The recovery of culture. The Polish Tartars’ case.

In this article I will analyse changes which have been taking place in the sphere of the Polish Tartars’ ethnic culture for the last three decades. Nowadays, after the difficult years of communism, when the group was not able to communicate openly its ethnic character, we can consider a rise of interest and activities concerning its cultural resources. Generally speaking, we can witness several processes that relate to this phenomenon. First of all, we can observe the rediscovery of cultural traditions. Secondly, the group members more consciously and in organized way create their identity discourse in the context of the ethnic traditions. Thirdly, the process of creating the places with ethnic mark can be seen. Fourthly, the commercialisation of the heritage becomes visible, as a way of spreading the group’s values, history and traditions. My analyses are based on field research and study of the Internet.
 

In this article I will analyse changes which have been taking place in the sphere of the Polish Tartars’ ethnic culture for the last three decades. Nowadays, after the difficult years of communism, when the group was not able to communicate openly its ethnic character, we can consider a rise of interest and activities concerning its cultural resources. Generally speaking, we can witness several processes that relate to this phenomenon. First of all, we can observe the rediscovery of cultural traditions. Secondly, the group members more consciously and in organized way create their identity discourse in the context of the ethnic traditions. Thirdly, the process of creating the places with ethnic mark can be seen. Fourthly, the commercialisation of the heritage becomes visible, as a way of spreading the group’s values, history and traditions. My analyses are based on field research and study of the Internet.