TRADYCJE LOKALNE W SYTUACJI ZMIANY GRANIC POLITYCZNYCH I ETNICZNYCH

Abstract

The paper discusses different ways of interpreting the local space and objects in it (natural ones and especially those created by man) in a situation of a change of political, cultural and ethnic boundaries. Those objects have their own history built over years and they are subject to constant symbolic interpretation and re-interpretation, which is especially true in case of objects which have been created by representatives of those ethnic groups which no longer live in the place. There are four types of such objects: (1) monuments being a universal heritage and belonging to all mankind (2) elements o f direct cultural heritage belonging to the contemporary population (3) objects created by a foreign group, no longer existent or no longer living nearby (4) products of a foreign group currently living and functioning in the near vicinity. In that last case the local interpretation of heritage does not only concern a closed historic past, but is also connected with a broader context o f contemporary relations between different states and different ethnic groups, as well as mutual relations and stereotypes. This construction also applies to Poland and its neighbours, where abrupt and radical disruptions of the continuity of settlement and historical traditions have created a special memory of the past. However, although up till 1989 the dominant feature in that respect was historical ignorance and cultural amnesia, the recent years have observed a tendency to offer more information on individual objects, and a certain fashionable trend has emerged to emphasise the multicultural history, which may not only be a reason for pride, but a valuable source of commercial benefits. It seems that the teaching of the often complicated multicultural past may be best done through the cultivation of local traditions.