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Bereznitsky S. The Ethnographic Museum as a Dwelling: Complementarity of Objects and the New Materiality of Nanais Culture

Sergey Bereznitsky
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-6235-5542
E-mail: svbereznitsky@yandex.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The analysis of the Amur Nanais culture reveals a special attitude to the ethnographic museum, the essence and space of which are correlated with traditional dwelling. As a result of changing materiality in modern Nanai houses, there is no longer the former division of living space into sacred and profane zones, into male, female, child, guest locations. The traditional architectural forms in the shape of supporting pillars, which mythology was associated with the masters-guardians of the dwelling, remained in the past. People have less opportunities and conditions for holding propitiatory rituals for the sacred guardian of the house. One of the Amur Nanais solved this problem by transferring the sacred and domestic space of the traditional dwelling to the regional ethnographic museum. The Nanais master created an ethnographic exhibition at the regional museum by presenting in it the setting of the traditional Nanais dwelling, including the iconic sculpture of the guardian of the house, thus turning the museum into home. It seems relevant to investigate the complementarity of these objects: residential house — non-residential museum. Complementarity, from the Latin “complementum” — addition, is understood and used in the meaning of the principle of mutual correspondence, spatial complementarity, consistency. Complementarity is a complex mechanism of formation, development and complementarity of cultural phenomena, socio-cultural institutions, values within a certain integrity. In this case, the integrity of the Amur Nanais culture is considered. Complementarity promotes mutual structural conformity of phenomena of a culture and ensures their optimum interaction.

 

KEYWORDS: ethnographic museum, Nanais dwelling, complementarity of objects

 

FOR CITATION: Bereznitsky S. The Ethnographic Museum as a Dwelling: Complementarity of Objects and the New Materiality of Nanai Culture. Kunstkamera. 2023. 2(20): 6–17. (In Russian). doi 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-2(20)-6-17  

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8619-2023-2(20)-6-17
УДК 39: 930.85

 

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