The American Festivals Project takes you along on two guys'
National Geographic-funded 2008 tour of the "small, hidden, and bizarre"
festivals celebrated all over the United States. Through photos,
video, and a
blog, discover
Rattlesnake Roundup,
Okie noodling, an American
Fasnacht, the
Idiotarod, and
plenty more.
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Feb 17, 2011 -
23 comments
"If I thought, had any idea, that I’d ever be a slave again, I’d take a gun and just end it all right away."
Audio recordings from interviews with former slaves, conducted by WPA folklorists and others, including the Lomaxes and Zora Neale Hurston. Only these
twenty-six audio recordings of people formerly enslaved in the antebellum American South have ever been found.
posted by Miko
on Feb 7, 2010 -
16 comments
In 2000, the Library of Congress celebrated its 200th birthday by inviting representatives and members of the public from each of the 50 American states to nominate folk traditions, local customs, and special places to a "century's-end time capsule" called the
Local Legacies Project. A nice little introductory catalog to points of local pride, like
Fountain Green, Utah's Lamb Day, Oakland, CA's Black Cowboy Parade,
Kentucky's Bourbon tradition, and
Binghamton, NY's Spiedie Fest, and plenty more.
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Feb 5, 2010 -
7 comments
Inauguration 2009 Sermons and Orations Project The Library of Congress invites you to submit digital audio or video recordings of speeches made between January 16 and january 25, 2009 on the occasion of Barack Obama's inauguration. The speeches will be archived in a collection for future scholarship, much like the
Day of Infamyand other collections capturing signifcant American moments.
posted by Miko
on Dec 24, 2008 -
4 comments
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, but do you know
Stekkjarstaur,
Giljagaur,
Stufur,
Thvorusleikir,
Pottaskefill,
Askasleikir,
Hurdarskellir,
Skyrgamur,
Bjugnakraekir,
Gluggagaegir,
Gattathefur, Ketkrokur and Kertasnikir? They're the
Jolasveinar, the impish "
Yuletide Lads" of
Iceland, and those are only some of their many names. During the thirteen days before Christmas, legend says that
they do their best to monkeywrench the celebrations with
hijinks like stealing sausages, milk, and candles, and peeping into windows and up skirts. The children of gruesome child-eating trolls
Gryla and Leppaludi, who were known for
snatching naughty children, the elves got their start in the 17th century. In the years since, their image has apparently mellowed, and now they leave children presents in their shoes and limit themselves to mild pranks.
posted by Miko
on Dec 22, 2006 -
21 comments
Steppin' is an hour-long documentary on an African-American dance tradition, most closely associated with
historically black fraternities and
sororities (though it's also found in
high schools,
clubs, and
professional dance companies). Combining footwork, hand-clapping, chanting, singing, use of props, and changing configurations of dancers, it's a tightly coordinated dance form in which teams vie for honors in
competitions nationwide.
posted by Miko
on Dec 7, 2006 -
20 comments
Wade in the Water In 2004,
Smithsonian Folklife Festival featured the maritime cultures of the Mid-Atlantic region, from Long Island to North Carolina. Now, this site gives a home on the web to the cultural documentation gathered for the festival --
music,
recipes,
stories and oral history,
an interactive map,
the occupational folklore and natural history of regional fisheries,
photos, video, and more. The material, ably compiled by folklorists and educators, creates a lasting and very accessible archive of festival highlights as well as an excellent overview of the distinct coastal culture of the Mid-Atlantic. Don't miss the great menhaden net-hauling chantey
Help Me to Raise 'Em (links to mp3).
posted by Miko
on Mar 27, 2006 -
7 comments
