Women's rebellion in traditional and contemporary Polish folk music

Abstract

My assumption is that music can embody political views, organise the human understanding of society and the world, as well as become a political expression, that it has the power to create as well as change social orders. Music often becomes the political voice of the oppressed, whose voice cannot be heard otherwise. Music can be treated as a weapon, but also as a way of dealing with difficult reality. Moreover, I am deeply convinced that this combination of music and politics is a universal, timeless value. To prove this hypothesis, I analysed selected traditional lyrics taken from the ethnographic collections of Oskar Kolberg and contemporary Polish folk songs. They all share a common theme that I have identified as women’s rebellion. My aim is to show that certain feminist ideas connect contemporary actions of Polish women with the experiences of their female ancestors.