• Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage
• Publicationsclose
• 2013-2022close
• Article close
• Estonian close
• Mäetagused close
• Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage close

The aim of the paper is to analyse the collective expression of attitudes elicited by the doping scandal that concerned the esteemed Estonian cross-country skier and Olympic gold medal winner, Andrus Veer­palu. The paper provides an insight into the evolution of an athlete into a national hero on the Internet. The analysis is based on the material col­lected from Estonian online media during two years (from April 2011 to March 2013), when Andrus Veerpalu’s court case was actively followed by the Estonian sports circles and laymen alike. The data corpus includes the most relevant news texts published in the online news portal Delfi (www.delfi.ee), comments from the same online environment, posts from the Facebook fan sites, e.g., “We believe in Andrus Veerpalu”, etc. The doping accusation called forth a quasi-religious movement, which was built around the belief that the athlete was sacred and it was not allowed to attack or accuse him in any way. The main threads in the comments analysed within this study could be divided into two opposing, although intertwining categories: the serious and the ironic. Both categories included people who believed in Veerpalu’s innocence, and those who did not; in addition, there were those who displayed their superiority towards the entire discussion. The analysis addresses the transformation of an Olympic hero into a national hero, and points out narratives that treat the scandal within the present-day genres of urban legends, conspiracy theories, and Internet humour. The more or less genuine belief of people was reflected in sought-out explanations for the doping test result and counter-arguments (above all, via conspiracy stories, but also through social mobilisation in support of Veerpalu). In the post factum comments, the ma­jority expressed the feeling that their trust had been justified; they renewed their unremitting belief in the acquitted hero. But the rather complicated end to the long case was also a confusing one, and this allowed the ironic discourse to produce parodies, jokes and other critical comments. The questions central to the analysis are the following: (1) How does the audience interpret information provided by the media and which topics do the interpretations initiate in turn? (2) How does the notion of belief emerge in the discussion, which narratives and stereotypes are believed in, and how is the belief rationalised? (3) Which folkloric and other cultural (transmedial) texts have taken inspiration from this doping scandal?

The broader source material for this article is the Soviet-era correspondence of the Folklore Department (FD) of the Fr. R. Kreutzwald State Literary Museum, today the Estonian Folklore Archive of the Estonian Literary Museum. This collection consists of letters and postcards of nearly 400 people, as well as transcripts of the FD staff letters to their contributors. The total volume amounts to roughly 4,000 pages and mainly covers the period from the 1950s to the first half of the 1990s. The article also discusses the contributions of Virumaa correspondents Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto to the department, more specifically the folk medicine material collected by them, and focuses on Kaasik and Kallasto’s correspondence with the department, with the main emphasis on the personal health issues in their letters. Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto were among those who collected folk medicine material according to the 1959 survey plan, assembled in co-operation with the folklorists and medical doctors. Assessing the total amount of material collected by Kaasik and Kallasto (over 3300 pages), the folk medicine material is not very large (over 200 pages), but it is one of the topics in which Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto wrote down personal knowledge or experiences. The correspondence shows that their health problems were constantly reflected both in their letters and as short comments among traditional folk medicine material. Mary Kaasik was more inclined towards sharing her problems and personal knowledge and was the one who wrote to the department on behalf of both collectors. In general, it is concluded that personal health has been an important topic in the letters of the contributors to the folklore department. Health problems were a major obstacle to commuting and attending seminars; so messages about the health of oneself, one’s relatives or other collectors or informants are part of the content of the letters. On the other hand, health also comes to the fore in the letters of folklorists, who in turn informed their contributors about their own or their colleagues’ health, if deemed necessary. At the same time, writing about health issues creates an interesting dialogue thread between the correspondents and the folklorists, with mutual encouragement and pleas to take care of one’s health. Thus, a rather personal life goes hand in hand with the practical requirements stated in letters on collecting and archiving. Thus, much data on health can be found in the department’s correspondence. Health-related messages are personal and trusting, the majority of correspondents did not have internal obstacles to share their health worries and to enquire for folklorists’ health. It meant sharing problems and probably provided some well-deserved mental relief. On the other hand, these kinds of letters also show the correspondents’ sense of mission – even when they were off sick, they were eager to get back to the field again.

This paper provides an overview of the first detailed case study of a Buddhist congregation in Estonia. The object of this study is Triratna Buddhist Community in Estonia, which was established here in 1989 and is part of international Triratna Buddhist Community (formerly known as Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) created in the United Kingdom in 1967. Mainly through oral history and participant observation methods as well as analysis of data presented by different written and oral sources the researcher strives to give an overview of various aspects of activity connected with one particular Buddhist group in Estonia, including its practice, ordination rituals, beliefs and membership characteristics. It also includes a detailed overview of the congregation’s history and its relationship with members of Triratna congregations in Finland and the UK. It presents Buddhism as an emerging new religion in Estonia through a case study of a Western Buddhist ecumenical congregation.

One of the characteristics of the 15th–16th-century pre-Reformation sacral art in southern central Europe, as well as in the Netherlands and Italy, is the multitude of natural plant depictions. Depending on the artists and subjects of paintings, plant depictions could, similarly to animal depictions, fulfil the roles of attributes, allegorical and metaphorical devices and/or to represent various landscapes. The appearance and properties of plants, their habitats and usage are the fundamental features of plant symbolism. Plant names in late medieval and early modern period herbals is another important clue for understanding the meaning of vegetation shown in the context of landscapes. Natural plants in pre-Reformation art, as interpreted here, represent the syncretism of Christian and folk belief in mundane and spiritual life. The richness of popular elements in Christian art and their interpretation, however, was a reason for the discontinuation of the same pictorial tradition and its replacement by another, suppressed into institutional frames and more controlled by the authorities.

In most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, oral history was initiated in the circles of dissidents in the 1980s. Memories of the politically marginalised or persecuted citizens were the source of insights into uncensored versions of recent past. Therefore the term “a witness to history” is central to the “civic historiography”, which has been developed in Poland. After the fall of communism, the civic participation in the archiving, educating and researching has been institutionalised and identifies itself as oral history. The article presents epistemological and ethical paradoxes of the concept of “a witness to history” in the light of social and linguistic practice, as well as its historiographical and political usage. Examples of major oral history projects actively present in the public space and state and public institutions, influencing oral history practice in Poland, are presented. In the analysis of such institutions as the Warsaw Uprising Museum or the Institute of National Memory, the author focuses on their definition of “a witness to history” and places their practices in the context of the politics of memory implemented in Poland since 2005. Apart from the abovementioned powerful social players in the serious game of memory, knowledge and imagination, there are, however, other social actors contributing to the notion of oral history and creating an alternative vision of its tasks. The author sketches two modes of the development of oral history in Poland – academic and public oral history – pointing at the concepts of ‘narrator’ and ‘a witness to history’, and briefly summarises the main problems of contemporary dominant practice. Artiklis tutvustatakse Poola suulise ajaloo põhilisi kujunemissuundi 1980. aastatest alates kuni tänapäevani. Käsitletakse suulise ajaloo ilmnemise institutsionaalseid, poliitilisi ja sotsiaalseid kontekste olukorras, kus suulise ajaloo projektide keskseks kontseptsiooniks on olnud ajaloo tunnistaja. Artiklis tõstatatakse küsimus selle kontseptsiooni epistemoloogilistest ja eetilistest probleemidest, mis pärinevad ajajärgust, mil suuline ajalugu hakkas Poolas kodanikuõpetuse historiograafia (avaliku ajaloo) raames välja kujunema.

The current short but very important Sumerian literary text, which was written in the Sumerian language at the end of the reign of Ur III (2112–2004 BCE) or at the beginning of the Isin-Larsa epoch (ca 21st or 20th century BCE), consists of only 33 lines.The temple of Tummal is dedicated to the goddess Ninlil, spouse of the god Enlil, who was the main god of Mesopotamia, the protector of kingship, and the king of all deities. Tummal was a very significant sanctuary for Sumerians and played an important role not only in religion, but also in royal ideology. The texts of Tummal Inscription known as “The History of Tummal” mention the rulers of Sumer, who had done building and renovating works in this temple complex.Yet, the kings-builders are not listed chronologically and these texts are quite tendentious and propagandistic, as some important kings are not even mentioned because of ideological reasons; for example, Akkadian kings (2334–2154 BCE) or rulers of Lagash.The reason why Akkadian kings were not mentioned as builders in Tummal, might probably be that some Akkadian kings like Naram-Su´en became prototypes of evil and cursed kings. They were believed to rebel against divine norms and rules and were later cursed and punished by all the great gods of Sumer and Akkad. The kings of Lagash were not mentioned for a different reason: Gudea, who belonged to the 2nd dynasty of Lagash, had probably very good relations with Gutian tribes, who destroyed the Akkadian Empire in ca 2200–2154 BCE, conquered Akkad and Sumer and controlled these territories for 60–70 years. Sumerians and Akkadians hated Gutians and after Sumer and Akkad became free from the Gutian invaders, kings of the 3rd dynasty of Ur decided that for political and ideological reasons the kings of Lagash would not be mentioned at all.

The article gives an insight into the hagiology (Old Russian житие) of Alexander Nevsky (ca. 1220–1263), Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir. It was probably put down in the 1280s, at the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir, where his body was initially buried and where, in the late 14th century, he was canonised. The hagiology was written by an unknown author. About twenty versions of the hagiology, dating back to the 14th–19th centuries, have been preserved, and all in all, about 500 manuscript texts. The unknown author did not describe Alexander Nevsky’s entire life but focused on certain details essential for the hagiology, such as the Battle of the Neva, driving out the German invaders from Pskov, the Battle on the Ice, a campaign in the Lithuanian territories, and diplomatic relations with the Golden Horde and Vatican. The ruler is depicted as an ideal hero – a brave commander, a wise politician, and a skilful diplomat. The author has not attempted to show Nevsky as a real person but has rather constructed him as a good Christian, a saint, and a pious man, who believes in Christ and therefore defeats all the enemies of Russia. The hagiology of Alexander Nevsky is a pathetic work written in the superlative, which, based on the then canons, glorifies the hero, yet includes many inconsistencies and exaggerations. It is especially important to emphasise that the story strongly overestimates the Battle of the Neva (1240) and the Battle on the Ice (1242), which were actually of local importance only. In the description of the Battle of the Neva an interesting detail is an Izhorian called Pelkoinen (in the hagiology Пелгусий) or Pelkoi (Пелгуй). These names are the first recordings of words in Izhorian. It can be concluded that Alexander Nevsky’s hagiology was a significant religious work in Russian political and church history, which aimed, through overestimating the hero’s deeds, to create and canonise the figure of an ideal ruler, which in turn helped to strengthen Russian statehood and Russians’ national identity.

The aim of the paper is to show the Polish story of the COVID-19 pandemic as seen through a humorous looking glass. Different stages of coronavirus presence in the media and social discourse have been accompanied by the appearance and development of jokes and memes, which illustrate the rapidly changing pandemic situation. The database consists of over three hundred memes, movies, and comments collected between February and May 2020, during the pandemic humour peak, and come mainly from private WhatsApp and Facebook accounts of the researchers. The humorous material is related to introduced restrictions, changing laws, parliamentary elections, news from other affected countries as well as seasons and festive times - especially Easter - occurring in the same period of time. The universal themes present in the humorous material travelling around the world are complemented by the strictly culturally immersed topics, reflecting the specific social and political situation in Poland. The analysis undertaken in the article focuses on various kinds of mechanisms which involve intertextuality (allusions) as well as complexity of references that function as sources of humour, with special attention being paid to cultural references, for example, films, paintings, references to political life, including those of the life under socialism as well as universal themes, such as animal memes. © 2021 Eesti Keele InstituutAƒÂ‚A‚Â. All rights reserved.

The article gives an overview of the folk culture mechanisms that helped to cope with the pandemic situation in Belorussia during the first wave of COVID-19 (until midsummer 2020). The article is based on the qualitative analysis of interview texts related to the pandemic as well as the content of internet users' visual reactions (memes, poems, proverbs). In folk culture the mechanisms helping to overcome the crisis situation often have a ritual-magical nature. When describing the influence of the pandemic on some practices, the authors conclude that their performing in the crisis situation was especially important for the community. One of the ancient rituals activated for preventing the epidemic was the creation of a magic circle around the village by conducting a procession around the village with a ritual towel ('rushnik-abydzionnik'), which had to be made within one day. On March 28, this one-day-ritual was performed in Minsk with the greatest possible adherence to tradition. The initiators and participants of the practice were mainly representatives of the Students Ethnographic Society. Not all women present knew how to spin or weave, but some of the simplest operations were mastered. The towel was carried around Minsk and brought to a stone on the site of a pagan temple in the centre of Minsk at the sunset. The towel was tied around the stone, and the latter was also covered with threads spun on the same day. The ritual relieved the tension of the participants and fostered awareness of their solidarity, strengthening collective networks, and the feeling of empathy and unity. COVID-19 also affected the living traditions in Belarus. Some traditional practices were cancelled or postponed. The spread of the pandemic created a negative backdrop for living traditions. However, a number of rites and ceremonies were carried out despite the pandemic in accordance with their spatial and temporal reference. Due to the difficult epidemiological situation, the usual order of ceremonies was changed - their duration was reduced without changing the traditional rite structure. Only local residents participated in the rituals;although, formerly, many journalists and tourists had come to the villages from different parts of the country on the days of the ceremonies. For tradition bearers, such practices during a pandemic are a way to relieve stress and to share problems with people with similar interests. Traditions are one of the constants of their life;maintaining them in times of crises stabilizes the community. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a powerful explosion of folk art. The texts of various genres, both oral and written (graphic), are rapidly spreading on the Internet. A large number of them are based on the traditional worldview of Belarusians and are expressed in traditional forms (alterations, ditties, anecdotes, anti-sayings, paroemias, etc.). The role of humour has grown tremendously. Jokes and laughter in the face of an external threat are a compensatory mechanism that helps to overcome fear and uncertainty, and common laughter unites and helps to learn new rules of behaviour. Humour is not concerned with the threat of getting ill, but rather individual hygiene practices, the situation of quarantine, and circumstances of the new reality. Thus, humorous folklore becomes a way to adapt to new norms and to overcome fear and instability. © 2021 Eesti Keele InstituutAƒÂ‚A‚Â. All rights reserved.

Since the 1990s there has been a notable increase in family history research and genealogy in many countries. The development and popularity of information and social networking technology has substantially contributed to this boom in family history. Numerous associations, museums, archives, memorials, the media and online projects are actively participating in the collection of family history and migrant memories, to preserve this increasingly transnational heritage for future generations. It has also resulted in a growing interest to search one’s ancestral roots in “the old home country”, to search for family members who have migrated to other parts of the world, or to share one’s own memories of migration with others. In this article the author focuses on Finnish migrants in Australia and their family history activities. Australia as “a nation of migrants“ actively supports its people to engage in family history research and publicly share their experiences of migration with others in many ways as part of its multicultural policy.