Encountering the Tsar

Nenets Epic Singing as a Representation of Historicity

Bibliographic Data

ID2966735
AuthorsKarina Lukin (0000-0002-4085-2721, University of Helsinki, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume47
Issue3
Pages18-38
Publication date2023-10-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSuomen Antropologi Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0355-3930 • E-ISSN: 1799-8972
PublisherSuomen Antropologi: Journal of the Finnish Anthropological Society (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.30676/jfas.115609
OpenAlexW4387436536
LanguageEN
References cited20

This article discusses Nenets epic songs, focusing on two texts collected at the beginning of the twentieth century in relation to the divergent historicities they represent. The process of gathering and publishing folklore is analysed as folklorisation, whereby the texts have come to represent a negation of the modern, but not giving voice to the singers or their communities. Nenets epic songs have served Finnish nationalism and Russian imperialism in creating hierarchies between Finns and their linguistic relatives and between different Russian ethnic groups, including Russians and the Nenets. The process of traditionalisation is discussed as a local strategy of recreating meaningful narration that relates both to tradition and other contextually relevant discourses. The songs discussed are shown to depict not specific past events, but rather Nenets historical experiences and understandings about their subaltern position and agency within the imperial context. Keywords: Nenets, epic poetry, historicity, folklorisation, traditionalisation, imperialism

Art · EPIC · Ethnic group · Folklore · Literature · Narrative · Nationalism · Poetry · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Subaltern · Anthropology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices

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