CLASSICAL CONCEPTS, NEW PERSPECTIVES: WHAT’S UP WITH AGRICULTURAL RITUALS?

After the Second World War, most rituals connected with the agricultural (manual) work died out along with the economic and social base of such activities. This also caused the gradual omission of some classical ethnological concepts and themes and diminishing interest for such research topics. However, some such rituals survived until the present in a modified form and with a new purpose and are enacted either in families (related to the traditional belief in the power of nature) or in the local communities (in tourism contexts). The new rituals emerge also since farmers, who face new challenges in selling produce and products, ritualize selling at public events to attract customers. The shift in perception of tradition by the general population in turn revived the ethnological interest for such phenomena. The article analyses the methodological changes in ritual research, as are reflected in European ethnology, and illustrate the changing of contexts with the case-study in the vicinity of Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. In connection with the notion of rural idyll and heritage tourism, ritualization of everyday farming activities has been used as a strategy for improvement of living. Traditional and new agricultural rituals have become a means for sustainable development and identity politics; they add to regeneration of the local economy, affect a sense of belonging and integration of the local population.