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• INEXPLICABLE BEINGS, PHENOMENA, AND EVENTS, CATEGORIZED AS MYTHOLOGICAL, AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE SOUTH SLAVS: COLLECTIONS OF FOLK TALES, INTERVIEWS WITH STORYTELLERS AND MYTHOLOGICAL BEINGS IN MODERN NOVELS

  135-148

  Milena Medojevic

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  394

  This article contains the basic structural features of a same-named Ph.D. research thesis. The main tasks of the research are to identify three focal fields with mythological elements, whether they are phenomena, objects, people, or creatures that some believe and others doubt exist. These focal fields are found in various collections of folk stories, and contemporary literary texts as well as in interviews with storytellers. However, the focus of this article is primarily on the introductory story and on providing the background of the general idea. The goal is to acquaint the readers with the background that explains the origin of the mentioned stories among the people. It talks about death, man’s natural fear of it, and the world of the paranormal, religious, and mythological, which combined create inexplicable phenomena that contradict the rational reasoning of man. One of the hypotheses of the research itself is to understand why this phenomenon is still present in the human community and what benefits it brings. Furthermore, the methodology used in the research includes a comparison and contrast of information between folk stories and contemporary literary works. In addition, the most important research method used is the interview technique with the aforementioned storytellers with strategically selected persons who are assumed to possess quality information.  

• Possessions, Pride, and Privilege Martaban Jar and the Visual Power from Three Photographs from Borneo

  109-121

  Rusyanti Rusyanti

  Views:

  0

  Photographs have become important subjects of study since the early nineteenth century, drawing attention from a wide range of disciplines. In cultural anthropology, photographs function as both pictorial representa-tions and cultural artifacts, providing evidence of social practices and material traces of the past. Clothing, objects, gestures, space, and social relations in photographs communicate collective and historical meanings. Additionally, photographs reveal hidden meanings related to cultural constructions, ideology, and power; as Barthes argued, photography is a system of signs in which meaning is never neutral. This study analyzes three late-nineteenth-century photographs from Borneo to clarify their social, cultural, and ideological significance. Furthermore, the study interprets the historical connection between Dayak communities in Borneo and Martaban jars, valued as indispensable objects. The analysis aims for rigor and neutrality by distinguishing between visible elements (denotation), cultural associations (connotation), and underlying ideology (myth). The three photographs, featuring deliberately arranged scenes, focus on ethnic features with the jar as the principal subject. The jar conveys clear ideas of ownership, strong possessions, pride, and privilege, reflecting a persistent social construct. As depicted, the vase is an integrated element of the human world, persisting across different times and places and bringing a unique narrative with each appearance.