Ethno-regional Studies as a New Area in Gagauz Studies (The Scientific Work of E.N. Kvilinkova – the Prominent Moldavian Ethnologist)

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2021-4/309-324

Abstract

The article is devoted to the new approaches and methods of studying the traditional spiritual culture and ethnic history of the Gagauz, developed by the prominent Moldavian ethnologist E.N. Kvilinkova. The author reveals the significance of the area of study she developed – ethno-regional studies – and the use of the term «regional». With her research, E.N. Kvilinkova proved that reconstructing the ethnic history of a small dispersed people is only possible by studying the general and the particular in it through the regional. That is, she has substantiated the need to study local ethnic groups in different regions. The present article summarizes the 30-year experience of E.N. Kvilinkova at the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and examines the studies of the Gagauz spiritual culture that applied the ethno-regional approach. An analysis of the research results obtained in her published scientific articles and monographs revealed the scientific and practical significance of ethno-regionalism as a study area. Its use in Gagauz studies is even more valuable since the ethnogenesis of the Gagauz (Turkic-speaking and Orthodox) remains one of the most controversial topics to date. The article shows that E.N. Kvilinkova managed to study the ethnogenesis of the Gagauz people through the cultural genesis and fit the Gagauz culture into the niche of the Balkan Christian cultures. In this regard, the contribution of E.N. Kvilinkova as a scientist to Gagauz studies and ethnological science in general proves very significant.

For Citation: Sakovich, V.A. 2021. Ethno-regional Studies as a New Area in Gagauz Studies (The Scientific Work of E.N. Kvilinkova – the Prominent Moldavian Ethnologist). Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 4: 309-324.