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Folk-Tale Networks: A Statistical Approach to Combinations of Tale Types | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2019-0003 This paper is an attempt to study combinations of tale types using a networks approach and calculating the centrality index of each type (degree, betweenness, eigenvector centrality). The network of tale types seems to take the form of a ‘small world’ with a few types serving as bridges between highly connected sets of tale types. The centrality of each type also seems to depend more on its age than on how widespread it is.

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Revolt of Grannies: The Bursylysyas Komi Folk Orthodox Movement | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

We study the role of women in the Bursylysyas Komi folk orthodox movement. Throughout the history of the movement, women have gradually gained more authority in this religious community. The initial stage of communist rule and the final phase of the Soviet Union were periods in which women’s domination in local religious life was most obvious. We argue that men lost their leadership in the movement because their way of execution of religious power was public and thus they became targets for Soviet repression. Komi women continued to keep the Bursylysyas faith alive, although they did so in a more domestic, hidden way. This enabled women to lead local religious practise throughout the Soviet period. In addition, the peculiar ecstatic practices of Bursylysyas, most fully developed during the initial period of Soviet rule, were more suitable for women in the framework of Komi traditional folk religiosity.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

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Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

Book review of the publication Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations. Edited by Gary Backhaus and John Murungi. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Oxford, Lexington Books, 2006, xxxiii+241 pp.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

– the right to self-archive the article.

The Evenki Memorial Tree and Trail: Negotiating with a Memorial Regime in the North Baikal, Siberia | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

Based upon the ethnography gathered among Evenkis living in Kholodnoye village in the northern coastal area of Lake Baikal in Siberia this article discusses relationships between local memorial practices and official memorial regimes. Although negotiation between authoritative and alternative memories and histories is typically portrayed in terms of resistance, in North Baikal it should be approached differently. Thus Evenkis in alliance with the Taiga creatively engage with official memorial regime in a way local practices of remembering serve positively for the local community. Remembering becomes a ‘language’ to interact with state powers and external audiences.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

– the right to self-archive the article.

Semiosis and the Culture of Rupture | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

Overview about the 7th Semiosis and Culture Conference organised in May 2010 by the Komi State Pedagogical Institute in Syktyvkar, Republic of Komi, Russia.

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Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

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The Romanian Căluş: Symbol of National Identity | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

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Of all Romanian dances with ritual functions the most archaic and dynamic is the căluş, a custom of great complexity in its functionality and manifestation, in which dance prevails. Over the course of time, the dance aroused the admiration and interest of many scholars due to the ancient ritual elements it contains, as well as for its spectacular virtuosity and the beauty of the performance and music. The purpose of this study is to reveal the meanings and functions of the căluş, primarily at the social level, in its natural environment – the traditional Romanian village – and to make an analysis of the key moments, the logical order of the dance sequences, gestures and ritual acts, the importance of its props and of group composition and organisation.

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Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

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– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

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Sensing Athletes: Sensory Dimensions of Recreational Endurance Sports | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jef-2017-0011 Sport has become increasingly popular with recreational athletes over the last couple of decades. This has only gained minimal attention so far from scholars interested in the relations between recreational sports and everyday culture. With this paper, we seek to contribute to this field by scrutinising the sensory dimensions of recreational sport. Rather than probing into or highlighting isolated senses, we look at sensory dimensions understood as a combination of different, non-separable sensory experiences featured in recreational endurance sports. We are interested in how senses play a role for recreational endurance athletes in running, triathlon and cycling both in training and competition. We start by examining how cultural and social dimensions are inextricably linked to doing sports. Secondly, we show how different configurations of the senses and their communicative mediation are contingent on sport disciplines, specific settings, technology, development and change as sensory careers over time. Thirdly, we discuss the kinaesthetic dimensions of doing sports in relation to the senses and the role of atmospheres. We conclude by arguing that highlighting specific senses by athletes is a cultural practice that calls for a holistic analysis of senses in sport, and outline some methodological implications for research on the senses.

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Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

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– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

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Making a Home in the Taiga: Movements, Paths and Signs among Orochen-Evenki Hunters and Herders of Zabaikal Krai (South East Siberia) | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

In this article, I will explore interrelations between place making, movement, use of paths and signs among the Orochen of Zabaikal Krai (Province). Although under the Russian Tsars Orochen-Evenki hunters and herders were referred to negatively as wanderers; today my ethnography demonstrates how movements of animals and humans are crucial for the success of their subsistence, place making and worldview. Hence, walking in the taiga is an important skill that is essential to hunting and herding activities when humans strive to identify animals’ ‘living places’ (Orochen bikit) by reading their tracks and movements. Humans also leave their own tracks and paths as well as signs communicating with each other while subsisting in remote areas, in this way creating their own living places. Thereby, I show how movements and the use of paths is an important dimension of Orochen-Evenki wellbeing as well as their moral code. 88x31-8913862

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

– the right to self-archive the article.

The Evenki Memorial Tree and Trail: Negotiating with a Memorial Regime in the North Baikal, Siberia | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

Based upon the ethnography gathered among Evenkis living in Kholodnoye village in the northern coastal area of Lake Baikal in Siberia this article discusses relationships between local memorial practices and official memorial regimes. Although negotiation between authoritative and alternative memories and histories is typically portrayed in terms of resistance, in North Baikal it should be approached differently. Thus Evenkis in alliance with the Taiga creatively engage with official memorial regime in a way local practices of remembering serve positively for the local community. Remembering becomes a ‘language’ to interact with state powers and external audiences. 88x31-9513131

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

– the right to self-archive the article.

Reconnecting Alaska: Mexican Movements and the Last Frontier | Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics

This paper discusses the initial findings of on-going research with Mexican migrants and immigrants to Alaska. The paper outlines the historical and on-going connections between Alaska and Mexico and explores how and why those connections have been obscured or ignored. Powerful imaginaries are associated with places: Alaska, and ‘the north’ more generally, and Latin America, and Mexico specifically. My research shows how interesting things happen when they are brought together through movement. People from Acuitzio del Canje, Michoacán began travelling to Alaska (Anchorage, and elsewhere) to work in the 1950s, and movement between Mexico and Alaska has continued across generations since then. Today, many Acuitzences who live in Anchorage maintain a close relationship with friends and family members in Acuitzio, and travel back and forth regularly. However, this movement is obscured by ideological work that makes Alaska seem separate, isolated, wild, and a place where Mexicans are not imagined to be. Mexican movements into Alaska over time disrupt this vision, showing how Alaska is connected to multiple other geographies, and making the US-Mexico border a salient reference point in everyday life in Anchorage. When the South moves into the North, it can make us think about both ‘Alaska’ and ‘Mexico’ in different ways. When the US-Mexico border is relocated to Anchorage, if only for a moment, it can elicit a reaction of humour or surprise. Why is that? And what does this have to do with how people actually live in an interconnected place? 88x31-7885013

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, the author(s) and users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) under the following conditions: 1. they must attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor, 2. they may not use this contribution for commercial purposes, 3. they may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

Authors retain the following rights:

– copyright, and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,

– the right to use the substance of the article in future own works, including lectures and books,

– the right to reproduce the article for own purposes, provided the copies are not offered for sale,

– the right to self-archive the article.