Folklife Annual, 1987. INSTITUTION Library of Congress, Washington, D.C

Home , A No No, Erma Franklin, Indian Language School, John Henry Faulk, The Dead Man (Manet), Time Enna Boss

DOCUMENT RESUME

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AUTHOR Jabbour, Alan, Ed.; Hardin, James, Ed. TITLE Folklife Annual, 1987. INSTITUTION Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. American Folklife Center. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8444-0575-2 PUB DATE 88 NOTE 161p.; For the 1986 edition, see SO 020 179. AVAILABLE FROMSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Historical Materials (060)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS American Indian Culture; *American Indians; *Artists; Black Culture; *Canada Natives; Cultural Education; *Folk Culture; *Grief; *Korean Americans; Painting (Visual Arts) IDENTIFIERS Folklorists; *Folktales; German Americans; Hupa (Tribe); Native Americans; Russian Americans

ABSTRACT This annual publication is intended to promote the documentation and study of the folklife of the United States, to share the traditions, values, and activities of U.S. folk culture, and to serve as a national forum for the discussion of ideas and issues in folklore and folklife. The articles in this collection are: (1) "Eating in the Belly of the Elephant" (R. D. Abrahams), which delves into the differences between Afro-American folktales and European fairy tales;(2) "The Beau Geste: Shaping Private Rituals of Grief" (E. Brady); (3) "George Catlin and Karl Bodmer: Artists among the American Indians" (J. Gilreath); (4) "American Indian Powwow" (V. Brown and B. Toelken); (5) "Celebration: Native Events in Eastern Canada" (4. S. Cronk, et al.);(6) "Reverend C. L. Franklin: Black American Poet-Preacher" (J. T. Titon); (7) "John Henry Faulk: An Interview" (J. McNutt); (8) "The First Korean School of Silver Spring, Maryland" (L. Long); (9) "German-Russian Studies at Emmons Central High School, Strasburg, North Dakota" (T. J. Kloberdanz); (10) "The Hupa Indian Language School of Hoopa Valley, California" (L. Davis); and (11) "The Islamic School of Seattle, Seattle, Washington" (S. Dwyer-Shick). Many black and white and color photographs are included. (JB)

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U S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) hisdocument rias been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality

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A Publication of the AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Edited by Alan Jabbour and James Hardin (1

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON 1988

5 From Public Law 94-201, the American Folk life Pre- servation Act, which created the American Folk life Center in 1976.

DECLARATION OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE SEC. 2 (a) The Congress hereby finds and declares (1) that the diversity inherent in American folklife has contributed greatly to the cultural richness of the Nation and has fostered a sense of individuality and identity among the American people; (2) that the history of the United States effectively demonstrates that building a strong nation does not require the sacrifice of cultural differences; (3) that American folklife has a fundamental influence on the desires, beliefs, values, and character of the American people; (4) that it is appropriate and necessary for the Fed- eral Government to support research and scholarship in American folklife in order to contribute to an understanding of the complex problems of the basic desires, beliefs, and values of the American people in both rural and urban areas; (5) that the encouragement and support of Ameri- can folklife, while primarily a matter for private and local initiative, is also an appropriate matter of concern to the Federal Government; and (6) that it is in the interest of the general welfare of the Nation to preserve, support, revitalize, and dissem- inate American folklife traditions and arts. (b) It is therefore the purpose of the Act to establish in the Library of Congress an American Folklife Center to preserve and present American folklife.

Folklife Annual presents a yearly collection of articles on the traditional expressive life and culture in Amer- ica. The articles are written by specialists in folk life and related fields, but the annual is intended fora wide audience. A publication of the American Folklife Cen- Cover: Dancer at the Crow ter at the Library of Congress, Folklife Annual seeks to promote the documentation and study of American Fair in Montana, an annual folklife, share the traditions, values, and activities of powwow, August 1979. American folk culture, and serve as a national forum (MT9-MC27-1) Photo- for the discussion of ideas and issues in folklore and graph by Michael S. Crum- folklife. mett The editors will consider for publication articles on all areas of folklife but are particularly interested in the Title page: Arlee Powwow, folklife of the United States. Manuscripts should be Flathead Reservation, Ar- typewritten, double-spaced, and in accord with the lee, Montana, July .5, 1987. Chicago Manual of Style. Submit to: The Editors, Folklife Annual, American Folklife Center, Library of (FCP-OS-87-ES-16A-8) Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540. Photograph by Edwin For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Schupman, Jr. American U.S. Government Printing Office, Folk life Center, Library of Washington, D.C. 20402 Congress ISBN 0-8444-0575-2 ISSN 0747-5322

6 AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER AT THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Director Editor ALAN JABBOUR JAMES HARDIN Deputy Director Program Specialist RAY DOCKSTADER LISA OSHINS Folklife Specialists Program Assistant CARL FLEISCHHAUER JENNIFER A. CUTTING MARY HUFFORD DAVID A. TAYLOR Administrative Secretary DORIS CRAIG Folklife Researcher PETER T. BARTIS Contract Specialist MAGDALENA GILINSKY Reference Librarian GERALD E. PARSONS Tel: 202 287-6590

ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Head Program Specialist JOSEPH C. HICKERSON SEBASTIAN LOCURTO Archivist Staff Assistant MARSHA MAGUIRE ALDONA M. KAMANTAUSKAS JOSEPH Tel: 202 287-5510

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Chairman BRUCE JACKSON WILLIAM L. KINNEY, JR. New York South Carolina JUDITH McCULLOH Vice Chairman Illinois JEANNE GUILLEMIN Massachusetts BARRE TOELKEN Utah RUSSELL W. FRIDLEY Minnesota MARTA WEIGLE New Mexico

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

JAMES H. BILLINGTON LYNNE CHENEY Librarian of Congress Chairman, National Endowment for ROBERT McCORMICK ADAMS the Humanities Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution ALAN JABBOUR FRANCIS S. M. HODSOLL, JR. Director, American Folklife Center Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts

7 Contents

PREFACE 8

Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 10 BY ROGER D. ABRAHAMS

Afro-American folktales portray actions and impulses that are often disturbingly different from those in European fairy tales.

The Beau Geste: Shaping Private Rituals of Grief 24 BY ERIKA BRADY

Private acts sometimes provide more satisfying ways to overcome grief than communal rituals.

George Catlin and Karl Bodmer: Artists among the American Indians 34 BY JAMES GILREATH

Two nineteenth-century artists made vivid portraits of Indian life in the American West.

American Indian Powwow 46 BY VANESSA BROWN AND BARRE TOELKEN

The American Indian powwow today strengthens Native-American traditions and passes them on to younger generations.

Celebration: Native Events in Eastern Canada 70 BY MICHAEL SAM CRONK, WITH BEVERLEY CAVANAGH AND FRANZISKA VON ROSEN

Summer celebrations of Native peoples in eastern Canada express cultural identity, continuity, renewal, and innovation.

& Reverend C. L. Franklin: Black American Poet-Preacher 86 BY JEFF TODD TITON

Franklin was the great poet-preacher of the chanted sermon.

)ohn Henry Faulk: An Interview 106 BY JAMES MCNUTT

Early collectors of folklore and song worked against cultural preiudice anda climate of political suspicion.

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 130 INTRODUCTION

Private language schools support a sense of cultural tradition and personal identity for many religious and ethnic communities in the United States.

The First Korean School of Silver Spring, Maryland 132 BY LUCY LONG

German-Russian Studies at Emmons Central High School, Strasburg, North Dakota 138 BY TIMOTHY ). KLOBERDANZ

The Hupa Indian Language School of Hoopa Valley, California 144 BY LEE DAVIS

The Islamic School of Seattle, Seattle, Washington 150 1- BY SUSAN DWYER-SHICK

CONTRIBUTORS 156

PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER 158

LI 9 company the article were selected from the Preface Library of Congress collections in the Prints and Photographs Division and the Ameri- can Folklife Center and show powwows on the Crow Reservation in Montana and the Omaha Reservation in Macy, Nebraska. Despite the evolution of Native Ameri- Aphrase in Roger Abrahams's article can gatherings, there are similarities in the on the Afro-American folktale provides a dance and costume depicted in these pho- unifying theme for the 1987 volume of tographs and the images captured in the Folk life Annual: "strategies for survival in paintings of artists George Catlin and Carl a hostile world." Abrahams shows that Bodmer in the nineteenth century. James folktales contain hidden cultural meanings Gilreath of the Library's Rare Book and that go beyond these strategies, that they Special Collections Division describes the are more than guarded parables of life making of these paintings and the publica- under slavery in the United States (as some tion of the books that have preserved them critics have thought). But he also shows for us. The bringing together of thirties that they are strategies in a larger sense, photographs from the Library's Farm Secu- affirmations of vitality, models of "how to rity Administration Collection, recent ones get and keep things going even in the face of from the Center, and the earlier images by death." Bodmer and Catlin from the Rare Book and Such a strategy informs Erika Brady's Special Collections Division is intentional essay on the beau geste, a literary concept and demonstrates one of the many possibil- Brady invokes to account for certain kinds ities for folklife research at the Library of of private acts. She brings the folklorist's Congress. sense of the importance of ritual to her in- The powwow has become a principal terpretation of behavior she observed in means of maintaining certain elements of a those suffering from the death of a friend or continuing Indian culture (both tribal and relative. And in an odd way, the apparent pan-Indian), while providing a context for futility and bravado of the character in the passing traditional ways along to young Old John story Abrahams mentions, flying people. Sam Cronk, Beverley Cavanagh, wildly about the Heaven from which he and Franziska von Rosen offer an anatomy is about to be ousted, a "flying piece of fur- of such events in Canada's northeastern niture," parallel the desperate need for provinces, showing their energy and va- symbolic action felt by so many Brady en- riety. Originating in the Great Plains, the countered: when death has stripped life of powwow has now spread to most of the meaningful action, some deep impulse al- states inthis country and to many of lows, even demands, action of any sort. the Canadian provinces. Even an action invented by an individual may have the effect of reawakening Traditional cultu,-- is important to the the power of symbols to infuse life with many ethnic schools established through- meaning. out the country, where language study is the principalenterprise and ethnic identity The American Indian powwow has flour- the principal purpose. The very fact of the ished in the face of another threat of extinc- schools may be a surprise: that there are so tion, that suffered by Native Americans and many and that they exist in such variety. their culture as the European settler moved The American Folklife Center launched a across the American continent. Impressions study of these schools in 1982, and excerpts of the powwow in the western and northern from four reports from the study are pre- Plains are chronicled by Vanessa Brown, a sented here. Longer versions of these re- participant, and Barre Toelken, a folklorist ports along with ten others are available who has studied Native American culture from the Center as Ethnic Heritage and for many years. The photographs that ac- Language Schools in America. Taken to-

Folklife Annual 19878 gether the reports offer evidence of a nation mon. In an interview conducted by James far more culturally diverse than may be McNutt, Faulk relates his early experi- supposed, yet with common threads in the ences, the attitudes he encountered, and his strategies employed by various cultures to work with some of the pioneers of folklore maintain ethnic identity in the American studies. Through study of the sermons and context. songs collected in the thirties and forties The language of the black community from black and Hispanic peoples, Faulk has found expression in the folktale and the and others were able to penetrate social and sermon, and the two forms reveal interest- cultural stereotypes. ing contrasts within the life of the commu- Encampment of the Pie- nity. African and Afro-American folktales This poetry and music came to be inti- kann Indians. Tableau 43 contain elements that are at odds with con- mately connected with thecivilrights in Prince Maximilian Alex- ander Philipp von \Vied - ventional morality, but a moral element is movement in the sixties, so that early strat- Neuwied's Reise in das in- highly evident in the black sermon, pre- egies for survival became strategies for nere Nord-America in den sented here by Jeff Todd Titon in his ac- change in a society that denied opportuni- Jahren 1832 bis 1834. Rare count of the life and career of the Reverend ties on the basis of difference. Increasingly, Book and Special Collec- C. L. Franklin. In the particular form of the what Faulk calls our "solid understanding tions Division chanted sermon, however, there is some- of what this republic is all about" must ac- The Piekanns were one of thing deeper than moral dictum, something commodate itself to the fact of our national the tribes of the Black feet nation. The Maximilian- that speaks through poetry to the life of the cultural diversity, from the descendants of Bodmer party met them people in the congregation. the earliest native peoples to the most re- near Fort Mackenzie and John Henry Faulk was one of the first in cently arrived from Cal nbodia or El Salva- described them as friendly the white community to acknowledge the dor. toward white travelers. beauty and importance of the black ser- JH

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11 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant BY ROGER D. ABRAHAMS

he belly of an elephant seems an un- likely place from which to launch a folktale. But itis in just such extraordinary places that we often discover the protagonist of Afro-American tales. Every culture develops its own secret places in which the narrative imagination is given free rein and artful lying is encouraged. And the difference of these worlds is dramatized for West- ernreaderswhenevertheyencounter folktales from the oral storytellers of other cultures. This is hardly surprising. But because of the popularity of the books of Joel Chandler Harris, Afro-American stories have become as familiar as those we inher- ited from Europe. The Uncle Remus stories have been domesticated, in fact, madea part of the common reader's notion of what a folktalc is by virtue of Harris's ability to give them such a strong personal voice and to set them out as if they were capricious adventures that have a strong sense of be- Joel Chandler Harris at his home, "Wren's Nest," ginning and ending. 1900. Prints and Photo- However, folktales are told throughout graphs Division, Library of Congress Copyright 0 1988 Roger D. Abrahams

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Uncle Remus recounts the the black worldon both sides of the At- American stories commonly end with some adventures of Brer Rabbit lanticwith no such sense of wholeness in statement of the frailty of friendship and for "the boy." Frontispiece their actual telling. Everyone knows these the scattering of the community: "And that's by A. B. Frost from Uncle stories, and everyone listening is expected why Lion lives in the bush, and Rabbit in Remus: His Songs and His to enter into the performance of their tell- town" or something of that sort. Such sto- Sayings by Joel Chandler ing. At those times at night when tales are Harris (New York: D. Ap- ries rely for their comic effect on the fact pleton and Company, appropriately told, someone may begin by that they are being told from within a group 1908) singing a song identified with the story or that is proclaiming its own sense of togeth- by having someone shout out one of its re- erness by the very telling and singing and current lines. They may be launched with a dancing of the story. formula like "Once upon a time and a very Even in their most familiar literary ren- long time" and finished off by a phrase derings, as given us by J. C. Harris or Walt equally indefinitesuch as "The pin bend, Disney, these stories are full of actions that and right there my story end"but this is are capricious and motivated by greed. far from the only way. And the idea that These tales carry the listener into strange one person tells the story while ali of the worlds, indeed. For Br'er Rabbit and the others listen is not the most common, un- other Afro-American figures of Trickster less the stories are directed by an adult to a live in the nooks and crannies, on the fron- group of children. In the usual community tier between the human and animal worlds. performance, the voice of the storyteller is From such a vantage, they are able to act as far from the only one heard. Comments, if no place is out of bounds. By seizing this exclamations, criticisms, repetitions of the license, Trickster ventures brazenly into the most dramatic lines merge in the welter of secret places of the natural or the social sound that constitutes the tale'stelling. world: on the one hand, he sneaks into the Most tales have songs arising out of the ac- depths of "the bush"; on the other, he de- tion of the story, and the audience joins in vises ways to enter the king's private realm, at such points, often taking the telling of the his yard, his palace, even into the bedroom tale away from the one who initiated it, not of his beautiful daughter. In these forbidden only by repeating the song again and again and mysterious places, encounters take but by getting up and dancing to the music place that detail deceptions, reveal myster- as well. ies, and usually end with a feeling that the Even when they are excerpted from this manic acts of Trickster tear apart the fabric communal setting, the "texts" of stories from of life even in this imaginary world. the black world exist in an imaginative world as different from the Western fairy tale as those from "The Arabian Nights" and any other of the world's make-believe traditions. The European tradition of fairy tales pre- These stories, like European fairy tales, pares us primarily for the success-stories of have been subjected to a good deal of psy- Jack, Cinderella, and the Frog-Prince, all un- chological and sociological perusal, most of fulfilled characters who find dramatic ways it centering on the stories' ability to provide of revealing their true, beautiful, and pow- strategies for survival in a hostile world. erful selves through a stolen kiss, a touch. The most common European-style fairy even a successfully purloined goose. In con- tales do, indeed, describe the efforts of thz trast, black tales, especially those carried on young to find a way out of their particular in the New World, commonly revolve around family situations. These success stories il- the outrageous contrivances of Trickster: lustrate a way for those with little power to Br'er Rabbit in the United States and the escape from their lowly status: find an out- Bahamas, Compe Anansi, the spider, in most side resource, get help from someone out- of the rest of the hemisphere. Far from be- side the family and community, and a ing magical renderings of success stories, personal and social transformation will oc- in which the world is made whole through cur. The hero is often the child who is low- the "happily ever after" final action, Afro- est in the pecking order, either because of

15 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 13 age or, in the case of heroine, a step- vinces Lion that Elephant has been saying daughter status. kad things about him, thus engineering an The success pattern of such tales is seen epic battle that Monkey witnesses from to reflect the historical struggle for social, a tree. Unfortunately, he gets too excited cultural, or psychological autonomy, mak- about what he has been able to bring about, ing them central documents in the achieve- slips and falls, and is caught by the enraged ment of modernity. That such upward Lion, already badly beaten by the Elephant. mobility and reversal of the social order dif- These are not success stories; the audience fer from our usual vision of a folkthat is, obviously delights in them because of the a peasantstrategy becomes clear when situations the animals, large and small, get seen in this way, pace Bruno Bettelheim in themselves into. his Uses of Enchantment. To regard folk Yet it is widely thought that the trickster tales of any sort as models for behavior (or tales embody the only available strategies even attitude) without understanding the for survival under conditions in which the range of behaviors available to those telling taletellers and their audience have no con- and listening to the tales is to ask for mis- trol over their own lives. While he hardly understanding of how these stories have originated the theory, Joel Chandler Harris been maintained and used. It seems mis- pursues this line of thought in the introduc- leading, then, to approach tales primarily in tion to his first collection, Uncle Remus: terms of providing patterns of individua- His Songs and His Sayings: "it needs no tion in communities that might not value scientific investigation to show why [the such an individualistic approach to life. Negro] selects as his hero the weakest and Folktales from the black world have also most harmless of all animals, and brings been approached from such a perspective, him out victorious in contests with the bear, but with even less revealing results. Trick- the wolf and the fox. It is not virtue that ster's wiliness and voraciousness represent triumphs but helplessness?' What he does the only available strategies for success for not bother to notice is that Rabbit dreams those living under slavery or in its after- up and stage-manages most of these con- math. This is wrongheaded in a number of frontations. ways. Most of the same stories are told in Africa, and under very different social and cultural conditions, and therefore can hardly be regarded as arising from the conditions of slaverythough they certainly are Harris was explicitly involvedin employed to comment on servility and its using these stories as a way of building an alternatives. Additionally, the pattern of the image of the New South after the Civil War. stories can hardly be regarded as embody- He found these stories a useful way of ing success, for Trickster is not able to bring dramatizing the warm relationships that about any change of status for himself. He arose on the plantation between young chil- merel.i satisfies his hungers while exercis- dren and old house-slaves. Later in his in- ing his wits. The only changes he is able to troduction, Harris argues that Br'er Rabbit accomplish, in fact, are to bring everyone does not act out of malice but out of mis- around him down to his own level, so that chievousness, thus underscoring the idea he may laugh at them, even kill or eat them. that plantation blacks took as their model In one story, for instance, Spider tricks this childlike character. But the stories Whale and Elephant into having a tug-of- themselves belie his point, for there is much war without their knowing who they are crass selfishness in Rabbit's actions, and he actually pulling against. In Harris's render- is able to engineer incredible acts of vio- ing of the story, Rabbit gets two stronger lence, ones which Uncle Remus himself has animals to pull a rope tied to a tree! to account for in some strange ways. In another called "The Signifying Mon- Harris, himself, was worried that the key," common in the repertoire of Ameri- tales would be misconstrued in a different can rhyming toast-tellers, Monkey con- way. "I am advised by my publishers that

Folk life Annual 1937 14 retainer, Uncle Remus, and "the boy." But, in the process of developing this picture, he discovered a .lesire to put into the mouth of Uncle Remus and his other storytelling characters only authentic songs, sayings, and stories that he heard himself or that other whites sent to him from their remem- brances of life on the plantation. He became not only a confirmed student of black language, effectively developing a literary style of transcription that caught the nu- ances of the different dialects in his area of the Old South, but he also became an avid collector of tales. He collected by having discussions on the subject and by engaging in correspondence with other whites who had had similar experiences with family re- tainers who had raised them. Consequently, the tales he discovered were those stories black performers found suitable to tell to white children, and told in a style appropriate to the audience as well. But, given these limitations, the material he presents is, in fact, characteristic of the stories still told in many Afro-American village com- Brer Rabbit. Illustration by munities throughout the New World. A. B. Frost from Uncle Re- By telling of the ways in which he first en- mus: His Songs and His countered and later collected this material, Sayings he impressed upon his contemporary readers that they were being led into a previously hidden magical kingdom. By this, he this book will be included in their catalogue not only made others aware of this rich vein of humorous publications.. ..however hu- of stories in our midst but also encouraged morous it may be in effect, its intention is further collections. Moreover, he created a perfectly serious." And this intention was to popular audience for the stories, not only in demonstrate that there were authentic tra- the United States but throughout the world. ditions that had been carried on by the Indeed, in the last half of the nineteenth slave, lore brought into plantation life from century (and well into the twentieth cen- Africa. He was confronting a public that tury) Americans abroad found themselves identified anything written in dialect with being called upon to perform in black style the comic routines of the blackface minstrel of song and dance, because of the popular- performer. Nevertheless, his papers reveal ity of the minstrel show, or to tell Uncle that he had embarked on a truly serious en- Remus stories: Mark Twain himself built deavor: to bring to public attention authen- upon such expectations and flavored his tic traditions of Afro-Americans in the face performances with suchtales,crediting of the fakelore being contrived for them in them to the powerful art of his friend Joel the "cake walks," the "coon songs," and the Chandler Harris. other types of performance carried out in blackface on the minstrel stage. Harris's aims were manifest: to drama- tize the humane dimension of the plan- T tation system by depicting the ongoing his newfound interest in Br'er Rabbit affectionate relationship between the old stories led to a flurry of collecting and pub-

1.7 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 15 American literary figures such as Arthur Huff Fauset and Zora Neale Hurston to make field trips to black communities. For Hurston, this resulted in a return to her home in Florida in the 1920s to collect songs and stories from her neighbors, a project which led to the writing of her mas- terpiece, Mules and Men. As Hurston and other Afro-Americans began to record their own traditions, it became clear that there were many stories and styles of performance that were unknown to whites. Her book departs radically from previous collections in bringing out the group hilarity and involvement in the actual telling cf the tales, and in the stories she reports featuring an open, if comic, conflict between blacks and whites. These protest stories seemed to confirm the idea that Afro-Americans not only had many be- nign public forms of entertainment that they performed in the presence of outsiders but also a body of hidden lore. These stories remind us that mystery remains a powerful resource in face-to-face relations, especially when there is a disparity of power between those who are interacting. One story, common in Afro-America, makes this point dramatically: John, the prototypical clever slave, is out in a field one day and bumps into a skull that talks to him, much to his amazement. He runs to Zora Neale Hurston, 1938. lishing of Afro-American traditional sto- his master, telling him of this wonder, and, Photograph by Carl Van ries. Harris was highly regarded for his of course, the master doesn't believe John's Vechten. Prints and Photo- work by the leaders of the New England lit- story. John finally persuades him to come at graphs Division, Library of erary establishment. He was not only least to see the skull. When they get to it, Congress enrolled as a founding member of the John tries to enter into the discussion again, American Folklore Society, being started but the skull speaks not, and John gets a in Cambridge by members of the group sur- whipping for his troubles. When Old Mas- rounding James Russell Lowell and Francis ter leaves, John asks the skull why it didn't James Child, but the first issues of the Jour- say anything, and it responds: "Haven't nal of American Folklore in the late 1880s you learned not to open your big trap to the contained a number of stories from Afro- white man yet?" American sources and commentary on the On its very surface, this story is a parable African ancestry of this body of material. about how to act (and how not to act) in One of the first local chapters of the folk- front of whites. But it carries larger mes- lore organization was started at Hampton sages as well, for it has been collected with Institute, and a number of the teachers a great many other "keep your business to there, black and white, collected and pub- yourself" punchlines that are directed not lished lore from students, including some of toward whites at all but toward the gossip- their animal stories. And Franz Boas, the ers within the black community. Perhaps of leading figure in the society in the first greater significance, this story has been col- quarter of this century, encouraged Afro- lected throughout Africa, where it carries

Folklife Annual 1987 16 1 8 the same general message of how important not have been in heaven long, but I was a it is to maintain control over one's own flying piece of furniture while I was there." words. This is a story in which race and clown- There are many black stories constructed ishness seem to be equated. It has been in much this same way: situation comedies reported from white performers, where it that elicit laughter because a character has makes fun of the obvious sneakiness and foolishly put himself on the spot. Some of clumsiness of the applicant at the Gates. these are elaborated, on occasion, into sto- But, of course, this is hardly how the joke is ries in which blacks and whites confront interpreted when told among blacks. Here each other, but many others aren't. And one encounters a note of admiration for sometimes, the very same story may find its this poor old guy who is able to seize the way into the repertoire of storytellers on moment and make the most of itespe- both sides of the color line. For instance, cially in the face of the old time "Whites one of the staple situations in black joking Only" sign at the Heavenly Portals. sessions, as in white ones, concerns the These jokes, with the more elaborate problems that occur at the Heavenly Gates folktales, place a high value on the ability when a recently dead man confronts St. to act, to improvise as possibilities arise, Peter with his power and his rules. In black even when the whole thing may blow up in jokes, the applicant is often referred to the face of the adventurer. This is precisely simply as "this colored man" or some other the attraction of Trickster, of course: his generic label, and is turned away simply be- brazen willingness to try anything ifit cause of his color. In one story, he manages promises to stir things up. In fact, in much to sneak in but doesn't know how to put on of Afro-America, Al jokes, since they in- The Talking Skull. Illustra- his wings and manages to botch the job. He volve this kind of foolishness or nonsense, tion by Joshua Tolford for Congo Fireside Tales by flies around in such an eccentric way and are regarded as the property of Trickster Phyllis Savory (New York: knocks so many things over that his pres- and are told in his name, as "Anansi Sto- Hastings House Publishers ence comes to St. Peter's notice, and he is ries" or "Buh Rabbit stuff," whether or not Limited, 1962). Reprinted thrown out of the place without any cere- one or the other is actually one of the char- with permission mony. As he leaves, he says: "Well, I may acters.

19( Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 17 "Cinderella Tries on the Slipper." Frontispiece from Cinderella and the Glass Slipper(Boston: Lothrop PublishingCompany, Cinderella Ties on the Slipper. 1899)

rl C explorations of forbidden territory, they are utilitarian adventures, seeking an object or As tales that tell of nonsensical and formula that will give them goods or capa- outrageous behavior in the name of Trick- bilities useful to them in the "real" world. ster, they may be too strong, too coarse for This power gives the hero a new status on those readers coming to them expecting his return. And where there are heroes of stories about the strivings of Cinderella and this stripe, there will be villains as well, Prince Charming. Consider the story to ogre figures who may be killed legitimately. which I alluded at the very beginning: the But poor elephant is simply a food re- adventures of Trickster going into the belly source, and his deathis neither to be of the elephant and gorging himself by feed- mourned nor cheered. ing on the innards he finds there. Like the It is at these very points that the folktale more familiar "Ali Baba and the Forty terrain looks strangest, and our Euro- Thieves," a protagonist discovers a cache of American ability to find our way around riches only to get caught there because of becomes severely tested. Euro-American sto- his greediness. In the story of entering the ries tend to focus on the deeds of a single elephant'sbelly,Trickster hears from a protagonist as he makes his way to the se- friend that there are some huge elephants cret of knowledge. African and Afro-Ameri- down in the King's corral. Always on the can tales also focus on a protagonist finding prowl for new adventures, Trickster is im- his way into secret places. But discovering mediately interested. The friend warns the the source of mystery cannot be translated outrageous Trickster that he must restrain to human uses. Rather, the protagonist who himself, for if he overindulges the elephant makes the discovery finds it necessary to will die, and if he is still inside, he will be keep the new resource to himself. In black trapped by the King's guard. So his friend stories, in other words, the bush and the shows him where to hide until the guard is..village are two different worlds that can looking elsewhere, and how to sneak into only coexist in dramatic opposition. While the elephant yard, pick out a big one, crawl fairy tales have heroes who come from the up through the anus and intestines into the bosom of a family and the heart of a com- belly, and there he will find all the food he munity, black folktales feature a figure who might want. Trickster follows these instruc- is neither of one world or the other; rather, tions and finds himself there in the belly of like spider or rabbit, he lives on the margins the elephant. He becomes so excited on between the two worlds with access to both seeing all of this food, that he cuts away but with power in neither except to reveal with abandon, cramming food into his the mysteries of nature or humanity that he mouth as quickly as he can. Ignoring the has been able to observe. friend's warning, in his willful and impul- Like the story of the conversation with sive way, he takes one slice too many and the skull, as well as the one about sneaking the elephant collapses. Trapped, he begins into the elephant's belly, a good portion of yelling; the elephant keeper comes over to the repertoire of black tales came to the see what all the noise is about, and he is New World with the slaves, representing caught. one of the many ways in which African tra- This story is interesting in its similarities ditions have been adapted to changing cul- to and differences from the more familiar tural circumstances. But the carryover is fairy tales, like "Little Red Riding Hood," much greater than simply a matter of rep- which find the hero or heroine in the belly ertoire. The point missed by those who of a beast and in need of rescue. In the fairy have read the Br'er Rabbit stories as enter- tales, this predicament arises because the tainments featuring a protagonist who is protagonist is pursued by the hungry and simply mischievous ;s that they are told in conniving animal; in the Afro-American serious times, such as at wakes, when they tale, Trickster willfully sneaks into these are employed as ways of celebrating commu- private places and finds himself trapped nity even while the basic values of commu- there. While many of the fairy tales involve nity life, and especially acting responsibly

21 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 19 and respectably, are being tested. Trickster, outcast who lives under the bed or in the in such a case, represents a kind of wild- ash heap and sneaks around the yard spy- eyed confirmation of the importance of vi- ing on everybody. As he has witching pow- tality and inventiveness. But the stories are ers, he is able to recognize the character of not (pace Harris) about a harmless scamp; his sister's suitor, but when he tries to warn they are concerned with out-and-out mali- their father, no one listens. He stealthily fol- cious nonsense, about rude and often vio- lows his sister and her lover into the bush lently indecent action, carried out by char- and discovers the magical formula the ani- acters who are only fit to live in the nooks mal uses to take on his human disguise. The and crannies, in the rafters or under the boy returns and is now able to convince his bed, and who do things that are only wor- father. They go to the bush, the boy sings thy of being laughed at. the magical song, the animal returns to his natural form, and Massa King kills him. In none of these cases is the transformed crea- ture permitted to remain in the world to which he or she does not belong. Moreover, In essence, the direction and meaning of the poor Old Witch Boy seems to gain noth- stories differ considerably in the two great ing but a little attention through his un- traditions, even in those cases where some- masking move. thing like the same story is part of the rep- Solving the mystery not only does not al- ertoire. An example: both traditions have ter the power-structure of the "royal fam- many stories that focus on a transformation ily"; it seems to intensify the outsider status of character through a change of clothing. of the Old Witch Boy. Like Trickster, he Cinderella, for instance, is such a story, for knows the secrets of both the home and the the heroine is introduced, among other bush but can only scamper back and forth ways, through the terrible condition of her between them. He has the power to break clothes. Slowly but dramatically, her rags- things apart, but not to bring any kind and-tatters getup is replaced by clothing fit of social order out of the encounter. Just for a princess; and, as we (and Prince as discovering the way into the elephant's Charming) come to realize, the wardrobe belly means getting caught there, discover- makes the woman. Cinderella's elevation in ing the bad situation his sister has gotten life is symbolized by what she comes to into wins him little love once he gets home. wear on her back and feet. Now compare Not all African story forms weathered tl-;s to that most common of African tales, the transatlantic crossing. Especially no- that of the animal-courter, which Amos Tu- table in their absence are the moral tales tuola uses as the central fable of his The and heroic epics still found widely in sub- Palm-Wine Drunkard. In this tale a man saharan Africa. This is not to say there are comes to court the chief's beautiful daugh- no traditional forms of performance in ter; he is handsome beyond description, Afro-America that discuss the right and and he comes out the victor in the contest wrong ways to act. But such moral vigi- for her hand or, at least, for her favors. The lance is no longer contained within the time comes for them to leave to go to his story traditions as it is in Africa. Rather, home-village and they set off merrily; but as moral messages are maintained in the ora- they go into the bush, he sheds first one torical and sermon traditions of the black piece of clothing, then another, one limb preacher and community leader, those who and then another, until he is shown to be a preside over the most serious occasions of beast (usually a snake) in disguise. He has the community. Storytelling, in the main, borrowed these human attributes and now on this side of the Atlantic has been rele- he must give them back. gated to the status of entertainments, lies, In a widely found Afro-American render- nonsense. And in that part of the black ing of this story there are further compli- world in which the great nonsense occasion cations. The king's beautiful daughter is is the nine-night wake, tales become words wooed away by an animal in human form. put into actions that discuss the very notion He also has a son, the Old Witch Boy, an of vitality. It is almost as if the unstated so-

"'2 2 bolklife Annual 198720 cial premise of such communities is that the real subject of the tales is how to get and keep things going even in the face of death. One might derive some pan-human up- beat message from the tales that have been preserved from the African past: stories which have been read as the testimony of a people who have endured with humor, even if it is of the barbed sort. But what does this do to those who are credited with such en- durance? It maintains Afro-Americans and their culture in the same position in relation to "mainstream" culture as they have had for two hundred years: as a resource for new forms and new artistic styles. This continues to place the storyteller alongside the bluesman as a commentator on the strange things that life brings us. This is simply one more stereotype, arising from the alienated segment of the middle class constantly on the lookout for "types" who give forth equally disengaged interpretations of life. But how much help does this provide for those who still have to scuffle for a living, even if they no longer have to shuffle quite so much. More important is the widespread recognition that there are, indeed, a hidden culture and a mysterious lore that have been maintained within Afro-American communities. But its secrets are not ones, in the main, which have been self-consciously con- cealed. No, they have been kept within a Bra Spider in the African community and carried out in situations Village. Illustration by that anyone who does not come from this Christine Price fromSing- culture will find difficult to understand. Joel ing Tales of Africa,retold Chandler Harris introduced some of these by Adjai Robinson (New characters and the most palatable of the York: Charles Scribner's stories to American readers. But that intro- Sons, 1974). Copyright 1974 Christine Price. Re- duction took place over a hundred years printed by permission ago and reflects an earlier style of flirtation with the inventory of black performance. Surely, after all of this time and after other deep black forms have become a part of the American repertoire of popular styles, we are at the point where we ought to acknowledge that an Afro-American culture has bee., maintained despite the forces that assume the assimilation or the elimination of alternative ways of performing and creating. Such an acknowledgment would be the first step in understanding the system- atic character as well as the vigor and integrity of the culture.

3 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 21 So Anansi promised, and took Yawarri Crawling into the Elephant's Belly with him that night. Anansi told him how he did this every night. While the king's elephants slept in the park, he went through the asshole and into the stomach of one of them, cut off a small piece of meat, and came back out without waking the elephants. And he made sure that he never tried this trick on the same elephant, so that 0ne time, all the animals were looking none of them would ever know what he around for food, but there was none to be was doing. had. Anansi and his family were starving When Anansi and Yawarri had gone into too, and he didn't know what he could do the yard a little way, they came up to two about it. One day, he saw this old elephant elephants, and each went into the bowels of come out of the king's park and he got an one of them. Anansi, after cutting his usual idea. That night, he climbed the wall to the little piece of meat, cam:: out of his ele- palace where all the elephants were kept. phant. But Yawarri was 2., selfisk kind uf =l- He crept up to one of them while it was ima!, anyhow, and he had been hungry for asleep and went in there behind his tail and such a long time that he stayed in there eat- crawled way up into his belly. And when he ing a long time. Anansi waited a long time got there he just chopped off a little piece of for him, and finally yelled out: "Bru Ya- meat, and he sneaked back out and carried warri! Bru Yawarri! Come out, or the day the meat home. will soon be here!" Yawarri put his head Anansi went back nightafternight, out, and told Anansi: "Oh, Bru! What fat crawling into the belly of one of the ele- meat there is in here! I can't come out yet. phants, and each morning, just before day- You go on and send back my wife and chil- break, he sneaked back home. dren to help me take home what I cut." So Now, Anansi's friend Yawart nteat- Yawarri stayed in there, eating and eating er saw that Anansi was getting 1 ,Id here until he was fulland just then the ele- he was as hungry as ever. He tried to get phant dropped over dead because Yawarri Anansi to tell him where he was getting his had eaten so much of his belly. food every morning; but Anansi put him off Now, the king was vexed, seeing that one the scent by telling him one lie after an- of his best elephants was dead. So he or- other. dered the belly split open to see why he had Yawarri was so hungry that he got sick died. The elephant keepers came back and too. He told his friend Monkey about how told the king that when they cut inside he felt and how hard it was to watch Anansi the elephant's belly they heard this strange growing fat while he and his family were noise. The king sent them back to find out starving. When Monkey heard all this, he what was making this noise, and there they told Yawarri to keep a watch near Anansi's found Yawarri, still cutting oft pieces of house at night, and to follow him to see meat and eating them. where he was going to get his food. Yawarri Now the king was really angry. He told took this advice. He watched Anansi's his men to kill Yawarri and to keep a better house, and when Anansi came out he fol- watch from now on. Now, Anansi had car- lowed his footsteps until they got to the ried the message to Yawarri's wife and chil- king's palace. Anansi didn't know Yawarri dren, and they got excited, since they were was there. He went to climb the wall of the very hungry too. When they climbed over king's park; then Yawarri called out to him the wall that night, the elephant keepers and told him that if he didn't promise to were there waiting and shot the whole fam- take him in as a partner he would yell out ily. that someone was sneaking into the king's So that's what comes of being too greedy. yard and stealing things. Guyana

24 FolklifeAnnual 198722 down and buzzed some of those heavenly A Flying Fool singers and all, and had himself a good old time. Meanwhile, of course, St. Petecame back and found out what had happened and called out the heavenly police forceto go get him. Well, this guy was just getting the feel of wearing wings, and he really took off, zoomed off. They hadsome little his colored man died and went up time bringing him down, him flying allover there to meet his Maker. But when he gotto Heaven fast as he could go. Finally, theygot the gates, St. Peter said that God wasn't him cornered and he racked upon one of home or having any visitorsby which he those trees, and I tell you, he looked likea meant no negroes allowed. Well, this old mess with broken wings and all. So they boy, he had been a good man all his life and took him and threw him out the gates. Now his preacher had told him that Heaven here comes one of his friends, who asked would be his place, so he didn't exactly him, "What happened, man?" He said, know what to do. So he just kind of hung "Oh, man, when I got here they wouldn't around the gates, until one time St. Peter let me in to the white man's Heaven, but I just had to go and take a pee. So while Pete grabbed me some wings and I hadme a fly." was gone, this old boy slipped through, He said, "Oh yeah?" Man said, "Yeah, they stole himself a pair of wings, and he really may not let any colored folks in, but while I took off. Sailed around the trees, in and out was there 1 was a flying fool." of those golden houses and all, swooped Texas

25 Eating in the Belly of the Elephant 23 we wish we had told them and what remains to be said. Expressions as impersonal The "Beau Geste" as Brezhnev's state funeral, as impressive as the Taj Mahal, and as highly wrought as the Shaping Private Rituals of Grief Mozart Requiem all testify to a human need to act in response to the fact of death. Research by folklorists into the traditions BY ERIKA BRADY associated with death has concentrated on the analytic description of communal ritual and practice, leaving the study of private behavior of the bereaved to psychologists and thanatologists. Nevertheless,Ihave found academic and field experience in folklore a valuable resource in working with patients an3 families in a Washington, D.C., hospice and a midwestern hospital's pastoral care program. In particular, my attention has been drawn to certain actions I call examples of the "beau geste." The name is drawn from the novel of that titlepublishedbyPercivalChristopher Wren. In the book, the hero Michael Geste is nicknamed "Beau" for his dashing appearance. Given to grandly romantic gestures, as a boy he institutes a mock "Viking funeral" to mark great occasions, burning a tin soldier afloat on a toy boat heaped with "treasures." Later in the novel, an impetuous attempt hen Paulinus of York arrived in to save the honor of a loved aunt who has Northumbria as a Christian missionary in stolen a family necklace lands the brothers A.D. 627, King Edwin called a council of his in the French Foreign Legion, and Beau is chief advisers to weigh the merits of the murdered in a mutiny at notorious Fort new religion. In the course of the discus- Zinderneuf. sion, one of the councillors recalled having Ina dramatic climax, Beau's twin brother seen a sparrow blunder through a door into gives him an improvised Viking funeral. the dining hall in winter. The little bird came in from the darkness and storms of "I pulled myself together, crawled over to rain and snow outside, flew around for a bit where Beau lay, heaved him up in my arms, in the firelight, then blundered out once and carried him below to his own bed in the more into the cold night. This, remarked barrack-room. All round his cot I laid piles of wood from the cook-house and drenched the councillor, is the story of the lives of all it with lamp oil. I did my best to make it a men: "of what went before, or what is to real 'Viking's Funeral' for him, just like we follow, we are utterly ignorant." The coun- used to have at home. Just like he used to cil adopted the new religion that at last of- want it. My chief regret was that I had no fered some assurance concerning the before Union Jack to drape over him."2 and after.' The mystery that precedcs and concludes The "Beau Geste" of the title comes to rep- "Rosa Centifolia," from resent not only the hero's name, but also the P. J. Redoute,Choix des human life has inspired responses of great Plus Belle Fleurs (Rosen- richness and variety. Deaths among our superbly gallant deeds of Beau and his waldno. 1910), vol.2. family and friends leave us heavy with what brothers, first in shielding their aunt and Rare Book and Special Col- later by the symbolic gesture of the "Vi- lections Division Copyright C 1988 Erika Brady king's funeral."

t- 4 0 Folklife Annual 198724 The "Beau Geste" 25 (1' 27 uals, and other similar actions. So well recognized is this form of expression, that it Such actions are not only found in the is common in the case of the death of a pages of adventure fiction. Hospital pa- child for the funeral director to ask if the tients and members of their families have parents wish the child to be buried with a told me of their own symbolic enactments favorite toy or book, in a kind of institu- and expressions of grief. Perhaps less showy tionalization of the beau geste. Elisabeth than a Viking funeral or Saharan holocaust, Kiibler-Ross, in clinical work with families their beau gestes are nonetheless eloquent of dying children, has observed that the sib- expressions of love and defiance in the face lings of a child dead after long illness, in of confusion and loss. paying a final visit to the body of their Characteristically, the beau gesteisa brother or sister, will often spontaneously mourner's reverent and symoolically charged bring a letter, flower, or toy to slip into the disposal of an item or items associated with casket under the pillowa practice which the dead, or a personally composed ritual she strongly encourages.4 Burial with such enacted in his or her memory. By its very loved items in these instances seems to offer nature, the "beau geste" is a private rather comfort not only by allowing the giver to than communal statement. Burial with reli- send a part of himself or herself along with gious items such as rosaries, medals, Bibles, the dead but also by assuaging the terrible and crosses is common, but as it often rep- irrational fear common to parents and sib- resents a denominationally or communally lings that the child will be lonely, feel aban- endorsed practice rather than one recalling doned in death, or miss the special blanket a quality, inclination, or habit of the de- or bear that was a comfort in life. ceased, such an inclusion does not represent Next to loss of a child, loss of a spouse a beau geste in the strict sense. In contrast represents a grief that conventional expres- to conventional burial inclusions, the beau sions of mourning often fail to satisfy. Con- geste is not only highly personal but often sequently,thesurvivor oftenturnsto purposely unconventional, even anti-con- private and personal means of expression ventional. I have been told of burials that of grief in composing a beau geste. A farm- included in the casket such diverse and idio- er's wife told me of placing her husband's syncratic items as a six-pack of beer, several transistor radio, battered from having been miniature bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey, a carried about with him on his chores, in the harmonica, a favorite pipe, and keys and casket with himeven making sure it had wallet still containing the deceased's driv- fresh batteries. In a well-known nineteenth- er's license and charge cards. Syndicated century episode, the artist and poet Dante columnist Mike Royko described and veri- Gabriel Rossetti buried a book that consti- fied an Illinois woman's burial in a Chicago tuted the sole copy of a number of his Cubs sweater, with a 1987 Cubs schedule poems with his wife, Elizabeth, only to find by her side in the casket.3 My own great- it necessary some years later to have her grandfather, a Dane from the Virgin Is- body exhumed in order to retrieve the lands, was buried withhis horse and book's contents.3 hounds, who were put down at the time of his death to accompany him. The beau geste is most frequently found in instances where the death results in the highest level of emotional trauma for the he loss of a loved one is particularly bereaved. Considered by professional ther- difficult for those whose relationship with apists to be the most irreparable loss an in- the deceased was socially ambiguous, giv- dividual can sustain, the grief brought about ing them no clearly recognized social role in by the death of a child often finds a limited communal rituals surrounding a death. A expression if not solace in personalized twentieth-century episode recounted to me symbolic gestures in the form of burial in- echoes the Rossetti tragedy, with a contem- clusions, specially composed graveside rit- , porary twist. Corinne D., a sophisticated

28 Folklife Annual 198726 Washingtonian, had been involved with a tached from the burial site, taking place married man separated from his wife. He rather in locations allowing the mourner to was an alcoholic, and Corinne had refused relinquish an item of symbolic significance to see him again until he sought profes- to the elements: the item is burned, left be- sional help for his drinking. He had threat- hind, set out to sea, or dropped into a body ened suicide on a number of occasions, but of water. These late-occurring actions seem she had ceased taking his threats seri- to consign the items to the cosmos, signal- ouslyuntil, after a frantic phone call in ing a reconciliation to the loss and readi- which he as before reported that he was ness to resume normal life. In one instance going to take an overdose of sleeping pills, recounted to me, the sister of a man who she did not hear from him for several days. had died kept his tobacco pipes long after She found him dead in his apartment. The she had disposed of his other belongings. pieces of a bone ring she had given him lay She finally made a little boat for them out next to his hand, having split off his finger of cardboard covered with aluminum foil as the body swelled. After taking up the and put them out to sea on his birthday. pieces, she called the police. From that The burning of love letters, that sturdy point, the funeral arrangements were in the cliché of country music, represents a similar hands of her lover's estranged wife, leaving statement of renunciation not only embod- Corinne with no defined role to play aside ied in song but, not infrequently, acted out from that of the many mourners who were in life. not members of the immediate family. Pri- These ad hoc tie-breaking actions are vately, she begged the funeral director to particularly common among, though not place the pieces of the broken ring in the exclusive to, those who have lost a spouse. casket with her lover. One widow told me of tearfully dropping In a similar episode reported to me, also her first wedding ring into the ocean after in Washington, Sean H. lost his lover to she had agreed to marry again. Likewise, AIDS. Although the dead man's family had author Sheldon Vanauken dropped the had little to do with him for some years, for wedding and keepsake rings he had given the purposes of burial they represented the his wife into the Atlantic two years after her next of kin. Sean slit the heel off one of the death, while making a pilgrimage to their shoes that he was to take with other cloth- one-time home in England.6 These gestures ing to the funeral home for the burial, and of relinquishment may do more than simply cut a hollow large enough to conceal a mark a stage in the grieving processthey small lucky charm that had been a gift from may facilitate the process itself. Anthropolo- him to his dead friend. gists Paul C. Rosenblatt, R. Patricia Walsh, When the beau geste is performed within and Douglas A. Jackson have examined tie- a few days of a death, it tends to be in the breaking customs and ceremonies for wid- form of a burial inclusion or disposal of ows and widowers cross-culturally, discov- some object at or near the gravesite. It can ering that in cultures where such customs represent an immediate vent for extreme are highly formalized and well-entrenched, grief. Sometimes, as in the case of Sean's remarriage of the remaining partner is far tampering with his friend's shoe, the task more likely! involves an intricate physical operation that can be very soothing to the performer. Grief therapists recognize an excessive restless energy that isdifficult to channel as a common symptom of acute grief in its n a practical as well as psychological early stages. The beau geste provides the level, private rituals of grief can not only mourner with an action or a task with per- express a mental state but creatively resolve sonal symbolic significance to perform, al- a number of practical and emotional dilem- though the actual performance itself may mas common to those who grieve. The very appear trivial to an observer or confidante. diversity of needs and personal ingenuity Later ritual actions tend to become de- employed in devising a beau geste ensure

29 The "Beau Geste"27 it i .i...:". , 4 ..,, ?±$ .1.3, . -. . .. - t t : r .. ,, vf4.4,-, ...1, "3 i. .. t. 1 ...",..-',.;.;-,y7.1.1.4 t I . ,-,.. . '... I" . ... ' 14,'.011P ' V 0441rAt: I;c144.'.; 4",t si 4 A, Dr ;# 4, "Beata Beatrix," by Dante that the functions as well as the forms will guilt over his wife's death from an overdose Gabriel Rossetti. The vary greatly from one instance to the next. of laudanum. According to Oscar Wilde, model for this soulful Pre- For some mourners the problem resolved Rossetti had become increasingly exasper- Raphaelite lady was the is practical as well as emotionalhow to ated with Elizabeth's moodiness. One eve- artist's wife, Elizabeth. dispose of items that belonged to the dead. ning when they returned from dinner, FromPoems by Dante Ga- In mainstream American culture, where no briel Rossetti,edited by Rossetti thrust a bottle of laudanum into Elizabeth Luther Cary, vol. specific disposition of belongings is pre- her hands, telling her to "Take the lot!" 10 2 (New York: G. P. Put- scribed before or after death, the informal The dramatic sacrifice of the unique copies nam's Sons, 1903) solution is often the Salvation Army or its of his poems buried with her represented, in equivalent for all but a few intimately per- part, an attempt to atone for the misery of sonal items. These few items can represent their marriage. a difficult dilemma for survivors, especially In the case of Corinne D., because her because the items themselves typically have lover had been legally married to his es- little monetary or aesthetic valuea much- tranged wife at the time of his death, Cor- loved jacket, for example, too worn to be inne had no part in the funeral arrange- given to a special friend but too dense with ments. She had no official role as mourner memories to be consigned to the trashbin. and, in addition, felt partially responsible Sometimes these items will be kept for sev- for the success of his suicide. The placement eral years, before they are ceremoniously of the ring with his body represented an "released." expression of her love for him; the secrecy The private nature of the "beau geste" of the request and the state of the shattered can provide a mourner respite from de- ring symbolized their unsanctioned and mands that he or she return prematurely to troubled love affair. "It felt right," she told a "normal" state of mind. There is a popu- me, "that it should be buried with him lar tendency in this country to underesti- some part of us." mate the length of the grieving process, There are instances where a beau geste which may take several years before the represents not only an act of love and rela- mourner is prepared to resume full activi- tionship but also an expression of anger or ties.8 Private rituals of grief allow an indi- exclusion directed at other survivors, who vidual to prolong the "griefwork" in se- are perceived as outsiders, ignorant of as- cret beyond the unrealistically short period pects of the dead person's real personality. often expected by family and friends. Ann Corinne D.'s burial of the ring with her Landers, adviser to the lovelorn, received lover was an expression of tenderness and a letter from a fan who read the column atonement toward him, but it can also be aloud nightly to her husband, who had died interpreted as a discreet challenge to those the year before? Likewise, a Missouri whose official relationship with him al- widow explained to me that for five years lowed them special rights over his body in following her husband's death she contin- death but excluded her. In a similar in- ued to set a place for him at dinnerat first stance of symbolic subversion, a man who every night, later on special occasions such had lived a creative and unconventional life as his birthday or their anniversary. At these was given so rigidly conventional a funeral meals she would chat with her husband, that his brother plotted a harmless rebel- bringing him up to date on family events lion, conspiring to have him buried in a and other happenings. She kept this a secret respectable suit but in his tattered and be- from family and friends at the time, only loved sneakersinvisible, of course, be- admitting it to them after some years had neath the hood of the casket but a source of passed and she had remarried. comfort, even glee, to those few who were The beau geste can represent an implicit in on the secret. attempt to continue a relationship after The patterns of meaning and action ap- death, sometimes symbolically compensat- parent in the beau geste conform to those ing for some perceived failure or shortcom- "laws of traditional behavior" identified by ing in the performer's past treatment of the anthropologists and folklorists from Sir dead person. Rossetti suffered deeply from James George Frazer's time until the pres-

31 The "Beau Geste" 29 ent." The personally composed ritual of ever, that these accounts represent a sin- grief is often consciously modeled on an ac- gular variety of memorate. They do not tion that the subject has heard, read about, recount an episode passively experienced or r.articipated inexamples abound in but rather recount a conscious and pur- films, television shows, and books as well poseful enactment: an event shaped by the as in traditional narrative. There is, how- imagination of the narrator before its per- ever, a real reluctance to acknowledge any formance and then reshaped by memory specific source for the action. This desire and the requirements of good storytelling for secrecy seems to derive from the fear of when it is finally shared with a listener. The being misunderstood, combined with the narrator of an account of this kind plays sense that the inclusion is an intimate act multiple roleshe writes and produces the between the dead and the living person, not play, so to speak, then synopsizes it for a to be shared indiscriminately with others. select audience. This is particularly true in episodes such as When someone decides to tell about a those of Corinne and Sean, in which their beau geste of his or her own, the story is relationships with the deceased had been usually reserved for a carefully chosen lis- vulnerable to negative judgment before their tener who is made to feel as though party to lovers' deaths. a secret. The listener is frequently asked not Participants prefer to say that the idea to tell members of the narrator's family "just came to them." They may allude to or community "because they'll think I'm having read or heard of similar actions by crazy." Often this uncertainty concerning others, but they still regard their own pri- the appropriateness of the retelling is sig- vate ritual as special, unique, and even naled by such statements as "you'll prob- strange to the point of being potentially ably think I'm nuts" or "this will sound misunderstood as bizarre or pathological. sort of weird." Sometimes qualifiers will be In cases recounted to me in Washington, employed defining the narrator's self-per- D.C., and Missouri, the individuals almost ception: "I'm a very emotional person," "I invariably indicate that they consider their was crazy with grief," or simply "That's action to be their own in a special way, not just the sort of person I am." Yet while qual- typical of their community's expectations ifying the action and performance as un- regarding behavior of the bereaved. usual, the narrator is seldom entirely self- deprecatory: there is a sense of pride and completion in the telling, conveying the narrator's conviction that the action was beautiful and appropriate, although liable to be misconstrued. ecause of the secrecy which often sur- The narrativesareoftenelaborately rounds the performance of these actions, I framed and carefully crafted, representing might never have heard of many of them as much creative effort as did the act itself. were it not for another striking aspect of the Elements of surprise and drama are con- beau geste. Although it is almost always en- trolled to create the strongest possible ef- acted privately, within it there is an addi- fect. There is usually an effort to explain to tional performance component that can be the listener why the action chosen was an realized when the individual eventually de- appropriate one in light of the character of cides to recount the action. This narrative the dead person, his or her special relation- component conforms in many respects to ship with the narrator, and the significance the definition folklorist Carl von Sydow of- of the role played by any symbolic items in fered for the genre of folk narrative he the beau geste. There may as well be a con- called the memorate: a personal experience scious or unconscious polemical intention, story that may be retold and reshaped by as in the case of following the narrative, future narrators in traditionally determined emerging as it did in the course of an inter- contours, perhaps eventually evolving into view on furtrapping in the Ozarks. a community's legend.12 I maintain, how- The speaker, Billy W., is a devoted and

32 Folklife Annual 198730 "s

Trapper about to launch a conscientious trapper, head of the local or- and seemed like all the places I set that trap, canoe in order to check his ganization that promotes legal and ethical I always caught something the first night. traplines, early December trapping practices among its members. He on the Current River in is concerned about the misperceptions of In recounting Bill Don's final insistence Missouri his pastime, which he feels are at work in that he continue trapping, and the symbolic the legal efforts to eliminate trapping in this gesture that affirmed the younger man's country. In his region, trapping has a long obedience and his sense of carrying on in history, and participants almost invariably the tradition taught him by the older, Billy learn the skill from an older man who W. conveyed much in little space concerning serves as mentor. Billy W., whose father the importance that this activity has for him died when he was quite young, learned personally, and for the other men of his re- from an older trapper who himself died a gion who engage in it. few years ago. In some instances, the eventual recounting of the action may represent a secondary At that time, we had become such good symbolic tie-breaking for the narrator, in a friends that when I saw him dying of can- sense reliving as well as retelling the initial cer, when trapping season rolled around in beau geste, but in an emotional context be- 1980, I said, "Bill Don, I'm not going to trap unless you can trap," and he said, yond the primary stages of grieving. It has "Son, I didn't teach you everything I know been suggested to me that in mainstream to see you quit now." He said, "I'm gonna American cultures, beau geste narrations die, we all have to die sometime, and you used as indications of a tie now effectively continue the tradition, like we've done for broken may serve as a means of establish- hundreds of years." And after I got to thinking intimacy in the early stages of courtship ing about itit took me a while, Erika, because every time I'd go down there to set a among widows and widowersa way of trap in the places that he'd set, I felt a ... expressing both appropriate acknowledg- well, I'm a very sentimental person. So ment of feeling for the spouse lost and a when I went I always set a trap for him, and readiness to move on in another relation- I'd use his nametag on the trap...[laughs] ship.

The "Beau Geste" 33 31 The recounting of a beau geste often oc- Honey, she was never afraid of nothing curs at later periods of transition in an in- that I ever knew. She just hated to burden dividual's lifesometimes at the end of us. But I'lltell you somethingand it's something I never will forget, and I think of that life. The memory of personal rituals of it a lot now--she got into a coma in the bereavement can become a resource for hospital, and the doctor said she was like' those who, like the Anglo-Saxon councillor, to die most any time. And we were all gath- are unsure what lies in the future. Because ered, all her children, and her grandchil- most of my work in the hospice and hospi- dren, and praying for a healing on her. And tal has been with cancer patients, I have she's been in this coma for a little less than a week, and they said she wouldn't be com- heard a number of beau geste accounts ing out outside of a miracle from God. from patients who themselves were dying: So I was with herthe rest were gone cancer often allows a patient considerable somewheresand justholding of her time to reflect on his or her life story, and to hands a little and kind of talking to her. consider the deaths of family and friends in And suddenly! she gives my hand a squeeze! and opens her eyes and looks up at me! And the new light of an enforced consciousness I was never so surprised, all I could say, I of mortality. just said, kinda mad, "Mama! Where've you been?" (I knew it was silly, but I was so surprised.) And she just looked up at me (her eyes were real bright) and she said: "GirlI been looking at the heavenly paradise. I seen it. And you knowthe streets Remembering the rituals that made are paved all with gold. And there's the their losses bearable, patients can find ways prettiest roses just everywhere you look." to think about their own impending deaths Well, I ran and got the others, and she that make the prospect a less severe banish- was weak but awake for a bit, and then she ment to the unknown cold outsidethe rit- settled on down to sleep and then she died later on that night. And in the morning my uals are symbolic reassurance that love can brother and me went on to homethis was defy if not conquer death. More practically, in late March, you understand, not even patients can use beau geste accounts to con- Easter yetand as we drove up the way we trolthe emotional climate surrounding sawMama'srosebush,andithad them. bloomedthere was three or four of the Annie B.'s Pentecostal family believed prettiest roses you et er saw on it. Well, we kinda took that as a sign. And passionately that their prayers could bring we picked those flowers and made a little about a miracle that would heal her medi- bouquet and had them put it in Mama's cally incurable lung cancer. They would hands when they buried her. And we gather around her bed and conduct fervent planted a little rosebush on her grave, and prayer sessions, laying hands on her and it's there yet. Some folks might think it was strange, but it just seemed like the right speaking in tongues, alternately shouting thing to do. praise and pleading for her restored health. She recounted the following story to me in [Does it bloom in March ?] the course of a conversation alone; later, I [Laughs] Naw, honey. But I'lltell you heard her tell it again and allude to it twice this, I always do look! more in the presence of her family. Annie B. believed that prayer had the [Interviewer had just asked if the patient power to heal, but she was also deeply rec- has ever tended a member of her family onciled to the prospect of her own death. through a long illness.] Her greatest concern in her last weeks was L000rd yes! My mama was sick for the that her family recognize that her death longest time. Months and months. And I looked after her at home, and then in the would not be due to shortfalls of love for hospital. She was sick in her blood, you them on her part, invocation of grace on know, and her kidneys wouldn't work right their part, or power on the part of the Lord. they said. She was tired and ready for peace and quiet [Was the patient's mother afraid at all but reluctant to ask directly for an end to while she was sick ?] her family's prayerful intervention on her

34 Folklife Annual 198732 behalf. Her retelling of the story of the In a sense, the beau geste derives its blooming rosebush told her family that she power from its resemblance to recognized no longer sought a cure and did not fear communal ritualsand its difference from death. The strenuous spiritual efforts of her them. Its symbolism is often drawn from family and medical efforts of the hospital the language and actions of wakes, funer- staff subsided into the loving support she als, and other religious and secular cultural preferred. In telling of her mother's death expressions, but it also derives its power and her beau geste, she taught her family from its contrast to such shared, commun- how to help her die. ally sanctioned rites. Community rituals Every society offers its members certain gain resonance from invariant repetition. rituals and patterns of behavior that are ac- The liturgy for a funeral within a given de- cepted as appropriate and healing. But the nomination does not vary much from in- healing offered by such communal rites stancetoinstance,exceptincarefully often more effectively reconciles the breach controlled portions of the service. Even fu- in the fabric of the community than it min- neral sermons and speeches have a formu- isters to the private and personal needs of laic sameness about them. From these those whom the grief touches most nearly. consistencies the community draws a nec- Once having fulfilled the expectations of essary comfort, in the face of the confusion friends, family, and society with the cus- compared by the Anglo-Saxon councillor to tomary funeral or memorial service, many the windy cold outside the hall. mourners are left with a feeling that there is But the individuals whom loss touches more to say and do. This is perhaps all the most deeply often seek a separate comfort more true in the United States today, as by in the self-composed beau geste. Expressing custom and law the tasks pertaining to care the importance of one person, one relation- of the dying and preparation of the deadare ship, one life, each beau geste is a littlees- increasingly relegated to specialists with no say on a particular loss, quietly defying the previous personal relationship to the indi- powers in life and death that level distinc- vidual or family. tion.

NOTES

An early version of this paper was presented at Douglas A. Jackson, Grief and Mourning in the annual meeting of the American Folklore So- Cross-Cultural Perspective (Human Relations ciety, 1985, in Cincinnati, Ohio. I owe thanks to Area Files, 1976).,.67 -85. Steven Zeit lin, Jo Radnor, Ilana Abramovitch, 8. The classic work outlining the grieving Joseph Goodwin, and Raymond Otto for advice process remains Erich Lindemann, "Symptom- and encouragement. atology and Management of Acute Grief," American Journal of Psychiatry 101 (1944): 1. J. A. Giles, ed., The Venerable Bede's Ec- 141-48. clesiastical History of England (London: Henry 9. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 30, 1986; G. Bohn, 1849), 95. October 13,1986, p. 2E 2. Percival Christopher Wren, Beau Gest" 10. Brian and Judy Dobbs, Dante Gabriel (New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1924), 85. Rossetti: An Alien Victorian (London: Macdon- 3. Mike Royko, "A Loyal Cub Fan to the ald and Janes, 1977), 143. Very End," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 11. For example, the use of items associated 1987, p. 4F. with the dead in memorializing them recalls Fra- 4. Elisabeth Kiibler-Ross, On Children and zer's principle of "contagious magic." See Sir Death (New York: Macmillan, 1983), 7,21. James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: A 5. Joseph Knight, The Life of Dante Gabriel Study in Magic and Religion, abridged edition Rossetti (Folcroft, Pennsylvania: Folcroft Li- (New York: Macmillan, 1922), 43-52. brary Edition, 1973), repr. 1887 ed., 76. 12. Carl W. von Sydow, Selected Papers on 6. Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy (San Folklore: Published on the Occasion of his 70th Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977), 223-24. Birthday, ed. Laurits Bodker (Copenhagen: Ro- 7. Paul C. Rosenblatt, R. Patricia Walsh, and senkilde and Bagger, 1948), 127-45.

35 The "Beau Geste"33 souri for almost two thousand miles from St. Louis to Fort Union at the confluence of George Catlin and the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, near the present Montana and North Dakota Karl Bodmer border. He reached the fort during the summer of 1832 and remained for about two months to paint in oils the Blackfeet and Artists among the American Indians Crow Indians who camped nearby. Before returning to St. Louis by canoe, he stopped BY JAMES GILP-EATH for a month at Fort Clark to visit the Man- dans. Some of Catlin's most remarkable paintings were produced during this time. His resolute persistence in the face of haz- ards and uncertain conditions was remarkable. Maximilian and Bodmer reached New Harmony in Indiana during the autumn of 1832. The New Harmony community was founded seven years earlier by British phi- lanthropist Robert Owen to promote two socialist objectivesthe equal division of labor and the common ownership of property. After spending the winter with the Owenites, they resumed their journey in April 1833. The group traveled by steamer to Fort Union, where the year before, after spending the summer, Catlin had turned back. But Maximilian and Bodmer pushed further west and covered the next five hun- In the early spring of 1832, George Cat- dred miles by keelboat. As the expedition lin, a self-taught American portrait painter moved along the river, it frequently stopped with a modest reputation, packed his art to dispatch hunting parties, at times becom- supplies and headed up the Missouri River ing a combination of scientific exploration from St. Louis on the American Fur Com- and gentleman's adventure. Bodmer was pany's steamboat, the Yellowstone. A little assigned to paint likenesses of the sur- more than a year later, Prince Maximilian, rounding landscape and of the animals the owner of an estate on the Rhone River near hunters brought back to camp. At the forts, the town of Coblenz, in what is now West his attention switched to making portraits Germany, departed St. Louis on the same of visiting Indians. They endured a brutal steamer. To document his journey, Maxi- winter at the desolate outpost of Fort Mac- milian hired Karl Bodmer, a trained Swiss kenzie. During the spring of 1834, with Ma x- Map of the Western & artist whose specialty was landscape paint- Middle Portions of North imilian very sick, the group backtracked America, To Illustrate the ing. The wilderness along the Missouri River to St. Louis and by the summer had left History of California, Ore- in North and South Dakota was familiar New York, never to return to America. gon, and the Other Coun- only to native Indians and fur trappers in tries on the North-West the early 1830s. The American Fur Com- Coast of America. (Detail) pany had established forts along the river to Drawn by George H. Ring- gold, Engraved by E. F. facilitate trading. However, the company's Woodward, Philadelphia. business was acquiring pelts, not sharing Despite the similarity of Catlin's and Published in Robert Green- knowledge. Bodmer's routes, their attitudes about their how's History of Oregon Catlin and the Maximilian-Bodmer party work markedly differed. Catlin set out to and California, 1844. Ge- charted almost identical paths intothe preserve a record of what he considered a ography and Map Division American West. Catlin followed the Mis- superior but vanishing race. He admiringly

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' .c.' *"4 .37 wrote that among the frontier Indians he found "the proud and chivalrous pale of savage society, in the state of original na- he dispositions of Catlin's and Maxi- ture, beyond the reach of civilized contami- milian's collections of paintings, Indian ar- nation." He set as his mission to become the tifacts, and animal specimens gathered historian of the tribes and several times during their trips proved to be as different abandoned his family for long periods. He as the two men's backgrounds. Catlin ex- immersed himself in Indian culture and hibited his collection in several American once commented that he had "become so cities and tried to interest Congress in pur- much an Indian of late that my pencil has chasing it. Failing in this, he shipped every- lost all appetite for subjects that savor of thing to England, rented Egyptian Hall in tameness." For Catlin, the Indians were a London, and charged visitors an entrance foil to the rapidly accelerating complexities fee. Later, he took the material on _a Euro- of the nineteenth century. One also suspects pean tour. Commissions for paintings, prof- that his devotion to a great historic quest its from books, and admission to his exhibit was at least in part an attempt to palliate were his only means of support. His cham- the disappointments in his earlier profes- pioning of the Indian as representative nat- sional career. The intensity of his ideo- ural man was inextricably bound with his logical enthusiasm spills over into Catlin's need to make a living. For Maximilian, writing. He claimed to have composed one of profit was not a motive. Except for a few his books at the "urgent request of a num- paintings he allowed Bodmer to keep, Max- ber of my friends." Catlin worked quickly imilian retained control of the material, and on the canvases, sometimes leaving details it remained in his family's castle until it was to be filled in at a later date. This method purchased in the early 1960s by InterNorth, caused some inaccuracies. He is at his best Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska. in catching groups of Indians in motion in Both Catlin and Maximilian decided to ritual dance ceremonies. His work shows publicize their travels by publishing color- the Missouri River Indians to be part of a plate books based on paintings done in the lively and complex culture. This was an im- field. In the eighteenth and nineteenth cen- portant point to make at a time when Eu- turies, before the age of photography, color- ropean philosophical writers such as Cor- plate bookswerethe most realistic way to nelius de Pauw and Comte Georges Louis document discoveries and to record natural Leclerc de Buffon were saying that all spe- history observations in book form. Such cies of life in America were weak and in- works consisted of groups of engravings, ferior because of the hostile environment. etchings, aquatints, wooc'cuts, or litho- In contrast, Bodmer's paintings were not graphs that were meant to be bound to- an attempt to convey an ideological posi- gether and hand-colored. Usually, the color- tion. He was a paid scientific illustrator, not ists followed a model so that there was a a social commentator. Documenting the ex- general consistency between the same print pedition's progress was his job. When he as found in different copies of the same edi- hired Bodmer, Prince Maximilian com- tion. Of course, there were many individual mented favorably that the Swiss painter variations due to such factors as differing could "draw what was put in front of him." degrees of talent among those doing the The prince wanted to record information coloring. The atlas of illustrations based on that might help those who were trying to Bodmer's paintings was sold in Germany understand the origins and histories of the withReise in das innere Nord-America,a world's races. Consequently, Bodmer spent report of the trip published between 1839 less time on the dramatic aspects of the and 1841; with a French edition of the text tribes he encountered. Even his landscapes in 1840-43; and with an English transla- are quieter and more reflective than Cat- tion in 1843. Purchasers could acquire the lin's. Witkonly a few exceptions, the Swiss prints colored, uncolored, or in a mixture artist's work is dispassionate,even atits of both. Catlin'sNorth American Indian most beautiful and ethnologically exact. Portfoliowas issued in London in 1844 and

Folklife Annual 198?36 in New York the following year. Both books and were necessary to bring the volume to were financed by their authors, but the fact completion are apparent in North Ameri- that Catlin did not have Maximilian's wealth can Indian Portfolio. These qualities give meant that the American's job was much character and vigor to the book at its best mote difficult. moments. That sense of personality is not found in Bodmer's work as realized in Max- imilian's book. Bodmer did not even have the opportunity to choose which of his pictures were to be represented. Bodmer's work It is fortunate for our understanding of is more beautiful and technically proficient, Indian folkways that Catlin and Maxi- but Catlin's is more expressive. Though the milian began their work when they did. emotive dimension of North American In- Though the tribes of the Missouri River re- dian Portfolio is sometimes idiosyncratic, it gion were remote, they were not isolated. is the underlying reason the book is an in- Nor were their cultures static. Indian par- terpretative triumph. ties journeyed to St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Washington, inevitably changing the travelers' outlooks. One Indian sojourner who returned to his village after a trip to SUGGESTED READING NY/ashington was shunned as a liar by the rest of his tribe for reporting about such An early account of Catlin's life that is readable but outdated on some points is George Mc- things as ships and balloons that they Cracken'sGeorge Catlin and the Old Frontier thought too incredible to be believed. Trad- (New York: Dial Press, 1959), which has reers were also powerful forces in altering In- cently been republished by Bonanza Books. Cat- dian cultural patterns. These early changes lin's account of his trip,Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North were modest compared to the revolutionary American Indians,has been reprinted in paper- restructuring of Indian society caused by back (New York: Dover, 1973). His narrative of later American emigration. The Mandans the European tour of his exhibition,Catlin's Notes of Eight Years' Travels and Residence in were almost totally obliterated by a small- Europe, With His North American Indian Col- pox epidemic not long after Catlin and lection,has not been in print since the nine- Maximilian left their village. Popular books teenth century but is widely available at research libraries. The most comprehensive and best such as the Leatherstocking Tales and im- look at Catlin and his works is William Truett- aginary Indian captivity narratives had cre- ner'sThe Natural Man Observed(Washington: ated false images of the Indian as either Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979). Truettner a noble savage or satanic devil that were also takes a critical look at the selection of images in Catlin's colorplate book in an ar- rooted in sales figures, not in accurate vi- ticle "For European Audiences: Catlin'sNorth sual representation. The magnificent, hand- American Indian Portfolio"in Ron Tyler'sPrints colored illustrations of Maximilian's Reise of the American West(Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum, 1983). in das innere Nord-America and George The original English-language translation of Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio, Prince Maximilian's report was reprinted as a few of which are reproduced to accom- Maximilian's, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834in 1906 pany this essay, were instrumental in chang- as volumes 22 through 25 of Reuben Gold ing this situation. These picture books, Thwaites'sEarly Western Travelsseries. The based on personal experience and produced translation is incomplete and the University of in a very limited number of copies, were Oklahoma Press is sponsoring a new one. The best book on the expedition isKarl Bodmer's meant for an elite audience and were not America(Lincoln: Joslyn Art Museum and Uni- guided by popular prejudice in the United versity of Nebraska Press, 1984). It has an intro- States. ductory essay by William H. Goetzmann and annotations for the numerous illustrations by Bodmer's pictures in Reise in das innere David C. Hunt and Marsha V. Gallagher. There Nord-America are esthetically more satis- is a biography of Bodmer by William J. Orr in- fying than Catlin's illustrations. However, cluded in the volume. George P. Tomko's "The Western Prints of Karl Bodmer" in Ron Tyler's the fierce independence and driving individ- Prints of the American West discussesthe classi- uality that earmarked all of Catlin's efforts cal allusions in Bodmer's work.

George Catlin and Karl Bodmer37 39 The Snow-Shoe Dance. Plate 14 in George Catlin'sNorth American Indian Portfolio. Rare Book and Special Collections Division Catlin witnessed the Snow-Shoe Dance of the Chippeway or Ojibway Indians who had gathered near Fort Snelling, Minnesota. The dancers sang thanks for the first snowfall. Snowshoes, which the performers wore during the entireceremony, enabled the Indians to track and pursue game easily when the ground was covered with deepsnow.

4u Buffalo Dance. Plate 8 in George Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. Rare Book and Special Collections Division The Mandan Indians performed the Buffalo Danceevery spring to lure bison to their villages. Unlike larger and more powerful tribes, the Mandans did notroam extensively to hunt. Wearing buffalo heads and hides, participants in the dance chanted and continuously circled until they were exhausted. When a dancer leaned forwardto signal his weariness, he was shot with a blunt arrow. Spectators dragged him by his heelsaway from the other dancers and pretended to skin him with knives. Theceremony did not stop until a herd wandered into the vicinity. The buffalo was a crucial source of food, clothing, and shelter for the Mandans and other Plains Indians.

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Ball-Play Dance. Plate 22 in George Cat lit:' North American Indian Portfolio. Rare Book and Special Collections Division Catlin encountered the Choctaws near Fort Gibson, to which they had been forced to move from their native lands in northern Alabama and Mississippi. He was impressed by their ability to preserve in their new home such traditional customs as the Ball-Play Dance. As many as a thousand Indians gathered as contestants, and many more massed nearby to watch. Before the ball was tossed into play, the opposing teams huddled near their goals to dance, shout, and knock their sticks together. Women, who had wagered household goods on the outcome, formed parallel lines between the groups to cheer on the players. Ball Play. Plate 23 in George Catlin's North American Indian Portfolio. Rare Book and Special Collections Division In this game players cradled the ball in the webbing of their rackets while running or passed it to a teammate. A ball thrown or carried between the stakes of the goal counted as a score. Anything that prevented the ball carrier from moving toward the goal was allowed. Fights broke out away from the center of action, making the entire field a melee. One hundred points were needed to win.

43 Bison-Dance of the Mandans. Tableau 18 in Prince Maximilian Alexander Philippvon Wied-Neuwied's Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. Rare Book and Special Collections Division Karl Bodmer, the artist who accompanied Maximilian, made the Buffalo Dance the subject of one of his liveliest paintings. His depiction is more detailed than Catlin's. Bodmer observed that only the two bravest hunters of the Buffalo Clanwere permitted to wear the entire head during the dance. The rest wore only the horns and part of themane.

u --44 Scalp Dance of the Minatarres. Tableau 27 in Prince Maximilian Alexander Philippvon Wied-Newvied's Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. Rare Book and Special Collections Division The Hidatsa tribeor Minatarres as Maximilian called themcelebrateda war victory with the Scalp Dance. Warriors who took a scalp in battle presented itto a woman as a sign of respect. The honored women then performed this dance, holding the scalpsat the end of long poles.

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Pehriska-Ruhpa. Tableau 28 in Prince Maximilian Alexander Philippvon Wwd-Neuwied's Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. Rare Book and Special Collections Division This plate shows a leader of one of the Hidatsa Dog Societies ina magnificent ceremonial costume. Members of the Real Dog Society were expected to be daring and brave in battle. Other Hidatsa Dog Clans were the Crazy Dogs, the Little Dogs, the Dogs- Whose- Names- Are- Unknown, and the Old Dogs.

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Dance of the Mandan Women. Vignette 28 in Prince Maximilian Alexander Philipp von Wied-Neuwied's Reise in das innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834. Rare Book and Special Collections Division The White Buffalo Society was the most important Mandan women's religious group. One of its principal functions was the presentation of a dance to attract buffaloes to the village. All the dancers wore turbans made from buffalo hides, and the leader of the society dressed in a white buffalo robe, which was thought to convey great power. The women dancers moved in a circle with a duck-like walk to the accompaniment of male singers.

47 American Indian Powwow BY VANESSA BROWN and BARRE TOELKEN

Although the intertribal powwow has developed rapidly since the turn of the century as a common form of Native American social expression and is now to be found in every state of the union, surprisingly little has been written about it. Anthropologists and folklorists seem to have avoided the subject as a newer form of expression that does not represent a pure tribal strain of folk or ethnic tradition (an ironic opinion, if it indeed persists, for the subject of "pu- rity" in tradition has not occupied the theo- retical musings of folklorists for some years now). Perhaps because cash prizes are involved and non-Indians are encouraged to attend, some may consider the phenomenon to be more a part of popular culture The Crow Fair camp- than of folk tradition. Whatever the reason, grounds, August 1979. The the powwow has not produced a rich schol- circle is an important sym- aship. bol of unity at the powwow and manifests itself in This essay draws upon our own experi- the shape of the arena and ences with the powwow as it exists in the in the dances that take West and the northern Plains and is writ- place there. (MT9- ten from the dual perspectives of a Native MC20-8) Photograph by Michael S. Crummett Copyright 0 1988 Barre Toelken and Vanessa Brown

Folklife Annual 1987 ,r.'4 8 46 American Indian Powwow47 Ift r

4{11:4 .11 N.11 t t. !ri 4444.4,r,1,;- ," " , ;;; 7 "4:41 ' - 50:ja r , 'nt. t 4 / \z%_ roe; ttPie tiKA 4 4 I 'tk Indians on their way to the American who dances in powwows and terns that all the tribes recognize. The mu- annual fair at Crow helps organize them and a folklorist who sic is highly stylized, and the dancing goes Agency, Montana, Septem- studies traditional performance events. We on most of the afternoon and evening, with ber 1941. Photographs by will not pretend to give a comprehensive ac- the dancers resting occasionally while par- Marion Post Wolcott. count of the genre, however, for even in the ticular groups (young men or older women, (LCUSF34-S832S-D) West there are large regional differences in (LCUSF34-S8368-D) Farm for example) compete for prize money. From Security Administration the singing and the dancing protocol. time to time, the hosts or a visiting group Collection, Library of Con- The term powwow seems to come from will demonstrate a particular dance from gress one of the Algonquin languages (North- their own tribe while other participants eastern America), where it originally meant watch. Visitors are welcome, but non-Indi- a medicine man or conjurer. The term was ans are sometimes asked to pay an entrance borrowed by the white Europeans to refer fee, which helps to support the cost of the not only to a medicine man but to a meeting event and to pay for the prizes awarded at which curing took place. Eventually it for dancing. The powwow is a social event was used by the whites to denote virtually stressing intertribal affiliations more than any gathering of Indians, especially where tribal differences and displaying traditional Indian tipis at the annual singing might take place. Indians have bor- Indian characteristics as well as innova- fair, Crow Agency, Mon- tana, September 1941. rowed back this term (and several others tions. Photograph by Marion used in the powwowlike war dance) from There are two major settings for the pow- Post Wolcott. (LCUSF34- English usage. wow: one is the outdoor encampment, some- S878S-D) Farm Security Today a powwow is essentially a social times called a fait, which lasts from three Administration Collection, dance where Indian people from several days to a week, and at which people live in Library of Congress tribes dance together, using a few basic pat- a traditional Indian-style tent village. These

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51 American Indian Powwow49 outdoor encampments are so large that they requires camp crier or caller, a man mounted on horseback (sometimes today riding in a Ma_ small truck with a loudspeaker system), who circulates through the camp to announce camp regulations and the times the ; , dances will take place. Smaller powwows 'AV A last only one or two days and are often held e. indoors. The outdoor powwow is usually 4... .11.1.04,11.1We held on or near an Indian reservation, while the smaller powwows are also held in the cities where urban Indians or students far from home organize them in order to invite their reservation friends and families to dance. Although the dancing arena in both cases is circular, the large outdoor encampment has tents around the outside perimeter of the area and a brush arbor or pavilion in the very center in which the dancing takes place. A number of large drums, around which live to ten singers and drummers may be seated, are placed in the center, and the dancing takes place around them. Some-

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52 Folklife Annual 198750 Campground near the pow- times they are arranged around the perime- the plans include the layout of the encamp- wow arena in Macy, Ne- ter of this pavilion, and the dancing takes ment, arrangements for water and food, braska, on the Omaha place in the middle. In the urban powwows, disposal of garbage, and the order of events. Reservation, August 1983. which are often held in a basketball court Since people bring their own food and tents (FCP/O-CF2-9) Photograph or some similarly large indoor area, the with them, there is no need to plan for by Carl Fleischhauer drums are usually arranged down the cen- these. For the indoor urban powwow, both ter of the room, and the dancers move food and lodging are donated by other In- around them in an elongated oval. dian people or by friends of Indian people The closing of a powwow will vary some- who live in the nearby area. One function what depending on whether it is indoors or of the planning, then, is for a local Indian outdoors, and whether it is the last night or community in an urban area to reestablish not. When urban Indians rent a hall or a and reaffirm its ties among its own mem- basketball court for their powwow, they bers (who may be members of a variety of must obey regulations about the closing of tribes) and to encourage friendships with the building. When itis clear that only other Indian communities, as well as with fifteen or twenty minutes remain, the mas- non-Indians who have been active in help- ter of ceremonies usually announces a round ing to encourage and support Indian ob- dance, followed by an intertribal war dance, servances. This is also a time for discussing and then everyone leaves. At an outdoor older and newer ideas on style of dress, powwo% the ending may come when the dance, and song. weather becomes too cold, when too few In spite of the careful planning, however, people are left, or when too few drums are the powwow unfolds more according to an- available for the dancing to go on. On the dent Native American attitudes toward time last night of a powwow, there are usually and ritual than with regard to modern cal- several honoring dances, and these are ar- endars and clocks. The powwow seems to ranged so that there is a more ritualistic flower of its own accord, and the dynamics sense of closure for the entire powwow. are internal to the events. Of course, be- The annual Crow Farr at None of this is controlled by formal time cause most Indian people today have jobs Crow Agency, Montana, schedules, except insofar as the group must and other obligations, the powwow indeed near the Little Big Horn adhere to regulations for vacating a hall. takes place during the week or weekend in River, is one of the largest Otherwise, the powwow dynamic is one in powwows in the country. which it is scheduled. Very often one will Announcements are made which the numerical build-up of people see an advertisement that the afternoon's over loudspeakers atop a eventually brings about the activity, and dancing will start at 2:30, and that the eve- truck as it drives about the then their disappearance at the end signals ning events will begin at 7:30. If the ob- campgrounds. (MT9- that a particular dance is the last one. server arrives somewhat before these times MC25-16) Photograph by in order to watch the entire sequence, he Michael S. Crummett will often wait an hour or two before anything discernible happens. People begin to gather, often having come from great (Us- P!arming for either kind of powwow tances. They talk to friends and relations, may begin several months or even a year renew old acquaintances, appear and dis- ahead of time. Committees organized by appear, change from their everyday cloth- tribal governments, by smaller clubs and ing to dancing regalia, and it may be 9 or associations within a tribe, or by a group of 9:30 P.M. before the evening's dances actu- Indian students at a university will start ally begin in the powwow arena. Other making plans and sending invitations to than dancing, the most important part of other Indian groups on and off reservations. the powwow to Indian people is the social A good many Indian groups present pow- aspect of gathering together, and this is wows annually, and the planning group need what receives most of the attention. only determine the date, which is almost al- The men's outfits at a powwow are usu- ways arrived at in consultation with other ally quite different from what they would Native American groups who may also be wear at one of the sacred dances at home. giving powwows. At an outdoor powwow, First of all, a goad many of the men will be

5 3 American Indian Powwow51 wearing the fancy dance outfit which fea- Outfits should include something from the tures colors, bird feathers, and bells. Those Wingcds (birds, who, being two-legged like who are dancing in the traditional style will humans, are considered as close relatives), be clothed in deerhide or in simple trousers especially the feathers of an eagle. This is made from early Hudson Bay Company the bird that gets closest to the sun, the only blankets. On the other hand, the women's bird who has one mate for life, the bird who clothing at a powwow is often the same takes prayers and messages to Wakan Tanka. that they would wear at home on any ritual The Four-leggeds, who also supply us with occasion. Many Indian people feel that this food and other necessities and provide hides consistency is further indication of the ex- for moccasins and dresses and fur for deco- tent to which the dignity, grace, and power ration, are also r-xesented in the outfit, of women are demonstrated. That is to say, along with decorations placed by human women do not have to wear special cloth- hands and supplied by creatures from the ing for a powwow because they take their waters in the form of shells. This is said to own tribal dignity with them wherever th.:;. honor all that gives life on earth, all that go. Indeed, in many tribes it remains the provides humans with food, warmth, and women who continue to pass on language, sacred power. Wearing symbolic clothes, religious belief, and other cultural instruc- the dancers are one with all the living be- tion to the younger generation, especially ings who share the world with them as their since it is the custom among many tribes for relatives. As people prepare or create their the grandmother to raise the children. outfits for the powwow, stories are told and Whatever the style of the outfit, straight attitudes are mentioned that strengthen or fancy, the production of the clothing these symbolic recollections anri pass them (often as gifts from friends, relatives, or lov- on to younger people, who are very much ers) is based on beliefs and assumptions incorporated into the creative ?recess. Thus, about the symbolic function of the clothing. the outfits worn at the powwwv provide an

Contestants register for the dance competition at the 1983 Omaha powwow in Macy, Nebraska. (FCP10- CF3-S) Photograph by Carl Fleischhauer

5.4 Folklife Annual 198752 Host drum at the Omaha occasion for the material and oral articula- around drums will then begin to sing and to powwow in Mac); Ne- tion and transmission of traditional values. practice (to "warm up"), and it is not until braska, August 1983. The two or three of the drums have tested a few drum is the symbolic center songs that dancers will move onto the floor of events at the powwow, and the term refers both to and begin dancing. When it is clear that the instrument and to the there are enough drums to allow for a se- groNp of singers who he most important development as the quence of dances to take place, the master gather around it. (FCPIO- powwow gets under way is the gathering of ceremonies announces the opening pro- CF10-13) Photograph by of people around the drums. Among the cessional. Carl Fleischhauer groups invited to a powwow there will ve Each tribe has certain beliefs and cus- several groups who are expected, perhaps toms about the use of the drum. Many specifically invited, to bring a drum (the tribes believe that a drum expresses the term is used both for the instrument and for heartbeat of the people, or the heartbeat of the group of player-singers). A drum group the earth, calling everyone to listenthat it from the local area may be honored by the is like a living person. Drums can get sick planning committee by being asked to serve and can be cured, and therefore they must as "Host Drum." But the important thing is be handled with care. In some tribes, only that people have often not decided ahead of the males may sing while gathered directly time exactly who will drum, and a drum around the drum. When women sing, it is may not begin drumming until a proper usually by forming a small semicircle be- number of drummers have decided to come hind the men and singing in a piercing fal- forward and sit around the drum (the num- setto an octave above the men's voices. In ber varies in different tribes). When such a some tribes, women are seated among the "critical mass" has gathered, the people men at the drum, and in some tribes even

American Indian Powwow 53 \- children are invited to join. Drummers are other drummers at his drum will join in, expected to know the songs thoroughly. and they may sing two or three songs to Not everyone is allowed to approach the loosen up their vocal chords. As the evening drum, and no one under the influence of goes on they will sing louder and louder, drugs or alcohol is allowed anywhere close. and there is a tremendous strain on the Menstruating women are notto sing voice. For this reason, a number of tradi- around the drum or dance, but they may at- tional Indian medicinal plants, such as yar- The Grand Entry begins tend the powwow as spectators. row root, are used to protect the throat. each dance session at the Each drum (that is, each group of singers 1983 Omaha powwow, as who arrange themselves around a drum) re- a dancer carrying the ceives payment to cover the expenses of American flag leads the transportation. If a certain drum has been other participants in a asked to sing an honoring song during the circle around the arena. he opening ceremony includes at least (FCPIO-CF9-6) Photograph powwow, the family of the person honored a "flag dance" in which national flags of the by Carl Fleischhauer will donate a gift of money to the drum. United States and Canada are paraded While these sums of money are usually around the arena, along with the Indian quite modest, in the case of an honoring warriors' flag, actually a staff festooned dance, particularly for someone recently with eagle feathers honoring Indian people deceased, the amount can be as much as who have died in warfare. Many Indian $100. The gift is almost always announced people are veterans of \Xforld Wars I and II, publicly as well. Singers usually spend the and many of them belong to the various of- entire powwow gathered at their drum, al- ficial veterans' groups organized by former ternating with the other drums. Since in a members of the armed services of the powwow of five drums there is ample time United States. But it is made very clear dur- to rest one's voice between songs, some ing this processional that the warriors' flag drummers will get up and join the other represents all warriors who have fallen in dancers, especially toward the end of the all wars, and this is a very pointed reference evening. Whenever a round dance is called, to the number of people who fell while in which all spectators and participants fighting against European invaders. The should take part, two or three of the drum- tableau scene of the American and Cana- mers will be seen moving through the dian flags, along with the warriors' flag, in crowds gesturingat people withtheir procession around the pavilion together, is drumsticks to come to the floor to dance. somewhat ironic on the political level, but In many Western tribes, the drum cannot is also a reminder of the ways in which begin playing until it has a certain number American Indians have survived culturally of people gathered around it. For example, by amalgamating a good many of their in- at Warm Springs Reservation the usual terests with those of the countries which number gathered around a drum is seven. have surrounded them. It also stands as a The drum carrier places it on the powwow symbolic cameo of the syncretic, amalga- floor and then sits there with his drum- mating force of the powwow itself. sticks, talking to two or three of his friends, After the opening "flag song," there is some of whom may also have decided to often an invocation or pipe ceremony, then drum and sing. Slowly other people from an "intertribal war dance," not a dance that the Warm Springs Reservation will come has anything to do with war, but a dance forward and converse briefly at the drum, whose steps are celeorative (which led early and over a period of perhaps an hour or white observers to assume that it was a more people will sit down and pick up a dance done only in the case of victory in drumstick, and tentatively make some light war). The first half-dozen dances or so are noises on the drum. When there are seven all of the intertribal "war dance" variety people gathered, the drum carrier, who is and are often referred to as "warm-up also the lead singer, will wait for a moment dances," because of their function in getting of silence from the other drums and then everyone into the festivities. begin, very quietly, a warm-up song. The Although each tribe has numerous spe-

57 American Indian Powwow 55 Crow Fair, August 1979 (MT9-MCZ6-5) Photo- graph by Michael Crum- If mett

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t -3 cial dances of its own, the powwow fea- seeming almost to float over the ground, for tures two kinds of dances which everyone their role in these dances is to symbolize the does, plus a few others which are done by dignity and the delicacy of the woman's po- smaller numbers of pa rtiLipants. The two sition in nature. Both men and women rec- most prevalent dances are the so-called ognize at least two kinds of war dances. For "war dance" and the "round dances." War the men, thereisthe so-called "fancy dancing is the kind of dance in which each clan. :"(a more contemporary stylein individual develops a particular dancing which the dancer wears an outfit festooned style based upon his or her regalia, some with feathers and fur that provide a stun- elements from his or her vision quest, or ning display of color and movement as the something related to family history. At the dance proceeds) and the "straight" or tra- same time, however, all of these dances, no ditional war dance (featuring older and matter how individualized they may be, are simpler styles of men's clothing, reminis- done to the same beat and have essentially cent of the dress of about two hundred the same footwork. The men are expected years ago). Fancy dancing derives mostly to dance energetically, and most of them from the Plains Indians but is done by vir- have noisemakers attached to their legs: tually all tribes who come to a powwow, es- sleighbells, various kinds of shells, and even pecially for competition, because of the large cowbells. The men's role in the war demanding footwork. In recent years, the Parade dance at the Crow dance is to maintain and extend the heavy straight-dance style has become popular Fair, August 1979. (MT9- pulse of the drum, which holds all people again, and in the contests in the larger pow- MC26-2) Photograph by together in dance. The women, on the other wows today, the traditional dancers have Michael S. Crummett hand, dance very lightly, some of the best increased to the point that they are, in some

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IL 4 cases, more numerous than the fancy dancers. Most of the women dance a style of war dance that would be called "traditional," both in outfit and in its dance step. Some of the younger teenage women, however, dance a fancy dance called the Shawl Vanessa Brown demon- Dance, in which a woman wears a large strating a women's fancy shawl with long fringes that wave back and dance to a pulsating rhythm by stepping to dance, the Shawl Dance. forth as she dances. The shawls of the the side and then bringing the feet together Photographs by Glen E. 1800s were buffalo hides; later, woolen again. The circle of dancers moving round Stringham blankets were used, and recently fringed and round, often in concentric circles when polyester has become popular. The foot- the crowd is large enough, represents the work is spectacular and the dance is so ath- bringing together of all people and is con- letic that hardly anyone over the age of sidered highly symbolic of the function of twenty does it. In all of these war dances, the powwow. For this reason, the round the individual dances without a definite dances are not done as often as the war partner, although one often sees small dances, for they are much more emotion- groups of women (often related to each ally and culturally charged (although they other) or groups of two or three men are certainly not as athletic as the other friends dancing together around the circle. dances). Round dances move in a sunwise The dancing usually moves in a clockwise direction, because they not only relate the or sunwise direction during a war dance, al- participants to each other but represent the though this can vary from one powwow to relationship of the dancers to the move- another. ments of the sun and the universe. The other most common kind of dance is Other popular dances from nearby tribes the round dance, sometimes called a friend- may also be done. For example, at the Flat- ship or unity dance, in which the dancers head Indian powwow at Arlee, Montana, and the spectators arrange themselves in a Indian people from Oklahoma may be huge circle side by side facing inward and asked to lead a dance called the "Okla-

G Folklife Annual 198758 homa Two-step." The lead couple, holding ported to the master of ceremonies, but hands, run around the arena followed by something like an eagle feather calls for an other dancers, also in couples. The lead ornate and serious ceremony. Naturally, couple may stop and dance in place, may there are regional and tribal variations on jump up and down, may run backwards, this ritual, but as it is typically seen in the may split off with men and women going in West, the Whip.manone of the chosen of- different directions to come together at an- ficials on the dance floorstands by the other part of the'pavilion, and so on, all to feather to make sure no one dances on it. the tune of a very rapid beat. All partici- After the conclusion of the dance in pro- pants must follow the actions of the lead gress, the lost feather is announced, and a couple, and usually the dance dissolves in Lost Feather dance is quickly arranged. It laughter as people begin tripping over each usually calls for the four best male dancers other and falling to the ground. to surround the feather and dance around it At any time an article of clothing from a and up to it almost as if they were hunting dancer's regalia is lost or dropped on the an animal. Just before they reach the floor, its return to the owner must be ritu- feather, the changing beat of the drums alized. Minor items such as a bell or a pair calls them back to the perimeters of their of glasses may simply be turned in or re- circle, and the hunting starts again. Finally,

Grand Entry at the 1983 Omaha powwow. The dancing of the women is characterized by dignity and grace. (FCPIO-DSL3- 13) Photograph by Doro- thy Sara Lee

61 after some minutes of dancing, one of the r. dancers (sometimes the person who actually noticed the feather first, but nearly always a war veteran in any case) dances up to the feather, picks it up and holds it over his head with a triumphant whoop, at which all dancers then circle the pavilion sunwise. The owner is asked to come forward and claim the feather, then narrate a story about how it was first obtained and what relationship it bears to the dancer's regalia or the dancer. The owner will often sing a song or play a drum to honor the person who found and recovered the precious feather. In some powwows, all lost objects are dealt with in this way, partly to show publicly that a missing item was not stolen or misused, and partly because it calls the loss to the attention of the owner who, in a large crowd, may not have noticed a part of regalia falling and might not have heard an announcement over the loudspeaker.

During any powwow, several honoring dances may be done which call attention to the survivors of calamities, to the anniversary of some well-known person's death, to the services and values of old people, orto graduates oflocalhigh schools and colleges. During an honoring dance, one drum is asked to play a slow war dance, and the person or persons being honored dance sunwise around the pavilion all alone. On the second time around, close friends and family members may join in behind, and as the dance continues all dancers A fall into place until the entire pavilion has become a parade. This is another example of the still-widespread Native American idea that dancing is far more than entertaining fun; rather, when we dance with other people, we place ourselves gesturally and symbolically into patterns that relate us to all people on a deeper level. The hosts of a powwow may begin a powwow with one of their own special dances by way of welcoming participants. Every eight or ten years, for example, at the Arlee (Montana) powwow, the Flathead people do their Snake Dance, which is a

62 Folk life Annual 1987.60 Spectators at the Omaha powwow, Macy, Nebraska, August 1983. (FCP1O- CF3A-13) Photograph by Carl Fleischhauer

Top left: Indians watching long processional dance beginning far out with their bodies bent over. In this part of the annual fair, Crow in the tipi village that surrounds the dance the dance, they represent the worm or the Agency, Montana, Septem- area, moves single-file through the tipis, cocoon of a butterfly, and later when the ber 1941. Photograph by and eventually arrives at the powwow dance's rhythm changes to something more Marion Post Wolcott. grounds. Only Flatheads take part in this (LCUSF34-S8810-E) Farm energetic, the girls begin doing a much Security Administration dance, and it is said to derive from a time in more active step. They throw their arms Collection, Library of Con- which a Flathead who had been bitten by and blankets back, using the blankets as if gress a snake was cured when the whole tribe they were wings, and whirl around in large Bottom left: Spectators at danced the snake's dance. Occasionally this circles celebrating the movement of nature the annual fair, Crow dance is done in celebration of the relation- from cocoon tobutterfly, and also, of Agency, Montana, Septem- ship between Flathead Indians and the course, symbolizing the movement of a ber 1941. Photograph by snakes (whose appearance and disappear- young girlto womanhood. The Hoop Marion Post Wolcott. ance during the year are also calendar signs Dance, once done mostly by the Southwest (LC USF34-58823-E) Farm indicating when certain stories may be told Security Administration Indians, has now been taken up by young Collection, Library of Con- or not told). The Warm Springs Indians men of many tribes, and may be done as an gress usually offer to do a Butterfly Dance, in exhibition. In this dance some five to seven which four to ten teenage girls dance in hoops less than one meter in diameter are a very limited step with their blankets placed on the ground in a row and the wrapped around their shoulders and heads dancer dances up to them, steps on their

American Indian Powwow61 G3 edges, and causes them to move up his legs nials members of these tribes will show a and around his body until finally all hoops few steps of the dance to spectators. are in use, whirling on the dancer's arms or It is clear that the Native American pow- forming patterns as he interlocks his arms wow selects those dances that people of dif- with them. ferent tribes can watch or learn and do to- The To lowa Indians in northern Califor- gether without intruding on each other's nia and southern Oregon do a Deer Dance, religious beliefs; and the special dances in which the dancers simply stand in a line from particular tribes are chosen so as to and bend rhythmically at the knees while minimize the possibility of misuse. This tes- small deer hooves attached to their cos- tifies to an ongoing sensitivity about the tumes click together in rhythm. The dance dance and its importance in the lives of the is done as an exhibition and only the To- people themselves. For fun, some powwow lowa do it. Such exhibition dances are only announcers will ask all Indians to leave the those that may be done away from home floor so the non-Indian visitors can be hon- ground and under more or less secular cir- ored by being taught the "Wanabee Dance" Below left: Luanna White beading buckskin chaps at cumstances. Almost all of these tribes have (afterward explained as a dance for those the Montana powwow, other sacred dances that must only be done who "wanabee" Indians). 1979, while ,lephews Todd at home (one thinks of the Yeibichei Dance Wilson and Steven White and the so-called Squaw Dance of the Nav- play and sleep ,learby. ajos, the Snake and Antelope ceremony of (MT9-MC23-16) Photo- the Hopis, or the Brush Dance and the graph by Michael S. Crum- mett White Deerskin Ceremony of the Hupa). t the same time the dancing occurs, These and many other tribal dances are tied other things of traditional but lesser impor- Below right: Near the tance are also taking place. For one thing, powwow arena, beads, deeply to certain areas of land, sacred jewelry, and Indian crafts spots, or particular villages, and they are food is prepared and sold around the pe- are offered for sale. Omaha considered very much in the nature of reli- riphery of the dancingespecially the fa- powwow, 1983. (FCP10- gious worship. For these reasons, such vorite Indian snack, fry-bread. This is made CF6-14) Photograph by dances are not normally done at powwows, by flattening a piece of bread dough into a Carl Fleischhauer although sometimes at intertribal ceremo- circle about the size of a small plate and

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64 Folklife Annual 1987 62 dropping it into boiling fat or grease. This hall, videogame parlor, or "dragging" the bread was not an original staple of the main street of a large city for the same pur- American Indians, but it is one of the ways pose. In fact, unlike white teenagers in these in which Indians learned to make food with circumstances, the Indian young people are Below right: A stick game the flour given to them by the government usually at the powwow with their parents. tournament held at the in payment for some of their lands. Since Probably the most interesting peripheral 1987 Mee Powwow on much of the flour was infested with worms the Flathead Reservation in activity going on during the dance, from the Arlee, Montana. The three and insects, the Indians needed to find both Indian point of view, is the stick game, a men Jeff) constitute one a way to cook it and a way to kill its various form of gambling in which two teams face team and face the opposing passengers. Today, of course, fry-bread is each -other in parallel rows and try to guess team across a space where made with regular commercial flour, but it which of two marked bones a person on the the money bet on the game has become not only a treat but a reminis- opposite team has hidden in which hand. It lies on the ground. The man in the brown jacket cence of the days of early subjugation to the is a complicated game (sometimes the at- (middle) is hiding game whites. Also around the periphery of the tempt is to guess which hand holds an un- pieces in his hands, and a powwow arena there will be booths dis- marked piece) and it goes on incessantly member of the opposing playing beads, jewelry, furs, and any num- during some powwows with a good deal of team tries to guess which ber of arts and crafts which Indian people money being bet on whether this or that hand holds the unmarked have brought with them to offer in tra44 or piece. The hiding team Ls team can guess properly. If the powwow is singing a song believed to sale to other Indians (or to non-Indian spec- of more than one day's duration and held in have the power to confuse ators). Teenagers t ieet, talk, and flirt. Cir- a building, it often happens that the stick the other team so that they culating on theINriphery of the dancing game will be interrupted at midnight'or 1 guess incorrectly. The name area in order to look for or initiate roman- A.M. by the closing of the building. When of the game derives from tic liaisons is called "snaggin'," and late this occurs while a game is still in progress, the sticks that are stuck m the ground to keep score. night attempts to visit a person so con- an honest-looking bystander will be asked (FCP-OS-87-ES-16-38) tacted is referred to jokingly as "teepee- to take on the job of guarding the money Photograph by Edwin creeping"though this activity should not which has already been wagered. It is care- Schupinan, Jr. American be taken as an indication that Indian youths fully counted, tied up in a cloth bundle, and Folk life Center, Library of are any more promiscuous than their white handed over to the chosen person, often a Congress counterparts who may use the teen dance total stranger, who is ordered to be back

Mi with it the following evening in time for the dancing, for example, is judged by other game to resume. Native American women who look for cer- All activities of the powwow work to tain highly valued abilities that relate to In- foster unity, and the idea of competition dian custom: authenticity of outfit, delicacy among American Indians is quite different and style of footwork in the dance, and from that found among most Americans of knowledge of the dance tune (indicated by European background, who have developed stopping precisely when the singing stops). a culture in which the individual is expected Similarly, in the men's traditional dancing, to move away from home and make a suc- the dancers are judged on their knowledge cess in the world by competing with others. of the songs, the authenticity of costume, The tribal system subscribed to by most and the forcefulness with which they por- American Indian groups is in almost total tray the vision of the animal or process they contrast to this model. Children are never are symbolizing in their dance. This encour- left alone (a vision quest sometime between ages the cultural interests of those younger the ages of thirteen and eighteen may be the dancers who aspire to do the traditional first time a young person has ever been dance steps and makes it necessary for them alone except for toilet functions). Families to learn the traditions thoroughly before tend to live together in limited space with they dare place themselves in competition. many people to a room, and the tribal idea Thus, from the Indian point of view, it is the of reciprocation and sharing, which once strengthening of tradition rather than the was responsible for the very survival of competition for money, trophies, or per- people in a hunting and gathering culture, sonal acclaim that is the central feature of is still very much proclaimed as a virtue. the powwow. Certain kinds of competition are allowed, but they are usually in the form of games, and even at that the games are often constructed so that there is no clear winner. Foot races, for example, often pair a very In the fancy dancing, there is an even young person with a very old person, and greater obligation to know the songs, for both are described as running "with the the dances are faster and the dancers are sun." In other tribes certain games like stick dancing so energetically that it is very diffi- ball or other sports are fiercely competitive, cult to stop. During the competitive fancy while everyday life, especially ritual life, is dancing, the drummers will try to trick the entirely cooperative and reciprocal. dancers by stopping suddenly in the middle One function of competition at the pow- of a song. The drum, however, can stop wow is to attract good dancers. If the best only at certain traditional places, where it is dancers have a chance of winning money well-known that they have come to the end (which will enable them to cover the cost of of a particular musical phrase. Normally, their transportation), they are more likely the song might go on at this point, but the to attend. If everyone realizes that there will drum has the option of stopping it momen- be some fine dancers at the powwow, it is tarily and then starting up. When the drum- more likely that everyone will want to at- ming and singing stop, the best of the tend. The competition among Indian danc- dancers will also be ready to stop on that ers also has the advantage of interesting the same beat. Any dancer who does not stop surrounding white community, who may will call attention to himself by taking an- not understand the real cultural reasons for other step which can be heard because of the powwow but can appreciate the danc- his bells. Through such trick stops as these, ing, and who understand very well the no- the less proficient dancers are eliminated tion of competition. A good competition from competition and the best of the fancy will draw enough spectators to provide the dancers remain. Obviously, even though money to pay the expenses of the powwow. part of the judgment is made on how ener- Within this competition, however, there are getically and how well they can perform the some distinctly Indian values. The women's dance steps, only the ones who know the

6 6 FolklifeAnnual 198764 Dance competition at the 1983 Omaha powwow. Above: (FCP/O-CF11-5) Photograph by Carl Fleisch- hatter. Right: (FCP/O- DSLS-6) Photograph by Dorothy Sara Lee

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.4e -gMMNII" songs and the song traditions thoroughly tribes to be a witch. Thus the tendency is can possibly remain in competition until not to keep money and goods but to redis- the end. Again, the stress is on the knowl- tribute one's own belongings as far as pos- edge of tradition more than on competi- sible. The powwow provides a continually tion. In addition to this, those who win the functional context where this may be done top prizes and are given money awards openly. (which may range from $50 to $1,500) al- Vety often, as concentric circles of round most always share their money with the dancers move around the powwow pavil- other competitors aid with the drums. This ion, people shake hands with others who redistribution of prize money is a standard are passing in the other line, whooping feature of Indian concepts about competi- loudly as they do so. One often sees the tion and selfishness: anyone who gains whooping or yelling directed at a non- riches or power by his own competitive Indian who seems to be dancing for the first means and does not share them with his time. If the person smiles and whoops back. family and friends is thought by many this is greeted by whooping from all pres-

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66 Folk life Annual 1987 66 t

i 1,f' Parents dressing their children for the Omaha powwow, 1983. (FCP/O-CF2-8) Photograph by Carl Fleisch- hauer

ent, but if the outsider seems embarrassed round dance formation around the entire and looks away in confusion, another In- arena side by side, perhaps only four or five dian will reach out and try to shake hands. people alone in the entire area. Then, one The idea here is not to embarrass outsiders by one, other members of their families, but to force them to become participants, to friends, and even people who have never enclose them within the same circle. Most met them before will move out and join the visitors to a powwow find this an extremely dancing until the entire arena is full of con- warming custom. centric circles. Usually at this point the fam- The concept of dancing with people as a ily who has asked for " permission" to be symbol of supporting them or agreeing with reabsorbed in the tribal systehl is in tears them extends to a number of very impor- because of the powerful symbolic meaning tant events in the lives of Indian people. For of this action. example, at some powwows there will be a It is also the custom when someone in the special dance in which a young son who has immediate family has recently died for rel- come of age and who is about to go off to atives not to participate in the dancing of school dances around the arena with his fa- the powwow, or even to attend. But after a ther. On the last time around they dance year has gone by, a memorial dance may be down the middle until they reach the half- held, often combined with a powwow, in way point; then they turn and dance in which the deceased person is praised, and opposite directions. At this point, both his or her relatives dance in commemora- dancers and their families are often in tears, tion of the person. Often a younger person for the dance symbolizes the separation of The annual fair, Crow in the family will wear some of the tradi- Agency, Montana, Septem- father and son as the son moves away from tional clothing that once belonged to the ber 1941. The powwow the reservation area. Similarly, when middle- deceased, or on other occasions items be- provides a context within aged people move back to the reservation longing to the deceased will be displayed in which parents may teach from the cities, as is often the case, they a processional. their children the expres- may request that the master of ceremonies sive forms of traditional In- dian life. Photograph by at a powwow ask the people for "permis- Marion Post Wolcott. sion" for them to move back. Actually, they (LCUSF34-58819-E) Farm need no permission, but they are looking Security Administration for the emotional and cultural support of he powwow in its current form is an Collection, Library of Con- their people. Such a couple, along with outgrowth of earlier social dances held by gress their children, may then dance alone in a almost all tribes for their friends and allies.

6 ,.9 American Indian Powwow67 Dance contestants leave the As far back as the written histories of the causes trouble), the importance of the fam- arena at the end of an Europeans in America go, there are good ily as a unit, all are seen by Native Ameri- afternoon session, 1983 records ,-,f such occasions being held regu- cans as promoting stability, while the ab- Omaha powwow, Macy, larly. The difference today is that these sence of these factors is seen as erosive and Nebraska. (FCPIO-CF12- dances are held for all tribes and not just for corrosive to Native American culture. The 20) Photograph by Carl allies. That is, they provide for the expres- Fleischhauer. powwow, with all of its dancing patterns sion of a a mmon interest now felt by vir- and reciprocal modes of operation, pro- tually all tribes who see themselves as living vides a living model of tribal attitudes; it in a surrounded territory. Thus the inter- can be planned and integrated into the tribal connections brought about and nur- everyday lives of Indian people without en- tured by powwow dancing are of political dangering their livelihoods or their survival as well as ethnic importance for Native in a sometimes hazardous and aggressive Americans. Often, powwows are also the world. occasions for discussions by Native Ameri- There is of course a certain amount of cans as they develop political and legal nostalgia for an older way of life, and the ways in which to survive in the modern widespread use of the tipi at the larger out- world. The stress on intertribally shared indoor encampments is one way of recaptur- terests over tribal differences that might ing this older way. But Indians acknowl- have existed from ancient times isex- edge today that the old way has indeed pressed vividly in the powwow. Thus, even changed forever and that to survive they though the political interests discussed at must now combine aspects of their older powwows are quite modern, the use of the customs with realities of the world in which dance as symbolic of intertribal reciproca- they live. No one believes, in other words, tion and cooperation is certainly testimony that the Europeans will move back to Eu- to the ongoing function of older modes of rope and the Indians back to tipis. None- thought and expression. theless, no one believes that an Indian needs The powwow also provides a living con- to stop being an Indian in order to live in text in which young people learn older pat- his own country. Thus, while most Indians terns and experience a tremendous range of take jobs when they can in the American expressions based on worldview assump- economy, and most have adopted generally tions that remain important to Indian American styles of clothing for everyday people. In addition, the process takes place life, what they have done on the other hand in concert with the whole family and tribe; is to intensify and solidify the occasions on the model provided at a powwow is an which they can celebrate the continued ex- idealized model of cultural and ethnic sta- istence of Indian ways of life at home. Since bility that for many American Indians is taking a job or going to school often neces- one of the few ways to combat the instabil- sitates leaving one's family, thus setting up ity, erosion, and conflict brought about in an instability in the tribal system, the pow- their cultural lives by the European inva- wow functions as a way of bringing people sion. symbolically back together for the encour- During the powwow there is a conscious agement and nurturing of their ethnic lives nurturing and intensification of generally and their continued existence as a people. shared tribal attitudes that exist outside In this sense, the new way of life does not language and ritual, as well as a deference entirely replace the old; the old survives by to the cultural differences which still exist adapting and intensifying. The powwow is among the various tribes. Such ideas as cir- one dynamic example of how ethnic selec- cularity, time as an outgrowth of the event tion and intensification function to preserve (rather than vice versa), models of recipro- cultural values even under the most try- cation, competition within culturally ac- ing circumstances. Clearly, the "Vanishing ceptable and meaningful contexts (a way Americans" of popular belief have not van- of controlling a white idea that otherwise ished; they're still dancing.

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:` 5. 45, 5* p 'VA", citAhr.lr TN at 1.4 " 9 I 'et . 5 5 455 5 Li, 'si' * A-4 41 Celebration Native Events in Eastern Canada

BY MICHAEL SAM CRONK, with BEVERLEY CAVANAGH and FRANZISKA VON ROSEN

very summer Native people come together at regional powwows and festivals to express their cultural heritage through music and dance. These events are opportunities to socialize and to celebrate with other Native nations, and for non-Native audiences to share this experience. Three of the larger regional events are the Grand River "Champion of Champions" powwow in southern Ontario; the Micmac summer games in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; and the Innu Nikamu festival in northern Quebec. Each is a unique annual gathering featuring Native music and dance, bringing people together from many nations. Attheseevents,twocentralideas emerge: the continued importance of music and dance for Native cultural expression, and the diversity ;:s well as unity of Native traditions throughout this region. The continuity and innovation of the events reflect Traditional Micmac the vitality of these traditions. irkinagn (slapstick). Photograph by M. S. Cronk Copyright 0 1988 Michael Sam Cronk, Beverley Ca- vanagh, and Franziska von Rosen

Folk life Annual 198770 72 . 4 - Since the early 1970s, competition used in different ways; its meaning still var- powwows have become increasingly popu- ies across eastern Canada. Possibly, it orig- lar throughout central and western Canada inated among New England Algonquian and the United States. Almost every week- tribes, where a "powwow" was a "man of end from late March through September, power" or "shaman." In Ontario during dancers and drummers from across North the nineteenth century, the word was used America travel to Native reserves, urban to describe events ranging from religious centers, and university campuses to take processions blending Roman Catholic and part in local and regional powwows. Each Native traditions to special performances year more get-togethers are added to the of music and dance for Native and non- powwow circuits. Native audiences.' Currently, in Quebec Historically the word powwow has been and the Maritimes, powwows may com-

Right: Traditional dancer at the Champion of Cham- pions Powwow at the Six '3:71e"."-...4111ft. Nations reserve in southern Ontario, July 1986. in the background is the dance arbor. Photograph by M. S. Cronk Far right: Getting ready for the Champion of Champi- ons Powwow, July 1986. Photograph by M.S. Cronk

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Folklife Annual 198772 74

"Great Law," codes structuring a complex system of religious, political, and social practices. The powwow developed out of earlier dance shows and rodeos sponsored during the summer by the Six Nations singing societies, which are social "mutual aid" organizations.3 Powwows are not part of traditional Iro- quoian culture, though in some ways they complement Longhouse beliefs; their focal elements, music and dance, celebrate the physical and spiritual worlds around us in ways comparable with Iroquoian social music. But the introduction of powwows to Iroquoian communities has created tension among more conservative Longhouse people, since the events involve competitions for prizes. Longhouse beliefs stress that the ability to sing and dance is "a gift from the Creator," to be used for the benefit of the community rather than for personal gain. But many singers and dancers say that winning the competitions is secondary; the success of a powwow is really determined by the "good feeling" generated through friendship, respect, pride in one's self, and pride in "being Indian." People join together to celebrate their collective heritage, creating unity among nations rather than weaken- Craft tables at the Cham- bine music and dance, games, feasts, and ing traditional Iroquoian beliefs. pion of Champions Pow- fireworks. The powwow is held at Chiefswood Park wow, July 1986. Contemporary competition powwows in by the Grand River during the last weekend Photograph by M. S. Cronk Ontario are a blend of dancing, singing, of July. Weeks in advance, the powwow and drumming. They include sports events, committee prepares the grounds. A dance community and cultural displays, and food arbor is set up toward the center of the and craft booths; but at the center of the clearing, sheltering drums and sound equip- gathering is the large social drum, consid- ment. Dancers compete in the area directly ered by many as the heartbeat of the Ani- surrounding the arbor, roped off from the sinabek nations, or "first people" of North audience. Food and craft booths line the America.2 Every participant, every activity field. seems to revolve around and move to the sound of these "big drums." Champion of Champions powwow originated in 1979, rapidly becoming a fa- People arrive early that weekend to set vorite among powwow singers and danc- up their booths, get ready for the competi- ers. It is hosted by members of the Six tions, or find a good seat near the arbor. Nations Reserve, an Iroquoian community The powwow officially begins around noon, near Brantford, Ontario. There are approx- with a ceremony raising both Canadian and imately seven thousand band members at American flags and the Grand Entry pa- Six Nations; most follow either Christian rade; all dancers take part in this proces- or traditional Longhouse Iroquoian beliefs, sion, led by veterans from Six Nations. based on theGai'wiio(or "Good Message" Next, a special flag dance honors all Native of Seneca prophet Handsome Lake) and the veterans. Then, a community elder from Six

Folklife Annual 198774 76 Nations says the Ganohonyon, or Iro- firming their strong connection with the quoian "Thanksgiving Address," a formal natural and spiritual worlds. speech thanking the Creator for all those There are many other dance categories at things provided to us.4 After welcoming a powwow, each distinguished by costume speeches by the powwow committee, the and step. Men fancy dancers wear bright, afternoon continues with a mixture of com- multicolored outfits, with two bustles at the petitions and intertribal dances, in which back and color-coordinated beadwork, leg- the audience sometimes participates. Un- gings, hair roaches, and moccasins. Theie like a number of powwows organized by innovative dancing style is characterized by Algonquian communities, there are no sun- energetic splits, spins, and jumps, all in time rise ceremonies or pipe ceremonies at Grand with the drumbeat. River, since these are not part of Iroquoian Women traditional dancers usually wear traditions. cloth or buckskin outfits, beaded mocca- At powwows, people generally dance in sins, belts, hair ornaments, and necklaces. a clockwise circle, the direction that the sun They often carry feather fans and brightly follows. Among many Algonquian nations, colored shawls, decorated with fringes, this is the direction that all living things are beadwork, and embroidered or quilted 3e- believed to travel. This contrasts, however, signs. Their dancing is comparatively re- with Iroquoian beliefs; at Longhouse "so- strained; usually, their feet barely leave the cials," people dance in a counterclockwise ground, which physically expresses a per- circuit, which for them is the direction of sonal connection to the earth itself. Women life. The direction you move depends on the fancy-shawl dancers often wear brightly kind and context of the dance itself. colored dresses, shawls, and moccasins Drummers, dancers, and their families elaborately decorated with beads and se- from many nations join in at Grand River; quins. Like the men fancy dancers, their some come from Alberta and the western dancing style is faster and more energetic. provinces, others from North Dakota, Ari- In the summer of 1987, a women's jingle zona, and Oklahoma. Their dance outfits dress competition was added. In this tradi- and singing and dance styles reflect a wide tion, the women's dresses are decorated range of traditions. For example, the men's with rows of small metal cones (or "jin- traditional dance* outfits vary considerably. gles"), which create a beautiful sound as All wear moccasins, buckskin or cloth leg- they move. gings, and breechcloths, but there is much Competitions last from noon until late innovation and individuality, particularly evening. Dancers are judged primarily on in the feather headdresses or hair roaches their poise, stamina, constant movement, they wear, the ribbons, beads, or quill- and respect for the drum and for each other. work decorating their outfits, and the large They must dance in time with the drum- feather bustles.5 Some Iroquoian dancers beat, stopping exactly when the song ends, combine traditional Houdenosaunee6 and and must withdraw from the competition if powwow outfit styles, wearing a gustoweh they drop part of their outfit. It takes con- (Iroquoian headdress) rather than Plains siderable experience and skill to become a style hair roaches, or deer dewclaw garters champion powwow dancer. instead of the more common bell garters Drums (the term refers both to the instru- around their legs. ment and the group) are also judged on Some traditional dancers are thought to their professionalism, repertoire, perform- borrow from the actions of birds and ani- ance ability, and respect for the drum. mals. As they move, they are transformed, Drummers at these events are always male, taking on the characteristics of the animals. although sometimes women singers join Dancing is a way of expressing and af- them, standing behind the men as they sing. The instruments may be either handmade *Throughout this article the dances men's tradi- or commercially produced bass drums. The tional, women's traditional, men's fancy, and women's former consist of round wooden frames fancy shawl referto specialized powwow dance genres. varying in height and diameter according to

77 Celebration 75 each drum maker; there are usually two drum heads (or membranes), often made from cowhide, which are lashed to the Several Iroquoian drums compete at frame. Drums may be suspended from a this and other powwows. Many of these four-cornered drum stand, or they may rest groups are fairly new, forming within the on a blanket placed on the ground. Drum last four years. Most Iroquoian drummers frames, heads, and stands are often deco- are Longhouse people. They retain their rated with a group's name or other designs traditional beliefs, language and culture, but of considerable symbolic importance! they also enjoy getting together and singing There are different styles of powwow powwow songs. Although powwows are singing. Groups from Ontario often per- not part of Iroquoian traditions, these sing- form in a Northern Plains style, character- ers clearly express their respect for the "big ized by a high, tense, heavily pulsated voice. drum," and for the event itself. The lead singer begins, with other drum- Musically, their singing styles are similar Singers from the Treaty of mers taking up and extending the song, to non-Iroquoian groups, yet these groups 1794 (Iroquoian) drum usually repeatingitfour times through are unique in several ways. Iroquoian sing- group perform at Dorsey- (thoughthisvariesamongdifferent ers almost exclusively use commercially ville, Pennsylvania, Septem- groups). During the last repeat, the steady made drums, adapted and decorated with ber 1986. Photograph by rhythm of the drum becomes faster and Iroquoian designs (such as wampum belts, M. S. Cronk louder, and the dancing more intense. or the "tree of peace"). Additionally, few of these groups create their own powwow songs, developing their repertoire instead from commercially released tapes or recordings from other powwows. The more powwows you attend, the easier it becomes to identify where participants are from, by their singing styles, outfits, dance steps, or the drums they use. On Saturday night, after competitions end, Iroquoian singers(both men and women) get together and socialize; not only the drummers, but dancers, judges, members of the audience join ineveryone who knows Iroquois social dances. Significantly, this music is not used for competition at this powwow, though Iroquois dance competitions have been introduced in New York State. The Iroquoian social dances vary considerably from powwow songs. They are performed at a lower pitch, with a more relaxed vocal style (less of the throbbing or pulsating sound that characterizes powwow music). The lead singer plays a water drum, a small wooden or plastic keg with a single leather head. The drum contains a small amount of water, which tunes the head and helps create a loud ringing sound. (If a water drum is not available, however, some singers have used the "big drum" at these events.) Other singers play cow horn rattles, made from a section of horn filled with pebbles or shot. There are thirty or

Folk life Annual 1987 76 78 r'- ot+ t rC

Micmac dancers at the more social dance sets, each with a distinc- honyon,Iroquois social dancing, and the Summer Games, Cam- tive melody and step. Some, like the es- omission of pipe and sunrise ceremonies. bridge, Nova Scotia, July kanye, or "women's shuffle dance," are tra- This powwow does not submerge regional 1986. Photograph by F. ditionally Iroquoian; others, like the Rabbit traditions and values; instead, it is a vehicle von Rosen or Round dances, have been borrowed and that allows different nations to express a adapted from western nations. common bond as Ongwehonive, or "real Competitions end Sunday evening with people/first people" of North America. an awards presentation, when cash prizes and trophies are presented. The powwow concludes with a final victory dance, honoring all contest winners. Powwows have often been described as pan-Indian events, suggesting that Native he search for a Native/Micmac/Mali- music and traditions are blended almost in- sect identity has taken many forms in the separably into one, unified pan-Indian cul- Maritimes. Unlike the Iroquois and Ojibwe ture. Although the Champion of Cham- nations from Ontario, the Wabanaki nation pions powwow is an integrative force, it is (including the Micmacs, Maliseets, Penob- clearly more appropriate to describe it as an scots, and Passamaquoddy) has lost many intertribal (rather than pail-Indian) gather- of its traditional cultural teachings, partic- ing. Of course each powwow is different ularly with regard to ceremonies, rituals, from every other, influenced by different or- songs, and dances. ganizers, participants, and settings. The The search for identity has become, for Champion of champions powwow is in the most part, an individual quest. For turn shaped Longhouse Iroquoian tradi- some who call themselves traditionalists, tionsthrough, for example, the Gano- this has meant learning from Native elders

79 Celebration 77 in Alberta, North and South Dakota, and into three categories: sports events, with elsewhere, and bringing back diverse teach- softball heading the list; social events such ings about the "big drum," pipe ceremo- as bingo, a "Princess pageant," and a con- nies, and the sweat lodge. For others, cert and dance; and the "o'l pasn games," particularly the Maliseets,it has meant including Micmac dancecompetitions, searching in Maine and along the eastern chanting, wakes games, a sweat lodge, pipe seaboard for elders who still remember Wa- ceremonies, and an outdoor mass in the banaki songs and dances. Other groups, in- "cultural village" (a small area set aside for clud;ne the dance troupes, search within these games on the reserve, designated as their own communities for the few remain- drug and alcohol free). ing elders who have some memory of tradi- A drum, the Birch Creek Singers (traditional Micmac songs and dances. tionalists following western Native teach- Powwows (whether traditional or com- ings), and a dance group, the Micmac petition) are not part of Native cultural Dancers (Christians with a Micmac social expression in the Maritime provinces. Oc- dance repertoire), performed together in casionally, an event (or part of an event) is the opening and closing ceremonies in the called a powwow, but this usually refers cultural village. Teepees were set Eir) in the more to the fact that at some point, the "big area, and the drummers and their families drum" will be played. Recently, some of the stayed there. Although the "big drum" is traditional drummers have considered or- not part of the Wabanaki tradition, it plays ganizing a "real" powwow in the Mari- a part in the current cultural revival and is times, but to date this has not happened. used when singing intertribal as well as Wa- Instead, in the east, the most popular banaki songs. At the Cambridge games, the forum for the expression of Native identity singers performed Micmac songs during the is the annual round of summer games and official ceremonies, but switched mainly to gatherings. Traditional gatherings are held "intertribals" as well as a few Iroquoian so- seasonally, most popularly in the spring and cial dances for informal events. fall. The summer games, held annually The song repertoire of the Birch Creek since 1972, are usually held in July, because Singers reflects the different influences that in August many Micmacs and Maliseets have helped to shape the individual singer's take part in the annual blueberry harvest in concepts of Native/Micmac identity. The Maine. current group (all male) was formed in 1985. Previously, a former lead singer preferred Wabanaki songs. The current lead singer prefers western style powwow songs (though he was born in Cape Breton, Nova he summer games provide a way to Scotia, and his father knew Micmac songs). bring Christians and traditionaliststo- Now, whenever the group is without their gether for a few days of fun and competi- lead singer, they perform mainly Wabanaki tion. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, songspossibly, as the lead singer sug- reserves take turns hosting the games. Prep- gests, because they have difficulty singing arations such as advertising, fund raising, the high-pitched powwow songs. Whatever and grounds maintenance begin a year in the reason, the drum's repertoire is cer- advance. Until recently, the main emphasis tainly not limited to pan-Indian songs. at these games has been athletic competi- In the east, as in Ontario, women singers tions. This is gradually changing, however, do not usually sit at the "big drum." They as more cultural events such as "eel skin- occasionally stand behind the drummers ning," "tea boiling," Micmac dance com- and sing with them. With regard to the petitions, and wakes games (a traditional dance troupes, however, it is the women social gambling game) are included in the who are usually the drummers, singers, and program.8 dancers. These women have learned the tra- Activities at the summer games in Cam- ditional songs and dances from Micmac el- bridge, Nova Scotia, in 1986 were divided ders and are now reintegrating this music

60 Folklife Annual 198778 into their communities through perform- used by drums such athe Birch Creek ances at schools, conferences, and the sum- Singers is often made by the singers them- mer games. The Micmac dancers who per- selves, sometimes with the aid of drum formed in Cambridge are a group of women makers from other nations (such as the and children from Eskasoni Reserve, Nova Ojibwe). Many of the horn rattles used by Scotia.' The women make the traditional both drummers and dancers are of Iro- Micmac costumes and teach children the quoian origin. dances. The response of the audience (which for At the Cambridge summer games, the the most part was Native) to both drum- opening welcome dance was performed mers and dancers was warm and enthusias- by both drummers and the dance group. tic. Yet when invited to join in and dance Dancers moved clockwise around the "big around the drum, very few people re- drum," using a soft toe-heel step (three sponded. At gatherings where mainly tra- steps forward and two back). Other dances ditionalists take part, most people do join included the game dance, the feather dance, in. But here at the games, where the "big and the Native dance (also called the Mic- drum" and the dance troupes are relatively mac dance). The latter is a favorite among new additions, the majority of people pre- the dancers; it has a fast tempo and an en- fer to stand back and listen. ergetic dance stepwith two steps forward The broad and constantly changing spec- and one back, first with the right foot, and trum of events that shape the summer then with the left. Micmac social dances games in this region reveals the struggle and performed during the opening ceremonies tensions, as well as the strength and com- have a certain similarity to Iroquoian social monality, that define the search for Native songs, both in the general dance step and in identity among these people. Despite the di- the vocal style.'° versity of contemporary beliefs and ways, The two instruments usually played by they are able to come together for en- the dance groups are the ii'kmaqn (a type joyment, friendship, and competition. In of slapstick made of pounded ash) and a bringing together eastern and western Na- double-headed frame drum; both are made tive song and dance styles, Christian and Waltes game being played locally. Although one or two drum makers Native ceremonies, Native and non-Native at the 1987 summer games. are always identified, other people do make participants, these games contribute to a Photograph by Freinziska their own, handing them down from one sense of community and mutual respect von Rosen family member to another. The "big drum" that is at the heart of Native teachings.

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Dance performance at La Fête de la famille abenak- ise, Quebec 1986. Photo- In Quebec and Labrador, Indian identity In most Quebec and Labrador commu- graph by B. A. Cavanagh is again defined and presented differently at nities, the majority of people are Roman intertribal events. For the Naskapi, Mon- Catholic.However,theadaptationof tagnais, Eastern Cree, and Attikamek na- Christian traditions and, in the case of the tions, identity is virtually inseparable from Montagnais, the distinctiveness of their lan- one's Native language. People often speak guage ensures that this borrowing of a Eu- proudly about the fact that in these areas ropean religion is considered to be a part of virtually everyone, young and old, is fluent their Indian identity. Few people express in his or her own tongue; many also speak any sense of conflict between Christian French. The Huron community at Lorette- and indigenous religious traditions; for ex- ville, Quebec, or the western Abenaki of ample, a mass is consistently scheduled at Odanak, on the other hand, are more simi- intertribal gatherings. So when people from lar to the Micmac, since many of their cul- various nations in Quebec and Labrador tural traditions (including language) were meet at intertribal events, they celebrate lost and are now being retaught with the as- not only their common heritage as Native sistance of elders and community-run insti- people but also the richness and variety of tutions such as museums. their traditions. To some extent, this is like

82 Folklife Annual 198780 the Grand River powwow or Micmac sum- music known here .. . the native element is mer games, where many traditions are en- the rhythm. And also the message of the joyed. Unlike the powwow, however, many artists in their songs. I think that is also dif- new songs (especially within the Montag- ferent. nais community) are created in a variety of popular styles. Traditional songs from this area are hard to describe as "artifacts," because the singer/drummer responds to the situation at As in Ontario and the Maritimes, in- hand, performing slightlydifferently on tertribal events are called by many names. each occasion." One can therefore speak The word powwow is used, though less fre- about different styles of singing more easily quently than in Ontario and areas further than different styles of songs. Each region west. In Quebec, it refers to a multifaceted has a distinctive voice, a unique style of community event, unlike those dance com- nikuman (song), however, and these are petitions featuring the "big drum."" Some easily recognized by those who know the celebrations (or parts of celebrations) are tradition. Cree singers, for example, speak also called by the Algonquian term moku- of a high and low section within the song, shan. While this traditionally refers to a sa- whereas Montagnais nikumana sometimes cred ritual associated with caribou hunting, move within a low register. It takes a lot of the spiritual connotations are not overt at listening to begin to observe the subtle dif- contemporary gatherings. ferences between each community's singing French names such as fete are sometimes style. considered appropriate. With some excep- One singer/organizer of the Innu Nikamu tions, a fete usually has a strong association festival expressed his appreciation for these with Christian celebrations; hence the "Fête di ffert ;ices, saying: Montagnaise" at Betsiamites, Quebec, co- incides with the Feast of the Assumption on Each musician has his own talent to make August 15. Finally, the English name "gath- worth something. It doesn't matter where ering" has been used since 1985 in Labra- he comes from or what style of music he dor; it refers to a week-long retreat "in the does....Each musician has his music for country" where "town-dwellers" may learn himself, no matter if he sings the song of someone else. I think that there is a person- traditional Native ways from their elders ality in each musician, in each music. Sev- and where Catholic services coexist with eral musicians can do the same song but it traditional events such as drum dancing. is different each time. For Native events in Quebec, then, as with the summer games and the Grand Perhaps the emphasis on individual song River powwow, the term pan-Indian is not style is like the emphasis on distinctive cos- appropriate. Not only do intertribal events tumes or dance moves at a powwow. On the contain widely different types of music, but other hand, all the musical styles in the different events have their own distinctive widespread Montagnais/Naskapi /Eastern profile. Cree dialects share certain features. For ex- When a group at Sept Iles/Maliotenam ample, both traditional and contemporary decided to organize a major festival in Montagnais folksongs are regarded as truly 1985, they selected a Montagnais name, in Montagnais, because the rhythm and mean- this case one of their own creation: "Innu ing of the texts for both styles are distinc- Nikamu" (The Indian Sings). In many ways tively Montagnais. As Florant "Ty Ty" Vol- Innu Nikamu isthe most experimental lant, one of the most popular singers in event among Native communities in Que- Maliotenam, said: bec, incorporating the broadest range of traditions of all the intercommunity and in- [The difference in the music].. .it is the tertribal gatherings. language. The language is very strong. This four-day festival, held in early Au- There is also an uncertain rhythm in the gust, brings together several thousand Na-

Celebration81 tive people (estimates ranged from three to is suspended for Montagnais traditional ten thousand in 1986), largely from Quebec performances. and Labrador. To an outsider, it appears to Four large fires (to the north, south, east, borrow elements of the American folk fes- and west of the site) are prepared in ad- tival, rock concert, and Christian holiday. vance of each evening concert andlit The event is seen primarily as a way of around dusk. In August 1986 concerts drawing people together, although it is not lasted from 6 P.M. until midnight. They be- without some controversial aspects. Some gan with a traditional performanceeither people dislike its structured schedule, claim- one or moreteueikanplayers, or an unac- ing that it is organized "with the mentality companied Abenaki singerwhich served of whites." as a gesture of respect for the elders, and as a kind of opening prayer. People danced spontaneously during the drum performances; moving in the customary counterclockwise circle, both men and women did he site for the festival is a large open themakushantstep (two small steps in a field opposite one of the two schools in Ma- rhythm, with a knee bend on each =). People liotenam. A stage, facing east, is erected for sometimes say that this step recreates the the festival's duration; it is raised about six tracks that one sees on the hunt. Once feet above the ground, and hence is a dis- again, as at the powwows, the dancers ex- tinctly separate area. The performers and press a "transformation," or link with ani- audience are set apart to a large extent, as mals. they are at a concert. Nevertheless, listeners Each concert served a slightly different sometimes form dance circles immediately purpose. Although all the evening pro- below the stage or to one side of it, dancing grams appeared to encompass several types to both traditional and contemporary sing- of music, the feeling at each performance er/drummers. The only traditional element was different. At the first concert, people of the stage area is the central ridgepole, at celebrated musicians from their midst; at right angles to the audience, from which the others, they welcomed those from other teueikan(a single-membrane frame drum) communities. The third performance (which

Craft demonstration at La Fête de la famille abenak- ise, Quebec 1986. Photo- graph by B. A. Cavanagh

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84 Folklife Annual 198782 Real Vollant, on guitar, received the greatest hype as "la creme de la while the afternoon was left open fo. un- and his "folk" group per- crème") featured Native recording artists scheduled performances. forming at the InnuNik- from Ottawa, Montreal, and other large The traditional drum, the teueikan, was amu festival, Maliotenam, cities. Slicker orchestral arrangements and a visible symbol for the event. It figured Quebec, August 1986. a greater array of mainstream pop idioms prominently in the festival logo, which con- Photograph by B. A. Ca- vanagh characterized much of the program. To a sisted of a fire-rimmed drum with a guitar large extent, however, the energy of the pre- overlaid, the latter merging with the body vious concerts was not regained, perhaps of a goose. A large, red-rimmed teueikan because, as one singer said, "the heart is was used by traditional drummers Jean- with the people who have contact with the Baptiste Jean-Pierre (Uashat) and Joseph population." McKenzie (Schefferville). Two drum In addidon to evening concerts. day rhythms are readily apparent in the;: mu- programs were organized for the weekend, sic; the nrst, a sort of tremolo accompany- including games, presentations of tradi- ing a narrow-mnged song; the second, a tional legends, and ,:itildren's songs from dance rhythm that could be notated as Ai. different parts of the world. On Sunday an Characteristic of the drum's sound is the outdoor mass was he'd in the morning, buzz of a pair of snares which intersect the

85 Celebration83 circle of the drum head at right angles. pression, highlighting interactions among These snares embody the voices heard in communities. one's dreams. Understanding the complexity of the in- The texts of these traditional songs are teractions is important. At these gatherings understood by those meant to know their there are no simple, rigid boundaries sep- message. For others, the words are ob- arating Native communities and cultures. scured by the snare's buzz, as well as by ex- Although distinct musics and musical styles tra syllables (or vocables) added by the exist, many social music traditions bor- singer. On the other hand, virtually every- row selectively from one another, adapting body knows the words to contemporary styles and forms to suit their needs and aes- songs,whichoftenfeaturedistinctive, thetics. Musicians may perform and create "strong" Montagnais messages. These are music characteristic of other communities deeply meaningful to many people; some or nations. Distinctions among music and honor the past (as in the title song of Phil- dance styles, dance outfits, or instrumenta- lippe McKenzie's popular album "Mistash- tion may at times seem to blur, yet individ- ipu"Great River), while others celebrate ual or tribal identities are not relinquished. the Innu's connectedness to family, friends, At these intertribal events, it is not essen- and the land. tial that the music (or even the event itself) Additionally, the musical styles of con- be entirely traditional to the region; the temporary songs have features which rep- songs and dances are perhaps the raw ma- resent continuity with older traditions. terial to which performers or communities Although these songs are often accompa- apply their own values and traditions, nied by the guitar, "folk singers" at Mali- which in turn shape these gatherings. In otenam sometimes use theteueikan,but light of this, concepts of pan-Indianism or with the snares removed. The characteristic acculturation often seem too simplistic and buzz is not entirely relinquished, though, generalized to have any real meaning when since maracas are often added to ensembles discussing contemporary Native realities in to duplicate that sound; some drummers eastern Canada. use a maraca as a drum-beater, while others At another level, a common element shake the rattle in accompaniment. Finally, of Native cultural identity isexpressed the distinctive uncertain or unpredictable throughout the region: the sense of con- rhythm of this music (heterometric, in musi- nectedness between people and the natural cological terms) is also considered uniquely environment. Singers and dancers in these Indian. Vocal patterns are repeated in elu- communities often acknowledge their rela- sive, asymmetrical groups, sometimes count- tionship with the environment as funda- ering the accompanying rhythm of the per- mental to their economic and physical sur- cussive instruments. vival, to their cultural and spiritual ways of But generalizations about these musical life. It is in fact basic to thcir integrity as a styles are dangerous since, as Vollant says, people. Through songF and dances, people "Each musician has his own talent to make affirm their relationship to this land, to the worth something. It doesn't matter what animals, birds, and water, to the earth it- genre of music he does." So we return to the self. notion of this festival celebrating a richness At these events, social music and dance and diversity of tradition, while at the same bothreflectandcreateinteractions time consolidating support for Native mu- amongindividuals andcommunities, sic in Quebec. among people and the physical and spiritual worlds around them. Connections re- newed through the gatherings are funda- mentr.1 expressions of cultural identity. Mu- These three different eventsthe Cham- sic and dance are not simply symbols of pion of Champions powwow, the summer one's heritagethey are active ways of liv- games, and the Innu Nikamu festivalall ing it, showing how individuals and nations provide opportunities for shared Native ex- fit in with the rest of the world.

(.r e", 0 Folklife Annual 1987 84 NOTES

The authors attended the events described above 6. Haudenosauneeisan Iroquoian word as members of SPINC (Sound Producing Instru- meaning "People of the Longhouse"; it is used ments in Native Communities), a cultural re- frequently among these communities instead of search project based at Queen's University at the more recent termIroquois. Kingston, Ontario, Canada. They would like to 7. One common design is a circle and cross thank the Social Science and Humanities Re- motif, visible on many drums. Thi; single image search Council of Canada for funding the has multiple layers of meaning, the most ob- SPINC project. vious referring to the cycle of life, the dance 1. Such events are identified as "powwows" cycle, the earth, moon and sun, the medicine in photographs in the Public Archives of On- hoop, the four directions, and the four seasons. tz:io (Toronto) collection. For example, in pho- 8. At the 1986 summer games at Indian Is- tographs dating from 1899, from Rainy River, land, New Brunswick, the chief announced that Ontario (#10399-19), the powwow is a presen- the "cultural" aspects of the games were becom- tation by a single drum and costumed dancers ing so popular among Native people that in the for a Native and non-Native audience. future, Indian Island would host annual "Cul- 2.Anisinabekisan Ojibwe (Algonquian) tural Games." word referring to the Native people or "first 9. Occasionally, men dance with this group, people" of North America; the corresponding but at these games, one woman chanted and Iroquoian wordisongtvelionive,or"real drummed, leading the dancers, while four girls people/first people." and two boys (aged ca. eight to fourteen) per- 3. Most Iroquoian communities have one or formed the dances. more singing societies that meet regularly to 10. Mohawk singers from Kahnawake, Que- sing neweskanye(women's shuffle dance), the bec, often go to Micmac/Maliseet gatherings, only Iroquois social dance set for which new where Iroquois social dances such as the Stomp songs are regularly created. Primarily, these and Rabbit dances are particular favorites. In groups organized to raise money or otherwise to fact, some Micmacs joke that the Mohawks help those in need. Cronk is currently working "stole their songs." with a number of singers from these societies. 11. For example, at the Innu Nikamu festival 4. An excellent analysis of the "Thanksgiving in 1986, one drummer sang for only a few min- Address" is found in M. K. Foster'sFrom the utes at the first evening concert, but felt it ap- Earth to Beyond the Sky: An Ethnographic Ap- propriate to sing for a longer time at the next proach to Four Longhouse Iroquois Speech performance. Events(Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 12. In 1986 at Pointe Bleue, Quebec, a "pow- 1974), Mercury series no. 20. wow" featured foot races, canoe races and rifle S. Bustles are made from eagle wings, feath- firing competitions, as well as softball and ers, and sometimes beadwork, constructed in a horseshoe tournaments. Culturaleventsin- "circular or U-shaped configuration." They are cluded marionette shows, a theater troupe, per- attached by a belt or strap around the dancer's formances by Montagnaischansonniers,and a waist and worn at the mid-back level.See also spectacleby local musicians "Jerry and Jo 200 Years in the Making: Commemorative Pro- Anne." Quebec events usually feature special ac- gram(Ohsweken: Grand River Powwow Com- tivities for children, including races or treasure mittee, 1984). hunts.

8 7 Celebration 85 Reverend C.L.Franklin Black American Preacher-Poet

BY JEFF TODD TITON

In Detroit's New Bethel Baptist Church on Mother's Day evening in 1977 the air is palpably hot, pushed about by women waving paper fans to clear a breathing space.' I am standing in an aisle, making a documentary videotape. At the pulpit, the Reverend C. L. Franklin, the most celebrated black Baptist preacher of his generation and father of the "queen of soul music," Aretha Franklin, is preaching. For twenty minutes the congregation has listened totheirpastor's extemporaneous message on Mary at the Cross, and now they are anxious for "the sweet part," that hypnotic, half-chanted and half-sung closing section when his message will move them to ecstasy. Franklin's tone shifts; he begins to draw out the last syllables of certain words. The Rev. C. L. Franklin, New range of his spoken intonation compresses Bethel Baptist Church, De- nearly to a monotone; then, gradually, it troit, Michigan, May 28, expands as he starts to chant, telling the 1977. Photograph by Jeff Todd Titon Copyright © 1988 Jeff Todd Titon

88 Folklife Annual 198786 .4 story of a mother whose son was con- with blood demned to die. On the morning the son was running from her nose, to be hanged, the mother climbed into the from her eyes and from her shoulders. belfry and held the bell clapper, for she O Lord. knew an old She said, "Well, son I know you meant good. tradition You are my child. that went on and obtained Go on. in that country: Don't worry. before they hanged Don't worry anybody about me. they had to ring the bell. I'm all right."

Cries from the congregation punctuate the New Bethel is shouting in ecstasy, its ends of Franklin's phrases and encourage people "falling out" (fainting) in the Spirit, him to continue: "That's right," "Preach, in trance. Dancing across the pulpit, dodg- Reverend," "Tell the truth." The lines be- ingahandkerchief that someone has come more regular in length. He establishes thrown, in the midst of the deafening tu- a melody, its tonic reinforced by the congre- mult, Franklin concludes in a burst of inspi- gation's intoned response on the tonic ration: pitch. The paceaccelerates.Reverend Franklin chants about the mother in the Did you know bell tower: that Jesus, Jesus held the bell clapper And as they pulled the bell, of time and eternity the bell swung over in his hands? from one side to another. Oh well, O Lord. ohh, She fell yes! against the iron wall of that big bell. 0 Lord. Nurses in the congregation minister to She was bruised, those who have fainted with excitement. she was bleeding, Pastor Franklin winds down and extends but she held on the Invitation to people to come forward to to the bell clapper, join the church; the Lord has worked his oh yes she did. Yes. will this morning. And after awhile, they gave up. After awhile they said, "Since the bell won't ring, we can't execute him." -1).)lackAmerican chanted preaching in the Protestant tradition emerged before The mother's fate now becomes the pas- Emancipation among the slave "exhorters" tor's concern, and the congregation re- who sermonized to their fellow slaves in a sponds ever more loudly and forcefully. As spontaneous, chanted discourse. Extempo- with one voice, almost drawing the sermon raneous prayers were chanted as well. To- out of him, the congregation cries out, the day the practices continue among some pace quickens again and the sermon comes Baptist and Pentecostal congregations. Be- to a singing climax: sides their importance in the history of black American religious practice, chanted O Lord. black sermons form a literature of consid- By that time she fell down erable merit. In A Journey in the Back upon the ground Country, written shortly before the Civil under the bell clapper, War, Fredetick Law Olmsted described

Folk life Annual 198788 a New Orleans slave preacher's sermon: riving from the emotional intonation of the "Much of the language was highly meta- exhortationsof Baptist and Methodist phorical; the figures long, strange, and com- preachers during the Second Great Awak- plicated, yet sometimes, however, strangely ening, that is, in the early nineteenth cen- beautiful."2 Indeed, black American writ- tury. "White preachers passed the chanted ers, including James Weldon Johnson and sermon along to their Negro brethren" in Zora Neale Hurston, have periodically set the border states of the South, Rosenberg chanted sermons as poetry and argued suggested, citing as evidence the existence strenuously in behalf of their literary value, today of the chanted sermon tradition but their argument has fallen on deaf ears. among whites in eastern Kentucky, a tradi- Some of the standard American literature tion they say is at least as old as their grand- anthologies include black spirituals and sec- parents.3 Gerald Davis, on the other hand, ular songs but not black sermons. This is contends that the "African-American ser- unfortunate, for the chanted Wck sermon mon style, if not theology . .. has historic is a vigorous, living form and tradition, and precedent in the affective religious and sec- authentic texts are available dating back to ular narrative systems of several...Afri- antebellum times. In fact, folklorists and can groups."4 Davis thinks it is more likely journalists such as John and Alan Lomax that the ancestors of the whites in eastern and John Henry Faulk collected and re- Kentucky who chant their sermons learned corded sermons in the 1930s and 1940s, the practice from black Americans, who in while commercial recordings of sermons, chanting their sermons were extending an sold in the black communities, have been African performance medium to America. available since the 1920s. Sales of the Rev- The controversy should not obscure the fact erend J. M. Gates's sermon records in the that the black chanted sermon has had a 1920s were exceeded in the black "race" rec- history of development since Emancipa- ord market only by Bessie Smith's blues rec- tion, that not all black preachers chant to- ords, and among black people old enough day, and that among those who do there is to remember his records, Reverend Gates's considerable variation in the amount and name is well-known. Long-playing albums, type of chanting. Moreover, one of the introduced in the early 1950s, allowed ser- most important influences on the develop- mons recorded on location to be presented ment of black Christian preaching was the in their entirety. Reverend Franklin pio- interchange resulting from travel among neered iu this field; for more than thirty blacks within the New World and to and years, his recorded sermons have been mar- from Africa, both before and after Emanci- keted in the black communities, and more pation. For example, James A. Aggrey of his sermon albums have been sold than (1875-1927), a black, African-born, Chris- any other preacher's. One minister I inter- tian missionary with a master's degree from viewed in Atlanta in 1975 said he thought Columbia University. toured the United every black Baptist preacher from fifteen States,lecturing and preachingasan to fifty had been influenced by Franklin's apostle of "cooperation" between white preaching records. and black. His biographer noted Aggrey's The originoftheblack American great skill with metaphor, parable, and or- chanted sermon is hard to pinpoint. The atory in general, and attributed it to his Af- facts are that travelers reported African and rican background.5 Aggrey's most famous African-derived religious practices amon, sermon was "The Eagle Stirreth Her Nest," black slaves throughout the New World, and its story about the farmer who raised including dance, trance, spirit possession, an eagle among his chickens remains in oral and the ring shout; and they reported tradition in black American sermons today; chanted sermons and prayers (in English) in Reverend Franklin has a stirring version of the American South. In The Art of the it on Chess Records 21. Franklin himself, of American Folk Preacher, Bruce Rosenberg course, has had a major influence on the hypothesized that the chanted sermon was tradition as a resnit of his recordings and first an Anglo-American phenomenon, de- preaching tours.

Reverend C. L. Franklin89 91 ma the black folktales about the biblical characters; but in interpreting the stories, he sets them in the historical context of the biblical age and explains the characters' behavior in terms of historical as well as psychological context. At the same time, he is a master storyteller, and each of his sermons turns on the Bible story that drama- , tized the Scripture passage he chose. The close of the sermon, when he becomes the poet and begins to chant and sing, usually revolves around another story, related to

.7".....4 the Bible story but outside of the Bible, a personal experience or a parable from the secular worldfor example, the story of 1 the mother's sacrifice for her son that closed his Mother's Day sermon.

first learned of Reverend Franklin in the late 1960s. I was playing guitar with a Min- neapolis blues band and the leader, Lazy Bill Lucas, also played piano in a local Bap- tist church; we went there together one Sunday andIheardtheimprovised, chanted prayers and sermon. In his sermon, the pr-acher, Rev. George Trawick, alter- nated periods of speech with periods of a raspy, tuneful chant, and the congregation responded at the ends of his phrases with cries (right on the tonic pitch) of "Preach!," "Yes, Lord!," "Yeah!," and "Comc on!" I Franklin preaching in the Storytelling is the key technique in the had never seen or heard anything like it, late 19S0s. Courtesy of black sermon. As E.FranklinFrazier and I asked Bill about it. He told me Aretha Erma Franklin pointed out, slavemasters, mistresses, and Franklin's father was the best preacher he ministers told slaves stories about heroes had ever heard, and that he had some re- and villains, reward and punishment in the cord albums out. I bought a few and was Bible.6 The stories went around, slave ex- thrilled to find Franklin combining the per- horters reinforced them, and for the slaves suasive powers of the orator with the ec- the biblical people became familiar folk he- stasy of the poet;, more, he seemed to be roes, the stuff of folktales. They admired singing his sermons. A graduate student in Moses who led the Jews out of slavery and English and American Studiesthen,I David who defeated Goliath against all thought of ancient bards and ritual drama, odds. From then on, black preachers have the beginnings of literature. Surely there dramatized the Bible by preaching about was some connection to Reverend Franklin these charactersJacob and Esau, Adam and the tradition he represented. and Eve, Solomon, Moses, David, and, of By the mid-1970s when I interviewed course, Jesusexamining their motives him, Franklin was in his early sixties, and if and behavior as if they were contetnpora- his delivery was slower than it had been, his ries, which in a sense they are. oratory was more persuasive? The congre- In his sermons, Franklin gives voice to gation numbered about three thousand,

-Folklife Annual 198790 tlC2 and his church was a regular Sunday stop- him carefully beforehand. But when he ping off place for visitors to Detroit. They spoke, he mumbled and could not be heard. wanted to see and hear the man once "So when we got home," his mother said, known as "the jitterbug preacher" because "we all went in the house and undressed he was so stylish and handsome; the man and everything, and he was kind of slow, whose sermons, recorded live, were avail- because he knew what was going to hap- able on several dozen record albums; the pen, you know? And he came on out, and I man whose unprecedented preaching tours, says, 'What was wrong with you tonight? from the mid-1950s through the mid- You never have spoke like that.' I said, 'Do 1960s, brought him to halls, civic audito- you know nobody understood what you riums, and stadiums in every black com- were out there saying?' And I said, 'You munity in the United States; and the man didn't even open your mouth. What is whose leadership of the historic 1963 free- wrong?' And he just dropped his head. I dom march in Detroit attracted two hun- think he was very sorry he did that, you dred thousand people and provided the know? But I had to talk to him about it, and prototype for the march later that summer then get hold of him about it. And I told in Washington led by the Reverend Martin him. I shook my finger. I said, 'From now Luther King, Jr. on I bet you'll open your mouth.' And he Franklin was born in 1915 in Sunflower has been opening it ever since!" County, near Indianola, Mississippi, not far Clarence's stepfather, Henry Franklin, from where the great blues singer B. B. was a sharecropper, and the family worked King was born. It is an apt comparison, for hard to make ends meet; even during good just as tens of thousand- of blues guitarists years they did not clear a profit. I asked imitated King, so tens of thousands of Reverend Franklin about his childhood preachers imitated Franklin. Rev. Stanley memories. Picard, pastor of the 25th Street Church of God in Christ, in Detroit, said, "What I like about Reverend Franklin is that he is Amer- I remember one thing that stands out from after my mother remarried. My father used ica's greatest preacher, whether he be black, to go to the commissary. The boss owned white, or indifferent. And every preacher the commissary, and he would get his gro- who's ever tried to preach, somewhere has ceries there. The boss would charge him tried to preach like Reverend Franklin. My against the crop. Now my father, like many father used to say, when I was a kid and of the sharecroppers, was completely illit- didn't know what preaching was, he said, erate, to the point that he couldn't even write his name. And of course not being `The Lord knows Reverend Franklin can able to rci.d or figure except a bit in his own preach.' And my daddy knew what true head, he never really knew what we owed. preaching was." At the end of the year, w. 'ch they called on The child, Wordsworth said, is father to the farm settling time, families would total the man; what was it about Rev. Clarence up, and the boss would total up the bales of cotton that had been gathered. Now in our La Vaughn Franklin's childhood that set his case if we made twenty to twenty-five bales course? His mother, Rachel Franklin, re- of cotton during the year, the boss would membered him as a good and obedient boy say, "Well, Henry, you didn't come out. But but said he was "kind of a peculiar child." we'll just call it even and start fresh next He wouldn't play with the other children; year." he sat on the Franklins' front porch while Now this went on year after year. Iremember Christmas morning. My the others played marbles. Clarence loved mother would cry because the only thing to watch the others play, but he deliberately that she could purchase for the children separated himself, according to his mother. were raisins and oranges and apples and A childhood incident underscored for him striped candy. No toys. I never had toys. the importance of public speaking. When But I was very anxious about Christmas morning, even to get the oranges and the he was about eleven, Clarence was sup- apples, the raisins and the candy. I never posed to recite a speech at a school as- will forget that striped candy. sembly, and his mother went over it with And that stands out: her crying. 93 Reverend C. L. Franklin91 Rachel took young Clarence to church, Cheeks singing gospelthe same buzzing and at age nine he decided to become a raspiness that is a benchmark in certain member. Speaking to me in Detroit more kinds of African music. than fifty years later, he said he never fell In his mid-teens Clarence felt himself under conviction, never felt condemned by called by God to the ministry. He was in- God, never felt that he was in danger of spired by watching the other preachers at going to hell. "It seemed to me that God St. Peter's Rock, and one minister in partic- had provided all of the things for me, in- ular impressed him: Rev. Benjamin J. Per- cluding his love, and now it was time to re- kins, the president of the state Baptist spond." Unlike many of the others at St. convention. One night in his sleep he had a Peter's Rock Baptist Church, in Cleveland, dream or vision in which he saw a plank on Mississippi, his conversion was not out- fire but not being consumed, and from be- wardly emotional; he simply stepped for- hind the plank a voice spoke to him and ward from the mourners' bend a said, "Go and preach the gospel to all na- revival. "My conversion was not unu or tions." He spoke to his mother about the spectacular. When the minister finishea his experience the next day and, with her en- sermon and invited us to come, I simply got couragement, talked to his pastor and later up and went to the altar. There were a lot preached a successful trial sermon. At that of people who adhered to the tradition of point there were numerous teenage black black people; some were rather expressive, preachers in the Mississippi Deltamany shouting and what have you, crying and more than the churches could supportso going on. And some were not." Like the he became a lay preacher at St.Peter's child on the porch watching the other chil- Rock. dren play marbles, Franklin must have been Clarence had been to school during the It once emotionally engaged and simulta- winter months when he wasn't needed on .ously controlled and detached during his the farm, but his father had in mind that he ,onversionqualities that would serve him would be a farmer, not a preacher. His fa- well in preaching, where at moments of ther was not a member of a church and felt great emotional intensity, locked with the that farming must come first. Clarence, out congregation in a driving, rhythmic em- plowing, left mule and plow in the middle brace as he proceeds from one line to the of the field and climbed on a stump when- next, he cannot falter and must retain com- ever the Spirit moved him to preach. The mand of what he is saying so that it makes conflict between father and son continued. sense. Knowing what he did about the plantation As a teenager, Clarence first gained a lo- system, the powerlessness of the sharecrop- cal reputation as a singer, joining the choir pers, and the segregated society, Clarence at St. Peter's Rock and in a few years be- did not want to be a farmer. "I couldn't see coming a soloist. Hearing him sing, it is any future in farming. My father was never easy to tell where Aretha got her voice. His a successful farmer in terms of economics. singing can be heard on several of his ser- There were other people that I could con- mon albums, for he always prefaced a ser- trast with him, a few successful farmers mon with a traditional "meter hymn" such who owned land, who had cars and trucks, as "Father, I stretch my hand to thee" or "I but my father never reached that point. And heard the voice of Jesus say," and some- I had grown up on a farm and I didn't par- times moved into a gospel hymn such as ticularly like farming." "Precious Lord" after the close of the sermon during the Invitation. At least two albums feature him and his daughter singing. His is a full baritone voice, with great strength and volume, and the kind of buzz- V87anderlust overcame him, and he ing raspiness at moments of intensity that longed to travel. He ran away to an aunt in signals feeling in black singing, whether it Shelby, Mississippi, and then joined two of be Bessie Smith singing blues or Rev. Julius his uncles and their families to go off to

0 Folklife Annual 198792 '0 'k. r v4 ,i

Franklin with his wife, Bar- bara, in Detroit in the late 1940s. Courtesy of Rachel Franklin

Franklin with his children: Cecil, Erma, Carolyn, and Aretha. Detroit in the early 1950s. Courtesy of Enna Franklin

Missouri as migrant farm hands. They for him. Torn between his calling to preach stayed a season in Missouri, then went to and his father's need for him on the farm, Kentucky, and wound up in Michigan pick- he tried to do both, preaching at various ing strawberries. Clarence was nor a de- churches and even holding down a pastor- pendable worker because he sometimes ate for about six months in nearby Tut- took to preaching in the middle of a field, wiler, Mississippi. Trying to ill:press them but whenever they needed a preacher for a as a pastor, he preached long and hard one Sunday sermon he was willing and able. He Sunday, "and the next morning I got the went south to Arkansas and stayed with rel- bus going back to Cleveland," he said. atives awhile, then returned home to Cleve- land, Mississippi, where he was ordained as But my bus was late, and when I got home, a minister at St. Peter's Rock. my fatherI got home. around nine o'clock Living at home must have been difficult that morning. Well, he'd been in the field

95 Reverend C. L. Franklin 93 since seven or seven-thirty, and he said, It wasn't long before Franklin was in- "Now this going off preaching and coming vited to pastor in Memphis, but when he in this time of day is no good." Said, "Now and his family moved therehe was about you have got to make up your mind whether you want to preach or plow." twenty-fourhe encountered skepticism So I made up my mind that very day, and from other ministers who were more mod- left home with virtually nothing. And I ern, learned, and sophisticated than this went down and talked with a blind friend country preacher. Franklin's response was of mint who was very active in our church, to seek more education, and he enrolled as an astute man named Jim. And Jim said, a special student in Le Moyne College for "Well, son, you can stay here with me until you find a place." three years, studying English literature and sociology, taking two 0 three classes per For the next few years Reverend Franklin day while attending to his ministerial duties preachedinCleveland and Clarksdale, on evenings and weekends. He also at- eventually coming to pastor a church near tended the Howe School of Relieion. "I Shelby. He met and married his wife Bar- would characterize myself as a fundamen- bara, and their first child, Erma, was born. talist prior to coming to Memphis," Frank- Realizing he needed more education, Frank- lin said. lin, aged about twenty-one, took his family to Greenville and t'rolled in Greenville In- But then I began to be exposed to new inter- dustrial College,new institution under- pretations, and I started to go to Le Moyne. and I was exposed to new biblical view, written by the state's Baptist Convention and I started traveling, and came into con- that offered courses in theology and track tact with preachers around the country He learned that a sermon should be pre- when I would go and run revivals and speak pared ahead of time, that it should have an at ministers' conferences. And they w,Juld introduction, a body, and a climax, and that visit with me, usually several preachers it was best delivered from memory, al- daily. And we had discussions, both in the conferences and at the private home where though not memorized; in other words, I was stopping, or the hotel. prepared and remembered rather than read And my views and interpretations and from notes. The Greenville theologians were understanding began to evolve. Of course fundamentalists and Franklin adopted that this aroused within me some concern about point of view. my former views, but I regarded it more or less as a deepening. At that time my ser- Dorothy Swan, director of the Bulletin mons may have begun to become more his- Club at New Bethel, the church's publicity toricallymindedandlessevangelical. organiza,:on, knew Franklin during this pe- Evangelism to me is simply stirring people riod and recalled that he was already a up. to make them feel some spontaneous phenomenon, preaching in Greenville and thing that may not be lasting, while if you Clarksdale and occasionally in Memphis. preach to them in terms of the historical meaning it's altogether different. It has a Never preaching from notes, Franklin "had more lasting effect because ycare reaching a memory" and was already chanting his their minds as well as their emotions. sermons. Whooping, zooning (or zooming), In Mississippi I might have been more in- and tuning were names that preachers and terested in reaching their emotions. I was congregations gave to the technique of what they called a Spiritual preacher. That meant that if you preached in such a way chanting, and some thought that chant- with an intonationwhat you U. T. T.] call ing signaled that the message was coming chantand what you were saying had directly from the Holy Spirit, with the meaning for them and mcwd them, then preacher serving as a medium. Franklin was you were a Spiritual preacher. thrilled with his power to move people, particularly to get the elders to shout; Dorothy "Did it have anything to do with the Swan said he "wanted to tickle the grand- Spirit of the Lord?" I asked. mas on the street," to reach the masses, and "Well, they felt so. It worked in their re- after he preached at a revival in Memphis, sponse. That's the way it manifested itself in one hundred people who came to the altar them, because what theyfelt,they ex were saved. pressed."

ytl Folk life Annual 1987 94 "But what about you?" I pursued. "Some years. In other words, listening to them per- people believe that the whooping part of suaded both the head and heart. Their the sermon is the voice of the Spirit." theme never wavered; however learned Franklin laughed. "Yes, yes," he said. Franklin became, his message was conserv- "You were skeptical even then?" ative: no matter how difficult life seems, "No, I wasn't skeptical then," he ad- have faith and trust in God the father. mitted. "I accepted it as a matter of course In the early 1940s Franklin sang and at that time. But then one grows. And as I preached on a weekly radio show in Mem- went along, I discovered that the emotional phis. I do not know the details of the pro- thing was short-lived. I saw people who gram, but it may have been one of the would express those kinds of emotions yet earliest instances of a regular black radio were not changed at all. It's all right to do ministry. During the Memphis years the it; it's all right for one to express himself in other Franklin children were bornCecil, that manner, shouting and all that. But I Aretha, and Carolyn. Barbara Franklin, would like for him to have something men- who sang and played piano in the church, tally that would be lasting, because the enrolled at LeMoyne also and was ex- mental can be spiritual, even more spiritual tremely busy taking care of four children than the emotional. and a husband at the same time. Dorothy "My feeling about the Spirit and the Swan remembers good times when she preacher now," Franklin went on, "is that would bring a washboard and pail to the the Spirit inspires you beyond what you Fran klins and she and Barbara did their have read, enlightens you, and gives you combined washtogether,talking and strength. But I do not feel when I preach laughing so hard that the clothes splashed that the Spirit is controlling what I am say- out of the pails. ing." At twenty-seven Franklin accepted an offer to be the minister of the Friendship Bap- tist Church in Buffalo, New York. Moving there with his family, he continued his stud- As Franklin's knowledge grew his series at the University of Buffalo, majoring in mons became more sophisticated theologi- literature. Friendship was a large church, Franklin outside his home cally and historically, and they began to better off financially than Franklin's Mem- in Detroit, the late 1950s. take on theliterary and psychological phis churches; most of the parishioners had Courtesy of Erma Franklin power that characterized them inlater migrated from the South, and they had

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dissatisfied with the church building, a Franklin listens to the play- found better wages and job security at back of one of his sermons Bethlehem Steel and the automobile plants storefront on Hastings Street. During the on tape at the J-V-B re- and other factories in the area. But the cli- next few years they raised funds for a new cording company in De- mate was too cold and damp for Franklin, building and arrangements were made to troit in the early 1950s. Joe and he began to develop the bronchitis that have it constructed on the old site, but after Von Battle operates the plagued him from then on. Besides, he felt the old building was torn down the con- machine. Photograph by Edward McLaughlin, cour- isolated from the mainstream of black life. struction company did not finish the new tesy of Erma Franklin "I didn't like preaching in Buffalo because one and the congregation had to meet at of the conservative, staid, frontier type of different church buildings in the area for the life there," he said. "I wanted to be in a next several years. To raise more money more fluid situation. By that I mean I Franklin began a radio broadcast in 1951 wanted to be in a city where there were and the congregation increased tremen- crossroads of transportation. Trains, buses, dously. Soon they obtained a high-interest planes, where people are coming and going, loan and completed the church on Hastings conventions of all kinds, and migrations. I Street. wanted a city not static inits growth. People weren't coming in and out of Buffalo as they would Detroit or Chicago or New York. ... I felt kind of cut off from the on- fiow of life in this country:" asked Franklin how his sermon record- Franklin preached at the National Bap- ings came about: tist Convention in Detroit in 1945, and the following year he agreed to become pastor One night I was preaching on the air, and a of New Bethel Baptist Church, arriving in guy down the street, a black man named June. He liked the congregation but was Joe Battles [Joe Von Battle], he was coming

SS Folklife Annual 198796 from Inkster and was listening. And he 50,000-watt station that could be heard came on to the church, and after the dis- throughout the nation at night, began play- missal he came up to me and said, "Man, ing his sermon records, and the program the way these people come out here to hear you and listen to you, if you would record sponsor, Randy's Record Shop, advertised this, people would buy it."Said, "Why them for sale. Franklin received invitations don't you let me tape your sermons? I have to preach in towns and cities all over the Funeral home owner Ben- a little rapport with Chess Recording Com- United States. He began by joining the jamin McFall, Rev. Martin pany. I know the man, I knew him when he Clara Ward Singers but soon directed hir. got started, and I helped him a great deal. Luther King, Jr., and Rev. own preaching tours, and from about 1954 Franklin. In early I'm sure that he would consider it." C. L. until about 1965, when he cut back on the June 1963, King was in I didn't think too much of it right then. I Detroit for a civil rights said, "We'll get together and sit down and tours for health reasons, Chess kept releas- march organized by Frank- go over the idea and see what we can come inghisnew sermonrecords and he lin, "A Walk for Freedom," up with." preached throughout the nation, returning which attracted 200,000 So a few days later we talked. He went one or two Sundays per month to preach at about it, taped the sermons, went to Chi- participants. King gave his New Bethel. The New Bethel congregation "I Have a Dream" speech cago, contacted Chess, and came back: with at this event, thus before its a contract. I signed, he managed, and, of grew to ten thousand, and added to that Washington, D.C., presen- course, the thing mushroomed. were thousands of visitors to Detroit who tation. Photoglzph by Ed- came to hear him preach. The building was wards Photo. Courtesy of Indeed it did mushroom. Radio station far too small, and the church had to set up Erma Franklin WLAC-AM in Nashville, a clear-channel, loudspeakers in the streets outside. What

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99 Reverend C. L. Franklin 97 an event this must have been, month after In Detroit there was a movement called the month, year after year. Meanwhile, Aretha New Republic of Africa. I had no affiliation was singing gospel music on the preaching with that particular group. But they rented tours and gaining a reputation as a fine the church, and it was on a Saturday night, 1968 sometime. The only member of our singer in her own right. church that was there was the janitor. And of course about twelve o'clock [Deacon] Ben Washington called me and told me, "Reverend, Reverend, you'd better get up and come down here. There's been some As the Civil Rights Movement grew, shooting down here!" Franklin embraced the nonviolent resist- And I said, "Shooting?" ance philosophy of Rev. Martin Luther Said, "You know that movement that King, Jr. In 1963 he invited King to accom- rented the church? They had some kind of pany him in a civil rights march in Detroit. shooting with the police!" King accepted. They drew two hundred Well, the police apparently had had them under surveillance for quite some time be- thousand people and King read the same fore, and they were circulating in the com- speech he read later that summer in Wash- munity, around the church. And they had ington: I Have a Dream. "Dr. King sat right guards, armed guards, for the officials of in my basement one Sunday night," Frank- this movement. These guys had on fatigue lin said. "He had spoken for my Men's Day, boots, and uniforms, and something like berets, and they had these rifles on their and he said, 'Frank, I will never live to see shoulders. forty. Some of our white brothers are very, So when I got down there, I went into the very sick, and they are dangerous. I'll never church, went into the lobby, and attempted see forty.' And he was thirty-nine when he to go into the sanctuary. The head police- was killed." man, the one that was apparently in charge, said, "You can't go in." Franklin was a member of SCLC, and I said, "Why? There's no shooting. No- later joined PUSH, Rev. Jesse Jackson's or- body's in there." ganization, but political activism per se "Well, they're cleaning up now." took a back seat to his chief missions, The police, what they were really doing, preaching and pastoral care, as he led New they were gathering the bullets that had Franklin preaching, Little Bethel through the turbulent sixties. He lodged in the benches. Nobody was hurt, Rock Baptist Church, De- fortunately, in there. What precipitated the told me what happened one night when one whole thing was that these movement offi- troit, October 2, 1977. of the more radical Black Power groups Photograph by Jeff Titon cials were getting into their cars, with their confronted the police at New Bethel. guards standing by, and when the police got

100 Franklin delivers the out of their cars with their guns, these guys Inthe1970s Franklin stoppedhis "whooping" or chanted just started shooting, outside. preaching tours and concentrated on his portion of his sermon, New The people were still in the church. Just New Bethel ministry. The congregation fell Bethel Baptist Church, Oc- the officials coming out. And they shot a policeman. The other policeman that was to about three thousandstill a large tober 30,1977. Photo- church, one of the largest in Detroitand graph by Jeff Titon in the car with the one that got shot called for help, and they were right there within a Franklin received the recognition due him minute and a half, right at the church. And as an elder statesman in the black commu- they came in shooting. nity. In 1977 I watched him preach as the Someone called out, "Get on the floor! guest of honor at a Senior Citizens Day in Get on the floor!" And they were shooting all through there. The pulpit desk had sev- Inkster, a suburb north of Detroit. Franklin eral holes in it. drove me out there, and on the way I asked They said there was a shootout, but him how he would sum up his views about really there was no shootout. Most of the God. "Predestination is not a part of my glass was inside the lobby and, as I showed preaching," he said. the police commissioner, in the back pews, the pews near the entrance into the auditorium, the splinters were lying in the seats. I cannot believe that God has, for example, There were no splintersback of the predestined that a train would run over benches, which meant that the shooting you, and then see him as a loving God. was coming inside rather than coming out- What father wwld plan for the destruction side. The policemen were doing the shoot- of his son? That would be a contradiction ing. There wasn't any physical sign of any in the character of God to me. shots going out of the church. But, you Some people even now think they should know, the police are going to respond when do good because they are afraid God will that policeman got shot. And that was out- take vengeance upon them if they do differ- side. ently. But I don't think that one should em- I went upstairs to the office, and [minister brace God in terms of fear.I think one of music] Shelby was sitting there fanning: should embrace God in terms of love. I be- "Ooh my God, ooh Lawd, who let those lieve that God is love, and that God is a fa- people have the church? Ooh my God, they ther, and we are pictured as his children. I torn up our church!" cannot think of God being a father and the I said, "Shelby, we are in the throes of a epitome of love, and just because his chil- revolution,asocialrevolution.Some dren happen to be contrary and unruly people have lost their lives in this revolu- sometimes, that he will put them into eter- tion, and we have lost a little glass. I think nal punishment. I can't see that. I'm a better we got out cheap." father than that!

101 Reverend C. L. Franklin 99 mmor 11110=1B. "On the basis of what the Lord has promised even to me,

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Therefo;ie give rn;'the mountain." Dr. Caldwell. "Give me the mountain." 102 Rev. C. L. Franklin delivers I thought of Franklin's own father, who left a neighbor found Franklin where he fell. the expository section of Mississippi just after Clarence was born, Taken to the emergency ward, he had lost a his sermon, New Bethel and joined the American troops in Europe lot of blood; he was unconscious and in Baptist Church, Detroit, during World War I. Coming back after the critical condition. Without being on life- May 28, 1978. Photo- war, he felt that sharecropping in Missis- sustaining apparatus he remained in a coma graphs were taken in se- sippi was too confining, particularly, as quence about every other for five years until he died on July 27, 1984. second. Photographs by Franklin said, "after having seen the big cit- His funeral was the largest that Detroit has Jeff Titon ies, and having ridden on the ocean liners, ever seen. and having been to Paris." He left and It is not easy to sum up his legacy as a Rachel remarried, and Franklin had had his preacher, but his place in the history of the problems with his stepfather, running away black American church is secure, while his from home, returning and eventually over sermons cry out for a wider audience. He his father's objections choosing to preach, was,afterall,one ofthemasterful not to plow. In the picture of God as a lov- preacher-poets of this century, and it is only ing father he found an image of a wise elder, a matter of time before this recognition a strong and benevolent and loving pres- comes his way. As I have suggested, the ence who would be a constant companion. black American sermon is a combination of reason (spoken oratory) and faith (chanted poetry). For the believer, the reasoned language of the churchoratory and the language of the Biblepermeates daily life, any in the morning of June 10, 1979, shapes daily thought and utterance. The three men and two women parked a white language of faithche cry to God in 1967 Chevrolet outside of Reverend Frank- prayer, the sermon's chanted poemis, on lin's Detroit home. Franklin was in his up- the other hand, an extraordinary, ecstatic stairs bedroom, for it was his habit to stay response to the mysteries of faith, and it up late at night, sometimes reading theol- thrusts the believer back into the source of ogy, sometimes watching the late show. The belief, feeling the power of God. Making three men broke in and made some noise and remaking black folktales as the stuff of while trying to steal antique leaded glass his sermons, Franklin told and chanted sto- windows. Hearing them, Franklin took a ries to both ends, oratory and poetry, and pistol and went out to the landing. Two of his sermons stand as exemplars, both as the burglars shot him, one in the knee and expressions of the black American experi- the other in the groin. As he fell on the land- ence and as a human response to his own ing the burglars escaped. Several hours later struggles and to the struggles of his people.

NOTES 1. This article is part of my forthcoming two- 2. A Journey in the Back Country (New volume book on the Reverend C. L. Franklin. York: Mason Bros., 1860), 187. Quoted material is from interviews and sermons 3. The Art of the American Folk Preacher I recorded in Detroit in 1976,1977, and 1978. I (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1970), 13-16. am grateful for a pilot grant from the Folk/Jazz/ 4. I Got the Word in Me and I Can Sing It, Ethnic division of the National Endowment for You Know (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania the Arts and a fellowship for independent study Press, 1985), 10. and research from the National Endowment for 5. See Edwin A. Smith, Aggrey of Africa: A the Humanities which made the field research Study in Black and White (London: Student possible. I am grateful also to Samuel Jenkins Christian Movement Press, 1929). and Rachel Franklin for their help during the pe- 6. The Negro Church in America (New York: riod of field research, and t) Erma Franklin for Schocken Books, 1964), 9. her cooperation and the photographs she sup- 7. An account of my first meeting with Rev- plied. I am most grateful to Reverend Franklin erend Franklin was published in "Stance, Role, himself, who took many hours from his busy and Identity in Fieldwork among Folk Baptists schedule to talk with me about his life and and Pentecostals in the United States," Ameri- preaching. can Music 3 (1985):16 -24.

2. 103 Reverend C. L. Franklin 101 she was at the cross. (I don't believe you're A Mother at the Cross praying with me tonight.)' She was at the cross. Now there are some Sermon by the Reverend C. L. Franklin, theological commentators who said that New Bethel Baptist Church, Detroit, Michigan, May 14, 1978. while Peter had denied him and many of the Field videotape recording and transcription by Jeff Todd Titon. others had deserted him and Judas had be- trayed him, Mary was there. Some of the commentators say that she was there because she was permitted to be there under the cultural situation, that women were not thought of as equals in anything: in respon- want to talk with you this evening from sibility or anything else.Itis said that a passage found in the book of St. John, the women were almost unnoticed. But this is a nineteenth chapter, the twenty-fifth and the sad commentary. twenty, through the twenty-seventh verse. Anytime a man has been charged with "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his treasonhmm? Anytime the Roman gov- mother, and, his mother's sister, Mary the ernment has ruled that you are guilty of wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. treason, it's dangerous for anybody to be When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and with you. (Did you hear me?) Anytime the the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he Jewish church had decreed that he was a said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy heretic, an impostor, and a devilI want to son! Then said he to the disciple, Behold thy tell you, it was dangerous for Mary to be mother! And from that hour the disciple there. took her unto his own home." You know, if you've read this Scripture Now I want to talk about a mother at the with any care, the Scripture surrounding Cross. I think the thing that makes us iden- the trial and crucifixion of Jesus, the arrest, tify ourselves with Jesus is because of his the trial, and the crucifixion, you'll notice humanness.I thank God that he didn't that the charge was first a religious charge. make him without the tendency of tempta- He had blasphemed against God, according tion. I thank God that the Lord made him to the high priests. But the country, Judea, in such a way that he got hungry, he got although the Jews had some rights, they did tired, he got sleepy, he got lonely. He wept, not have the right of capital punishment. cried like you cry sometimes. (Did you hear me?) In this instance he did something very And of course when they came up with characteristic of himself, that under the that charge, Herod wouldn't deal with it. spell of excruciating pain, in an hour when "Now you've got to get us another charge. he felt like even God had forsaken him, Now whatever he's done to offend you-all when darkness was not only upon him here in your church, we can't deal with physically but darkness was upon him men- that.It'scertainly not deserving capital tally and spiritually. We have those hours punishment. If you want him put to death sometime with us, for in our lives some rain you got to come up with a better charge falls, some winds blow, some storms arise. thanthat." And they went back and But characteristic, characteristic of him be- brought up treason, saying that he was cause under those unusual circumstances he working against Caesar. He was working thought about others: he thought about his against the state. He was inspiring and iA- mother. stigating a revolution against Rome. Then Now his mother had been with him from Caesar said, "Well now" or Pilate said, birth. She was at the cradle, she was in the "Well, I can deal with that now If he's, if home, she was in and out of the carpenter's he's doing anything against the state, then shop. She walked backwards and forward we can deal with him." to Jerusalem along with him. Those were Now I'm trying to say that through it all, not hard places, bad places, but the thing Mary was there. His mother was there. Je- that makes this experience unique is that sus, I mean Cecile talked about the qualifi- she was not only at all of these other places, cations of a mother this morning, and

Folklife Annual 1987 102 motherhood was not just something biolog- whole, ical, but is something that one has to earn. Mother of mine, o mother of mine. Just because you have had a child doesn't make you a mother! Motherhood is some- She was at the cross. I tell you, if one is in thing that one has to achieve. Well, I'm the deepest sea, she's there or her prayers trying to tell you that Mary was a model are there. If you're damned body and soul, mother. She not only brought him into this her love and prayers will make you whole. world, she taught him the traditions of his (You don't hear me.) people. She saw to it that he observed all of So Jesus said, "Woman," which was not the rites, all of the ceremonies. And here at derogatory, considering it within the frame- the end, she was there. Didn't have the priv- work of his culture. It was not disrespect- ilege of being at his bedside. It was worse ful. He said, "Woman, behold your son." than that. She was standing by his cross. Said, "Now I know I'm about to leave here. Say, "Well, why wasn't she scared?" Love I'm hanging from a tree. And my weight is rules out fear. Say, "Well, he has broken the tearing the flesh in my hands. But I want to law." Love does 'r care anything about see that you have a home before I leave breaking the law. Some folks say, "I love here. I want you to have somewhere to go. you when you -r,. right, but when you're Now I've got some brothers but I can't wrong I'm through with you." Then you leave you with my brothers because they don't love. (You don't hear me.) Because if don't believe in me." (I wished I had some- you love me, you're with me right or body here to pray.) "I want to leave you wrong. You're there to help me get strength with somebody who believes that God has if I'm wrong. wrought a miracle in my life." (You don't She was at his cross. Her sister was there, hear me today.) and then Mary Magdalene was there. Her That was one of the things he said from sister, who was the mother of James and the cross. Another one, I said he was con- John, had come to him one day and said, cerned about others, another one was, "Fa- "Well now, I know that you are going to fol- ther forgive them, for they know not what low the Messianic tradition and I know they do." And then, "Verily I say unto thee, you're about to get your kingdom set up today thou shalt be with me in Paradise." and organized. I want my two sons to be And then, "Father, into thine hands I com- closest to the throne. I want James on one mend my spirit." These were things that he side. I want John on the other. Don't have said while he was dying. too much time to worry about other folks' Somebody said he stopped dying long children; I'm talking about mine." Jesus enough to run revival and rake one of the pointed out to her the selfishness of her am- thieves along with him. (You don't hear bition but it didn't crush her, for she was me.) Stopped dying and prayed for them, working for her own children; she was and said, "This day you'll be with me in functioning as a mother. (You don't hear Paradise." And then he said, right after he me tonight. Listen if you please ) appointed Mary a home, "I thirst. I've been I believe it was Rudyard Klp ling who out here since noon, hanging on this tree. said, I've been out here under unusual tropical sun. I've been losing blood since last night. If I were hanged from the highest hill, But I wanted to get at least one of the Mother, o mother of mine; thieves straight. And then I wanted to pray I know whose love would follow me still, Mother, o mother of mine. for everybody who's doing things against If I were damnedor drowned, rather, in themselves and others. I wanted to pray for the deepest sea, them before it's over. And then I want to Mother, o mother of mine; commit and commend my spirit to God." I know whose love would come down to And certainly he did. And when he said me, Mother, o mother of mine. that, he dropped his head, and said, "It's If I were damned of body and soul, finished. The battle is over. The task has Mother, o mother of mine; been completed. The work has been done. I know whose prayers would make me To this end was I born.

l: 105 Reverend C. L. Franklin 103 "And 0 Lord. for this cause They were going to put a rope came I around his neck into the world. and And the hangman it's finished now was going to remove 0 Lord. the plank on which he was standing. I don't need 0 Lord. anybody And to commit me. they I don't need had tried anybody and failed to read the burial ceremony. time and again Well to get him a reprieve. I'm going to say it 0 Lord. myself. And every time Yes I am. they failed. Into your hands 0 Lord. I commend my spirit. The mother 0 Lord." thought about an old And tradition I remember reading that went on and obtained a story a long time ago in that country: that dealt with before they hanged mother's eternal love. anybody .4 is said they had to ring the bell. that her son 0 Lord. was in jail, And early that morning and he was in there she got up because he had been condemned and went down to die. to the courthouse where the gallows had been situated.

NOTES

1. 1 have put these direct addresses to the con- Onetype of phrase IL brief and formulaic gregation in parentheses. Franklin told me he (e.g., "0 Lord"), tends to gain Franklin time, sometimes uses them to gain time, and some- andestablishesthe tonicpitchby ending times to ask for more amens from the congre- strongly on the tonic. This type 1 call "auxil- gation when he feels they are not paying close iary" and set it flush against the left margin. An- attention. The congro,ation members know other type of phrase starts at or quickly rises to what he wants and r.spond more fullyfor the pitch apex (i.e., the highest pitch) and then awhile, at any rate. falls toward the tonic, usually by thirds (e.g., 5- 2. Cecil Franklin, Reverend Franklin's son, 3-3-1). This type 1 call "main" and set it in- spoke in church that morning. dented from the left margin. 1 set "secondary A note on the transcription format: for the sake phrases" as lines indented further from the left of readability, 1 have rendered the spoken part margin. This third type of phrase follows a main of the sermon as prose and the chanted part as phrase and has a pitch apex below the preceding poetry. (The Kipling poem is spoken, however.) main phrase's pitch apex, usually a minor third 1 divide Franklin's chant into lines based on above the tonic. Secondary phrases usually end his pauses for breath; that is, I stop each line on the tonic. where he stops for breath and 1 begin again on (The main phrase's pitch apex increases as the the line below, where he begins again after tak- chanted section progresses. At the beginning, ing a breath. By its music, Franklin's chant falls Franklin establishes a main phrase pitch apex a into three types of lines or, as I will indicate minor or neutral third above the tonic; very here, musical phrases: auxiliary, main, and sec- soon after, he moves the pitch apex up to a per- ondary phrases. fect fifth above the tonic; toward the end of the

Folklife Annual 1987 104 ICU O Lord. And after awhile She climbed up they gave up. in the belfry After awhile about an hour they said, "Since the bell won't ring, before time. we can't execute him." 0 Lord. 0 Lord. And By that time then the hangman she fell down and his crowd upon the ground came marching out. under the bell clapper And with blood she was up in the belfry running from her nose, holding on ... from her eyes to the bell clapper. and from her shoulders. O Lord. O Lord. They got the rope She said, "Well, son, in their hands. I know you meant good. They pulled down You are my child. but there was no sound. Go on. And as they pulled the bell, Don't worry. the bell swung over Don't worry from one side to another. about me. 0 Lord. I'm all right." She fell 0 Lord. against the iron wall Did you know of that big bell. that Jesus, 0 Lord. Jesus She was bruised, held the bell clapper she was bleeding, of time and eternity but she held on in his hands? to the bell clapper, Oh well, oh yes she did. ohh, Yes. yes!

chant he moves it up further, a minor seventh transcriptions in which whole sermons are set as above the tonic; and sometimes at the very end poetry, and I have used devices such as italics, the apexis an octave above the tonic. His boldface, and capital letters to indicate volume. daughter, Erma, likened the process to shifting I have slanted the lines on the page to follow gears in an automobile.) intonation, and at times I have used musical no- Often there is a grammatical correspondence: tation along with the text of the chant. All of auxiliary phrases are formulas or conjunctions; these settings have their uses, providing, as it main phrases carry subject and verb; secondary were, a kind of performance score. phrases carry objects and prepositional phrases. The setting here is less radical because, al- This correspondence tends to collapse near the though I agree with Dennis Tedlock (who has sermon's close when most of the lines have the written much on this question) that prose on the pitch apex and thus fall into main phrases. page is a poor medium to present the spoken Here is an example: word, I chose readability over oratorical per- 0 Lord. [auxiliary) formance. The poetry I happily set as poetry, in- And [auxiliary) fluenced by William Carlos Williams's idea of I remember reading [main) the "variable foot" and Charles Olson's idea of a story a long time ago (secondary', "projective verse." And in an age when inexpen- that dealt with [secondary) sive videotape can bring voice and gesture into mother's eternal love. [main) one's living room (I hope to publish the videotape of AMother at the Cross,for example), an It is possible to set this several different ways, ethnopoetic score now seems almost as anach- and over the past fifteen years or so I have ex- ronistic as print itself. perimented with and published ethnopoetic

ReverendC. L.Franklin 105 . 4- 107 John Henry Faulk An Interview

BY JAMES MCNUTT

ohn Henry Faulk has had a singularly )i amboyant career as entertainer, political activist, and regional spokesman. Though probably known most widely for his ap- pearances on the "Hee-Haw" television variety show and for his long battle against AWARE, Inc., a self-appointed Communist watch organization that attempted to black- ball him from radio, Faulk did not enter the public arena as a professional entertainer or as a political activist but as a folklorist. He received an M.A. degree from the Univer- sity of Texas and later taught there in the Department of English. A friend and contemporary of Alan Lomax, he was well ac- quainted with the previous generation of Texas folklorists, including John A. Lomax, Sr., J. Frank Dobie, and Mody Boatright. At John Henry Faulk's John A. Lomax, Sr., published his Cow- home in Austin, Texas, boy 1955. Standing: Faulk and Songsin 1910 with an introduction by Roy Bedichek; seated: Wal- Theodore Roosevelt. He "discovered" the ter Prescott Webb, Mody well-known folksinger "Leadbe!ly" and pro- Boatwright, and J. Frank moted his work. Lomax was honorary con- Dobie. Courtesy of James McNutt Copyright 01938 James McNutt

US Folklife Annual 1987 106 109 John Henry Faulk 107 sultant to the Archive of American Folk- tics, and personality. The clearest message Song at the Library of Congress (now the to emerge from Faulk's varied encounters Archive of Folk Culture) from 1933 until with folk and folklorists is his own faith in 1942. J. Frank Dobie was an internation- spoken performance as a means of effecting ally known anecdotist, folkstory author, change. Where he once imitated folk ser- and scholar who began his long association mons in dialect, he nowin 1987ap- with the University of Texas in 1914. He pears on stage in the character of his former was a self-styled maverick who disdained mentor, J. Frank Dobie. As folklorist, en- the Ph.D. but gained a reputation for his tertainer, legal wrangler, and politician, his knowledge of American culture that led to verbal perseverance makes a sermon worth his appointment to the Chair of American the listening. History at Cambridge University and as The Archive of Folk Culture at the Li- honorary consultant in American cultural brary of Congress and the Barker Texas history at the Library of Congress. Mody History Center at the University of Texas at Boatright earned his Ph.D. at the University Austin both house some sixty-nine field re- of Texas and taught for most of his life in cordings of black church services, inter- the Department of English at the University views, and other materials that Faulk col- of Austin. lected in 1941. The placement of the re- Faulk's remarks in the interview that fol- cordings at the Library of Congress was ar- lows richly integrate the story of his dawn- ranged by Alan Lomax, in charge of the Below and right: John ing awareness of folk expression, descrip- Archive from 1937 until 1942, who sent the Henry Faulk. Courtesy of tions of the people who influenced him, and recording disks for Faulk's use; Faulk re- James McNutt the complex interaction of discipline, poli- quested and received duplicates of the original recordings for the University of Texas. The interview was transcribed and edited, with Mr. Faulk's approval, from a recording made June 28, 1981, in Austin, Texas.

711111111. =rvINIMION

JM: The point ... Isthat [folklore] would really be more narrow than what these ,.....r.i... people were, especiallyfor Dobie. He claimed at times not to be a folklorist, for different reasons. iF: Yeah. JM: [John A.] Lomax, biographically, was a lot of other things, and the only reason I want to touch on the other things these people did is to see how it affected their folklore. So I want to know what their per- i sonal backgrounds were, their early career, you know, life, childhood, and that kind of thing. I want to know how they were educated, what they read, what influences they thought they had; I want to know how they tied into the institutions that they worked for, especially the university [of Texas], and how that affected them and whether it hin- dered or helped their work, and so on, and how they related to professional folklorists later.

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, JF: Good, good show, well you start in on ry's published in the Saturday Evening Post." me. Pub: [laughs] jm: All right. I want tr., talk to you not JF: And I fell under his influence in 19 only as an [acquaintance of folklorists], but believe it was-34, yes, I'm sure it was. as [a folklorist]. You did a master's thesis on And Alan Lomax, I'd gotten some cedar Negro.... choppers from up here in this part of the JF: "Ten Negro Sermons." That was U. country, this was of course no Westlake Frank] Dobie's and Dr. Rudolph Willard's Hills then, this was just mostly bootleggers idea. They had a meeting of the minds in and cedar choppers. Got some boys that few other places, but their minds met there. I knew up here because they were my Willard was a medieval scholar but a very running mates to come down and sing dear friend, and he got totally enchanted they could sing dozens, the Gant family, with the speech patterns down here, as a G.A.N.T. Ether Gant was one of the boys. linguist you know, and was interested in lin- And it was a singing family; they sang all guistics. Then he became just utterly ab- the old Appalachian ballads and whatnot. I sorbed with the Negro religious manifes- got 'em to perform, and Alan was utterly tations, particularly the Negro sermons, enchanted, and so he and I became very because I had moved into that field then, close friends, and he and his father were and concentrated on this. And Dobie, who collecting by that time and I took Dobie's viewed all Yale professors aswell not all, course, and Dobie and I became friends. I that's an unfair thing to saybut he viewed was a very poor student as far as the kind thewhole business of doctorates, [the] Ph.D., of scholarship that he demanded and the with a jaundiced eye. And so I was the one kind of study that he demanded, but I that brought them together, that's how I had the folk speech already and I was a came to do this thesis; they both agreed that good anecdotist and this Dobie valued very this would be one of the first of its kind ever highly, so we became close personal Lic:71e. undertaken. Dobie was all for it, so was But he would ride me very hard about my [Walter Prescott] Webb, so was Rudolph. slovenly habits as far as doing research and They formed literally one. of my guiding that sort of thing was concerned, and my lights in the matter. writing, attention to the skill of writing. At jm: Okay, how did you first hear about that time I'd planned to be a writer and a folklore as a thing in itself, aside from hear- lawyer kind of combined, and this friend- ing sermons and tales and songs .. .? ship grew, and he had always a rather pater- JF: Well you must understand that in the nal attitude toward me and of course the early thirties, there'd been a Folklore Soci- great emphasis that Dobie placed on, what ety before that. I knew Alan Lomax shall I say, on the humanity of the people didn't know him well; he lived on the other that he dealt with, their songs, and their side of town, old Mr. John A. did. And then folksays, and whatnot. I didn't know Mody Alan, see, went up to Choate first, and then [Boatright] at that time. I knew of him but to Harvard, but was down here a great deal I didn't know him. It was Dobie and old because this was his home base, Austin was. man Lomax, and Alan that were my great And when I was a sophomore at the univer- friends. And old man Lomax was a very ar- sity, my brother had taken courses under bitrary, very kind of pompous gentleman. Webb and Dobie both, and was very keen But a dear soul, and one of the most deli- on folklore, but never active in collecting or cious relater of stories and observers of the anything. He just had an interest in it. But folk scene that.... He and Alan, of course, when I went to the university, of course, were out with a very primitive kind of re- Dobie was a figure on the campus then. He cording machine going around to the vari- had a capacity for asserting himself, and ous sections of Texas and they were I'd say, not in an abrasive way at all, but he was a the people, that took a, what shall I say, al- literary figure. Number one, he'd had books most a scholarly interest in the collection of published, he'd published in the Saturday folklore. The Folklore Society, I joined it. Evening Post; [people would say] "that sto- And the Folklore Society consisted of half-

112 Folklife Annual 1987110 M..

John A. Lomax with "Uncle Rich" Brown, at the home of JuliaKillmgs- worth near Sumpterville, Alabama, October 1940. (LC-USZ62-56331) John A. Lomax Collection, Li- brary of Congress

a-dozen or so schoolteachers and profes- Lomax. See, Lomax had broken down the, sors. It was a very esoteric study, you have opened the frontier, as it were, he'd made it to understand, it wasn't popular, there respectable. And a serious study. And then wasn't a widespread interest. As a matter of there was Stith Thompson, who is from fact it was considered kind of weird by Austin and had taught at the university and people. he taught at the University of Indiana. But jm: Well, was it like a chess club or some- his approach to the material, he was a hel- thing? luva nice guy, but his approach to the ma- JF: Uh. terial was so esoteric, you know, variations jm: I mean about that level of popular- on "Froggy Went A-Courtin" found in ity? Alabama and Arkansas, it just bored the JF: Yes, oh yes, yes, that's quite right. daylights out of me. it was like Rudolph There were schoolteachers and Dobie and Willard studying the fragments of manu-

1.1.3 John Henry Faulk 11 1 a year off and traveled the country. I'd never been out of Travis County at that time. Just gone from pubEz schools here right to the University of lexas and took it for granted that that's the way one did. In the meanwhile Alan vnd I stayed in correspondence, but it wasn't until 1938 when I came back, I'd decided to not go do any more law, I was going to go back into arts and science. And Dobie, as I say, Dobie and I were friends and of course Lomax and I. Daddy was a close friend of the Lomaxes and in other words, I knew them better, I knew the Lo- max family much better. I thought it was very quaint that they all sang songs together. And I'll have to say, although I had a very permissive family, and a very supportive family, Mama and Daddy and all, they thought, "Oh, Johnny, you're wasting your time with those darkies, they, bless their hearts, everybody likes to hear 'em sing, but goodness don't take it seriously." And I had an ear and an eye for the unusual, the real singers. By 1938 the quartets were in great vogue, black quartets, every four blacks were a quartet. And they'd have contests, singing contests. I was going back to Alan Lomax in a 1940 scripts, illuminated manuscripts. It didn't starting to get my bachelor's and my mas- publicity photograph for catch me. The thing that caught me and the ter's the same year, and this is when Dobie CBS. Archive of Folk Cul- thing that bound Dobie and I so close to- and I started seeing a lot of each other, in ture, Library of Congress gether were the people themselves. Dobie the late thirties. was very interested in the people them- Dobie had then become very politicized. selves. And interestingly enough, on a es- When I first knew him he was the bane of thetic level, never on a, he never cared Roy Bedichek's existence. He was not a re- about how they lived, that was their busi- actionary, but he regarded Roosevelt and ness. And if they lived in hutments, he had the New Deal and all with considerable sus- no sociological convictions at all except picion. These were "the politicians, like that Mexicans should be Mexicans and buzzards come flockin' to a damn corpse, they could sing these wonderf'corridos Johnny, dead horse." And Dobie had most and the stories they told were au'solutely of the cultural attitudes that a Methodist breathtaking. Alan Lomax was the ale that born and raised in Texas in a very Method- had a sociological interest, and he realized ist family would have, and although he had that it was the expression of a people talk- movedaway from religion he had the social ing about themselves and the way they attitudes. Segregation was perfectly accept- viewed the world and the way they viewed able to him. He never challenged it until the society and the way they viewed their own thirties, '36. And above all suspicions he experiences in society. And, I'd say Mr. Lo- suspected Catholics. This was very com- max shared more of the Dobie point of mon in that day, son, you know an anti- view. Catholic attitude was very prevalent in the But I started collecting, then I went off; I Bible Belt, the South. And Dobie retained went into law school, and that took my at- most of those suspicions of the Catholic tention for about a year and I realized I Church. Well, the pope of Rome blessed wasn't going to enjoy law school and I took Franco and Hitler and Mussolini's attack

114 Folklife Annual 1987112 on the Republic of Spain and the issues and very threatening, and it was "Deutsch- were very much like those today on the land iiber alles." Well Dobie had, and I be- matter of El Salvador. Do we preserve this, lieve this quite honestly, with Dobie, he do we help them, you know set up a fascist accused the Germans, for importing the state, because most liberals, and I was a lib- concept of the Ph.D. The moving of dry eral, and certainly Mody Boatright was, bones from one graveyard to another, that whom I had met by that time, and become was the exercise that he regarded as the very fond of, he was very quiet and gentle, whole Ph.D. program. Now Alan and I had pipe-smoking fellow. And Roy Bedichek become very close friends, and I was work- had very strong political opinions. When I ing on my bachelor and my master's, too. say very strong, he didn't voice them. Now And Mody was. Well Mody and Dobie, Mr. Lomax, my god he hated old Roose- Alan was in and out of town, but Mody and velt, hated the whole damn New Deal, he Dobie and Bedichek and Dr. Webb, he just was very, very conservative in his politics. listened, he never contributed folklore- His son was progressive, which he laid, Mr. wise, except that he had an ear, he leaned Lomax laid that to the influence of Harvard his ear over close and he heard Texas and University on him. the Plains talk. But he was a close friend of RA: Well, that's funny. I don't guess it's old Lomax's, too. And we'd spend half our funny that Lomax should say that, but time each time we'd get together, talking, nothing I've seen about his experience at telling Lomax stories about Mr. John A. be- Harvard would indicate that. Of course he cause he was a character of the first water. went there in 1906 and '07 ... Arbitrary, huffy, a great pouter if you hurt JF: Oh, yeah. his feelings. In other words, if Mr. Lomax RA: ...John A. and then Alan went there and I were sitting here having a conversa- in the thirties. tion, and I said "I've got to go to the bath- JF: No, no, no, you have to understand room" and he was in the middle of relating that Alan was the apple of his eye. John [A. something to me, I'd come back and I'd say Lomax, Jr.) was older than Alan, I think "All right," and he'd say, "Never mind." I'd Shirley's the oldest, and then there's Johnny, violated one of his rules of being utterly at- who was a sweet, gentle guy whose bent tentive to him.... went the other direction. He was kind of The upshot was th_t I hit on this idea be- the wheelhorse of the Lomax family. And cause I had begun going out into the black then there was Alan and Bess. Alan's the churches and spending a lot of time in very one that traveled with his father. He was seriously collecting, and Mody encouraged that one that's exactly like him now, many me, and Dobie. Dobie loved my stuff, of his personal characteristics, very much would love to have me. Dobie knew what like old Lomax's. Lomax was such a de- I was doing, see, I would embroider, see lightful soul, you just would delight in his I didn't have a recording machine, so I stories and accounts of people and this sort would embroider the character. Dobie said of thing, but he was this terrible conserva- "That's real relating now, Johnny," says, tive, see, at a time when liberalism was at "nothing can be duller than Dr. Payne" its height, and during the Depression and (who belonged to the Texas Folklore Soci- New Deal. ety, Leonidas W. Payne), "bless his heart, Well, at any rate, Dobie became this very sittin" there talkin' about, old Payne sittin' political guy, and he never hid his light there talkin' about some damn scrap that under a bushel in terms of his opinion. He's he picked up in Alabama somewhere. Bore let fly with some pretty strong opinions. you to death. It 'ud kill folklore. Kill an in- And this came as a shock to a lot of the terest in it. Don't blame people for thinking [people]. You understand World War II was it was silly study. Just like Stith Thomp- building up, you know the whole inter- son." But he was commenting on the acad- national atmosphere was heating up con- emicians' approach to folklore. When I siderably, and Hitler was moved in on started working on my master's, in 1939, Czechoslovakia, and Hitler was rampant, well actually in '38, but I really started

=, 115 John Henry Faulk 113 cutting into doing it, and then Rudolph jm: He was mad because he thought the Willard, as I said, I was taking graduate dialect spelling was inaccurate? courses under him, became very influential. JF: Uh-hm. And that I'd done it too slop- Rudolph had a recording machine, a huge pily, that I hadn't really listened with the ear damn thing, we'd take it out to these and I hadn't reproduced a piece of authen- churches. And it was the first one any of tic folksay, was the position. Well at any these people had ever heard or seen. This rate, Alan and I had become close friends was around Central Texas, the rural areas. then, Lomax, and I was teaching at the uni- Most of the blacks lived in agricultural versity, I was a tutor at the university then. areas at that time. They weren't in the ur- Alan was always a very progressive ban centers as they are today. But I had a thinker. I mean, he thought, you know, he very keen ear for folksay, and a very consid- had approached this material from a socio- erable skill at reproducing the speech of logical and anthropological point of view. various persons that I would interview. And Alan has a magnificent mind, he has one of Dobie, this was Dobie's great delight, he'd the best minds I've ever encountered. And have me recite."Tell about that fellow, was a great influence on me as far as start- Johnny, tell about that old boy you ran into ing my thinking along the lines of these are out in so-and-so." And he took almost, as I a people talking about the society they live say, a paternal interest. And I adored him, I in. And Alan is the first one that called my absolutely adored old Dobie, because there attention to the protest songs, the protest in was an integrity and decency about the the black spirituals, see. When I'd heard man. He never said yes when he meant no. blackssing,"Heb'n,heb'n,everybody He had, he was the essence of undiplomatic talkin"bout heb'n ain't goin' there, Heb'n, behavior. Not in the same sense that, his Heb 'n." Alan is the one that said "Don't was never a personal kind. John Lomax you know what they're saying? They were personalized his. If you hurt his feelings, or singing to the white folks, old white mars- if you contradicted him, Dobie didn't mind ter and all that was going to church, talking if you contradicted him. He'd say, "Well, I about how he loved Jesus and all." They all think you're a damn fool, but I've been a had to be good to go to heaven. But they damn fool often enough to know." And uh, couldn't say it, and "Follow the Drinking he had a great capacity for affection, genu- Gourd" and all of the songs, Alan is the first ine affection. Mr. Lomax did too, that. one that analyzed and found that these When we really all got active together, were protest songs, many of them. It was Lomax came down from Dallas, he was liv- the only means of safe protest there was, to ing in Dallas. And I'd written a piece for the voice any kind of protest. He's the first one Texas Folklore Society Publications some- that pointed out to me that when you met a time in '39. I don't remember what the black man you met literally two men, one piece was even, now, but I'd done it in dia- that was confronting white man, and one lect. And Lomax came down, wrote a letter, that had his own life, his own set of, with to me and Dobie: "That's the silliest thing his black friends, that was totally different. in the world, he writesitlike a buf- You know, and Negroes did not enjoy being foon. ..." and he didn't spare the hosses called "niggers" or "nigras." The proper any [laughs]. word was "Negro." Alan was the first one. jm: [Laughs.] Now I told Dobie about that. "Well, I think JF: And he's right, he was absolutely Alan's carrying that too far, now Darkies right. What I was trying to do was write know we think a lot of 'em. They know dialect. their friends." And, well, this was a great JM: Now I can find that. . problem with Dobie, trying to learn to say JF: "Dat," I'd write that for, "dat" for "Negro." He'd ask, "Johnny, now how do "that." But I'd just written it really as a kind you and Alan want me to say it? Ne- of, from, it wasn't an accurate piece and GROW?" [Laughs]. Lomax had a very great respect for accu- I was, you know, had started working on racy. ... this thesis. And there was a Rosenwald

4 1 6 Folklife Annual 1987114 Black church, Ellis County, Foundation at that time, in 1940. Well, it's had its roots, its origins in Africa. Most Texas, June 1937. (LC- been a number of years, and they gave fel- Southerners that I knew, I was raised in a USF34-17445 -E) Photo- lowships for work amongst the blacks of family that loved to go hear the colored graph by Dorothea Lange. the South, for libraries, and that sort of folks sing and at our church we'd have a Farm Security Administra- thing. And my, they came up with a project, colored choir come over and pay 'em, I tion Collection, Library of Dobie and Lomax came up with a project, Congress guess, five dollars to come over and sing. for me to apply for a Rosenwald fellowship Sometimes they'd come for nothing. But to collect black folksay, and mostly black they'd come and put on a concert of those folk music in their churches, you know, in old colored spirituals that were just so won- their church services. Alan said the whole derful. And it was the, that was the cultural service has to be, is a work of art, and it contact between black and white. It was follows a very carefully designed pattern, quite acceptable to go listen to 'em sing be- and it relates. Alan see, had approached it cause blacks were supposed to be the best very intellectually, and understood that it singers in the world, see. God did give 'em

117 John Henry Faulk 115 "Lightning" and his group that, you'd have to say "God give 'em a "Dobie's boy" on campus. We were great singing in the woodyard, good voice. You get half a dozen of 'em to- friends. But it was beyond just the matter of Darrington State Farm, gether you gonna have halfa dozen folklore, we were also interested in politics. Sandy Point, Texas, April cracker-jack singers." Well, uh, Alan, it was And Dobie began to be interested in the so- 1934. (LC-USZ62-23008) the first time I became conscious of segre- ciological aspects of the black situation, the John A. Lomax Collection, Library of Congress gation. I was raised by very civilized par- social structure of our society. And being a ents who had, who treated the black with very honest man, he believed the liberated respect and, but always as a different spe- mind was the only true god, and you cies of citizen. And this was the accepted so- searched, you searched,let your mind cial situation, you know.... search the horizons for new ideas. So he, I got my master's in the summer, got my you know, this was a great gift that he had, B.A. in the spring and my master's in the because he wasn't inhibited by orthodoxy summer, there had been a great deal of in- and, and cant, both of which he loathed. terest and they talked about this Rosenwald Nor was Alan Lomax. Nor was Bedichek fellowship. And I had become, kind of or Mody. Webb was very much of a ortho-

\./' 118 Folklife Annual 1987 116 dox thinker. He would be described as a lib- and he's too damn old, but he'd been in eral. But as far as the folklore itself was World War I and we actually combined our concerned our interests went beyond just politics with folklore at that time. the matter of folksay and the pure folklore Because by this time Alan and I had be- aspect of it. We began to see the whole pic- come very close and Alan was, understood ture. And this was a great revelation to me so clearly the implications, he understood, because I began to realize the kind of, the Alan would explain to me the meaning of society I lived in. And for the first time the prison system, black prison system, questioned segregation. And Dobie ques- there were segregated prisons of course. tioned it. And especially in light of Hitler's That the reason the material he collected in anti-Semitic pronouncements. This was one these prisons were so pure, that it derived of the charges against him, that he was mis- directly from the slaveocracy in the South, treating the Jews over there. It was one of that all the conditions prevailed where the the uglier aspectsI'll have to say it never white man had power of life and death over did alarm the American people greatly, it these prisoners. At the same time we were was [not] something that they got agitated collecting together. He, Alan was the major over. It never took on the aspect of say, at- collector, I mean he was a master collector. titudes toward abolition before the Civil He traveled tirelessly into some area where War. But was one of the charges against there was a good singer. He'd traveled the him. And Dobie saw it as, "Hell, he got all South, I hadn't, I mean all over the United his laws from us, Texas law books." We States. I hadn't even been to the West In- had, you know, legalized segregation,I dies. He and his father had established the mean we had Jim Crow laws on all the Folk Archives at the Library of Congress books, where any social contact between and had attracted a great deal of attention the races was strictly forbidden, by law. with their very extensive studies.I was You had to make provisions for their sepa- never in that category, I was strictly on a rate toilets, separate drinking places, sepa- East Texas and Louisiana and Arkansas rate seating places on public conveyances level of collecting. My speciality was black and whatnot. And so this, all of these atti- folklore. And, oh I'd collect, run into good tudes were, all became part of our conver- storytellers and set 'em down. But you see sation. mine was never really folklore, I was more I belonged to the Folklore Society and we interested in the dramatic and the entertain- still had our annual meetings where people ing aspect of the stories that I would collect, would present papers on interesting nick- and I was a good interviewer. I spoke the names in East Texas, and folk stories from language and I had a great deal of success so-and-so county, ghost dogs, and this sort in forming a degree of rapport with the of thing. I spoke, I'd preach Negro ser- black and getting 'em to make statements mons, because I could do one up brown. and getting 'em to make observations on And I was called on to speak before the var- their lives that ordinarily they would never ious civic groups and study groups and that confide to a white man. As I say, they had sort of thing. So this is how I got, I guess my thisschizophrenic position. Butif you basis for my becoming an entertainer. could get around, behind that, and I col- Dobie was widely respected as a yarn- lected A couple of slave.. ..See there were spinner and he'd travel all across Texas to still ex-slaves, and old Lomax is the one speak before high schools and before wom- that suggestedit:"Johnny, they'restill en's study groups. But he began to mix pol- down there in the Brazos bottoms, you'll itics into it and kinda' shook the hell out of find folks that lived under slavery and you these very conservative groups when he ought to get their stories. Get 'em to tell would go right to the heart of the matter. their stories." And I did that, I got quite re- And he had very strong convictions on markable, because see, a number of people World War II that the Germans had Hitler, had taken down their statements in long- just despised Hitler. He and I were going to hand, but you never heard the real voice fight Hitler somehow. Well I'm one-eyed telling the story about "I mem' old Massa'

.I''.3- 119 John Henry Faulk 117 when he went off and then he come back he was quite a remarkable guy I realize Wife and child of a laborer and all of us was called up from the quar- in the Brazos river bot- now and he dealt with them the only way toms, Texas, June 1938. ter," and you know that kind of thing. The they could be, he could deal with this ma- (LC-USF34-18276- C) Pho- instruments they ate with, each child was terial. Because you must understand that in tograph by Dorothea given a big spoon, and never saw a fork or the public at large at this time, nobody Lange. Farm Security Ad- a knife in their lives, and they ate mush would take J. Mason Brewer seriously, ex- ministration Colleciion, Li- mostly and things they could dip out of a cept somebody like Dobie and Mody Boat- brary of Congress big community bowl. All of these, all of right. He was just, "Who cares what black these enchanted me, these authentic stories. these black stories, who in the hell cares, From infancy I'd loved to sit and listen to who could possibly.... There's an old nig- stories, I'd had a number of elderly relatives ger tellin' a story. And he goes down there who'd gone up the trail and who lived on in the Brazos bottoms and collects these the frontier and could remember when nigger preacher stories and I don't know there were still Indian raids. Well, I'd al- anybody, I can't imagine wastin' time like ways been a sucker for this. To find five that." This was the general, I'm describing different variations on "Froggy Went A- the general attitude. Dobie didift have that Courtin" in different counties in Alabama attitude at all. had about the same interest to me as Ein- I never knew Mason Brewer well. Alan's stein theory did, I mean just left me abso- position was that the only really, the only lutely cold. But the meat, juicy stories that real sensible black man was the militant were told was what got me. And this Dobie black. Well there weren't very many mili- approved very highly. And he didn't mind tant blacks inthe South, because they that I deviated from fact and colored in, didn't stay in the South long or they didn't sketched in places that actually hadn't oc- stay militant long if they, if they were. And curred, that made it a more listenable piece Alan said the black that cuts up each other, of work. Alan did. And Dobie says, "And what's called a "bad nigger," you know that read some of the stuff Alan's had tran- was a common expression, "Well, he's a scribed. My god, you can't read it. Jelly `badnigger.' That old nigger's a good Roll IN. might be the most interesting worker, he's a good worker, but he's a bad man it. Norld, but Alan just transcrib- nigger, 'cause he get off down there at those ing with an his `ahs' and repetition, it's bor- damn bucket shops and get drunk and get ing to read, Johnny. You do it your way. in a fight, cut up, hell they go down there, Least you'll have readers." to get him out, you willin' to get him out of JM: Did you, was it in this period that J. jail every Monday mornin', pay his fine, Mason Brewer was also, did you know he'll make you a good hand durin' the him? week." Alan said this, these are the only JF: 'les. Yes. J. Mason was over here at real "adjusteds." Because no black could Huston-Tillotson, and he'd come to Dobie adjust to the damn system they were com- with some stories. He considered J. Mason pelled to live under. The most contemptible Brewer, well, his attitude toward him was, thing in black society at that time was what I would say, colored by his attitude toward they called a "pimp," that was the word for blacks, when he first met J. Mason Brewer. the black that reported to the white estab- But he encouraged him, oh god, he encour- lishment on troublemakers and any organi- aged the daylights out of him, because he zations and things that threatened the realized that J. Mason Brewer had sources structure of the community. And the whole that nobody else had, and J. Mason Brewer law enforcement system from Georgia right was pretty dedicated to him. But J. Mason through Texas was dedicated to keeping the Brewer had the unenviable situation of hav- nigger in his place. Any white that had dealing to deal with the white world as a black ings with blacks other than master and ser- man, and he had most of the attitudes of a, vant dealings with them, was potential I mean most of the mannerisms of a polite, threats because the CIO had been orga- intelligent black man dealing with the nized, and the CIO didn't care whether you whites. He never offended 'em, they were were nigger or white. "Organizing these

1? Folklife Annual 1987 1 I8 A

"2. niggers, too." And there was literally a "By all means, we'd welcome a black audi- bounty on their damn head in most coun- ence, in fact we think it's a disgrace there's ties of the South, when a CIO organizer not one, they're not admitted." And we would come. went in to see Dr. Rainey, and made the This was during the period, see, of World pitch, can't we on Sunday afternoon with- War II, when there was great ferment in this out any fanfare or anything just have this country going on behind the scenes, and it group, there never would be over eight or was a very dramatic period. It radicalized nine of them, maybe a dozen at the outside Dobie. Dobie andIwent toseeDr. and they'd sit politely up in the segregated [Rainey], we were going to have some black section. And by this time they were after singers come on, to Texas Folklore meeting, Rainey's hide, the Board of Regents were, and the Texas Folklore meeting was going_ and one of the charges against him was "he to be held at the University of Texas on the advocates niggers and white people going campus. And Dobie and I talked with Dr. to school together." And the only black that Rainey who was president of the university was allowed on the campus then was, had and a great friend of ours, very, very intelli- to be carrying a package, had to be there on gent man, who felt as we did about blacks, a mission. And he said, "I'll have to tell you but Dobie said, "If we announce it, an- it would be just what they would hope nounce, go around and get permission, vnuld go UL, and spread it all over Texas Johnny, we'll never get it, they haven't got about `niggers tip there, sitting there with any choice but to say 'No.' If we just go white folks listening." Well Dobie was im- ahead and do it, hell, we'll put 'em on a patient with that, I wasn't, I said "I under- show. You get up there and run the thing, stand," because this would be used; Dobie and we'll put 'em on a show that they'll felt, "Well the bell with 'em, son-of-a- know nobody's going to raise any thunder bitches," as Dobie said, "the Board of Re- about it except a few jackasses and we gents cares as much about the true function won't pay any attention to them." And so of a university in the community as a razor- we did, and about a year later, we went to back boar in East Texas cares about Keats's Dr. Rainey, because by this timeI,I'd `Ode on a Grecian Urn." I cite that instance known a great number of Negro educators. to give you an idea of the kind of tensions J. Mason Brewer never fell into this cate- that were arising. gory, but a numbrx of blacks out here at And I had already become so moved, see, Huston-Tillotson, you know, were starting I was in great demand as a speaker, I was a to rumble and mumble about "We got to very entertaining speaker, and I could do change things up." And they wanted to these, uh, I'd recorded a great deal then become to the Fine Arts School, put on con- cause I was on a fellowship, I'd gotten a certs at Hogg Memorial Auditorium on grant, and I'd collected some :are and beau- Sunday afternoon, various pianists, student tiful church services and sermons, just string quartets and whatnot, singers. And breathtaking. So I was in great demand as a uh, this was in '42, '43. Had to be in '42 speaker and I'd bring along my recording because I went off in '43, and I was gone machine, play it to civic clubs and that sort from '43 (,n. of thing, but I'd always throw in, you know, Well, the blacks had asked us, said, "Well, we're embattled in a life-and-death "Look, why can't we come to that, we'll sit struggle with fascism, and with Hitler and up in the balcony," they were perfectly will- Hirohito. And it would behoove us to give ing to sit up in the balcony, although I'd say thought to what we're doing to a segment there never was an audience over forty of our society, we're going to have to re- people came to these damn concerts, they think our position." Well this was just ter- were mostly faculty exercises, see. And "we ribly offensive to [seine people]. love to be able to do this," and certainly the Then I Dobie and I were going to go see artists were perfectly willing, most of these, if we couldn't get in the merchant marine. you know the faculty, all faculty artists, Because see I'd been.... some of them with national reputations, Dobie wanted to go in the merchant here. And they were vt y happy, and said marine, too?

12 2 Folklife Annual 1987120 JF: Yes, he wanted to get where the action both great letter writers, and delightful was, wanted to go off and fight. So I went ones. Dobie had become really radicalized down to Galveston, and he was too old, he by then. And when I say radicalized, he'd wasn't qualified, but they took me. And I began, I'm using it in its true sense, he'd went on a tanker in 1942. I'd had my fel- gone to the root. He saw racism as a genu- lowship grant granted me for another year, ine injustice and also a threat to all the ideas but I suspended that and I quit teaching at that we proclaimed from the housetops to the university and I went into the merchant be the principles and ideals upon which this marine, sailing high-test gasoline over to republic was founded. He never lost his ca- England. And Dobie by this time had be- pacity to understand the thinking of the come quite wrapped up in my affairs, my people that he had come from, but he career. I took great notes, by this time I'd understood why they felt that way, that it learned to be a great note-taker and we got was their inheritance. And he, he didn't torpedoed over in the Irish Sea, not seri- share my feelings, that well, all you have to ously, but the boat had to be laid up in do is tell these folks that they're wrong and Avonmouth, and Dobie was an Anglophile, they'll correct their thinking right away and he thought England was standing firm it'll accord with yours in the future. against the Hitler menace. Which they, in- Now, I've given you kind of a rough pic- deed they were, and he was a great cham- ture, every time I'd come back, when I went pion of the Soviet Union. "Hitler's bit off a off in the merchant marine. Dobie gloried chunk," he told me when Stalin declared in it, Henry Nash Smith and others. There war . .. "that he won't digest." He said, was a wonderful guy, Dr. David Stephens, "these knownothings, goddammit, they who was head of the humanities division of better, instead facing what the damn Rus- the Rockefeller Foundation that was talk- sians really a people and maybe got a differing about giving me a Rockefeller grant to ent society but they're a people, and Hitler's really, really do some serious work with the gonna wish he hadn't of gone that direc- black field. I stopped in to see him when I tion." You know, up until that time, '41, was in New York, with my ship, my ship when Hitler declared war on Russia, Hitler was anchored up in the Hudson, and I went hadn't been defeated. He just marched over up, he lived in Upper Montclair. And he the map of Europe with his iron heel and said, "There's an organization, the Red France had fallen in '40, and there was Cross has a service, a overseas service, that great ferment in the country over, and Hit- they are looking for young men. And ler of course was swung down through Johnny, you, any man that's been through North Africa heading to join up with the high school can work on a ship, I think you Japanese, and they'd have the globe encir- could make better use of your talents and cled. And this was their master plan. We your abilities if you went into the field ser- had entered the war by then, but as I say, I vice, overseas field service with the Red was disqualified, and Dobie was disquali- Cross." And he investigated and I applied fied from service, and we were both very and that's how I went over to the Middle anxious to get in the fray, and that's how East, for a year. Dobie and I corresponding the merchant marine thing came about. the whole time. Dobie had gone off to Cam- But theRockefeller Foundation had bridge by this time. And Lomax, Alan, was taken a great interest in me by then, and in the Signal Corps, which was kind of the Henry Nash Smith, incidentally, was teach- communications department.Alan had ing at the university then, and he was part gone to New York, sold CBS on the idea of of the, our group that would go out to doing a program called "Back Where I either Dobie's ranch or to Webb's ranch and Come From," and Alan had discovered Burl sit all night long and talk, tell Lomax sto- Ives and Woody Guthrie and Josh White. ries. The Lomax stories were our favorite He had an absolute genius for discovering thing, old man, about old man Lomax. "I remarkable talent. And, to the public as a remember when he did so-and-so and so- whole there was no vogue in folk music and-so." And uh, Lomax and Bedichek had whatever, it was regarded as really beneath had great exchange of letters, they were serious consideration by the public. It had

John Henry Faulk 121 e, t" 123 no, it had no audience save in colleges. And jm: Was Bill Owens around here then? Bess by this time, in true Lomax fashion, JF: No. He wasn't here. He was in and had become a serious musicologist and she out. Bill and I knew each other, but Bill's had gone to [New York], she and Alan were approach was quite different from ours. He the liberated minds of the family.... was a pure folklorist. He, I would say a very But Alan and I remained very close conservative gentleman, and we were all of friends. I was not as well informed politi- us, you know, about a lot of things besides cally. folklore. Bedichek loved Bill Owens and, But, I had a very great understanding, because Bill had been raised in East Texas. and Dobie understood, too, and we had But Bill was really a very serious collector very strong political opinions, and I did. and a tedious collector, I could never bring Our trouble, Dobie and I got into trouble, myself to the kind of really studious ap- mostl because of our attitude toward the proach that he gave to folklore, collecting black. We had pretty much arrived at the these songs. I remember a song that became same time that it was an injustice for the a great popular hit called [sings): "A Tiskit, black to be forcibly denied full educational A Tasket, I lost my yellow basket, dada, opportunities,fullcapacities as human dada, dada, dada,... ." And Bill did a beings. J. Mason Brewer understood that piece on this, on the origins of this, where, very well, but he never got out on that limb where this had really come from, that it at all, this never inspired him. But inspired wasn't a Hollywood, Tin Pan Alley song at a lot of young blacks that I'd meet down at all, that it was an old folk, children's play- Prairie View College and whatnot, because song. And this is the kind of thing that Bill they were already radicalized. But I came did excellently. But my interest was on a, back in '44 from the Middle East, and they not nearly so academic a level. And Dobie, took me under limited service into the I would say, combined the academic and the Army, and I was stationed out to Camp A corral on the SMS ranch kind of more general, humane, I mean hu- near Spur, Texas, May Swift, Texas, which was not, of course, man aspects of folklore. 1939. (LC-USF33-12213- right in the heat throb of the battle field. So JM: Let me sidetrack you just a second, M3) Photograph by Russell about every two weeks I'd be up here and since you mention that. I know you're in Lee. Farm Security Admin- spend the evening with Dobie and Bedichek the middle of something about Dobie and istration Collection, Li- and Henry Nash Smith, Mody and Webb so on during the war, but since you mention brary of Congress out at either Webb's place. .. . it, did the political interests of yourself and .01111,____

Mexican cowboys hold a Dobie and company synchronize or not people, poetry of the earth. See, it was Do- calf for innoculation synchronize with the more academically bie's strong contention that we had created against black kg disease oriented kind of folklore? Actually there an art form that was indigenous to Texas during a roundup at the were academicians on both sides of the po- and this is where our strength lay, by turn- Walking X cattle ranch litical camp, because Alan Lomax was very ing our eyes back this direction. This was near Marfa, Texas, May much, he could be very academic about the his great influence on me, taking a pride in 1939. (LC-USF33-12191- MS) Photograph by Russell folklore. the fact that we did come from the earth Lee. Farm Security Admin- JF: Oh, oh yes. and contended with the frontier. And he istration Collection, Li- JM: Was there ever any sense, though, had no use for the Hollywood cowboy, the brary of Congress that the academic pursuit of folklore in te- cowboy that Dobie idealizedhe didn't dious detail was supportive of political con- idealize him. They were working people, servatismin anyway,orpolitical they didn't carry guns and didn't have gun- liberalism? fights. They carried...his uncle Jim had JF: No, it would lead you the other direc- been a cattleman all his life and he had a .44 tion. After all, that's what had happened to pistol that he'd never shot in his entire life. me, I'd become politicized by my work in Somebody'd given it to him or he'd bought folklore as had Alan Lomax. His father it on impulse sometime early inlife.It never had. See, his father never, didn't have stayed in his drawer until it got to where it time to, he was very, very, very paternal to- wouldn't shoot as far as Dobie knew. And ward the black. But he wouldn't hesitate to none of the cattlemen that he ever inter- give one a dime to sing all day for him. Alan viewed were gunslingers or, and this was was very sensitive to that kind of thing and purely the creation of the pulp magazine Dobie was. Of course Dobie never collected people and romantic writers. They were any with machines, never went for it like showoffs; Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson were that. Most of his, most of his collecting had their ideal. Had very little to do with the been done with corridos, folk stories from day-to-day working situation on the range. South Texas in Spanish and translating it to And, of course, Lomax, this was Lomax's English. He loved the poetry of these approach, too. There was nothing whatever

John Henry Faulk 123 these people really were and what they had to contend with. How they held on with their backs to the wall and this sort of thing. How you could trust a man that said "I'll deliver you 500 400-lb. yearlin's, steers, next spring," would do it, or pay. His word was all, nothing was written down. Dobie valued this very highly as the way a society should operate, where there was mutual trust, mutual understanding. And inviolable laws that you couldn't, that were unalterable as far as human conduct. He had a great respect for integrity and held it in very high regard. Dobie was one of the most honest human beings I ever encountered. Absolute integrity. So did Alan Lomax, incidentally. And I would say old man Lomax within his limitations did. But he never had the expansive mind that Dobie did. Oh, he'd despair of Dobie. Dobie wrote a article, he had a column that several Texac papers wrote and in 1941 he wrote this column on Pappy O'Daniels. Dobie'd gone down to speak at the San Jacinto Monument on San Jacinto Day, and Pappy O'Daniels had come sweep- colorful and joyous about working cattle, ing in there, he was governor of Texas, had Huddie Ledbetter ("Lead- rutting up with sick cows, doctoring sick come sweeping in there unannounced. His belly") with his wife, Mar- tha, February 1935. (LC- calves and you know, it was backbreaking whole coterie of followers and announced USZ62-35026) John A. work. There was a certain nobility about it, that he was going to give the address, he Lomax Collection, Library because these people that had an integrity, had a very important address to give and of Congress Dobie had a great deal of respect for their they had to change the whole program to integrity, knew there were drunks and accommodate the governor of Texas. And it deadbeats amongst them, but he had very was purely a political move because Pappy little use for the showmanship, he had no O'Daniels wanted to announce that one of use at all for a rodeo, for instance. Thought the senators, a junior senator from Texas, it made a lot of sense for the Mexican va- Shepard, had died and Dobie wanted to quero who had no other form of entertain- announce that, rather, Pappy wanted to an- ment for them all to get together on a ranch nounce that he was appointing his succes- and demonstrate their roping and riding sor. And so Pappy O'Daniels takes over the skills, but as far as bulldogging and bronco stage out there, the proceedings. And Dobie riding, the object was to get a horse and goes storming around and stomping around break him from throwing you, not to try to inside the damn monument because he don't value him for his ability to throw you off, want to hear the son-of-a-bitch. And he got he wasn't any good as a work animal. Do- back in time, it was a rainy day, and got bie's was a very realistic approach to the back in time, the skies parted just before the ranching industry. He loved horses, he ceremony started and Pappy O'Daniels got loved the range, and he loved the people up and said "Old Sam Houston, smiling that worked it and made their living from down from heaven, the Almighty has it. But he didn't, his stories, all the stories parted the clouds to hear, to see because he he collected were the stories that dealt with knew that I was going to announce that his the life and the working conditions of these last remaining son, General Robert E. Lee, people and the accurate account of who or General Thomas Jefferson Houston, has

Folk life Annual 1987 124 been appointed to the United States Sen- dately on past and then dropped back down ate." The old gentleman was eighty-odd to his 30 miles. (laughter) And the guy years old and was senile and also bed- behind him! And Shirley said Bess came ridden, and Dobie was so outraged by this in in tears, she was crying, said she fre- announcement, its what he regarded as an quently was from her father's beratings. absolute desecration of San Jacinto Day Bess couldn't restrain commenting on the and the whole thing, he wrote this column fact: now you honk the man out of the way, and ended up as as, Pappy had written a now you're driving slower than he was song that had become that had kind of be- driving! Lomax refused to speak to her. cenie a theme song of Texas, [sings] "Beau- These kind of anecdotes, these are what we tiful, beautiful Texas, the state where the would spend whole evenings telling, Lomax bluebonnets grow / The land where our stories to one another. Dobie, Bedichek, forefathers, died at the Alamo." And old Webb, and Mody. And Mody was always Dobie quotes a passage because Pappy led just a listener. the whole congrega:ion in singing. And Do- JM: Did any of this kind of thing happen bie described it with just a bitter, savage at the Folklore Society meetings? pen, and it ended up, "Oh beautiful, beau- JF: I don't recall ever any kind of fracas tiful Texas, land where our forefathers died, at Folklore Societies. They weren't the kind Oh beautiful puppy vomit, Oh beautiful of people that got into fracases. buzzard puke." And that was the end of his JM: Can we go back a little bit.. .. column. Well old Lomax, I was gonna drive JF: You have to understand that Lomax him around, I'd drive Lomax a lot when regarded himself as genuinely the father he'd come to Austin, come down from Dal- the originatorof it all here in Texas, so he las, and he greeted me at the Alamo Hotel, not only assumed the mantle, but he acted with that paper, just shaking allover. the part. And wasn't condescending, but he "Frank can't do this, this is disgraceful, he's was always very mindful of that fact and gonna wreck his reputation writing trash you were damn well conscious of it, any like this. I can't stand O'Daniels either, but matter regarding folklore, collection of folk- you don't write this for the public to view. lore. Lomax was terribly offended at Lead- Beautiful puppy vomit, beautiful buzzard belly. Because he got Leadbelly out of the puke. Those words don't appear in family penitentiary. Leadbelly was a chauffeur and newspapers." And Dobie just laughed, it also gave them all their songs. Well Alan, by bothered Dobie not a bit. He was very fond this time is in his thirties. Alan had become of Mr. Lomax, as I was, of Mr. Lomax's very conscious of the fact, you know, the idiosyncracies and his posturing would be- black was the last mansat on the last row come, were the source of just endless anec- and came through the back door. Lomax dotes for us. Dobie would, just reveled in accepted that and he defended that system. them, and Bedichek did, and Mody would And he was a Mississippian and was of the always smile his gentle smile. Mody was a Southerngentry;regardedhimselfas very gentle man, you know. ... Southern gentry and they weren't Southern JM: Okay, well, this is a story from Shir- gentry, but he regarded himself as part of ley [Lomax]. the Southern gentry and supported the sys- JF: Yeah, Shirley was telling it. Bess was tem. And Leadbelly got uppity one time just anot even a teenager then, and driv- and threatened Mr. Lomax's life. Scared the ing along and Lomax talking away to her hell out of Alan cause he knew by this time and there's a car ilk front of them and Lo- they'd grown up a kind of a rapport and max speeded up and kept honking at the Alan was very defensive of Leadbelly; man; just h-o-n-king, just sittin' on the Alan's one that related the incident to me. horn. And the guy, there was plenty of But it was quite a frightening experience. room for Lomax to go around. Lomax And Lomax never forgave Leadbelly for wanted him to remove his vehicle from this that. It wasn't the way you treated your pathway and the fellow finally just pulled benefactor. You didn't speak to him like over and was glaring and Lomax drove se- that.

.127 John Henry Faulk 125 p1: Did Lomax ever talk about his expe- ety. And that day was surely coming. And riences when he was a boy. ? Lomax, I don't think, ever felt that this sys- jF: Yes, they were always idealized. He tem would change or should change. He re- had a sister here. garded the black ashe accepted the jm: . .. like a story about Nat, his boy- political and social strictures of our society. hood friend that he talks on? Alan didn't; Dobie and I didn't after the jF: Yes, yes. But theyLomax idealized forties. his background a great deal. Nothing I got my FBI file here a couple of years comes to mind right now.. .. But Lomax ago. And I was in it. I didn't think I was in and I could be wrong about thisbut Lo- the FBI, but I was in it. And the fascinating max was never capable of breaking the cul- thing about the file was, that this is where tural straitjacket in terms of the separation, they picked me and Dobie up. This is where segregation of the races and his was a very we firstour names first got in in 1943, I fraternal, familial attitude towards blacks. think. Faulk has been inducted into the But part of his family is very sweet and that, Communist party by Frank Dobie. This is but he would say things that to a black mil- all trash and mishmash that goes into file. itant today would send him scatty. And These are just the reports special agents get would send Alan scatty. And Alan and he from informers. And it's a far graver, an would get in terrible fights. outrageous reflection on the misuse Of jm: Well, how did he come to do this power by a government agency than it is thing? Why did he collect black folklore? anyit is also a comment on the political JF: Because Lomax hadLomax was climate of the day. Wewhat was itoh, unquestionably a genius. He is a man of a that's right, we belong and we're very out- magnificent mind [but] he never put the two spoken in an organization called "National and two together. He never questioned the Committee to Abolish the Poll Tax." In the system. That this was thenthat lynching opinion of the FBI, that was obviously a was the inevitable result of such a system. communist-inspired thing. That it was a method by whichand while jm: Nobody ever tried to include the he disapproved of it very profoundlyI Texas Folklore Society as some kind of would, this is the way I would analyze the communist-inspired outfit, because of Do- situation. He'll never say, "Well the system bie? itself createsthis." He would just say, jF: Oh, heavens, no, never. But folksong "These are aberrations of lawless people." itself was under attack during the Mc- And he would never approve an injustice, Carthy period. As were folk singers that an overinjustice to a black. On the contrary, sing these songs, call 'em "protest songs." he wouldn'tyou just didn't do it any This went before that House on Un- more than my mother would. My mother American Activities Committee and this accepted segregation. Had to the first part sort of thing. They were after mostly of her life until we all became pretty active Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, who were integrationist in the late forties and early very outspoken in their political views, fifties. And my father always was andbut Woody was, you know, not only would pro- never an activist. He was a lawyer and tried claim his membership in the Communist their cases for them and was much re- party but defended it. And that's when folk- spected by the whole black community. But lore came under attack. All folk music. he didn't actively; he said that time would Alan used to tell me in the thirties that one have to take care of that, but his daddy's day all America would be singing their own position always was. Daddy was politically songs. They'd understand the richness and a very, very aware man. But Daddy's posi- the importance of their own folk culture. tion was that so long as white man's place Alan wasthis was one of his great theses is up here and the blacks down there, that's in the twenties. I would say that was shared all well and good. But when the black de- by his father. But the importance, Lomax cided his place was up here, too, it was placed great importance, John A., placed going to be a day of reckoning in our soci- great importance on this. As a matter of

1 2 S Folklife Annual 1987 126 France and collected. He was better known over there than he was here. He was away eight years, from 1945 to 1958 over there collecting. And because this was the Mc- Carthy period and folk music was under attack; he was certainly under attack. He, my God, early on he was under attack. Because he brought the whole folk singing to the CBS, but it had been just an esoteric public service show, it had never had any sponsor- ship, but he collected jazz musicians from down in New Orleans and as I say, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, and promoted and worked tirelessly with them. Progressives had begun to attach a lot of importance to it, but it was confined entirely to that. I think that Woody Guthrie and Peter Seeger that first started hootenannies when they were singing at concerts in Washington, I mean in New York and that sort of thing. And there was a stirring of interest iii it and folk music, but it was only when the Weav- ers made this smash hit and it swept the country, "Sanna, Sanna, Sanna" which is an Israeli song and " Goodnight, Irene" that it swept. And then while Alan was in Eu- rope, the enterprising Tin Pan Alley men went down to Washington, all this stuff went to the Library [of Congress], and got all "On Top of Old Smokey" and all the folk songs that Alan had collected, all of fact, he was kind of the discoverer of thisthem. Changed them up enough and copy- Pete Seeger in the 1940s. Archive of Folk Culture, fact. That this is where the real poetry ofrighted themselves and there broke out a Library of Congress the people is. It wasn't until, see, the fiftiesgreat rash during the fifties of folk music until a group called the Weavers, Pete See-that rose to its heights in the sixties, you ger and three others, I've forgotten theirsee, where every kid had a guitar and they names now, sang these songs. "Goodnight,were all doing just what Alan said every Irene," for instance, was our theme songsummer camp. You know, it became the alwayswhen I was with Alan and he'd al-rage. Alan came back in '58 and discovered ways end up the evening by "Let's all singall of the music that he'd collected and per- it" when I'd be in New York with them.sons from whom he'd collected,their Leadbelly the "King of the Twelve String"names weren't even on. And this, oh God, would lead the singing; that was his song, he stayed with me. I was in New York and and Alan had copyrighted it for him. Well,he lived at my place. Just went into a tail- when this burst on the American scene, thespin. And it was just by the nearest fluke radio, it became a great smash hit. This wasthat he had copyrighted "Goodnight, Ir- the whole beginning of the popularizationene" in Leadbely's name. And Leadbelly's of folk music. And Alan went off to Europeestate reaped the benefits. collecting. Had a profound influence on the pit: I wasn't aware of that. BBC, as you know, you got all the stars JF: Leadbelly"Goodnight, Irene" was searching out British folk music. Started a combination of about a dozen different people singing there, and then went to Italy snatches. Leadbelly was good at creating and collected, and Spain and collected, and that kind of thing. He'd hear it one way and

1 John Henry Faulk 127 you know, if you sing the whole song poor, hard working people. This was a through, it doesn't make a damn bit of cruel and vicious thing to say, because Alan sense. had been literally, not only their benefactor, jm: You've met him and heard him sing but their discoverer. while.. . jm: Well, there seems to be an unavoid- JF: Oh, yeah. He stayed with me in New able political connection. York. Leadbelly lived near me. Leadbelly jF: No, my interestfolklore led me into and I were very close friends. Woody Guth- really an understanding of the fabric of this rie lived with me. Alan is the one that got society. And injustices that had to be cor- me to come to New York. He sold CBS on rected. That's the reason I early on became taking me on as a greatyou see, Alan was an advocate of attacking racism in this very much like his father in that respect. I country. I consider it a very, very grave dis- was the best in the business. I could deline- ease that we're going to have to address ate Southern character better than anybody head-on. We can't leave it for another gen- in the world. And there was no exception to eration and another generation. that from Alan's point of view. And, as you jm: Really, the puzzle is still John A. be- see, Alan's early collecting, people that lived cause he does the seminal work. He's got with him and he cared for,- that -he- looked- the idea to go do this stuff; to-collect-from- after, when folklore became great vogue these people. Or at least he's the one that everywhere, the word went out that Lomax really carries the bat. was nothing more than exploiter of these jF: And he's the best I ever met at doing

a COMPLETE jitttki:iitIJil.rti LONG PLAY RECORDS

In the 1960s the "Weav- ers" and other entertainers inspired a generation of college students to take up guitar and banjo and to pa- tronize the coffeehouses that sprang up near every campus. Some formed groups of their own, like Colgate University friends Dan Adams and Gerry Par- sons, who performed under the name "Dan and the Deacon" and are pictured here (center, with banjo and guitar) at the Lime- light Cafe in New York's Greenwich Village. Photo- graph by George Pickow. Album cover courtesy of James Hardin

V 4 e / 1 130 Folklife Annual 1987128 it. He could find them, what he was looking philosophy. And, just as it did mine. And for, and was tireless in his energies in consequently when the McCarthy period searching out for folk artists of America. came along, we were outraged by it. Dobie jm: But, his political opinions get, if any- never had any use for Communists. I don't thing, more rigid. mean by that that he said, "Get that guy JF: Yes, I think so in his old age. Well, you away." You know, hell, Dobiethey were see, he was in banking and finance and he like foot-washing Baptists to Dobie. They was surrounded . .. his companions there, were an esoteric group that had the truth, I mean, his associates there were very con- and any deviations from their particular servative men, and presumably, their atti- brand of truth was not permitted. They tudes, their rationalizations for the way the were orthodox and Dobie had no use for system worked so that they could scrape, orthodoxy. He felt it was a confining thing, draw off the cream from on top. With those just as I did. That's the reason neither of that he accepted too; he never challenged usthat's what makes it so damn funny. that. He was an artist and a thinker, but not But on the other hand, he never had any de- a thinker on that level. Alan early on did, sire of punishing any of them. He felt that Alan during the thirties did. And presum- this was all a stalking horse, just as I did, ably the_more.deeply_Alan_delves,_the more the whole communistic conspiracy idea. the whole truth was revealed. And long be- And this was shared by, of course, Alan and fore it was to me and to Dobie. Dobie and I it was certainly shared by Bedichek and arrived about the same time, in fact that Mody Boatright. But not tobeanti- racism was racism and it was a myth that Communist, you know, and not to go along must be attacked. It was a myth. It must re- of the idea of, "well, by God, it should not lease the potential of the people, or other- be only be deprived of their civil rights, but wise it could destroy us. And, you see, should be treated as a threat to our society," Dobie was an honest man who, as I say, ex- which we never conceived the Communist ercises the truefunction of aradical, party to be in this country because they had namely to go to the root of the problem. no... Dobie'd say, "Hell, Johnny, they And he began to understand the political couldn't elect a damn man county commis- and the economic implications of racism sioner in any_part of the United States, what and I would say he and I did it together but in the hell is this...this is your hypocrites. never with the profundity that Alan did. We See, the damn people in Houston, Dallas, were never, never with the scholarliness damn bankers, big insurance men, going Alan brought to it. You know Alan has a, around talking about your Yankees are as I say, a very comprehensive mind. You coming down here, stirring up our darkies. know, itallfitstogether. Dobie had a Same damn technique is to hide the true slightly impulsive pattern of behavior, you meaning of what these perpetrators of this know, he would plunge into a subject and, damned evil system on us are. I'm not turn- as he said, "My God, Johnny, hell I never ing into a damn Communist. Hell, I don't would debate on one of these radio shows, know but three or four of them. Some of television shows. I might discuss some, but them good people, honest people. But hell, I never debated. Hell, I'm not a debater and I know good Catholics, and I know good I'm not gonna have that kind of mind. I'm Baptists. Don't share their damned opin- not like Alan. Alan examines and compre- ions, but I don't believe in persecuting hends all the ramifications of the positions them. [laughter] I don't believe they should he takes on." be denied any rights that I want to enjoy I was going to say about Dobie some- myself." Well, this was very basic to Dobie's thing that Dobie and I discussed a number philosophy which I regard as good, solid of times; the implications of folklore and understanding of what this republic is all once you get into that, you have to under- about. And very strong convictions, and I stand what it really is all about, it's about share them, most of them. All of which de- people. And this had a great expanding ef- rive from ,:ur early folklore experiences in fect on Dobie's whole political and social America.

13.E John henry Faulk 129 longed and serious research at the national Ethnic Heritage and level regarding ethnic schoolssociolingu- ist Joshua Fishman of Yeshiva University. To begin remedying that inattention, the Language Schools American Folklife Center in 1982 launched the Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools Project. The project secured the services of Introduction a number of researchers around the country to visit, document, and analyze an ethnic school in their vicinity. Research locations were chosen to give a diverse sampling: different ethnic groups, different regions of the country, and different kinds of schools. The list below shows which schools were visited by project workers.

Armenian, Watertown, Massachusetts Cambodian, Houston, Texas Chinese, San Antonio, Texas Czech, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Dutch, Pella, Iowa German-Russian, Strasburg, North Dakota Greek, Birmingham, Alabama Greek, Buffalo, New York Hebrew, Nashville, Tennessee Hungarian, New Brunswick, New Jersey Hupa Indian, Hoopa Valley, California Islamic, Seattle, Washington E_thnic schools" may -be a vague Japanese, Los Angeles,_California and somewhat mystifyingclassification Korean, Silver Spring, Maryland for most Americans. Yet nearly everyone Latvian, Milwaukee, Wisconsin knows someone who attended an after- Lebanese, Birmingham, Alabama school, weekend, or all-day program called Polish, Chicago, Illinois "Hebrew School," "Lithuanian School," Portuguese, Taunton, Massachusetts "Polish School," "Japanese School," or the Turkish, New York, New York like. Such schools are organized by ethnic Ukrainian, Woonsocket, Rhode Island communities as a supplement to the educational requirements that ordinary public Those who would delve into the proj- and private schools are designed to meet. ect in more detail can read its final report, But there is virtually no awareness of ethnic Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in schools as a national phenomenon. America, Studiesin American Folklife, Over the past two decades, as education- number 4, which includes an introduction ists and the public were drawn into a long, by project coordinator Elena Bradunas, es- fractious, and still unresolved debate about says by thirteen of the project workers .....C111. bilingual education, no one referred to the describing the schools they visited, and Sister Mary Abdi talking widespread and longstanding use of ethnic photographs from many of the schools. over homework assign- schools by hundreds of American ethnic Four of the essays are excerpted here ments with Rohymah to share with readers of Folklife Annual Toulas and Lamya Abdul- communities. The experience of ethnic jabber, June 2, 1982. schools may or may not be a helpful model some of our glimpse into ethnic schools in (197518-1-34A-3S) Photo- for bilingual education; but so far as we at America. graph by Susan Dwyer- the American Folklife Center could deter- Shick mine, only one scholar has undertaken pro- AJ

132 Folklife Annual 1987130 A

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kt 4i; 1` , , \ \ 11, age, and the problems they face are new The First Korean School ones for the Korean community. Many Koreans come to the United States Silver Spring, Maryland for occupational or educational reasons, some to escape what they feel is an overly BY LUCY M. LONG competitive and restrictive society in Korea, and others to provide their children with opportunities they might not have in their homeland. Many give up established ca- reers, social status, and economic security, and their first years here are often a struggle for survival, full of long hours at low-pay- In 1982 an estimated six hundred thou- ing jobs. Even so, most Korean immigrants sand Koreans and Korean-Americans were succeed financially in the United States, living in the United States, congregated in often achieving economic stability within three major population centers: Los Ange- five or ten years. Many of them own their les (with about two hundred thousand Ko- homes and businesses and send their chil- rean residents), Chicago, and New York. dren to the best schools and colleges. San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have Korean history, which extends back five Below left:-First-Korean the next °largest Korean populations. The -thousand-years, -has-included-a-continuous. Baptist Church, April24, Korean Embassy estimates that between struggle to maintain an identity distinct 1982. (195616-5 -23) Pho- tograph by Carl Fleisch- thirty-five and forty thousand Koreans live from that of Japan and China. The small hauer in the Washington metropolitan area, the country has nurtured many scholars, art- locale of the ri:st Korean School. ists, and inventors. A respect for tradition Below right: Mr. Hwang Nob ringing the school bell The majority ...A the Korean population in and the past, which is reinforced by the near the entrance to the the United States arrived within the last contemporary achievements of Koreans, is Korean school, April 24, thirty years. The Washington, D.C., popu- an integral part of Korean culture. On the 1982. (195616-3-15) Pho- lation is even more recentonly fifteen to whole, Koreans living in the United States tograph by Carl Fleiscb- twenty years old. The first generation of have retained their cultural pride; they main- bauer Koreans born in America is now coming of tain a distinctive personal ethnic identity

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134 Folklife Annual 1987 132 Right: Miss Yun, an administrative assistant, teaching a third-grade class at the First Korean School, March 20, 1982. (S- 29311- 7A-8) Photograph by Lucy Long Far right: Miss Boon Yi Kwak watches as a student writes an answer on the blackboard,-April-24,, 1982. In the background, fieldworker Lucy Long records the session. (195616 - 2-13A) Photograph by Carl Fleischhauer

and express a community identity through The school is located in Silver Spring, numerous ethnic organizations. Maryland, in the annex and basement class- Christian churches, particularly Presby- rooms of the First Korean Baptist Church. terian and Baptist, function as the central Situated on Georgia Avenue, five miles be- social organization in many Korean com- yond the Washington, D.C., beltway, the munities. Washington, D.C., has over sixty church is surrounded by Maryland sub- Korean churches, many of which have their urbs. Korean lettering on a sign in front of own buildings. They offer a variety of ser- the building is the only indication of the vices to the Korean community, includ- church's ethnic identity. ing Korean language classes for children. Over 150 kindergarten, elementary, jun- ApproximatelytwelveWashington-area ior high, and high school students attend churches sponsor such classes. the First Korean School. A faculty of thirteen teachers and two administrators teach T the classes in Korean language, music, dance, and martial arts. The primary emphasis is he First Korean School was established on Korean language (both reading and on June 5, 1977, by the First Korean Baptist speaking), but other subjects are included Church of Silver Spring, Maryland. The to attract the children's interest and tk-, ex- school became an incorporated institution pose them to Korean culture and values. within the state of Maryland separate from Classes meet every Saturday from 9:30 the church on April 10, 1979. As of spring A.M. to 1:00 P.M. and follow the American 1982,itmaintained relations with the public school calendar, with summer and church, but is growing increasingly inde- winter vacations. The school celebrates pendent in financial and policy matters. It is most American holidays, as well as selected also growing in size and reputation. Korean ones. Students enroll by semester

1g-,..... I. 0 D Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 133 r

Above: In music class, April 24, 1982. (195616-S- -12) Photograph by Carl Flcischhaucr Right: Martial arts class in- structed by Mr. Myung Chul Choi, April 17, 1982. (193186-1-19A) Photo- graph by Lucy Long

and receive report cards and certificates of The First Korean School was created by a achievement at the end of the school year. small group of Korean immigrants living in Although the school is nominally inde- the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. pendent of the church in which its classes Mr. Han it Lee, the current principal, initi- are held, members of the First Korean Bap- ated the idea and spearheaded the organi- tist Church play important roles in the zation of the school, aided by church and school's administration. The church also community leaders, provides classroom space and utilities, but Beforestarting the school, Mr. Lee in all other ways the school is self-support- sought advice from a number of persons in- ing, earning funds for faculty salaries and volved in ethnic language education. The supplies from the students' tuition fees. Washington Korean School, crcatcd in 1970,

?6 Folk life Annual 1987 134 the oldest Korean school in the Washington the "mother tongue" to Korean descend- metropolitan area, provided an example of ents, its administrators state that its pri- an established school. The Korean Embas- mary purpose is to create good Korean- sy's Office of Education, which works with American citizens. They believe that the Korean ethnicschools throughout the more a child understands and appreciates country, supplied other models, as well as his ethnic heritage, the better person he will official support and a representative to the become and the more smoothly his accul- school board. Mr. Lee also drew ideas from turation into American society will be ac- otherethniccommunitiesspecifically, complished. By giving him the opportunity Finnish, Polish, Jewish, Chinese, and Japa- to know his background, the school pro- neseand their organizations. vides the child with more options to choose Mr. Lee also organized the original fi- from when he begins to develop his own nancing of the school. He obtained approx- perspective on his ethnic identity. These imately one-third of the funds for supplies goals can best be accomplished by teaching and administrative expenses from the First the Korean language, using it as a vehicle Korean Baptist Church, which considered for transmitting Korean values and beliefs, this aid to be part of its Christian service to as well as by teaching about Korean culture the Korean community. The rest was paid and history. for by students' tuitions. The church also Facilitating communication between gen- provided free use of its facilities and utili- erations is another major concern of the ties. Korean School. Language is often a barrier between parents and children, particularly since many Korean families are recent immigrants. Because of their interaction with native-born English-speakers through their While the First Korean School identi- schooling, the children usually learn En- fies itself as a language school for teaching glish within a few years of their arrival,

Special class students holding signs that tell their plans for summer vacation, June 19, 1982. (198070 -1- 12) Photograph by Lucy Long

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0" 137 Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 135

Lagglig:',NiiMil.l.;ME.ffilillgeMIREMNIFIEWMFM.MMPEWENEfgfIllGME=1="7MM.[I,MIk while the parents take much longer. Often parents and grandparents never become fluent in the language and speak Korean School principal Mr. Han it Lee points to words on a among themselves and in their homes. As chart as students sing, Mr. Noh, the sixth grade teacher and a April 24, 1982. (195616 -3- board member. says: 30) Photograph by Carl Fleischhauer Their mother tongue, Korean, is needed as a tool of communication between generations. Sometimes, the first generation and second generation...find a gap [in] com- municating with each other later on. Then, make kind of tragedy in the immigrant family. So we worry about [it]. Their mother tongue is basically a tool for communication in the the immigrant family.

The language barrier is particularly obvious in homes where grandparents are living with the family. The reason most often given by parents for sending their children to the school is that it would be a shame for them not to know their own heritage. Parents worry that the children will lack a strong sense of identity and pride in their heritage, both of which may create obstacles for them in achieving a successful and fulfilledlife. They are also concerned about the maintenance of the family identity: they want the family name to be honored, and they want the children to know their ancestors. Com- munication between generations is particu-

Korean dance students wait I. their turn to perform at a Silver Spring, Maryland, nursing home. Behind them are members of the First Korean Baptist Church children's choir. December 1981 (4-29311-26A-27) Photograph by Lucy Long

1 ?8 Folklife Annual 1987 136 larly important, and some parents feel that with others of their background, a place their children are adapting too well to where they can feel comfortable and have a American values and customs. While Kore- sense of belonging. School administrators ans do not officially practice ancestor wor- hope that the children will maintain the re- ship, reverence for ancestors is an integral lationships that begin there, strengthening part of the culture. their ties within the Korean-American com- Most Korean parents demand a lot from munity. their children. Their high expectations stem The administrators are further concerned from several factors. Traditional Korean that the children achieve their long-term values stress achievement and place respon- educational and professional goals, most of sibility on children to bring honor and re- which are set very high. Along with instruc- spect to the family name. Children are seen tion and guidance at the school, they ex- as the hope of the future: the child will take pose the children to successful role models care of the parents in their old age and will and encourage them to set high goals. As continue the family line, insuring that the Mr. Han it Lee says: family name survives. AdministratorsattheFirstKorean If you buy a ticketairplane, bus, train School are concerned with both the imme- Koreanilancestudentrref-- from here [Washington] to San Francisco, diate and long-term welfare of the students you can get off anywhere along the way. But form the traditional fan a ticket to New York, takes you only to dance in a Christmas show and of the Korean-American community. at a nursing home in Silver The school offers language classes not only New York. In life, [one has] only one chance. If [one has] a big goal, [one] can go Spring, Maryland, Decem- to transmit knowledge of a cultural heri- far. If have small goals, only go a small dis- ber 1981. (4-29311-2A) tage but also to provide a central place tance. So ... Korean school tries to give Photograph by Lucy Long where Korean-American children can be students big goals.

123 Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 137 thoseof theVolga Germans (Wolga- German-Russian Ethnic Studies deutschen), established in 1764-67, and the Black Sea Germans (Schwarzmeer- at Emmons Central High School, deutschen), established in the late 1780s and early 1800s. Strasburg, North Dakota The German colonists in Russia enjoyed decades of self-imposed isolation, until the BY TIMOTHY J. KLOBERDANZ reforms and Russification measures of Czar Alexander II took place in the 1870s. These reforms caused thousands of German- Russian colonist families to emigrate to the New World. Having prospered as grain farmers on the treeless Russian steppes, the he German-Russians comprise one of German-Russian emigrants were attracted the larger ethnic groups in the Great Plains to the plains of North America and to the region today. Descended from German col- pampas of South America. The German onists who first settled in Russia during the emigration from Russia began in the mid- 1760s at the invitation of Czarina Cather- 1870s and continued until World War I. As ine the Great, the German-Russians are in Russia, the German-Russians who came particularly numerous in the Dakotas, Ne- to the New World tended to maintain re- braska, Kansas, eastern Colorado, and the gional and religious affiliations in their Canadian prairie provinces. settlement patterns. Thus one finds Volga When they settled in Russia, the German- German Protestants in Nebraska, Volga Russians lived in closely knit, agrarian vil- German Catholics in western Kansas, and lages that were established along religious Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas. lines of affiliation (i.e., Lutheran, Evangeli- cal Reformed, Roman Catholic, Mennon- ite, or Hutterite). For more than a century in Russia the German-Russians avoided in- tensive contact, not only with their Russian he town of Strasburg, North Dakota, and Ukrainian hosts but also with German liesseventy-five miles southeast of Bis- colonists living in neighboring villages. The marck, the state capital, and about a dozen major German enclaves in Russia included miles north of the South Dakota line. Ger-

Sign along Highway 83, outside Strasburg, North Dakota, April 28, 1982. (196618-1-34) Photograph by Timothy j. Kloberdanz

.1.It, 1.10 Folklife Annual 1987138 Les Kramer in his German- Russian studies class showing students a map of the major German settlement areas in Russia, Emmons Central High School, April 13, 1982. (12678-16) Pho- tograph by Timothy J. Kloberdanz Les Kramer explaining to 110MIENSN. his Emmons Central High School students how to research German-Russian genealogy, April 13, 1982. (12678-34A-35) Photo- graph by Timothy J. Klob- erdanz

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man-Russian homesteaders established the where. The population of Strasburg, North community in the spring of 1889. They Dakota, at the time of the 1980 census was named the struggling pioneer settlement in 623. honor of Strassburg, their home colony in Located in the southern half of Emmons South Russia. With the building of a nearby County, Strasburg is in an area densely railroad in 1902, Strasburg gradually grew populated by people of German-Russian in size until its inhabitants numbered seven ancestry. Neighboring communities, such hundred in 1930. Yet, as in other small as Hague and Linton, are well-known to towns on the northern Great Plains, the North Dakotans as towns where the "Ger- paucity of farms and jobs prompted many man brogue" remains adistinguishing of the local youth to find employment else- characteristic. While the Strasburg area is

-e. a 1 4 1 U_, Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 139 primarilyGerman-Russian and Roman High School. The pale brick building is one Students examine grave- stones at the Rosental Ger- Catholic, there is a small settlement of of two high schools in the small community man-Russian cemetery "Hollanders" (who belong to the Dutch that are within easy walking distance of north of Strasburg, May 6, Reformed Church) southwest of Strasburg. each other. Emmons Central is a parochial 1982. (196613-1-16) Pho- Large numbers of Protestant German-Rus- school that serves the Catholic youth of tograph by Timothy J. sians are found only a tew miles to the east, Emmons County, while the local school dis- Kloberdanz and the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reser- trict administers Strasburg Public School. vation is located due west, across Lake The casual observer who attempts to see Oahe and the Missouri River. Strasburg as a homogeneous ethnic com- As one approaches the prairie commu- munityunited by a common religious nity of Strasburg by car, one immediately and cultural heritagewill be hard pressed notices two things: the immense size of its to explain the existence of two high schools Catholic church, the spire of which can be in such close proximity. seen high above the trees and surrounding The first school in Strasburg was paro- structures, and the signs off Route 83 that chial, established in 1910 in the basement proudly call attention to the fact that Stras- of the parish church by Ursuline nuns from burg is the hometown of music maestro Calvarienberg, Germany. In 1918 parish- Lawrence Welk. Born in a clay-brick pio- ioners built St. Benedict's Catholic School, neer home near Strasburg, Welk grew up but there were no high school graduates un- practicing an old accordion brought from til 1927. Due to financial problems, the Russia by his father. Eventually, Lawrence parish turned over administration of St. Welk's shy, reserved style, Emmons County Benedict's school to the Strasburg School "German brogue," and champagne music District in 1931. The Catholic parish did became well-known trademarks in the en- not regain control of St. Benedict's school tertainment world. until 1960, the same year in which the Strasburg Public School was established. In 1%6 St. Benedict's High School in Stras- burg consolidated with St. Antho. ;'s High School in Linton (a neighboring town to the On the northwest edge of Strasburg, north) and Emmons Central High School well within sight of Saints Peter and Paul resulted. At the time of this consolidation Catholic Church, stands Emmons Central Emmons Central High School was "subsi- 142 Folklife Annual 1987 140 dized by all Catholic parishes in the county the sociology course to sensitize students to and...[provided] an opportunity for Cath- cultural differences and human diversity. olic education to a student population from The main text used in the class is James D. seven different parishes." Calderwood'sThe Developing World: Pov- The consolidation that occurred in 1966 erty, Growth and Rising Expectations.The has meant that Emmons Central High book is the subject of some controversy School is no longer a community-based with other educators, says Mr. Kramer, parochial institution but a county-based re- since "the United States does not come out ligious school. Nonetheless, all of the stu- of that book smelling like roses." In his dents who attend are German-Russian. By mind the sociology class is a prerequisite to comparison, the Strasburg Public School, delving into German-Russian cultural stud- while it serves many German-Russian stu- ies. He often tells his students at the outset dents in the Strasburg area, also meets the of his classes to ask themselves three basic needs of non-Catholic, non-German-Rus- questions: sian students. The 1982 graduating class at the Strasburg Public High School numbered "Who am I?" "Why am I?" "What do I in- twenty-five students. Several were of Hol- tend to do about both?" Those are the lander background (with family names questions we have to answer, in light of sucli asHaan; .what_others-are_doing-around_the-world.. Nieuwsma, and -Van Beek). Until you answer those three questions, I The 1982 graduating class at Emmons Cen- tell the kids, life is really not worth much. tral High School, on the other hand, numbered twenty-nine students, all of whom There are various areas of inquiry: came from Catholic, German-Russian fam- 1. German-Russian Surnames ilies (with surnames like Baumstarck, Sil- 2. Map-Making and Study bernagel, and Wikenheiser). In light of 3. Study of Living Conditions of Ger- these facts, it is perhaps not surprising that man Colonists in Russia Emmons Central High School offers Ger- 4. German Language and Traditional man-Russian Ethnic Studies as an integral Songs part of its curriculum. 5. Material Folk Culture 6. Homesteading 7. Discussion of Cultural and Person- ality Traits of the German-Russians 8. The German-Russian Dinner Mr. Les Kramer, principal of the 9. Field Trip to German-Russian Sites Emmons Central High School, has been in Emmons County teaching the German-Russian studies class 10. Genealogy and Family History since 1974. Before coming to Strasburg he taught high school in the neighboring prai- Each German-Russian studies classis rie town of Hague, where he first offered somewhat different in its format and em- theGerman-Russianstudiesclass.Al- phasis. And events such as the German- though the high school in Hague was small Russian dinner and the field trip are sched- (the 1982 graduating class numbered only uled according to a number of considera- seven students), Mr. Kramer considered it tions, such as the agricultural cycle and the an "ideal school" because of the deep sense weather. of community thatexistedthere. He A strong, cold wind was blowing across pointed out that all of the German-Russian the prairie on the day of the field trip, send- students at the Hague High School "traced ing tumbleweeds flying high above some their heritage back to villages five, six miles distant rock piles erected by the early Ger- from each other in Europe." man-Russian settlers. While I thought such The German-Russian studies class at Em- weather might force Mr. Kramer and his mons Central High School follows a gen- students to postpone the trip, I soon found eral sociology class offered by Mr. Kramer out that nothing could be further from Mr. during the first semester. He has designed Kramer's line of thinking. Following the

143 Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 141 field trip, as we talked in the welcome Today he is one of the few surviving Rus- warmth of his office back at the high sian-born elders in the Strasburg commu- school, Mr. Kramer explained to me that a nity. On the day of the German-Russian basic purpose of the field trip was to give dinner Mr. Wikenheiser studied the maps the students and other materials that were on display at the high school with keen interest. Later, he a feel for the wind, and the rocks, and the spoke of the German-Russian class at the psychological barrier they [the early Ger- Catholic high school as being "a pretty man-Russian pioneers] ran into when they got here. And on a day like today ... we good idea." He lamented, however, that the can get a feel for that ...[when] there was students at the high school were not study- nothing out there but prairie, rocks, and ing the German language more intensely. wind. He confided that he felt it unfair to have to translate everything into English for his "educated" grandchildren. Mr. Wikenheiser was ambivalent about formal education, an attitude shared by On the day of the German-Russian many other German-Russians of his gener- ethnic dinner, following the meal and pro- ation. Mr. Wikenheiser's pride in the suc- gram, one of the more talkative and enthu- cess of his old friend Lawrence Welk was siastic persons proved to be Wendelin evident, and he obviously enjoyed talking Wikenheiser, the eighty-six-year-old grand- about the popular bandleader's early days father of one of the students. Mr. Wiken- inStrasburg. As Mr. Wikenheiser was heiser was born in southern Russia and quick to point out, Strasburg's wealthiest emigrated to North Dakota with his par- and most famous native son "didn't have ents in 1903, when he was eight years old. much education."

Making German-Russian dishes in the home economics class kitchen at Emmons Central High School, April 28, 1982. (196618-2-12A-13) Photo- graph by Timothy J. Klob- erdanz

144 Folklife Annual 1987 142 geiation. They did not list other attributes, such as affability, generosity, and sobriety, as characteristic of the German-Russians. A large circular poster with illustrations of a German-Russian earthen home, wind- mill, and plow graced the front of the room on the day of the German-Russian dinner at the high school. Two neatly lettered Ger- man expressions appeared on the poster: "Arbeit macht das Leben suess" ("Work makes life sweet") and "In Amerika durch Gottes Gnade!" ("In America through the Grace of God!"). A smaller poster, bearing numerous pictures of agricultural scenes, bore the legend: "LANDSLEUTEPart of our German-Russian Heritage as Farmers." A characteristic of the German-Russians repeatedly pointed out by Mr. Kramer is an ambivalence toward formal education. He explained this attitude as stemming from a history in which they viewed schools in Russia and later in the United States as threats to their cultural and religious integrity. This fear was compounded by the Ger- man-Russian belief that education was not Model of an "Ulmer Schachtel" (German- essential for those engaged in agricultural Russian emigrant boat) on One unit covered in the German- pursuits. According to Mr. Kramer, such at- display in the banquet Russian studies class deals directly with titudes persist and are contributing factors room for the German- German-Russian cultural and personality to the unstable financial situation of the Russian ethnic dinner, traits. This section of the course always Catholic high school in Strasburg today. April 28, 1982. (196618-2 - 25A-26) Photograph by provides a forum for much student discus- Mr. Kramer pointed out that many Ger- Timothy J. Kloberchatz sion about German-Russian values and at- man-Russians tend to be tight-fisted and, titudes. While this subject was interesting, consequently, dislike making pledges; but it posed some problems, since the students at the same time they want to see Emmons were unable to see themselves as compared Central"their school"remain open. to "outsiders." They admitted that their Thus the future of the German-Russian contacts with people who are not German- studies class, and indeed that of the very Russian were quite limited. Nonetheless, they high school which offers it, remains uncer- agreed with most of the Gcrman-Russian tain. values and attributes discussed in class: industriousness, a love of the land and of farming, religiosity, conservatism, frugal- Author's postscript:Rising education ity, and stubbornness. They disagreed with costs and declining student enrollment re- the instructor that German-Russians were sulted in the closing of Emmons Central "crazy clean," feeling it to be an exag- High School on May 21, 1985.

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 143 American Indian people live in California Hupa Indian Language Schools than in any other state. The Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is California's largest Hoopa Valley, California reservation, in terms of both territory and population. Approximately 1,000 Hupa BY LEE DAVIS tribal members, 800 other Indian people, and 2,200 non-Indians live on the reservation. The Hoopa Valley Business Council, a tribal council for the Hupa people, maintains a Hupa Tribal Roll which lists 1,640 tribal members, of whom 640 live off the he lower course of the Trinity River reservation. flows northerly through Hoopa Valley in northwest California's Humboldt County. The principal, twelve-mile-square section of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is traversed by canyons and hills surrounding he educational system at Hoopa be- the river valley. The Trinity has been desig- gan with a reservation school in the 1870s nated a "wild river" by the state of Califor- and an Indian boarding school in 1893. nia.Itsvalleyisisolated by mountain The Hoopa boarding school became a day ranges on the east and west and by river school in 1932. At present the Hoopa gorges on the north and south. Elementary School and the Hoopa High The Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is School, both public schools in the Klamath- rich in natural resources. Deer, squirrel, TrinitySchoolDistrictofHumboldt black bear, fox, raccoon, rabbit, and puma County, serve the educational needs of the are still hunted for food. Among the re- valley residents. nowned fish resources in the region are The early philosophy governing the pub- salmon, trout, sturgeon, suckers, and eel. lic education of the Indian people at Hoopa The main food plants used by the Indian was aimed at ending the Indian way of life. people are several varieties of acorns, pine About 1880 the military agent at Fort Gas- nuts, and lily bulbs, as well as other nuts ton in command of the reservation devoted and berries. The Indian people of northern hisattentiontothe"assimilation" of California also use animal by-products, the Hupa. Byron Nelson, Hupa historian such as skins, antlers, feathers, bone, and writes, "If 'persuasion' would not induce shell, in addition to plant materials used in the Indians to change, the agents were told woodworking and basketry. to withhold rations, and, if necessary, use The Hupa* are Athapaskan-speaking In- `other means' to 'reach the desired end. " dians who continue to occupy a mr 'r por- The boarding school emphasized practical tion of the territory they occupies, before skills. Instruction in manual (or menial) la- contact with non-Indians. Their territory bor (farming, laundry, cooking, and sew- was set aside as a reservation in 1864, only ing) made up 50 percent of the curriculum. a generation after white contact. This geo- The learning of English was to be the graphical and cultural continuity and rela- equalizing mechanism for the achievement tive lack of disruption (compared to other of the American melting pot ideal. Alice California Indian groups) are major rea- Pratt, now seventy, recalls the punishments sons that continuous language and cultural for speaking the Indian language at the traditions exist as part of the present-day boarding school. Native American way of life at Hoopa. The 1980 U.S. Census shows that more We used to get punished for talking Indian at school. I know many times I couldn't come home because I got caught talking In- dian. My dad used to bring the horse. He'd * Hupa refers to the tribe and the language; Hoopa re- come by horseback. He'd come up there, fers to the valley and its geographical features. and I'd tell him, "I can't go home." "What's

146 Folklife Annual 1987 144 the matter?" I said, "I talked Indian." "Oh, In the early 1970s Tom Parsons began re- pshaw!"Everythingwouldbe"Oh, cording the Hupa, Karok, Yurok, and To- pshaw" with him. (Alice laughs) IowaIndianlanguagesofnorthwest California. All the language programs that The memory of the educational system's were developed later had their roots in Tom harsh attitude regarding the Hupa language Parsons's early efforts. The social move- is alive today in anyone who attended the ment to increase language awareness and is,anyone over boarding schoolthat skills in a more general atmosphere of an sixty. Many, if not most, of the elders "Indian Renaissance" has sowed the seeds learned that harsh lesson well and would of a hopeful future for the preservation and not teach the language to their children, teaching of the Hupa language. to spare them from criticism and punish- In the school year of 1981-82, there were ment. Forty-one-year-old Elizabeth Mar- fivelanguage programsactiveon the shall says: Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, and a When I was growing up, my parents' atti- sixth related program at Humboldt State tude was not to give us anything from our University in Arcata, California, an hour culture. They were punished at the time. and a half away. The six Hupa Indian lan- They couldn't talk their language to their guage programs are listed below by age people. My grandmother raised me. She group. These are the only classes for the said that when she went to school they were Hupa language that exist anywhere. punished for talking their language. They had to learn English; and they learned it Hoopa Valley Preschool real fast! Hupa M'-JE-E-D'N Day Care Center Hoopa Elementary School The transmission of Hupa language skills Hoopa Elementary School Extra- in the home was so throttled by the physical Curricular Program and social sanctions against Native Ameri- Hoopa Valley Business CouncilAdult can language and culture that the passing Career Education Center on of language skillwithin the tribe had Humboldt State University's Bilingual/ Elder Alice Pratt teaches a effectively come to a standstill in 1970, Bicultural Credential Program Hupa language class at the when the first forms language classes were There is a gap between the programs for day-care center, June 16, initiated. Today thi:re r.e several dozen na- elementary-age children and adults, since 1982. (198934-14-14A) tive speakers of Huva, all of whom are over there is currently no Hupa language pro- Photograph by Lee Davis sixty years old. gram available in the Hoopa High School.

afat-t-ImmiLIZU' Hoopa Day Care Center, Elmer Jarnaghan, a native speaker, taught a Upon arriving Alice goes to the kitchen May 2S, 1982. program in the high school until his death area, where Charlotte Colegrove, the cook, (198493-2-35) Photograph in 1980. His daughter Marge Colegrove has a cup of coffee for her. They chat and by Lee Davis carried it on until 1981. There is no longer then Alice takes her coffee to the classroom. a high school language program and no The class is held in the room where lunch is plans for one in the future. Presumably, later served, and it is closed off for the class. high school students could attend the Ca- Teachers bring in the students in groups of reer Center language classes, which are held three to six, and each class lasts from ten to at night; but, in fact, there are no high twenty minutes. Between one and four school students in that class. classes are held per hour, depending on how many students are in school that day. Sometimes Alice is the only adult in the room, although one of the day-care teachers usually observes the classes. On Thurs- he day-care center offers a useful ex- days Ruth Bennett will often accompany ample of Hupa language study. The center and assist Alice, bringing specially made is a department of the Hoopa Valley Busi- puppets of the animals in Indian legends. ness Council, commonly called the Hupa Alice follows a standard teaching proce- Tribal Council. It is located in the Neigh- dure. She chats with the children as they en- borhood Facility and is an all-day program ter, while sitting at 2.1 table shaped like a serving children from two to seven years of kidney bean. The children sit in chairs ar- age. This is the only one of the six programs ranged along the outside of the table, facing thatruns continuously throughout the Alice. She generally starts the class by yearthe only language program with counting from one to ten, first saying the summer classes. Alice Pratt teaches Indian number in English, then in Indian, while language on Wednesday and Thursday at pointing to her fingers. As the children the day-care center from 11:00 A.M. to are quite proficient in this exercise, Alice 12:00 noon. She is driven there in the will often have them repeat the counting if Headstart van from the preschool, where their attention wanders or they misbehave. she teaches just before on the same days. Counting is a familiar guidepost to which

"1. 148 Folklife Annual 1987 146 Alice returns the children to focus their at- very important. And in any matter of real tention back to the lesson. She then enu- importance, that was the language they'd merates the body parts, first in English, use, because they could express themselves better. People could understand better, be- then in Hupa, while pointing to the part cause it was much deeper than some of the of the body. Interspersed with this routine translations that we had. People in the out- Alice interacts with the children in Hupa side would take verbatim reports. When it using such phrases as: "I told you," "Don't came out translated, it was not really accu- bother that," "Sit down," "Don't do that," rate and did not reflect the true feeling and "I'm leaving," "I'll see you again," "I am meaning of what the Indian peopleere trying to say. talking," "Wait a minute," "Do you understand?" "What is it?" "What are you say- Alice stopped speaking Indian to her own ing?" "What arc you doing?" "I'm glad children; she thought it was no good. Her to see you," "How are you?" "Shut your son Alex and her daughter Jean do not mouth," "You go, no ears (scolding a speak Hupa, but her son Edgar knows child)," "I'll do that today," "Don't say some Indian. With the resurgence of inter- that," "You're scared," "It stinks," and estintheir heritage among the Hupa "You crazy Indian, you." people, Alice has begun to teach the lan- She also will include stories about what guage to her great-grandchildren, whom life was like when she was a child and about she looks after, and they learn quickly. In what it was like to live an "Indian" life in the last few years young people in Alice's the old days: the difficulty of gathering family have gone to her often as a resource acorns and finding deer to kill, the patience person for learning the language. it took to fish, how her father caught a sturgeon in his net, how the old Indian people reprimanded children for interrupting, how the children were punished for talking In- dian in boarding school, how strict the ndian people living at Hoopa are strad- boarding school was, and so forth. dling the requirements of two cultures. This Seventy-year-old Alice Pratt is one of sev- engenders an unremitting ambivalence re- eral dozen native language speakers in garding the rewards of belonging to one Hoopa. She is a respected elder and a med- culture or the other and of fulfilling the icine woman in religious ceremonies. Her obligations owing to two different sets of family came from an area in Hoopa Valley cultural rules. Many life situations ask for that is just below her present house. Her an unconscious decisionwhich culture to parents spoke Hupa in the home, and she follow? didn't learn English until she went to the The children in the language classes do boarding school in Hoopa. She often tells not comprehend the larger context of learn- the story of being punished for talking In- ing Indian language. Their loyalties are di- dian at boarding school. Alice and the other vided. They are loyal to their peer group, people of her generation learned that it was which watches cartoons instead of talk- unacceptable to speak Hupa, that to move ing to their Hupa grandmothers and plays forward into the modern world they would sports during free time at school instead of have to leave behind their Indian culture. attending an extra-curricular language class. They did not talk Indian to their children, They are loyal to their families and are re- except for words and phrases. Their chil- warded with encouragement, if the family dren grew up speaking English and under- values tradition, or discouragement, if the standing some Hupa, if their parents still family is not interested in tradition. They spoke it to each other. As Elsie Ricklefs, the are obliged to a larger cultural context that tribal chairman, points out, however, the is requiring them to learn the skills and at- old people titudes of an active adult in that world. In many situations these loyalties and obliga- clung to the language tenaciously, those tions conflict, and the child must choose who did speak it. They thought that it was over and over which group he or she will

1d Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 147 "belong" to. Learning the Indian language has meanings that vary within the contexts of each individual'sloyalties, identifica- tions, and cultural affiliations. Although the language programs were set up to preserve and pass on a traditional part of Indian life, the context of learning has changed and, with it, the meaning that the child finds in learning the Indian language. Traditionally, language was learned in the home, during infancy and childhood, as part of a way of life. Identity-formation was part of the traditional socialization process that occurred in the home and in cultural institutions. Now, since that way of life is gone, learning the language takes place in a decidedly Anglo-American style in a classroom with a teacher, separated from the mainstream of life for these children. Traditional cultural values have been reinterpreted, capsulized, and then for- mally taught. This; formal teaching creates a selective identity and language becomes an esoteric knowledge. It takes on the aura of sacred knowledge, not the secular knowledge that Indian language used to be and that English now is in their lives. To attend a language class has become a way for a person to assert his Indian-ness. and language is a badge of authenticity. Along with Indian orthodoxy, passing on the language transmitssense of well-being and worth, which is perhaps as valuable as the acquisi- tion of language competence which no student has yet attained. Indian language plays a primary cultural role in modern Hoopa because of its mythic quality as a vehicle for defining the boundaries around Indian authenticity. The Hupa leaders are vigorous defenders of their cultural boundaries, fighting against attempts to dispossess them of their land, ti eir culture, their natural resources, their ancestors'remains, theirreligion, and their language. If myth is defined as "sacred narrative, of how people and the world came to be in their present forms," then Indian language and traditional cultural information are sacred and mythic, bequeathing the story of virtuous and orthodox "Indian ways and days" in an esoteric language reserved as a formal vehicle for transmitting this mythic

Folklife Annual 1987148 Top left: A teacher's aide knowledge. The sacred nature of the knowledge being taught explains the charismatic reads to children in the The tribe's long-range goal is to get the yard of the day-care center, role of the individual teacher in the Indian people to understand the value of their own June 16, 1982. (198493 -1- language programs, versus the standard role language. A very great man said once, "If 13) Photograph by Sandy of language teacher that, theoretically, any- you want to get rid of a people, take away Seipel one with language training could fill. The their language." We realize that that's what Bottom left: Ruth Bennett life of the traditional elder is the cord that could happen. We've seen some erosion shows children how to use ties past to present, sacred to secular, and of our traditional cultural beliefs by our hand puppets at the day- young people. They just don't know about thereby transfers the essence of authenticity care center, June 16, 1982. it. They haven't heard about it through our (198934-1-11A) Photo- to the students. The individual is the sacred language. So we see that that can happen. graph by Lee Davis caretaker of tradition and sacred tradition The tragedy of taking away a people's lan- is what is being transmitted. Caretaker be- guage is that finally they are no longer a comes teacher and teacher becomes care- people. taker. All the teacher/caretakers are women; Elsie Ricklefs two men are non-Indian consultants from outside of the community. The friction The language program gives the children among the language programs has created a self-awareness, allows them to discover difficulties for cooperation and is, to a cer- who they are, where they fit in their society, to live in harmony with the people there. I tain extent, the product of a jealousy over think it does. a lot for them. They know the control of "heritage," over the "cor- who they are. They have all their resources rect" forms of the selective knowledge to be hereanimals, trees. We're all a part of life passed on, over doctrinal methods of teach- and we all fit together. They see how they fit ing the sacred knowledge, and especially together in the puzzle, so they know who over the "authenticity" of the teacher/care- they are. Their singing and dancing [the Hupa religion], these have more meaning to takers. Alice Pratt isthe most revered them than it would to me. Because to me teacher because she is a native speaker, an that was a no-no thing, you don't do that. elder, and a medicine woman. Now it's something that you can do because Children at the Weitcpec The sensitive and eloquent statements by you are an Indian, because you are you. School in costume for a There's more pride in being an Indian now play based on an Indian tribal people and community members ex- than when I was growing up. legend, May 24, 1982. press the belief that a positive self-image is Elizabeth Marshall (198493-2-10) Photograph intimately rooted in self-knowledge through by Lee Davis cultural heritage.

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 149 sible, in which they can grow and learn as whole individuals, intellectually, spiritually, The Islamic School of Seattle, and physically. Seattle, Washington 2. To strengthen them to meet and to effectively deal with the challenges of living in the modern American society. BY SUSAN DWYER-SHICK 3. To instill in them a pride in their heritage by enabling them to approach knowledge from a Muslim point of view and by presenting a balanced education with as much emphasis on the Muslim world as on the West. 4. To offer the ultimate in academic ex- cellence so that our children are prepared to take an active and dominant role in the world in which they live. From three families and a handful of un- 5. To foster lasting fraternal bonds with married students in the early 1960s, the their Muslim classmates. Muslim community of Seattle has grown to 6. To enable them to master the Arabic between seven and nine thousand persons language so that they may have ready ac- in the 1980s. The community experienced cess to the original sources cf Islamic knowledge. its greatest growth, accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of its school- age children, in the past decade. On Febru- The pilot project, a modified Montessori ary 3, 1980, a small group of Muslim preschool and kindergarten, opened on Sep- women from the Seattle area met officially tember 2, 1980. During its first year the Is- for the first time to found a school. Upon lamic School of Seattle shared facilities with incorporation of the Islamic School of Se- the Islamic Center of Seattle, both occupy- attle on February 24, 1980, these Muslim ing a house owned by the Islamic Center in parents and educators became the Board of the city's South End at 4919 31st Avenue Directors. South. Children between the ages of two- The Parent Handbook, a twelve-page and-a-half and five were recruited by the booklet written by the Muslim administra- school's founders. These women telephoned tors and distributed to the school's families, every Muslim family in Seattle with chil- articulates the aims of the Islamic education dren in that age range, told them about the provided by the school. The school's goals new school, and urged them to enroll their Islamic School of Seattle, are: children. For Ann El-Moslimany, a parent June 24, 1982. (198624 -1- of three teenage children, and the other 26) Photograph by Susan founders, the approach was straightfor- Dwyer-Shick 1. To provide our children with an atmosphere, as close to the Islamic ideal as pos- ward: "We knew all the families in that category." Those contacted responded posi- tively to the solicitations of the school's founders, says Sister Ann, since "mothers of Muslim children know our children need the support of Muslim peers and Muslim education" to keep them from being pulled in two directions. The success of the school's initial, limited offering provided encouragement and enthusiasm for acquiring an appropriate facility, expanding the existing classes, and extending the program to include the upper grades. During the spring of 1981 the school's founders gave serious consideration to the pros and cons of building a school at a new site or buying an older

152 Folklife Annual 1987150 A

building. They finally located a solidly It was a lot of money, all in cash, and due in built, two-story schoolhouse in Seattle's three weeks. I was asked if I thought I could Central Area. The architecturally impres- raise the money. I didn't know, but upon sive structure at 720 25th Avenue, built in talking with a family friend who knew Sister Diana Akhgar lead- more about these things than I did, it was ing the social studies class 1930, was first occupied by the Hebrew agreed that I should try. I telephoned back on Iran, May 14, 1982. Academy. In the 1960s the city leased it as a the decision. The deposit of $50,000 was Here she demonstrates public education and youth services facility. made and we raised what we needed, al- dressing in achaddor,the During the 1970s, however, it stood empty, though it was closer to six weeks by the outer garment of the a target for vandals. The building was in time all the money was raised and the pa- women of Iran, consisting perwork done. of a long draped cloth cov- sad disrepair when Se: ttle Muslims pur- ering the head and body. chased it for $350,000. (196610-4-24A) Photo- "I was in Kuwait when they called me Before opening for the 1981-82 academic year, the school's founders repaired graph by Susan Dwyer- about finding the building," recalls Sister Shick the lovely red tile roof of their new build- Ann. ing, painted and put new flooring in two classrooms on the first floor, and made all the changes necessary to comply with city and state health and safety codes. Although I professional contractors, some of whom were themselves members of the Muslim community, completed the major structi.Lal work, volunteers recruited from among parents, students, and the Muslim community as a whole pitched in on some of the other tasks. During the 1981-82 school year yet another group of volunteers reno- vated a third, larger room for the preschoolers. Repairs and renovations have continued as funds and resources have become available. In addition, community members have regularly donated their skills and materials. For example, artist Jamshid Kavoussi handpaintedverses from the Qur'an in graceful Arabic script at child's-

747

Brother Mohammad Nas- ser Jappee, Arabic teacher and preschool teaching assistant, conversing in Ara- bic and English with boys in the preschool classroom, May 10, 1982. (196610-1 - SA) Photograph by Susan Dwyer-Shick and twelve were enrolled in the school's three sections: the preschool, the kindergarten-first-grade class, and the second- a through-sixth-grade class. The latter two classes constitute the school's elementary -A program. Members of the Muslim community throughout the United States and abroad (especially in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia) assisted the Seattle Muslim community with the purchase of the school and have supported its continuing renovation and operation. The Arabic word zakat, which literally means "purification," has no ). precise English equivalent. It is a Muslim's worship of God by means of his or her wealth through an obligatory form of giving to those in need. Zakat funds may also be spent in the cause of Allah for the con- Above: Elementary pro- struction of mosques, religious schools, or gram teaching assistant Sis- hospitals and for the salaries of those inter Mary Abdi (center) volved in the propagation or study of Islam conferring with a volun- whose work keeps them from having time teer, Sister Jodi Shahabi, to earn a livelihood. about the needs of a reading review group, May 14, Besides the payment of the obligatory 1982. (196610-S-4A) Pho- zakat, Islam also urges Muslims to give vol- tograph by Susan Dwyer- untary charity, to the extent they can afford, Shick to those in need. Indeed, charitableness is Right: A quiet time in the among the most stressed tenets in Islam. "reading corner of the Since Muslims are supposed to be always preschool classroom, after responsive to human need and distress, a visit from the library Muslims regard their wealth as a trust from bookmobile, May 12, God that is to be used not only for them- 1982. (196610-3-14A) Photograph by Susan selves and their families but for other hu- Dwyer-Shick man beings in need as well. The proper Muslim attitude is set out in the Qur'an:

Never will you attain to the highest degree of virtue unless you spend in the cause of Allah out of that which you love; and whatever you spend, Allah surely knows it eye level along the building's main hallway well. (3:93) and the name "Islamic School of Seattle" They also ask thee what shall they spend. in English and Arabic above the main en- Tell them: Whatever is spare. (2:220) trance. In December 1981 the Washington State Consequently, donations that have been Board of Education granted full state ap- made to the Islamic School of Seattle must proval to the preschool and elementary be understood not as the largess of wealthy programs offered by the Islamic School of individuals but as an act of worship re- Seattle, finding that the school met all fire, quired of all Muslims in the practice of health, and safety codes and provided qual- their faith. For example, Jodi Shahabi, a ified teachers for its classes. At the close of volunteer at the school, and her husband ihe 1981-82 bellUVII year nearly fifty chil- are students at the university of Washing- dren between the ages of two-and-a-half ton. They have a small daughter who will

1 5 4 Folklife Annual 1987152 '0 1 attend the preschool in September 1982. their new home. Perhaps a quarter of the Like most student couples raising a family children were from black or Afro-American and going to school, they experience finan- families. What do these children and their c'al constraints. Nonetheless, Sister Jodi as- families have in common? The acceptance sumes her responsibility as a Muslim and of Islam, the pride in calling themselves designates her zakat to the Islamic School. Muslim, and the desire to learn Arabic, the Islam is a complete cod)f life; Muslims language of their faith. must seek knowledge of the basic tenets of The preschool curriculum includes Ara- Islam and relate them to all aspects of their bic, primarily vocabulary building; pre- individual and social life. In addition, Mus- reading and pre-mathematics (sometimes lim parents are responsible for the spiritual using Montessori equipment); physical ac- instruction of their children. The Islamic tivity (organized games and free play in community has an obligation, therefore, to the gymnasium or outdoors); and religion educate its children in the path of Islam. (memorization of Qur'anic verses and dis- When the Seattle Muslim community is un- cussion of Islamic manners or stories of the able to fulfill this responsibility alone, it is prophets). Preschoolers regularly partici- Islamically correct for Seattle Muslims to pate in the daily requirements of their faith: approach the worldwide Muslim commu- the teachers instruct, help, and show them nity for assistance. Such an appeal for as- through example "to make wudu" (wash) sistance may have other than monetary in preparation for salat (prayer or wor- aims. Husein Saleh, the Arabic teacher in ship). While the children usually have salat the elementary school program, is teaching in their own classroom, they often also go in response to a sense of obligation. "I am to the gymnasium to participate in prayer not trained in teaching Arabic," he says. along with the older children, faculty mem- "My wife is a linguist and she has helped bers and staff, women enrolled in the Wom- me prepare many of the materials. My en's English Program, and Muslim visitors training and interest is in many fields. For to the school. example, I have my master's in urban plan- The curriculum for the elementary school ning. But, it is my obligation to teach Ara- program includes Arabic reading, writing, bic. Each day I ask if they have found and conversation; spelling;religion;Is- another teacher. How can I not teach the lamic art and music; and social studies students Arabic? It is our language of our from an Islamic viewpoint. Not all of these religion. It is my duty." subjects are taught every day. During the final quarter the second-through-sixth grad- ers traveled to the public library on Tuesday afternoons, studied Islamic art on Wednes- day afternoons, and learned about Islamic Wehn the 1981-82 school year ended music on Thursdays. The kindergarten-first on June 11, 1982, forty-seven children grade had a similar schedule: social studies between the ages of two-and-a-half and from an Islamic viewpoint Wednesday after- twelve were enrolled in the three classes: noons, handwriting on Thursday after- preschool, twenty-three; kindergarten-first noons. grade, ten; and second-through-sixth grade, The elementary school children also have fourteen. Boys outnumbered girls, but not regular periods for religious activity. Each by much. More than two dozen families school day opens with the recitation of the were sending their children to the Islamic Fatiha (seven verses that must be recited at School of Seattle. These families repre- the beginning of a prayer ritual). Later in sented at least six different ethnic or na- the morning teachers devote time to helping tional backgrounds and spoke as many children memorize Qur'anic verses through native languages. Some of the families are collective and individual recitation. The in the United States only temporarily, plan- afternoon instruction includes wudu and ning to return home when a job or degree is salat, often with one of the older boys serv- finished. For others, America has become ing as the imam or leader of the service.

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 153 The time scheduled for each subject or work, and parents should bear in mind that group of subjects varies. For example, the Islam is not only a part of the curriculum, daily religion class in the kindergarten-first but it is the essence of the school's being." It grade is a half hour, while religion class is this commitment to Islam as a total way lasts twenty minutes each day for the sec- of life that provides the framework for the ond-through-sixth-grade group. Wudu and development of the school's specialized edu- salat add another forty minutes to the time cation program (signed to meet all the set aside in the afternoon for Islamic prac- children's needsphysical, emotional, edu- tices. Generally, the time periods in the ele- cational, and spiritual. mentaryschoolrange fromthirtyto There are differences of opinion about seventy-fiveminutes. Arabic instruction the importance of specific subject matter takes up at least thirty-five minutes of each and the amount of time spent on different school day, excluding the time spent on the subjects, however. For example, there has language as part of the daily religion class, been discussion about extending the school salat, Fatiha, and surah recitation (a surah day for the older children beginning in is a chapter, part, or book of the Qur'an). 1982-83. Instruction during the day could Moreover, during the 1981-82 school year then be divided equally between the study the scheduling of subjects changed to reflect of Arabic and the study of subjects in En- alterations in teaching staff and volunteers, glish. The school board members anticipate availability of audio-visual materials and resistance to such a change from the two equipment, and concerns raised by Muslim non-Muslim teachers. "To them, of course, parents or board members. this isn't so important. I mean, they can't see the importance; but it is important, and it's our school," explains Sister Ann. For their part, the non-Muslim teachers fully support the religious premise of the school, he founders and the administrators of finding it compatible with their own deeply the Islamic School of Seattle have sought to held Christian beliefs. The non-Muslim provide an Islamic environment for their teachers are, nonetheless, concerned about community's school-age children, not a the amount of time allotted to "the basics," school for 1;.1..1slim children where all of the core courses required by the Washing- their subjects, except religion, are divorced ton State Department of Education, for from their Islamic faith. As Sister Ann ex- which, as certified teachers, they are di- plains, "It's not that we are trying to pre- rectly responsible. tend that the non-Islamic world doesn't Yet, even in teaching these basic subjects, exist, but we'd also like to show our kids both teachers consciously include religious that Islam is everywhere. And to let it [Is- principles and the presence of Allah in their lam] pervade every aspect of what they are lessons and in their interaction with the studying." It is this emphasis on an Islamic children. During a morning science class, atmosphere, more than the teaching of for instance, Mrs. Crum helped her second. unusual or religious subjects, that distin- through-sixth-grade class understand the guishes the Islamic School of Seattle. Is- earth's rotation on itsaxis, the planet's lamic religion and Arabic classes are part of movement around the sun, and the rela- the curriculum at every level. Formal classes tionship of these activities to day, night, and in the Qur'an, Islamic studies, and classical seasonal changes. Using a globe and flash- Arabic are required of all students in the light she and the children portrayed the sea- elementary school program. During school sonal changes and talked about the effects hours all children participate in salat, tak- on the children's lives. "When the days are ing their places among peers and teachers. longer, I can play outside more," realized Those seeking admission for their chil- Mubarak. "The time for salat changes," re- dren are reminded by the Parent Handbook called Rohymah. Then, bringing an inter- that at the Islamic School of Seattle "edu- esting and informative science lesson to a cation is provided within an Islamic frame- close, Mrs. Crum reminded the children

v, 1 P.- .., Polk life Annual 1987 154 Children and teachers that such things are not an accident but hear their voices on the tape, many of the in a hay wagon on a field "part of Allah's plan." children volunteered estimates of the sizes trip to the Aqua Barn and The children aged seven to twelve in Mrs. of their Arabic vocabularies. School, May 12, 1982. Crum's class know why they go to the Is- As to why they like studying Arabic, (196610-1-32A) Photo- graph by Susan Dwyer- lamic School of Seattle: their parents send Lawrence, an eight-year-old boy new to the Shick them. They are also quite certain why their school, responded: "I like Arabic because parents want them to go: "Here I am with Allah made this kind of language." Do they other Muslims." "At this school I am able practice Arabic at home? "Yes, it's the lan- to pray." "I can learn Arabic. I can learn to guage of our religion," several stressed. be a good Muslim." "The teachers here are All but two of the children now enrolled good. They are Muslims, like me." The in the elementary school program had at- response to my question, "What classes tended one or more schools before coming do you like the most?" was immediate to the Islamic School of Seattle. Conse- and unanimous"Arabic!" In our con- quently, many of them could offer compari- versations several children suggested other sons of their experiences in those schools favorites, for example, "Recess!" This re- with their experiences at the Islamic School. sponse prompted delighted giggles from "At this school we learn English," said other classmates who were trying vainly to Ibrahim, a boy who previously attended be serious while being recorded by their school in Saudi Arabia. Mubarak, an Afro- now-familiar visitor. This distraction aside, American, emphasized that at the Islamic all the children focused upon those subjects School he knew that he would receive unique to their school: studying Arabic, "right lessons." Rohymah, a Cham refugee memorizing Qur'anic verses, and working from Southeast Asia and the oldest girl in on Islamic art projects. Eager to show me the class, observed quietly: "We come to how much Arabic they had learned and to learn to be Muslims."

Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools 155 Contributors

Roger Abrahams is a professor of folklore and Lee Davis is the director of the California In- folklife at the University of Pennsylvania. Au- dian Project at the University of California, thor of a number of books and articles on Afro- Berkeley's Lowie Museum of Anthropology. She American folklore and society, Anglo-American coordinates a statewide effort to bring univer- folksong, and folklore theory, he is also the sity resources to reservation communities and to chairman of the Centennial Coordinating Coun- arrange for Indian-academic cooperation in cil for the American Folklore Society. California Indian research.

Erika Brady is an adjunct professor of folklife Susan Adair Dwyer-Shick is an assistant pro- and acting director of the Center for Regional fessor of legal studies in the Legal Studies Pro- History and Cultural Heritage at Southeast Mis- gram, Department of Political Science, at Pacific souri State University, Cape Girardeau, Mis- Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington. Dur- souri. She is the recipient of a Herbert E. Kahler ing the 1987-88 academic year, Dr. Dwyer- Research Fellowship from Eastern National Shick was on leave at the Faculty of Law, Uni- Park and Monument Association to study fur- versity of Bielefeld, Federal Republic of Ger- trapping in the Ozarks. Dr. Brady is associate many, to conduct research on the effect of the chaplain at Southeast Missouri Hospital and German juveni:e justice system on non-German has been active in clinical pastoral care and hos- juveniles and their families residing in West Ger- pice programs for the last eight years. many.

Vanessa Brown (Barre Toelken's daughter) was James Gilreath is the American history special- born and raised on the Navajo Reservation near ist in the Rare Book and Special Collections Di- Shonto, Arizona. Later, she married an Ojibwa visionat the Library of Congress. He has member of the Roseau Reserve in Manitoba and written extensively on publishing and the his- lived there for several years, participating in and tory of the book in America. teaching the craft traditions and dancing styles of the Northern Plains. She completed a four- year Sun Dance vow among the Sioux and was Timothy J. Kloberdanz is an associate professor given the name Wanbli Ota Wi (Many Eagles of anthropology at North Dakota State Univer- Woman) by Frank Fools Crow. She and her four sity (Fargo). He is the author of many articles, children are avid powwow dancers. on German-Russian, Hutterite,and Native American folklife, is the editor of The Germans from Russia, and is working on a comparative Beverley A. Cavanagh is an associate professor study of blacksmiths and midwife-healers of the of ethnomusicology at Queen's University in Great Plains region. Kingston, Ontario. She is a member of the SPINC (Sound-Producing Instruments in Native Communities) Research Group, and her publi- Lucy Long is a Ph.D. candidate in folklore at cations on Indian and Inuit music cultures in- the University of Pennsylvania and a part-time clude Music of the Netsilik Eskimo: A Study of instructor in the Department of Popular Culture Stability and Change (1982). at Bowling Green State University. She has written a number of articles on Korean-American food and music. Michael Sam Cronk is a research associate with the SPINC (Sound-Producing Instruments in Native Communities) Research Group and ad- James C. McNutt is director of research and col- junct instructor in the music department at lections at the University of Texas Institute of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He has Texan Cultures at San Antonio, where he over- worked with musicians at Six Nations, Ontario, sees publications, exhibits, and public programs Akwesasne, New York, and Allegany, New on ethnic and cultural groups in the state. He is York. working on a book about Texas folklorists.

1 5 S Folklife Annual 1987 156 Franziska von Rosen is a member of the SPINC Barre Toelken is director of the folklore pro- (Sound-Producing Instruments in Native Com- gram at Utah State University. He has worked munities) Research Group, based at Queen's for almost thirty years on the nature and func- UniversityinKingston,Ontario.Shehas tion of Navajo narrative and has acted as edu- worked with Native elders, musicians, and in- cational and cultural consultant for a number of strument builders in Eastern Canada. tribes in the western states. Dr. Toelken has helped sponsor student- initi'ted powwows at the University of Oregon (where he was director Jeff Todd Titon is director of the Ph.D. program of folklore and ethnic studies) and has served as in ethnomusicology at Brown University. He is master of ceremonies at a number of urban in- working on a full-length study of Reverend tertribal powwows. C. L.FranklinandtheAfrican-American preaching tradition.

Publications of the American Folklife Center

Blue Ridge Harvest: A Region's Folklife in Cultural Conservation: The Protection of Cul- Photographs tural Heritage in the United States By Lyntha Scott Eiler, Terry Eiler, and Carl Fleisch- By Ormond Loomis. 123 pp. (SIN 030.000.00148-6) hauer. 115 pp. (SIN 030-000. 0127-3) S6. Available S4.50. Available from the Superintendent of Docu- from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govern- ments, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, ment Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Check D.C. 20402. Check or money order payable to the Su- or money order payable to the Superintendent of Doc- perintendent of Documents must accompany order. uments must accompany order. A report on the means of preserving intangible A look at the landscape, communities, and reli- features of the nation's cultural heritage, with gion of the men and women who live along the an appendix that traces the history of relevant Blue Ridge Parkway. legislation and a bibliography.

Children of the Heav'nly King: Religious The Federal Cylinder Project: A Guide o Expression in the Central Blue Ridge Field Cylinder Recordings in Federal Agen- Edited and annotated by Charles K. Wolfe. Two discs cies and a 48-page illustrated booklet (AFC L69170). S14. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, Available from the Library of Congress, Recording U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Laboratory, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Re- 20402. Check or money order payable to the Superin- corded Sound Division, Washington, D.C. 20540. tendent of Documents must accompany order. Checks payable to the Library of Congress must accompany orders.

VOLUME I, INTRODUCTION AND INVENTORY, by Erika Brady, Maria La Vigna, Dorothy Sara Lee, and Thomas Vennum, Jr. 110 pp. (SIN 030. 000.00153 -2) Cranberries S8.50 32 pp. SS. Available from the Library of Congress, American Folklife Cente , Washington, D.C. 20540. Introductory essay that describes the project Check payable to the Library of Congress must accom- and an indexed listing by collection of more pany order. than ten thousand field-recorded wax cylinders Cranberry recipes collected during the American for which preservation tape copies exist at the Folklife Center's 1983 Pinelands Folklife Project Library of Congress. in New Jersey, illustrated with full-color photographs.

15 a Pub!ications of the American Folklife Center157 VOLUME 2, NORTHEASTERN INDIAN CATALOG,edited 1986. 176 pp. (SIN 030-000.00179-6) S19. by Judith A. Gray;SOUTHEASTERN INDIAN CATALOG, edited by Dorothy Sara Lee, 432 pp. (SIN 030.000- Articles on breakdancing in New York City, 00167-2) S14. filmmaking inPeru, whaling customs on a Sixteen collections from northeastern Indian Caribbean island, the fiftieth anniversary of the Kalevala (the Finnish national epic), a logging tribes, including the oldest collection of field recordings (the 1890 Passamaquoddy) and large camp in Minnesota, and the life story. collections of Chippewa, Menominee, and Win- nebago music recordings made by Frances One Space, Many Places: Folklife and Land Densmore; and six collections from southeastern Indian tribes, the largest of which is the Use in New Jersey's Pinelands National Re- serve Densmore Seminole collection. By Mary Hufford. 144 pp. S10. Available from the Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, Wash- VOLUME 3, GREAT BASIN /PLATEAU INDIAN CATALOG; ington, D.C. 20540. Check payable to the Library of NORTHWEST COAST/ARCTIC INDIAN CATALOG,edited Congress must accompany order. by Judith A. Gray 304 pp. (SIN 030.000-00189-3) S17. Report to the New Jersey Pinelands Commis- Seven collections from the Great Basin and Pla- sion for Cultural Conservation in the Pinelands teau regions, the largest of which is the Frances National Reserve, based on the Folklife Center's Densmore Northern Ute material, and twenty Pinelands Folklife Project, a field survey of tra- collections from the Northwest Coast, Alaska, ditional life and values in the nation's first Na- and Greenland, the largest of which is Dens- tionalReserve,withrecommendationsfor more's Makah material. Leo Frachtenberg's protecting cultural heritage in the region; well- Quileute collection represents an early method- illustrated with black-and-white photographs, ical effort to compare versions of individual drawings, and maps. songs as performed by different singers or by the same singer at different times. Quilt Collections: A Directory for the United States and Canada VOLUME8,EARLY ANTHOLOGIES,edited by Dorothy Sara Lee, with a foreword by Sue Carole De Vale. 96 By Lisa Turner °shins. 255 pp. 524.95 hardcover; pp. (SIN 030.000-154-1) S8. 518.98 softcover. Single copies available from the Li- brary of Congress, American Folklife Center, Washing- Describes Benjamin Ives Gilman's cylinder re- ton, D.C. 20540. Check payable to the American cordings from the 1893 World's Columbian Ex- Folklife Center must accompany order. Add S2 per or- position and the "Demonstration Collection" der for shipping and handling. Multiple copies avail- edited by Erich Moritz von Hornbostel and is- able from Acropolis Books, Ltd., 2400 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009. sued by the Berlin Phonogramm Archiv shortly after World War I. A guide to over 25,000 quilts and quilt study resources in 747 public collections. Illustrated in color and black and white. Folk life Annual Edited by Alan Jabbour and James Hardin. Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govern- Watermelon ment Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Check By Ellen Ficklen. 64 pp. S10. Available from the Li- or money order payable to the Superintendent of Doc- brary of Congress, American Folklife Center, Washing- uments must accompany order. ton, D.C. 20540. Check payable to the Library of 1985. 176 pp. (SIN 030-000-00169-9) S16. Congress must accompany order. Articles on the New Jersey Pinelands, the Ar- History, facts, and lore of the watermelon, along chive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, with numerous recipes. Illustrated in color and a lumber camp ballad, cowboy culture, Italian black and white. stone carvers, the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, and folk artist Howard Finster.

Folklife Annual 1987 158 The following publications are available free of charge from the Library of Congress, American Folk life Center, Washington, D.C. 20540.

American Folk Music and Foil-lore Recordings: Folk Recordings: Selected from the Archive of A Selected List Folk Culture An annotated list of recordings selected because Brochure and order form they include excellent examples of traditional folk music. Folklife Center News A quarterly newsletter reporting on the activi- American Folk life Center ties and programs of the center. A brochure on the services and activities of the Center. Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduc- tion to Field Techniques Archive of Folk Culture By Peter Bartis. 28 pp. A brochure on the services and collections of the An introduction to the methods and techniques Archive. of fieldwork.

El Centro Amer'cano de Tradicion Popular An Inventory of the Bibliographies and Other The Center's general brochure in Spanish. Reference and Finding Aids Prepared by the Archive of Folk Culture Information handout listing research materials Ethnic Folk life Dissertations from the United at the archive. States and Canada, 1960-1980: A Selected Annotated Bibliography By Catherine Hiebert Kerst. 69 pp. Tradicion popular e investigacion de campo Brief abstracts of dissertations that examine the A Spanish translation of Folkiife and Fieldwork. dynamic and complex processes by which ethnic groups maintain their identity in pluralistic societies, and information on obtaining access to these studies.

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Publications of the American Folklife Center 159