A Revered Place in the Rural Landscape: Whose Heritage? On the History of the Holy Spring in Altai

Abstract

The article examines the problems of the relationship between rural local communities and local landscape shrines. Drawing on fieldwork data, archival materials, local periodicals, and writings of Siberian Old Believers, I attempt to reconstruct the historical past of the Holy Spring, one of the most revered places in the Altai region, which bears the characteristics of both the cult and memorial place. I inquire into the conditions leading to transformations in the historical memory that is embodied in revered places and expound the methodology for studying such loci as functional zones of cultural landscapes, locations of memory, and objects of cultural heritage. I further specifically address the interesting case of overlapping vernacular practices of venerating holy places and collective memory of local events during the Civil War. Finally, I examine the most significant stages in the history of the revered place, as well as the reasons for its “reinvention” at the present time.