Storytelling in Siberia: The Olonkho Epic in a Changing World

Author:   Robin P Harris
Publisher:   University of Illinois Press
ISBN:  

9780252041280


Pages:   256
Publication Date:   13 October 2017
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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Storytelling in Siberia: The Olonkho Epic in a Changing World


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Overview

Olonkho, the epic narrative and song tradition of Siberia’s Sakha people, declined to the brink of extinction during the Soviet era. In 2005, UNESCO’s Masterpiece Proclamation sparked a resurgence of interest in olonkho by recognizing its important role in humanity’s oral and intangible heritage. Drawing on her ten years of living in the Russian North, Robin P. Harris documents how the Sakha have used the Masterpiece program to revive olonkho and strengthen their cultural identity. Harris’s personal relationships with and primary research among Sakha people provide vivid insights into understanding olonkho and the attenuation, revitalization, transformation, and sustainability of the Sakha’s cultural reemergence. Interdisciplinary in scope, Storytelling in Siberia considers the nature of folklore alongside ethnomusicology, anthropology, comparative literature, and cultural studies to shed light on how marginalized peoples are revitalizing their own intangible cultural heritage.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robin P Harris
Publisher:   University of Illinois Press
Imprint:   University of Illinois Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.481kg
ISBN:  

9780252041280


ISBN 10:   0252041283
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   13 October 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix Notes on Transliteration from Russian and Sakha xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Encountering Olonkho 1 1 Epic Traditions, Performers, and Audiences 11 2 Effects of Change during the Soviet Era 33 3 Esteem for a Masterpiece: The Quest  for Recognition 64 4 Examining the Role of UNESCO and Intangible Cultural Heritage 89 5 Elements of Resilience: Stable and Malleable 108 6 Epic Revitalization: Negotiating Identities  and Other Challenges 135 7 Ensuring Sustainability through Transmission and Innovation 156 Glossary of Russian and Sakha Words 163 Notes 165 Works Cited 203 Index 225

Reviews

Robin Harris 's up-close and vividly written account of how an epic tradition from Siberia was proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a masterpiece of contemporary ethnography in its own right. --Theodore Levin, Dartmouth College Ancient artistry comes to us through the trial of centuries. This book gives us hope that the heroic epics of the Yakuts, having survived under Soviet power, will outlive these rapidly changing, turbulent times as well. --Eduard Alekseyev, Academy of Spirituality, Sakha Republic (Yakutia)


Ancient artistry comes to us through the trial of centuries. This book gives us hope that the heroic epics of the Yakuts, having survived under Soviet power, will outlive these rapidly changing, turbulent times as well. --Eduard Alekseyev, Academy of Spirituality, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Robin Harris's up-close and vividly written account of how an epic tradition from Siberia was proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a masterpiece of contemporary ethnography in its own right. --Theodore Levin, Dartmouth College Rich in information about a sonic performance tradition little known in the West, Storytelling in Siberia is an important introduction to both Sakha storytelling and its history. Multidisciplinary in scope. --The World of Music A most-welcome contribution to the analysis of the problems facing traditional art forms in the modern world. --Journal of American Folklore Harris has crafted a complex and critical evaluation of a cultural-revival project in practice. --The Russian Review Strong ethnography is what makes Storytelling in Siberia an important text, taking readers to a place little studied, to the particularity of olonkho. --Ethnomusicology Forum Of relevance to understanding the challenges of cultural reemergence in other parts of the globe, this compelling book informs anthropologists and ethnomusicologists as well as a much broader audience about one of the true masterpieces of the world's oral literature-- its origins, content, and future. Readers witness the interplay of Christian and pre-Christian interpretations, the sad legacy of cultural loss during the Soviet years, and the aspirations of a modern nation to reclaim its vanishing cultural heritage amid a rapidly changing world. . . . Highly recommended. --Choice Deeply researched . . . With detailed analysis, Harris describes the changes that olonkho has endured from before the Soviet time, during the Communist regime, through perestroika, up to its present day. --Songlines


Ancient artistry comes to us through the trial of centuries. This book gives us hope that the heroic epics of the Yakuts, having survived under Soviet power, will outlive these rapidly changing, turbulent times as well. --Eduard Alekseyev, Academy of Spirituality, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Robin Harris 's up-close and vividly written account of how an epic tradition from Siberia was proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a masterpiece of contemporary ethnography in its own right. Â --Theodore Levin, Dartmouth College


Ancient artistry comes to us through the trial of centuries. This book gives us hope that the heroic epics of the Yakuts, having survived under Soviet power, will outlive these rapidly changing, turbulent times as well. --Eduard Alekseyev, Academy of Spirituality, Sakha Republic (Yakutia) Robin Harris 's up-close and vividly written account of how an epic tradition from Siberia was proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a masterpiece of contemporary ethnography in its own right. Â --Theodore Levin, Dartmouth College


Author Information

Robin P. Harris is an associate professor at Dallas International University and serves as the director of DIU’s Center for Excellence in World Arts.

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