Folkloristics and Ethnology in Canada

INTRODUCTION Folkloristics and Ethnology in Canada GARY R. BUTLER Folklore and ethnology together constitute a field of studies which aims not only at the identification and description of the oral, ritual, and material products of traditional culture, but also the analysis of the social processes by means of which these are manifested. Employing both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, it seeks to identify the diverse elements composing these products and processes and to determine their meaning and significance in everyday life. To these ends, folklorists and ethnologists study the cultural and cognitive resources shared by the members of a given group and analyze the strategies used by this group, in contexts of personal interaction and social performance, to communicate a sense of community and continuity. At the same time, folkloristics considers how members of the group use these shared cultural resources to construct individual personal identities within the collective itself. By understanding the complex relationships between these elements, it becomes possible to understand how a people perceives and defines itself, and how they transmit their cultural identity across time and space. The present collection of articles, representing studies conducted in eastern Canada, demonstrates something of the diversity and variety of approaches which researchers have brought to the study of traditional cultures in recent years. A significant approach to folkloristic studies in Canada emphasizes the cultural heritages of the country's two founding nations. Particularly in Quebec, a concern with the preservation of the distinctive French language and culture has dominated the political life of the province for over two centuries. It is therefore not surprising that linguistic and ethnographic research have become an integral component in the construction of a Quebec national identity, and indeed, four of the contributions in this special issue of the Journal ofCanadian Studies reflect this approach. In his article, Yves Bergeron, chief curator of the Musee du Seminaire du Quebec, examines the role of the public market in Quebec daily life in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During this period, farmers, traders, woodcutters, and fishmongers came together periodically at these markets to offer their produce for sale to the local populace. Apart from this purely practical function, however, markets were also social events, serving as meeting places where people could assemble to enjoy themselves and to exchange local news and gossip. In offering an overview of the history of the Journal ofCanadian Studies Vol. 29, No. I (Printemps 1994 Spring) 3 role and development of the public market, Bergeron studies the social and communal character of this phenomenon and examines its relationship to the Quebec society of the period. Christiane Noel, an instructor in ethnology at Laval University, offers us the results of her 1989 study concerning the significance to the people of l' Ile d'Orleans of the various signals emitted by the church bells of the parish. She examines the development, transmission, and signification of this non-verbal system of traditional communication and explains how it has evolved as a result of contact with the world of modem technology. In his article, Jean Simard evaluates the popular art collection contained in the Musee de la civilisation du Quebec, considering as well the thorny questions relating to the definition and interpretation of this genre of material culture in the broader context of Quebec culture as a whole. Finally, Jean-Claude Dupont offers a detailed review of Jeanne Pomerleau's Metiers ambulants d'autrefois. This recently published work, the most complete study of its kind, outlines the characteristics of 70 "metiers ambulants," or itinerant trades, in city and countryside, and discusses in detail the professional and artists, such as organ grinders, bear trainers, beggars, peddlers, and artisans. Dupont suggests that these individuals played a role of considerable socioeconomic importance in the distribution of goods and services in Quebec between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. Another question of interest to folklorists and ethnologists concerns the creation of an artificial ethnic identity. In his article, Neil V. Rosenberg of Memorial University of Newfoundland's Department of Folklore examines how the selective exploitation and manipulation of Newfoundland folksongs resulted in the diffusion of inaccurate cultural and social stereotypes concerning the local musical tradition. Rosenberg demonstrates how the publication and...