Národopisná revue 2/2026

The study examines contemporary Czech traditional circus through the lens of social reproduction and focuses on how its “traditionality” is constituted in practice. It is based on ethnographic research conducted in 2023–2024, drawing primarily on semi-structured and unstructured interviews with members of five circus families. The analysis shows that the limited degree of innovation is not primarily linked to the defence of the triad animals – clowning – acrobatic performance, but rather to the reproduction of lineage continuity, traditional authority, and work practices transmitted across generations. Mobility, which results in partial social isolation, reinforces an orientation toward “time-tested” management models and a stable programme structure. Circus identity is thus shaped more through shared values, hierarchy, and everyday organisational practice than through individual acts performed in the ring.

This paper attempts to show the chronological development of pastoral use strategies, pasture division and changes in ownership relations within the Dund Tömört valley (Ulaanhus bag, Bulgan sum, Bayan-Ölgii province, Mongolia), one of two sub-areas within the Ulaanhus bag and containing the highest concentration of spring and summer herding positions of the Altai Uriankhai ethnic group. Reconstructed through oral history, the chronology provides a detailed description of pastoral development from the time of cooperatives (negdel) through the period of privatisation to the recent period of rapid decrease in the number of pastoral households. This microhistorical case study aims to explore the informative potential of oral historical sources in studying the local chronology of pasture use.

The study analyses the processes of and barriers to the cultural integration of Ukrainian refugee women in Košice. The theoretical framework comprises the concepts of cultural and social capital (Bourdieu) and liminality (Turner), which shed light on the status devaluation of highly educated women on the Slovak labour market. A qualitative analysis of interviews (n = 28) identifies obstacles to cultural participation and explores the role of so-called “third places” (Oldenburg). The research indicates that integration is determined by economic pragmatism, gender aspects, transnationalism, and a state of liminality conditioned by the temporary nature of their status and a digital connection to home. The findings are then placed within the European context, thereby contributing to the understanding of gender-based migration and migrant strategies in contemporary Europe.

From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, mortuaries in Jewish cemeteries were replaced by grander ceremonial halls. The author systematically examines all 131 ceremonial halls constructed within the territory of the modern-day Czech Republic, presenting their characteristics and development. The construction pf these facilities can be understood as an expression of the emancipation of the Jewish minority, but also as a manifestation of its assimilation and adoption of the funeral practices of the majority population – a process that further intensified over the course of the twentieth century. The Nazi and Communist regimes destroyed many of these ceremonial halls, and where they have survived (86 cases), alternative uses must be found for them today. However, these buildings are increasingly being restored, also with regard to both the ritual specifics and the religious symbolism of their original builders.