Click to set custom HTML
Doukhobors and culture - Doukhobors and changing culture - transitions, changes, evolutions, over the last hundred years - pressures from within and without.
When Lev Tolstoy began approaching some of his wealthy friends and acquaintances to raise money for the Doukhobor immigration, one of the benefactors he drew upon was Konstantin Stanislavsky. We don't have a record of Stanislavsky's financial contribution, but his tenure as the Artistic Director of the world's most famous theatre, the Moscow Art Theatre, is well documented. When it was time for the first shipload of Doukhobor immigrants to be readied and disembarked for Canada, who was in charge? Leopold Sulerjitski (aka Sulerzhitsky), the dramaturge of the Moscow Art Theatre. And who was perhaps the greatest benefactor of the Doukhobors at the time? None other than Leo Tolstoy, perhaps the greatest cultural icon of his time!
The cultural connection continued in Canada. The Canadian facilitator of the immigration was James Mavor, a cultural and literary worker in his spare time and acquaintance of George Bernard Shaw. When I interviewed his daughter Dora Mavor some years ago, she showed me a little purse that Prince Peter Kropotkin had presented her with when he had visited her father and they had discussed a suitable location for the Doukhobor settlement. Dora Mavor Moore became known as the mother of Canadian Theatre, and many Canadians, no doubt some Doukhobors included, have heard of her son, Mavor Moore, theatre practitioner and drama academic. In a later connection, one of Mavor’s early successes was a Canadian adaptation of Gogol’s great comedic hit, The Inspector General.
Interesting coincidental connections - Doukhobors and culture. When the first shipload of Doukhobors were greeted at Halifax harbour, one of the welcoming speakers said: 'We hear that your benefactor is the great writer Leo Tolstoy. Many Canadians who have never heard of the Doukhobors have heard of the great Leo Tolstoy - perhaps some day, some of these children arriving here today, may become great artists and writers in their new country, just as he is in the country you left.' [Castlegar Sun, Doukhobor Centenary, May 19, 1999, p.17]
A sublime prophecy.
As we can see here, the Doukhobors had various cultural connections to the society of the day - within Russia they considered themselves a separate group with its own sensibility, its own oral history, and its own frame of reference to their own existence. However, when the time came to interact with Russian society both voluntarily and involuntarily, the Doukhobors were quite capable of communicating their desires, needs and aspirations with the leading intelligentsia of the day. In later years, in the new adopted homeland of Canada, they managed to retain their own identity for several generations, but once again inter-related as and when necessary, both through written communication and through the exchange of handicrafts, working techniques and various tools which they availed themselves of whenever possible and suitable and necessary throughout the settlement times.
Once the communal system disappeared, the Doukhobors turned to all of the skills and resources available with even more vigour to continue to interpret their own culture, now in more modern terms, although in many handicrafts such as embroidery and rug making, they continued to use traditional methods because they were the best for the job and were suited to the artistic expression. In a 1999 letter to the author, textile expert Dorothy K. Burnham wrote: ‘...I have spent a lifetime researching, studying and writing about the history and development of the textile arts in Canada. The rugs that were woven by Doukhobor women . . .are unique in North America...with their careful and skilled designing and their exuberant use of colour, they speak loudly and clearly of a spirit that would not be crushed... ‘[Letter to the writer, 1999] However, those skills in which power tools were a worthy addition, such as spoon making, the craftsmen soon adopted power methods available and invented other tools to be able to continue to make such items as were previously turned out on foot powered lathes; spoons, salt cellars, and even spinning wheels.
However, for the most part, the Doukhobor education of the time was of an oral nature without formal schooling, and without luxuries such as paper and pens. It follows then, that most such writings were committed to memory. The spoken word also presented a freedom, and when sung, an opportunity for improvisation and elaboration. These earlier writings, then, continued to evolve under different influences and different interpreters. In the Canadian settlement experience, the same original song appears with variations in tempo, words, and even melody between British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and this in only a few decades. Well known myths which originated in the Old Testament also went through a metamorphosis as they were elaborated upon and repeated to provide certain moral lessons.
Making a virtue out of necessary limitations, the Doukhobors sought inspiration and justification in the Gospels: [God]...hath made us able ministers of the new testament: not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life, [II Corinthians, 3, 6.] This concept was further enhanced by an old Russian proverb: Written on the heart - revealed through the mouth - and this too reinforced the idea that the oral tradition was a righteous one.
Today the majority of Doukhobors read and write English, some of them read and write Russian and other languages as well, and the members of the community who are the most revered are indeed the teachers, business men, real-tors and even lawyers and politicians and artists, occupations which would have been regarded as scandalous less than one hundred years ago. [Especially by those Doukhobors who do not recall that Peter V. Verigin received his first education in order to run the family store, one of the family holdings which amounted to half a million rubles, wealth which indicates a level of sophistication and an availability of any cultural opportunities].
In surveying the Doukhobor cultural history, one must conclude that the culture changed from one recorded through an oral a capella singing one in which history and literate culture were preserved by rote, to one that embraced all of the modern means of communication and preservation as they became available.
When the Doukhobors experienced the break up of the communal system and young people were more or less forced to mingle with the non-Doukhobor society through schools and work, there was an outburst of Doukhobor cultural activity rather than what might be expected, an absorption into the prevalent mainstream Canadian culture.
One direct result of interaction with the broader Canadian society led to the open use of musical instruments and available recording techniques to create an indigenous recording industry that created stars of performers throughout the Doukhobor community. Most of them originated in British Columbia and performed locally, but some also toured throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan. In Saskatchewan, they were also quick to begin singing in the English language as well as Russian and Ukrainian and some even found employment performing for dances and programs on the early radio stations of the day. The performers also recorded Russian and Doukhobor songs, and as the Doukhobors obtained record players and vechurooshki [evening socials which often featured group singing] became less frequent, a market was created to satisfy a craving for Russian language recordings, both for the elders and the youth, who looked upon the performers as role models. The other development occurred on a more spiritual plain.
Concurrent with the advent of recording techniques, activities of the B.C. Interior choirs were stimulated which led to the recording of traditional hymns and songs in the old style. These too found a market, within the general public as well as Doukhobor fans, and no doubt also encouraged participation in the choirs.
Without consciously doing so, all of these early recordings also fulfilled another important function, that of preservation of these sung materials for future references as a record and a guide for generations to come. In 1970, Kenneth Peacock said: ‘The contemporary hymn has documented the psychological climate of the Doukhobor social evolution in Canada better than any sociological study could hope to do.’ (Iskra, No. 1848, p.36)
Furniture and spoon and dish making led to sculpture. Coming out of such a tradition of woodworking and carving, sculptors such as William Koochin were developing innovative works which clearly showed their early utilitarian purposes.
The final evolution of Doukhobor culture took place in harmony with the development of Canadian culture as a whole - as theatres developed in the major centres opening up the possibilities of participation by native born Canadians instead of solely English immigrants, and as universities in Canada developed film and theatre courses, a theatre and film reality began to take place within our country. Doukhobor adherents soon found a place within this new culture, first as workers within these mediums in the general Canadian and American-influenced culture, then using these mediums to reflect the Doukhobor culture, past and present. The ground-breaking documentary film In Search Of Utopia - The Doukhobors by Larry Ewashen was the first of several such productions, the most significant recent one being Soul Communion, produced by Sharon McGowan.
Such films bear a direct relationship and even dependance on the early photographers of the ethnic group; just as in the oral culture, the most prolific recording performers came from those families who had strong roots in the oral culture of the group for previous generations. Here we also encounter a strong quality of firsts on various fronts, something which an emerging culture always presents.
Such films mark an important development, that of the Doukhobors emerging as interpreters of their own culture, whereas previously they had been written about and interpreted for the general public often inaccurately by other writers such as Gabrielle Roy, Mavis Gallant or Hugh Greig. Some of these works were stimulated by sensational portrayals which did not present a true picture of the Doukhobor story, such as the early portrayal of the Doukhobors by the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, or a current fanciful theatrical production in Saskatchewan. The pioneering work of Koozma Tarasoff's Pictorial History Of The Doukhobors come to mind which began to accurately reflect the Doukhobor presence by Doukhobor scholars as well as the writings and recordings of Doukhobor history by indigenous writers such as Eli Popoff.
As we observe the contemporary scene in reference to Doukhobor culture, it is satisfying to note that the Doukhobors are now assuming a role in interpreting and contributing to their own culture in equal amounts to those of other scholars, that artists such as Bill Perehudoff receive the Order of Canada, artists such as George Koochin and Jan Kabatoff find an appreciative audience within the Doukhobor community and without, and that other Doukhobor artists, authors, actors, stage managers, journalists, academics and directors continue to find a successful place within the multicultural fabric of Canada, making their contributions to Canadian culture, reflecting their Doukhobor heritage as well as the prevailing Canadian culture, or in some cases, counter culture. This is the final stage of evolution where the emerging Doukhobor cultural worker meets acceptance and at times demonstrates superiority within the new society.
The present Doukhobor culture has embraced modern expression, while not forgetting its roots and not ignoring its origins. As well, original psalms, hymns, stories and tales of the oral tradition still exist, but now are dispersed throughout a wider audience through the most contemporary means available, including the world wide Internet facilities.
Larry A. Ewashen
'Changing Faces of Doukhobor Culture' was presented at Ottawa University on October 24, 1999 and then published in the Proceedings of the conference papers. Published asThe Doukhobor Centenary in Canada. A multi-disciplinary perspective on their unity and diversity. Ottawa, Ontario: Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa and the Institute of Canadian Studies at the University of Ottawa, 2000: 357-365. Edited by Andrew Donskov, John Woodsworth and Chad Gaffield.
[Thanks to Doukhobor artist George Koochin for the use of his image, Postnikoff Village at the head of this paper].
When Lev Tolstoy began approaching some of his wealthy friends and acquaintances to raise money for the Doukhobor immigration, one of the benefactors he drew upon was Konstantin Stanislavsky. We don't have a record of Stanislavsky's financial contribution, but his tenure as the Artistic Director of the world's most famous theatre, the Moscow Art Theatre, is well documented. When it was time for the first shipload of Doukhobor immigrants to be readied and disembarked for Canada, who was in charge? Leopold Sulerjitski (aka Sulerzhitsky), the dramaturge of the Moscow Art Theatre. And who was perhaps the greatest benefactor of the Doukhobors at the time? None other than Leo Tolstoy, perhaps the greatest cultural icon of his time!
The cultural connection continued in Canada. The Canadian facilitator of the immigration was James Mavor, a cultural and literary worker in his spare time and acquaintance of George Bernard Shaw. When I interviewed his daughter Dora Mavor some years ago, she showed me a little purse that Prince Peter Kropotkin had presented her with when he had visited her father and they had discussed a suitable location for the Doukhobor settlement. Dora Mavor Moore became known as the mother of Canadian Theatre, and many Canadians, no doubt some Doukhobors included, have heard of her son, Mavor Moore, theatre practitioner and drama academic. In a later connection, one of Mavor’s early successes was a Canadian adaptation of Gogol’s great comedic hit, The Inspector General.
Interesting coincidental connections - Doukhobors and culture. When the first shipload of Doukhobors were greeted at Halifax harbour, one of the welcoming speakers said: 'We hear that your benefactor is the great writer Leo Tolstoy. Many Canadians who have never heard of the Doukhobors have heard of the great Leo Tolstoy - perhaps some day, some of these children arriving here today, may become great artists and writers in their new country, just as he is in the country you left.' [Castlegar Sun, Doukhobor Centenary, May 19, 1999, p.17]
A sublime prophecy.
As we can see here, the Doukhobors had various cultural connections to the society of the day - within Russia they considered themselves a separate group with its own sensibility, its own oral history, and its own frame of reference to their own existence. However, when the time came to interact with Russian society both voluntarily and involuntarily, the Doukhobors were quite capable of communicating their desires, needs and aspirations with the leading intelligentsia of the day. In later years, in the new adopted homeland of Canada, they managed to retain their own identity for several generations, but once again inter-related as and when necessary, both through written communication and through the exchange of handicrafts, working techniques and various tools which they availed themselves of whenever possible and suitable and necessary throughout the settlement times.
Once the communal system disappeared, the Doukhobors turned to all of the skills and resources available with even more vigour to continue to interpret their own culture, now in more modern terms, although in many handicrafts such as embroidery and rug making, they continued to use traditional methods because they were the best for the job and were suited to the artistic expression. In a 1999 letter to the author, textile expert Dorothy K. Burnham wrote: ‘...I have spent a lifetime researching, studying and writing about the history and development of the textile arts in Canada. The rugs that were woven by Doukhobor women . . .are unique in North America...with their careful and skilled designing and their exuberant use of colour, they speak loudly and clearly of a spirit that would not be crushed... ‘[Letter to the writer, 1999] However, those skills in which power tools were a worthy addition, such as spoon making, the craftsmen soon adopted power methods available and invented other tools to be able to continue to make such items as were previously turned out on foot powered lathes; spoons, salt cellars, and even spinning wheels.
However, for the most part, the Doukhobor education of the time was of an oral nature without formal schooling, and without luxuries such as paper and pens. It follows then, that most such writings were committed to memory. The spoken word also presented a freedom, and when sung, an opportunity for improvisation and elaboration. These earlier writings, then, continued to evolve under different influences and different interpreters. In the Canadian settlement experience, the same original song appears with variations in tempo, words, and even melody between British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and this in only a few decades. Well known myths which originated in the Old Testament also went through a metamorphosis as they were elaborated upon and repeated to provide certain moral lessons.
Making a virtue out of necessary limitations, the Doukhobors sought inspiration and justification in the Gospels: [God]...hath made us able ministers of the new testament: not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life, [II Corinthians, 3, 6.] This concept was further enhanced by an old Russian proverb: Written on the heart - revealed through the mouth - and this too reinforced the idea that the oral tradition was a righteous one.
Today the majority of Doukhobors read and write English, some of them read and write Russian and other languages as well, and the members of the community who are the most revered are indeed the teachers, business men, real-tors and even lawyers and politicians and artists, occupations which would have been regarded as scandalous less than one hundred years ago. [Especially by those Doukhobors who do not recall that Peter V. Verigin received his first education in order to run the family store, one of the family holdings which amounted to half a million rubles, wealth which indicates a level of sophistication and an availability of any cultural opportunities].
In surveying the Doukhobor cultural history, one must conclude that the culture changed from one recorded through an oral a capella singing one in which history and literate culture were preserved by rote, to one that embraced all of the modern means of communication and preservation as they became available.
When the Doukhobors experienced the break up of the communal system and young people were more or less forced to mingle with the non-Doukhobor society through schools and work, there was an outburst of Doukhobor cultural activity rather than what might be expected, an absorption into the prevalent mainstream Canadian culture.
One direct result of interaction with the broader Canadian society led to the open use of musical instruments and available recording techniques to create an indigenous recording industry that created stars of performers throughout the Doukhobor community. Most of them originated in British Columbia and performed locally, but some also toured throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan. In Saskatchewan, they were also quick to begin singing in the English language as well as Russian and Ukrainian and some even found employment performing for dances and programs on the early radio stations of the day. The performers also recorded Russian and Doukhobor songs, and as the Doukhobors obtained record players and vechurooshki [evening socials which often featured group singing] became less frequent, a market was created to satisfy a craving for Russian language recordings, both for the elders and the youth, who looked upon the performers as role models. The other development occurred on a more spiritual plain.
Concurrent with the advent of recording techniques, activities of the B.C. Interior choirs were stimulated which led to the recording of traditional hymns and songs in the old style. These too found a market, within the general public as well as Doukhobor fans, and no doubt also encouraged participation in the choirs.
Without consciously doing so, all of these early recordings also fulfilled another important function, that of preservation of these sung materials for future references as a record and a guide for generations to come. In 1970, Kenneth Peacock said: ‘The contemporary hymn has documented the psychological climate of the Doukhobor social evolution in Canada better than any sociological study could hope to do.’ (Iskra, No. 1848, p.36)
Furniture and spoon and dish making led to sculpture. Coming out of such a tradition of woodworking and carving, sculptors such as William Koochin were developing innovative works which clearly showed their early utilitarian purposes.
The final evolution of Doukhobor culture took place in harmony with the development of Canadian culture as a whole - as theatres developed in the major centres opening up the possibilities of participation by native born Canadians instead of solely English immigrants, and as universities in Canada developed film and theatre courses, a theatre and film reality began to take place within our country. Doukhobor adherents soon found a place within this new culture, first as workers within these mediums in the general Canadian and American-influenced culture, then using these mediums to reflect the Doukhobor culture, past and present. The ground-breaking documentary film In Search Of Utopia - The Doukhobors by Larry Ewashen was the first of several such productions, the most significant recent one being Soul Communion, produced by Sharon McGowan.
Such films bear a direct relationship and even dependance on the early photographers of the ethnic group; just as in the oral culture, the most prolific recording performers came from those families who had strong roots in the oral culture of the group for previous generations. Here we also encounter a strong quality of firsts on various fronts, something which an emerging culture always presents.
Such films mark an important development, that of the Doukhobors emerging as interpreters of their own culture, whereas previously they had been written about and interpreted for the general public often inaccurately by other writers such as Gabrielle Roy, Mavis Gallant or Hugh Greig. Some of these works were stimulated by sensational portrayals which did not present a true picture of the Doukhobor story, such as the early portrayal of the Doukhobors by the Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto, or a current fanciful theatrical production in Saskatchewan. The pioneering work of Koozma Tarasoff's Pictorial History Of The Doukhobors come to mind which began to accurately reflect the Doukhobor presence by Doukhobor scholars as well as the writings and recordings of Doukhobor history by indigenous writers such as Eli Popoff.
As we observe the contemporary scene in reference to Doukhobor culture, it is satisfying to note that the Doukhobors are now assuming a role in interpreting and contributing to their own culture in equal amounts to those of other scholars, that artists such as Bill Perehudoff receive the Order of Canada, artists such as George Koochin and Jan Kabatoff find an appreciative audience within the Doukhobor community and without, and that other Doukhobor artists, authors, actors, stage managers, journalists, academics and directors continue to find a successful place within the multicultural fabric of Canada, making their contributions to Canadian culture, reflecting their Doukhobor heritage as well as the prevailing Canadian culture, or in some cases, counter culture. This is the final stage of evolution where the emerging Doukhobor cultural worker meets acceptance and at times demonstrates superiority within the new society.
The present Doukhobor culture has embraced modern expression, while not forgetting its roots and not ignoring its origins. As well, original psalms, hymns, stories and tales of the oral tradition still exist, but now are dispersed throughout a wider audience through the most contemporary means available, including the world wide Internet facilities.
Larry A. Ewashen
'Changing Faces of Doukhobor Culture' was presented at Ottawa University on October 24, 1999 and then published in the Proceedings of the conference papers. Published asThe Doukhobor Centenary in Canada. A multi-disciplinary perspective on their unity and diversity. Ottawa, Ontario: Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa and the Institute of Canadian Studies at the University of Ottawa, 2000: 357-365. Edited by Andrew Donskov, John Woodsworth and Chad Gaffield.
[Thanks to Doukhobor artist George Koochin for the use of his image, Postnikoff Village at the head of this paper].