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University of Massachuses - Amherst

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Research Report 24: Economy, Society and Culturein Contemporary Romania

Anthropology Department Research Reports series

1984

Mihai PopGail Kligman

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MIHAl pOpbyGail Kligman

Masters in Philosophy, Bucharest, 1929;Advanced studies in prague, Bonn, Warsaw,and Krakow; ph.D. in Slavic Philology,Bratislava, 1942; director of the Insti tuteof Ethnography and Folklore, Bucharest, 1950-1974

In 1907, Mihai pop was born in Glod, a t iny, desolate village inMaramures, today situated eight kilometers from a cement road, the nearestindication that the modern world is indeed accessible. I t is more diff i -cul t to imagine how pop made his way from th is isolated enclave toBucharest than i t is to later discover him travell ing from the Romaniancapital to the other capitals of Eastern Europe. Travel is a valued toolof the anthropologist. Fortunately, pop's curiosity and insight insuredthat he continued to travel throughout his l i fe broadening his own knowl-edge and contributing to the understanding of the complexities of culture.His f i r s t ethnographic experience was in Fundul Moldovii in 1928 when,as a member of D Gusti 's rural sociology group, pop studied problems oforal l i terature. I t was during this t r ip that his collaboration with themusicologist C. Brailoiu began. Many f ield t r ips ensued. Another important f ield research occurred in 1939; then pop worked with the sociologistA Golopentia in pIasa Dimbovnic, Arges, on socio-economic different iat ionamong villages.In between these years, pop found time to study in Czechoslovakiawhere he was exposed to the prague School of Linguistics. He was particular ly influenced by R Jakobson and P. Bogatyrev, and structural-functionalanalysis of folklore.The 40s were very significant for him: his doctorate was finished in1942; in 1949, he and the ethnomusicologist Hari Brauner collaborated toestablish the Insti tute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest. popremained director of the Ins t i tu te from 1950-74. When asked to comment, inretrospect, upon his influence on Romanian anthropology, ethnography, andfolklore, Mihai pop--with a characterist ic twinkle in his eye--responded:Nimica-ca nu rna asculta nimen. (None--because no one l is tens to me.) Inactual i ty , under his guidance, the Ins t i tu te flourished, and became one of

the f inest ethnographic inst i tutes on the continent. pop ini t iatedambitious programs for fieldwork. procedures for the collection of dataand the organization of the archives were established; to these ends, Popintroduced the usage of technical aids such as film and tape. He was alsoresponsible for the systematization of data, the development of typologiesfor Popular l i terature and music (tales and ballads, in particular) . Along

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more analytic l ines, Pop encouraged new approaches to the study of socialprocesses and meaning; he stimulated the study of folklore as a culturalact , incorporating semiotic perspectives into the interpretive process.Throughout, Pop generously shared his access to the international scholarlyl i terature with members of the Inst i tute and with his students. (pop'sl inguist ic faci l i t ies have contributed to his breadth of knowledge; he isconversant in French, I ta l ian English, German, Hungarian and a l l of theSlavic languages.) e succeeded in at t ract ing foreign researchers toRomania, opening doors for Romanian colleagues, as well as for us.

But being director of the Insti tute did not curtai l his academicpursuits. In 1963, Pop became a Professor a t the University of Bucharest.e was also an editor of Revista de t n o g r a ~ ~ e s i Folclor unti l 1980.Subsequent international appointments have included: resident fellow a tthe Center for Advanced Studies of the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford;corresponding member of the Austrian Anthropological Society; member of theexecutive board of the International Association for Semiotic Studies;member of the executive board of the International Center for Semiotic andLinguistic Studies, Urbino; President of the International Society for

Ethnology and Folklore. The sojourn a t Stanford's Center for AdvancedStudies was signif icant to pop's ongoing inte l lectual development. Therehe became familiar with American socio-cultural anthropology. Later on,due to the continued influence of Jakobson, and of Levi-Strauss, heexplored French structuralism. Pop has also been a visi t ing professor ofanthropology a t the University of Marburg; a t Berkeley, 1974; Michigan,1975; the College de France, Paris, 1976; and U.C.L.A., 1984.Pop's bibliography at tes t s to the diversity of his pursuits. Morerecent additions include two books, one on Romanian oral l i terature Pop s iRuxandoiu, Folclor Literar Romanesc, Bucuresti: editura didactica s ipedagogica, 1976), and one on traditional customs (Obiceiuri Traditionale

Romanesti, Bucuresti, 1976). The la t ter reflects pop's most enduringpersonal and professional interest spawned in the '30s by readingBogatyrev's Rites et Croyanqes: the study of calendar and l i fe-cycleri tuals . presently, he is interested in the symbolic meaning of r i tualstructures and signs with special emphasis on funeral customs and ancesterworship in Romania, and Southeastern Europe in general. Other primary concerns are semiotics and text analysis.

Perhaps more than anything, pop's invaluable contribution to Romanianethnography as well as to the Romanian-American cul tural exchange has beenhis enthusiastic approach to l i f e and scholarship. His optimism expressesa basic joie de vivre that is both encouraging and contagious. pop'sretirement from academia will be deeply fe l t by those who have had theprivilege to know him and to work with him.

Pop's reknown is not, however, confined to academic circles; hiscontributions to the world of knowledge are recognized by the MorosenLthemselves. They too are proud to jo in in the celebration of the achievements of one of their own. The following str igatura (shouted rhyme) was

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composed by Suzanna Balea (from Ieud, Maramurer> in his honor. I t is af i t t ing testimony to a dear friend and respected colleague to whom wededicate this volume:

Sa infloreasca violaMihai Pop traieaSa t ra iea cu sanatateDe bine sa aiba parteC-o 1nvaj:at multa carteMulta carte tnva ,-atCinstea ne-o adus la satLa sat la ~ n t r e g judetiCinstea ne-o adus la t ~ ~ iCa e l i om de ~ t i - i n ~ a i noi avem multa cinsteFrunza verde moieranMihai Pop i MoroyanMoropan de cela iuteNe aduce laude multeOri y i unde 0 plecatNumai cinstea 0 capatatc frunzuca verde dincordruEl i omu tare lotru i amu prinde a b ~ t r ~ n i i i noua to t dragu ne-ar J iNoua s i la 1ntreaga lumeCa i ~ om cu voie bunap i daca parul "li-o aloi tTot de lumea i iUbit i de noi iuoit a J iCite zile a t ra i i

La mulj:, ani

May the violet blossomnd Mihai Pop live longMay he l ive in good healthnd good fortune be his lo tFor he has studied muchMuch booklearning has he hadnd brought us honor for the villageFor the village and the ent i re countyHonor has he brought us a l lFor he is a man of sciencend we are proudGreen leaf of marjoramMihai Pop is from MaramureJA Moroan, sharp and quickHe brings us praises manyWherever he has goneOnly honor has he rece ivedLitt le green leaf from the forestHe is a very clever manNow he i s beginning to agend to us he will s t i l l Oe dearTo us and to everyoneBecause he is a man of good willnd i f his hair has grayedOur love s t i l l remains

nd he will be loved by uss long as he l ives

To many years