In this blog post, we’ll explore the idea that what we believe to be long-standing traditions may actually be shaped by the social and political needs of a particular time.
As humans grow up, we become accustomed to our own culture, so we assume that certain institutions and ideas have been around for a very long time. In this process, people take for granted that their culture is unique and distinctive, with long historical roots. They even use differences from other cultures to establish their own cultural identity. While this phenomenon shows how deeply rooted culture is in human beings, it often overlooks the fact that it is constantly being reorganized through change and external influences. Some people even believe that this is an intrinsic characteristic of their culture in the name of tradition. However, this leads to a lack of understanding of the context and socio-cultural meaning of traditions. This is where the need to see the culture of the past as different from the culture of today comes in.
Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger argue that many of the traditions we believe to be ancient were invented in the not-so-distant past. For example, people in Scotland wear kilts and perform traditional ceremonies, which they believe to be representative of their culture. However, the case of the kilt raises questions about how this belief was formed. The kilt is not actually a traditional garment, but was created by an English businessman who arrived after Scotland was annexed by England in 1707 as a work garment to replace uncomfortable traditional clothing. The kilt later became popular among the lower classes, but was not considered traditional until the 1745 Rebellion. After the rebellion, the British government outlawed the wearing of kilts, but some people began to wear them at home in secret, and the kilt gradually became considered a traditional garment. The distinctive checkered pattern of the kilt became a symbol of clan affiliation when, in 1822, the King of England organized a grand reception for his visit and asked each clan chief to wear a different patterned kilt. The distinctive checkered pattern adopted at this time became the signature garment of each clan.
The case of the kilt shows that traditions can be created to fulfill political and social purposes at certain times. This phenomenon is not limited to kilts, but is similar in other cultures as well. Samurai culture in Japan and traditional Korean wedding rituals, for example, have been reimagined in a modern context. Especially since the advent of the modern state, the “invention of tradition” by the state has played a large role in establishing institutions. This has led to the myth that traditions have been around for a very long time, long beyond the time when they were created. However, traditions are created and shared by people located in a specific time and space, and they are closely tied to politics, society, and economics, and can mean different things at different times. Therefore, when understanding traditions, it is important to consider the social, economic, and political context of the time.
In this context, traditions should not be viewed simply as a legacy of the past, but should be understood in the context and process of their formation. Therefore, mythologizing traditions in isolation from their specific social and cultural contexts can lead to a lack of holistic understanding of the social culture of the time. Furthermore, this approach can provide us with a more accurate basis for evaluating the role and impact of traditions in our current society.
Just as we can look at our own culture more objectively through the lens of another unfamiliar culture, we can better recognize the reality of tradition by looking at the culture of the past as another unfamiliar culture. For example, if you analyze the traditional culture of another country and consider the social, economic, and political context of that country, you can better understand the purpose and need for which the traditions were formed. The ultimate goal of this perspective is not to debunk mythologized traditions. Rather, by recognizing past cultures as other cultures, it seeks to understand them by restoring the people of the time to their roles as subjects of culture and history after being buried in myth. By doing so, we hope to shed new light on the socio-cultural context and meaning of traditions from their perspective. Furthermore, through this perspective, we can better understand the current meaning of tradition in the modern world.
