FOLKLORE EXPEDITIONS
FOLKLORE EXPEDITIONS are scientific-research activities to collect and study folklore. The first information about the Bashkirs, their location, everyday life, religious beliefs, customs, etc. was presented in the works of Ibn Fadlan, Ibn Khordadbekh, Sallam Tardzheman, etc. Ethnic and social stratification, everyday life, customs and beliefs of the Turkic, Slavic and Finno-Ugrian peoples from the Urals and Volga regions were first described and systematized by means of Academical expeditions of 1768-74 organized by the Geographical department of Academy of science and art. I.I. Lepyekhin, P.S. Pallas, I.P. Falk, I.I. Georgi, N.P. Rychkov, etc. participated in it. In the early 20th c. the expeditions were accomplished by D. Mesarosh, S.I. Rudenko, G.F. Vildanov, etc. (see Academical center, Bashkir complex expedition, Society of studying Bashkiria).
Institute of history, language and literature has been conducting F.e. to the territory of Bashkortostan and Bashkir settlements in Kurganskaya, Orenburgskaya, Samarskaya, Saratovskaya, Sverdlovskaya, Chelyabinskaya regions of RF, Permskiy krai, RT since 1958. The expeditions were participated in and headed by N.V. Bikbulatov, R.G. Kuzeyev, L.I. Nagayeva, F.A. Nadrshina, A.M. Suleymanov, R.S. Sulaymanov, R.A. Sultangareyeva, S.N. Shitova, G.B. Khusainov, G.R. Khusainova, F.F. Gaysina, G.V. Yuldybyaeva, A.M. Khakimyanova, R.R. Zinnurova. The materials of F.e. have been being published in “Expedition materials” collections by the workers of the folkloristics department (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 etc.). The expeditions to collect Bashkir folklore are also conducted by Institute of art, Center of ethnic art.
Institute of ethnologic researches has been conducting F.e. and ethnographic expeditions since 1993. F.G. Galieva, Y.Y. Nechvaloda, I.G. Petrov, R.R. Sadikov were among the participants. The materials about Bashkirs, Belarusians, Maris, Mordovians, Russians, Udmurts, Ukrainians, Chuvashes collected on the expeditions to Bashkortostan are the basis of ethnographic collections of Museum of archeology and ethnography of RB, National Museum of RB, etc.
Bashkir state university has been holding the F.e. participated in and headed by B.G. Akhmetshin, L.G. Barag, L.I. Bryantseva, N.K. Idelbayev, Kirey Mergen, M.K. Mingazhitdinov, etc. since the 1950’s. The Sterlitamak branch of BSU has been holding the F.e. headed by I.Y. Karpukhin, etc. since 1966: the first ethnographic expedition was to the following villages: Berdyshly, Ziganovks, Novoivanovka, Pavlovka, partly Vakarovo village, Ishimbayskiy district, BASSR; expeditions have covered the whole of Bashkortostan and some territories of other RF subjects since 1983. Expedition activities aiming to collect Bashkir folklore are connected with S.A. Galin, etc. Sibay institute (branch) of BSU has been conducting F.e. since 1993: headed by G.M. Bulyakova, N.A. Lasynova, G.K. Samirkhanova. The Birsk branch of BSU has been conducting the F.e., headed by A.G. Vakhitova, G.G. Ganeyeva, G.N. Kasclanova, R.K. Razyapova, A.A. Fatkullina, since 2005 to the North-Western districts of RB (Asclanskiy, Birskiy, Burayevskiy, Karaidelskiy, Mishclanskiy, Tatyshlinskiy, Chekmagushevskiy) as well as to Kurganskaya, Orenburgskaya, Permskiy regions.
F.e. to Birskiy, Mishkinskiy, Kaltasinskiy and other districts to collect Mari folklore were headed by K. Paasonen, V.M. Vasilyev, G.G. Karamzin, T.Y. Yevseyev, L.A. Abukayeva, etc.
Mordovian folklore was collected by A.F. Yurtov M.Y. Yevseyev, etc.; Institute of ethnography AS USSR (Moscow) was collecting it in the 1950’s together with folklorists of Mordovia – N.I. Boyarclan, V.L. Imayclan, A.I. Maskayev, K.T. Samorodov, art critic V.S. Bryzhinskiy. A.V. Kharlov, professor at the Nizhniy Novrogod state Conservatory n.a. M.I. Glinka, folklorist, musicologist of ethnic music registered ancient Russian and Mordovian songs of Sadovka village, Sterlitamakskiy district from the folklore ensemble “Vastoma” in 2018.
F.e. to Beloretskiy, Blagoveshchenskiy, Baymakskiy, Duvanskiy, Kiginskiy, Salavatskiy, Khaybullinskiy and other districts to collect Russian folklore were organized by Akhmetshin, Barag, Bryantseva, N.P. Kolpakova, E.V. Pomerantseva, Karpukhin, etc., by BSU students, M. Akmulla Pedagogical university students.
F.e. to different parts of Bashkortostan to collect Tatar folklore were organized by R.M. Mukhametzyanov together with BSU students and folklorists Akhmetshin, S.Z. Mukhamatnurov, dialectologists G.K. Akhatov, D.B. Ramazanova, T.K. Khayrutdinova, etc. Student F.e. were continued in 2006 headed by I.K. Fazlutdinov. Expeditions were also held by the Sterlitamak branch of BSU and BSPU.
F.e. to collect Ukrainian folklore have been held since the 1930’s. Kolpakova and Pomerantseva collected different samples of Ukrainian folklore. Song melodies were not registered. M.Y. Beregovskiy and M.M. Plisetskiy organized a number of expeditions to several Ukrainian villages of Bashkortostan in 1941-43, they registered more than 300 Ukrainian songs and classified them according to genres. The material is published in the 1st volume of the “Ukrainians of Bashkiria” book (Kiev; Ufa, 2011). Bagar, Bryantseva, Karpukhin had been conducting the F.e. since the 1960’s. Galiyeva had been researching Ukrainian folkore since 1974. V.Y. Babenko collected more than 500 Ukrainian songs, 200 of them registered with notes. He headed several folklore-ethnographic expeditions to Kazanka village, Alsheyevskiy district, Zolotonoshka village, Sterlitamakskiy district, D.A. Chernyenko, Y.V. Sirenko, M.A. Pilipak participated in them in 2011–16.
Y. Wichmann conducted F.e. to collect Udmurt folklore in 1894. He registered proverbs, riddles, songs, described ceremonies of the Udmurts from Bolshoy Kachak village, Birskiy district, Ufimskaya region. B. Munkachi registered prayers and several songs in 1885 in Mozhga village, Birskiy district, in Esterhaza camp for the prisoners of war, Austro-Hungary, he registered spells, prayers, fairytales, songs, quatrains from the natives of Ufimskaya region. They were published by Hungarian linguist D. Fokos-Fuchs in the “Udmurt ethnic customs and ethnic poetry” collection (Helsinki, 1952); Udmurt ethnic songs were recorded by phonograph together with R. Lach. Folklore texts connected with cults were registered by Finnish religious scientist U. Holmberg in 1911. Udmurt SI of socialistic culture organized folklore-linguistic expeditions to Bashkortostan in the 1920-1930’s, materials of which are kept in the archive of Udmurt institute of history, language and literature of Ural department of RAS (both in Izhevsk), materials of F.e. headed by A.S. Belov in 1936 to Yanaulskiy and Tatyshlinskiy districts, BASSR are also kept there. L. Vikar, G. Bereczki was conducting expeditions in the 1970’s. Hungarian ethnic choreograph L. Fyelfeldi studied Udmurt ethnic dances and musical folklore in Tatyshlinskiy district in 1990; The University of Tartu (Estonia) organized the expedition in 2013-18, participants of which (anthropologists Y. Tuluz, L. Niglas, folklorist N. Anisimov) made video and audio recordings of the ethnic prayers and ceremonial songs, produced a DVD (Tartu, 2019). Doctor of Art history I.M. Nuriyeva collected Udmurt musical folklore in the 2000’s in Yanaulskiy, Burayevskiy, Tatyshlinskiy, Kaltasinskiy districts of RB.
F.e. to collect Chuvash folklore were organized by the Chuvash section of Society of studying Bashkiria. Chuvash folklore was being collected by F.N. Vukolov-Erlik, S.M. Maksimov,
P.A. Petrov-Turinge, I.V. Saltykov, Y. Ukhsay, P.A. Fyedorov-Minyuk, etc. in the 1930-1950’s; Chuvash institute of humanities as well as Vikar and Bereczki conducted F.e. since the 1960’s; Karpukhin, L.V. Korotayeva, L.A. Afanasyeva, etc. since the 1990’s. “White birch” folklore ensemble from Bizhbulyakskiy district, RB has collected more than 250 songs and 700 chastushkas during the expeditions over Bashkortostan. As a part of “Folklore-dialectological atlas of Chuvashes from the Republic of Bashkortostan” Russian humanitarian science archive project Afanasyeva, Korotayeva (the head of the project) held expeditions to Aurgazinskiy, Davlekanovskiy, Kuyurgazinskiy, Sterlitamakskiy, Fyedorovskiy districts of RB in 2015-17.
