List of Illustrations ix
Notes on Transliteration from Russian and Sakha xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction: Encountering Olonkho 1
1 Epic Traditions, Performers, and Audiences 11
2 Effects of Change during the Soviet Era 33
3 Esteem for a Masterpiece: The Quest for Recognition 64
4 Examining the Role of UNESCO and Intangible Cultural Heritage
89
5 Elements of Resilience: Stable and Malleable 108
6 Epic Revitalization: Negotiating Identities and Other
Challenges 135
7 Ensuring Sustainability through Transmission and Innovation
156
Glossary of Russian and Sakha Words 163
Notes 165
Works Cited 203
Index 225
Robin P. Harris is an associate professor at Dallas International University and serves as the director of DIU’s Center for Excellence in World Arts.
"Harris' book is significant, accessible, and intriguing. . . .
Wonderfully reflexive, providing a glimpse into dialogue with key
people in the revitalization effort, people who are concerned that
history of the prized ethnic tradition is recounted rightly."
--Western Folklore
"A most-welcome contribution to the analysis of the problems facing
traditional art forms in the modern world." --Journal of American
Folklore
"Deeply researched . . . With detailed analysis, Harris describes
the changes that olonkho has endured from before the Soviet time,
during the Communist regime, through perestroika, up to its present
day."--Songlines
"Strong ethnography is what makes Storytelling in Siberia an
important text, taking readers to a place little studied, to the
particularity of olonkho." --Ethnomusicology Forum
"Harris has crafted a complex and critical evaluation of a
cultural-revival project in practice." --The Russian Review
"Of relevance to understanding the challenges of cultural
reemergence in other parts of the globe, this compelling book
informs anthropologists and ethnomusicologists as well as a much
broader audience about one of the true masterpieces of the world's
oral literature-- its origins, content, and future. Readers witness
the interplay of Christian and pre-Christian interpretations, the
sad legacy of cultural loss during the Soviet years, and the
aspirations of a modern nation to reclaim its vanishing cultural
heritage amid a rapidly changing world. . . . Highly
recommended."--Choice
"Rich in information about a sonic performance tradition little
known in the West, Storytelling in Siberia is an important
introduction to both Sakha storytelling and its history.
Multidisciplinary in scope." --The World of Music
“Robin Harris’s up-close and vividly written account of how an epic
tradition from Siberia was proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of the
Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is a masterpiece of
contemporary ethnography in its own right.”--Theodore Levin,
Dartmouth College
"Ancient artistry comes to us through the trial of centuries. This
book gives us hope that the heroic epics of the Yakuts, having
survived under Soviet power, will outlive these rapidly changing,
turbulent times as well."--Eduard Alekseyev, Academy of
Spirituality, Sakha Republic (Yakutia)
"Harris accomplished a laudable work. . . . Storytelling in
Siberia is an important introduction to both Sakha storytelling and
its history." --World of Music
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