The Long Vowel

Spencer Legebokoff

We are honoured that Spencer Legebokoff is joining us through 2024 as our Writer In Residence. This is the second of four articles he will share with us. http://www.thegraphicsmonarch.blogspot.com The metaphorical and physical distance between the privileges many North American settlers enjoy and the sacrifices offered by our ancestors for our privilege is unfathomable. Thinking of my Doukhobor ancestors who were made to live in the harsh environments of the Caucasus and Transcaucasus regions, I meditate on the perseverance they had not only to survive, but also to preserve their culture in the face of spiritual oppression. The practice of elongating vowels in Doukhobor psalm singing masked the words of their traditional songs—an adaptive and creative method to hide beloved beliefs from the spiritual oppression of imperial Russia’s religious and…

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British Columbia History (Digital) - 1 Issue, 57.2 Summer 2024

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