Ritualization of Daily Life.

Abstract

Since the 1920ies Finnish manor houses have been studied mostly from a historical or socio-historical viewpoint or as subjects for art history. This has resulted in monographs about various types of manors and about the development of agriculture, economical and social structure of the manors. From an ethnological point these results only concern the framework of the culture of the manors. This text deals with the concept of manorial culture in Finland. According to the main theories of cultural anthropology the author is looking for the organizing principles of the manorial culture. The material for the study was collected in 1971 through field work at the Ratula estate (near Borgå/Porvoo). The author describes the physical milieu and the life styles at the turn of the century as an example of a ritualized daily life. It concerns the organization of the physical area (space), the position of the individuals in the social hierarchy, the shape of appearance and the concept of time. Manorial culture is seen as a system for communicating meaning. It is an entity where various social and local groups of the manor manifested their cultural standards by playing different roles and through physical arrangements. Among individuals in leading position the ability to preserve traditions and to ritualize everyday life was of essential importance for the preservation of the manorial culture.

How to Cite

Lönnqvist, B., (1987) “Ritualization of Daily Life.”, Ethnologia Europaea 18(1), 93-116. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/ee.1357

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Authors

Bo Lönnqvist (University of Jyväskylä)

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