Eusebi Ribas Vallespinosa, prevere i folklorista. contribució a la història del folklore català (1874-1959)

Identifier:  TDX:3131

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX3131

Authors:  Oliva Ramal, Albert

Abstract:
This doctoral thesis vindicates the figure of the priest Eusebi Ribas Vallespinosa as a folklorist. The first part of the work is based on the influence that the institutional Church of Catalonia developed in the contemporary society during the different historical periods comprised between the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, such as the Renaixença period, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930), the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1938), the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the first years of the Franco dictatorship (1939-1951). It specifically determines the contribution of the clergy to the history of Catalan folklore during that period and analyzes the ecclesiastical engagement in projects and initiatives of research in the folklore field, such as Obra del Cançoner Popular. In that given context, we encounter the figure of Eusebi Ribas Vallespinosa, presbyter of the city of Valls. The second part of the thesis is then focused on the study of the work of Father Ribas as a folklorist, structured in three areas of action: folk songs, traditional games and tradition-related articles found in local and regional press. To achieve that, two core fields of work are established, each focused on one of the most outstanding works of the author's production in the field of popular oral literature and folklore: on one side, the collection of traditional games from Valls dating back to 1951; on the other side, the collection of five hundred and thirty songs that he sent to Obra del Cançoner in 1932. The first case contains a contextualization, edition, study and classification of the games contained in the manuscript that the priest presented at the Floral Games held during the Decennial Celebrations in honor of Our Lady Verge de la Candela in Valls. In the second case, the songbook, the document is contextualized, the characteristics of the informants are analyzed and a classification and commentary on the songs is proposed.