Paper Short Abstract:

The presentation traces the development and interrelationship of ethnography and folkloristics in the territory of Estonia, part of the Russian Empire at the time. The role of different institutions, initiatives, individuals and ideologies in the evolution of the disciplines will be explored.

Paper Abstract:

In the early 1920s, separate chairs for folklore studies and ethnography were established at the newly established Estonian University of Tartu after some disputes. Ilmari Manninen, a Finnish scholar considered the founding father of modern Estonian ethnology, claimed in his programmatic speech (1924): 'Ethnography is a new science in Estonia'. Manninen defined ethnography rather narrowly as studying the material aspect of traditional peasant culture. In the Russian Geographical Society, with which some Estonian intellectuals collaborated, ethnography was defined in a much broader way in the mid-19th century as studying both peoples' spiritual and material culture, but also their physical appearance and language. What was the journey from RGO's very broad understanding of ethnography to Manninen's rather narrow definition?

The presentation traces the development and interrelationship of ethnography and folkloristics in the territory of Estonia, which was part of the Russian Empire at the time, from the late 18th to the early 20th century. What was the role of different fully or partly state-owned institutions (Academy of Sciences, RGO), private societies (Gelehrte Estnische Gesellschaft etc.), and individuals (Baltic Germans, Russians, Estonians, Finns) influenced by different ideologies in the disciplinary evolution? How was the interplay between the study of spiritual and material culture influenced by the undertakings of the Estonian national movement (folklore collection campaign, founding of the Estonian National Museum) and the major state-sponsored ethnographic exhibitions (e. g. Moscow 1867, Riga 1896)? What about influences from Finland, Germany etc.?