Budkavlen är en open access tidskrift utgiven av ämnena etnologi och folkloristik vid Åbo Akademi. Budkavlen grundades år 1922 av föreningen Brage och ges ut en gång per år.
Etnologi och folkloristik vid Åbo Akademi
Längtan efter förståelse, oro för missförstånd
Musik skivsamling samlande identitetskapande
Polerade fasader och kontroversiella kulisser
Lekfulla möten och allvarsamma speglingar
Mellan hästens öga och människans strävan
Between the horse’s eye and the human endeavor. A dialectical relationship embodied in biographical portraits Winroth, AnnCristin Keywords: horse and human, antropomorfism, biographical portraits of horses, interspecies relationship Describing horses or other animals in portrait-like fragments or statements is an established practice and a genre that occurs in different kinds of materials and contexts. What does the portrayal of the horse do with the interaction space and with its possibility for agency? This thinking has prompted an investigation of the discourse on horses and discussions about an intergenerational relationship within a life history story. The purpose is to seek to create insight into the animal-human relationship through a close reading of written portraits and descriptions of intertwined biographies within interview material. The article is mainly based on two subject-oriented life history interviews with experienced horse owners, as well as two written portraits of unique horses. Questions addressed in the processing of the material are: How do the informants describe their horse partners? What impact do these interpretations have on the relationship space and to a possible cross-species interaction? How is the significance of the intergenerational relationship expressed in depictions of a shared life course? A central starting point for the understanding of the animal-human relationship is that it is constructivist, in line with contemporary animal studies in humanities and social science research. In the intergenerational space created between a horse and its human, the relationship is considered unique and dialectical. It is negotiated and expressed through socially and culturally expected formats within a very specific context. The phrase The horse’s eye is used in the title as a symbolic and real point of reference that reveals both the horse’s mode and mood, which its human has to take into account. The words Human endeavour refer to the everyday practice that is expressed through the horse owner’s sensual experiences, thoughts, attitudes, training and nursing. Stories reflecting the horse experience refer to both stable and more temporary syntheses within this intergenerational relationship space. The division of roles between horse and human can be perceived as relatively equal or it alternates between different situations, as exemplified in the empirical sections.
häst och människa, antropomorfism, biografiska porträtt av hästar, mellanartslig relation
horse and human, antropomorfism, biographical portraits of horses, interspecies relationship
Djuren i den rurala livsstilsmigrationen
Animals and Rural Lifestyle Migration Gurbet Peker Keywords: Lifestyle migration, rural idyll, animal husbandry, interspecies relationships This article examines the role of animals and animal husbandry in rural lifestyle migration to the Gotlandic countryside. One area of interest is the significance of animals and animal husbandry as part of migrants’ notions of the rural idyll and the place they seek. The article also describes and analyses animal-related everyday practices and interspecies relationships that are developed between migrants and animals. The empirical material has been collected using ethnographic methods based on observations and qualitative interviews. The researcher also emerged herself in aspects of the rural lifestyle migration being studied. The informants have all left the city of Stockholm in favour of life in the Gotlandic countryside, where they devote themselves to small-scale animal husbandry and keep sheep, horses, chickens and other animals. The theoretical foundation is that humans and other animals are in a state of constant becoming-with and, thus, create each other’s lifeworlds. The focus is on analysing everyday practices and how interspecies relationships shape the migrants and their lifestyles. At the same time, the researcher also looks at the way in which discourses affect the migrants’ rural lifestyle migration, both as cultural preconceptions and everyday practices. The results show that animals and animal husbandry play a central role in the rural idyll and the place that migrants seek. The interspecies relationships are also important for the informants’ socialisation and establishment processes in the Gotlandic countryside. The migrants find their relationships with the animals meaningful and crucial for the established lifestyle. These close everyday relationships lead the informants to renegotiate aspects of their view of animals as well as their view of eating meat. This lifestyle with animals also involves emotional challenges related to slaughter, an aspect of animal husbandry that the migrants find stressful. The interspecies relationships documented in the material are consistently characterised by ambivalence and constant renegotiations. In summary, the article shows that the animals and the animal-related practices are crucial for the lifestyle to which the migrants aspire, the everyday life they establish, as well as for the migration project as a whole.
Livsstilsmigration, rural idyll, djurhållning, mellanartsliga relationer
Lifestyle migration, rural idyll, animal husbandry, interspecies relationships
‘A foot and a boot’. Narratives about children killed by wolves in Finnish folk tradition and media material Sofie Strandén-Backa Keywords: wolf attacks in Finland 1880–1881, children, living tradition, mass and social media The article focuses on narratives about children and wolves, and the material consists of different texts that deal with children who have been killed by wolves in Finland in earlier times. The particular events in question are a series of well-known and documented wolf attacks on children in the Turku region during 1880 and 1881. Older newspaper articles, as well as contemporary texts, are analysed. One aim of the study is to investigate what is set in motion when the relationship between wolves and children is discussed and which underlying patterns emerge as part of that discussion. Another aim is to allow for narrative elements to create a base for discourse about the dangerous wolf. The analysis covers peoples’ comments on websites where the discourse is both defended and challenged and where negotiations about the prerogatives of the animal are made visible. Ever-returning narratives about the dangerous wolf are part of a legend process, where one goal is to convince the audience of the truth of the stories. One way of doing so, throughout the years, has been to present what could be called ‘the bloody list’, a list that consists of the name and age of the dead children, the circumstances under which they were killed and what was left of their bodies. In the stories, there was no way to protect the children, and there is nothing the parents could have done once the wolf got hold of their child. The message in these stories from the 1880s is that there is no rescue from the wolf. This message is passed down to parents and further to the children of today, creating a child-eating beast of (every) wolf. Another goal is to keep the stories alive for future generations, since the events are viewed as so important that they are not to be forgotten. The stories have a somewhat emblematic character, since they reflect an original myth about the genesis of modern Finland, freed from untamed nature and the chaos of wolves.
vargattacker i Finland 1880–1881, barn, levande tradition, massmedia, sociala medier
wolf attacks in Finland 1880–1881, children, living tradition, mass and social media
In a horse’s belly: Interspecies relations as a critique of civilization Jenny Ingridsdotter & Kim Silow Kallenberg Keywords: natureculture, animals, popular culture, masculinity In this article, we analyse how the relationship between humans and other species is portrayed in contemporary films and series that have the rise and fall of civilization as their theme: Into the Wild (2007), The Revenant (2015), Into the Forest (2015) and The Walking Dead (2010-). The purpose is to understand how relationships between humans, animals and non-humans are portrayed. The films/series have been chosen on the basis of their portrayal of social downfall or social dissatisfaction and on the grounds that they are also widely recognised and popular portrayals. The analysis focuses on two male characters (The Revenant, Into the Wild) and two female characters (Into the Forest and The Walking Dead) to investigate relationships between humans and other species (animals and zombies) when it comes to survival, and how these relationships are possibly conditioned by gender. Methodologically, we approach these popular cultural depictions as ethnographers, with human meaning-making as the primary point of departure. Theoretically, we use concepts developed in the field of human-animal studies. The analysis shows that there are differences between the representations of different species and that these representations are also conditioned by gender in the human characters. Where men are alone in their struggle against nature, women are part of social relationships where they, together with others (human and non-human), struggle to survive. The analysis further shows how animals and other species constantly condition and enable human existence. However, lacking human language, the animals – who are absolutely vital for the actions and survival of the human characters – are rendered unimportant.
naturkultur, djur, populärkultur, maskulinitet
natureculture, animals, popular culture, masculinity
Från maskin och metafor till identitet och funktionalitet
Cephalopods. On staged animals and popular science conventions at public aquariums. Lars Kaijser Keywords: Aquarium, cephalopod, popular science The article discusses the way animals are portrayed in popular science, using cephalopods at public aquariums as the basis. Public aquariums tend to display a set of animals that could be described as flagship species. These are animals reoccurring as live examples in tanks, used in marketing and sold as toys in the gift shop. Often, the presentations of these animals are enhanced with scientific facts that are combined with popular cultural stories and well-known iconographies. Together they form what could be labelled as popular science animals, easily recognisable animals with charismatic features. At aquariums, this generally refers to sharks, jellyfish, penguins, frogs or clownfish. The focus is on the biology of the animals, but equal importance is placed on the stories and popular-cultural association frameworks. The popular science animal is comprised of elements from different domains of knowledge, ranging from biology and cultural history to folklore and popular culture. These insights can be contradictory, and one important feature of presentations at aquariums is the endeavour to distinguish between fact and myth. At the same time, the myth is an important resource when curating exhibits and attracting attention. It is part of the convention that the selection of knowledge is not only chosen to inform people about animals but also to entertain and surprise them. The cephalopod is at the crossroad of research and imagination, viewed as enigmatic, fascinating, and fearful. It is characterised as smart, a superhero and a marker for both discoveries and knowledge gaps. The cephalopod, especially the octopus, is an animal that in many ways represents modernity.
Niklas Huldén disputerade för doktorsgraden vid ämnet Nordisk etnologi den 18 maj 2018 vid Åbo Akademi med avhandlingen Kustbor och det materiella arvet. Upptecknad egendom som indikator för kulturell anpassning i sydvästra Finlands skärgård 1700–1900. Som opponent fungerade docent Anders Perlinge, Stockholms universitet (Institute for Economic and Business History Research (EHFF), Stockholm School of Economics) och som kustos professor Fredrik Nilsson
Handlingsrum och identitetsmarkörer i språkligt och kulturellt trängda situationer
Anna­-Liisa Kuczynski disputerade för doktorsgraden vid ämnet Nordisk etnologi den 12 januari 2017 vid Åbo Akademi med avhandlingen Minoritetsgrupper och möten i trängda situationer. Identifikationer och kulturell gemenskap. Som opponent fungerade FD, docent Oscar Pripp från Uppsala universitet och som kustos professor emerita Anna-­Maria Åström.
The Body of the Patient Emotions, power and reciprocity in the world of transplantation Markus Idvall Transplantation has been a part of human culture and imagination over centuries. In modern times, from the mid-20th century on, transplantation of solid organs and cells has become part of clinical practice. In this article, I focus on field studies with 1) individuals who have donated a kidney to a relative (living donors) and 2) individuals who have received a kidney from a deceased donor. Transplantation is problematized as a form of inter-corporality and a performative meeting between a recipient, a donor and medical intermediaries in the shape of doctors and nurses. By focusing on the body of the patient we learn about the aspects of emotions, power, and reciprocity in which the transplantation takes place. The empirical discussion starts with a phenomenological approach towards what it means to have a transplant. In the narrative of one of the interview subjects a specific landscape – a forest – appears as a symbol for the individual body’s transformation or even “rebirth”. The embodiment of the forest signifies both hope and an uncertain future for the individual. In a similar way, individuals who donate one of their kidneys to a relative, also incorporate the patient’s room in the hospital as being a space representing the pain which an individual living donor experiences when temporarily becoming a patient. In the second part of the article, a bio-political, power-related perspective is included in the analysis. The medical gaze that identifies donors and recipients is discussed in relation to how the human body and body-parts become a form of a national resource in the transplant context. Donor pools and waiting lists for transplants are in this respect tools for realizing a transplant industry on a national and global basis. At the end of the article, reciprocity is introduced as an analytical perspective. By distinguishing the transplant as a gift, emotions, power relations and the multifaceted body of the patient can be seen as inter-connected.
The Correct Body for Integration and Work An ethnological study of courses for newly arrived and jobseekers Karin Högström Using ethnographic examples from Sweden this article focuses on a form of training through which people are taught new movements and postures to use during different processes; it also includes transmission of certain attitudes and ideals. These examples demonstrate how certain bodies, bodily attitudes and behaviors are perceived as problematic and are therefore considered in need of change. In the integration-project Right step (Rätt steg) in Stockholm, great emphasis is placed on bodily aspects. Newly arrived Somali refugees without previous education are assisted to practice “correct” behavior and posture during job interviews: stand and walk upright, make eye-contact and give a firm handshake. Participants are also encouraged to eat healthier and exercise more. Courses at the Swedish Public Employment Agency instruct jobseekers how to make a good impression on potential employers. Here, too, appropriate behavior and posture are addressed, and the correct way to shake hands and establish eye contact is taught. The teachers aim at changing not only the participants’ behavior, but also their manners and, to a certain extent, their attitudes. The goal is to purposefully adapt bodies and minds to the expectations and ideals of potential employers and Swedish society. Conforming to the behavior and norms provided by the teachers can seem to be the only viable option for the participants, given their subordinate position as immigrants or jobseekers. The course participants’ own ideals and physical attitudes are assigned low or almost no value. The asymmetry of power is also evident to those responsible and sometimes the participants protest against the teachers’ attempts to change them. However, learning the new norms and behaviors can provide benefits for the course participants. Mastering the codes can, to a certain extent, make it possible to choose how to use the new skills. Learning the correct behaviors can thus lead to a greater freedom of action, within very limited conditions.
To Feel Uncomfortable but Still Breastfeed Problematic feelings and bodies in narratives about public breastfeeding Lina Metsämäki This article focuses on problems and strategies that are activated when a breastfeeding individual is engaging in activities in public spaces. The aim was to examine through the engendered feelings of being uncomfortable which problems a person encounters and what these feelings do to their body. This was done through a close reading of five interviews about breastfeeding in public and comments on an article about public breastfeeding published on the webpages of Svenska Yle during the summer of 2017. Feelings of being uncomfortable did not stop the informants from breastfeeding in public, but the feelings made their bodies engage with the space in a different manner. The informants regulated their bodies through their feelings of being uncomfortable. They used strategies to make their breastfeeding as invisible as possible, such as turning away from public attention or using certain clothes or scarves to conceal they are nursing or going into another room to breastfeed. Feelings like fear, disgust, embarrassment, shame and pain are all connected to the feeling of being uncomfortable. The problems are also connected to the sexual connotations of the female breast and it was important for the informants not to come across as being sexual while breastfeeding. Since the breast is usually considered sexual and men are assumed to be sexually attracted to female breasts problems arise. Other problems concern the fact that other people may be made to feel uncomfortable or being pointed out and receiving negative comments while breastfeeding. Bodily functions can be problematic as well, especially leaking breastmilk that may leave stains on clothing. Another problem was breaking the norms surrounding breastfeeding, for instance by breastfeeding an older child.
Vita käppen – redskapet som hjälper och stjälper
The White Cane – A tool that both helps and hinders Bodies, shame, normality and the agency of objects Maria Bäckman The article discusses the attempts of visually impaired individuals to sometimes pass as seeing. The background is the resistance that many blind or visually impaired people testify they feel, during their ongoing rehabilitation, about a white cane. Often, on these occasions they provid descriptions of dramatic narratives in which the user explains what it was like when they first realized that it was now really time to start using a cane (for example: When I fell in the water from the quay, or stepped out in front of a bus, etc.). However, many also relate the way a cane, even in more mundane contexts, makes the individual’s visual inability obvious to others and thereby makes the person particularly vulnerable. The tool that connects the visually impaired with the outside world is thus also a material expression which makes both the visual damage and the cane usersmore noticeable as less than a fully functional individual. By holding on to the materiality of the cane and its nature of being a physical object, our understanding can be increased of the ambivalent relationship that many visually impaired people develop with a white cane. On the basis of social materiality studies and the concept of ableism, taken from critical handicap research, the article shows how the use of a white cane takes place in a public space; a space where the user variously inhabits an “imaginary” full-sighted body and another, existing body, which on the contrary is characterized by its weakened vision. However, it is important to realize that the persistent rejection mechanism that many visually impaired people have for a cane is intimately linked to ableism and existing norms of bodily functions. A desire to repel an object that reduces one to something else, and consequently to a somewhat lower standing, is a perfectly reasonable reaction to a deeply rooted social conflict. For many people with visual impairment, the resistance to a white cane must therefore be understood as a refusal to embody a functional normative failure.
The Body and the Divergent City Culture analytic perspectives on disability and urban spaces Kristofer Hansson The city is constrained by a variety of strategies and in this article, two such strategies are highlighted: economic strategies and accessibility strategies. These strategies may function in the same urban space, but this article highlights those places where there is a potential conflict between these two. This is done mainly through ethnographic observations following people with disabilities, and focuses on what is hidden or trivialized in practices in the city. It is argued, that already in the spatiality there is often an inherent conflict between, on the one hand, a desire to create an accessible city, and on the other hand, to create a city with a strong focus on market-oriented economic growth. These two strategies create friction, which essentially becomes visible when individuals with a disability must exhibit a certain creativity to deal with obstacles or constraints that arise. What this creativity can thus make visible are the solutions that individuals use to progress and be present in the city. At the same time, it also says something about the limitations and obstacles that exist in the city. Thus, the divergent city does not become an urban space where a multitude of bodies can be on equal terms, but instead a place where cultural and material boundaries arise that control the room by opening and closing in a constantly ongoing process. Through the two strategies the article presents an analysis of practices that can problematize The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which states the need “to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment” (Article 9 – Accessibility).