CREATIVE ETHNICITY: MUSIC AS AN ELEMENT OF ETHNICITY AMONG POLISH TATARS

The aim of this article is to analyse the role of ethnic music in the life of the Tatar minority in Poland as an example of creative ethnicity. On the one hand, modern Tatar musical practices construct an interesting example of “invented tradition” because the studied group does not have “musical memory”, while on the other hand, these activities are aimed at the group’s future. Music can fulfill different social functions. In the case of ethnic groups, three of these functions seem to be particularly relevant: integrational, political (ideological) and identity. Desk research reveals the formal and informal musical practices undertaken by Polish Tatars. The values and musical assets associated with Tatar culture reflect the minority’s identity. The main statement of the article is that music is an important element that contributes to constructing the contemporary group’s identity. Tatar music is becoming an essential element of Tatar culture, enhancing a sense of the group’s distinctiveness. The contemporary Tatar music groups construct a significant Tatar showcase to the audience outside of the Tatar ethnic group, as well as form an important identity element of the Tatar community and a manifestation of creative ethnicity. It is also possible to find correlations between their repertoire and contemporary group transformations, including those related to its identity.

Exploring the Origins of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness

Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) is often dismissed by its critics as being an instrument for policy elites to address ‘national security concerns’ that started to threaten their grasp on the state around the turn of the millennium. This study problematizes this line of criticism that relegates GNH to an ‘invented tradition’ of recent origin. For this purpose, this study draws on Roy Wagner’s notion of ‘invention’ that draws attention to how various sets of meanings are brought together. A historical analysis of the country’s development plans points to several origins of GNH, including ‘Buddhism and Bhutan’s traditional socio-economic system’ and ‘outside concepts’ holding sway in international debates on development. GNH has undergone a long and gradual process of elaboration in view of Buddhist mores and development discourses, while also taking into account national security concerns. This study concludes by warning against the reductionistic stance of GNH critics, in favour of a more balanced perspective that captures the multiplicity of the origins of GNH.

Silesians in the Face of Polish Cultural Dominance

The text attempts to explain Silesian behaviour which results from the cultural dominance of the Polish state. Postcolonial theory facilitates the understanding of Silesian aspirations to emphasise differences from the Polish past and to display the harm they have suffered. The analysis is based on disputable interpretations of events such as the Silesian Uprisings (during 1919–1921) and World War II. The narrative around these differs, an example of invented tradition in both groups: dominant and dominated. Meanwhile, the lack of recognition of the historical and cultural distinctiveness of the region is a source of conflict.

“Invented tradition”: Restoration and Reconstruction Process of Rural Institutions on Lý Sơn Island, Quảng Ngãi Province, Vietnam

This article discusses and analyses the restoration and reorganization of traditional Vietnamese village institutions in Lý Sơn Island, Quảng Ngãi Province since Đổi mới (Reform, 1986). After understanding this topic, we conducted qualitative research on ethnographic field surveys during the intermittent period from March 2008 to August 2019. Our survey results show that the villagers’ self-government organization in Lý Sơn has been cultivated from the beginning of the establishment of the Vietnamese to today, forming a “village – hamlet – neighborhood (sub-hamlet)” hierarchy (làng – thôn – lân). Despite the severe effects of destruction and war, the system is stable and is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining the religious practices of the community. We use Eric Hobsbawm’s concept of “invented tradition” to explain the changes in rural systems, especially the interaction and mediation between tradition preservation and reconstruction to meet the needs of the community and adapt to the specific social environment of each period.

The “Europe – Russia” Dichotomy as an Invented Tradition of Modern Georgian Nationalism

In the article, the author analyzes the transformation of the dichotomy “Europe – Russia” in contemporary Georgian intellectual discourse as well as strategies and forms of positive and negative ideologization of the West and Russia. We state that the hypertrophied role of European and Russian images in the Georgian discourse has resulted from the belief of elites in the collective West as an alternative to Russian infl uence. We analyze the main strategies of forming a positive image of Europe in Georgian intellectual discourse, believing that the development of European motifs and images by several generations of Georgian intellectuals led to the emergence of a unique Georgian Europeanism and the concept of the “Non Typical European” Georgian nation. The development of European images depends on the formation and promotion of the image of Russia as a universal Other. It is assumed that the negative mythologization of Russia resulted from the historical trauma of the loss of statehood, Georgia’s forced history in the Russian Empire and the USSR, as well as the failures in the Russian-Georgian relations in the post-Soviet period. Overall, the author believes that Russian and European narratives have become invented traditions of Georgian identity that infl uence the strategies of elites in Georgian foreign policy.

Ayurvedic Psychiatry and the Moral Physiology of Depression in Kerala

The GMH movement has not considered psychiatric traditions outside mainstream psychiatry. By highlighting the existence and significance of Ayurvedic mental health care, I challenge the notion of a “treatment gap” in India. At the same time, focusing on Ayurvedic psychiatry as an alternative to globalised biomedical psychiatry and highly dynamic field, I go beyond the usual dichotomy of global psychiatry and local traditional healing by showing how a (re)invented tradition assembles local bio-moral embodied minds, classic texts, vernacular practices, and globalised psychiatric and psychological knowledge to recognise and treat distressed, embodied minds. Against the narrative of traditional medicine as the epistemic “other” to Western psychiatry, I will describe how Ayurvedic psychiatrists engage elements of globalised psychiatry and psychology while stressing Ayurveda’s epistemic difference and embodied alterities.

Transculturality through Industrial Space: Cembengan at the Colomadu Sugar Factory

The research aimed to explain Cembengan celebrations held at the Colomadu sugar factory, Karanganyar which was built in 1861. This celebration was held every time the factory would start milled processing sugar cane into sugar. The word “cembeng” itself came from the Chinese word “Cengbeng”, which was a ritual to commemorate deceased ancestors. Cengbeng was held every April 5th by cleaning graves and placing food and prayer tools such as incense and candles. Meanwhile, the Cembengan tradition itself as a ritual also commemorated the ancestors, but its function had turned into a ritual to start the production process at a sugar factory. This ritual was considered important so that it was carried out continuously for hundreds of years in a Javanese industrial space. This ritual was also attended by Dutch officials when it was still under the control of the Dutch East Indies. The research investigated the intersection between space, capital, and culture, which formed an ‘invented tradition’. The method used was through historicity approach and analyzed the relationship between space and the formation of Cembengan tradition in the Colomadu sugar factory. The results show that the transcultural aspect no longer consults the origin but rather cultural practices that merge cultural boundaries.