Paralipsis Archives: Ways of Localisation and Interpretation of Gaps in a Folklore Archive

Abstract

This article explores the problem of the paralipsis of a folklore archive with reference to materials stored at Ural Federal University. The author hypothesises that folklore archives can be studied not only through access to the collections kept in them but also through paralipsis/lacunae that appear in them. In the Russian and European traditions, the very principle of collecting material determines the appearance of gaps in folklore archives. The researcher interviews the informant in accordance with their mental map, which inevitably leads to the loss of part of the material, especially in situations where the “context of the situation” is not fixed. The author analyses archival texts collected in the village of Gary, Sverdlovsk Region, in 1977. Gaps and omissions were identified during the digitalisation of the Ural Federal University folklore archive collection. The article describes the method of keywords, which made it possible to partially localise gaps. Also, the description of the texts of the archive through keywords helped identify lacunae of a genre, thematic, and contextual character never studied previously. The last part of the article mainly focuses on describing and interpreting gaps that appeared due to the lack of context. The article puts forward several hypotheses that make it possible to interpret some of the gaps identified. The author also attempts to restore the research context in which the material was collected, for which she employs methodological recommendations formulated by V. P. Kruglyashova, the academic leader of the folklore expedition. Part of the interpretation of the gaps relies on the comparison of her recommendations with their implementation in practice with reference to the Gary collection. From the methodological point of view, the article can be of use to everyone working on the problems of the digitalisation of cultural heritage.