It was through folk songs, folk poetry and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation was popularised.

So, collecting and recording these forms of folk culture was essential to the project of nation building.

The emphasis on vernacular languages and the collection of local folklore was not just to recover an ancient national spirit, but also to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate.

In Poland, they popularised their language, their folk stories, folk songs and folk dances to propagate nationalism among Polish people, who were under the rule of Russia, Prussia and Austria.