ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with methodological developments for a particular expression of intangible cultural heritage, namely folklore or ethnology. Ethnological elements are discovered at a certain time, amongst a certain group of people and in specific places. Therefore, ethnological research methodologies, which ignore the spatial dimension of phenomena, may be excluding valuable new insights, interpretations and understandings. As a computer-based tool that emphasizes the spatial dimension, GIS offers many functions for turning data into information to assist in our understanding of the phenomena being studied. Although developed originally for the study of environmental issues, the number of GIS applications has been expanding into new and diverse areas. However, 'cultural, historical, and other such geographers, who have not taken quantitative approaches in the past, are now beginning to use GIS' (Murayama, 2001, p. 165). Nevertheless, the cultural domain has generally been resistant to the methodology and, despite evidence that it might hold considerable promise, it has not been widely used as a tool for research into cultural heritage. There is, however, increasing interest in the application of GIS to the interrogation of historical data, particularly in establishing trends and changes over time and across space. Such developments can be attributed to the realization that, in addition to its mapping functions, GIS can be a flexible and valuable tool which can assist with many aspects of research including fieldwork, data management, and data processing. But the acceptance or otherwise of the application of a GIS methodology to a research project also involves a range of social factors that are unrelated to the technical limitations of the technology (Campbell and Masser, 1995). Thus the attitudes and interpersonal skills of the researchers involved in a particular GIS application can play an important role in determining its acceptance and overall success (Reeve and Fetch, 1999). This is especially relevant, given that researchers
working in the cultural domain typically come from disciplines hitherto resistant to GIS technology. This chapter examines the application of a GIS to an Irish ethnological case study entitled 'Room to Rhyme', which is a collaborative research project investigating the historical, sociological and geographical aspects of the mumming tradition in Ireland. (The partners include: Department of Irish Folklore, University College Dublin; Academy for Irish Cultural Heritages, University of Ulster; and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.) Mumming is a form of folk drama in which, traditionally, a dozen or more performers visited neighbouring homes in the weeks before Christmas and performed a short play. The play's core is a mock hero-combat scene, around which the relatively short dialogue revolves. The heroes in opposition are, generally, Prince George and St. Patrick (or the Turkish Champion') one of which is slain and then revived by a 'doctor'. A succession of performers then enters onto the stage to recite a series of rhymes. These include characters with names such as 'Father Christmas', 'Beelzebub', 'Johnny Funny', or historical figures like 'Oliver Cromwell', or more exotic figures such as 'Jack Straw' and the 'Green Knight'. More recently, the traditional house visit has been replaced by performances in public houses and community halls, and the raising of funds for charitable projects has superseded the object of collecting money for the purposes of 'festive cheer'.
