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Accepted Paper:
Recreating legends. the Mari folklore heroes and ethnoregional identities in the XXI century
Herman Ustyantsev
(Independent scholar)
In the article, the author analyzes the activities aimed at popularizing the local Mari legends about the heroic past and their characters. Mythical heroes and warriors become "brands" of certain areas of the Mari population and broadcast the ethnoregional identities of the inhabitants.
Paper long abstract:
Based on the field materials collected in some regions of the Russian Federation (The Mari Republic, The Kirov "Oblast") the author scrutinizes the connection between ethnicity and mythological heroes. In the XXI century, some Mari activists began to popularize images of the Mari legendary warriors and rulers (Akpars, Chotkar, Poltysh, etc). to actualize the regional Mari self-awareness. It was the period when many ethnical groups in Russia were in the process of elaborating and revitalizing their national ideas. Nowadays, many districts with the Mari population pretend to have their own local heroes and narratives about so-called "golden-age". Besides, the traditional rituals, celebrations, and folklore texts represent the identities of the locals and the policy towards strengthening this feeling. Using social media, educational practices and regional ethnography, the cultural activists transmit the national folklore symbols of the local history and cultural exceptionalism. In this paper, the author analyzes both the narratives about the possession of legendary heroes and some activities of the cultural workers. For example, he depicts the practices of celebrating "The national Heroe's day", creating symbolic tombs and using the names of heroes in branding.