DOŻYNKI W POLSCE. OD OBRZĘDU DO WIDOWISKA

• Authors: Smolińska Teresa

Title variants

EN

Polish harvest festival. From rite to spectacle

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Today the traditional beliefs, customs and rites relating to the harvest time are very limited as their contemporary functions and dimension have changed. The authoress is interested in the transformation process of a harvest festival that is typical of the old rural communities. The harvest festival still crowns the labours of farming and is a form of solemn thanksgiving for harvested crops but today's celebration is not accompanied with any magical practices that would bring a good harvest next year. Ritual songs are becoming obsolete and the harvesting women, if any, no longer need any orations addressed to a landlord. The customs of baking bread and making crown-shaped wreaths have survived. The contemporary farmers associate the entire celebration with the church ceremony. Harvest festivals are organized at the local, regional and country level (the presidential Spała Harvest Festival) as well as at the religious one (diocesan harvest festivals). It is a carefully prepared show, a national holiday that attracts not only the inhabitants of the village and the people professionally involved in agriculture, but also residents of the city. Nowadays, this unique show has a number of functions. These functions are mostly highlighted in the contemporary media.

Keywords

EN

HARVEST FESTIVAL; FEAST; SPECTACLE; POLAND

• Publisher: Institute of Ethnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovak Ethnological Society, and Slovak National Museum - Ethnological Museum (in Martin)
• Journal: Etnologické rozpravy (Ethnological Disputes)
• Year: 2017
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 62 - 78

Contributors

author

Smolińska Teresa

• Katedra Kulturoznawstwa I Folklorystyki Uniwersytet Opolski, Opole, Poland