Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland
A new dispute about the ownership of Karelian laments emerged in Finland in 2021. The severely endangered Karelian language is the closest relative of Finnish. Karelian laments were brought into new Finnish contexts during the late twentieth century by Finnish individuals with Karelian roots, with a...
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The Donner Institute
2023
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Online Access: | https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229 https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229 |
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fttsvojs:oai:journal.fi:article/131229 2024-01-14T10:08:18+01:00 Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland Silvonen, Viliina Kallio, Kati 2023-12-18 application/pdf https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229 https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229 eng eng The Donner Institute https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229/89667 https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229 doi:10.30664/ar.131229 Copyright (c) 2023 Viliina Silvonen, Kati Kallio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Approaching Religion; Vol. 13 No. 3 (2023): Appropriation as a Perspective and Topic in the Study of Religion and Spirituality; 40-59 Approaching Religion; Vol 13 Nro 3 (2023): Appropriation as a Perspective and Topic in the Study of Religion and Spirituality; 40-59 1799-3121 Laments Karelian language Cultural appropriation Ownership Intangible culture info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Articles 2023 fttsvojs https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229 2023-12-21T00:02:26Z A new dispute about the ownership of Karelian laments emerged in Finland in 2021. The severely endangered Karelian language is the closest relative of Finnish. Karelian laments were brought into new Finnish contexts during the late twentieth century by Finnish individuals with Karelian roots, with an aim of making the Karelian lament tradition usable also for people not of Karelian descent. Recently, Karelian activists in Finland have strongly criticized the Finnish uses of laments. This relates to wider discussions about minority rights and the status of the Karelian language in Finland. Using social and traditional media material, panel discussions and interviews, we analyse this dispute and contextualize it in relation to the historical folk culture, the Karelian minority and uses of laments in contemporary Finland. The setting is complicated by the assimilation of Karelian speakers, the diversity and the closeness of Karelian and Finnish identities, and the complex intersections of national, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic factors. Our approach is informed by the recent scholarly discussions about the ownership and appropriation of intangible culture. At the heart of the dispute, we see varying interpretations of what the laments actually are, and how they relate to languages, ethnic identities, communities, modernization and religion. Article in Journal/Newspaper karelia* karelian Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online Approaching Religion 13 3 40 59 |
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Federation of Finnish Learned Societies: Scientific Journals Online |
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language |
English |
topic |
Laments Karelian language Cultural appropriation Ownership Intangible culture |
spellingShingle |
Laments Karelian language Cultural appropriation Ownership Intangible culture Silvonen, Viliina Kallio, Kati Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
topic_facet |
Laments Karelian language Cultural appropriation Ownership Intangible culture |
description |
A new dispute about the ownership of Karelian laments emerged in Finland in 2021. The severely endangered Karelian language is the closest relative of Finnish. Karelian laments were brought into new Finnish contexts during the late twentieth century by Finnish individuals with Karelian roots, with an aim of making the Karelian lament tradition usable also for people not of Karelian descent. Recently, Karelian activists in Finland have strongly criticized the Finnish uses of laments. This relates to wider discussions about minority rights and the status of the Karelian language in Finland. Using social and traditional media material, panel discussions and interviews, we analyse this dispute and contextualize it in relation to the historical folk culture, the Karelian minority and uses of laments in contemporary Finland. The setting is complicated by the assimilation of Karelian speakers, the diversity and the closeness of Karelian and Finnish identities, and the complex intersections of national, ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic factors. Our approach is informed by the recent scholarly discussions about the ownership and appropriation of intangible culture. At the heart of the dispute, we see varying interpretations of what the laments actually are, and how they relate to languages, ethnic identities, communities, modernization and religion. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Silvonen, Viliina Kallio, Kati |
author_facet |
Silvonen, Viliina Kallio, Kati |
author_sort |
Silvonen, Viliina |
title |
Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
title_short |
Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
title_full |
Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
title_fullStr |
Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland |
title_sort |
tradition and ownership: disputes about karelian laments in finland |
publisher |
The Donner Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229 https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229 |
genre |
karelia* karelian |
genre_facet |
karelia* karelian |
op_source |
Approaching Religion; Vol. 13 No. 3 (2023): Appropriation as a Perspective and Topic in the Study of Religion and Spirituality; 40-59 Approaching Religion; Vol 13 Nro 3 (2023): Appropriation as a Perspective and Topic in the Study of Religion and Spirituality; 40-59 1799-3121 |
op_relation |
https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229/89667 https://journal.fi/ar/article/view/131229 doi:10.30664/ar.131229 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2023 Viliina Silvonen, Kati Kallio https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229 |
container_title |
Approaching Religion |
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13 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
40 |
op_container_end_page |
59 |
_version_ |
1788062731096555520 |