Daniel Drápala
Issues Ranging from Those of a Damaging Nature to the National Treasure: The Complex Path to the Acceptance of Traditional Culture as Part of National Cultural Heritage
Thanks to their professional roles, the educated elites in the countryside were in direct contact with what we call traditional culture. Even though many of them came from a rural environment, they mainly took a different stand in their new social (or socio-professional) role and ideological starting point, as compared to those who directly participated in rural and small-town festivities. The essay uses emic and etic field research and focuses on the transforming interpretation of selected phenomena in non-material culture by the educated elites, representatives of local authorities and intelligence as well as the actual bearers of these traditions. The text should help clarify the process of gradual rehabilitation and fulfillment of aspects of traditional culture that climaxed with a metaphorical glorification of this part of cultural heritage at the end of the 19th century. It should also demonstrate how variable the interpretation of the aspects of traditional culture was at the time and in relation to the social status of the individual.
design by Bedřich Vémola
