Ethnic Traditions Research Articles

Molimbu as Civil Sphere in Developing a Harmonious Congregation: A Case Study from Poso, Central Celebes, Indonesia

Abstract This article provides a socio-theological study of Molimbu, a local tradition of collective feasting found among the Pamona people in the province of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia. It specifically explores the impact of Molimbu on the Zaitun Dulumai congregation, which is part of the Gereja Kristen Sulawesi Tengah (Central Sulawesi Christian Church, GKST), located in Poso, a city in Central Sulawesi (also known as Celebes), Indonesia. This article explores the manner in which Molimbu contributes to the civil sphere by building harmony within the church. Congregations in this part of Indonesia have been deeply impacted by external Christian values, leadership, and forces that are associated with European missions. But this is not the full story. In the Dulumai congregation, the church is also regulated by the agency of the local tradition called Molimbu. As an ethnic tradition and part of the congregation’s community life, Molimbu becomes a solidarity space connecting every participating individual. The research objective of this article is to describe and analyze Molimbu as a cultural practice that contributes to the civil sphere by building a harmonious congregation at GKST Zaitun Dulumai. The research method used is qualitative and descriptive. The results show that Molimbu contributes significantly to the civil sphere in constructing harmonious Christian congregations by activating sublime values such as equality and respect. Those values foster and nurture harmony within the congregation and are indicated through the traditional Christian concepts of koinonia (fellowship), diakonia (ministry), and maturia (witness).

Malay Music Transmission: Social Practices and Community Perception

Malaysia is part of the Malay cultural family of the archipelago (Nusantara). Musical elements and structures are similar to those found in Indonesian traditions. However, the local people's social practices and natural perceptions differ. This study looks into the social practices and musical perceptions of Malaysian societies. Interviews, focused group discussions, observations, a literature review, and internet data retrieval were all used in this qualitative study. The findings indicate that social practices of Malay Music differ among sub-ethnic groups in Malaysia. The sub-ethnic perceptions regarding “local” Malay Music differs as well. Several factors influence the natural perception of Malaysian music. The country's cultural diversity, natural setting, and historical legacy are all closely related to how Malaysian music is perceived. Malaysian music frequently reflects a strong sense of place and is influenced by the country's natural surroundings, ethnic traditions, and landscapes.

Transnational Funds of Identity of Korean American and Migrant Youth

ABSTRACT Situated in the scholarship of funds of identity, I focus on three Korean American and migrant youth who were involved in a Korean Student Organization (pseudonym) at a largely white institution in the suburban Midwest of the United States. Specifically, the study investigates how Korean American and migrant youth who served as leaders and members of the organization have developed and expressed their funds of identity, which assist them in navigating and resisting white-centric and monolingual schooling experiences and in creating a variety of organization events and activities centering their home languages, ethnic traditions, and cultural practices. By pairing funds of identity with the notion of transnationalism, I also build on and extend the current discussion on funds of identity into what I term “transnational funds of identity” to shed light on Korean American and migrant youth’s border-crossing and transnational connections that foreground their identity formation as well as their engagement in the organization. The current study will provide more multifaceted and complex perspectives on Asian and Asian American students moving beyond the discourses of assimilation, stereotypification, and oppression, by centralizing Korean American and migrant students’ strengths, assets, and resistance through the lens of transnational funds of identity.

The Peculiarities of the Existence of Ethnic Traditions in the Legends of the Russians and Buryats about Barguts

The Peculiarities of the Existence of Ethnic Traditions in the Legends of the Russians and Buryats about Barguts

Literacy Preservation and Transmission of Youyang Chinese Folk Songs

Youyang folk songs represent a significant component of China’s intangible cultural heritage from Youyang County in Chongqing Municipality, China. The study objective is to analyze the education literacy in preserving and transmitting Youyang Chinese folk songs within the cultural context of Chongqing Municipality, China. The research content encompasses various aspects, including integrating folk songs into educational curricula, artistic engagement in rural communities, government initiatives for transmission enhancement, and preservation through publication and book distribution. The research site primarily focuses on Youyang County, renowned for its cultural heritage and ethnic traditions. Three key informants include governmental bodies, educational institutions, private organizations, and individual custodians involved in preservation efforts. Data analysis involves qualitative methods such as document analysis and interviews with stakeholders. The research results highlight a concerted effort from stakeholders to preserve and transmit Youyang folk songs, emphasizing the importance of legislative support, increased funding, and community involvement in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage. Suggestions for further improvement include strengthening legislative support, increasing funding for preservation efforts, and enhancing community involvement in protecting intangible cultural heritage.

Ornamental design of textile elements in the wedding decoration of horse among the Bashkirs

The area of this study includes the south-east of the Republic of Bashkortostan (Abzelilovo, Burzyan, Baimak, Beloretsk districts) predominantly inhabited by the Bashkir people. The chronological framework of the research spans the 20th and early 21st centuries, i.e. the time when horse wedding decoration was still used by the Bashkirs in some locations, attesting to preser-vation of long-standing ethnic traditions. The aim of this study is to analyse decoration elements of horse in the wedding cere-mony among the south-eastern Bashkirs in the 20th and early 21st centuries, including caparisons, saddle blankets, breastplates, bellybands, and cruppers. The source basis includes author’s fieldwork materials collected during in 2010, 2017–2019 and 2023, as well as archival materials, museum collections in the city of Ufa and rural school museums preserving rare exhibits. Standard scientific methods, such as comparative historical research, scientific description and analysis, have been used. Du-ring the collection of field materials, traditional ethnographic research approach was also used, including observation, photofixa-tion and in-depth interviewing conducted in the Bashkir language, which allowed us recording local names of the wedding horse decoration. Analyzed were ornamented caparisons, saddle blankets, breastplates, bellybands and cruppers as attributes of the Bashkir wedding ceremony in the south-east of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The festive horse decoration was part of a bridal dowry; the bride herself participated in its making. The bridal horse decoration in the wedding ceremony performed social, sac-ral and aesthetic functions. It was enriched with sacral signs and symbols to protect from bewitching and evil spirits. A young wife moved to husband’s house on her horse decorated for wedding accompanied by her husband, girlfriends and close rela-tives. Until the 19th century, the bride would have ridden astride, but already at the turn of the 20th century that would be quite a rare phenomenon. However, in some villages there were single cases of the observance of this rite even in the mid-20th century. It has been found that in the 20th century in the south-east of the Republic of Bashkortostan several types of wedding capari-sons, different in their ornaments, materials and techniques, were used. There were several types of appliqué and kuskar em-broidery. The altered form of the wedding horse decoration has been preserved until the early 21st century.

Research on the Creative Features of Performance Events at the National Traditional Ethnic Sports Games

The traditional sports performances of China's ethnic minorities are an indispensable part of global sports culture. These traditional sports activities not only play a crucial role in the national sports industry but also represent the valuable heritage of Chinese ethnic traditions and culture. The purpose of researching traditional sports performances of ethnic minorities across the country is to protect, inherit, explore, and develop their cultural practices. This article utilizes literature review, logical analysis, and video analysis methods to analyze the performances of the three recent National Traditional Sports Games of Ethnic Minorities. It concludes that the creative process of these performances exhibits characteristics of authenticity, reflecting the connection to nature, production and daily life, customs and folklore, regional diversity, physicality, and artistry. This research aims to provide meaningful insights for the development and creation of traditional sports performances of ethnic minorities and further promote the inheritance and promotion of traditional culture.

The Scottish Militia Issue and the Anxious Origins of Highlandism, 1759–62

This article re-evaluates the debates over a proposed Scottish militia that took place in the British public sphere at the height of the Seven Years War and French invasion and Jacobite rebellion scares, and locates within them the origins of the discourse of Highlandism. Accordingly, the real and imagined ethnic traditions and characteristics of Scottish Highlanders to some extent came to represent the entire Scottish nation, while concurrently rehabilitating and replacing former stereotypes of Highlanders as bellicose ‘savages’ and Jacobite ‘rebels.’ Further, the debates were not merely informed by domestic politics and intellectual agendas, as typically assumed in the historiography; they were also tied to the larger geopolitical and cultural entanglements of imperial warfare and continued threats from Franco-Jacobite fifth columns, as circulated in an anxious, mercantilist, wartime print culture. These discourses reveal that mid-century whiggish Britons continued to worry about French-instigated rebellion despite historiographical assumptions to the contrary, and experienced considerable uncertainty and concern for the intertwined problems of foreign enemies, overseas war and domestic politics. This context, the widespread doubts surrounding Scotland’s trustworthiness and relative status within the Union, and the defensive reactions among certain pro-militia ‘Scots’, show how commentators mobilised Highland soldiers in support of Scotland’s deservedness of political, institutional and cultural equality with England. This, however, was not an era of growing confidence, cumulative antigallican military service and a ‘long-eighteenth-century’ process of political and cultural consolidation, but rather a deeply uncertain time of burgeoning global conflict and entangled Scotto-Franco-British identity dynamics which must be more fully considered on their own problematic terms.

Sustainable tourism governance: A study of the impact of culture

This study meticulously explores the intricate interplay between sustainable tourism and the preservation of cultural heritage, focusing on how tourism practices can foster the protection and revitalization of cultural and ethnic traditions within diverse communities in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam (Pan et al., 2018). The research problem centers on understanding how sustainable tourism contributes to cultural preservation and the economic upliftment of ethnic minority groups. The research aims to unveil how sustainable tourism can act as a catalyst for cultural exchange, economic development, and the safeguarding of natural and cultural assets, with a particular emphasis on the involvement and empowerment of ethnic minority communities in the tourism development process (Datta et al., 2015). Employing multivariate linear regression as its primary research method, the study rigorously analyzes case studies to draw correlations between sustainable tourism activities and their impacts on cultural preservation. The main findings reveal that sustainable tourism practices significantly contribute to protecting cultural heritage, enhancing community participation, and fostering responsible tourism policies. These practices not only support the economic sustainability of ethnic minority groups but also ensure the conservation of their unique cultural identities. The implications of this research are profound, offering valuable insights for policymakers and tourism practitioners aiming to harmonize cultural heritage conservation with community well-being. By advocating for the integration of community perspectives into tourism planning and policy formulation, this study underscores the potential of sustainable tourism to serve as a powerful tool for cultural and economic revitalization, highlighting its importance in the broader context of cultural heritage management and sustainable development (Gould, 2018).

Некоторые особенности решения имущественных и наследственных споров в горских словесных судах Кубанской и Терской областей в 1871–1918 гг.

The article studies some features of solving property and inheritance disputes in the mountain word courts of the Kuban and Terek regions in 1871–1918. The specifics of their activities are studied on the records and statistical materials of the Yekaterinodar, Maikop and Balalpashinsky mountain word courts (MWC) in the Kuban region and Khasav-Yurtovsky, Groznensky, Vedensky, Shatoevsky, Nalchik, Nazranovsky and in the Terek region. The models of decision-making on typologically similar disputes and conflicts and their forms of documenting them were characterized common for all MWC; the specifics of their traditional institutions of socio-normative culture and local peculiarities of dispute and conflict resolution were revealed. On the basis of the analysis of law enforcement practice of the mountain verbal courts, the list of types of civil disputes that they deal with is proposed. Interim measures applied by the verbal courts to enforce court decisions (arrest of the defendant’s property, sale of the debtor’s property from public tenders and auctions, etc.) are described. The grounds for termination of proceedings in civil cases have been identified. It was determined that pre-trial reconciliation of conflicting parties in civil and inheritance disputes was documented in the form of “amicable deals “amicable tales “amicable tales”. It was found that the final amount of material compensation (the main form of liability in the resolution of this category of disputes by the MWC) almost always consisted of two components: the cost of damage and the costs associated with the resolution of the dispute (the sum of all losses incurred by the injured party). The conclusion is made that among the positive effects of such activity was the consideration of regional and ethnic traditions in resolving disputes and conflicts, while the negative ones were the slowness of the MWC in making decisions, accumulation of unresolved cases, etc.

FORMS, WAYS AND MEANS OF REVEALING THE LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTURE OF DANCER-WRESTLERS OF THE NATIONAL WRESTLING "KOKH" (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE SAMTSKHE-JAVAKHETI REGION)

The purpose of the research is to characterize the presence and characteristics of pedagogical conditions in primary groups (ages 7-9) that contribute to the development of musical and dance culture of "Kokh" dancer-wrestlers. Our main task was the relevance of the program, the content of the comprehensive educational process of dancer-wrestlers within the framework of interdisciplinary relations. Based on the results of our research, we can state that the Armenian national wrestling "Kokh" is the main means of educational influence on the trainees and considers culture as the basis of human creative activity. Undoubtedly, the means and methods based on progressive ethnic traditions carry a powerful educational potential, contribute to the socio-cultural development of dancer-wrestlers, encourage dancer-wrestlers to search for noble ideas, intense feelings, the goodness and beauty. The relevance of the topic covered in this article within the framework of this research and the need for a more comprehensive and profound study of ethnopedagogy as a relatively new discipline of pedagogy makes this topic open for new studies by us and others.

An Ancient Shrine, Archaeological Excavations and the Bones of Forgotten Ancestors in North Ossetia: How Offended Believers Created a Religion

The Russian Orthodox Church is implementing projects to mark the space of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania as Orthodox, that is, as a legitimate space for its activities and institutional dominance. This policy also involves representing the Ossetian past as Orthodox, notably through the restoration of ancient buildings connected with Orthodoxy. However, the Church does not have a monopoly on creating a public narrative about the past of this ethno-political entity. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of archaeological excavations around a medieval chapel in the village of Nuzal, this article demonstrates that the efforts of the Church ended up pushing its competitors, Ossetian traditionalists, to publicly present an alternative interpretation of history. Activists in the revival of the Ossetian pre-Christian religion argue that the Church’s attempts are an offence to their religious sentiments, presenting themselves as the legitimate guardians of ethnic traditions.

ההבניה הקהילתית של קריית הבבא סאלי בנתיבות

Studies that have focused on the expanding phenomenon of the popular veneration of holy leaders in Israel in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, have indicated the various factors at its core: the unique ethnic tradition of believers, the underlying historical-political currents, and class struggles for dominance-hegemony at an international level. In this study, which centers on a distinct and popular site – Kiryat Baba Sali in Netivot – I will turn the spotlight on additional influence factors: 1. Urban political culture; 2. Spontaneous, bottom-up development of heritage communities; 3. Initiatives by higher-ups in the government and business world. Results show that all actors in the abovementioned categories (most of whom born and grew up in a specific area in Morocco) share separate spatial cells and yet all work in synergy and orbit the same shared circle – the legacy of the Abuhatzeira family. Unlike the central theme of the studies that were held at that time, which attributed the veneration of holy leaders with underprivileged believers, in this case, the actors come from the top of the political, civil, and business worlds, whether national or local. Moreover, in contrast to traditional explanations that emphasized the power relations, status, ethnicity, and geographic and political marginality as the foundations of this phenomenon, this study will expose (through a biographic-interpretive examination) a different, more 'human', source of influence: values, collective memory, identity, sentiments, childhood experiences, reflexivity, tradition, family. The human factor caused internal combustion and brought about a mobilization that is very much voluntary-authentic, toward the renewal and restoration of the heritage.

TRADITIONAL SETTLEMENT AND HOUSING COMPLEX AS AN OBJECT OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE PEOPLES OF RUSSIA

One of the significant objects in the historical and cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia is the settlement and housing complex, historically formed and resulting from the influence of physical and geographical conditions, ethnic traditions, socio-cultural interaction. Currently, the problem of its preservation, study, and use as a tourist object is urgent. The article examines the key problems in this area; it pays attention to the formation of legislation regulating preservation of cultural objects, as well as their importance in forming youth patriotism.
 
 The purpose of the research is to study the role of a traditional settlement and housing complex in ethnic culture, the place of rural settlements in preserving national languages and traditions of peoples, development of domestic tourism in the Russian Federation.
 
 Materials and methods. The research used the methods of historical science: comparative-historical, problem-chronological, historical-genetic ones. From the traditional methods of ethnography, the methods of field observation and survey were used. Also, general scientific methods were used in the framework of the study: the descriptive-narrative one, analysis, generalization ones. The article is based on regulatory and legal sources, materials of Internet publications, the results of the All-Russian Population censuses, information collected by the authors during field expedition ethnographic surveys.
 
 Results. The role of a settlement and housing complex in ethnic culture was studied, its tourist potential was determined. The problem of preserving traditional settlements, dwellings and outbuildings is currently relevant for many peoples, in connection with which a number of state programs and support measures have been developed to address this issue. A settlement and housing complex is of great interest not only to researchers, but also to tourists, so its inclusion in their routes has become an effective way to attract public attention to preserving traditional buildings. The practice of constructing ethnoparks, ethno-villages, ethnographic museums in the open air with a complex of housing structures and outbuildings has become very relevant at present time. No doubt that their creation requires extensive involvement of accumulated ethnographic materials. Ethnic culture and national languages are mostly preserved in rural areas, which largely determines the need to develop serious support measures by the state in the field of protecting villages with a view to their further large-scale functioning in our country.
 
 Conclusions. The use of various sources made it possible to achieve the goal of the study. Preserving the traditional settlement and housing complex of villages is extremely significant, since it is in them that the languages and traditions of peoples are still transmitted from generation to generation, ethnic characteristics are reproduced. Each object of cultural heritage contains a certain layer of information, which is an effective bond of the society and the state, which is of great importance in forming a sense of belonging to the history of the region and the country as a whole, the value spiritual and moral attitudes of young people.

MIDSUMMER CELEBRATIONS IN LITHUANIA MINOR: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN TRADITIONS

A number of different Midsummer celebration models can be distinguished in Lithuania Minor: the most archaic (14th to 19th century), 20th century, and the modern St John’s Day celebration models. The most archaic celebrations were rich in vestiges of the Baltic world-view and mythology: nature, fire and water were worshipped, and people cast spells to protect themselves from evil forces and ensure a good harvest and a happy life. The 20th-century ritualistic St John’s Day tradition of Prussian Lithuanians lost its existential importance as rituals became customs with new forms and symbolic meanings. The most important features of the celebration are the burning of witches in St John’s fire, and general merriment for youth. In the modern celebration model, there is an attempt to combine ethnic traditions with the needs of the consumer society. Fireworks replace ritual Midsummer fires, as bonfires lose their mythological significance. Although the institutionally organised Midsummer celebrations follow a more or less Lithuania-wide scenario; the centralised organisation of cultural events may be beneficial in fostering local forms of the Lithuanian celebratory tradition by highlighting typical elements of St John’s Day in the region of Lithuania Minor.

The Instrumental Vernacular

Abstract Written as a response to professor Simon Bronner’s critical analysis of the concept vernacular and its uses, published in the Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics (2022), the article highlights the functionality of the term ‘vernacular’. It has become a folkloristic category, binding conceptual domains such as ‘folk’ and ‘institutional’, ‘folkloric’ and ‘authored’, ‘oral’ and ‘literary’, ‘belief’ and ‘knowledge’, which have often been set apart in former scholarship. The main focus of the article is on vernacular religion as a concept and methodology, introduced by Leonard N. Primiano in the 1990s, which opened up a new perspective in the study of religions. The article considers ‘vernacular’ as a flexible concept, instrumental in developing folkloristics in its trans-disciplinary dialogues. Projected on the history of folk-loristics as a multilingual field of studies with roots in multiple national, regional and ethnic traditions, vernacular as an outlook enables us to think of folklore as a transcultural concept and disconnect it from colonial legacies.

Attractiveness measurement of bai kuyao ethnic tourism attractors from the perspective of tourist perception

Named after the men donning white pants, Bai kuyao, a subgroup of the Yao ethnic community, preserves a substantial portion of its original ethnic heritage. The utilization of these ethnic traditions within the realm of tourism development has emerged as a pivotal concern. This study, initiated from the vantage point of tourists' perceptions, established an evaluative framework for assessing the attractiveness of Bai kuyao ethnic tourism. The framework was constructed through expert interviews and literature analysis. Utilizing the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and IPA analysis techniques, the ethnic tourism appeal of Bai kuyao was quantified. The analysis of data disclosed that Bai kuyao's clothing culture, folk traditions, architectural heritage, and experiential activities hold considerable allure for tourists. However, tourists' overall satisfaction with their tourism experiences remains relatively low. The findings of this research offer valuable insights, serving as recommendations for the development and sustainable progression of tourism initiatives in Bai kuyao.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ КИНЕМАТОГРАФА РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНОВ: КОНСТРУИРОВАНИЕ СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ СМЫСЛОВ

The article analyzes the phenomenon of regional cinema in Russia. It analyzes the main theoretical and methodological approaches in the study of film art, as well as interpretations of the concepts of “images”, “meanings” and “constructs” contained in contemporary regional films. It is noted that the positioning of the region in the sociocultural space is conditioned by the emergence of such a form of representation as cinema. It is shown that regional cinema represents a variety of local value constructs that are capable of self-reflection and active transformation of social reality. Symbolic constructs displayed in films can be perceived as unifying (images of historical events and figures, hard provincial life in the regions) and distinctive (customs, myths, rituals, church). The analysis of film content showed that modern regional cinema combines cultural and ethnic diversity, i.e. preservation of ethnic traditions and customs, Soviet values such as mutual aid and responsibility, and local specifics – the role of family, relationships and love for the small homeland.

The Key Debates of Musical Exoticism and Orientalism in Historical Musicology

Edward W. Said’s book, Orientalism, covers direct and indirect relations between the West and the Orient, the European world and the Asian world, in terms of politics, geography, ethnic traditions, morals, and cultures through past centuries. These vibrant crosscurrents have had a significant influence on the spread of humanism in civilization, and most importantly, have emboldened introspection in almost every academic discipline, encouraging racial equality within the development of modernity. Derived from Said’s theory of Orientalism, this paper reviews the key academic debates of musical exoticism and Orientalism within the last thirty years. Sindhumathi Revuluri’s musical reflection on Orientalism, Ralph P. Locke’s analytical methodology, and a case study of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly by Ping-hui Liao, Dorinne K.Kondo, and Mari Yoshihara from each of their respective and diverse focuses, all extend the theory of Orientalism into the domain of historical musicology.

Professional education of officers: modern trends

Introduction. The professional education of Russian officers has always been of particular importance in ensuring its security and sovereignty. During the periods of the highest military victories and successes, it was based on national ideas and values, folk and military traditions. The beginning of their modern revival in our country provides a unique opportunity for the development of a full-fledged institute of professional education, conducting its activities on a scientific pedagogical basis.Materials and Methods. In the course of this study, the methodological foundations were system, socio-cultural and axiological approaches.The key concepts studied and used in the work are "professional education", its "ideological and value foundations", "modern trends in education", "traditions and innovations in education".Results. Professional education of officers in higher military educational institutions is understood by us as a systematic and planned activity of the state, society, military administration bodies for the training of highly professional military specialists, patriots of the Fatherland, carried out by pedagogical methods and means.Ideology plays a special role in education, which gives students an attractive image of the future, and values, the internalization of which ensures the formation of professionally necessary qualities in cadets and students.As revealed in the course of the study (5 monographs have been prepared on the problem, 4 of which are collective, and 16 articles in the journals of the RSCI and the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation), corporate (officer) traditions play a special role in professional education.The result of the effectiveness of professional education based on the ideas and values of Russian officers in the Novosibirsk VVKU is the readiness of graduates to defend the Fatherland. In the post– Soviet period, thousands of graduates were awarded state awards, 26 of them were awarded the title of "Hero of the Russian Federation", including 7 for participation in a Special military operation.Discussion and Conclusions. The professional education of cadets and students of military universities is successfully carried out on the idea of patriotism and national Russian values, approved by Decree No 809 of 9.11.2022.Its current trends are:– the formation of a nationally-oriented value-ideological basis;– return to the ideas of collective education that meet the ethnic traditions of the peoples of Russia;– balanced use of traditional and innovative forms and methods of education;– pedagogization of modern professional education, rejection of excessive use of manipulative technologies, priority use of persuasion and example methods by teachers.