We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
This article examines ethnocultural and ethnogenetic relations between the Komi, Khanty, and Mansi peoples in the recent historical past on the basis of folklore, ethnographic, and historical sources; assumptions are made as to the formation of some of the Khanty groups on the basis of Komi, Khanty, and Mansi components.
More...
The article analyses some scenarios from legends about the creation of the world in the Komi tradition. The text recorded by Pavel Doronin in 1923 contains some storylines that have no parallels in similar texts. First and foremost, it is the story of the creation of the Earth, which is a contamination of mythological motifs of Earth-diving and the creation of the world from an egg. The article considers in detail the main components of the motifs and offers a hypothesis about the origins of these components.
More...
In order to provide a general overview of particular aspects of the topic in the title of this article, the author suggests having a look at one specific example from the Komi tradition of incantations. In the analytical part of the article, the author makes a hypothesis: Linguistic transformations verified as zaum (beyonsense, educanto) can occur as a result of compression of a source text (pretext, prototext) into a rhythmical matrix of the act of incantation. By the rhythmical matrix we mean a complex fixed structure of rhythmical subsystems: sound-rhythmical, rhythmo-melodic, metrical-rhythmical, and other dimensions. The compression of the prototext into the text of an incantation can have a non-linear character and be the result of a peculiar strategy of the transfer of knowledge pertaining to incantations from a teacher to a student. By virtue of a number of specific psychophysiological attitudes and limitations, the student does not remember the text of the incantation, but reproduces some deeper levels of the magical and ritual performative related to the rhythmical matrix. And it is into the matrix reproduced by his or her consciousness that a new verbal stream made up of the components of the source text, fixed in the short-term memory of the student, is incorporated.
More...
This article contains an analysis of a verbal component of cattle-breeding rituals. In terms of their genre, incantatory texts are divided into five different categories: sorcery, ritual dialogues, incantations, lamentations, and prayers, out of which the most widespread is sorcery. As a result of a structural-semantic analysis of sorcery, two types of texts have been singled out. Sorcery with a closed structure consists of two parts, and its parts can be related as opposition or comparison. Sorcery with an open structure is divided with respect to its recipients: animals, saints, and the domovoi.
More...
This article deals with the children’s game of calling upon a domovoi1, which is unique for the traditional spiritual culture of the Komi. New authentic texts as well as archival material that has never been used before is cited. Their analysis allows the area of the spread of this game to be expanded. According to the new sources, it did not only exist among the Komi living on the shores of the basin of the Vychegda River (with the tributaries of the Vishera, the Vym, and the Sysola), but also among the northern Komi-Permiaks in the traditions of Kosinsky District. The games have similar scenarios and are aimed at establishing contact with the invisible inhabitant of the house living in the cellar, and checking if it really exists. The most noticeable variation exists in the names of the demonym, poetic addresses, and characteristics. The image and terminology pertaining to the domovoi addressed in the game contain reflections of mythological concepts that are similar to ‘adult folklore’, but quite often the addresses to the character called upon take on the features of ‘childishness’, i.e., diminutive forms, reduplication, and personal names. In the context of experiencing collective fear, this game is close to the magically playful calling upon the neo-mythopoetic characters (the Queen of Spades, a Dwarf, devils, etc.), which is common among modern schoolchildren, including the Komi schoolchildren.
More...Interview with Mexican Mythologist Martín Cuitzeo Domínguez Núñez
This year the Estonian Literay Museum organized the 13th Annual International Conference on Comparative Mythology in cooperation with the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies. At the end of the conference I had a chance to conduct an interview with Mexican mythologist Martín Cuitzeo Domínguez Núñez, who works at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), Mexico City. He is an expert on the astronomical culture of the Pa ipai people. Also, Domínguez Núñez is one of the organizers of the next international conference on comparative mythology. In this interview he talks about Mexican myths, reveals some details about the forthcoming conference, and draws parallels with Estonian mythology.
More...
Review of: Michael Herren. The Anatomy of Myth: The Art of Interpretation from the Presocratics to the Church Fathers. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. 231 pp.
More...
The materials on the calendar rites of Krasnoufimsk Udmurts collected by the author in the 1990s, with texts and ethnological and etymological comments are presented, describing the New Year, Shrovetide – Pancake festival, the Great Day – Easter, end of ploughing, Semik – Trinity Day, the great summer sacrifice and praying for rain. Krasnoufimsk Udmurts were the most eastern peripheral Udmurt group, never formally Christianized, who for more than three centuries lived separately from other Udmurts but together with Mari and thus under their great cultural and linguistic influence. Therefore the Krasnoufimsk dialect, discovered and first described in the 1970s by R. Š. Nasibullin, developed into a very special Udmurt vernacular with strong features of interference from the Mari language, which became dominant among the Krasnoufimsk Udmurts in the late 20th century. Nowadays the Krasnoufimsk dialect is very probably extinct and the published materials represent the last information available on the language and culture of this interesting group.
More...
As a consequence of the socio-political upheavals due to the economic regression, the Cameroon social space of the late 80s is invested by a set of discourses that became, in the collective imaginary, avenues for varying forms of symbolic and/or physical violence (whether real or imagined). This violence nourished the social climate through the media especially popular songs of various shapes/forms. Lapiro de Mbanga, a popular singer who effectively emerged during this period, appears like the ”voice of the voiceless”. Using theoretical frames of discourse analysis and that of the ”linguistique de l‘énonciation”, this survey which examines two texts of the singer depicts how discursive practices invested in the corpus allow the speaker to (re)present his perception of the Cameroonian society and the society‘s own vision of itself in the early 90s.
More...
The translation of fairy tales presents a number of interesting aspects form the vantage point of translation theory, in that sometimes the purpose of thetranslated text differs from that of the original, and the target readership itself may differ. Equally challenging is the issue of cultural transfer, the handling of the culture-specific elements so numerous in the case of fairy tales. The present paper discusses the strategies adopted in this respect in two different translations of a famous Romanian fairy tale.
More...
The movie Azra, directed by Mirza Idrizović, is the story about the activism of a member of the Resistance Movement, a staunch communist hoping that through her effort she might change the society and free Muslim women of the imposed traditional costume which prevents them from entering public space. Simultaneously, there are personal problems caused by family strife, when her parents-in-law move into her house together with her husband’s brother who used to be a German soldier. Azra’s marriage ends soon due to misunderstandings, which does not discourage her from continuing with her activities, having the desired goal in sight.
More...
We are witnesses of the worldwide phenomenon of the exploitation of not only the character of "Count Dracula" but also the motif of vampirism in general, both in popular literature and cinema, but also in the form of museums or tourist tours. Certain parts of the world are forerunners in the context of "vampire tourism" because they are culturally and geographically linked to belief in vampires or had local vampires who became world famous throughout history. Aside from Romania which cashed in on its Dracula myth a long time ago, Serbia has great potential to realize an especially attractive offer of vampire tourism. Namely, there is an almost thousand-year old tradition of belief in vampires in Serbia, and the western literary and later cinematic vampire (including Stoker’s Dracula) came into being thanks to cases of vampirism noted in Serbia in the 18th century. This paper deals with the ways in which different interest groups approach the idea of commercializing both nationally popular and internationally famous vampires in Serbia. The aim of this paper is to give an analysis of the positive and negative attitudes toward the use of the motif of the "local vampire" which the residents and representatives of three villages and one town displayed in the media. The analysis of these initiatives encompasses the dispute between Valjevo and Zarožje over the use of "Sava Savanović" as their own, and the attitudes of the villages of Kisiljevo and Medveđa which have attempted to erase "local vampires" from the collective memory and identity of the villages. In both cases – the positive and the negative attitudes towards the identity connection with "local vampires", I have attempted to determine the influence of the socio-economic context and migrations on the attitudes and initiatives supported by these locales.
More...0.00
The aim of the research was to detect elements of intangible cultural heritage which still exist in these specific living circumstances, using the narratives on life values given by the population of a retirement home in Knjaževac. Aside from this, the task was to shed light on the important changes in the practice of certain elements of intangible cultural heritage which occur due to the fact that life in the retirement home is significantly different than life outside. These changes, as it will be shown, led to the reduction of the form and content of certain practices, or to their complete loss. However, as the most prominent example of the sustainability of intangible cultural heritage, the krsna slava is singled out. It is also important to emphasize that certain aspects of this heritage have therapeutic benefits in the given circumstances – they serve to maintain and improve the quality of life of the home’s residents.
More...
Taking notes and recording observations at the same time represent an integral part of the data collection and the first step towards their analysis. In the first part of the paper, it is pointed out to the link between the theoretical guidance of observations in social sciences and the creation of written notes or recordings. It also shows how taking notes can contribute to greater objectivity towards collected material, because it enables its intersubjective verifiability. The second section of the article deals with the observation protocol, indicating the differences between the protocols used in "nonparticipant observation" (usually, but not necessarily, in psychology) and the protocol used in sociology and anthropology, while applying participatory forms of observation. The third section discusses the types of notes: field journal, mental notes, fieldnotes, jottings, scratch notes, and their properties. Possibilities and limitations of audio and video recording in application of the methods of observation are the subject of the next section. In the final section, the question of note taking and recording during the observation of social phenomena is framed in the broader context of the theory of scientific information. According to the author, methodological notes and analytic(al) notes in methodological point of view belong to the later stages of creating empirical evidence obtained by observation.
More...
In this article, we would like to highlight the religious and funerary practices in the Armenian Plateau. Since the first discovered in the XIV century, the ossuaries from Lori Berd have attracted attention as possible archaeological evidence of ancient Zoroastrian burial practice. The practice involved exposing cadavers to birds before the surviving remains were gathered for deposition in burials. Ritual and ceremonial dismembering and burning, emerging in Lori Berd, focuses on honor and respect for the dead. Archaeologists discovered three detached human skulls from Shirakavan site. Three the detached human skulls are not complete and no longer have their mandibles. Since the detached skulls belong to young female and one male adult, the assumption is that these were human sacrifices rather than venerated ancestors. The Lori Berd and Shirakavan sites contained the remains of two individual with cuts indicative of scalping. Several indications of violence were observed in the materials under study. The examination of the human remains revealed that the paleopathologies encountered infectious diseases, dental diseases, etc. Among the individuals from the Shirakavan, there is a clear indication that an increased usage of muscles would occur when spears are thrown at a downward angle and the usage of muscles is consistent with the launching of spears. The clearly expressed marker of a horse rider’s pathological complex is indicated in some male burials in Armenian Plateau.
More...
Carnival as an annual event has transcended numerous culture. A number of studies have principally investigated the intended economic, entertainment and/or leisure components of carnivals; neglecting the unintended social, moralistic and behavioural consequences it has on society. This study therefore examines the social vices associated with street carnivals in selected neighbourhoods. Major narratives revealed that nudity, sex, gambling, fanaticism, hooliganism, alcohol and drug abuse were major reoccurring challenges facing street carnivals in Lagos. It was also observed that the concentration of youths on weekends around football viewing centres (FVCs) contributed to the high wave of violence during carnivals. Similarly, the impact of globalisation and acculturation of foreign ideas and behaviours into street carnival was described as negative on youth and adolescent. Data for the study were collected through observations and in-depth interviews with residents and organizers of street carnivals in Lagos State, Nigeria.
More...
Using historical approach and qualitative methods, the paper examines the power of Aje-Olokun as a deity for swearing among the Yoruba natives. The article identified and explained three different methods through which invocation of Aje- Olokun can be done during swearing in order to solve controversial issues with regard to lying and stealing. The consequences of swearing falsely were also discussed. The paper also proposes cultural documentation of the traditional administration of Justice through deities for the preservation of knowledge for future generations. The administration of the traditional swearing methods through deities was advocated to be incorporated in the modern Criminal Justice System. The research investigation of other deities and their relevancies in administration of justice was also recommended.
More...
The history of methodological debates in sociocultural anthropology is burdened with numerous issues which not only make understanding and teaching anthropology and conducting research difficult, but also impede the practical application of the discipline, especially in the public sphere. Research into methodological history shows that one of the most important issues with this is the anti-realist view of relativism. This view has been imputed into the discipline from the interdisciplinary scene and has, under heavy political pressure been widely disseminated. Relativism, which has in debates on the scientific status of the discipline been marked as the main satellite of the postmodernist "undermining" of truth, science, morals and other so-called universal human values is decidedly not the relativism which sociocultural anthropology has nurtured since its academic establishment. On the contrary, anthropological relativism was supposed to enable the comparative understanding of cultures, and as a consequence have the successful cementing of the discipline’s scientific status – both in academia and in the public sphere. This was made possible precisely through the application of relativism as a guarantee of the objectivity of description and the reliability of understanding, which also served to mitigate the methodological issue of the legitimacy of the comparative method. However, the original, disciplinary-specific view of relativism, as the foundation of good anthropological science, has been lost in time and replaced with an anti-realistic view which is incompatible with public service and has serious potential to undermine the discipline’s academic authority.
More...
This paper analyses Sorokin’s novella The Snowstorm (Метель, 2010) from the viewpoint of nomadism. During winter, the hero of the story, doctor Plato Ilyich Garin (Платон Ильич Гарин) travels to the village of Dolgoye, carrying a special vaccine that is suppose to help those who are infected with the Bolivian fever. Besides the classical travelling during a snowstorm (references to the so-called "blizzard stories" in Russian literature are quite pronounced) the also novella offers other forms of "journeys". It is the dream of Plato Ilyich during freezing that we can read as a heterotopia (Foucault) and a "journey" into a hallucinatory state using a pyramidal product. The coexistence of several levels of journeys leads to nomadism.
More...