller: by its call the cuckoo predicts the coming year to be good or bad, warns of a famine or war, disease or death (more frequently it predicts bad things than good ones). According to the cuckoo’s call and its various circumstances (Kuckuck ueber dem Stock… Kuckuck ueberm Huegel… ‘Cuckoo [calling] on a stake… Cuckoo [calling] on a hill’) the length of a human life or its different stages (e.g. girlhood, shepherding) is conjectured. The negative consequences of hearing a cuckoo’s call on an empty stomach or while strapped for cash were shunned of. This is also where the figurative images of “cuckoo’s bite” and “cuckoo’s money” come from. The call of the cuckoo sounds sad, yet pleasant to the ears of Lithuanians, Latvians and Slavs. Meanwhile Germans regard it as ugly and boring, and therefore the bird itself is deemed as common, slow and is often sneered at. The Balts and Slavs, however, regard cuckoo as a symbol of a grieving person, more frequently a female (a widow, a mother, a daughter-in-law, an orphaned girl, etc.). True, Latvians have an unfavorable image of a “famine cuckoo”, more or less familiar to Lithuanians as well (derived upon generalization of a complaining function, attributed to the cuckoo in folklore), whereas Lithuanians and Slavs have a similarly uncomplimentary image of a “nocturnal cuckoo” (based upon an aspect of femininity associated with cuckoos). Moreover, Germans and some Slavic peoples regard cuckoo as a liar and fraud, breaker of its promises (this interpretation originates from imagining cuckoo as a fortune-teller). Germans reproach cuckoo with ingratitude (this being related to the natural peculiarities of a real cuckoo). The fact that cuckoos in nature laid their eggs in the nests of other birds, not hatching and nurturing the little ones by themselves, motivated association of this bird with adultery in German folklore tradition, or portraying it as a frivolous female and an irresponsible mother by Lithuanians and some Slavs.

Intelektinė nuosavybė ir folkloras: apie Pasaulinės intelektinės nuosavybės organizacijos (WIPO) veiklą

Author(s): Valdimar Hafstein / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2004

Review: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND FOLKLORE, VALDIMAR HAFSTEIN, Reykjavik Academy, Iceland 2000 m. Pasaulinė intelektinės nuosavybės organizacija (World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO) įkūrė specialų padalinį, kurio pavadinimas atspindi jam patikėtas nagrinėti problemas: Tarpvyriausybinis intelektinės nuosavybės ir genetinių išteklių, tradicinio žinojimo bei folkloro komitetas (The Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore – IGC). Šio komiteto įkūrimas buvo didėjančio trečiojo pasaulio šalių spaudimo bei per pastarąjį dešimtmetį gerokai sustiprėjusio pasaulinio vietinių tautų judėjimo rezultatas. Dabar IGC – bene didžiausias tarpvyriausybinis forumas, kuriame diskutuojama „folkloro apraiškų“ bei „tradicinio žinojimo“ klausimais. Jau surengtos septynios sesijos, o aštuntoji numatyta 2005 m. birželio mėnesį. Nuo ketvirtosios sesijos SIEF (Societé Internationale d’Ethnologie et Folklore – Tarptautinė etnologijos bei folkloro draugija) šiame komitete turi stebėtojos statusą, ir aš, kaip jos atstovas, jau dalyvavau trijuose komiteto posėdžiuose Ženevoje. Intelektinės nuosavybės sistemos tikslas – ginti ir skatinti kūrybingumą bei inovacijas. Deja, intelektinės nuosavybės apsauga sistemingai ignoruoja nemažos dalies žmonijos sukauptas žinias ir kūrybą. Kad autorinės teisės būtų ginamos, tam tikras meno, dizaino, muzikos kūrinys privalo būti originalus konkretaus autoriaus darbas. Visiškai taip pat, kad būtų patentuota, tam tikra technologija ar metodika privalo atitikti naujumo testo reikalavimus, būti naujas ir originalus žingsnis į priekį. Vertinant pagal tokius kriterijus, tradicinis žinojimas bei tradicinės kūrybos apraiškos iš principo atmetamos. Šiuo metu WIPO atliekamas darbas yra nepaprastai svarbus mūsų tyrimo sritims ir greičiausiai turės rimtų ilgalaikių pasekmių. Pavyzdžiui, gali būti, kad dėl šio proceso kai kurie tradicinės kultūros bei žinių aspektai, anksčiau buvę vieši ir visiems prieinami, nuo šiol įgis teisėtus savininkus arba globėjus, kurių sutikimą privalės gauti kiekvienas ketinantis juos tirti mokslininkas. Ir nors tikriausiai mokslinės studijos galės išvengti naujų juridinių reikalavimų, net ir tokiu atveju etnologams bei folkloristams gali tapti teisiškai privaloma bendradarbiauti su jų tiriamomis bendruomenėmis. Aišku, tai nebūtinai yra neigiamas dalykas – viskas priklauso nuo konkrečių nuostatų ir sąlygų. Mano manymu, kur kas daugiau potencialios grėsmės kelia atskirų valstybių valdžios struktūroms šio proceso metu suteikiama galimybė reguliuoti savo „nacionalinės kultūros“ pateikimą bei reprezentavimą, veikiant tiek savo, tiek kitų valstybių subjektus. Nors būtina atsižvelgti ir į galimus pavojus, tačiau jokiu būdu neturėtume išleisti iš akių svarbiausio dalyko: WIPO veikla taip pat žada daugiau teisingumo, nešališkumo bei sutarimo skirstant kultūrinius išteklius...

Moteris, atimanti gyvybę – La Belle Dame sans Merci

Author(s): Vilma Voigt / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2004

Review: THE WOMAN WHO DESTROYS LIFE – LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI, Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest; Hungarian witch-trials as unique source of material for European cultural history. Moteris, pražudanti vyrą, o tiksliau – konkreti moteris, sunaikinanti konkretų vyrą, – senas ir (ne)garbingas motyvas Europos kultūros istorijoje. Tokia moteris tiesiogine prasme suryja savo aukas. Išanalizavus gana mistiškus pasakojimus apie širdžių rijikes, aiškėja, kad šis siužetas įkūnytas daugelyje naratyvų, paplitusių skirtingose kultūros srityse. Žiaurioji moteris, negailestinga meilužė, įamžinta garsiajame Johno Keatso kūrinyje La Belle Dame sans Merci, iš tiesų buvo ragana: „Belle Dame“ reiškia ne ką kita, o mulier speciosa, visoje Europoje žinomą raganos apibūdinimą. Straipsnio autorius atliko tekstologinę ir ikonografinę širdžių rijikių įvaizdžio analizę, pradėdamas nuo Vengrijos raganų teismų dokumentų (iki 1742–1743 m.). Toliau aptariama garsioji „karaliaus“ René I d’Anjou poema Le Livre du cuer d’amours espris, parašyta iki 1477 metų, bei tų pačių metų nuostabios miniatiūros, iliustruojančios vieniškąją jos kopiją. Viename piešinyje matome, kaip miegančiam herojui pagrobiama širdis. Tas pats talentingas menininkas, vadinamas „René meistru“, iliustravo ir dar vieną karaliaus René poemą: Mortifiement de Vaine Plaisance, kur vaizduojamos kančios, kurias Širdžiai teko patirti beieškant savo pagrobtosios meilės. Nepaprastai įdomių ikonografinių paralelių aptinkama Europos meno istorijoje. Viduramžių prancūzų bei vokiečių literatūroje pasakojimų apie suvalgytą širdį (Coeur mangé – Herzmäre) pasitaiko nuo XII a. pabaigos maždaug iki XIV a. pabaigos. Dar senesnė, maždaug X a. Indijoje žinoma „Legenda apie karalių Rasalu iš Sialkoto“ yra tikras galvosūkis lyginamosios filologijos specialistamas, nes ji gerokai ankstyvesnė (!) už analogiškus Europos tekstus, su kuriais turi daug bendrų širdies rijimo motyvų. Romantinę Europos literatūrą „Belle Dame“ motyvas buvo tiesiog pakerėjęs. Net ir šiandien, kaip liudija, pavyzdžiui, neseniai pasirodęs kroatų rašytojos Slavenkos Drakulič romanas „Dieviškasis alkis“, žiauriosios vyrų rijikės įvaizdis nepraranda aktualumo.

Pasakų aktyvistai: pasakojimų vaizdai palei vokiečių turistų kelią

Author(s): Dorothee Hemme,Regina Bendix / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2004

Review: FAIRY TALE ACTIVISTS: NARRATIVE IMAGINARIES ALONG A GERMAN TOURIST ROUTE REGINA BENDIX, DOROTHEE HEMME Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology at the University of Göttingen, Germany Vokiečių Pasakų kelias – tai prieš trisdešimt metų sukurtas teminis automobilių maršrutas turistams. Šioje savanoriškoje sandraugoje dalyvauja apie šešiasdešimt miestų bei kaimų, ir kiekviena bendruomenė vaidina ar demonstruoja kokį nors pasakojimą arba istorinį veikėją. Kultūrinį kapitalą, tokiu būdu reklamuojamą turistams, sudaro liaudies pasakos bei istoriniai pasakojimai. Straipsnio objektas – iš esmės savanoriškas daugybės žmonių triūsas. Pavadinant juos „pasakų aktyvistais“, buvo norima pabrėžti tą milžinišką asmeninį bei visuomeninį indėlį ir jėgas, investuojamas į šiuos projektus. Nors straipsnyje nagrinėjama ir gana problemiška turistinių aspiracijų bei iš esmės dvasinių struktūrų, tokių kaip pasakos, sudaiktinimo jungtis, vis dėlto autorės reiškia didelę pagarbą pasakų aktyvistams už asmeninį pasiaukojimą bei neišsenkamą vaizduotę. Juk sparčiai besisukantis turizmo rinkos pasaulis toli gražu ne visuomet geba deramai įvertinti ir pagerbti rimtą šių žmonių atsidavimą.

Šiuolaikinių erzinimų specifika

Author(s): Gražina Skabeikytė-Kazlauskienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

The article discusses a lively form of children’s folklore, i.e. the teasing rhymes. In the focus of attention here are the teasing rhymes recorded in 1994–2003 and reflecting the last decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Having compared the modern teasing rhymes with the traditional ones, the author notes the survival of the same functional groups, i.e. parodies of names, ridicules of defects, jeering, mocking of animals. However, modern teasing texts display much greater variety. Only few former types of the teasing rhymes remained popular, while new types have appeared and spread. Available material of modern teasing rhymes allows us to distinguish several spheres of reality, especially attracting children’s attention, e.g. food and animals. In comparison with traditional teasing rhymes, the abundance of loanwords should be considered a distinguishing feature of modern teasing rhymes.

Gyvatės ryšys su gyvybe ir jos atsiradimu

Author(s): Nijolė Laurinkienė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 28/2004

Snake and serpent are symbols of the earthly life, the zoomorphic manifestations of the chthonic vitality. Formation of such concept of snake could be influenced by real physical features of these reptilians, such as their ability of periodical renewal by sloughing off the exuviae, their exceptional prolificacy and vitality. Associations of snake with phenomenon of life are manifold and polysemantic. The snake is regarded both as a giver and fosterer of life and as its destroyer. In human consciousness, it gets incorporated into the mysterious sphere of the origins of life as one of the possible factors facilitating explanation of these origins. Here, the functions of serpent, or the grass-snake (Lit. žaltys), as the exciter of the male sexuality, ensuring the ability of insemination, and therefore, the continuity of life, get especially prominent. Thus, it is possible to note closer associations of the serpent with the masculine sphere and the male role in the beginning of life, whereas the snake is closely related to the feminine world and the creative role of females as the birth givers and bringers of the new life into the world. The snake acts as mediator between the closely related worlds of humans and earth, passing onto humans a considerable share of its own powers together with its potential of the earthly vitality.

Senovės dvasių sugrįžimas: po Airijos suvenyrų krautuvėles pasidairius

Author(s): Tok Thompson / Language(s): English Issue: 28/2004

Review: THE RETURN OF THE FAIRY FOLK: A VIEW FROM THE TOURIST SHOPS OF IRELAND, TOK THOMPSON, Trinity College, Dublin University, Ireland Kurgi dingo visos senovės dvasios? Regis, bus persikrausčiusios tiesiai į suvenyrų krautuvėles. Šiame straipsnyje aptariamas pastaruoju metu pastebimas jų įvaizdžio populiarėjimas Airijoje. Senosios antgamtinės būtybės (airiškai sí) nuo seno buvo tapatinamos su pačia Airija. Tikėjimas jomis iki pat XIX a. pabaigos sudarė tradicinio airių gyvenimo bei liaudies pasaulėžiūros pamatą, palengva vis labiau ardomą modernizmo įtakų ir Bažnyčios spaudimo. Kartais teigiama, neva tikėjimas mitinėmis būtybėmis dabartinėje Airijoje jau išnykęs, tačiau vargu ar tai tiesa – juk vis dar pasitaiko žmonių, paliudijančių įvairių jo aspektų gyvavimą: pavyzdžiui, tvirtinančių mačius bean sí, antgamtinę moterišką būtybę, raudojimu pranešančią apie besiartinančią šeimos nario mirtį. Žodis sí airiškai turi dvejopą reikšmę: pirma, jis gali reikšti piliakalnius – megalito laikų paminklus, kurių seniausieji iškilo daugiau kaip prieš šešis tūkstančius metų. Šie piliakalniai – savitas Airijos gamtovaizdžio bruožas; nuo neatmenamų laikų jie buvo glaudžiai siejami su anapusinio, mirusiųjų pasaulio samprata, o ir dabar išlieka svarbi tradicinės airių kultūros dalis. Antroji minėto termino reikšmė – tai piliakalniuose gyvenančių mitinių būtybių pavadinimas (kiek netiksliai verčiamas į anglų kalbą žodžiu fairies ‘fėjos’). Todėl ir minėtąją bean sí reikėtų suprasti kaip „piliakalnio moterį“ arba „moterišką dvasią“. Naujojo tūkstantmečio pradžioje šios airių mitinės būtybės tapo populiariausiu Airijos simboliu, šiuo atžvilgiu nurungdamos net šv. Patriką – praėjus maždaug 1500 metų po to, kai jis pats neva išstūmęs jas iš turėtų ankstesniųjų pozicijų. Šv. Patrikas – nacionalinis airių šventasis, ir jo diena yra tapusi visuotine Airijos bei airių kultūros aukštinimo švente. Bet įdomu, kad 2004 metais per šią šventę Dubline nepavyko pastebėti jokių šv. Patriko atvaizdų, o „dvasių giminės“ atstovų buvo pilna visur. Jų atvaizdai atskleidžia nepaprastai įdomias turizmo, saviraiškos ir tradicinio folkloro sąsajas. Taigi: „karalius mirė – tegyvuoja karalius!“

Tureccy i bałkańscy „singers of tales” – „jarzmo” inspiracji czy epicka dwubiegunowość?

Author(s): Agnieszka Ayşen Kaim / Language(s): Polish Issue: 11/2011

The research material is mostly based on the works of Albert Lord and Milman Parry, Karl Reichl, Ilhan Basgoz, Pertev Boratav. Epic singers played a significant part in spreading national spirit, be it Turkish or Slavic. The Balkan artists called guslar used a one-string instrument called gusle while a Turkish minstrel ozan and ashik usually used a two-stringed instrument called kopuz or saz. The typical stage for their activities were coffeehouses. Oral epics were transmitted by word of mouth from one singer to another, sometimes by way of formal training based on the transmission of repertoire and technique from master to apprentice. Representative of both traditions was the use of metrics and formulaic style. The song was orally composed in performance, with the audience’s participation. The musical aspect facilitated memorisation. The text to be learned by heart was a story in a song. Although the Turkish and Balkan epic traditions developed independently of each other, the effect of Turkish conquest on the Balkan epic tradition is evident, especially in the style of those singers who perform in borderland (in Kosovo and northern Albania). The Turkish occupation itself became the subject of many epics, reinforcing the national identity of the local population. However, oriental influences also emerged in some formal characteristics, such as the length of the songs, the ornamentation and stylised oriental images and the transformation of separate ballads and short narratives into epic cycles. In both cases for performers themselves this artistic activity became “a way of life”.

Белорусская песенная строфикакак предмет лингво-музыкальной диалектологии

Author(s): Galina Kutyriowa-Czubala / Language(s): Russian Issue: 36/2012

Stanzaic prosody of ritual songs detects both synchronous as well as polymorphic or bistructural correlations of the two song components – poetic text and tune. Tune often has its own actual segmentation (which does not match the text) and its own syntagmatics. Therefore, the verse-quantitative (according to number of verses in the strophe) classification of song forms accepted so far in musical folklore is unproductive and slightly informative. Paradigmatics of melodious forms is more complex and diverse. The same poetic text in tunes of various internal architectonics has different tension, euphony and semantics. This article discusses four of them: 1) repeating, 2) reprise-symmetrical forms, 3) polymorphic forms based on bistructural properties (opposition) of text/tune, 4) implicative forms, variations of question-and-reciprocal ones. Each of the structural-compositional paradigms has its spatial distribution (areal) and is located in the chronological order of forms.

Ethnographie et folklore du religieux en Bulgarie: «un tango de Lénine»?

Author(s): Galja Vălčinova / Language(s): French Issue: 02/1998

The recent boom of studies on religious themes in Bulgaria raises the question whether such studies were prohibited under the communist regime, as is usually assumed. The author’s answer is a quote from Lenin’s famous article “One step forwards, two backwards”. Two parallel fields of ethnological research developed in Bulgaria: ethnography and folkloristics. Both of them, however, have studied religious facts only among the Christian orthodox peasant population, and mainly in the context of festivals. The superstitious aspects of folk religion were always stressed and the role of the Orthodox Church was regularly downplayed. The predominant trend was historical: the search for deep pagan roots which, depending on political conjuncture, could be ascribed to Thracian, Proto-Bulgarian or Slavic paganism. The focus of ethnographic and folkloristic research was on the cult of saints as an important expression of “popular mythology”. A lot of data from the 19th century was used, supplemented with superficial field observations; the performers’ explanations were accepted without question and interpretation. The old theory of saints as the successors of former pagan gods was never put in question. This allowed subtle accomodations to the dominant ideology of the communist state which was, in fact, nationalism much more than Marxism-Leninism.

Folklore and Nationalism. The German Example and its Implications for the Balkans

Author(s): Klaus Roth / Language(s): English Issue: 02/1998

Die deutsche Volkskunde der NS-Zeit wird zu Recht als Beispiel für die totale Perversion einer wissenschaftlichen Disziplin angesehen. Denn während das Fach äußerlich gedieh, neue Lehrstühle, Institute, Museen und Archive erhielt, ein Millionenpublikum erreichte und von „nationaler Bedeutung“ war, verlor es gleichzeitig seine Integrität und ordnete seine Ziele und Theorien den Intentionen eines totalitären Regimes unter. Volkskundler waren mitbeteiligt an der Legitimierung von Vertreibung und Ausrottung „artfremder“ Völker ebenso wie an der Beschwichtigung und Kontrolle der deutschen Bevölkerung. Der NS-Staat benutzte die Volkskultur und die Volkskunde in extremer Weise, doch war die Anwendung ethnologisches Wissens keineswegs neu. Die Instrumentalisierung der „Volkskultur“ basiert auf der Dichotomie Elite – Volk sowie auf der Kenntnis der Kultur des „einfachen Volks“. Schon früh hat die Kirche die Volkskultur manipuliert, doch erlangte die genaue Kenntnis der Volkskultur erst für die modernen Nationalstaaten und für die Kolonialmächte besondere Bedeutung, eine Tatsache, der die Volkskunde und die Völkerkunde letztlich ihr Entstehen verdanken. Erst die Aufklärung und die Romantik begründeten jenes "Kulturmanagement", das dann im 20. Jh. von totalitären Systemen perfektioniert wurde. Der NS-Staat (ebenso wie die sozialistischen Regimes) griff dabei massiv in die Alltagskultur ein und entwickelte u.a. neben Ritualen und Festen eine eigene nationale Mythologie als Ersatzreligion. Die Volkskunde übernahm als eine Staatswissenschaft politische Aufgaben, eine Tatsache, die nach dem Ende des NS-Staates fast zur Auflösung des Faches führte. Erst in den 1960er Jahren aber begann das Fach, seine eigene schmerzvolle Vergangenheit bewußt aufzuarbeiten. Der Zusammenbruch des Sozialismus und die Globalisierung haben in Südosteuropa eine kritische Situation geschaffen, in der politische und andere Eliten in einigen Ländern versuchen, die Volkskultur für eigene Ziele zu instrumentalisieren und nationale Mythologien und „heile Vergangenheiten“ zu konstruieren, z.T. mit der Hilfe von Volkskundlern. Die (deutsche) Geschichte ebenso wie der Krieg in Bosnien lehren jedoch, daß regressiver Nationalismus keine Probleme löst, sondern neue schafft. Die südosteuropäische Volkskunde muß sich vom nationalen Paradigma lösen und von einer „Wissenschaft der eigenen Kultur“ zu einer Disziplin werden, die sowohl die eigene als auch die anderen Kulturen untersucht und die ihr Wissen in den Dienst des Zusammenlebens der Völker stellt und damit zur interkulturellen Kommunikation auf der Balkanhalbinsel beiträgt.

New Orientations in Bulgarian Ethnology and Folkloristics

Author(s): Radost Ivanova / Language(s): English Issue: 02/1998

Conquering the Feast. The Socialist Transformation of a Religious Feast in a Bulgarian Village

Author(s): Petar Petrov / Language(s): English Issue: 02/1998

In Ansätzen bereits nach der Etablierung des sozialistischen Herrschaftssystems, verstärkt aber seit Beginn der 1970er Jahre, begann in Bulgarien der Ausbau des sog. „sozialistischen Feiertags- und Ritualsystems“, das der Machtsicherung und der „Schaffung des sozialistischen Menschen“ dienen sollte. Für den Aufbau dieses Systems wurden unterschiedliche Ansätze verwendet, darunter die Umdeutung und Umgestaltung von religiösen Festen. Dabei spielten Volkskundler oftmals eine entscheidende Rolle. Die religiösen Feste sollten transformiert werden, indem alle „negativen“ Festelemente wegfielen, die Assoziationen mit religiösen Vorstellungen hervorriefen und für die neue soziale Ordnung hemmend sein konnten. Den „progressiven“ Elementen, die beibehalten wurden, sollte neuer ästhetischer und ideeller Gehalt gegeben werden. Ganz im Geiste dieser parteipolitischen und „wissenschaftlichen“ Richtlinien gingen die Ortsfunktionäre im Untersuchungsdorf Raduil mit dem wichtigsten lokalen religiösen Fest, Mariä Himmelfahrt, um, indem sie die gemeinsame Tafel, Volksmusik, Volkslieder und -tänze von den anderen Festelementen trennten und als etwas Positives beibehielten, und die religiösen Bräuche selbst als „negative Erscheinungen“ abschafften. An ihrer Stelle wurden neue Festelemente wie die politische Rede eingeführt, die aus den bestehenden politischen Massenfesten entlehnt wurden. Das Fest wurde in „Tag des Genossenschaftlers“ umbenannt und ihm wurde dementspechend und durch Uminterpretation der historischen Gegebenheiten ein neuer Sinn verliehen. Durch die Beibehaltung allgemein üblicher Formen und die Einführung neuer Elemente versuchten die Ortsfunktionäre, alte soziokulturelle Verhaltensmuster für neue Ziele, insbesondere für die ideologische Sozialisation auszunutzen. Der verordnete Wandel des alten Festes verlief jedoch nicht reibungslos. Das Beharren der Dorfbevölkerung auf der Tradition und die Verhäuslichung der rituellen Handlungen führte zu einem Zusammenspiel von religiösen und sozialistischen Festelementen. Das Fest näherte sich daher bald den normativen Vorgaben, bald den Wünschen der Dorfbewohner an und wurde zu einem Mischprodukt in der Mitte zwischen dem Druck „von oben“ und den Wünschen „von unten“.

The “Bulgarian Ethnography” of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Some Critical Comments

Author(s): Asen Balikci / Language(s): English Issue: 02/1998