Folk festival as modern ritual in the Polish Tatra Mountains

In this study, I interpret a large annual folklore festival in the Tatra Mountains of Poland as a modern ritual that is similar to more traditionally recognized calendric rituals. Key to my interpretation of festivals is the local history of tourism and the emergence of the tourism as the regions major industry. I show how individuals from indigenous families of the Tatra region use tourist festivals to symbolically and ritually create, preserve, and represent their unique identity in the face of a changing world.