The Karaite Jews of Israel Reconstruct their Heritage

In her discussion of the methodological concepts of 'emics' and 'etics' in ethnomusicology Marcia Herndon (1993: 67) has observed that 'it is no longer clear that either a conceptualized dichotomy of emics vs. etics or a continuum is entirely useful. Instead, it might be well to consider congeries of possibilities...' The growing interest in the theoretical implications of case studies of the role music plays in displaced societies (Reyes-Schramm 1986; 1989; 1990) has brought out radical situations in which insiders pose as outsiders with the deliberate purpose of observing and recording their groups' practices in order to preserve their endangered heritage. This issue will be addressed from the perspective of a specific case study of the musical heritage of the Karaite Jews.