UDC 930+94(460)(72)(8) Kupriienko S. A.

RESEARCHES OF PROBLEMS OF MEMORY IN THE SPANISH

SOCIOCULTURAL WORLD.
An attempt to analyze historiographical developments of memorable discourse in
the Spanish-speaking world is made. Author proposes to designate three sociocultural
space Spain, Latin America and the Indian world. A hypothesis is suggested about the
spatio-temporal dimension of concepts historical and national memory.
Keywords: Spain, Latin America, Indians, Spanish-speaking countries, historical
memory, national memory, time, space
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Before a modern historical science in the sphere of researches of problems of
memory (collective, national, social) as it is specified in short subjective notes of
professor V.F. Soldatenko, there is one of tasks to find out, what disturbs, does not
meet time requirements [18. P.12].
What in the field of theoretical understanding and mastering of historical
knowledge nowadays is in Ukraine such, what does not meet time requirements? First of
all, it is notable eurocentrism of a historical science (a reference point on the West
European researches) and close-nationality of the Ukrainian science (a reference point
on the Ukrainian researches) in approaches to the solution of theoretical problems of
memory. It is possible to speak quite surely about inclusion of North American
researches in the eurocentric paradigm because the majority of modern works is
published in English as the universally recognized language of science. And in general,
the English-speaking science became a synonym of a foreign science long ago. It
generates limitation of access to experience of other sociocultural associations one of
which is the Spanish-speaking world (more than 450 million carriers in Spain and Latin
America, that is the 2nd place in the world by quantity after Chinese). The history of
progress of it communicatively almost uniform space consist of not one millennium,
especially thanks to inclusion in it the American Indian world with 5000-year
continuous history. Respectively, memory of the people nowadays talking in Spanish
(sometimes only partially) had a bigger time interval for the accumulation, than memory
of the European people, including Ukrainian. But there is in the Spanish-speaking world
one of the main problems of memory: meeting of two worlds Old (European,
Catholic, Spanish) and New (American Indian), that is two civilizations and a set of
cultures. This meeting which has begun in 1492 after discovery of C. Columbus,
was not one-stage and lasted not one century. Respectively, in 500 years a large number
of questions which have universal value collected, but generally these questions were
investigated by actually Spanish-speaking authors, therefore in the majority not known
in Europe (except Spain), and furthermore in Ukraine. Involvement of the Spanish-
speaking worlds experience and its theoretical understanding should expand essentially
a framework of own outlook which will help to understand better internal problems and
ways of their decision.
Therefore the purpose of this article is attempt to comprehend key questions and
the problems of memory being actual recently for a historical science in the Spanish-
speaking world, and also to define what sense the researchers put into the notions
historical and national memory.
Historical memory in Spain
As can be seen, in the Spain historians do not use the term national memory (la
memoria nacional), and apply the term historical memory (la memoria histrica),
internally more capacitive in temporary dimension [112]. It is connected first of all
by that in the territory of this country anyway there were some kingdoms since the early
Middle Ages, united in 1469 to the uniform state by Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451
1504) and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (14521516). And though dynasties was
changed, but still in Spain there is a king Juan Carlos I de Burbon (1938). This
continuity of royal governing allowed to keep a large quantity of documents, archives,
traditions, literary and historical works, etc. Thanks to what Spaniards are better
informed on different stages of development of the country.
What interests the Spanish researchers among questions of historical memory?
How far or close they look in the past? Them interests first of all:
the historical space, which trajectory lead to modern times allows to be run
on it on a long distance because numerous chronicles of that time and a mention
of the previous times remained, and it gives opportunity to Spaniards to study,
for example, the history of Aragon of XIV century [11, P. 19].
that historical memory is the special memory which function is to
remember to hold live concrete stories or events of group or society life [9,
P.71]. Besides, historical memory assumes separate memory of separate
historical events, that is it an autobiographical memory of history: direct
memoirs (authentic autobiographical memory), memories of memoirs (the
combined autobiographical and semantic memory), search of memoirs (semantic
memory) [9, P.72]. All this causes that in Spain historical memory understand as
(autobiographical and semantic) memory of Civil war and long dictatorship [9,
P.73].
that great events of the past therefore are so important for people because
the fight of the person against the power is a fight of memory against oblivion.
And also memory is necessary to contemporaries to know the truth, especially
about that as well as how human rights were oppressed in the past [9, P.75].
that historical memory connotates with civil and political values [2, P.78],
and also is the ordered and organized memoirs [2, P.79].
that historical memory does not exist, and it only the oxymoron, and
creation-distribution of official memory by means of national history is a
widespread phenomenon in many countries [2, P.83]. And memory (of losers,
that is excluded and marginal) represents a form of understanding which acts
against wool of history (of winners) [2, P.91]. The winner history opposes
memory-losers (it concerns the Second republic, the Spanish Civil War, the
Francoist Spain) [2, P.94].
the problem of traumatic memory which is especially actual for Spain and is
connected with democracy and dictatorship processes [1, P.78]. For researches of
this direction at the Madrid university was created the chair of Historical
memory of the XX century.
efforts to reconcile memory of the different sides (winners and losers;
victims and executioners) by means of the memory policy, directed on
democratic transformations (establishment of a parliamentary monarchy in Spain
in 1975) [7, P. 110111].
category of transition definition (or the experience of Transition) as
global paradigm. It is the transition from communistic regimes in democratic,
democratic in totalitarian, authoritative and dictatorial, monarchic in
democratic and on the contrary that provides deep structural transformations in
society [7, P. 118120; 10, P. 305].
Historical memory in Latin America
The Latin American studios of memory have some features. Namely:
researchers admits that the majority of the Latin American societies have
long individual and collective history of repressions and wars with big losses,
and therefore restoration of historical memory should aspire to correct the social
cloth which has been broken off by official lie, concealing discourse and political
cynicism [3, P. 10].
High is a need to determine the categories truth and lie because in
policy of the Latin American countries the last even has institutionalized in the
numerous conflicts and occurred political polarization. Under the conditions of
life during the lies people start to lead a double existence, keeping a secret one of
them [3, P. 11]. It is characteristic as for Spanish-speaking inhabitants, and
American Indian, depending on a type of the conflict (interethnic, political). In
turn restoration of memory demands such life in which there would be a truth. In
Latin America the desire to remind of victims constantly faces the memory
distortion, based on silence (in El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina even
the Commissions of Truth are created, looking for psychological treatment
modes of victims of political regimes) [3, P. 13; 7, P. 118].
the problem of traumatic memory in Latin America is connected with
processes of establishment of democracies and dictatorships (especially it
concerns the countries of the Southern cone Argentina and Chile which
transited to democracies respectively in 1983 and 1989) [1, P.78; 7, P. 120; 6;
8]. Statistical data concerning mentions of key events in the history of Chile
specify that almost for a half of respondents such event as dictatorship
establishment in 1973 was important, for a third different natural accidents [4,
P. 12].
the main events, which the country population mentions (e.g., Chile) are
those that occurred within the country and, as a rule, traumatic for existing
society, that is a question of national memory or memories [4, P. 20]. In
researches even use the term national historical memory.
that there is no single memory, and there are the numerous interpretations?
different, simultaneous and sometimes inconsistent which contain disputes,
conflicts and fights how to process and reinterpret the last. That is memory is the
process open for interpretation of the past. There are the partial memories even
opposite, but during any moment one can become a hegemon [12, P. 1617].
in Latin America are often considered the historical memory in the context
of oppression of human rights at the time of dictatorships (repression,
disappearance of people, arrests, violence, censorship) [12, P. 20].
the armed movements, such as dirty war in Mexico in the 6070th of the
XX century, were long suppressed and are not displayed almost in memory of
many people [12, P. 2731].
for researches are important times of formation of the Latin American
republics and wars for independence at the beginning of the XIX century from
which leaders of some countries (Hugo Chvez in Venezuela) suggest to have
origin in national history [5, P. 128].
Researches of memory of the American Indian world
Most distressingly, thorough theoretical work solely on the memory of the Indian
peoples of Latin America never encountered, at least, concerning the biggest ethnic
groups (Quechua, Aymara, Nahua, Maya, Chibcha, etc.). But it is necessary to tell that
civilizational progress of the big American Indian nations was based both on written,
and on oral tradition. Maya and Nahua used writing, and Incas (Quechua, Aymara,
Puquina) mnemonic writing khipu (still not decoded) and geometrical signs of
tocapu.
The main problem of research of memory of Indians is first of all the analysis of
their oral history which has been written down as a rule by Spanish conquerors in the
XVIXVII centuries that left its imprint upon reliability of data during meeting of two
worlds: Old and New. Also we have a known gap in the stories which have been
written down from lips when informants could remember only those events which
occurred for 23 generations before them. Numerous history sources of Incas and
Aztecs confirm it [1317; 19; 20]. But mentions about far times and the ancient states
are both among one and among others. Pachakuti Yamki Salcamayhuas book The
report of antiquities of this kingdom of Peru (XVII century) are indicative in such a
case in which the author tries on the basis of testimonies of their relatives to reconstruct
the past and fit it into the reality surrounding him. The old past of Incas and even pagan
deities find lines of Christian religion, and activity of indians governors gets European
coloring [14, C. 616]. This peculiar synthesis generated numerous doubts concerning
authenticity of many points of pre-Colombian history of America. That the long time
especially American Indian was considered, it is possible to treat as introduced by
Christianity.
The main issue for the modern people Quechua, Aymara und Nahua is the
inclusion of their historical experience, their remote past in their own experience. Paying
tribute to memory of the events which have occurred more than 500 years ago, now for
Indians is the primary task. Rendering of honors to heroes, gods and statesmen of the
remote past became a necessary condition for self-identification of the people which
long time were in the colonial dependence of Spain and under oppression of the
dominating Spanish-speaking environment. And memory questions here can play a key
role for formation of the new nations.
Conclusions
The compressed review of the main problems of research of historical memory
allows to argue that the wide territorial continuum of the Spanish-speaking world makes
impossible existence among scientists the single understanding of the term historical
memory. Regarding this in each country or nation exists its own vision. Considering
this, we can highlight the following conclusions.
First, a different progress of the countries and nations in temporary dimension
allows to speak about dependence of time from space, that is Spaniards have longer
memory of the past, than Uruguayans In Spain, equally remember about what happened
in the tenth century, and that was in 1936. At the same time, in Latin America among the
neogenic nations short memory of the past (100200 years) prevails. But the
American Indian people which have long civilizational experience of the past, mention
that occurred 500 and 1000 years ago and more. Therefore, the historical memory is a
term which is caused spatially and therefore filled with different temporal
component. In turn, the national memory in the temporal dimension is usually less
than the historical memory.
Secondly, in the Spanish-speaking world almost do not use the term national
memory, and instead of it use the term historical memory. Though when researchers
speak about history of the countries, they mean national memory, nevertheless by them
is not developed separate concept for this purpose. Sometimes there are attempts to use
the term national historical memory. In this strange at first glance a limited toolkit has
its own logic because the multi-ethnicity and the mtisity makes impossible a
conversation about the national memory for the majority of the countries of Latin
America and even Spain where different areas are trying to carry out their own policies
(for example, Catalonia).
Thirdly, the majority of questions the memories exciting researchers in the
Spanish-speaking world, concern such key problems of history: formation of the states,
kingdoms; basic changes (transitions) of a political system and regimes
(establishment and overthrow of dictatorships, revolutions, civil and interstate wars, etc.)
; oppressions of the rights of people (repressions, arrests, violence, abductions). Usually,
everything that is connected with the rights of people, is limited in the collective
memory to 24 generations and has great significance in oral history. At the same time,
problems of creation of the state or formation of the nations have a big temporary
component and make a start by different peoples from different starting points in the
past. Therefore it should be noted that the historical memory is saturated with the
different contents and cannot be limited to well-defined time, especially 24
generations, that is only the XX century as it becomes in the majority of the countries.
And the national memory is saturated usually (as the percentage) more with
political and civil content, and can be limited to a period of 80100, but not
necessarily.
Fourthly, the historical national memory is closely connected with democratic
transition, with the rights of people. That is why the establishment of institutions for
the study of memory problems has become an urgent need in the last decade of XX
century. and the beginning of the XXI century. Considering it, activity of many institutes
of historical and national memory, and also studios of memory is the answer to actual
problems of time in two directions: reproduction of memory of the past (reproduction of
the forgotten, concealing, intimate sense for the present) and reproduction of the
known past to the broad masses, as a rule, within the nation for the purpose to transfer
to the future a range of the important meanings.
Future research should consider spatial differences of concepts of the historical
and national memory, namely, how they are treated in different countries, filled with
different content according to the local cultural context, issues, traditions and politics.
Should also consider that it is part of the historical memory of the concepts taking into
account spatial and temporal dimensions, and whether it is possible to deduce a simple,
clear formula of this concept.
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