The lost neighborhood: the image of the Jewish shtetl in the memories of non-Jews

The paper presents some results of the study of the image of the Jewish town (shtetl), as it appears in the oral tales of the non-Jewish locals. The presentation is based on the folklore and ethnographic data collected in 2012 during the field research in Western Belarus and in Bessarabia. The oral stories of local old residents from the settlement Zheludok (Grodno region, Belarus) and the village Vertiujeni (Floreshti district, Republic of Moldova) will be analyzed to show the mechanism
of “Jewish history” reconstruction of former Jewish settlements where the Jewish population is now missing. The only evidence of Jewish heritage are the monuments of material culture (houses, synagogue, Jewish cemetery), and the only source of information – the memories of local residents about their neighbors – the Jews. As the collected material shows, the text about the “Jewish past” broadcasting by and among the non-Jews, combines ethnographic details and myth-making, and largely reflects the ethno-cultural stereotype of the Jew, characteristic to the folk tradition.
 

Artifacts of the Past as Traces of Memory. The Aromanian (Vlachs) Cultural Heritage in the Balkans

The purpose of this article is to answer several questions: (1) What traces of the Aromanian (Vlach) tangible cultural heritage can be found in present-day Albania, Greece, and the Republic of Ma­cedonia?; (2) What do such traces tell us about the local community and its history and significance in European culture?; (3) Is there today any Aromanian collective memory of the places where the traces of this heritage have been found? The article describes the regions which used to be inhabited by Aromanians, presents the initial criteria for the division of their cultural heritage into groups by attributing selected examples of historical monuments to this ethnos, and also indicates the selected meanings related to Aromanian culture which we discover when treating these monuments as the text of culture.
I used qualitative field research methods, including photographic documentation, interviews, and participant observations linked with the traces of this heritage in selected villages of Greece, Albania, and Republic of Macedonia. The research also focused on the secondary (historic and ethnographic) sources as well as on resources available on the Internet – I analyzed the narratives about the relevant monuments in ethnographic sources (past and contemporary memories of Aromanians) published in the new media, including on blogs and websites. The analysis is based on the comparative historical paradigm and on the interpretative paradigm, which made it possible to study the hidden cultural meanings and codes related to the Aromanian heritage.
The study showed that the Balkans is home to numerous Aromanian cultural heritage artifacts with which this ethnicity researchers associates different meanings (e.g. space organization, real and symbolic places, multiculturalism and conflict).

 

Around the Issue of Brain Death in Medical Anthropology

The issue of defining the exact moment designating the end of human life has always raised controversies. Thus, the phenomenon of brain death can hardly be considered an exception. Although the concept belongs to the field of biomedicine, its acceptance is determined by a broader sociocultural context. I will strive to illustrate this by referring to examples taken from literature and the media, while focusing especially on Poland.
Medical anthropology looks at particular biomedical phenomena and strives to understand them by exploring the society and culture they are embedded in. By approaching brain death in such a manner, we receive an interesting outlook on values, beliefs and relationships intertwined within the social nexus and concerning the meaning of life and death, personhood, relationship between biomedicine and society, as well as the status of biotechnology in the modern-day world.

The Road to the D’rung Valley. Study of Chinese “Internal Colonialism”

The paper is an attempt at presenting some problems concerning current situation of the D’rung ethnic minority in the area of Dulongjiang in north-west Yunnan province, China. The primary objective of the research was documentation of the current situation of D’rungs people. The results of the fieldwork became the pretext for the discussion of Chinese “internal colonialism”. D’rungs were recognized by the Chinese authorities as “primitive communist” which, with the help of Communist government should make smooth transition to the next stage, which was a “modern” Chinese communism. Unfortunately in the process, they fell into dependence on the Chinese government. The main markers of their identity: the practice of tattooing, language and beliefs are gradually disappearing. Noticeable is the lack of continuity in the transmission of knowledge and traditions. The progressive decrease in the number of D’rung people raises serious questions about their future.
 

Using of the Vilém Flusser “Apparatus” and “Functionary” Concept in the Analysis of Ethnographic Questionnaires

Author analyzes ethnographic questionnaires, which are important research tools because their use affects type of collected data as well as way of constructing anthropological knowledge. Author shows epistemological base of anthropological methodology of fieldwork. Using for this media studies perspective. Author makes most of Vilém Flusser media theory, mainly using the terms “apparatus” and “functionary”. Author applies this terms to the questionnaire, and the researcher. This allows to reveal hidden methodological assumptions and deconstruction of ideology affecting the organization and understanding of fieldwork by anthropologists. This perspective also allows to see elements of this discourse, that is: (1) the process of improvement of research tools, as a kind of moral obligation; (2) shifting the focus from the content of data collected on the fact of collecting them; (3) transparency of anthropological practices binding with partial researchers non-reflexivity; (4) the need to exercise control over researchers and train them in self-control.
 

Between Cosmopolitism and Localness: Selected Issues Concerning Dress Culture of Stary Sącz and Surrounding in 1860–1918. Some Exercises of Reconstruction

Reconstruction practices are one of the most popular legitimacy strategies, used in process of making cultural heritage. Customers treat them with a great esteem, and they are expected to bring to reconstructed elements desired importance of authenticity. A contemporary ethnographer/anthropologist is usually diffident when facing such practices, and he focuses on critical description and deconstruction of the practices. But what can he do when local activists ask him to actively participate in the experiment as a so-called expert, whose task is e.g. to reconstruct local folk dress? Of course, his or her decision will depend primarily on research interests and chosen specialization, but the most important issue will be his or her understanding of the ethnographer/anthropologist profession. Thus, some researchers would be sceptic and refuse any assistance, and thereby avoid criticism of their own professional environment, accusing them of mythologization, reification, being peasantry-lover etc. Others will take on the role of full-time experts, who would join different types of bodies and committees, and decide what is and what is not proper in the spectacle they would observe, thus becoming the guardians of the regime of truth folklore. The third strategy, which in my opinion can help to break the deadlock described above, is the participation in the project considered as an open dialogue. Thereby we can try to avoid being an authoritarian arbiter and we can become a real consultant, a person who – according to the Latin root consultare – discusses with partners (creators of a project) the results of the reconstruction as deeply as possible. When working on the reconstruction of dresses, ethnographer/anthropologist can show their complexity, place them in a local context as well as in wider social, cultural and historical context, and avoid narrow and problematic definitions of folk costume. The decision concerning the final form of representation – an album, a staging or a dance etc. – however, should be made by our partners, equipped with not only a solid dose of knowledge, but also with important sensitivity to various epistemological issues behind the process of reconstruction.
 

Chiririnka – Blue Omen of Andean Death

This essay is a monographic draft attempt concerning one of the most widely known omens of disease and death throughout the native Andean cultures. Among many signs, interpreted as approaching death, the figure of bluebottle fly called in Quechan chiririnka has a key position, which extends from pre-Colombian times, and its popularity exceeds other similar signs of similar meaning. Up to this date it retains its significance in funerary beliefs and functions in various forms of folklore, especially in songs. At the same time it is also commonly thought to be an incarnation of human soul, what finds resemblance in folk beliefs and tales of mythic characteristics, including tropes found in indigenous eschatology. This essay relies on ethnographic sources, and very important contributions to this topic which can be found in books and essays of José Maria Arguedas.
 

Memory and residues of the North Korean Orphans on Polish Territory in the 50’ of XX Century – on the Basis Płakowice and Otwock

One of the results of the Korean War in 1951–1953 was orphaned many children, which later reached the Polish to education. The two largest centers in which they were housed North Korean orphans were Płakowice and Otwock. During their stay children were under the care of Polish and Korean educators. Being orphans affected the many problems and cultural differences between caregivers and charges. Children are not accustomed to the domestic conditions of life, trying to live like they have learned during the war in Korea. North Korean orphans before departure left a different material traces, mostly preserved to this day. The composition of these material can include the most popular memorial. In Otwock area children set up two monuments in the obelisk forms. One of them survived intact, second one was destroyed and only a part is preserved.