Some treatments of the
concept of ethno-futurism in Estonia
Heinapuu Ott & Andres Heinapuu
Ethno-futurism
originated in Estonia but -
while spreading in the boreal world -
has taken new forms and has been re-interpreted several
times in ways about which nobody in Estonia knows. But on
the other side, while Estonian critics have started to analyse
the ethno-futurist art originating from elsewhere (e.g.
the performances of Kuchyran Yuri, Udmurt, Mari, Komi painting
and other fine art), the rest of the world is in relative
oblivion about the use of the concept in Estonia. The Estonian
contribution to the international treatment of ethno-futurism
has been scarce (as compared to the number of texts in English
and Russian produced by Kari Sallamaa and various Udmurt
researchers and artists): it comprises the so-called manifest
of ethno-futurism (in English, Finnish and Russian; 1),
two articles by Piret Viires (2) and a recent study by Heie
Treier (in English; 3). With this short review on what has
been written in Estonian on the concept ethno-futurism we
try to alleviate this shortage of information. The aim has
not been, however, to cover all the material published in
Estonian, rather have we intended to introduce what seemed
to us most important and least known outside Estonia. In
addition to that, we have tried to find parallel phenomena
and ideas from other Finno-Ugrian cultures.
The 'ethno-futurist
triangle' by Rein Taagepera (4)
Ethno-futurism has been interpreted
in its widest sense by Professor Rein Taagepera at the 3rd
conference of ethno-futurism in Tartu (1999). Taagepera
models attitudes toward traditional culture and possible
orientations in culture.
Cosmofuturism postulates
a 'brave new world', post-ethnic and cosmopolitan, or supra-ethnic.
Taagepera presents the Soviet idea of creating a post-ethnic
'Soviet nation' out of the existing nationalities and ethnic
groups as an example of a cosmofuturist ideology. The 'Soviet
nation' idea depended on the belief in progress, the belief
that nationalities and ethnic groups are no longer necessary
and doomed to disappear in the close future.
Ethno-praeterism is
an orientation toward the ethnic past. The past is valued,
as well as the 'purity' of ethnic or national culture, intolerance
against anything new (that is, alien) is spread. Thus ethnic
or national culture is deemed to be little more than one
of the previous strata in its history. Development of the
culture brings about distance from that ideal culture and
foreign mental culture is inevitably adopted along with
elements of foreign material culture. This way of thinking
helps marginalise and finally destroy ethnic culture.
Ethno-futurism
sees possibilities even for smaller peoples to retain their
ethnic peculiarities: ethnic diversity is considered possible
in the future. Orientation is toward the future, ethnic
or national culture is viewed as dynamic and developing.
Adopting elements of foreign material culture does not inevitably
bring about the adoption of foreign mental culture.
Taagepera emphasises that ethno-futurism
contradicts both cosmofuturism and ethno-praeterism whereas
ethno-praeterism has no connection with cosmofuturism. This
is due to the fact that ethno-praeterists have nothing to
say about the future and cosmofuturists, on the other hand,
have nothing to say about ethnic or national culture. Both
advance linguistic and cultural assimilation.
Taagepera admits that his three concepts
are ideal types which appear side by side or in various
combinations.
Estonian poetry in
the 1990s: ethno-futurism vs. ethno-symbolism
In a narrower sense, ethno-futurism
may mean the corpus of ethno-futurist texts in a given culture
(literature, art, elite culture) which share a method of
composition; ethno-futurism may be defined as the method
itself. In Piret Viires' words, "ethnofuturism is joining
the archaic, prehistorical, ethnic substance peculiar to
our nation with the modern, sometimes even futuristic form.
Or vice versa - the archaic form (e.g. runo-song) with a
contemporary vision of the world. Ethnofuturism can be also
related with surrealism, but it is more nationalistic in
its manifestos strongly stressing national diversities."
(2)
Characteristic of ethno-futurist texts
are (a) the striving to give traditional cultural phenomena
new meanings according to the conditions of current culture,
(b) recontextualising phenomena which are decaying and are
frequently considered extinct, (c) reviving or reconstructing
traditions which are not practised any more (on the basis
of oral or written sources), (d) translating phenomena of
archaic culture (e.g. runo song, traditional ornament) to
new spheres of art without altering the poetics of these
phenomena.
Kajar Pruul has dichotomised ethno-futurism
with ethno-symbolism (5). According to Pruul, the dominant
method of Estonian poetry before the restoration of the
independent Republic of Estonia had been ethno-symbolist.
Ethno-symbolism can be considered a means of poetic resistance
to occupation and assimilation policies. Ethno-symbolist
poetry by Hando Runnel and others meant repetition of already
known signs, thus fulfilling important mnemotechnical and
mobilising functions. According to Pruul, the influential
political poetry of the late 1980s, including the lyrics
of commonly known resistance songs by Jüri Leesment,
were not ‘original’, they rather consist of conscious quoting,
collageing and paraphrasing both the motifs and aesthetics
of 19th-century popular choral songs. Such a
treatment of ethno-futurism in opposition to ethno-symbolism
may refer to the possibility that ethno-futurism (which
Piret Viires labeled a ‘peripheral and provincial variant
of postmodernism’) may in fact be a means of surpassing
postmodernism. Collage, pastiche and excessive quoting are
characteristic of postmodern aesthetics, Pruul considers
these techniques as attributes of ethno-symbolist art.
Viktor Shibanov (6) has come up with a similar idea,
albeit from a different standpoint.
In this sense, the practice of utilising
those practically extinct phenomena which have a heavy significative
burden is also ethno-symbolist. For example, wearing traditional
Estonian costumes at a song festival is very patriotic,
although the tradition of making the costumes and wearing
them is extinct for the large majority of Estonians. Thus
the costumes worn need not be from the home parish of the
wearer, the details of the costumes have lost their significance
and people do not know how to wear the costumes properly.
Among other Finno-Ugrians, a similar
example of ethno-symbolism is the custom of opening a speech
with a greeting in the native language and then switches
to the language of the majority (Russian, Latvian, Norwegian,
Swedish). In this way, the speaker has made his language
a mere symbol without any practical use. The speaker may
or may not speak the local language, it is even possible
that the majority of the audience speaks the language, the
use of which is restricted to the sole function of an ethnic
symbol. The Livonian language has an ethno-symbolist prestige
among most Livonians. Very many descendants of Livonians
consider it natural that only folk songs and choral songs
are sung in Livonian, deeming it nearly sacrilege to ask
for a light onto a cigarette in Livonian.
New modus vivendi
for a culture in crisis
The ‘manifesto of ethno-futurism’ (compiled
from the material of three presentations held at the first
conference of ethno-futurism; 1) states that “ethno-futurism
is not an ideology, but a way to survive as well as a modus
vivendi”. The purpose of the ethnofuturist way of thinking
is the integrating elements of foreign material culture
(technologies) into the ethnically peculiar model of culture
and local world picture without altering it. This kind of
thinking is often spawned by cultures in crisis at times
when a society is rapidly undergoing social or cultural
changes and in situations when the invasion of foreign technology
is about to bring about the invasion of foreign mental culture.
In all these situations, the continuity of traditional culture
is endangered.
The standard example on the invasion
of foreign mental culture in the Estonian ethno-futurist
discourse concerns the creolisation of the Estonian culture
with German culture in the 19th century during
the so-called period of National Awakening. It has been
claimed that the Estonian culture adopted the whole system
of norms and values from the German culture while retaining
the Estonian language (7). Kauksi Ülle has proposed a number
of ways to continue the Estonian traditional culture today
in her paper Ethno-futurism as a way of life (8).
Kaido Kama has brought the following example to illustrate
the relations of modern technology and ethnic culture: “The
aborigines of Australia use boats with two most powerful
Johnson motors at the back. But the fishing devices are
Stone Age technology. Considering a local natural conditions,
the local sea, the local fish, a thousands of years old
experience works better than any plastic or nylon. Of course,
today’s civilisation has much useful to offer us. However,
an optimal relation must be found. It is completely normal
that there will be a personal computer in every future Estonian
home. But no-one can make me believe that there would be
any better material than softwood log for building houses
in Estonia.” (9)
To set Anzori Barkalaja’s study of the
new generation of the Pim river Khants as our model, we
can use the concept of culture shock to explain ethno-futurism
in this sense. Barkalaja considers the effect of oil mining
in the Surgut district (along with the invasion of Russian
culture, the creation of expansive centres of Russian culture
on Khant land) as a culture shock for the local Khant culture.
According to most researchers, this has lead the Khant culture
to the brink of extinction. Barkalaja emphasises the importance
of the new generation for whom this new ‘marred’ environment
is the only environment and who could come to terms with
it. Culture shock can seriously influence two generations,
the emergence of the third generation may mean the recovery
of the culture from the shock as the third generation will
be able to assimilate foreign technology and foreign cultural
influences to their own culture.
Ethno-futurism in a state of culture
shock is represented by the necessity to create an ‘own’
urban culture for smaller Finno-Ugrian peoples to counter
the foreign urban culture, noted by Rein Taagepera, Andres
Heinapuu and Kari Sallamaa (10).
In the paper presented on the 4th conference
of ethno-futurism (summer 2001), Kaido Kama stated on the
basis of his experience in the Southern Seas that Vanuatu
- after being modernised by colonial authorities - has partially
returned to local custom law and social traditions by means
of a KASTOM-campaign, the spirit of which is ethno-futurist.
In contrast, there did not seem to be any need to start
similar campaigns in Papua New Guinea for custom law, traditional
culture and traditional organisation of the local societies
are viable there.
By now, the concept of ethno-futurism
has become vague in the Estonian culture. Perhaps this is
due to most Estonians' opinion that we have successfully
overcome the crisis. However, the crisis is still present
for those who strive to continue the Estonian traditional
culture, cut short by a 'cultural suicide' (to use Rein
Taagepera's term) in the 19th century. For these groups,
ethno-futurism is still topical. But we have to admit that
the strivings of these groups are relatively peripheral
in the Estonian culture, although a part of the younger
generation is susceptible to the ethno-futurist direction
in the Estonian culture (e.g. the Viljandi Folk Music Festival
seems to be the most popular music festival in today’s Estonia).
The crisis is also present for Finno-Ugric minority peoples.
We do not know of any Finno-Ugric minorities who would have
been let live in their own tradition without any external
interference as the circa hundred peoples of Papua New Guinea
have been let live. Thus we can hope that Finno-Ugric minority
peoples have the unique chance to surpass postmodernism
by means of ethno-futurism.
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