Intangible, but Is It Still a Heritage? Invented Traditions in Połajewo (Czarnków-Trzcianka district) and Their Popularization among the Local Community

Abstract

The aim of the article is to provide a detailed ethnographic description of two significant examples of intangible cultural heritage researched during the realization of the fieldwork project Atlas niematerialnego dziedzictwa kulturowego  wsi wielkopolskiej (Intangible Cultural Heritage Atlas of Greater Poland Village). The first one is a custom of annual women’s meetings on 8 March during the so-called Sabat Ciot Połajewskich [literally: the Sabbath of Połajowo Aunts], the second one is a local festival of pipers that takes place in Połajewo on 2 January. Despite the fact that they are in a way extensions of old-time local traditions, in their present form both of them have been practised for a relatively short while. The main problem of the article is to find an answer to the crucial question – are they still phenomena belonging to the traditionally understood intangible cultural heritage or rather should be considered a cultural invention introduced by animators to revive the participation in local culture. The analysis is provided in terms of the conceptions of tradition proposed by Jerzy Szacki and Eric Hobsbawm.