The aim of my research project "Analysis of the relation between anthropogenic climate change and local practices towards intangible cultural heritage", funded by the Polish National Science Center (Ref. DEC-2022/06/X/HS2/00741) is to analyze the impact of the climate crisis on Polish rituals and customs related to the growing season, annual snow retention cycle and surface water levels. Seven case studies are phenomena related to natural environment and inscribed on the Polish National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage related to: 1) heavy snowfall – Horse-drawn sleigh races, 2) growing season and plants – two Corpus Christi Processions with the tradition of floral carpets; Basketry; Sowing hearts and crosses in fields and 3) surface water levels – Rafting traditions. I address local communities' experience of climate change and the adaptation of intangible cultural heritage to uncertain conditions. When asked about the causes of the climate crisis, my respondents rarely pointed to the activities of the human species, but when they did, it was not in the context of anthropopression. Human agency appeared in terms of conspiracy theories and weather control, sometimes expressed with racist and anti-Semitic undertones. In my presentation, I will describe these ways of perceiving the climate crisis - where respondents see its causes and consequences.
