Contribution short abstract:

This presentation explores the oral transmission of local customs and dance practices, the impact of written communication, and the affective dimension of how a centuries-old folkloric practice shapes a "future of joy" in a small contemporary European village.

Contribution long abstract:

In 1998, at the beginning of my academic career, I visited a village in Western Bohemia where, according to one of my students, the circular dance known as the Kolo was still preserved during various celebrations, particularly those connected with the archaic lunar calendar. Since then, I have visited the village, named Postřekov, almost every year. During the Carnival festival, which is celebrated over five days, the world of this small community transforms into a Dionysian whirlpool. The circular dance represents a moment when the small community becomes a small engine that, at least to the ethnographer, inevitably recalls the cycle of eternal return.

In our presentation, we will focus primarily on the oral transmission of local customs and dance practices and the potential influences of written forms of communication on them. Another aspect will be the theme of the panel, namely the affective dimension, exploring how, through a centuries-old folkloric practice, it is still possible today in Europe to construct, or perhaps not construct, a "future of joy."