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The asymmetrical aksak rhythm represents one of the distinctive and most vital features of the musical traditions on the Balkans. In spite of that, this rhythm system - discovered only at the beginning of the 20th century in Bulgaria - has almost been unknown, both to the musicological/ ethnomusicological sciences, and to the world of serious music. Owing to inadequate transcriptions of most of the musical notations of the vocal and instrumental music from the beginning of the 20th century, it was hardly possible to perceive the presence of this asymmetric rhythm in the Balkan area. Because of that the ethnomusicological results of this paper are based primarily on the transcribed musical-folkloristic material dating from the second half of the 20th century. But, regardless of that or other difficulties, the musical material available enabled me to establish the presence and the different forms of the aksak rhythm in the Balkan region. Along this guideline, my intention is, on the basis of the available literatures and musical notations, to point out the most frequent forms and the distribution of the aksak rhythm, its earliest appearances in the works of composed music, as well as the continuity and changes of this rhythm in the vocal and instrumental tradition of the Balkan peoples.
The study of folk traditions may serve the development of ethnic and national identity. The history of such researches among the Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia proves that statement. The paper portrays the Finnish, Hungarian and Russian research history from the 18th century until today. The language, folklore and ethnography of Finno-Ugric peoples contributed much to the national identity of those peoples. Institutions in Finland, Hungary and Estonia served the same purpose. The attitude of the Russian state was impressive and it has changed several times. The role of the Pravoslav Church and its Kazan Priest’ Seminary deserves special attention. The paper is of summarizing character and in the bibliography only the most important publications are listed.
“All that an old song tells, really happened.” One of the traditional functions of performing epic songs is that of evoking the past. The act of performing is invested with the value of empathic communication with “old times” and with the ancestors. The agent who mediates between the audience and those who are evoked is the fiddler. These facts may place the performance in a context with a sacred dimension and funeral meanings. Being involved in this specific act of communication, the audience has to play an active role. It has to be trained in “listening”. The traditional coordinates of performing epic songs have changed. The category of epic song entered the passive repertoire of folklore. Using a questionnaire and interviews the author, together with a group of students, tried to draw the status of performing epic songs in Romanian contemporary society.
Zoltán Kodály became seriously interested in Transylvanian folk music when he had learnt about the results of Béla Bartók's collecting fieldworks in Székelyföld. The wealth of old-style tunes and classical ballads, and – above all – the recognition of the importance of pentatony inspired Kodály to take part personally in the exploration of Székely folk music. Székely musical folklore obviously intrigued him both as an ethnographer and as a composer. He collected nearly 600 tunes in 15 Székely localities in the Gyergyó Basin, the valley of the Kászon stream, and Bukovina. He arranged 66 of these melodies within such compositions as e.g. the Dances of Marosszék, the musical play The Spinning Room, Hungarian Folk Music (57 ballads and folk songs for voice and piano), Székely Lament for mixed voices, Bicinia Hungarica, Kádár Kata and Molnár Anna (both with chamber orchestra accompaniment), and Pentatonic Music. Apart from his own collection, he also used those of some of his contemporaries. The paper discusses the specificities of Kodály's techniques of arrangement. His inspiring advice for younger folklorists had an essential role in triggering the in-depth investigation of Central Transylvanian folk music.
metal buckles [pafti], men's belts, leather bags and other accessories ‒ key chains, bracelets and necklaces decorated with folklore ornaments are also produced under the brand ( Fig. 8 ). Fig. 8. Adriana Robert shop in Kapana, 2018. (Photo by Zlatina
-Question Marks, Challenges and Perspectives . In Hoppál , Mihály (ed.) Sustainable Heritage , 125 –129. Budapest: European Folklore Institute. Balogh , Balázs – Fülemile , Ágnes 2008 . Cultural Alternatives, Youth and Grassroots Resistance in
This paper examines the language modal ways of working on surrounding reality on material of Russian peoples spell. From the conducted analysis, it appears that strategies, that is the choice of language resources leading to achieve the intended aim, can be various. The spoken content of a spell can ask, demand, state a wish, advice, and even threaten. Sometimes it tries to influence the reality by informing about required activity or state. As a device that reinforces the power of words, it uses numerous repetitions, enumerations or precisely explains the goal of what it is asking about, wishes or demands. To be sure, it quotes the design of a way of implementation of the action mentioned.
Investigating oral history
Interview with Professor Jan Vansina
This interview with Professor Jan Vansina, conducted in the mid-1980s by Szilárd Biernaczky, is the result of extensive correspondence between the two. After a brief introduction to the achievements of the distinguished and pioneering scholar of African history, the interview addresses the following issues: 1. the current status of oral history research; 2. new theories in the field of oral history research; 3. ethno-history versus oral history; 4. ethnography, ethnology, European peasantry, and oral history; 5. the mythical dimension of the “beginning” and its inherent historical models (“outbound” segments, migration, new conquest, first ancestors, etc.); 6. oral history as a source of nationalist movements in Africa; 7. the appreciation of oral history (and its research) and African cultural movements.
The Slovene ballad Animals Bury the Hunter is an animal narrative song of jocular character. It tells of the burial of a hunter and of a funeral procession not composed of humans but wild animals (a bear, foxes, hares, a wolf, cranes and partridges, song birds, etc.) who seem to derive great joy from the event. The analysis of the song's 31 variants reveals the changes made to the song over the course of time, as it survived through different historical periods and spread throughout Slovenia. I attempt to show that the ballad was used as a model for painted beehive panels featuring the same motif. In addition to the analysis, I am concerned with the sociological and ethical elements of the ballad. The paper proposes at least three possible theses: 1. The song is part of the conception of a topsy-turvy world, where the roles and mutual relationships of people and animals are reversed in an ironic sociological view of the world. 2. The song is a critique of one class by another: peasants mocking hunters who belong to a different social stratum. 3. The song is a representation of “pre-Cartesian” times, when animals were not “mere machines” without feelings, to be treated by man as objects with no ethical significance. It points to the ethical aspects of the human treatment of animals.
