The invention of tradition is a concept made prominent in the eponymous 1983 book edited by British Marxist intellectual E. J. Hobsbawm and T. O. Ranger.[1] In their Introduction the editors argue that many "traditions" which "appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented."[2] They distinguish the "invention" of traditions in this sense from "starting" or "initiating" a tradition which does not then claim to be old. The phenomenon is particularly clear in the modern development of the nation and of nationalism, creating a national identity promoting national unity, and legitimising certain institutions or cultural practices.
I am going to apply it’s theory to Sri Lankan culture. This is a question for my one of research. Answers from various continent and various disciplines is very important. I highly appreciate your answers. I hope site your answer in my writing by your name.
Here are seven bookmarks to get you going:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness_Monster
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar?&q=sri+lankan+folklore
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Giant_Warriors
- https://scholar.google.com/scholar?&q="invention+of+tradition+revisited"
Tourism can benefit from the invention of traditions. By inventing a Loch Ness monster, tourists will want to see the Loch. By inventing fancy names for fiords, people will want to see them too.
King Arthur and Robin Hood are semi-fables seemingly invented to attract visitors to Tintagel and Sherwood Forest.
we have nice tradition in Sudan, which is one of the greatest African countries, mainly in food and drinks we have unique foods restricted to our Sudanese culture such as kesra and Aseda , those are special type of bread made from dura , and Gourasa which is another type of bread made from sorghum , also we have special drinks such as Abri , Rogag and Helomur, we use this drinks during Holy Ramadan . I hope that my answer is useful to you dear Prof Ian.
The first key determinant between these two terms is that actual set of things that each describes and who interpolate and interpret the concept. It may be varied on personal beliefs and real life experiences. Tradition would describe a belief or behavior. A deeper definition would define it to be “the forms of artistic heritage of a particular group of people; beliefs or customs instituted by societies and governments, such as national anthems and national holidays; beliefs or customs maintained by religious denominations and temple bodies that share history, customs, culture and, to some extent, body of teachings.” Families may also pass traditions down through the generations. Universities too pass traditions down through the generations.
Culture, on the other hand, is a term that is not just limited to beliefs and behaviors, though they are included with additional values. It also includes knowledge, art, morals, law, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. A more contemporary definition would be, “Culture is defined as a social domain that emphasizes the practices, discourses, and material expressions, which, over time, express the continuities and discontinuities of social meaning of a life held in common.” As you can see, culture is much broader term encompasses tradition, as well as other things. Simply put, traditions are a part of culture. Isn’t it? I am in dilemma about the time factor effect on these two concepts, whether time affects to tradition to become culture or not.
So, a definition of "Invented tradition" would be "invented belief" or "invented custom".
I have a personal invented custom that I invented myself. I always start my day with a cup of coffee and a visit to "Astronomy Picture Of the Day" - APOD. It is a custom I started when the Internet connection was often down. It unequivocally established if I was seeing a cached copy or a fresh copy each morning.
Today my Internet connection is reliable, but I still like to see and read the page before I start "work". So I continue the custom, and still (!) recommend it to my students in my research culture. Many of my students have inherited my custom.
Try it! A million people do every day!! https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
The Oxford dictionary defines the tradition as a belief, custom or way of doing something that has existed for a long time among a particular group of people. It means that the thing we consider as a tradition should has been practiced for long period of time. Some traditions have been evolved due to special reasons and some are not. Therefore the researching on exact invented time, person, reasons and benefits which are currently existing traditions will be more important to understand the process of initiating a tradition in particular society. The other thing is the “continuation of a tradition” or transferring it to generation to generation. In my point of view it is a crucial factor though it is newly invented. Probably for the continuation of a tradition depends on the benefits of it to the particular group.
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