Pozostałości kultury ludowej Kurpiów i ich wykorzystanie przez ruch turystyczny

Abstract

The article characterises the folk culture of the Kurpie, inhabitants of the Green Forest, its relics and use in tourism.The research was conducted in the northeastern Poland, northerly to the bend of the river Narew stretching between Łomża and Ostołęka. Five communes in the province of Kurpie such as: Kadzidło, Łyse, Lelis, Myszyniec and Zbójna together with three museums (not situated in the region of the research) such as: the Kurpie open - air museum in Nowogród Łomżyński, the exhibition of “The amber of the river Narew” in the North - Mazovian Museum in Łomża and the etnographic section in the Museum of Kurpie Culture in Ostrołęka were investigated. The Green Forest of Kurpie is the area of the original folk culture which makes it unique among other etnographic regions of Poland. The first settlers coming there in the XVII century were, first of all, people who benefited from the forest riches mostly pine timber. Settlers of that region created a specific folk culture based on forest farming. The Kurpie made a living with bee-keeping, hunting, wood - distilling, coal merchendaising and making amber ornaments. Decorative art in wood throve there having a great impact on the unique ornaments of villager’s cottages in Kurpie region (“śparogi” and ornamented label moulds - “koruny”). Household items were also produced. Inhabitants of Kurpie province were renowned for production of artistic paper cut-outs (famous cut-outs - “leluje” (lilies),”gwiazdy” (stars) and “kogutki” (roosters) and for plaiting mostly using pine roots. The isolation of this region resulted in individual features of the folk art in the Green Forest noticeable especially in sculptures (carved from wood, pastry, clay and wax) and ritual fine arts (ornaments made of tissue paper, ritual bread). Moreover, the Green Forest is abudant of customs and rituals such as preparing very high Easter palms, celebration of Corpus Christi Day or the Day of Saint Roch. One of the crucial elements of this culture is the dialect of this region belonging to the Mazurian dialect and characterised by many words specific only for the Kurpie province. Despite the significant isolation, the folk culture of this region prevailed only fragmentarily. Main relics may be observed in regional museums or are demonstrated during folk performances. However, real, authentic traditions of Kurpie can be seen in smaller villages, situated of “the beaten track”.