ETHNIC IDENTITY THROUGH
ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS
AND EXHIBITIONS
(IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM)
Vesna Marjanovič
Approaching the new millennium the antagonisms and general social,
political, economic and cultural crises perturbing European and other societies
lead to a revision of the identity of every ethnic community, ethnic group or
nation within a coimtry or region. The universal nature of culture or of the mass
culture of the 60s are making way for the entity of cultural features of nations,
ethnic communities and groups (which manifest themselves in differences,
similarities and coionterparts).
In this atmosphere of historic, social and economic transformation of the
late twentieth century we tend to see museums as places which spread culture
and identity, but also as places where other cultures and cultural differences are
preserved and fostered and compared with one's own. Who are we in the global
society? More than ever what we need is our own "identity card". We may
possibly find it in the thematic and, perhaps even better, in the permanent
exhibition of a museum. But is this the right way of preserving our cultural
identity? We shall try to answer this question below.
In the past the Voivodina Museum, for example, started by presenting Serbia's
identity through a modest collection gathered by Matica Srpska in Novi Sad (under
the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Nowadays the museum has expanded
and become a multinational (multi-ethnical) museum in which s variety of
nationalities try to find themselves within as heterogeneous area. "The impact of
the region's geographic position on man's aeativity in shaping, changing and
passing on culture in Voivodina consists first of all of the awareness that there is
something special, unique in the nature of the geographic location as weUs as of
the specific nature of its cultural and historical development. This is the highest
level of abstracting notions and ideas of the real world which are faced with".'
• Example 1. On the permanent exhibition and on the ethnological section
within the permanent exhibition of the complex museum:
1 Dragoslav Antonijevid, Uvod, Etnološki deo stalne postavke. Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad 1997, p. 265.
395
Vesna Marjanovic
In the region of Voivodina which is rich with archeological sites and places
of significant cultural interest we find ourselves in precisely such a place
determined by nature, culture and civilization which cannot fail to generate
associations and ideas about "connecting geographic features with historical
facts" as part of a wide range of fine and subtle links between Slavic, Hungarian
and Germanic peoples with their wealth of related ethnic communities and groups
whose classes and successors have played a role in the turbulent and complex
ethnic and cultural processes which shaped Voivodina's ethnic features.^
The basic methodological approach of the exhibition's ethnologic section
is to exhibit objects and their functional use. The function of the objects is presented
within the overall context of life and of the ethnos while emphasizing as much
as possible their interconnections and interrelations with the structure of the
population and geographic area. In that way every ethnic community represent
only one section of a whole which is determined in place and time. The objects
were selected based on aesthetic criteria and they tell us the story of the
chronological development of material culture in Voivodina over a period which
includes the 19* century and the first half of the 20* century. We have to remind
ourselves, however, that the cultural genesis of the objects is much more remote
in time and that they contain elements from ancient eras. The peoples which
migrated to this area brought with them elements of ancient times which survived
in eclectic European styles.^
The ethnographic exhibition in the Museum of Voivodina primarily presents
the past and refers to issues of ethnology and anthropology. This actually means
that it presents the values cultures and communities which are in the process of
disappearing and that it draws attention to timeless values which are endangered
by modem progress. Owing to this approach many visitors are able to establish
a close relationship with the objects and can attempt to reconstruct their personal
cultural identity amidst a multi-ethnic population. Through the seven thematic
sections - Vernacular Architecture, Agriculture, Weaving, Carpets, House
furnishing. Customs, Folk Dresses - presented in a horizontal historical cross
section the exhibition "narrates" the global identity of the region.
• Example 2. The interaction of culture in a heterogeneous area (spiritual
culture - family customs):
In the process of acculturation people adopted elements from the rich
cultural environment which, at first, were not part of their own culture, but in
the course of time were included in it for the simple reason that they continued
to place in their everyday life and gradually became part of it. Leach's theory of
commimication may provide us with insight is this process. According to Leach
human beings establish communication through expressive actions which
2 Ibidem.
3 Ibidem.
396
Ethnic identity through ethnographic museums and exhibitions
function as signals, signs and symbols. Such signs simply existed in the common
area and generated a certain communication between different ethnical
communities. Consequentiy, Leach's main thesis is that regardless of cultural
particularities at some level the "mechanisms" of various forms of commimication
must be the same, that every such form is "tiansformed"* in our consciousness,
that man's life depends on symbols and that in an interactive sense the system
of symbols depends on different creations of society itself
This is to be understood in that some objects from the collections are
separated and treated Uke symbols of the global system within the society. Easter
eggs, for example, are part of the relevant collection in the museum, but they are
also part of certain rituals and of people's religious conviction. Moreover, they
also represent ethnic characteristic (according to the specific styles of decorating
and dyeing them or specific motifs etc.).
Family customs and particularities in Voivodina presented in the exhibition
carry with them the characteristics of the spiritual aspect of the tiaditional cultures
of all ethnic groups in the region. The co-existence of so many groups in the
same area meant many specific, cultural features of spiritual identity were lost,
but on the other hand also contributed to the manifestation of customs as specific
cultural features.''
The research of the co-existence of different ethnic cormnunities in a
geographic area has its impact on the specific work in complex museums and
requires certain elements of approach to the presentation:
a) cultural features are to be preserved as special symbols of identity,
b) for some elements it can be established that they are the same in the culture
of each ethnic commimity and that the only difference is of a linguistic nature,
c) dedicate more attention to the process of acculturation,
d) interdisciplinary research of some thematic collections or cultural
phenomena.
By preserving the integrity and identity of every nation and ethnic minority
through ethnological work it is possible for every ethnic community to reconstruct
its traditional past - that of its home or village in its native region and also much
wider. Ethnographic collections presented to the scientific and general public
play a major role in preserving the identity of minorities. Though there exist
tendencies toward acculturation, there is also a reverse process of isolation within
one's own micro-commimity.
Nevertheless, we continue to be convinced that it is of major significance
to present all these small communities in a horizontal cross-section which enables
us to really understand their meaning in time and space.
4 E. Leach, Teorija i komunikacija. Biblioteka XX, Beograd 1983.
5 C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures. New York 1973, p. 99.
6 Vesna Marjanovic, Customs. The Voivodina Museum, Novi Sad 1997, p. 351.
397
ETNIČNA IDENTITETA SKOZI
ETNOGRAFSKE MUZEJE IN RAZSTAVE
(V NOVEM TISOČLETJU)
Vesna Marjanovic
Ko se približamo novemu tisočletju, nas globoka socialna, politična,
gospodarska in kulturna kriza v evropskih in drugih družbah sUi v revizijo
identitete vsake etnične skupnosti, skupine in naroda. Globalno gledano je kultura
ali množična kulture zbledela od šestdesetih let naprej, ker je prenehalo veljati,
da ima vsak narod, etnična skupina ali sorodna kategorija svojo lastno kulturo
in kulturne značilnosti.
V tem ozračju zgodovinskih, socialnih in gospodarskih sprememb poznega
20. stoletja bi na muzeje radi gledali kot na prostor, ki širi kulturo, in identiteto
in tudi kot na ustanove, ki hranijo različne kulture in jih med seboj primerjajo.
Kdo smo v tej globalni družbi? Bolj kot kdajkoli prej protrebujemo lastno "osebno
izkaznico". Naša identiteta je verjetno nekaj, kar lahko najdemo v tematskih ali
celo bolje v stalnih razstavah. Vendar bi si morali najprej odgovoriti na vprašanje,
če je to prava pot za varovanje naše kulturne identitete.
Muzej Vojvodine, na primer, je v preteklosti začel s predstavljanjem srbske
identitete skozi skromno srbsko zbirko, ki jo je zbrala Matica Srpska v Novem
Sadu (v času avstroogrske monarhije). V zadnjih letih se je muzej razvil v
večnacionalni muzej, v katerem se različne narodnosti skušajo najti znotraj
heterogenih področij. "Vpliv zemljepisne lege Vojvodine na človekovo
ustvarjalnost pri oblikovanju, spreminjanju in prenašanju kulture te pokrajine
se kaže predvsem v zavesti, da je ta prostor in njegov kulturni in zgodovinski
razvoj nekaj povsem svojstvenega in edinstvenega. To je najvišja raven abstraktnih
pojmov in zamisli resničnega sveta, ki se rojeva pred nami"\
• Prvi primer: v zvezi s stalnimi razstavami in z etnološkimi oddelki stalnih
razstav v kompleksnih muzejih:
V regiji Vojvodina, ki je bogata z arheološkimi najdišči in s kraji velikega
kulturnega pomena, se znajdemo na prav takem mestu z naravo, kulturo in
civüizacijo, ki same od sebe rojevajo asociacije in misH o "povezanosti zemljepisnih
značilnosti z zgodovinskimi dejstvi" širokega spektra, od drobnih in subtilruh
1 Dragoslav Antonijevic, Uvod, Etnološki deo stalne postavke. Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad 1997, s. 265.
398
Etnična identiteta skozi etnografske muzeje in razstave
povezav med slovanskimi, madžarskimi in germanskimi narodi z mnogimi
povezanimi etničnimi skupinostmi in skupinami, ki so igrale pomemembno vlogo
v burnih in zapletenih etničnih in kulturnih procesih, ki so oblikovali etnične
posebnosti Vojvodine.^
Osnovni metodološki pristop etnološkega dela razstave je predstaviti
predmete in pokazati na njihovo funkcijo. Uporabnost nekega predmeta je
predstavljena v globalnem okviru časa in etnosa in čimbolj poudarja tudi njegovo
povezanost in povezave s strukturo prebivalstva v prostoru. Na ta način postane
vsaka etnična skupnost del celote, ki je prostorsko in časovno opredeljena.
Razstavljeni predmeti so bili tudi izbrani v skladu z estetskimi merili.
Pripovedujejo zgodbo o časovnem razvoju materialne kulture v Vojvodini v
obdobju, ki zajema 19. stoletje in prvo polovico 20. stoletja. Kljub temu ne smemo
pozabiti, da je kulturna geneza razstavljenih predmeti mnogo starejša. V njih so
nakopičeni sledovi davnih časov. Narodi, ki so se preselili v ta prostor, so s sabo
prinesli elemente davnih časov, ki so preživeli v eklektičnih evropskih stilih.^
Etnografska razstava v Muzeju Vojvodine predstavlja preteklost predvsem
v vidika etnologije in antropologije. To pomeni, da prikazuje vrednote kultur in
skupnosti, ki izginjajo, in da opozarja na trajne vrednote, ki jih ogroža sodobni
napredek. Zaradi tega načina predstavitve se mnogi obiskovalci lahko istovetijo
s predmeti in skušajo rekonstruirati svojo osebno kulturno identiteto v
večnacionalnem prebivalstvu. Skozi horizontalni zgodovinski prerez sedmih
sklopov - ljudsko stavbarstvo, kmetijstvo, tkanje, preproge, hišna oprema, šege
in narodne noše - se nam prikaže globalna identiteta regije.
• Drugi primer: interakcija kultur na heterogenem območju (duhovna
kultura - družinske šege):
V procesu akulturacije so ljudje iz bogatega kulturnega okolja sprejeli tudi
tisto, kar, pogojno rečeno, najprej ni sodilo v njihovo lastno duhovno kulturo,
vendar se je sčasoma v praksi uveljavilo, ker se je preprosto okrog njih dogajalo
in se postopno vključevalo v vsakdanje življenje. Tu si lahko pomagamo z
Leachevo teorijo komunikacije, po kateri "ljudje komunicirajo z značilnimi dejanji,
ki delujejo kot signali, znaki in simboli." Ti znaki so preprosto obstajali v skupnem
prostoru in so ustvarjali določeno komunikacijo med različnimi etničnimi
skupnostmi. Zato je Leacheva glavna teza, da morajo biti ne glede na kulturne
posebnosti na določeni ravni "mehanizmi" različnih oblik komuniciranja enaki
in da se vsaka v naši zavesti "pretvori"."* To pomeni, da smo ljudje vse življenje
odvisni od simbolov in da je v interakcijskem smislu sistem simbolov odvisen
od raznih ustvarjenih oblik same družbe.^
Nekateri predmeti v zbirkah so zato oddvojeni in obravnavani kot simboli
globalnega sistema znotraj družbe. Tako so na primer pirhi del ustrezne zbirke v
2 Ibidem.
3 Ibidem.
4 E. Leach, Teorija i komunikacija. Biblioteka XX, Beograd 1983.
5 C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures. New York 1973, s. 99.
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Vesna Marjanovic
nmzeju, vendar so tudi del določenih obredov in del verske opredelitve. Poleg
tega sodijo tudi k etničnim značilnostim (zaradi posebnih in različnih načinov
krašenja, barvanja aU motivov itd.).
Družinske šege in posebnosti v Vojvodini, ki jih prikazujemo na razstavi,
imajo v sebi značilnosti duhovnega vidika tradicionalne kulture vseh etničnih
skupin, ki živijo v Vojvodini. Skupno življenje tako številnih skupin na istem
območju je pomenilo izgubo nekaterih arhaičnih in ozkih posebnosti, predvsem
v kulturnih oblikah duhovne identitete, vendar je to skupno življenje na drugi
strani tudi prispevalo k uveljavljanju šeg kot posebne kulturne identitete.'
Preučevanje skupnega življenja različnih etničnih skupnosti na določenem
območju vpliva na specifično delo v kompleksnih muzejih in zahteva določene
oblike pristopa k predstavitvi:
a) ohraniti kulturne značilnosti kot posebne simbole identitete,
b) ugotavljanje enakih sestavin v kulturi vseh etničnih skupnosti, ki se
razlikujejo samo jezikovno,
c) posvetiti več pozornosti procesu akulturacije,
d) multidisciplinamo raziskovanje posamezne zbirke ali kulturnega pojava.
Z varovanjem integritete in identité vsakega naroda in narodne manjšine
skozi etnološko delo si vsaka etnična skupnost lahko rekonstruira tradicionalno
preteklost svojega doma ali naselja in širše. Etnografske zbirke, predstavljene
strokovni in širši javnosti, igrajo vodilno vlogo pri varovanju identitete manjšin.
Res je, da poteka proces akulturacije, vendar poteka hkrati tudi obratni proces
zapiranja v lastno majhno skupnost.
Še naprej menimo, da je pomembno predstaviti vse te majhne skupnosti v
horizontalnem prerezu, tako da lahko zares spoznamo njihov pomen v času in
prostoru.
BESEDA O AVTORICI
Vesna Marjanovič je diplomirala iz
etnologije na Filozofski fakulteti v Beogradu.
Od 1979 je zaposlena v Muzeju Vojvodine v
Novem Sadu kot kustodinja za socialno življenje
in običaje. 1992 je postala višja kustodinja,
februarja 1997 pa je bila imenovana za vodjo
Oddelka za etnologijo. Ga. Marjanovič je
predstavnica Jugoslavije v Evropskem projektu
- Mreža etnografskih in socialnozgodovinskih
muzejev - in je urednica Muzejskih novosti za
Srbijo. Objavila je vrsto člankov in razprav,
povečini o šegah in folklori narodov v Vojvo-
dini.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vesna Marjanovič, graduated in ethno- i
logy from the Faculty of Arts in Belgrade. Since \
1979 she has been employed at the Voivodina
Museum in Novi Sad as curator for social life
and customs. She became a senior curator in
1992 and in February 1997 she w^as appointed
head of the Department of ethnology. She is \
Yugoslavia's representative in the European ]
project of a network of ethnographic and social
history museums and editor of Museum News
for Serbia. She has published many articles and
treaties, mostly about the customs and folklore
of the peoples of Voivodina.
6 Vesna Marjanovič, Customs. The Voivodina Museum, Novi Sad 1997, s. 351.
400