The religious traditions of the Mari people viewed through the camera lens: Field work conducted by Tiia Peedumäe in the Mari El Republic in 1991–1992
The Estonian National Museum began acquiring photographic materials back in the early 20th century when pioneering Estonian photographer Johannes Pääsuke travelled around Estonia with a homemade camera documenting the way people lived. In the 1960s, ethnographic films became one of the main areas of the museum’s activity and the geography of fieldwork also expanded significantly. Efforts were made to commit to film the traditional culture of Estonians and other Finno-Ugric peoples. In the 1990s, modernity shifted into the focus, supplanting the older and fading culture. Technological advances, and above all the introduction of the video camera significantly changed the methodology used to acquire material. The new cameras were lighter and more mobile, with a larger recording capacity and this allowed much more material to be documented.
The article analyses filming during field work aimed at investigating and documenting religious rituals – in particular, footage produced by Tiia Peedumäe and her collaborator, the camera operator Jaan Treial, in 1991 and 1992. The fieldwork diaries and video footage are used to trace how the researchers adapted to the community they were studying, and looks at the role of intermediaries in this process.
Tiia Peedumäe’s expeditions coincided with a time of great changes in ethnography and ethnology. Peedumäe represents a generation of researchers who learned how to conduct fieldwork in the spirit of Soviet-era ethnography and later expanded their methodology as the research focus changed.
During the autumn 1991 expedition, Peedumäe and Treial recorded the Maris’ first nationwide sacrificial feast in the village of Olori (Paranga Raion). They returned to the same village in June 1992, this time to study the spring sacrificial feast Aga-Pairem and a feast of remembrance of the dead, Semyk.
The improved recording made some aspects easier for ethnologists although the work still required the ability to interact with the community. It is particularly important that there is trust between the people perpetuating a tradition and the cultural researchers. On the first occasion that Peedumäe and her colleagues went to record a worship ceremony with a video camera, they had difficulties getting consent from the villagers. The previous understanding reached with Mari activists living in Yoshkar-Ola – who were prepared to assist in the filming – was seen as inadequate in the sacrificial grove. Everything depended on the village elders who led the prayer service. Thanks to Peedumäe explaining how important scientific study was and the authority of the leaders of the Maris’ religious reawakening movement, ultimately permission was obtained for photographing and filming, although the researchers still were not given access to some phases of the ritual.
A second expedition to the same village allowed the researchers to become more deeply immersed in the local culture. A few locals served as intermediaries between researchers and the community on that occasion. Thanks to the acquaintances already forged, more trust was evinced toward the ethnologists. Observation and recording of the rites of spring went off without a hitch. The ethnologists did not witness the preparation and course of the ritual of remembrance of family ancestors as mere observers – the family involved them in the ritual as if they were distant relatives or house guests.
The video materials recorded on Peedumäe’s expeditions are one of the most complete documents of the revival of Mari religious traditions. Along with the fieldwork diary, they are valuable sources for studying the methodology of fieldwork and in particular, ritual filming practices. When the participant observation method is used, intermediaries between ethnologists and the community play a key role in the process of adaptation to the community being studied. The examples of collection of visual materials examined in the article demonstrate the importance of long-running and repeated fieldwork. Such fieldwork makes it possible to develop more trusting relations with cultural subjects and thereby access more private cultural strata.
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