“But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians

Researchers who study Wilamowice regard the costume and language as the main determinants of the cultural distinctiveness of the Vilamovians. The representatives of this ethnic group themselves also presented them as the most important. This was probably the case before 1945, when the folk dress an...

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Main Author: Tymoteusz Król
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences 2022-11-01
Series:Adeptus
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.ispan.edu.pl/index.php/adeptus/article/view/2746
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author Tymoteusz Król
author_facet Tymoteusz Król
author_sort Tymoteusz Król
collection DOAJ
description Researchers who study Wilamowice regard the costume and language as the main determinants of the cultural distinctiveness of the Vilamovians. The representatives of this ethnic group themselves also presented them as the most important. This was probably the case before 1945, when the folk dress and language began to disappear due to the post-war persecutions. Today, they still remain important markers of Vilamovianness, but are rarely used in everyday life. The article presents the determinants of Vilamovian distinctiveness that are important for contemporary Vilamovians, especially for young people involved in linguistic revitalisation. These are, among others, Vilamovian Polish, multilingualism, Vilamovian Christmas songs, Vilamovian-style scrambled eggs, Vilamovian Christmas Eve noodles and drinking from one glass. Although they are also found in other regions, including nearby villages, they are an equally important attribute of Vilamovianness for many Vilamovians. More important than their “objective” uniqueness is the fact that during the research carried out by the author, particularly young people from Wilamowice considered them appropriate for expressing their identity and the cultural distinctiveness related to it. Perhaps in the future some of them will become more important for Vilamovians than the costume or language. Ethnic boundaries are not the result of members of an ethnic community having a separate culture, but of their actions in order to distinguish themselves from others.
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spelling doaj.art-7959da61ed37493297a655d5c212ac042023-10-26T15:56:56ZengInstitute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of SciencesAdeptus2300-07832022-11-011910.11649/a.2746“But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of VilamoviansTymoteusz Król0Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk [Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences], Warsaw Researchers who study Wilamowice regard the costume and language as the main determinants of the cultural distinctiveness of the Vilamovians. The representatives of this ethnic group themselves also presented them as the most important. This was probably the case before 1945, when the folk dress and language began to disappear due to the post-war persecutions. Today, they still remain important markers of Vilamovianness, but are rarely used in everyday life. The article presents the determinants of Vilamovian distinctiveness that are important for contemporary Vilamovians, especially for young people involved in linguistic revitalisation. These are, among others, Vilamovian Polish, multilingualism, Vilamovian Christmas songs, Vilamovian-style scrambled eggs, Vilamovian Christmas Eve noodles and drinking from one glass. Although they are also found in other regions, including nearby villages, they are an equally important attribute of Vilamovianness for many Vilamovians. More important than their “objective” uniqueness is the fact that during the research carried out by the author, particularly young people from Wilamowice considered them appropriate for expressing their identity and the cultural distinctiveness related to it. Perhaps in the future some of them will become more important for Vilamovians than the costume or language. Ethnic boundaries are not the result of members of an ethnic community having a separate culture, but of their actions in order to distinguish themselves from others. https://journals.ispan.edu.pl/index.php/adeptus/article/view/2746Vilamoviansethnicitylanguage revitalisationmultilingualismtraditional food
spellingShingle Tymoteusz Król
“But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
Adeptus
Vilamovians
ethnicity
language revitalisation
multilingualism
traditional food
title “But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
title_full “But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
title_fullStr “But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
title_full_unstemmed “But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
title_short “But this doesn’t look Vilamovian”: Lesser-Known Determinants of the Cultural Distinctiveness of Vilamovians
title_sort but this doesn t look vilamovian lesser known determinants of the cultural distinctiveness of vilamovians
topic Vilamovians
ethnicity
language revitalisation
multilingualism
traditional food
url https://journals.ispan.edu.pl/index.php/adeptus/article/view/2746
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