Having immigrated and separated from my extended family from an early age, my ties to my family’s heritage had largely been severed. For a long time I believed I had no culture, my family didn’t have any traditions like many others, we didn’t celebrate any holidays in particular and my house barely had any visible hints of my Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian roots. Whenever I had to discuss my culture and family traditions in class, I would often spin a stereotypical narrative about matryoshka dolls and ushanka hats to appear to be somewhat connected to my motherland when in reality, I felt gravely detached. Blindsided by the idea that cultural heritage had to take on a physical form, I failed to notice the intangible cultural heritage teeming around my household which the article brings into spotlight. Once I began to realize that “cultural heritage is not only limited to material objects that we can see and touch” but “also consists of immaterial elements,” I started noticing my culture still preserved in what I thought to be an “Americanized” household.
Many hints of slavic traditions did in fact weave into my family and express themselves through the intangible core values and beliefs behind them. For one, the Khorovod- a folk dance in which the members retain a circular formation by holding each others’ hands for the entirety of the performance. Usually part of celebrations within a community, a khorovod encourages an unbreakable bond between its members through its unifying choreography. The importance of unity and a close knit relationship within my family is a vastly present one and although we do not break out into a dance, we do find ourselves surrounded by each other, hand in hand- bearing much resemblance to the linked circle formed by the dancers. Despite leaving the physical aspect of the tradition behind, my family still upholds the familial values at the core of its elaborate gestures, and that—to me—makes it intangible and ever so alive. Another way I have come to realize my culture is through superstitions, which oftentimes have little to no logical basis but are still beliefs that continue to be part of my life as they also once were in that of my ancestors. It’s a connection that transcends pure logic and byway of believing in these superstitions you are respecting the beliefs of your ancestors and their traditions. In my household, for instance, we never congratulate someone before their birthday, let alone give them an even number of flowers as both are viewed as bad luck. Every culture has their own variations of superstitions and how they originated, indicative of the experiences, stories, beliefs, and ways of life specific to the people part of that culture. Although superstitions may involve doing a physical action or a tangible object, the choice to believe in the power of that action is intangible, making superstitions immaterial. They are simply passed down as children see their parents giving importance and following these superstitions which they then choose to or not to adopt into their own lives. This choice is a “result of a selection process: a process of memory and oblivion that characterizes every human society,” making the parts of our culture that stay preserved fully up to us-the present generation.
Through my journey trying to figure out my culture, I’ve come to learn that even though the physical aspect of traditions may change throughout generations, much like it did in mine, they still transform and find their way into the lives of its descendants in ever changing and immaterial ways. The article aims to capture this very idea and keep the intangible aspects of culture just as alive as the tangible ones.
I completely understand the part where you mention how sometimes culture can be preserved through non-material forms. This could sometimes make it less obvious for us to realize, but if we notice it or talk about it more often, it will play a more visible and prevalent role in our daily lives.
It was interesting reading about the superstitions in your household and the way that they have been passed down. It’s an example of how culture is not static, but able to preserve itself through certain immaterial things that travel down generations.