- Journal Details
- Format
- Journal
- eISSN
- 2228-0987
- First Published
- 16 Apr 2016
- Publication timeframe
- 2 times per year
- Languages
- English
Search
Editorial
- Open Access
Introduction to Special Issue. Sciences of the Nation Under Soviet Rule: Ethnography and Folkloristics in the Baltic Republics
Page range: i - iv
Abstract
Articles (Special Issue)
- Open Access
Favourite Research Topics of Estonian Ethnographers Under Soviet Rule
Page range: 1 - 15
Abstract
Estonian ethnography as one of the Estonia-related disciplines was tied with Estonian nationalism from the very beginning. Defined as a science investigating mainly the material side of vanishing traditional peasant culture in the 1920s, it fitted rather well with the Soviet understanding of ethnography as a sub discipline of history. Thanks to the major cooperation projects initiated and coordinated by ethnographers from Moscow, Soviet Estonian ethnographers could continue studying Estonian traditional peasant culture. Their favourite research topics (folk costume, peasant architecture and traditional agriculture) supported Estonian national identity, but also suited the framework of Soviet ethnography. Studying contemporary (socialist) everyday life was unpopular among Estonian ethnographers because the results had to justify and support Soviet policy. They did so unwillingly, and avoided it completely if possible. Despite of some interruption during the Stalin era, ethnography managed to survive as a science of the nation in Soviet Estonia.
Keywords
- history of ethnology
- nationalism
- Estonia
- Soviet Union
Abstract
The article seeks to illuminate the ideologically motivated circumstances of Latvian folklore studies during the period of unconditional Soviet totalitarianism. With the strengthening of the Soviet occupation regime in Latvia in the late 1940s, many interwar folklorists became victims of ideologically motivated disdain and subsequent career limitation. ‘Bourgeois’ scholarship and the methods applied in folklore studies during the interwar period were denounced and recognised as harmful to the new Soviet order. The central part of the article presents a case study of one individual folklorist of the time, Anna Bērzkalne (1891–1956). Both increasing criticism of Bērzkalne’s folklore research approach (the historical–geographical method) and her efforts to accommodate the requirements of the Soviet regime have been analysed.
Keywords
- history of folkloristics
- sovietisation
- historical–geographical method
- Anna Bērzkalne
- Latvia
- Open Access
The Role of Ethnographers in the Invention of Socialist Traditions in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Page range: 33 - 47
Abstract
This study, based on archive document research and analysis of publications by Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) ethnographers, discusses the process of invention and implementation of Socialist traditions and the role of scientists in this. The introduction of Soviet traditions in Latvia did not begin immediately after the Second World War when the communist occupation regime was restored. The occupation regime in the framework of an anti-religious campaign turned to the transformation of traditions that affect individual’s private sphere and relate to church rituals – baptism, confirmation, weddings, funerals, Latvian cemetery festivities – in the second half of 1950s, along with the implementation of revolutionary and labour traditions. In order to achieve the goals set by the Communist Party, a new structure of institutions was formed and specialists from many fields were involved, including ethnographers from the Institute of History at the LSSR Academy of Sciences (hereinafter – LSSR AS). Ethnographers offered recommendations, as well as observed and analysed the process, discussing it in meetings of official commissions and sharing the conclusions in scientific publications, presentations, etc.
Keywords
- socialist traditions
- ethnographers
- soviet culture and lifestyle
- tools of influencing society
- anti-religious campaign
- Open Access
Ethnographic Research in Soviet Latvia – The Source of a Stronger National Identity
Page range: 48 - 70
Abstract
This article* provides an insight into ethnographic research during the Soviet occupation of Latvia, viewed in the context of national self-consciousness. Ethnographic research in Soviet Latvia was conducted by the ethnographic sector at the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR). By successfully using phrases appropriate to the political situation as well as the right quotations from Soviet ideological works, it was possible to maintain ideas and attitudes developed in interwar independent Latvia, for example, regarding Latvian national costume – in the works of Mirdza Slava. In turn, Aina Alsupe managed to carry out substantial new studies of the history and development of weaving in Latvia, and collect materials on the development of applied art in Soviet Latvia. The studies conducted by both Alsupe and Slava allowed researchers to keep applied folk arts and the folk costume topical, and in doing so to help maintain Latvian cultural identity.
Keywords
- ethnography
- Soviet Latvia
- national identity
- folk costume
- textile history
- Open Access
The Regional Studies Movement in Soviet Lithuania
Page range: 71 - 89
Abstract
This article* is dedicated to the regional studies movement in Soviet Lithuania, primarily to ethnography, and argues that Lithuanian ethnographers conducted ethnographic research in different ways. The focus is on the Ramuva movement, founded in 1970 at Vilnius University and continuing until 1994. The activities of the Lithuanian regional studies movement were characterised by diverse education and ethnographic practices. I assert that the key to the success of Ramuva’s activity was a creative circumventing of Soviet ideology and practice. Through a discussion of theoretical issues and the results of fieldwork, I analyse the following questions: How did Marxism–Leninism change ethnography in Soviet Lithuania? What were the activities, methods and theory of regional research? Was Ramuva’s policy of knowledge production in opposition to the Soviet regime?
Keywords
- Baltic countries
- belonging
- Lithuania
- Marxism–Leninism
- Ramuva movement
- Soviet ethnography
Articles (Regular)
- Open Access
Between Abjection and World-Making: Spatial Dynamics in the Lives of Indonesian Waria
Page range: 90 - 107
Abstract
The lives of Indonesian
Keywords
- transgender
- Indonesia
- space
- abjection
- subjectivity
- Open Access
Oromo Proverbs and Proverbial Expressions in the Customary Judicial System in Ethiopia
Page range: 108 - 123
Abstract
This paper discusses the role of Oromo proverbs in conflict resolution and/or management as a peace-making verbal communication principle in the cultural context. The lesson from proverbs, which contain traditional morsels of wisdom, consists of cultural value and rhetorical effectiveness helping to enforce reality in the context in which they are used. Data for this paper is generated from primary sources. In data gathering, we used interview and focus group discussion. The analysis shows that proverbs have persuasive power to advise, guide and influence conflicting parties to settle their case peacefully. The proverbs tell their truths about conflict situations and devise a resolution and management approach through metaphorical and symbolic representations. Proverbs are also an integral part of Oromo culture, handing down and imparting norms, values, rules and the worldview of the community to guide people to live in customary ways.
Keywords
- conflict
- conflict resolution
- communication
- oral literature
- Oromo proverbs
Notes & Reviews
- Open Access
Introduction : Sacred Geographies and Identity Claims: The Revival of Sacred Sites in the Post-Soviet Space
Page range: 124 - 127
Abstract
- Open Access
Sufis, Shrines, and the State in Tajikistan
Page range: 128 - 130
Abstract
- Open Access
Sacred Geographies in the Eurasian Steppe: The Aqkol Shrine as a Symbol of Kazakh Ethnicity and Religiosity
Page range: 131 - 133
Abstract
- Open Access
When Sacred Sites Become Symbols of Nationhood
Page range: 134 - 136
Abstract
- Open Access
Sacred Sites and Not-So-Dirty Money in Daghestan, North Caucasus
Page range: 137 - 139
Abstract
- Open Access
Sacred Landscapes Through the Lens of Religious Nationalism
Page range: 140 - 142
Abstract
- Open Access
The Revival of Sacred Sites in the Urals: the Local and Beyond
Page range: 143 - 145