Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait
Drawing on new materialist and object-centered historical criticism, this article analyses colonial and post-colonial discourses of the Greenlandic figurines of the mythical being of ill-wishing and revenge, tupilak (plural form: tupilait). It focuses on three tupilak figures, made in 1905/1906 by a...
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Language: | English |
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Walter de Gruyter GmbH
2023
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Online Access: | http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 |
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ftjyvaeskylaenun:oai:jyx.jyu.fi:123456789/91893 2024-05-19T07:41:15+00:00 Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait Zolkos, Magdalena 2023 application/pdf 80-98 fulltext http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 eng eng Walter de Gruyter GmbH European Journal of Scandinavian Studies 2191-9399 1 53 10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 Zolkos, M. (2023). Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait. European Journal of Scandinavian Studies , 53 (1), 80-98. https://doi.org/10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 CONVID_183844649 URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 In Copyright © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston openAccess http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en Grönlanti post-colonial Greenland tupilak William Thalbitzer memory objects heritage restitution kulttuuriperinnön palauttaminen muistoesineet kolonialismi grönlantilaiset kulttuuriperintö article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_2df8fbb1 publishedVersion A1 2023 ftjyvaeskylaenun https://doi.org/10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 2024-04-23T23:38:28Z Drawing on new materialist and object-centered historical criticism, this article analyses colonial and post-colonial discourses of the Greenlandic figurines of the mythical being of ill-wishing and revenge, tupilak (plural form: tupilait). It focuses on three tupilak figures, made in 1905/1906 by a shaman Mitsivarniannga on a request of a Danish ethnographer William Thalbitzer, which today are part of the Danish National Museum collections. In the early 20th century, Greenlandic tupilait (and Inuit cultural production in general) were an object of fascination among European collectors, artists, and the general public. Asking what these objects had come to mean in (and for) Europe, this article points to marginalized Greenlandic narratives of Mitsivarniannga’s tupilat, and builds a critical narrative of these objects as material effects of the disruptions of indigenous community and sustenance by Western colonialism. Drawing on critical insights from the current post-colonial restitution debates, it problematizes the differential political-economic conditions and relations of power, under which the colonial acquisitions and procurements took place. The article argues that cultural heritage items, such as the three tupilat, are mnemonic ‘boundary objects’ that can potentially forge links between disparate memories of colonialism in Denmark and Greenland. peerReviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland greenlandic Grönlanti inuit JYX - Jyväskylä University Digital Archive European Journal of Scandinavian Studies 53 1 80 98 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
JYX - Jyväskylä University Digital Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftjyvaeskylaenun |
language |
English |
topic |
Grönlanti post-colonial Greenland tupilak William Thalbitzer memory objects heritage restitution kulttuuriperinnön palauttaminen muistoesineet kolonialismi grönlantilaiset kulttuuriperintö |
spellingShingle |
Grönlanti post-colonial Greenland tupilak William Thalbitzer memory objects heritage restitution kulttuuriperinnön palauttaminen muistoesineet kolonialismi grönlantilaiset kulttuuriperintö Zolkos, Magdalena Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
topic_facet |
Grönlanti post-colonial Greenland tupilak William Thalbitzer memory objects heritage restitution kulttuuriperinnön palauttaminen muistoesineet kolonialismi grönlantilaiset kulttuuriperintö |
description |
Drawing on new materialist and object-centered historical criticism, this article analyses colonial and post-colonial discourses of the Greenlandic figurines of the mythical being of ill-wishing and revenge, tupilak (plural form: tupilait). It focuses on three tupilak figures, made in 1905/1906 by a shaman Mitsivarniannga on a request of a Danish ethnographer William Thalbitzer, which today are part of the Danish National Museum collections. In the early 20th century, Greenlandic tupilait (and Inuit cultural production in general) were an object of fascination among European collectors, artists, and the general public. Asking what these objects had come to mean in (and for) Europe, this article points to marginalized Greenlandic narratives of Mitsivarniannga’s tupilat, and builds a critical narrative of these objects as material effects of the disruptions of indigenous community and sustenance by Western colonialism. Drawing on critical insights from the current post-colonial restitution debates, it problematizes the differential political-economic conditions and relations of power, under which the colonial acquisitions and procurements took place. The article argues that cultural heritage items, such as the three tupilat, are mnemonic ‘boundary objects’ that can potentially forge links between disparate memories of colonialism in Denmark and Greenland. peerReviewed |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zolkos, Magdalena |
author_facet |
Zolkos, Magdalena |
author_sort |
Zolkos, Magdalena |
title |
Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
title_short |
Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
title_full |
Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
title_fullStr |
Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait |
title_sort |
mnemonic ‘boundary objects’ and postcolonial restitution : the story of three greenlandic tupilait |
publisher |
Walter de Gruyter GmbH |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 |
genre |
Greenland greenlandic Grönlanti inuit |
genre_facet |
Greenland greenlandic Grönlanti inuit |
op_relation |
European Journal of Scandinavian Studies 2191-9399 1 53 10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 Zolkos, M. (2023). Mnemonic ‘Boundary Objects’ and Postcolonial Restitution : The Story of Three Greenlandic Tupilait. European Journal of Scandinavian Studies , 53 (1), 80-98. https://doi.org/10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 CONVID_183844649 URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202311137917 |
op_rights |
In Copyright © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston openAccess http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1515/ejss-2023-2003 |
container_title |
European Journal of Scandinavian Studies |
container_volume |
53 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
80 |
op_container_end_page |
98 |
_version_ |
1799480847031599104 |