@article{JEF, author = {Laur Vallikivi}, title = { On the Edge of Space and Time: Evangelical Missionaries in the Post-Soviet Arctic}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {8}, number = {2}, year = {2014}, keywords = {Christian missionaries; eschatology; literalism; chronotope; Nenets}, abstract = {Evangelical missionaries have missionised pretty much throughout Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Among their favourite targets are the small-numbered indigenous groups in the Russian Arctic, where the numbers of converts are steadily growing. One particular denomination, known as the Unregistered Baptists, are among the leading agents of religious change in the North today. They are driven by the promise of the return of Christ after the gospel is preached “at the ends of the earth”. I suggest that the Baptists’ agenda is shaped, on the one hand, by the literal reading of the Bible, which allows them to be the divine instruments at the end times and, on the other hand, by the idea of Russia’s special role in God’s salvation plan. I shall analyse the Baptists’ ideas and practices, using among others Bakhtin’s concept of chronotope in order to demonstrate how powerful narratives are created and lived.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {95–120}, url = {http://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/155} }
Category: Blog
@article{JEF, author = {Camelia Firică}, title = { The Romanian Căluş : Symbol of National Identity}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {4}, number = {2}, year = {2011}, keywords = {căluş; căluşari; iele; dance; ritual; Romania}, abstract = {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.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {3–18}, url = {https://www.jef.ee/index.php/journal/article/view/52} }
@article{JEF, author = {Katre Koppel and Marko Uibu}, title = { “Not Even All Physicians Know Chinese Medicine!”: Analysing the Legitimation Strategies of Chinese Medicine in the Estonian Media}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {legitimation strategies; media analysis; alternative medicine; integrative medicine; medical experts}, abstract = {To exemplify the legitimation processes of a pluralistic health field this article focuses on representations of Chinese medicine and its most popular spokesperson, Rene Bürkland, in the Estonian media. From 320 media texts published between 2009 and 2018 we chose 12 for close analysis with the aim of detecting specific discourses, untangling implicit meanings, and demonstrating the complexity of the rhetorical formulations used to legitimate Chinese medicine. We identified five key discourses – discourses of Bürkland’s charisma, holistic health, individual autonomy, subtle body, and integrative medicine – underpinning various legitimation strategies which aim to change the position of Chinese medicine from alternative to integrative. Our study reveals that the absence of scientific rhetoric together with key discourses has left Chinese medicine and its spokesperson without the attention of biggest critics of CAM and, therefore, has secured a positive image for Chinese medicine in the public discourse.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {1–24}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/331} }
@article{JEF, author = {Alevtina Solovyeva}, title = { Faces of Mongolian Fear: Demonological Beliefs, Narratives and Protective Measures in Contemporary Folk Religion}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {This article looks at the perceptions of fear and ‘the frightening’ in contemporary Mongolian demonology. In the article, I discuss beliefs concerning both human and supernatural – what is supposed to be frightening for humans and what is supposed to be frightening for spirits, ghosts and demons. In daily interaction with the supernatural this mutual ‘fright’ can be regarded as an important part of communication. In this article, I discuss what is believed to be the most frightful for humans and for supernatural agents, what kinds of image this fear relates to and what the roots of these beliefs are, as well as the popular ways to confront and defend against ‘frightening’ in Mongolian folklore. My research is based on fieldwork materials collected during annual expeditions in different parts of Mongolia (2006–2017) and Mongolian published sources such as Mongolian newspapers and journals, special editions of stories about encounters with the supernatural.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {49–64}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/333} }
@article{JEF, author = {Eva-Liisa Roht-Yilmaz}, title = { Book Review: Inward Looking: The Impact of Migration on Romanipe from the Romani Perspective}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {Book Review: Aleksandar G. Marinov. 2019. Inward Looking: The Impact of Migration on Romanipe from the Romani Perspective. Romani Studies 2. Oxford; New York, NY: Berghahn Books.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {140–142}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/361} }
@article{JEF, author = {Alevtina Solovyeva}, title = { II International Multidisciplinary Conference Mongols: Traditions and Modernity 2019}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {The second International Multidisciplinary Conference Mongols: Traditions and Modernity took place on September 11–13, 2019 at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH), Moscow.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {147–151}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/355} }
@article{JEF, author = {Donatas Brandišauskas}, title = { Living with Reindeer Thirty Years after Socialism: Land Use and Large Reindeer Herding among the Evenki of Southeast Siberia}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {Siberia; reindeer-herding; Nothern Zabaikal‘ia; South Yakutia; Evenki; land use strategies}, abstract = {30 years after socialism many groups of Evenki reindeer herders failed to survive in the suboreal taiga of East Siberia. By making reference to two case studies from the northern part of the Zabaikal region and southern part of the Republic of Sakha, this article shows how the successful continuation of reindeer herding is based on the ability of charismatic leaders mobilising Evenki communities around reindeer herding and subsistence economies. This success also relies on connection to different agents of power in local administrations, large cities and governments and the use of all of the available opportunities that infrastructure or economic agents can offer.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {65–84}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/339} }
@article{JEF, author = {Ekaterina Iagafova and Valeriia Bondareva}, title = { Chuvash ‘Paganism’ at the Turn of the 21st Century: Traditional Rituals in the Religious Practice of Volga-Urals Chuvash Groups}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {Traditional rituals formed the basis of ethnic Chuvash culture, and are still relevant in today’s festive and ritual culture, primarily among Chuvash ‘pagan’ ethno-religious groups. Today among the unbaptised Chuvash there is, with varying degrees of preservation, a set of ideas about the spirits of nature and the patron deity of different fields of life, practice of ritual prayer and sacrifice, and festive culture. The focus of ritual practice is the cult of the Supreme God Tura (Tură) and the ancestors, who during the calendar year appear in a single complex and in strict sequence. Traditional rituals play an essential role in the funeral and memorial rites and customs of the Chuvash. Thus, ‘pagan’ elements are characteristic not only of the unbaptised Chuvash, but also of some local groups of Christians and Muslims, for example ritual mourning of the dead, weekly commemoration on Thursday evenings until the ritual of ‘seeing off the soul’, ritual singing, sacrificing and ‘feeding’ souls of the dead on remembrance days, and other rituals and their elements. These ‘pagan’ elements in the culture of the Orthodox Chuvash and Chuvash Muslims living in ethnically mixed villages with Russians, Mordovians and Tatars both constitute the basis of their ethnic and cultural identity as Chuvash and contribute to the preservation of their ethnicity. Chuvash ‘paganism’, despite centuries of influence from Russian Orthodox and Muslim Tatar traditions, has a moderating influence over contemporary modernisation and is an element in religious practices of Chuvash confessional communities that is an important resource for the formation and development of ethnic and cultural identity.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {111–120}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/354} }
@article{JEF, author = {Nikolai Anisimov and Irina Pchelovodova and Ekaterina Sofronova}, title = { Migrant and Autochthonous Traditions within Udmurt Folksong (on the Example of the Siberian Udmurt)}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {This article investigates, for the first time, the local musical tradition of the Udmurt of Chainsk district (Tomsk oblast). The overwhelming majority of migrants in this region arrived from the Sharkan district of the Udmurt Republic, in Siberia, at the beginning of the 20th century. For a long time they kept their original culture in an ethnically alien environment. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, their singing tradition started to fade under the influence of different factors (such as the disappearance of Udmurt rituals and festivals, as well as mixed marriages). The aim of this article is to compare the ‘Chainsk migrational’ singing tradition to the ‘Sharkan original’ musical tradition. The main collection of audio recordings covering the Chainsk district Udmurt musical tradition is conserved in the archives of the Udmurt Research Institute at the Russian Academy of sciences. It is comprised of fieldwork material gathered by researchers from the Institute in 1974 and 2006. We discovered new sources of audio and video recordings of the singing tradition in this territory, which allowed us to integrate more song samples. The analysis of both traditions reveals the basic genres of ritual singing, each of which has been examined from the point of view of the topic of the poetic text, the mood structures, and the metro-rhythmic and melodic peculiarities of their development.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {85–110}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/369} }
@article{JEF, author = {Svetlana Ryzhakova}, title = { Welcomed and Unwanted: Uncertainty and Possession in a Manasā Cult (North Bengal and West Assam, India)}, journal = {Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, year = {2020}, keywords = {}, abstract = {Manasā is a very important goddess of the eastern part of India, particularly for the lower castes of Bengal, West Assam, some districts of Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. She is the main goddess for the majority of Rajbansis of North Bengal. The fluid border between deities, witches and human beings is an essential part of both her myth and cult. Being a tantric deity, Manasā has an extremely ambivalent character: according to the narratives and ritualistic practice she is at the same time both welcomed and unwanted. Her worship involves negotiation with dangerous divine power, which generates insecurity and uncertainty, but at the same time rewards adepts with wonderful abilities. This paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by the author in rural places in the Jalpaiguri, Koch-Behar, Goalpara and Darrang districts of West Bengal and Assam, India, among Rajbansis, Bodo Kachari and Assamees. The details of Manasā worship, Behula dance and storytelling by Bengali Monośa gidal, and in a form of Assamese suknāni ojha-palli (with deodhani dance and trance) will reveal a peculiar local knowledge system, directly aimed at overcoming and transforming mundane life crises.}, issn = {2228-0987}, pages = {25–48}, url = {/index.php/journal/article/view/360} }