Storytelling in Siberia: The Olonkho Epic in a Changing World (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780252041280)

Olonkho, the epic narrative and song tradition of Siberia's Sakha people, declined to the brink of extinction during the Soviet era. In 2005, UNESCO's Masterpiece Proclamation sparked a resurgence of interest in olonkho by recognizing its important role in humanity's oral and intangible heritage.

Drawing on her ten years of living in the Russian North, Robin P. Harris documents how the Sakha have used the Masterpiece program to revive olonkho and strengthen their cultural identity. Harris's personal relationships with and primary research among Sakha people provide vivid insights into understanding olonkho and the attenuation, revitalization, transformation, and sustainability of the Sakha's cultural reemergence. Interdisciplinary in scope, Storytelling in Siberia considers the nature of folklore alongside ethnomusicology, anthropology, comparative literature, and cultural studies to shed light on how marginalized peoples are revitalizing their own intangible cultural heritage.

Author: Robin P. Harris
ISBN-10: 0252041283
ISBN-13: 9780252041280
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Language: English
Published: 10/13/2017
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.06lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.80d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2018