Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses ideals of dwelling in the national narrative. It examines how sense of home was utilized, poetically and ideologically, inside the Kalevala in order to reduce the distance between the rural culture from which the oral poetry in the Kalevala derived and the modern readership.

Paper long abstract:

As an editor of the oral tradition for the production of folk-poetry publications, Elias Lönnrot amended and removed traditional language, contents and contexts of oral poetry in order to make oral poems comprehended and suitable for his bourgeois readers. One of the narrative strategies by Lönnrot was an idea of home; home as a concrete place where to return and to get comfort, but also, as a place of belonging and unifying, and as the case might be, of segregating. In Finnish-Karelian oral poetry home is a safe place surrounded by the outwarding forest. Also there are at least two opposite homes: childhood home and mother-in-law's home. The border between home hut and the other, strange landscape is associated by diverse dangers waiting for the one who crosses the line. Lönnrot utilized different meanings of dwelling appeared in the oral poetry, but modified the idea of home toward a moral-nuanced boundary between we and the others, the family unit and the public space.

This paper examines editorial strategies of dwelling in the national epic by illustrating how sense of home and of family was utilized, poetically and ideologically, in order to address the modern readership as well as to narrow the distance between the rural culture from which the oral poetry in the Kalevala derived and the modern bourgeois culture.

Paper short abstract:

The presentation will focus on ways and forms of monstrous' dwellings, i.e. it will question whether different monstrous creatures like witches, demons, vampires or devil can/could dwell, taking into account oral and written narratives.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation will focus on ways and forms of monstrous' dwellings, i.e. it will question whether different monstrous creatures like witches, demons, vampires or devil can/could dwell, taking into account oral and written narratives (legends, tales, myths etc., but also other non-literary sources like court records). The aim is to question if there is a difference between feminine and masculine monsters concerning their ways of dwellings - for example,why do witches usually have very elaborated and meticulously described/constructed homes (Baba Yaga's or witch's house in Hansel und Gretel as most popular illustrations), and, on the other hand, why are their masculine counter-parts usually homeless, wandering or possessing only temporary dwellings. The starting point of the presentation are the following questions: Are the ways or forms of masculine and feminine monsters' dwellings in narratives of various provenance in any relation with the conceptualization of "traditional" masculine/feminine roles in everyday life? Do the descriptions of their places of living serve as ways and means to "tame" the evil? Or, do they signal borderline experience of something monstrously disturbing which fills its' recipients with both repulsion and attraction?

Paper short abstract:

In this paper I will be focusing on process of demonization of other ethnic groups and nations throughout the history. The people who lived beyond known border were sometimes demonized due to cultural ignorance of Europeans who use this mechanism for their own benefit.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I would like to point to Croatian tradition beliefs in pasoglavci (cynocephaly) which are strongly present in 19th century narratives. Pasoglavci are mentioned as dog headed savage creatures that come from non-Christian east, thus being connected to Ottomans, Mongols or Huns. Nonetheless, similar images of dog headed creatures, or those resembling humans with some physical distortions, can be found all across Europe from antiquity to modern days. Such beings were usually encountered during contacts between Europeans and people living beyond known borders and cultures. Therefore in this paper I will argue that images of demonic creatures were constructed as a result of cultural ignorance of Europeans who described incomprehensible cultural practices as demonic, turning some people of distant territories in demons. Although some existent cultural dissimilarities served as basis upon which demonic images were constructed, I would also like to point to mechanism of othering which allowed Europeans to demonize other ethnic groups in order to gain superior positions upon them. Such superior, comfortable positions, allowed Europeans to combat, exploit and even enslave other nations and ethnic groups.

Paper short abstract:

Circulating narratives contribute to our sense of purpose and place. These become especially important in places where we temporarily dwell with others. I will illustrate how narratives work in an international policy-making setting.

Paper long abstract:

In my talk I want to illustrate how narratives, both narrated and inferred, are used in an international forum negotiating a text involving traditional culture. In this particular setting stories circulate in both informal talks and formal contributions during meetings, to support different positions, make a particular point, explain certain aspects of the setting to novices, and for many other useful purposes. Certain well-known tales, some of which were initially formulated by researchers, are repeatedly referred to in the negotiating process. I argue that these stories contribute to the creation of a joint purpose and a sense of place among participants. Through stories people hailing from the four corners of the world are temporarily transformed into a community that makes one of the great halls of international relations their dwelling for one week. My talk is based on participatory research at the meetings of the intergovernmental committee on traditional knowledge etc. at the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva.

Paper short abstract:

By examining linguistic and literary representations of alienation and dislocation in post-9/11 soldiers’ accounts of homecoming in oral history, memoir, and narrative nonfiction, we see that sense-making and place-making are entwined, inventing both personal and national identity.

Paper long abstract:

For American military, homecoming is "redeployment"— embedded in the word is an acknowledgment that returning from war is a new kind of battle, and the place you come home to is never the place you left. This paper examines post-9/11 soldiers' accounts of homecoming in oral history, memoir, and narrative nonfiction, focusing on linguistic and literary representations of alienation and dislocation. Just as memories of war interrupt and intrude upon civilian life, stories of homecoming are begun, backed out of, haltingly reframed and reattempted—the narrator often spends as much time outside of the story as within it. As historian Hayden White points out, "from the standpoint of an interest in narrative itself, a 'bad' narrative can tell us more about narrativity than a good one" (White 1981:14). These hedged, half-told stories are exploded diagrams, the labor of narrative made visible. The processes of sense-making and place-making are entwined in veterans' narratives, because their stories do not just redefine their own histories, but the character of the country in whose name they fought. Unresolved narratives act as temporary shelters, structures to be disassembled and repurposed with difficulty, as veterans struggle to find stories that both they and their audiences can live with[in].

White, Hayden. 1981. "The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality." On Narrative, Ed. W.J.T. Mitchell. pp. 1-25. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Paper short abstract:

The variants of the “Coal Porrage” (Ee 327H*) and “Up the Beanstalk into Heaven” (Ee 328C*) have been recorded among the orthodox Seto minority in Estonia. Both tale types involve dwellings belonging to supernatural characters, while the heroes visit these places and return home from them.

Paper long abstract:

The presentation focuses on two Estonian fairy tale types where the dwellings emerge in a significant role. The variants of "Coal Porridge" (Ee 327H*) and "Up the Beanstalk into Heaven" (Ee 328C*) has been recorded among the orthodox Seto minority in the South-Eastern corner of Estonia. Both tale types involve dwellings belonging to supernatural characters, while the heroes visit these places and return home from them. The presentation attempts to provide a comparative interpretation of the stories.

In the tale type "Coal Porridge" a brother and a sister who have been left home on their own make coal porridge. The sister becomes smeared with coal and the boy takes her outside to soak in water from whence the devil lures the girl into his dwelling that lies further off, often in the woods. The boy looks them up and sees the sister engaged in housework together with the devil. Finally they overcome the devil.

In the tale type "Up the Beanstalk into Heaven" the boy climbs up a beanstalk into heaven and discovers a wonderful heavenly house that has walls made of white bread, an oven made of cottage cheese. The boy eats to his heart's content and hides behind the oven. The inhabitants of the house (many-eyed goats) keep watch one after the other, yet the boy lulls them to sleep with a song. In the end the boy gets caught and is cast out of heaven.

Paper short abstract:

Cinderella type constitutes a specific case regarding a dwelling presentation, even within female fairy-tales. The paper will present the symbolical meaning of the dwelling within the ethnographic context.

Paper long abstract:

If we take differentiation between male and female types of the fairy-tale as a starting point we can see that the position and the semantics of the dwelling in the genre can be determined by the protagonist 's gender. Moreover, the structure of the plot and the movement of the hero/heroine seem to be different in two types of fairy-tales. Cinderella type constitutes a specific case regarding a dwelling presentation, even within female fairy-tales. Our paper will be based on Serbian material which has some details understandable within ethnographic context. By providing both variants and the context we hope to reach the symbolical meaning of dwelling as presented in the texts.

Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the role and significance of home as the quintessential human, familiar space, and the consequences of crossing its threshold to venture into the unknown in two narrative genres in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen: cautionary tales and fairy tales.

Paper long abstract:

The domestic space is the typical starting point for the generically diverse narratives included in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812/15-1857; KHM). However, as this paper aims to demonstrate, its portrayal and the imperative to abandon it (or lack thereof) are highly dependent on genre. To illustrate this, the paper will utilize comparative textual analysis in its examination of two genres: a) cautionary tales, which depict home as a safe haven and its abandonment as an act which inevitably leads to disaster, and b) fairy tales, which provide a more ambivalent portrayal of home. Namely, the domestic setting figures as a source of both safety and threat, often undergoing transformations at the onset of the narrative (e.g. the introduction of a malevolent stepparent can turn an idyllic family home into a source of danger). Regardless of their initial portrayal of the space of home, the narrative in both genres is dependent on the protagonist leaving home and venturing into the unknown. However, crossing the domestic threshold plays markedly different roles in the two genres: in cautionary tales it signifies the breaking of an interdiction and is therefore severely punished, while in fairy tales it creates the necessary conditions for the protagonist's encounter with the marvellous and ultimate improvement of his/her material conditions and social status.

Paper short abstract:

This talk recalls that the home of fairy tales is wider than the Indo-European realm. I examine some interactions between North-African and European fairy tales regarding the core theme of damsels abducted by dragons. I ask: What happens in the dragon's den? Could a girl ever call it home?

Paper long abstract:

This talk addresses the "home" of fairy tales on two different levels. First, it points out that the geographical home of fairy tales includes North Africa and the Near East as well as the Indo-European realm. To bring this point home, I address a group of North-African berber tales that meaningfully converse with both the Eastern and the Western European traditions.

Second, I look at the dragon's dwelling at the core of fairy tales. Vladimir Propp famously proposed that the archetype of the fairy tale—the "one tale with respect to which all fairy tales will appear as variants"—comprises the abduction of a princess by a dragon. That is, because a dragon kidnapped the princess the hero departs to save her. This insight entails that a maiden's abduction is the prime mover of the fairy tale. Yet, whatever happens in the dragon's den remains enshrouded in mystery. I propose to carefully pry a little. I ask: What happens in the dragon's den? Could a girl ever call it home? What is "home" in the universe of fairy tales?

Paper short abstract:

In the light of a corpus of folktales and legends narrated by children, the present paper seeks to represent the children’s point of view concerning the notions of home(s) and inclusion and examines how children’s imageries are framed by specific folk narrative genres.

Paper long abstract:

The home, as a primary context of folklore, belongs to children's material world as well as to their mythic thought. In the light of a corpus of folktales and legends narrated by children, the present paper seeks to represent the children's point of view concerning the notions of home(s) and inclusion and examines how children's imageries are framed by specific folk narrative genres. Questions addressed are how different forms of discourse can nourish children's narration and how the constraints of each genre are met by children's creative responses and personal involvement. The paper also studies the role of children in the transmission of folktales and legends in relation with an oral tradition of storytelling and tries to associate this lore with concepts of home and belonging in specific situational contexts of use. The paper focuses on the ways children not only narrate but also appropriate their narratives in specific play and communications practices in order to transform places into homes. These efforts of turning places into homes form part of a tradition usually not recognized by adults.

The paper is based on archival material and also on micro-data produced in particular groups of children in rural as well as urban milieus in Greece. It thus leads to concrete fieldwork situations of living systems of folklore stressing the diversity of children's culture.

Paper short abstract:

In my paper I will analyse the writings (diaries, poems, short stories, etc.) of a 19th century miller, Märt Siipsen. Why did this uneducated man write so much? How was his writing activity related to his sense of home and his constant struggles to retain his right to live in his mill?

Paper long abstract:

In the centre of my presentation is a phenomenon called vernacular literacy - the practices of writing that are not directly connected to the institutions dedicated to the spreading of literacy (i.e. school, church, and state bureaucracy). Rather, those writing styles grow out of the everyday needs of ordinary people (and communities) and fulfil their urge for self-expression (Barton, Hamilton 2003).

Märt Siipsen (1846-1917) was a miller who lived and worked at a rather small watermill in Rõuge parish, in the periphery of southern Estonia. In this paper I will look into his 'archive' - thousands of pages of poems, diaries, account books, religious contemplations, short stories, etc. One of the central topics of this archive is home - a subject that had quite a special meaning for Siipsen who was in constant strife with his landlord to retain his right to live in his mill. So we can read about petitions, court sessions, and contracts entered into and infringed. But the relationship of his writings to his sense of home is not confined to these passages meant to document injustice - in a way we can say that at the time of total uncertainty the pages of his notebook provided him with something certain to dwell in.

References

Barton, David; Hamilton, Mary 2003 [1998]. Local Literacies. Reading and Writing in One Community. London, New York: Routledge.

This research has been supported by the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies (CEES, European Regional Development Fund) and is related to research projects IUT22-5 (Estonian Research Council).