STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA SUPPLEMENTA SUPPLEMENTUM 2 Zbirka/Series STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA – SUPPLEMENTA Supplementum 2 Uredniki zbirke/Editors of the Series Monika Kropej, Nikolai Mikhailov, Andrej Pleterski, Vlado Nartnik Haya Bar-Itzhak PIONEERS OF JEWISH ETHNOGRAPHY AND FOLKLORISTICS IN EASTERN EUROPE Prevod/Translated by Lenn Schramm Oblikovanje/Graphic art and design Media graphics d.o.o., Ljubljana Izdala in založila/Published by Založba ZRC v sodelovanju z Inštitutom za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU ZRC Publishing in association with the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology at ZRC SAZU Zanj/Represented by Monika Kropej in/and Oto Luthar Glavni urednik/Editor-in-Chief Vojislav Likar Tisk/Printed by Littera picta, d.o.o., Ljubljana, Slovenia Cover art Helena Gałkowska, “Candleholder”, tapestry, Th e Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw. Studia Mythologica Slavica Spletna stran/Webpage: http://sms.zrc-sazu.si CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 398(4-11=411.16)(082) 39(4-11=411.16)(082) BAR-Itzhak, Haya Pioneers of Jewish ethnography and folkloristics in Eastern Europe / Haya Bar-Itzhak ; translation by Lenn Schramm. - Ljubljana : Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU : Inštitut za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU = Institute of Slovenian Ethnology at ZRC SAZU, 2010. - (Zbirka Studia mythologica Slavica. Supplementa ; supplementum 2) ISBN 978-961-254-174-3 249411328 © 2010, Založba ZRC/ZRC Publishing, ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana Vse pravice pridržane. Noben del te izdaje ne sme biti reproduciran, shranjen ali prepisan v katerikoli obliki oz. na katerikoli način, bodisi elektronsko, mehansko, s fotokopiranjem ali kako drugače, brez predhodnega pisnega dovoljenja lastnikov avtorskih pravic (copyrighta)./ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publishers. HAYA BAR-ITZHAK PIONEERS OF JEWISH ETHNOGRAPHY AND FOLKLORISTICS IN EASTERN EUROPE Translation by Lenn Schramm SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH CENTRE OF THE SLOVENIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND ARTS LJUBLJANA 2010 To the blessed memory of Alan Dundes The Doyen of Folklore Studies. Contents Preface ....................................................................................................................................................9 Chapter I Th e Beginning of Ethnography and Folkloristics in Eastern Europe – A Survey. ...................13 Chapter II S. An-Ski (S.Z. Rappoport) the Ethnographer of the Jews and his “Jewish Ethnopoetics.” ................................................................................................................27 S. An-Ski, Jewish Ethnopoetics. .................................................................................................34 Chapter III Y. L. Cahan – A Scholar of Jewish Folk Songs. ........................................................................75 Y. L. Cahan, Jewish Folk Songs. .................................................................................................82 Chapter IV Alter (Asher Abraham Abba) Druyanow and the Study of Jewish Folklore. ....................113 Alter Druyanow, Jewish Folk Humor......................................................................................119 Chapter V Regina Lilienthal and the Study of Folk Customs and Beliefs. ...........................................157 Regina Lilienthal, Th e Evil Eye. ...............................................................................................161 Chapter VI Th e Historian Meir Bałaban and his Contribution to the Study of the Ethnography and Folklore of Polish Jewry.............................................................................181 Meir Bałaban, Saul Wahl, Th e Jewish King of Poland: Truth and Legend. .......................188 Chapter VII Itzik Manger – A Jewish Poet and Author as Folklorist. .....................................................201 Itzik Manger, Folklore and Literature. ....................................................................................205 Aft erword ..........................................................................................................................................211 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................213 Index of Names and Places .............................................................................................................223 PREFACE his volume presents some of the most important theoretical contributions of the pioneers of Jewish folklore studies in Eastern Europe.1 T To date, the few scholarly treatments of Jewish ethnography and folklore studies in Eastern Europe have focused mostly on the collection of folklore materials, the collectors, and the institutions, whose achievements were truly impressive.2 But even when Jewish folklore studies in Eastern Europe were still in their infancy, some authors made important contribu- tions to the theoretical side of the discipline.3 Th e present volume focuses on these contribu- tions. Because of the languages in which they were written, the bulk of these works are not accessible to most students of Jewish folklore today. Th e discussion of these early folklorists and the translations of some of their key writings, presented here, are intended to remedy this defi cit in part and to rescue their work from undeserved oblivion. Chapter 1 looks at the beginnings of Jewish folklore studies and ethnography in Eastern Europe and its pioneers. Th e years before World War I and the interwar period, which saw the emergence of Jewish folklore studies in Eastern Europe, were a time of change and upheaval in general, and for Jewish society in particular. Because these processes were infl uenced not only by historical events, but also by ideological currents and the movements they produced, the latter’s infl uence on folklore studies needs to be considered. Most of the pioneers of Jewish folklore studies in Eastern Europe were affi liated with one of three ideological currents: (1) the stream that sought to solve the problem of the Jews through their integration, as full citizens, into the dominant nationality of the country in which they lived; (2) Zionism, which saw the solution in the rebirth of the Jewish nation and of Hebrew culture in Eretz Israel; and (3) sev- eral movements that advocated a national solution for the Jews in the Diaspora. All of the pioneers of Jewish folklore studies, whatever their affi liation, shared a recog- nition of the importance of Jewish folk culture. Th e diff erence between them was expressed chiefl y in the language in which they chose to write. Th ose who advocated integration wrote 1 In this book “Eastern Europe” refers to territories that are currently part of Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Romania. 2 Th e most important book on this topic is that by Itzik Gottesman (2003), which deals with folklore and Yiddishism in Poland and focuses on the pioneering collectors of folklore in Warsaw and Vilna and the in- stitutions that coordinated their work. Goldberg-Mulkiewicz (1989) concentrates on Jewish topics in Polish ethnography. 3 I have written on this contribution in Chulyot, a journal of Yiddish culture. See Bar-Itzhak 1999, 2000, 2002. 9 in the non-Jewish vernacular. Th e Zionists wrote in Hebrew.4 For both groups, their decision entailed translating folklore that circulated in Yiddish. In this way, their collection and study of folklore was enlisted in the service of their respective ideologies. Th ose who transcribed folklore materials and published their work in Yiddish were Yid- dishists, who were affi liated with various movements that advocated a national solution in the Diaspora and saw the Yiddish language as the unifying element of the modern Jewish nation. For them, too, folklore studies served their ideology (Gottesman 2003, xvii–xxiii). Chapters 2 through 7 are devoted to individual scholars and their contributions, with a translation of one of their key works. My choice of authors and essays was guided by three cri- teria: (1) the importance of their contribution to the discipline; (2) representation of the vari- ous genres of folklore; and (3) representation of the various ideological currents of the day. Chapter 2 is devoted to S. An-Ski (Shlomo Zanvil Rappoport), the most important eth- nographer of Eastern European Jewry and the head of the fi rst ethnographic expedition. An- Ski, who had left the Jewish fold for a time, saw Jewish folklore as the symbolic language of Jewish history. His article, “Jewish Ethnopoetics,” published here, deals with folk literature. It was written and fi rst published in Russian, and soon aft er in Yiddish,5 the two languages in which he published his works. Chapter 3 is devoted to Y.L. Cahan, a collector and scholar of Eastern European Jewish folklore who continued to work through YIVO (the Institute for Jewish Research), then head- quartered in Wilno (Vilna), even aft er he settled in the United States, and to write in Yiddish. Th e article published here in translation deals with Yiddish folksongs. Chapter 4 looks at Alter Druyanow, a leading Zionist who wrote in Hebrew. He made a major contribution to the study of Jewish folklore in Eastern Europe as editor of Reshumot, a journal of Jewish memoirs, ethnography, and folklore, and especially to the study of Jewish humor. Chapter 5 turns to Regina Lilienthal, one of two Jewish female folklorists6 who wrote in Polish and