Cultural Heritage and Ethnology/anthropology Research Research Papers (original) (raw)

World heritage sites across the globe are adapting themselves to the homogenizing standards of tourism at the same time as trying to maintain, or even increase, their local particularity. While local and national tourism authorities and tour agencies package and sell so-called 'authentic' cultural landscapes or 'traditional' cultures, what counts as world heritage -be it material or intangible -and the way it is interpreted is increasingly defined and controlled supra-locally. This paper sketches the broad picture of world heritage tourism in the 21st century and illustrates the general trends with examples of on-going ethnographic research on world heritage sites. chapter 8 world heritage and tourism 275

- by Xavier Roigé
- •
- Anthropology, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage, Social and Cultural Anthropology

Call for papers for The IEF Annual Conference 2021

De eerste editie van dit volumineuze werk verscheen voor het eerst in 1983 en is nu aan een vierde herwerking toe. Vanzelfsprekend heeft etnologie (of culturele antropologie) als huidige wetenschap een enorme evolutie ondergaan. Het is niet meer die enkelvoudige studie van toen, maar een palet aan culturele veelvoud, precies zoals het in de titel wordt omschreven. Vijfentwintig professoren uit de Duitstalige wereld hebben een bijdrage geleverd in een poging om zoveel mogelijk thema's in de etnologie van vandaag af te dekken. De studie is bedoeld om studenten in te leiden in de wereld van de etnologie, maar biedt uiteraard ook interessante inzichten voor etnologen die over het muurtje van hun eigen specialisatie willen kijken. Het is dus tegelijkertijd een overzicht, maar ook een inleiding. En ook bij deze vierde herwerking een geslaagde poging. De achterliggende reden blijft de passie voor het (be)vreemde(nde) en de interesse om dat vreemde te duiden, waarbij diversiteit steeds meer als centrale gedachte wordt uitgespeeld. Dat betekent dat naast veldwerk etnologische vergelijking steeds meer aan belang wint in de strijd tegen etnocentrisme. Ondanks, of misschien net wel dankzij, het feit dat het om zo veel verschillende disciplines gaat, wordt er toch ook steeds meer interdisciplinair gewerkt. Dit brede gamma onderwerpen maakt namelijk heel erg duidelijk dat de grenzen tussen de verschillende disciplines erg poreus zijn geworden. Het boek zelf is opgesplitst in vier grote delen: theorieën en methodes; deelgebieden van de etnologie; transversale thema's; speciale thema´s. Daarop volgt een uitgebreide bibliografie, waarin toch belangrijke namen zoals onder meer Marcus Tauschek, Laurajane Smith of Rodney Harrison ontbreken. Tot slot is er een iets te beperkt register. Het zou ons hier te ver leiden om elk hoofdstuk te bespreken, we beperken ons tot enkele kernbijdragen uit het boek. In het inleidende hoofdstuk beschrijft Hans Fischer etnologie als een wetenschappelijke discipline. Op zich wat bevreemdend, want het lijkt – als zo vaak – dat etnologie zich telkens moet bevestigen als een waardevolle tak van de wetenschap. Iets wat eigenlijk buiten kijf zou moeten staan. Bettina Beer bespreekt het begrip cultuur in verhouding tot etniciteit en stelt terecht vast dat cultuur al te vaak een nietszeggend containerbegrip is geworden dat te veel ladingen dekt en daardoor de te vaak als een statisch begrip te verklaren viel. Etnologen moeten zich steeds bevragen in hoeverre bepaalde gedragingen cultureel zijn. Het belang van interculturaliteit is de laatste decennia alleen maar toegenomen. Michael Bollig stelt dat etnologische vergelijkingen een absolute must zijn voor de theorieontwikkeling van het vak. Culturele diversiteit is een absolute uitdaging voor etnologen. Kennis door vergelijking is daarbij gewoon onmisbaar en verplichte leerstof. Verdere themata die worden besproken zijn economische, politieke, verwantschaps-en religieuze etnologie. Verwantschap, zo stellen Juila Pauli en Michael Schnegg, is een centrale sociale categorie bij etnologisch onderzoek van economische, politieke of religieuze handelingen, die in geen enkele andere wetenschap zo diepgaand is/wordt onderzocht. Relatief nieuw is dan weer het genderonderzoek. Dit onderzoek moest zich eerst bewijzen en zich losmaken van de vooroordelen die ermee gepaard gingen. Ute Luig beschrijft de stand van zaken op dit gebied en kijkt naar de nieuwe tendensen die zich aftekenen in een steeds globalere wereld. Hierbij sluit het hoofdstuk migratie-etnologie van Heike Drotbohm naadloos aan. Het gaat hier wel degelijk om een absoluut actueel thema. Omdat de vele migratiegolven ook voor sociale en culturele verschuivingen zorgen. Deze tak van de etnologie verschuift steeds meer van het theoretische naar het praktische vlak, net omdat er zoveel problemen worden aangedragen. Multiculturaliteit en integratieproblemen zijn aan de orde van de dag en vragen om gepaste oplossingen, waarvoor ook etnologen niet onmiddellijk pasklare antwoorden hebben. Hans-Peter Hahn borduurt verder over materiële cultuur en consumptie (zie Volkskunde 117/1), waarin hij het groeiende belang van materiële cultuur onderstreept. Nieuwe inzichten en nieuwe methodes zorgen een duidelijk verschil met de historische omgang met materiële cultuur. Het laatste deel is gewijd aan speciale onderzoeksgebieden. Zo bekijkt Nikolaus Schareika de mens in zijn milieu. Het lijdt geen twijfel dat ecologie een steeds belangrijkere rol in onze maatschappij speelt en dat dit uiteraard een invloed heeft op de menselijke gedragingen. Het onderzoek richt zich op de

In Spain, the birth of interest in the nation's industrial heritage dates from the 1980s and occurred alongside the process of deindustrialization. Policies concerning derelict industrial sites have shifted gradually from destruction to preservation, rehabilitation, and enhancement, and industrial heritage enhancement projects are now widespread in the country. However, a clear mismatching has arisen between institutional and academic initiatives and local communities, which exhibit widespread disinterest in or even rejection of industrial remains. This problematic situation can be related to the utilization of industrial heritage as an economic resource without paying much attention to its connections with memory and identity. Also, the mismatching is due to a positivist approach to industrial heritage whereby the monument and the museum are prioritized. We argue that projects which consider industrial remains as part of cultural landscapes might shorten the gap between the institutional and economic side of industrial heritage and its identity-building and popular facets.

- by Paz Benito del Pozo and +1
- •
- Human Geography, Cultural Geography, Historical Geography, Space Sciences

In this article I discuss the artistic paradigms for sea-thinking and sea-making in
four sections: marble as emulatio for the sea (1); the phenomenon of sea-floors or
the psycho-acoustic space (2); Echo as aquatic paradigm (3); and finally camouflage
and matrixial merging (4). With this approach, I reintegrate the marvels of the sea
in four ontologies of the image. By delving into the substrata of ideas and material
intuitions towards the sea and more generally the aquatic paradigm in theology,
anthropology and psychoanalysis, I hope to offer alternative hermeneutics for what
we consider as art, art-making and the visual senses, and to obelize some of the
deeply ingrained Eurocentric and patriarchal paradigms.

Henri H. Stahl is known for his studies in social history and methodology, but he was also passionate about other, lesser known, research topics. Among these is his preoccupation with the development of a sociology of the Romanian peasant's culture and spirituality, which he later synthetised in his controversial work Critical Essays (1983). However, before he fully developed his theories on the matter, unhappy about his own incapacities, he attempted to give a literary shape to his vision of folk philosophy and life of Romanian villages. What resulted was a novel, today still unpublished but conserved in the Stahl Family Archive. The novel combines his field notes, methodological suggestions, as well as his personal opinions, emotions and feelings, which he never let intrude into his scientific work. The value of this unpublished text is today undeniable, and it deserves to be known by the public. The present article reveals, for the first time, the shape and the content of this novel, and draws out the circumstances of its creation. The article is succeeded by a short sample from the novel. Keywords: Henri H. Stahl, unpublished novel, sociology of folk culture, folk philosophy.

International Master of Museology Course Book 2015-2016 2 3 Foreword

- by Lukáš M Vytlačil
- •
- Cultural History, Music History, Czech History, Ethnography

The eeaster-customs of the "Junii"-brotherhood of Șchei (Obere Vorstadt) in Brașov -Kronstadt (Transylvania - Romania) are deeply imbedded in a secular tradition, going back to the ancient Thraco-Dacians, who populated today's territory of Romania. The here described and discussed ethnologic complex synthetizes ancient elements of popular mythology, Christian tradition and popular chronology.

Հայկական ասեղնագործության զարդահամալիրի կենդանական զարդանախշերի մեջ ուրույն տեղ ունի
օձ-վիշապի մոտիվը, որը ներկայանում է պատկերագրական (իրական տեսքով և ոճավորված) ու իմաստաբանական (բարի և չար) ողջ հարստությամբ: Ասեղնագործության մեջ օձանախշը լայն տարածում ունեցող մոտիվներից չէ, այն չի հանդիպում որպես հիմնական, կենտրոնական պատկեր, ինչպես գորգերի
ու կարպետների զարդահամալիրներում, սակայն որպես լրացնող, զարդահամալիրը ամբողջացնող
տարր՝ բազմաթիվ դրսևորումներ ունի:
Օձ-վիշապը ներկայացված է թե՛ ժողովրդական (կենցաղային իրեր ու հագուստի համալիր), թե՛ եկեղեցական ասեղնագործության մեջ՝ արտահայտելով դրա նկատմամբ հայերի հնագույն պատկերացումներն ու
հավատալիքները:
Հոդվածում ներկայացված են օձանախշի՝ որպես բարեբեր, հարստաբեր ու երջանկաբեր խորհրդանշանի
դրսևորումները Մարաշի, Վասպուրականի ծածկոցներում ու Վանի անձեռոցիկների վրա, Վասպուրականի ու Բարձր Հայքի կանանց վերնազգեստի, կարճ վերնազգեստ-բաճկոնի, գոգնոցի գեղազարդման մեջ,
ինչպես նաև վիշապամարտի պատկերագրությունը XVII–XIX դդ. ասեղնագործ գորգերի հորինվածքում:
Նկարագրված են նաև վիշապ-օձի պատկերագրությամբ եկեղեցական ասեղնագործ առարկաները, որոնք
արտահայտում են կերպարի չար էությունը՝ քրիստոնեական մեկնության համաձայն:

The present research aims to clarify a certain visual and mythical–poetic elements of Lithuanian folk culture
as codified images and symbols associated with the mythology of Baltic Aušra, Aušrinė (Morning star, Sun
Maiden and Sunrise) and to highlight previously unnoticed systemic relations between investigated cultural
phenomena, based on the tradition of the mythical world–view. Forms of particular rake type patterns in
folk textiles, their ancient archaeological analogues, and their folk names are analysed. Comb/rake pattern
forms and folk names are investigated as elements of mythical–poetic images, related to a combing action, in
folklore and customs associated with textile techniques. Ethnographic, folkloric and archaeological data, and
other local cultural and transcultural material is examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, using
historical and typological comparative and semiotic approaches, and from ethnological and mythological
points of view. The investigation of the Aušrinė image mythical–poetic context of wedding folklore, customs,
textile technologies and patterns reveals that its semantic field embraces folkloric extraordinary maidens,
divine virgins, characterised by the attributes of comb and rake, and the actions of hair combing and hair
braiding, and hay raking. Magic–symbolic hair combing and braiding actions were very important in Baltic
wedding rites of passage. This kind of textile technique, as well as the comb pattern on sashes in this context,
are interpreted as a codification of the wedding transformation related to Morning Star mythology.

- by Vytautas Tumėnas
- •
- Mythology And Folklore, Art History, Ethnoarchaeology, Ethnology

Obiectul acestui subcapitol – câteva expresii verbale – este pus în relație cu niște structuri de mentalitate care l-au produs și care, prin urmare, îi pot lămuri istoria și semantismul. În astfel de cazuri, verbalul este o reminiscență. S-a păstrat formula, dar originea ei este adesea obscură. Imaginarul mitologic din care provine se situează în afara orizontului mental al vorbitorilor de azi. Aceștia intuiesc totuși semnificația de context a expresiei. Așa se întâmplă cu structuri idiomatice precum „a se face frate cu dracul” sau „copil din flori”. Cea din urmă poate fi tradusă prin „né(e) sous un chou”, în franceză sau „born under a bush”, în engleză. (Grație unei paradigme universale a imaginarului mitic, ultimele trei sunt congenere expresiei „a ieși (ca) din pământ", așa cum vedea). Propunem, în continuare, două ipoteze privind originea acestor expresii în tipare arhaice ale imaginarului colectiv: în mituri dualiste despre „frăția” dintre Trickster și „bunul Dumnezeu” – (aproape) universal răspândite în mediul folcloric – și în mituri ale maternității htoniene, care apar, sub diferite forme, în mai toate cultùrile.

- by Dušan Medin and +1
- •
- Musicology, Ethnomusicology, Historical Ethnomusicology, Ethnology

Dukati su zlatnici, novci, koji su od davnina imali svoju materijalnu, ali i simboličku vrijednost. Bili su znak raspoznavanja etniciteta, lokaliteta i platežne moći, a prije svega su bili simbol ljepote žene.
Žena je dukate nosila od malih nogu, u raznim oblicima, na raznim materijalima, u razne prigode. Dukati su bili njezin ukras koji je stavljala oko vratam na prsa, u kosu, na oglavlje i njima se od čitavog ruha najviše ponosila.
Dukati su do danas zadržali određenu materijalnu, ali i simboličku vrijednost, posebno za Šokca i Bunjevca. Za njega dukati nisu samo skupocjeni zlatnici, već i malo bogatstvo sjećanja, prošlosti i lokalne baštine. O takvoj vrijednosti dukata pišu spisateljice Mara Šverl Gamiršek i Vlasta Markasović koje u svojim djelima opisuju neku drugu dimenziju dukata te emocije koja je bila vezana uz njih nekada, ali se može iščitati i u današnjem čovjeku.

- by Katarina Dimšić
- •
- Ethnography, Ethnology, Folklore (Literature), Cultural Anthropology

‘Kitchen Conversations’ is the story of Winchburgh, as it is now, and as it was, told by its women. These are stories about people, and stories about here. They are told by people who were born in Winchburgh, and can trace their connection to this area back a hundred years and more. They are also told by people who came here more recently, who brought their own stories with them and their families. Memories start now and stretch back, through the generations, to 1889. They have one major thing in common: this booklet is about women who choose to live in Winchburgh, and look to the future together.

- by Valentina Bold
- •
- Cultural Studies, Women's Studies, Women's History, Cultural Heritage

This paper focuses on the impact of the war and subsequent occupation (2003–2011) on Iraq’s heritage, documenting the most significant and devastating instances of heritage damage and destruction that occurred. Moving forward, this chapter continues with a discussion of the grave challenges facing Iraqi heritage beyond the withdrawal of US military forces in the form of various groups - from jihadist networks such as the 'Islamic State' through to various sectarian actors. It also discusses the threat to heritage sites from development, neglect, and inexpert and haphazard excavation, preservation, protection, and restoration. Despite this troubling scenario, this chapter also examines the extent to which the Iraq conflict was a turning point for major Western military operations and the development of CPP programs which aim to better prepare military personnel for protecting cultural property in future conflicts.

- by Benjamin Isakhan
- •
- Military History, Military Science, Military Ethics, Military Intelligence

Although gentrification has been mostly understood as an urban phenomenon, the permanent establishment of urban dwellers in rural areas is becoming a widespread trend across the world. Despite its relevance to postindustrial societies, rural gentrification has been largely overlooked by heritage scholars, and has been explored very little in the context of Spain. In this article, I examine the relationship between heritage and rural gentrification through the case study of Santiago Millas, a village located in the Maragatería region of Spain. Based on long-term ethnographic engagement with different actors (newcomers, local residents, and public officials), I examine a specific instance of the globalizing phenomenon of rural gentrification, highlighting the key role heritage plays in this phenomenon, including (1) the impact on local governmentalities based on heritage discourse; (2) the refurbishing of houses and changes in the social spaces of villages; and (3) the transformation of social life and rituals into metacultural discourses of heritage. I emphasize the urgency to carry out more research in order to improve our understanding of the complex and multifaceted phenomenon of rural gentrification from a heritage perspective.

- by Pablo Alonso González
- •
- Real Estate, Cultural Studies, Rural Sociology, Anthropology

Ethnological observation of types of strings that could be used by "primitive" bowhunters.

ce texte publié en préface de l'ouvrage "Mémoire des lieux ordinaires en Champsaur" (Denis Lebioda & Yves Desbuquois (photographies), Marianne Bourgeois (textes), éditions du Fournel, 2018. www.editions-fournel.fr/catalogue/pages/liste_livre.php?AID=146) interroge notre rapport au temps et aux lieux, et à l'usage que nous en faisons, notamment en matière de mise en patrimoine (ou pas...).

Давор Седларевић 9 Давор Седларевић, спец. 1

This paper is devoted to how the Slovaks were staged, encountered and recognized
by the Czechs at the Czechoslavic Ethnographic Exhibition organized in Prague in 1895. The
Slovaks, living during the last period of the Hungarian Kingdom, were perceived by the Czechs
as an ostensibly familiar collective of ‘Slavic relatives.’ The less the Czech urban society in
the last decades of the 19th century kept its ties with the slowly, but inevitably modernized
countryside, the more the picture of the ‘Czechoslavic’ imagined community required a different
area for placing its ‘native cottages’ into. In reconceptualizing the modern Czech ‘geography
of knowledge’, even the most notable Czech specialists in Slavic studies have adopted the
notion that Slovaks were in fact an ‘eastern branch’ of the ‘Czechoslavic people settled in
Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia as well as the Northwest of Hungary’. Consequently, the idea of an
ethnocentric, ‘national’ exhibition needed a demonstrative extension of the ‘Czech territory’
on to the East. To achieve a public demonstration of the idea, the later renowned architect
Dušan Jurkovič invited a small group of people from the Trenčín and Zvolen/Detva regions to
act as ‘Slovaks’ at the exhibition and so they did, wearing ‘typical’ folk costumes, singing and
dancing in a peculiar style. They were viewed as a strangely exotic ‘Slovak colony’ by visitors
and Czech journalists alike. The public response to the show only reinforced the petrification of
the Czech collective stereotype of the ‘Slovak people’ as an underdeveloped poor community,
‘unspoiled’ by ‘western’ civilization, yet still resisting Hungarization. This ingrained discourse
of ‘otherness’ survived among most of the Czechs until the establishment of the Czechoslovak
republic in 1918, resulting in a growing wave of mutual misunderstandings.

Felvezető - Szijártó Zsolt (részlet)
"A mindennapok megszokott rendjét felborító krízisek, a különböző társadalmi rendszerek közötti átmeneti időszakok vizsgálata régóta a kulturális antropológia kitüntetett vizsgálati területei közé számít. Számos kutatás, illetőleg esettanulmány
foglalkozott az individuális és társadalmi krízishelyzetek leírásával és értelmezésével. Miközben a krízisekhez kapcsolódó rítusok a külső szemlélő számára legtöbbször nehezen érthetőnek, néha egyenesen riasztónak és félelmetesnek
tűnhettek, a kutatók – minden idegenkedésük ellenére – abban többnyire egyetértettek, hogy ezek a jelenségek az adott kultúra rendszerének egyik fontos elemét alkotják..."

- by Veronika Lajos
- •
- Cultural Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Trauma Studies, Ethnology

This article examines the heritage destruction undertaken by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria. To date, their iconoclasm has been mostly characterised either as acts of wanton barbarism devoid of religious or political justification, or as a cynical performance designed as a mass media spectacle. Drawing on a systematic analysis of two key IS propaganda outlets – their on-line magazine, Dabiq, and the various slick films released by Al-Hayat – this article argues that the heritage destruction perpetrated by the IS are not only situated within a carefully articulated theological framework and key to the creation of a new and ideologically pure ‘Islamic State’, but that they are also constituted by several complex layers of religious and political iconoclasm. To demonstrate, this article documents the iconoclasm undertaken by the IS along two key axes: Symbolic Sectarianism (Shia and Sufi mosques and shrines); and Pre-Monotheistic Iconoclasm (ancient polytheistic sites). Attacks on key sites within these categories, such as the Sayyida Zaynab shrine in Damascus or the Mosul Museum, not only adhere to their religious and political framework but also serve broader geo-political agendas and are attacked as proxy targets for their physical and ideological opponents.

- by Benjamin Isakhan and +1
- •
- Religion, Comparative Religion, History, Ancient History

Plants can be intriguing, challenging ethnographic subjects. Plants are communicative, agential and social. Engaging them ethnographically possibly expands the scope and relevance of ethnographic methods and theorizing. The phenotypic plasticity of plants makes them strikingly attuned to ethnographic concerns with place and its constitutions; they also actively constitute place through niche construction. There are various intellectual resources available for this kind of engagement through the long‐established disciplines of phytosociology and botany, which, like ethnography, is a field‐based practice.

- by John Hartigan
- •
- Botany, Cultural Studies, Ethnography, Social and Cultural Anthropology

Ethno-science is one of the emerging field of enquiry in cognitive discipline generally deals with the study of the systems of classification and taxonomies. It is also known as 'indigenous', or 'native' or 'traditional' science since it is completely based on native perceptions. It is an outcome of everyday practical experience with the nature by human beings. With its functional demands, it is changing constantly subjected to local, regional, national and global with the exposure to external interventions. The aim of ethno science is to gain a more complete description of cultural knowledge. Ethno science has been successful based on several studies of given cultures relating to their linguists, folk taxonomy, and how they classify their foods, animals and plants. Keeping in view of its significance, its focus is broadened now a days to embrace all areas of folk knowledge since it is base for the modern or western science. There exists a controversy at global level on the validity and reliability of local knowledge over the western or scientific knowledge. Despite of this fact, policy makers and planners do understood the role of traditional knowledge in the sustainable development. There might also be an unequal distribution of knowledge amongst a tribe or peoples. The role of governments, NGOs, grass root workers for research, protection and conservation of indigenous science has made to have a fresh look at some of the dichotomies and contested issues like undesired and outdated methods of native science. With this backdrop, the present book tries to covers the expertise of Ethnoscience of indigenous population in India like iron smelting and iron smithy, dokra (metal crafting), terra cotta artifacts, cane and bamboo crafts, bell metal, making musical instruments, masks, etc., since it is not only valuable cultural heritage but also a source of major livelihood. The present book also aims to explore the theoretical as well as empirical models and methods of traditional technology among the various tribes of India. To test the hypothesis i.e., importance of ethno science in livelihoods of tribal communities, an inter disciplinary academic effort is exercised since it is essential for cross exchange of ideas and experiences before its documentation for future generations. The level of this book is truly academic and research oriented. Further it is also useful to the planners, policy makers, administrators, and other action groups who are interested for protection of indigenous rights. This book had provided the scope to do further research on not only horticultural communities but other tribal communities since rejenuvation of environment is possible with them.

Les collections ethnographiques sont devenues un enjeu de réappropriation culturelle pour beaucoup de communautés autochtones. Face à leurs revendications croissantes, les musées d’ethnographie sont confrontés à de nouvelles problématiques en matière d’éthique, de déontologie et de conservation-restauration. Une nouvelle catégorie d’objets, dits culturellement sensibles, a été définie dans le monde muséal canadien et fait l’objet de considérations spécifiques, traduites par la mise en place de protocoles de soins en collaboration avec les Autochtones. Si la notion s’est exportée en France, elle rencontre des réticences dans le monde muséal, qui ne semble pas encore enclin à suivre, ou du moins à considérer la perspective canadienne, qui fait pourtant figure de modèle. Cette étude tentera d’apporter des éléments de compréhension à cette situation complexe en comparant la compatibilité des modèles canadiens et français concernant la gestion de ces objets symboles d’une mémoire vivante, au cœur de traditions culturelles en pleine renaissance.

Dioramas are museum displays that resemble photographs. Defined by their multi-mediality (uniting painting, sculpture, lightening but also collected material culture, casting or taxidermy), dioramas are devices belonging to the fields of natural history, anthropology, history, but also to popular culture in fairs and malls since the 19 th century. Often made in order to reproduce a scene in a mimetic way, they are inventing a reality that never existed, as Umberto Eco already argued. 1 Moreover, dioramas are complex three-dimensional installations made of a variety of materials, such as paint, wood, plaster, fur, iron, or paper. Even though dioramas necessarily involve a mixture of media and material, they inevitably become an image from a chosen angle when reproduced in an article such as this one. Thus, when they are photographed, dioramas look like twodimensional pictures. Their multimedia and multidimensional characteristics are masked by their reproduction.

- by Noémie Etienne
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- Native American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Performing Arts

Silvani e uomini selvatici

- by Olivier Givre
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- Cultural Heritage, Balkan Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Ritual

This study examines ethno-cultural associations—public institutions representing interests of minority groups—and discusses their role in the development of civil society in ethnically rich Kazakhstan. Minority
associations developed in Soviet times inherited Soviet-era property and certain charitable and social practices. The Soviet footprint translates into hierarchy and state subordination. Based on interviews with representatives of associations and their visitors in Almaty, the study focuses on their quotidian activities and attempts to explain why these associations are providers of various resources for civil society development. The findings show evidence of the state being a part of the institutional synergy in the civil sphere. As part of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan and being “government-organised NGOs,” ethno-cultural associations add their voice on “togetherness” and “unification” of diverse nationalities and to the official rhetoric of the new patriotic act. Despite transparent loyalty to the authorities and lacking a formal political
agenda, cultural and social activities of these associations remain relatively autonomous. The study concludes that their real non-decorative functions deal with creating unionism, providing opportunities for social capital development, and fostering an understanding and appreciation of ethnic diversity. These associations have a potential to bridge the gap between communities while providing platforms for civic exchanges and being intermediaries between the public, the state and their kin states.

- by Timur Alexandrov
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- Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, Russian Studies