Indigenous People and Traditional Music in the Historical Context of the Czech Lands

Abstract

The geographic location of Czech lands was the reason for permanent cultural confrontation of the Czech and German ethnic groups. Czech lands were a minority compared to the German population of Europe but they were at the same time a majority compared to the Germans within their state territory. This has brought on (as a result of the contact between the two ethnic groups) remarkable cultural outcomes as well as the danger of acculturation which was on its rise in times of the political superiority of the Germans (especially after 1620 and to some extent, during the world wars in the 20th century). Traditional culture, especially folk songs, played an important role in the mutual coexistence of the majority and minority ethnic groups. The folk song was able to preserve the language and was a valuable compensation for the lack of national poetry, literature and music. Integration and differentiation cultural tendencies are shown using examples of folk songs, poetry, literature and national music. This will also point to the meaning of traditional music in terms of preserving national identity in the media-open world.