Abstract
This article* investigates how Votian identity has been staged and performed in the context of the Votian Museum and in the course of the Luzhicy village feast. Our analysis concentrates on performative aspects of cultural heritage and ethnic identity related to the creation of specific cultural spaces. The Votian Museum is examined as the setting of the village feast, reflecting the display aspect of heritage and identity production. We focus on the key elements – the opening ceremony, the communal meal, and carnivalesque aspects – of the feast, which involve various embodied practices and articulate the manifestations of traditional culture chosen by the organisers of the festival, as well as contemporary enactments of village life.
Keywords
cultural heritage, Votians, village feast, local museum, ethnic identity
How to Cite
Västrik, E. & Võsu, E., (2010) “PERFORMING VOTIANNESS”, Ethnologia Europaea 40(2), 60-76. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/ee.1069
Publisher Notes
- This article was previously published by Museum Tusculanum Press.