Journal of Ethnography 2/2001

The Journal of Ethnography 2/2001 is devoted to folk dance and dance culture. In her study, Daniela Stavělová outlines the perspectives of the contemporary dance research, considering both the existing Czech research, and new trends in foreign ethnochoreology (Folk Dance: A Social, Cultural, or Historical Phenomenon?) Martina Pavlicová deals with links of folkloristic and ethnologic dance studies with other possibilities (Folkloristics and Ethnology: A Dual Picture of a Folk Dance?). Stanislav Dúžek gives an outline of the contemporary ethnochoreologic research in Slovakia (Ethnochoreologie Research in Slovakia and its Current Issues). Jitka Matuszková based her article on her long-term field research of the south Moravian region called Podluží (Some Thoughts on the Contemporary Dance Research in its Environment in the Folklore Surviving Areas). Dorota Gremlicová deals with dance as a symbol of a national value, especially in the 19^th century (Dance and Czech National Programme). Kateřina Réblová explores the same period (Reflections of Folk Dance Culture in the Work of the 19^th Century Men of Letters). In his analytical article, Zdeněk Vejvoda deals with a dance called do kolečka/in circles (The Song and Dance do kolec-ka in the Czech Lands). Tomáš Spurný offers an ethnomusicologist's view on written records of dance instrumental folk music in western Bohemia (Some Initiatives from the Study of the Oldest Records of Folk Instrumental Music in Chebsko).

The Transformation Tradition column brings a specific declaration of a verbuňk dancer, focused on this male leaping dance. The Looking Back column is devoted to the western Bohemian Bible reader Václav Jan Mašek (1795-1847). The Social Chronicle notes the anniversaries of ethnographer Jaroslav Štika (*1931), folk singer, musician and narrator František Okénka (*1921), ethnologist Richard Jeřábek (*1931), and film director Rudolf Adler (*1941).

The journal brings conference, exhibition and performance news as well, together with book reviews. The issue is completed with a selected bibliography in ethnography.

The Journal of Ethnography 1/2001 is focused on folk clothing. In her article, Alena Křížová deals with a broader relationship of folk and historical garb (Folk clothing and historical costumes. Notes on Terminology, Form and Functions of Costumes). Olga Danglová shows esthetic attitudes of inhabitants of the village of Lab in western Slovakia to their costumes. (Lab. Costume and the spectrum of esthetic attitudes. Based on ethnographic notes of an area in Záhoří, Slovakia).The topic of Lenka Nováková's study is the underwear (The dress which is hidden under). Alena Jeřábková refers to a specific part of female costume in the Highland region of southeastern Moravia (Notes on the typology of highland jackets). Josef Jančář depicts new forms of manufacturing folk costumes in Bohemia and Moravia after WWII (Modern production of folk costumes).

In the photo supplement, Richard Jeřábek offers a selection of period clothing in pictures from his family archive in Valachia region in eastern Moravia.

Transforming Tradition column brings notes on the way of folk musicians performances in the town of Domažlice and its surroundings in 1850-1950. Turning Back column sums up the activity of the past ten years of the Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice.

Social Chronicle column commemorates the birth anniversaries of the Slovak folklorist Antonín Satke (1920), the dance folklorist Hannah Laudová (1921), and the ethnographer Karel Pavlištík (1931). There are obituaries of the folk song collector Václav Stuchlý (1914-2000), the cymbalom player and a long-standing editor of the Folk Instrument Radio Orchestra in Brno Jaroslav Jakubíček (1929-2000), and the violin player Bohdan Warchal (1930-2000).

The rest of the journal deals with conference news and reports, exhibition and book reviews.

The current issue of the Journal of Ethnography deals with two topics: the environmental urban research, and the birth of three ethnographic regions of Moravia.

Alexandra Bitušíková offers in her study a comprehensive view on the questions of the urban anthropology (The Urban Anthropology: yes or no? Theoretical questions concerning the development of the urban anthropology). Zdeněk Uherek presents specific studies of the urban history using an example of a newly built Postdam Square in Berlin (The Symbolic Meanings in an Urban Environment: Berlin). Karel Altman deals with interhuman and intergroup relations within a big city (Exploring How the Brno Inhabitants Gather). Pavla Stöhrová is interested in the urban environment as well (The Seven Roaches House: A Preliminary Report on the Research of Urban Housing). Peter Michalovič focuses on folk music traditions in a small town (The Town Environment: the Place of the Decline and/or Revitalization of Folk Music).

Richard Jeřábek presents in his study an outline of the historical formation of three ethnographic regions of Moravia (Zálesí - Kopanice - Horňácko of the 18^th and 19^th Centuries; Focusing on Terminology). Dagmar Pintířová focuses in her specific ethnographic study on folk magic (The Godesses of Žitková).

The photo supplement brings the work of a Brno photographer Jan Beran (born 1913). The Tradition Transformation column deals with a rediscovery of a traditional hand technique: tinkerware. The next entry is a contribution on the cultural and historical activities of the contemporary village. The Social Chronicle remembers the birthdays of the Slovak folklorist Marta Šrámková (b. 1935), the dance folklorist Barbora Čumpelíková (b. 1930), the ethnographer Zdeněk Mišurec (b. 1925), the folk singer Luboš Holý (b. 1930), and the ethnomusicologist Olga Hrabalová (b. 1930). Other regular columns deal with conference and exhibition news, festivals, concerts, and CD and book reviews.

The double issue of Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnography) 1-2/ 2000 deals with folk spiritual culture and the questions of methodology used in ethnological research. The first topic is introduced by a theoretical paper by Richard Jeřábek (The Material, Spiritual and Social Culture - an antiquated trichotomy) which explains the contents of individual issues and sets the position of oral culture in the ethnographic terminology of various European countries. The next study in interpretation is by the Slovak religionist Milan Kováč. It deals with the evaluation of folk beliefs in the area of the White Carpathians. In her article, Alexandra Navrátilová explains, using Czech material, the ritual meaning of attending a burial ceremony. A study by the Polish ethnologist Piotr Kowalski is called Polish Yeoman Literature as a Source of Learning 17^th Century Folk Culture. It brings a wide picture of the thinking and mentality of the period. The next two articles deal with questions of methodology. Jana Nosková analyses narrative methods in contemporary ethnology, and Jiří Pátek approaches the method of the e-mail interview, using as an example his research on Czech migration to the USA.

The Tradition Transformation column deals with contemporary pilgrimage tradition in the little town of Doubravník in western Moravia. The Looking Back column recalls the outstanding Moravian cymbalom player Antoš Frolka. The Social Chronicle column includes the obituary of Vladimír Pokora (1928-1999), an important organizer of the folkloric movement in Moravia. It also deals with the anniversaries of the birth of Jozef Melicher (1929), a representative of Slovak literary folklorism, and Kliment Ondrejka (1929), an ethnographer and foremost Slovak ethnochoreologist (included is a selective bibliography), Zdenka Jelínková (1920), a founder of modern Moravian ethnochoreology, and Jan Čumpelík (1925), a dance pedagogue and folk dance choreographer. Regular columns follow, bringing information about folklore festivals and concerts, ethnographic conferences, exhibitions and publishing efforts. The irregular column Lost and Found features an article by Richard Jeřábek. The author points out the manipulation of photo documents which occurred in the body of work of ethnographer Antonín Václavík. The final pages of the journal bring a list of books and magazines which the library of the Institute of Folk Culture in Strážnice gained in 1999.

The main theme of Národopisná revue (the Journal of Ethnography) 4/99 is the ethnic minorities at large. A general study by Petr Kaleta entitled The Huculs of the Carpathian Mountains deals with the history and culture of this group. Eva Pavlíková writes in her article of the Czech minority in Poland and of the Czech national stereotypes. Eva Krekovičová analyses the cultural and ethnic identity of the Slovak minority in Hungary, using as an example the relationship of identity and folklore at a community of Malý Kereš. Bohuslav Beneš looks in details at books which specialize in the German folk culture in southern Moravia. The articles are followed by a photo supplement on the life of the Czech minority in the Banat in Romania.

The Looking Back column offers portraits of two outstanding personalities: the ethnographer František Rehoř (1857-1899) and the sculptor Franta Úprka (1868-1929). The Society's Chronicle remembers life anniversaries of two exceptional performers of folk songs: Jarmila Šuláková (born 1929} and Josef Laža (born 1939). The 85^th birthday of the organologist and ethnographer Ludvík Kunz is mentioned, as well as the birthday of the pedagogue and folk song collector Václav Stuchlý. The obituary of Vilma Volková (1903-1999), the writer and folk story-teller, closes the column.

Other regular columns deal with conference and exhibition news, the 1999 folklore festivals reports, CD and book reviews, and the ongoing discussion on the character and message of folklore festivals. In the supplement you will find the Czech bibliography covering ethnography topics of the 1995-1997.

Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnography) 3/99 is devoted to the traditional handicraft. In his study of The Tradition and Contemporary State of the Folk Handicraft in the Czech Republic, Josef Jančář focuses mainly on an audio-visual project in progress called the Folk Crafts and Folk Art in the Czech Republic. Other articles deal with specific types of handicraft, such as the embroidery in Slovakia in the second half of the 20^th century (Juraj Zajonc), a production of skewers in the Vsetín region (Eva Urbachová), hand made textile fibers in the Valašsko region (Jarmila Pechová) and a production of traditional gingerbread (Olga Florianová). The articles are followed by the Overview of Legal and Other Measures to Protect Original Craft Items published by UNESCO and the International Trade Centre.

The Transforming Tradition column brings the history of a preserved water mill. The Society's Column opens with a note on the 60^th birthday of Karel Fabel, editor of Umění a řemesla (the Art and Crafts) magazine. A note follows on the 90^th birthday of Professor Gerhard Heilfurth, an outstanding German ethnologist. The obituaries in the column commemorate Zdeněk Galuška (1913-1999), writer and narrator, and František Bonuš (1919-1999), ethnochoreologist. Other regular columns deal with conference news and folklore parades reports; a discussion on the character and message of folklore festivals; and book and CD reviews. The final information brings the results of a survey concerning the most effective activity in the Czech ethnography in 1998.

Národopisná revue 2/99 focuses on the folk culture which has been used commercionally and in tourist industry. Josef Jančář deals with this issue in the terms of theory in his article (Folklorism and Commercionalization). Other writers are interested in specific features of this tendency, such as Hana Kyseľová in her description of a folklore festival in Slovakia which is open to tourists (The "Hontianska paráda" - a Non-traditional Festival of a Traditional Culture). Běla Minaříková deals with the state of folk crafts and art after the cancelling of an organization for the folk arts production, the ÚLUV (Business is Business). Marta Šrámková analyses the contemporary production of the collections of folk legends and tales (Is the Folk Legends Publishing Inevitably Commercional?). Jaroslav Štika shows how the folk foods have been used in the tourist industry of various European countries (Folk Foods and the Open-air Museums), and Hana Dvořáková presents a portrait of a non-professional statue maker whose garden has been a tourist attraction of the region (Let's Go to a Safari...).

The Transforming Tradition column offers an article on the custom of Easter carolling in contemporary society. The south Valachia boys go carolling through the villages of their region with various wooden instruments. Another article remembers the anniversary of the folklore ensemble Bejatka from Silesia. The Society's Chronicle column brings the life stories of Alena Jeřábková and Jiřina Langhammerová, ethnographers, and Věra Šejvlová (b. 1919), ethnography activist. These are followed by obituaries of doc. Karel Fojtík, an outstanding Brno ethnographer, and František Třetina, songwriter.

There are regular columns on folklore festivals, ethnography conferences, exhibitions, and publishing activities. A hot topic is a discussion on the character and vocation of folklore festivals. The Looking Back column brings material on the Ukrainian researcher Volodymyr Suchevyc. It also offers notes and comments on the essays of the folk culture of the Kopanice region, and on an ambiguous personality of a priest Josef Hofer of the same region.

Národopisná revue 1/99 focuses on sacred architecture in material folk tradition. There are articles by Olga Florianová (Minor Sacred Building Types in the Strážnice Region), Jitka Matuszková (Minor Sacred Building Types in the Podluží), Věra Kovářů (Belfries and their Fates in the Žďár Region) and Richard Jeřábek (Do Sacred Rural Building Types Belong to Folk Architecture?). The main theme of the issue is supplemented by Martin Mešša in his article on The Art of Icons in the Northeastern Slovakia.

The   Tradition   Transformation   column   follows contemporary state of belfries in the Znojmo region.

The Society's Column presents articles on 60^th birthday of Jiří Košík, musician and instrument maker; the 60^th birthday of Martin Hrbáč, musician of the Hornacko region; the 70^th birthday of Radomil Rejšek, pedagogue of folk dance; and Josef Kobzík, leading violinist from the Podluží region. There are obituaries commemorating Antonín Jančík (1931-1998), former radio editor from Brno; Karel Bimka (1907-1999), folksinger; and Svetozár Švehlák (1938-1999), Slovak folklorist.

Other regular columns bring conference news, exhibition and festival news, and reviews of books and CDs.

"Národopisná revue" 4/98 focuses on some of the oldest records of song collections (articles by Lubomír Tyllner: The Frýdlant Manuscript of 1819, and Dana Toncrová: Collection of Austrian Folk Songs of 1819), on the oldest sources of instrumental music in Western Slovakia (Peter Michalovič: On the Oldest Sources of the Folk Instrumental Music in the Záhorí), and on folk music in the Czech-German frontier (Vladimír Baier: The Folk Music of the Two Neighbours). A previous series of articles is closed with a final part of a large study on records of folk songs and music in Strážnice (Jan Trojan: Song as a Living Form; On Records of the Melodies and the String Bands Play of the songs of Strážnice by Vladimír Úlehla).

In the Transforming Tradition column we offer an article on the history of All Saint's Day (by Alexandra Navrátilová) and a record of a 1998 field research concerning narration on Death (by Věra Frolcová). The Looking Back column presents a founder of the Ukrainian ethnography, Fedir Vovk (by Petr Kaleta). The Society's Chronicle reminds of the birthdays of ethnographers Miroslava Ludvíková (born 1923) and Ivo Stolařík (born 1923). The final part of the journal deals with conference news and reviews of exhibitions, CDs and books. The photo supplement of the journal documents the village of Šafov in the Moravian-Austrian frontier; its author is Miloš Uhlíř.

"Národopisná revue" 3/98 deals with questions of folklorism. Different views are presented by Richard Jeřábek (The Century of Folklorism; Two Examples of the Use of Folklorism in the Beginning of the 20^th Century), Eva Krekovičová (Folklore, Politics and Massmedia; An Example from Slovakia), Daniela Stavělová (Contemporary Folk Dance Tradition; On Questions of its Ecology), Hana Hlôšková (Scenic Folk Narrators in the Environment of the Mass Culture), Irena Přibylová (Czech Music in Texas; At Home, or Abroad?), and Alena Dunajová (Painted Vine Cellar). The articles are followed by an entry by Věra Kovářů (Preserve Areas and Zones in the Villiges of South Moravia), and the third part of a study by Jan Trojan (Song as a Living Form; On Records of the Melody and the String Band Play of the Songs of Strážnice by Vladimír Úlehla).

The Tradition Transformation column reminds of the personality of Vladimír Úlehla (born 1888) in his attitute towards the folklore movement; other issues of the column deal with the history of the folklore ensemble Carnica from East Slovakia, and the phenomenon of the children s folk music bands in the Czech Republic. The Chronicle of the Society deals with the anniversary of Vilma Volková from the Valachia (born 1903), the deaths of the writer Jindřich Uher (1932-1998) and the ethnography worker Jiřina Králová (1911-1998); the musicologist Karl Vetterl is reminded as well. The festival and exhibition news and book reviews are followed by the Lost and Found column. This time, it brings an article by Richard Jeřábek (Dichtung und Wahrheit), which deals critically with the manipulation of the description of customs and the custom props in the work by Antonín Václavík The Annual Customs and the Folk Art (1959).