The Tradition Linked To The Invention

The tradition linked to the invention

Introduction.

The concept of tradition linked to the invention is proposed by Eric Hobsbawn to refer to traditions that have been created in a more recent time to be believed, and that the reason why they have been created have been to overcome situations or periods characterized by crisis of different field. They are also characterized by the fact that they try to find a legitimization the basis to which they are from the past to define a cultural identity of a society or nation.

Thus, and taking into account the historical and temporal context in which most of these invented traditions develop, we see that it coincides with a time when the romantic movement, that movement that promotes feeling before reason, and that seeks to recall the glorious past of the nations that are beginning to emerge, is the perfect breeding ground for these traditions to find their place in the historical justification of the culture of a nation or society.

Developing.

Invented traditions imply a series of practices, which are governed by accepted norms and with a symbolic and ritual nature, seeking to establish values ​​and norms that through repetition are linked to an idea of ​​continuity with respect to the past. These past with an excuse to find a connection mode with these invented traditions. If a society or nation does not find a link with its past, it is simply invented, and in the same way it happens with traditions, that is, it is about formalizing and ritualizing these traditions, which are linked in a way with the past and that through repeating them, they become a tradition for a society.

A clear example can be found in the Grand Tour, in which with the excuse of knowing and connecting with the most glorious past, the young children of the elites marched to make a trip that gave them new knowledge and experiences. These Grand Tour began being carried out by the children of the high nobility, and ended up becoming a tradition for this social class, becoming imitated by the bourgeois classes that began to enrich themselves and wanted to imitate the high elite.

But we must bear in mind that we must also differentiate concepts such as custom and routine. In all societies, customs are the most important point because they are established and cannot be changed, they are invariable and they are what supports and marches to a society. But this does not mean that they cannot innovate to adapt to the needs of a moment, but they must contribute a continuity round in the social sphere and in historical evolution. On the other hand we find the routine, the repetition process that allows these traditions to be established and last over time, but they can vary or eliminate according to the needs of a society.

Among the invented traditions we can find three types of traditions. The first of these are those used to establish a social unit, they are those that allow an idea of ​​belonging to a real and artificial community or community, an example of this would be "Scottish skirts". Another type of tradition are those that legitimately or social status, the function of an institution, or the relations of authority in a community, as an example being the coronation of a monarch or a leader. And finally, we find invented traditions that aims to instill a series of beliefs, values ​​and behavior patterns.

The fact that the romantic movement promotes the national feeling of these nations makes emerging structures that have to change, disappear or invent new. The fact that these changes occur in a short period of time makes a new group identity that legitimates that new group, community, society or nation, therefore the emergence of nationalism allowed a new social organization to legitimize , as will be the nation, in the case of Germany or Italy.

In this way, the ideology of nationalism needs its ideals to materialize, thus giving rise to the creation of the nation. But for all this to consolidate, people who identify with this new idea are needed, and for this, it will be necessary to look for elements with which they can be linked and feel part of that new community. This is when the invented traditions that will give an idea of ​​belonging to this new group come into play, in relation to a past they have in common. At the moment, with the creations of the new nation states, the need to convey a group that new social organization arises, based on invented traditions.

The case of Highlands in Scotland many of the traditions and elements that today would identify as Scots were believed older than they really are, such as the use of the kil one, the bagpipe or even literature, whose elements are used by Scottish as an identifier element.

We must know that the origin of these symbols dates back to the annexation of Scottra territory to England, and not as old as it is believed, and its purpose is protest to the Irish. It is true that some of these elements were used primitively, when the consideration of this group was of barbarians, as a backward group, but what is now known as the culture of highlands we have to go back to the 18th century In a period of depression, when they become independent from the Irish nation.

It is not the bagpipe the instrument of the Scottish tradition, but it is harp. But if today we look for a characteristic element of the Scots, reference is always made to the kil. This element was a skirt, which in full industrial revolution was used to differentiate workers of Scottish origin. On the other hand we find the tartan, and that thanks to the Sobieski Stuarts brothers, it can be linked in addition to Scottish literature, thanks to the book Viewiarium Scoticum in which they illustrate varied models to differentiate the different clans and patterns of each. In addition, we cannot say that the first inhabitants of Scotland used tarta or kilt but used pants and these elements are of modern creation.

We can also refer to falsification within the literature with the case of the Macpherson brothers, who created a Scottish indigenous literature based on the Irish tradition. And this is not the only case in which a falsification of history is made to justify the origin of a nation. The Grimm brothers in the writing of their work Kinder Hausmarchen, obsessed in the search for the spirit of the people, in times of the rise of the German language, and the birth of a cultural identity after the Napoleonic wars, take elements of Italian and French traditions, that later they will not feel identified with them and will suppress them from their tales compilation.

Another case is related to the territory of Wales. We go back in the middle of the 18th century when Welsh culture lives a resurgence thanks to the publication of books with Welsh music, after living a period of decline in the early 18th century. Given this situation, new traditions are rediscovered, and to be able to create a solid base to Welsh culture, a mythological history is created and with it, a new story with which to link the past.

Formerly it was believed that the Wesses were related to the cultures of the Bretons or the cornics, however, in the seventeenth century and thanks to various studies by Edward Lhuyd, a relationship with the Celts was established, thus giving him a new past of character.

One of these elements is the Eisteddfod, which is a series of competitions at the musical and poetic level. Mention is made that harps and voices, and in general music were a very important element for this society. These competitions can be related to a character from the Middle Ages, which is known as Bardo, whose function was to write poems and songs.  

That in the 16th century he had entered a decline, almost disappearing, since he considered himself a backward figure for the way of life of the moment. It is in the eighteenth century when the Eisteddfod acquires a new revaluation, through the Almanaque Esiteddfodau, relating it directly to the Welsh Societies, becoming one in London, and that will be the ones that dominate the music and poetry competitions.

Reference is also made to another symbolic element of the different nations such as heraldry and blazons, which are the elements that allow distinguishing a nation or group from another. In this case, we find that the fundamental elements are the harp, the fruids and the eistereddof, in addition to the three ostrich feathers with the motto Ich Dien “I serve”. The Welsh people, like many of the peoples arising during nationalism, claimed the past of their country, and in case there was a vacuum that could not link, they end up inventing one and turning it into its tradition, finding a point of Connection.

A common element in all aspects that are treated throughout the book is related to the constructions of traditions in very similar historical frameworks, coinciding with the movement of romanticism and the emergence of nation-states. This can be related to the emergence of what is subsequently called heritage, but relation to the classes that create these invented traditions, which will later be taken as a reference to identify a society. 

What will subsequently be called Heritage, in the 19th century it is a social construction that comes from a series of elections that occur at a certain time. In this case, and in most nationalisms it is about rewriting history. History will therefore be an argument to build that heritage. In this way, nationalisms will play with that idea of ​​nostalgia for a glorious past, with which new national identities will seek to link, in an invented way through counterfeit literature.

Another aspect to take into account is the fact that the great nations of the nineteenth and twentieth century such as Great Britain or France suffer transformations. In the case of Great Britain we see all this change in the coronation ritual, with all the transformation at the social, political and economic level, in addition to social that this entails. This has a lot to do with the concept of modernity, which is a key idea to understand the emergence of these national movements. 

In the British case, we find that they have been the precursors of the industrial revolution, which have developed a new way of life, moving from an economic model based on the agrarian world to an industrial economic model, in which the development of cities with The creation of Burgos and urban renewal makes advance and innovation in all its pillars, including the kind of the bourgeoisie, which seeks to ennoble and of the monarchy itself, modifying the ritual and its perspective for society.

In relation to the British world, we must also take into account that in centuries it is when the British empire develops, with colonizations in Africa and Asia. In this situation, Great Britain puts itself as a power at the cusp of social evolution, showing itself as a society led to civilize others that have not had that evolution. There have always been civilized societies or societies that must be civilized by these former, since they consider them as unlocked, underdeveloped, etc. In this situation Great Britain shows that its colonialist eagerness is due a civilizing intention, which legitimizes this idea of ​​colonialism .

That is why they establish their ideals in colonial India. But this did not avoid difficulties when establishing a kind of constitution based on the ritual language presented to the Indians by the British authorities. Given this situation, a series of experiments occur to establish them. And a ritual is established practically similar to that developed in Britain, and in which the Indians participate as soldiers, servants or attendees of public audiences.

The conflict that is lived during the mid -nineteenth century in India culminates with the imposition of the British model in India, establishing a relationship between metropolis and colony based on the study of Indian traditions, and relating them and finding a common point with the British To legitimize your intervention in this territory.

We must also take into account that although these invented traditions are developed in a specific period of time, they also have a creation process. And in the case of Europe, they coincide again with the 19th and early twentieth centuries. And we find two aspects that are responsible for carrying out these creation processes. We find a first aspect in which it is the State that is responsible for carrying out these invented traditions in an area more related to the political while on the other hand we will find a more social aspect, in relation to the bourgeois classes and The elites of societies, through an element such as education.

Schools and universities will be in focus so that these new invented traditions develop and extend over time. It is in those foci of knowledge that an education based on indoctrination will begin to extol the figure of the homeland, of the nation. These young students, when educated in this area, will become the future leaders and rulers of the different nations, in which their nationalism will defend themselves above all, and in this way, the invented traditions will have been established in a society that the carry out and that will accept them.

This happens because elites need a way to get to power and have the loyalty of what will be called the people. And this is easier to carry out by elites and bourgeoisies. And some of the clearest examples are those of France and Germany. In the case of France, we can find it during the period between 1870 and 1940, during the Third French Republic. An education capable of transmitting the new values ​​represented by this Republic is consolidated. The celebration of significant civil events for the people of France is held, as is July 14, when the basket is commemorated and that is celebrated for the first time in 1880. 

It is currently when the elements that define the French society begin to appear, such as the figure of Marianne, the allegory of the Republic. All this is the result of what romanticism as a literary, pictorial movement (works such as freedom guiding the people), musical and even social has created for future societies. There is a change of thought after the Napoleonic period, and now the important thing is not the leaders as such, but the people as such, which is represented by its leaders, exalting patriotism.

Another case we can see is the case of Germany, and more specifically during the Guillermo II period. At the moment, the German Empire has already consolidated and the need to find national symbols that represent Germany has been consolidated and arises. And they will find it through what was known as Germania or Deutsche Michel, that is, the personification of the German people. 

But this is not something that only happens in Germany, because in the case of Spain we have Juan Spanish or Ze Povinho in the case of Portugal. But in addition to this, we find the fact that Germany is a very recent nation, and they have to look for a common past to develop these invented traditions. An event will be chosen in which the different states that formed the remains of the Harce Empire are encompassed.

Conclusions.

We must take into account that these invented traditions also gave the identification of the different social classes that made up a society. That is, identifying images are created for a common society, but they are also created to define the different classes that made it up. This obviously has a political connotation through which they seek to legitimize those invented traditions, because as we have seen, they are the elites and the bourgeoisie, especially the one that is responsible for creating and legitimizing them to obtain a political benefit. 

All this arises from the 18th century and especially in the 19th century, culminating thus with the creation of nationalism, nation states and a relatively recent social class that manages to settle in power. It has gone from a social model based on families and the reputation of these to establish a social model based on the powerful and later because of the influence that this social group acquired in the various areas in political power. 

All these invented traditions that we have been able to analyze could not be carried out if they had neither created to respond to a concrete need, both of society and of the social class itself that aims to highlight, and therefore they are so successful, because they respond to issues necessary, which are acquired and accepted as if they were legitimate. And in addition, if these invented traditions comply with the purpose with which they are created, they end up being a distinctive element of a small group, to become an identifier element of a whole society