RESEARCH CONCERNING ROMANI MUSIC IN FINLAND: IN THE SPIRIT OF ROMANTISM OR CONSTRUCTING RE (e-paper)

Kai Viljami Åberg
University of Eastern Finland

 

Owing to the small number of studies of Finnish Romani music, it is hard to speak of Romani music research to the same extent as, for instance, elsewhere in Europe. This research in Finland, however, can be seen as having focused for a long while on the collection and documentation of music and having gradually achieved broader theoretical dimensions. In this article, I will demonstrate how cultural
policies and research concerning Finnish Romani music go hand in hand in different historical and cultural contexts. Also based on my fieldwork, I argue that the study of Finnish Romani music and related perspectives and methods appear to coincide with the ethnic-political activism of the Roma.