The book contains the stories of the residents’ experiences, the history of local families, as well as photographs depicting Mangalsala, the people of Mangalsala and their way of life.
“It can be said that this book has many authors. First of all, they are the residents of Mangalsala, who have confided what they experienced when telling stories. They are researchers who have questioned them. Photographers who have captured moments captured in the area. People whose hands made archive records,” says the book’s introduction Dace Bula and Ęirts Strazdiņš have given a readable form to all of this. Therefore, the book has two parts. The first one contains the stories of the residents, who in their own vision reveal what is characteristic of Mangaļsalai – the environment, the way of life, the relationships between people. These stories are documented by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art. in field research since the 1990s and stored in the digital archive of the institute. The second part of the book is dedicated to the history of Mangaļsala families, which has been studied by looking through archives and various other sources. The history of the book’s creation is long, at the same time multi-vocal and also quite personal. Therefore, both parts a short story of the authors’ research experience begins.
The photo story of the book consists of the works of two authors. The first is Viktors Bruno Krastiņš (1918–1984) from Mangalsa, whose historical photographs from the 20th century The photographer’s daughter Daina Vītola and grandson Ivars Krastiņš entrusted the publication of the 50s and 60s, while sharing memories of their father and grandfather. The other author of the pictures is Jānis Buls, who visited Mangaļsala with a camera in the 20th century. In the 1990s and today, during the creation of this book.
“This book is about Mangaļsala – an island, a former fishing village and a neighborhood with a community of residents, which was once united not only by the place of residence, but also by kinship ties and common occupation. A place that even today has a great power of attraction, despite the distance from the center, the difficulties of living with the influential neighbor – the Freeport of Riga, as well as the disorganized infrastructure and the unavailability of local services. The proximity of water and untouched nature, the advantage offered by the outskirts to live in the city and the countryside at the same time – these are powerful reasons for attracting the place. Mangaļsala also attracts foreigners – there is a Seaside Nature Park, a beach and a jetty at the mouth of the Daugava, where many come to walk, watch sunsets and ships leaving the sea, as well as fish. However, the greatest value of Mangalsala is the close and close relationship of people with the place, inherited through generations and natives, rooted in the experience of living there,” says Dace Bula.
The book was prepared in a project Life next to the port: eco-narratives, local history and activism in the lower reaches of the Daugava (Nr. Izp-2018/1-0446)
Authors: Dace Bula, Įrts Strazdiņš
Literary editor: Dace Strelevica-Ošiņa
Design: Armands Zelčs
Publisher: LU LFMI edition
Publisher’s price: EUR 12.00
2023-12-05 09:43:00
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