Peisajul cultural rural dintre Prut și Nistru. Aspecte etnogeografice

Abstract

The author of this book, Dorina Onica, PhD in history specializing in ethnology, who through her scientific interests and studies has succeeded in becoming an important ethnology researcher in the Republic of Moldova. She is currently head of the ethnography department at the Museum of Ethnography and Natural History of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Research.The book is a great scientific achievement in cultural anthropology. It presents a study of the villages in the Republic of Moldova, the territory known as Bessarabia, which was part of Greater Romania during the interwar period, and the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (part of the Soviet Union) after World War II. The monograph views the villages through the lens of cultural landscape, using the international conventions that regulate the concept, the disciplines that have it as a scientific subject of research, and data obtained during ongoing ethnographic field studies. The dynamics of the material and spiritual elements that exist within the culture of the village are interpreted synthetically. Onica states that the village is the place of homo faber, a living model and a space for hoarding all the knowledge that human beings have used to adapt to local natural conditions and that shaped the landscape according to cultural patterns in tandem with historical stages. Also, the typology of ethnographic landscapes within the rural area is established, analyzed, and characterized; the factors and circumstances of evolution and involution of the rural landscape are noted; and solutions on the sustainable development of the rural community are provided accordingly.The need to conduct such a study is based primarily on the rarity of specialized work on this topic, mainly in Moldova. Thus, the author not only opens new directions of investigation but also enriches the fund of ethnological results that contribute to our knowledge about the rural cultural landscape between Prut and Dniester. They are perceived as an important element of cultural heritage, and stimulate further studies on this topic by foreign researchers.The actuality and originality of the book lie in the fact that this subject matter fits with international scientific interest and also constitutes a benchmark for the elaboration of future programs regarding the support of rural areas. As cultural landscapes represent the most eloquent imprint of human adaptability and creative activity, this book has socioeconomic and cultural importance, promoting the preservation of the authenticity of rural communities in the conditions of globalization and choosing a sustainable development approach for them.The book opens with a foreword by Lucian David, PhD, a scientific researcher at the “Constantin Brăiloiu” Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest. In the rest of the book are five chapters, a conclusion, a bibliography, and annexes.In the introduction, Onica speaks about the importance of researching the subject from an interdisciplinary perspective, the actuality and originality of the problem approached, the main ideas in the book, and its theoretical relevance and practical value.Chapter I, entitled “Theoretical-Methodological Approach of the Concept of Rural Cultural Landscape,” reveals the conceptual interpretations of the cultural landscape from a geographical, ethnological, philosophical, and axiological point of view. It brings into the discussion the scientific achievements of geographical schools, as well as current trends in researching the cultural landscape. Using the method of synthesis and deduction, Onica notices the main features of the traditional and current research directions of the cultural landscape, choosing for her study to look at a fusion of them. The author pays attention to the methodology, analyzing and explaining the usefulness of each method applied and how she combined them to obtain her results, thus demonstrating the interdisciplinary and systemic character of the book, as well as the diversity of sources. Another positive result of the application of this diverse methodology is the integration of the notion of the rural cultural landscape into a conceptual equation and the elaboration of its structural scheme, according to which the village is a system that connects other types of landscapes (religious, sepulchral, ethnographic, etc.)In Chapter II, “Components of the Rural Cultural Landscape,” the author analyzes the mutual impact between the natural environment and the elements of material and spiritual culture within the rural landscape of Moldova. Identifying the architectural, technical achievement of rural communities as material components and cultural scenarios of historical landscape modeling as spiritual components, she demonstrates the originality of the rural landscape between Prut and Dniester and attests to the existence of valuable elements of ethnographic heritage. A number of ethnographic elements are analyzed and explained, such as the house and household, occupations, traditional transport routes, traditional clothes, and food, using field, historical data and photographic materials. The spiritual features and valences of the rural landscape are examined from the perspective of cultural ideologies. Thus, the features (chromatic, emotive, profane/sacred, symbolic, and cognitive) of the rural landscape are analyzed. The landscape is shaped by the rhythms of the folk calendar, customs, beliefs and folk knowledge, and gender perceptions.Chapter III, “The Typology of Landscapes,” proposes a classification of landscape types within the villages of the Republic of Moldova using taxonomic structures and qualitative chronological and spatial analysis as working tools. Onica lists the factors that determine the identification of cultural landscapes, especially ethnographic ones. She proposes a landscape taxonomy focused on the following indicators: the systemic highlighting of cultural processes and facts; the presenting of diachronic temporal and spatial indices; specifying of the features that certify the representativeness; marking the uniqueness of the phenomenon; and strengthening its identity by articulating the symbiosis of the natural heritage with the ethnographic heritage. Thus, Onica analyzes, describes, explains, and presents cartographically, schematically, and photographically the cultural and ethnographic landscapes according to the following criteria: land use, dynamics, duration, ethnic marks, interdependence between cultural components and informative subjects, the form of delimitation, taxonomic and identity uniqueness, level of organization, and dimension.In Chapter IV, “The Evolution of the Rural Cultural Landscape,” the author analyzes the ways in which rural landscapes evolved, reiterating that during a century and a half, the rural cultural landscape between Prut and Dniester has changed its image in relation to its architectural aspects, new concepts of planning and use of space, and a resizing and restructuring of its economic activities. The factors of rural landscape dynamics are geoeconomic, sociodemographic, historical-political, economic, and cultural; they are decisive in displaying and evaluating the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the evolution, modeling, and modification of rural spaces.Particularly important for understanding the originality and specificity of the rural landscape of Moldova is paragraph 4.2 of this chapter, which includes three case studies of villages. Cosăuţi, located in the northern part of the country, is analyzed from the perspective of an artistic stone carving that has shaped the marks of the rural landscape; Măgdăceşti, in the center of the country, is examined from the morphological and toponymic point of view; and Crihana Veche, in the southern part of the country, is seen from the perspective of its pastoral and fishing landscape with original traces of material culture and local history. The analysis of these case studies confirms that rural landscapes have their own development dynamics, with communities that are still managing to preserve the genuineness of their local heritage by adapting to the conditions of a changing world.Chapter V, “The Rural Landscape at the Beginning of the Millennium: Problems and Solutions,” addresses the current problems of the rural space in Moldova in the connection of utopia and rural dystopia. Onica manages to identify the problems faced by rural communities and reiterates that ensuring the preservation of the distinct character of rural spaces is possible only through the combined contributions of useful scientific research, the correct application of the legislative-institutional framework, and the involvement of local people, all collaborating to devise sustainable programs for the correct development of the rural community.In the conclusion, Onica presents the main results of her research and emphasizes that the local population should be aware of the value of its territory in order to maintain its local identity and to analyze and reconsider the benefits of the space that it occupies. She states that the matrix of organizing space through certain forms of material culture is framed in the patterns of popular thought, which is based on technical knowledge and cultural experiences, transmitted as ethnographic information from generation to generation.It is worth appreciating that the book is enriched using visual anthropology method—namely, ethnographic photography. The set of ethnographic documents given here visually reflects the intertwining of the material and spiritual cultures in the villages, demonstrating the specific local features and the qualitative, aesthetic, and dynamic changes in time and space.Presented in an excellent typographic design and technical and scientific parameters, the book offers a substantial contribution to knowledge by explaining the notion of the rural cultural landscape by analyzing the mutual relationship between the local community of Moldova and its natural environment, history, cultural practices, and collective experience. Through the information that it provides, the book can become a benchmark for further research, supporting improvements and additions with new results, or it can be a starting point for researching other aspects of rural landscapes in Moldova.