ETNOGRAFICKÝ VÝZKUM TRADIČNÍ DOPRAVY V ČESKÝCH A SLOVENSKÝCH ZEMÍCH – HISTORIE, SOUČASNÝ STAV A PERSPEKTIVY

Traditional transport represents an important field of research on material and nonmaterial culture. However, before 1945, traditional transport did not receive appropriate attention by Czech and Slovak ethnology. Partial information on transport can be found mainly in regional geographical publications, as well as in the ethnographic works by Lubor Niederle and Karel Chotek, or in texts dealing with agrarian topics. The situation considerably changed after 1945. A new generation of researchers was born, who paid special attention to transport topics. In the 1950s, these topics were addressed in the works of Ludvík Baran, Josef Voráček and Jaroslav Kramařík, and in the research conducted by Vladimír Scheufler and Václav Šolc. As for the period of the 1960s and 1970s, we can mention, for example, Ján Podolák, Magdaléna Paríková, Miroslav Anton Huska, Richard Jeřábek, Karel Fojtík and others. Ethnography as a discipline, or rather a method today, offers, unlike other humanities, a completely different view of this theme. In addition, each researcher chose a different approach and methodology. The ethnographic publications on traditional transport, which were produced in the second half of the 20th century, still represent an important source of information even for present-day researchers dealing with this topic. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the ethnographic study of traditional transport in the Czech and Slovak lands with an emphasis on the period 1945–1989 and to highlight the importance and the possibilities of the present-day study of this field.