ЭПИЧЕСКАЯ ПОЭМА «КАЛЕВАЛА» И ТРАДИЦИЯ РУНОПЕНИЯ В ДИСКУРСЕ НАСЛЕДИЯ И ПРАКТИКАХ ЕГО СОХРАНЕНИЯ

Abstract

The article focuses on the epic poem “Kalevala” compiled by E. Lönnroth on the basis of collected folklore texts, and on its “primary source” — the tradition of runosong — in the context of politics and practices of intangible heritage safeguarding in Finland and the Republic of Karelia (Russian). The author problematizes the relationship between ethnic identification and objects of folklore heritage, as well as examines the behavior patterns of various actors in the process of its safeguarding and (re)production. The case of “Kalevala” and runosong is considered in the theoretical framework proposed by L. Smith, according to which heritage can be described as a process of stakeholders’ interaction on three levels: institutional (for example, researchers and national policy actors), public (professional and ethnic communities and their organizations) and individual (activists). This research combines three areas: heritage studies, ethnic identity studies, and the politics of memory through folklore. The article is based on interviews collected during fieldwork in Helsinki (Finland) and Petrozavodsk (Republic of Karelia, Russia), as well as on available public Internet resources. By means of the different practices’ examples of interaction with the Kalevala and the rune singing (publishing of songs, their performance, public organizations’ work, etc.) the author examines the process that L. Smith calls “the work of heritage”. The author concludes that heritage in the framework of these examples can be considered as a certain “value industry” that reflects the tendencies of reflexive modernization of society. In this connection, heritage can often become a part of the process of “cultural extractivism” for the economic, political and other spheres.