Puķu, koku un krūmu stādījumi Kurzemes zemnieku sētās 19. gadsimta beigās un 20. gadsimta sākumā: teicēju atmiņas

Author(s): Daina Roze / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 45/2022

Since the beginning of the formation of the Latvian nation, the garden has been an integral part of the national cultural space. For a Latvian, a garden is a special asset as it has always been associated with independence, self-assurance and a sense of worth, including wealth. It is present on a daily basis and during the holidays, reflecting the social and economic characteristics of the time and the concept of a beautiful and tidy environment. Thus, the study of narrators’ memories of plantations of flowers, trees and shrubs in peasant farmsteads provides an opportunity to enrich the understanding of the formation of Latvian identity and to contribute to the interdisciplinary research in environmental humanities. In the study the materials of the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum archive – 24 memory stories obtained in the fieldwork in the vicinity of Skrunda, Liepāja and Kuldīga in 1955 and 1956 have been used. The narrators, in most cases, were servants or their children, mainly aged 70–80. The narrators focused on personal experience revealing the location of the flower, tree and shrub plantations in the farmyard space and the features of its formation. The attention was paid to the cultivation and use of medicinal plants. The plant names mentioned in the narrators stories and the plant names given by three narrators in the vicinity of Liepaja in 1972–1974 were summarized and accompanied by the scientific name of the respective plant.

Уте Дукова на 70 години

Author(s): Angelina Mincheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2008

Руенски манастир

Author(s): Ines Slavkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 20/2022

Пещерата „Света Марина” в Странджа

Author(s): Yoana Djedjeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 20/2022

Манастир „Св. Илия” с. Чинтулово, Сливенско

Author(s): Kamelia Vasileva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 20/2022

Словенско-български паралели в областта на т. нар. народна етимология през Възраждането (А. Т. Линхарт и Г. С. Раковски)

Author(s): Nayda Ivanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2006

Рошавата страна

Author(s): Katerina Sedlakova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 12/2016

The microstories follow the ordinary man in his confrontation with the life’s situations andsurroundings. The significant people, who consider themselves ordinary, show us theirmagnitude. The humanity in its daily situations – that is the fascinating Bulgaria, which I amdescribing.

В памет на проф. Тодор Ив. Живков (1938–2001)

Author(s): . Miscellaneous / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

In memoriam

Tautastērpa lietojuma divējādā daba Padomju Latvijā

Author(s): Anete Karlsone / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

The origins of the Latvian national folk costume as special festive attire representing the cultural identity are related to the activities of “culture cultivation” that took place in the 19th century. The newly created tradition – making and wearing of the national costume – acquired a stable position in Latvian society as a manifestation of the national identity. During the years of the Soviet rule the use of the “ethnic” costume was imbued with international character – as an element symbolising the “fraternal family of the Soviet nations” in accordance with the ideology of the Communist Party. But along with the officially supported views there were also other situations and meanings of the folk costume. The purpose of the present article is to try to clarify the different meanings of the use of the Latvian folk costume under the Soviet occupation, when one and the same visual image could contain different conceptual content. The study was performed using the information that could be obtained from the written, audio and visual sources. The present article uses documents from the Latvian State Archive, as well as the published materials from the regional archives. Information on the use of the folk costume in the Soviet period can also be obtained from official publications, providing directions for celebrating festivities according to the ideology of the socialist state. Another source was the photographic images from the period, found in both the archives of scholarly institutions and private collections, as well as the ones available on the web, etc. Similarly, articles and reports in the printed media provide testimonies regarding the use of the folk costume. It is more difficult to establish the aspects of the private use of the folk costume, as those were usually not reflected in the public information space. Nevertheless, these aspects have been documented in the interviews carried out by the author of the present article, as well as in retrospective narratives published in contemporary media. Under the Soviet rule the folk costume was used as a means of the Soviet propaganda. The use of the folk costume was regulated. The official authorities controlled the management of funding, as well as the support for the private initiative. The officially organised events and the official point of view in relation to the use of the folk costume gained the dominant role in respect to the individual expressions. In the activities of the socialist festivities and customs the folk costume was used to reinforce the invented connection between the newly-established rituals and the cultural heritage of the nation. While the folk costume was turned into the means of the Soviet propaganda, its use as a symbol of the national identity was secretly preserved.

Folkloras “valoda” Latvijas politiskajā karikatūrā (parlamentārās demokrātijas posms)

Author(s): Angelika Juško-Štekele / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

Political caricature as one of the political discourse genres portrays the characteristic comic affect, inter alia, by the implementation of folklore characters, motives, calendar, conventionalities and figurativeness. Especially intensive and diverse usage of the folklore language is evident in the first part of the 20th century, when traditions of parliamentary administration in Latvia just started to develop and the first Constitutional Assembly and first four Latvian parliaments, i.e. Saeima got elected. The popularity of the folklore “language” may also be substantiated by the fact that folklore and mass communication have close relation; theoretically they are non-dissociable because conventional formulas have been used in both verbal and visual communication. However, with the intermediation of the folklore the society expresses traditional values, whereas mass communication culture (which by nature is commercial) strives to create new knowledge, based on a traditional formula. The usage of the folklore “language” in Latvian cultural environment was promoted not only due to the favorable background of parliamentary democracy and freedom of speech, but also by the personalities of caricature authors, who were prominent intellectuals and representatives of art of their time and got excellent knowledge not only in the content of the folklore and its figurativeness, but also were able to apply the knowledge to express a new content related to the current events and interests of contemporary society. The folklore “language” in the beginning of the 20th century entered the political caricature genre in the form of citations, stylization and allusions. Practically, it covered all folklore genres and techniques of figurativeness; it confronted not only the traditional and contemporary values, but also created a new metaphorical understanding about the essence of the parliament and its operating principles. Such conceptual metaphors as “parliament – children” and “parliament – war” have proven to be sustainable even nowadays. Although the last Latvian humor and satire magazine “Dadzis” suspended its publication in 2008, the political caricature still remains popular in Latvia’s renewed democracy. It gets published in printed and electronic media and still serves as one of the most prominent reflections of public political processes.

Baltā galdauta svētku sākotne

Author(s): Rita Grīnvalde / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

The article explores a new tradition, the White Tablecloth Festival (“Baltā galdauta svētki”), in its early development phase. It was introduced at the national level by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and its partner organizations as a new and fresh form for celebration of the Day of the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on May 4, 1990. It always had a place on the official calendar of holidays, through codified protocols, some ritual activities were carried out in narrow elite circles mainly inside the Parliament building and at the Liberty Monument in Riga; however, the Day was not widely celebrated by the general public in a broad ritualistic way. Launched on May 4, 2016, the White Tablecloth Festival was conceived as one of the large scale Latvia’s centenary (2018) celebration projects. The newly created White Tablecloth Festival tradition is based on a purposeful cultural memory strategy and encompasses objectives of strengthening patriotism and targeted collective memory guiding. Planned, implemented, and monitored by the experts of culture, politics, history, marketing and media, the White Tablecloth Festival tried to be an inclusive, simple, and not strictly regulated novelty. Having the white table setting as a unifying element and symbol of self-confidence and pride in the centre of the new tradition, other activities were proposed and demonstrated to people in Latvia and beyond. These included being together and sharing memories, singing together, enlivening old culinary heritage, documenting the holiday, and sharing photos on social media. People were invited to celebrate both in public spaces and in family settings. The first four years of the White Tablecloth Festival demonstrate fluctuating dynamics in its celebration and precautious attitudes. Likewise, the audience reception of this tradition is also rather divisive. The controversial opinions have been shared mainly on social media. The arguments in favour of the Festival are: clarity of celebration form, sense of community, inclusiveness of everyone, the opportunity to celebrate with dignity and style. The main argument expressed against the new calendric practice is the danger of deprivation of the national history narrative along with substituting it with entertainment and consuming activities. *Baltā galdauta svētki ir viens no Latvijas valsts simtgades svinību (2018) projektiem. Tā ir valsts līmeņa jaunrade, mēģinājums rast nebijušu veidolu 4. maija – Latvijas Republikas Neatkarības atjaunošanas dienas – atzīmēšanai. Kultūras pētniekam dzīvot laikā, kad tiek radītas jaunas tradīcijas, ir liela veiksme. Ir dota iespēja reizē būt gan Baltā galdauta svētku tapšanas aculieciniekam – vienam no sabiedrības, gan svētku rašanās brīdī analizēt to kultūrpolitisko un etnogrāfisko pamatu. Šā pētījuma mērķis ir saprast jaunās tradīcijas “anatomiju”. Rakstā analizēta Baltā galdauta svētku cilme, nozīme, etnogrāfiskās izpausmes un recepcija.

The Symbol of the Morning Star During the Third Awakening in Latvia (1986–1991): From Cultural Opposition to Non-Violent Resistance

Author(s): Digne Ūdre / Language(s): English Issue: 39/2019

In 2018 Latvians celebrated their centennial of the foundation of the Republic of Latvia. This was also a time to remember that after 50 years of the Soviet occupation, independence had to be regained in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is the historical path that all three Baltic countries—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—shared. Events of those days, both in popular discourse and scholarly literature, are referred to as the Singing Revolution, thus pointing to the non-violent nature of the revolution and the importance of singing in these national cultures. In Latvia, the years from 1986 to 1991 have been named “the Awakening” or “the Third Awakening”1 [Atmoda, Trešā Atmoda]. The Awakening is the name given to a number of political and social activities that embodied the longing to regain freedom lost after the Second World War, which became possible after the USSR’s general secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, initiated the political reforms of perestroika and glasnost, leading to the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990. As a non-violent resistance movement the Awakening involved many symbolic actions and symbols. The one that is probably the most recognized is the Baltic Way.2 Powerful visual images were used by the supporters of independence claims. However, the most potent of them besides the revival of the red-white-red flag (prior to Soviet occupation, the official flag of the state) was the regular eight-pointed star or octagram. The eight-pointed star or “Auseklītis”, “Auseklis” in Latvia, is the symbol of the Morning Star. This symbol, which descended from a folk ornament, in its graphic, geometric shape came to embody the hope of national awakening and a wish for political independence. The Morning Star is not only inevitably tied to the Awakening, but also has deeper roots within Latvian culture and tradition of folk ornaments. The importance of folk ornament in Latvia has been very visible in the last decade, especially in popular discourse, and there has also been a critical response from academia;3 nonetheless, the topic is somewhat stuck between esoteric, romanticized, and commercial interpretations. Based on in-depth interviews with participants and opinion leaders of the Awakening as well as published sources and public media materials, this article addresses the following questions: How did the Morning Star become a symbol of the Awakening? What meaning did it carry on a personal level for those involved in the processes of the Awakening?

Vilka tēls “putnu kāzu” kontekstā “Latvju dainās”

Author(s): Beatrise Reidzāne / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

Overall, there are 400 song types mentioning a wolf in the Latvju dainas tradition. A lot of songs show the wolf as the main subject of the song, although there are many songs where it is one of the participating animals. Some of the songs show the wolf as a personified animal, acting like a human. Among activities performed in this state there are singing songs, playing a pipe or a bagpipe, dancing, getting married, baptizing the wolf ’s son. As the first folklore researchers considered such animal activities childish, the song types describing them are found in the first volume of “Latvju dainas”, incorporated in the cycle “Education of the child, nursing and teaching”. As a musician and singer the wolf is described in approximately 50 song types, the most important is song type LD 2686, included in the subgroup “birds wedding”. The word “bird” has some semantic peculiarities evident in the opposition of “undomesticated birds and animals” vs. “domesticated animals and people”. Quantitative analysis shows that this type contains 40 variants (having 20–60 lines each), which K. Barons divided into 14 versions. The wolf is mentioned in 20 variants, 9 versions, the wolf blows pipes and bagpipes (16 variants), starts singing (1 variant), slaughters a cattle (1 variant), guards horses (2 variants) during this common meal. In addition to the wolf in these 9 versions there are 21 bird, 9 mammals, 3 reptiles, 2 insects. A wedding meal appears in the story, consisting of beer and meat, meaning that all birds and mammals, including a hare, are considered carnivore. In the group of classical quatrains (approximately 15 song types) the wolf is shown a) as a bridegroom at his wedding party – his bride is a fox, b) in their family life, c) how they get ready for their son’s baptizing with a hare as a godfather. A number of textual variants of Christmas game (38 variants) and some quatrains show the wolf as a suitor going or riding to take a goat as a wife. There the wolf fights alone against people and domesticated animals (masking, breaking promises). The wolf personified as a dancer is described in approximately 20 song types. The most interesting of them is LD 2206, included in the same children’s cycle. It is a long song type, too, containing 21 variant being divided into 17 versions. Of 9 full-length versions (16–24 lines) the wolf is mentioned in 6. The plot of these songs shows an event reminiscent of the Canadian Indians – potlatch, i.e., gift-giving. In this gift-giving everybody and everything may take part – people, animals, natural objects, mythological beings – and the wolf is the last gift-receiver. Each of these song types relates to a certain historical period and different worldviews. * “Latvju dainu” personificēto dzīvnieku tēlojumā risinātas daudzas un dažādas cilvēku sadzīves un sociālo attiecību problēmas. Rakstā mēģināts sniegt ieskatu, kā vilka tēls izmantots svarīgu un svinīgu dzīves brīžu tēlojumā: ko tas dara kāzās, kristībās, īpaši uzsverot funkcijas kā muzicēšana, svētku galda gatavošana, dejošana, līgavas izvēle un kāzas, bērnu audzināšana. Nosacīti nodalītās četrās dziesmu kopās skatītas personificētā vilka un tā apkaimes (dzīvnieku fona) saskares jomas: apģērbs, dalībnieku kvantitatīvais sastāvs, valodas lietojums, personifikācijas pakāpe, dalība dāvanu apmaiņā.

Ziņas par teicējiem padomju ideoloģijas spogulī

Author(s): Māra Vīksna / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

Folkloras ieguve, krājumu papildināšana nav iespējama bez teicēja – cilvēka, kas pasaka, izstāsta, nodzied, pamāca, dziedina, nodejo, saglabā, uzkrāj. Gadu simtiem to labāk vai sliktāk varējuši darīt daudzi, gandrīz visi, bet teicēja godā var nokļūt tikai tad, kad esi saticies ar folkloras vācēju, pierakstītāju. Iegūto variantu pētniecībā, sapratnē ļoti nepieciešamas papildu ziņas par informatoru, vietu, laiku – tā sauktā materiāla pasportizācija. Jau 19. gadsimtā bija aicinājumi pierakstīt tautas garamantas, bet pirmo vākšanas un krāšanas programmu 1892. gadā sarakstīja Pēterburgas latviešu studenti privātdocenta Eduarda Voltera vadībā. Viņu vidū bijis arī Pēteris Šmits, kaut ievadā nav pieminēts. Ievadvārdus uzrakstīja stud. jur. Jānis Ansberģis.

Latviešu padomju folklora mūsdienīgas iedvesmas kontekstā

Author(s): Ineta Lipša / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 39/2019

Review of: Toms Ķencis. Vācot padomju folkloru. Rīga: Latvijas Universitātes Literatūras, folkloras un mākslas institūts, 2018. 222 lpp.

ION POPESCU-SIRETEANU (13 SEPTEMBRIE 1934, MĂNĂSTIOARA-SIRET – 29 IULIE 2021, PITEȘTI-ARGEȘ)

Author(s): Vasile I. Schipor / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2022

The following biobibliographical article is dedicated to the writer Ion Popescu-Sireteanu, one of the active collaborators of the periodical “Annals of Bukovina” and is signed by the former editor-in-chief (1993–2018) of the academic periodical from Rădăuţi. The biographical excursion is followed by a presentation of the writerʼs preferred fields of scientific activity, illustrated by his contributions to the knowledge of the life and work of personalities of modern, classical and contemporary Romanian literature, through studies and researches of linguistics, ethnography and folklore and of cultural history. Several articles published in the “Annals of Bukovina” capitalize on his field surveys regarding the toponymics of Bukovina. Interesting are the belletristic works (stories, fables, short prose, pamphlets and poems) signed by Ion Popescu-Sireteanu, some of them being printed in several editions. Several original writings, dedicated to the Romanian village on the outskirts of Bukovina from the 4th–5th decades of the last century, are representative for the author from many points of view: the plot structure, the art of storytelling, the artistic and documentary value. Others, such as the funny stories in the volume Păcală și ai săi (1994), are intended mainly for children and young people, often transposing events and characters into contemporary times. The volume File de jurnal, 1985–1990 (2018) offers interested users a lot of information, managed by a sensitive author, dramatically marked by events: “For a long time I feel a permanent weight on my soul. Iʼm looking forward and all the paths, all the light sources, are closed to me. I live by chance, like a human being carried away by giddy waves. I donʼt know how long this state will last, nor if it will be able to be easily remedied. In any case, we are in a time of total disorganization. [...] Our lives evolve from bad to worse”. (December 1, 1985, December 9, 1985). In his verses, intertwined by “an invading lyricism”, Ion Popescu-Sireteanu reveals himself to us as “a candid soul, an incurable romantic, immune to all models and pictures”. The article ends with the main critical references to his life and work.

A Systematisation of Transcriptions of Early Olonkho Recordings According to Plot Peculiarity

Author(s): Antonina Fedorovna Koryakina / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The article presents the results of textual studies of the early recordings of the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho, recorded from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that scientific research of the texts of the early recordings of Olonkho with full broadcasts of the plot is most widely, systematically carried out. At the same time, researchers today continue to pay less attention to early recordings of Olonkho, producing brief or incomplete schematic statements of content. A review of early texts on Olonkho shows that these reviews have incomplete, overly concise, summaries of the plot, although they do confirm the stability of the ancient thematic content, plot structure, motifs, and image system. The richness of the poetic language and the beauty of the style, and the surprisingly artistic content and archaic motifs, which can be seen even in translations, are of considerable value for establishing a full picture of the unique oral creativity of the Yakut people. This study attempts for the first time to systematise transcriptions of early recordings of Olonkho using a summary of the plot in Russian compared with a summary of the plot in the original language. The systematised texts will be used in a comparative study of Olonkho texts recorded in the 19th and 20th centuries. This analysis shows that there has been a transfer of plot with epic texts of the late period in order to maintain a degree of continuity, using both common and specific features to bridge between traditional and modern forms of Olonkho, taking into account regional and local features.

Младите на село: резиденцията като експериментална форма на съживяване на селата

Author(s): Sarah Craycraft / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

Village-based intergenerational residencies in Bulgaria offer young, urban people a chance to experience village lifeways and connect with elderly village residents. The presence of such residencies appears not just to signify interest in villages as offering an alternative lifestyle, but interest in the cultural significance and sense of loss tied to village life. This article analyzes three such residencies, Granny Residence, AcceptMe in the Village, and Borrowed Village. These experimental, aspirational forms of revitalization allow participants to “play village”, adding a fascinating dimension to the larger wave of urbanites who see potential in rural spaces. Drawing on participant observation and subject-centred interviews, I compare the features of these projects and suggest that attention to residencies as forms of interaction that provide symbolic connections to rural places and people allows for a deeper understanding of what is at stake in revitalization work.

Селската мечта на градския човек – кризата като възможност

Author(s): Gavrail Gavrailov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

The pandemic in 2020 played the role of a turning point for starting reverse migration to the Bulgarian villages. Many urban people began living their rural dream. It is a process of changing values and philosophy of life, risking urban amenities at the expense of connection with nature. The article traces various examples of the adaptation of global experience to local cultural features. They are viewed through the author's participation in projects for media coverage of social entrepreneurship, mapping of living places, creation of a national network for an ethical economy, and monitoring the effectiveness of social services in Bulgaria.

Изложба в Националния исторически музей, посветена на 125 години от рождението на Христо Вакарелски

Author(s): Mariana Parvanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022