Ethnology, Folk Culture and Spanish Anthropology

Although Spanish ethnology has a long tradition, associated with the ethnograph­ ic reports prepared by Catholic missionaries converting American Indians, today this tradition is based largely on the university and museums. Parallel to the evolution in ethnology, folklore, the study of rural cultural tradition, has followed its own historical development, though while it has attracted a wide audience, it has remained at the margins of the university. Ethnology retained a place in university studies up to 1968 when it entered a period of transition in which it was incorporated within cultural anthropology (1971) . Cultural anthropology subsequently became associated with social anthro­ pology leaving ethnology as a variety of comparative ethnography. Today, cultural anthropology retains more elements of ethnology, while social anthropology retains more elements of folklore. However, there is a degree of interdisciplinary influence through ethnographically oriented fieldwork and the presence of re­ searchers who adopt simply the name of anthropologists. There are more anthro­ pologists working in academic institutions than physical anthropologists , the latter having become increasingly associated with the study of biology and genetics, than with culture, concerned more with laboratory studies than field­ work. European ethnology is facing a number of problems. One of them is the methods needed for an integrated study of ethnographic globalities and local ethnogra­ phies, while another is the analysis of cultural change and the consequences of modern technologies applied to the rapid transformation of culture in Europe. In addition, there are the problems we face in analysing ethnicity, nationalism, identity, migration, integration, mobility and social disorganization.

Although Spanish ethnology has a long tradition, associated with the ethnograph ic reports prepared by Catholic missionaries converting American Indians, today this tradition is based largely on the university and museums. Parallel to the evolution in ethnology, fo lklore, the study of rural cultural tradition, has fo llowed its own historical development, though while it has attracted a wide audience, it has remained at the margins of the university. Ethnology retained a place in university studies up to 1968 when it entered a period of transition in which it was incorporated within cultural anthropology (1971). Cultural anthropology subsequently became associated with social anthro pology leaving ethnology as a variety of comparative ethnography. Today, cultural anthropology retains more elements of ethnology, while social anthropology retains more elements of fo lklore. However, there is a degree of interdisciplinary influence through ethnographically oriented fieldwork and the presence of re searchers who adopt simply the name of anthropologists. There are more anthro pologists working in academic institutions than physical anthropologists, the latter having become increasingly associated with the study of biology and genetics, than with culture, concerned more with laboratory studies than field work. European ethnology is fa cing a number of problems. One of them is the methods needed for an integrated study of ethnographic globalities and local ethnogra phies, while another is the analysis of cultural change and the consequences of modern technologies applied to the rapid transformation of culture in Europe. In addition, there are the problems we face in analysing ethnicity, nationalism, identity, migration, integration, mobility and social disorganization.
Professor, Dr Claudio Esteva-Fabregat, Apartado de Correos 23. 325, ES-08080 Barcelona. This paper presents a historical review of eth nological studies in Spain. By providing a con text in which we might view the academic evolution of Spanish ethnology, through its modern and contemporary history, we are able to identify its origins and describe the influenc es fr om the rest of Europe. These may be iden tified as having been the trends of diffusionism, historicism, evolutionism, pre-Roman tribal ism, exotic primitivism and ethnographism.
Ethnology in Spain, however, rapidly came to define itself as fo lk ethnography, as it was fe lt that the study of the archaic rural culture was most pertinent to the specific situation of Span ish culture.
These shifts between ethnology and fo lklore emphasize both the historical and contempo rary fo rms of the Spanish cultural past -the fo rmer in terms of time and the second in terms of archaisms present today. Ethnology, defined as the study of primitive cultures or tribal identities considered as non-civilized peoples, and fo lklore, the first modern variety of rural ethnography in Spain, came to be considered as interchangeable. However, the two could be distinguished by the division of tasks; so while the fo lklorists were dedicated to the study of Spanish fo lk culture, ethnologists, together with prehistorians and classical Mediterranean his tory scholars, centered their study on exotic primitive heathens and pre-Roman Spanish culture. Folklore and ethnology were joined by the Rubscqu cnt development of cultural an th ropology u nd, Iuter, by sociul u nthropology.
The timr disciplines today do not exclude each other, though cultural anthropology and social anthropology arc predomin ant in both the aca demic and professional worlds. Historically speaking, ethnology has held only a minor status in university studies and in the filling of academic posts when compared with prehistory, archaeology and ancient histo ry. This situation has arisen fr om its academic subordination to prehistory so that ethnology has been seen as a subsidiary discipline of prehistory. As a consequence, cultural primitiv ism has come to constitute the main concern of ethnology in Spain. Furthermore, as a result of this dependence on prehistory, Spanish ethnol ogists have fo cused their attention on primitive culture so that ethnology has become a comple-112 mcntary discipline of prehistory and ancient histo ry. A�; a consequence, the thcorcticul ap proaches of ethnology have been borrowed fr om primitive anthropology.
Ethnological and fo lklore studies of Spanish culture coincide in their topics and themes of interest. This historical development is ex plained in greater detail below. The disciplines are then examined individually to examine the prevailing academic position.

Folklore
In Spain the folklorists have been somewhat more prolific than ethnologists, generating more studies of Spanish fo lk culture than ethnolo gists . Popular fo lk expressionism, centered on traditionalism, has been the specific contribu tion offolklore. Indeed, initially, the fortunes of fo lklore in Spain were determined by the urban interest in understanding the meaning oftheir own traditions, whereby the latter are seen as a fo rm of ethnic confirmation. In Spain fo lk studies have been conducted through the use of questionnaires sent to local informants. The main concern has been placed on ethnographic classification while fo lklorists in Spain have stressed the regional differences underlying ethnic identities via traditional cultures. Every region, every "inner nation", seeks ethnic iden tity through their fo lk culture. Folklorists fo rmed associations at a regional and state level, which in some cases also incor porated ethnologists, e.gthe "Arxiu d'Etnografia As a consequence, the academic influence fr om fo lklore was greatly limited and it came to be considered an amateur or part-time activity.
In contrast the institutionalisation of ethnolo gy conferred on it a certain academic respecta bility and opportunities for professionals to be employed fu ll time. Consequently, ethnology began to show a greater empirical concern, while fo lklore fav oured a more interpretative approach. Much of the social importance of fo lklore can be ascribed to its growing popular concern and to politicians using fo lk heritage in the definition of ethnic or national identity. In Spain regional and national movements,

Ethnology
The demise of fo lklore as an academic activity in Spain began with the institutionalization of ethnology. Posts for ethnologists in the univer sity have been scarce, but compared with fo lk lorists they have fo und a space in the university.
We can trace the growth in academic pres tige of ethnology in Spain to certain historical events, mainly the ethnographic contents of reports or "Relaciones" written by Spanish mis sionaries fr om the end of the 15th century to the present day, but in particular those written on the occasion of Columbus' discovery of the An tilles. One of these missionaries, the Catalan Fr. Ra mon Pane, in 1498 wrote aRela.ci6n sobre Antigii.eda.des de los T nd ios (Report on T nd ian Antiquities), the fir::;t European ethnographic report on the An lCri can Indian cu::;tum::; of La Espa n ola .
These "Relaciones" were quickly established as a means of inf() rming the Spanish authori ties about the social habits of the Indians. They were based on field observation and social in tercourse with the Indian people, using inter personal communication in Indian languages previously learnt by a relatively lung contact with natives. Indeed, ::;ince the missionaries learnt the Indian languages, the reports pro vi de us with descriptions whose contents are basically of an ethnographic character. These "Relaciones" were complemented by "Visitas" made by official members ofthe Spanish Crown which also prod uced information on Indian peo ple. These included descriptions of the geo graphical, political, economic, religious and so cial organization oflndians under Spanish rule.
These "Visitas" were conducted using ques tionnaires, a method quite distinct to that used in the "Relaciones", especially if we consider that the latter used more personal methods and Eth nol ogy in Barcelona and part-time prnfeR sor of ethnol ogy at the City University, was appointed secretary of thi::; institution. Thus, ethnol ogy wa::; fimrwlly establi::;hed a: :i an insti tutionalized di sci pline and ach ieved academic autonomy from p rehistory.
However as a result of this historical and academic association with prehistory, ethnolo gy acquired a certain familiarity with physical anthropology and the natural sciences. In that sen::;e, othnolo�:,ry maintained it:; relationship with tho bi ologi cal di::;ciplines. Moreover, as ethnology is based on an interdisciplinary ap proach, and as it has tended to alternate syn

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Ethnology was the central disci pline of cul tural anthropology. In fact, cultural anthropol ogy was considered as being the main approach to the cultural explanation of human beh av iour. Thus, culturalism constituted the main tradition at this time. In the process, cultural anthropology was considered by students and academia as a highly prestigious science inte grating prehistory, archaeology and linguistics. The specific autonomous departmental struc ture of cultural anthropology permitted the analys is of past and present culture in terms of theoretical generalizations when studying the anthropology of behaviour.
The sources or hermeneutic information were

Social anthropology
The fo rmal initiation of social anthropology in Spain began with the field work conducted by Julian A Pitt-Rivers (1954), Michael Kenny (1961 and Carmela Lison To losana (1966). The common denominator to their field work was the study of contemporary rural culture. These scholars reintroduced the same sociological top ics which had been the concern of fo rmer fo lk lorists, but a more detailed and refined analysis was applied to cultural materials. The most obvious influence came fr om British anthropol ogy. In 1979, when C. Lison obtained the chair of social anthropology at the Faculty ofPolitical Sciences and Sociology, at the University of Madrid, the academic institutionalization of this discipline in S pain began .
As sociologis m was the dominant approach of social anthropology, and while the method was based on personal field work and selfsutli ciency, there is no doubt that the analysis was also monographic. This is a major distinction with ethnologists, since the latter are more interdisciplinary in th ei r academic tradition, especially when seen in terms of the anthropo logical sciences. Furthermore, we should con sider the fa ct that social anthropologists arc mainly concerned with synchronic and contem porary studies and that they have been seen to rebuff historical materials. In that sense, they arc in agreement with Radcliffe -Brown when this author claimed that the synchronic ap proach was the truly objective method -the authentic natural science of culture. Thus, so cial anthropology has become a branch of com parative sociology.
The main contribution of social anthropolo gists to sociology in Spain has been the symbolic interpretation and critical analysis of rural fo lk culture and, additionally, the qualitative ap proach to sociologism. In addition, ethnogra phism when given a cultural explanation is also of some academic importance. The analysis of traditional culture represents a major contri bution, especially when thought of as a substi tution to fo lklorism in the same themes. Both disciplines study similar items, and in that sense the differences with fo lklorism are main ly in terms of quality and academic standing. In some aspects social anthropologists could be said to have adopted a fu nctionalist approach to the study of cultural behaviour. Thus, synchro In fa ct, certain ethnographic weaknesses can be observed while at the same time there has been an increase in the semantic and sym bol ic internal analysis of materials gathered in the fi eld. A thematic preference fo r sectorial or phenomenological studies has been expressed and there has been a tendency to transform isolated cultural manifestations into systems.
The individualistic or solipsistic approach pre vails in research . In the meantime, the influ ence ofthe social anthropologists with respect to sociologists is increasing, and situational analysis tends to singularize the personal inter pretation of th e ernie version. In fa ct, other losses can be identified in terms of less ethno graphic fo rmalization. As a consequence, we witness a certain aesthetic tendency which while producing a better literary style, makes social anthropology appear more as a kind of litera ture than a class of science.

Anthropologist
At present in Spain one is more likely to be considered an anthropologist than an ethnolo gist. The title is commonly ascribed to academ ics engaged in ethnology and social anthropol ogy as well as physical anthropology. This is evidence of an epistemological weakness, indi cating the confusing of a branch of anthropolo gy, ethnology, with the anthropological tree itself.
It would seem that this perception could be attributed to the fa ct that the branches in themselves are mutually assimilative. This kind of mutual assimilation seems to me to be the consequence of a historical phase into which the initial separation of the branches is not suffi ciently defined to justify the fact that the con tents of each differ.
This situation reflects two influences, one  is thai as ethnics of national entities we retain more than an ethnic culture, we have ethnic identi ty. So, in spite of culture gl obali ty, we expect to remain ethnics, bearer:; of a national identity, ind ividuals genealogically i ntegrated in fa milies, specific or individualized :;ocializa tions, and members orlocal or regional cultures. Bccau:;e this is the way we arc and the way we recognize ourselves as individuals, we can also be recognized as a historical combination of a global culture with an ethnic, local, regional or national culture.
If this were the case where would the Euro pean ethnologist work to explain the ethnogra phy -in the local, regional, national or global culture? In our societies today it is accepted that we are European, at the same time as we are identified by a local , regional or national culture. Languages and fo lk culture are the main ingredients in the images we have of our personalities. Historical roots are ethnic at the very least, and national in their widest extent.
We have our own ethnographic production sour ces. That means ethnology studies the applica tion of the concepts with great tradition (Eu rope and globality) as well as those of a lesser tradition, that is the local or traditional inte gration of culture, which has to combine perma nently the fo rm of specific adaptations to local, regional or national cultures. The cultural com bination resulting fr om the permanent inter change and diffusion of the large-scale Europe an tradition and its contemporary dynamics within each local culture ·is the perspective European ethnologists must give to the study of European societies submitted to a global cul tural interchange and geographical expansion.
In fa ct, we can observe the product of this interchange between global and national, re gional or local cultures as ethnography in ac tion.
Thus this ethnographic approach could be seen as a form of existence, but also as a fo rm of social discourse of the cultural situation. This ethnic and national identity of culture is worthy 120 of our aUention. Besides, as we can observe the need to be diffe rent, the concl us ion might be drawn that diflerentiation lies at the heart o folk culture. Such a study of the effect:; of combining folk culture with globality gives sense to ethnography and in turn to ethnology. The very proof of ethnic consciousness is ethnogra phy, and hence the only way to give continuity to ethnology.
Another question needs to be answered at this point. I refer to the migratory movements entering Europe fr om Africa and also from Latin An1erica. Immigration leads to cultural reorganization and to readaptations and cul ture synthesis. The question is: to what extent will this situation increase the difficulty of carrying out ethnography? And to what extent this ethnography should be a descriptive form of an homogeneous cultural status quo?
The number of people coming fr om Mr ica to Europe is set to increase, which might result in clashes, social troubles and aggressive reac tions between persons of different ethnic and racial origins. In that sense, when we can iden tify initial cultural differences, we also know we are submitted to the dynamic effects of globali ty. And as we also know, if the globality is more European than African, then, what kind of cultural transformation occurs which leads to a change of the ethnic or national identity of the original immigrants? Indeed, the remaining differences are more a question of race and color than cultural identity? Here, does ethnology have sufficient epistemological capacity to tackle these problems? In the near future can ethnol ogy cope with the complexity of causes which are unique to anthropology? Probably it is at this point that we need to reconsider our views and approaches.