Paper Short Abstract:

The paper discusses the fieldworks to Estonian Ingria in the 1930s by both Estonian and Finnish researchers and asks about disciplinary boundaries between countries and disciplines` connection with politics at the time. The community`s attitude to research will also be explored.

Paper Abstract:

Between the two world wars, part of Ingria belonged to the Republic of Estonia. The people living in the so-called Estonian Ingria were of scholarly interest to Estonian and Finnish folklorists, ethnologists, and linguists. It was one of the few Finno-Ugric regions that Estonian researchers could study at the time. Special attention was placed on Ingrian Finns and Izhorians.

The presentation aims to discuss the fieldworks to Estonian Ingria in the 1930s by both Estonian and Finnish researchers. They collected materials, talked to the press about the life of these communities and even came into conflict with each other at one point. Finnish folklorist Martti Haavio blamed Estonians for the Estonianisation of the region, linking the problem to Ferdinand Linnus, the director of the Estonian National Museum. They were both interested in preserving the cultural heritage of the local people but clashed when talking about their level of modernity.

Examining fieldwork materials (that have been forgotten in Estonia) and newspaper articles, the questions arise as to who felt justified in exploring the area and how it was done and whether the voice of locals emerged in these materials. The paper explores a hitherto overlooked aspect in the disciplinary history, shedding light on the national borders of the disciplines and their connection with politics as well as discussing the life of local communities before WW2.