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Independent Block of Macha Caporal: The Challenges and Restrictions in Female Dancing
103-122Views:399This paper explores the experience of six Macha Caporal dancers belonging to an independent female block in La Paz, a recent and still unexplored mode of association to dance. This article analyzes and makes visible the challenges and restrictions women face in endeavoring to sustain an independent dance practice in the context of urban folk dance in Bolivia. Through the accounts of the women and the ethnographic material gathered from fieldwork in 2018 in Bolivia, the study portrays the women’s dancing context revealing the challenges and restrictions linked to the condition of being women in a society that is traversed by chauvinism. In the task of dancing, the women’s performance reveals a complex negotiation of gender roles, ideas, and expectations; processes that highlight the women’s agency and determination to carry on with a practice that ultimately grants them feelings of self-validation and autonomy.
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The Lazarki Procession in Inyevo, Radoviš: Ritual and Tradition in North Macedonia
65-90Views:50Lazarus Day is an important springtime tradition among Orthodox Christians in the Balkans. In the Republic of North Macedonia, many villages mark the occasion with a ritual conducted by female performers, the lazarki. Traditionally, the lazarki visit each home in the village to bless family members by singing unique songs. This ethnographic work intends to explore and document the tradition in Inyevo, a lowland and upland community in the Municipality of Radovis. Compared to other villages in Macedonia, the lazarki in Inyevo perform two connected rituals conducted eight days before Palm Sunday. On a Saturday, the lazarki perform the willow picking and willow offering in the monasteries, while the traditional home visitations happen on a Sunday. In exploring and documenting the tradition, fieldwork was conducted between 27 and 28 April 2024. The fieldwork included interviews (i.e., with the performers, a local family, people in the village) and observation of the rituals performed by the lazarki. The Lazarki in Inyevo exemplifies a tradition evoking themes on gender, the contemporary role of women in rituals, and as a form of authentic expression of faith.
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The Concept of Dissimilation in the Study of Inter-ethnic Marriages within Homogeneous Meskhetian Turkish, Azerbaijani Marriages in Turkestan
95-114Views:211While analyzing the preservation of cultural heritage is more straightforward in homogenous households, inter-ethnic marriages present a captivating lens through which to examine cultural integration, social identity, and the preservation of tradition within diverse societies. This study explores the dynamics of inter-ethnic and homogeneous marriages among Meskhetian Turks and Azerbaijanis in Kazakhstan, applying the theoretical framework of dissimilation theory. By drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2024 which involved 45 interviews from two research villages, Turki Poselkasy and Kentau, located in the Turkestan province in the southern part of Kazakhstan, the research investigates the historical context and contemporary realities faced by these communities. In doing so, it highlights differences in culture, language, and social norms that can influence the formation of both mixed and homogeneous marriages among minority groups in the region. The theoretical background of the study is grounded in dissimilation theory, which posits that individuals in inter-ethnic marriages tend to distance themselves from their own ethnic groups to establish new identities within the context of their relationships. Through interviews and surveys conducted across diverse settlements, the study explores social identities and groups as well as concepts of cultural and social differences including gender dynamics, to uncover the intricate mechanisms of dissimilation.
