October-December 1983 The Amn"ican Folklife Center at the Library ofCongress, Waskington, D" C. Volume VI, Number 4

Ormond Loomis on Drafting Cultural Conservation

Omaha Pow-Wow

Folk Art Meeting: Program

New Finding Aid for Street Cries and Carnival Pitches took on a concrete sense, meaning Motion Picture, Broadcasting and either a government building or (in Recorded Sound Division, which FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS the plural) the collections of docu­ has curatorial responsibility for the ments in it. Most people today Library'S sound recordings. The a quarterly publication o!"the would say that an archive is a place Music Division and Recorded American Folk/ife Center that houses documents. They Sound used to be next door to the would then fall to disputing Archive and were connected ad­ atthe whether the word should be singu­ ministratively, which made it easier Libra,yofCongress lar (the Archive of Folk Culture) or to imagine that the tunebooks and plural (the National Archives). I my field tapes were in the Archive; AlanJabbour, Director find the dispute oddly intriguing, now those divisions are across the for it seems to point to a lingering street in the Library'S new Madison Ray Dockstader, Deputy Director ambiguity, a tantalizing abstraction building. The fact of the matter is Elena Bradunas that shrouds the question of just that the Library contains millions Carl Fleischhauer what an archive is. of books, manuscripts, photo­ Mary Hufford Folklife Specialists Everyone acquainted with the graphs, sound recordings, films, Folklife Center knows "the Ar­ and videotapes that pertain di­ PeterT. Bartis, Folklife Researcher chive"-launched in 1928 as the rectly to folklife, and millions more EleanorSreb, Executive Assistanl Archive of American Folk-Song of general relevance to the subject. Brett Topping, Writer-Editor and, after a halfcentury, now affili­ If you think of an archive as the Doris Craig, Administrative Secretary Lisa Oshins, StaffAssistant ated with the Center as the Archive place where the stuff is, then the of Folk Culture. The Archive, most whole Library of Congress is a vast Tel: 202 287-6590 would say, is a collection of docu­ Archive of Folk Culture (with a lot ments at the Library of CO!Jgress ofother stuffmixed in). Archive ofFolk C"lt"re pertaining to folk cultur~. More What is in the Archive? Formally knowledgeable users might add Joseph c. Hickerson, Head speaking, the Library'S curatorial Gerald E. Parsons,Jr., Reference Librarian that most of the Archive's collec­ divisions have the responsibility for Patricia M. Markland, Indexer-Secretary tions are American, and that in preserving and tending the Sebastian LoCurto, Staff' Assistant terms of documentary media the documentary sound recordings Tel: 202287-5510 Archive is strongest in field record­ and manuscripts we all think of as ings and manuscripts. Yet others the core of the Archive's collec­ Washington, D.C. 20540 could provide details of adminis­ tions. Copies of the originals in trative organization, personnel, many cases have been made for use

Managing Editor: Brett Topping and prominent accomplishments in the Archive Reading Room. To over the years. But it is the nature be sure, there is original material in of archives that concerns me here. the Archive proper-manuscripts, Perhaps we can unravel the mys­ correspondence, ephemeral publi­ teries of definition by asking some cations pertaining to folklife, and DIRECTOR'S COLUMN simple questions about the Archive so forth-but compared to the ofFolk Culture. quantity of original folklife mate­ Where is the Archive? In the Li­ rial in other divisions, the Archive's To the etymologist is reserved brary of Congress, certainly; cur­ curatorial holdings are rather the pleasure of pondering certain rently in room G--152 of the small. What the Archive does have exquisite cultural mysteries. Thus I Library's venerable Jefferson is a reading room where the public was fascinated to discover, as I building. But when I first visited can work; an extensive bank of thumbed through sundry dic­ the Archive in the mid-1960s to files, folders, indices, and other tionaries, that the affixes arch- and study early printed collections of reference tools; and a staff to lo­ -archy, and the words archeology and fiddle tunes, I was brought a cor­ cate, acquire, process, and service archaic, are related, and that all of nucopia of tunebooks to pore over; folk cultural materials for the Li­ them are related to the word ar­ they were actually lodged in the brary. chive. We may lay this mystery at stacks of the Music Division, which What is the Archive? The Archive, the temple door of the Greeks, for has curatorial responsibility for then, is not the room where the whom the stem arch- was associated music publications in the Library, stuff is. That familiar image of the with the ideas both of beginning and whence they were carted out "dusty archives" with which we all and of ruling. I do not mean to for my perusal. A couple of years entertain ourselves wholly mis­ imply that we are governed by our later I brought in a batch ofmy own construes the nature of the Ar­ origins, or that archives rule the field recordings for the Archive to chive. It is not a collection ofthings, world, but simply that the origins copy; the copying was actually but a collection of people who man­ of that word archive are sugges­ done by the Recording Laboratory, age and develop a collection offiles tively abstract. Early on, the stem and the tapes now repose in the that describe the things. A smaller

2 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS collection could perhaps bring the accustomed to using them, we are basis in the field. Fieldnotes, tape people, files, and things together in finding that they are changing the logs, and photographic logs are all the same room, creating the kind of flow of learning and study. In the entered into the computers and archive that fits the image. But with process, our archives are likely to cross-referenced. At the end of the millions of items in every conceiv­ sustain revolutions we can now project the computer-generated able format, such an arrangement only dimly foresee. floppy discs will be carted back to is impossible. It then becomes Let me share one example. the Library and transferred into a clearer that the essence of archiv­ When I recorded fiddlers in the bigger computer here. We are all ing is not possessing the things, but Upper South during the 1960s, I waiting with bated breath to see if managing their control, access, and made simple logs of the recordings this experiment proves both work­ retrieval. In a word, the Archive is as I went. Later, as I accumulated able in the field and useful later. a nerve center. more tapes, I invented simple In effect, the archive is being The nature ofan archive, then, is cross-reference lists to help me lo­ created in the field. Or rather, it is more abstract than most people cate different versions of the same being accumulated in the field might imagine. That fact is becom­ tune, or different recording ses­ after having been conceived and ing conspicuous nowadays because sions with the same player. Then I programmed at the Center by of the technological revolution en­ brought the tapes to the Archive to Jay Orr, Mary Hufford, and Carl gulfing us all. Computers are not be "archived"-that is, preserved Fleischhauer. In a sense, it is what nearly so mysterious as some would and made accessible to other re­ we all should have been doing any­ have us believe- archives are much searchers. New accession numbers way; the computer provides a new more mysterious, I would say-but and log sheets were developed to excuse for doing old tasks well. But they do seem to offer a new tool for correlate the original recordings I sense that the computer may do organizing and retrieving large and lists with the preservation tape more- that it may force us to re­ bodies of information. As we grow copies in the Library's collections. structure the flow and processing But the archiving did not improve of knowledge in fundamental on the primitive means of access I ways. It certainly helps us rethink had already cobbled together as a our attitudes about what "the ar­ young enthusiast; it took new num­ chive" is. And, like the Greek stem bers, lists, and logs just to maintain which is its etymological origin, the the primitive access already archive re-emerges as a supple created. BOARD OF TRUSTEES abstraction, a mental system for or­ Now the Folklife Center is em­ ganizing and preserving informa­ barking upon a new field-research tion from the past into the future. Ronald C. Foreman. Jr.. Florida. Chair- project in New Jersey, the Pine­ Illall lands Folklife Project. Unlike my Da, id E . Draper. Californ ia. Vice Chair- lonely individual research in the Illall 1960s, it involves several research­ Raye Virginia All en, \Vash ington, D.C. ers working simultaneously in the and Texas field. In the course of their work Janet Anderson. O regon and California they will pair up, Cllisscross, visit the Edward Bridge Danson, Arizona same people separately, and record Jeanne Cuillemin. Massachusetts events in various media, thus gen­ Will iam L. Kinney.Jr.. South Carolina erating a vast and unwieldy corpus St.John Terrell. :'>Je\\'Jersey of data- hundreds of tape record­ ings, thousands of photographs, thousands of pages of manuscript F:.\' Ofjicio Mfllllifl'.\ fieldnotes, and the like. If such a corpus were created without care­ Daniel J goorstin. The l.ibrarian of Con­ ful organization from the project's gress inception, then turned over to be S. Dillon Ripley. Secretary of the Sm ithso­ "archived," it would require n ian Institution thousands of hours of labor just to Francis S. M. Hodsol!. Jr.. Chairman . :'>Ja ­ make the collection usable. tional Endowment t(Jr the Arts To address this problem, the William gennett. Chairman. :'>Jational En­ Pinelands Folklife Project includes dowment for the Humanities an experiment in collective field­ AlanJabbour. Director. American Folklife work. We have acquired personal Center computers and developed a com­ puter program which can be used by the researchers on a day-by-day

OCTOBER- DECEMBER 1983 3 The Cultural ~I------Conservation Report Reflections on the Drafting Process

In December 1980 the President signed into law the National His­ toric Preservation Act Amend­ ments of 1980 (P.L. 96-515). Among its provisions was one call­ ing for preparation of a report to the President and Congress to be carried out by the American Folklife Center and the Depart­ ment of the Interior on "preserv­ ing and conserving the intangible elements of our cultural heritage." An agreement outlining proce­ dures for the report's production was drawn up and signed by the Folklife Center and the National Park Service in August 1981. Prep­ aration ofthe report got under way and continued for over a year, 1 through the late fall and early a winter of 1982. The Secretary of the Interior forwarded the central findings and recommendations from the report to the President and the Congress on June 1, 1983 (see Folklife Center News, Vol. IV, No.1, January 1981; Vol. IV, No. 2, April 1981; Vol. IV, No.4, Oc­ tober 1981; Vol. V, No.2, April 1982; and Vol. V, No.4, October 1982). The Folklife Center and the Na­ tional Park Service are pleased to announce that Cultural Conserva­ tion: The Protection ofCultural H erit­ age in the United States is now available. It may be purchased for $4.50 from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Orders must be prepaid and refer­ ence made to stock number SIN 030-000-00148-6. In addition to its examination of means of pre­ serving intangible features of the nation's culture, the 123-page pub­ lication includes a variety of contemporary and historic illustra­ tions, a review of related legisla­ tion, activities and events, and a August Vdal and his wife, Finns living in Canterbury, Conn., on their poultry farm lengthy bibliography. in 1940. (Farm Security Administration byJack Delano; Prints and Photographs Di­ The Congress's 1980 request generated a broad array ofcompel­ vision)

FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS 4 PO$dlon O/IVO//S defermlned b'l /Ioor and eel/1m} mor/u;'?J s P L-t\ N

A 1939 Hisloric AIIII'ricall B lIi/dillgs SIlIH'} .Iite plan ojthe ceremonial cave at Bandelier National Monument, N. M. from Cul­ tural Conservation. (P ri 111.1 alid Photographs Dit!ision) ling ideas-thoughts that were as interesting to cultural specialists the report that illustrate the rele­ pondered and discussed through­ who helped with the study as the vance of folklife to private indus­ out the drafting process in meet­ material that appears in the final try. Another early suggestion was a ings with the report's independent product. Since readers may now study to assess the impact of the at­ consultants, phone conversations, purchase copies of the report to de­ tention brought to bear on cultural letters, and individual delibera­ termine its contents, I would like to traditions by folk festivals. Consul­ tions. Inevitably, not all ofthe ideas use these pages to describe some of tants raised the possibility of creat­ and facts discussed in the develop­ the pieces that fell aside during the ing tax advantages for folk artists to ment of Cultuml Conservation were drafting process and to sketch a continue traditional practices, or of treated in the final draft. The re­ few of the ideas that influenced the employing people within the port was structured to touch briefly report's contents but were not fully boundaries of a national park to on a variety of topics, survey rele­ articulated in the actual publica­ help maintain the character of the vant projects, and summarize find­ tion. Likewise, the illustrations area by continuing their estab­ ings and suggestions. A number of here include some that appear in lished patterns of land use. Discus­ subjects which were considered in Cultural Conservation and others sions also touched from time to the discussions that generated the that were considered for inclusion. time on the value of consolidating report and which were eventually Early on some consultants diverse federal offices and pro- discarded as the draft evolved were suggested including examples in Continued on overleaf

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1983 5 Drafting Cultural Conservation come to be known in this country as Continued from previous page "Living National Treasures." These treasures are people who, grams that relate to cultural con­ folklife or regional ethnology since because of their outstanding mas­ servation under a single branch of the 19th century. tery ofan area oftraditional knowl­ the federal government. During one of the planning edge and skill, receive special status People who followed the de­ meetings with independent consul­ and support from the state. The velopment of the report carefully tants for the report, Henry Glassie program established by this section will remember that the idea of a described the effectiveness of the of the law proceeds from the desig­ register, directory, or inventory of European approach, exemplified nation of "important items of in­ significant folk arts and artists was by Irish efforts to preserve their tangible cultural properties," considered, but rejected. Too heritage. Ireland has a major rather than from bestowing many consultants and correspon­ folklore archive, the Department privilege upon important individu­ dents felt that such a measure of Irish Folklore at University Col­ als. But it operates on the assump­ could, at least in the early develop­ lege in Dublin, patterned after tion that people are the best vehicle ment of cultural conservation con­ the Swedish archive, Dialekt-och for knowledge. Literally, the sciousness, prove to be more of a Folkminnesarkivet i Uppsala. The people who receive recognition handicap than a help. archive and its field respondents under the law are "holders" of the Perhaps the most significant ma­ have stimulated the recognition of chosen traditions. A provision of terial that went unmentioned in the Irish traditions and created a last­ the statute allows for removal of report were the models suggested ing record of the nation's folklife. the honored status if a holder loses by international examples. Many Its work stands in contrast to the re­ the ability to maintain the tradition. countries in Europe and Asia have sults of Irish laws requiring gov­ Other sections recommend train­ established systems for recognizing ernment employees to know Gaelic ing successors, call for public access and protecting significant areas of which, while intended to preserve to the tradition, and provide for their cultural heritage. Despite the native language, have had rela­ documentation under set cir­ their differences, the two basic tively little effect on developing an cumstances. models both the European and the active appreciation for and use of Begun in the wake ofWorld War Asian systems provide are, as a Gaelic. II, the Japanese system has already rule, integrated in programs for The value of the European had considerable impact. The tra­ historic preservation, and are model has not escaped the atten­ ditions that have been designated stimulating to contemplate in pon­ tion of historic preservationists in for protection include papermak­ dering the approaches our nation the United States. I n a section ofhis ing, textile dyeing, swordsmithing, might follow toward the goal ofcul­ recent book Historic Preservation puppetry, and pottery. Over 70 in­ tural conservation. J ames Marston Fitch, one ofthe na­ dividuals have been identified as The European approach stresses tion's leading architectural histo­ Living National Treasures. The documentation and archiving. rians, describes with admiration system is admired and emulated in Most European nations have ar­ the breadth of the Polish preserva­ other Asian countries and has in­ chives which contain information tion system. Among other com­ fluenced the development in the about virtually every subject re­ ments he notes that "a vast United States of the National lated to traditional community life program for the protection of the Heritage Fellowship program by and values. These institutions have traditional arts and crafts of the the National Endowment for the various bases and varying degrees common people is under way. One Arts' Folk Arts Program. of state support, some being lo­ of the world's greatest libraries of While the thoughts and sugges­ cated in universities, others at­ folk music has been created in War­ tions enumerated above could not tached to museums, and still others saw, a network of regional ethno­ be more fully explored within the existing separately. The data in graphic museums has been estab­ dimensions of the cultural conser­ them comes from questionnaires lished to display all the folk arts of vation report, they too may one day completed by networks of local re­ each region, and a broad program prove to be a source of inspiration spondents, and often includes ma­ for the regeneration of the crafts as the concept ofcultural conserva­ terial on architecture and other and the integration of the tion emerges in this country. tangible items, along with material craftsperson into modern life is on folksongs, tales, beliefs, and being carried out." (New York: -Ormond H. Loomis such intangible items. They pro­ McGraw-Hill Book Company, vide the basis for cultural atlases, 1982, p. 386) Dr. Loomis, Director of the Florida cultural histories, and preservation The Japanese "Law for Protec­ Folklife Program, coordinated the planning. Perhaps the best exam­ tion of Cultural Properties" con­ drafting of Cultural Conservation: ples can be found in the Scandina­ tains a section on "Intangible The PTOtection ofCultural Heritage in vian nations, which, coincidentally, Cultural Properties." It is the basis the United States. have been leaders in the field of for the recognition of what have

6 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS The 153rd Annual "Original" Omaha Tribal Pow-Wow

The Host Drum: "Drum" is used to name both the instrument and the singers who surround it. The Omaha Pow-wow Committee's own group of singers, referred to as the "host drum," performed in alternation with two other ensembles from the region. Often, onlooken-like the woman shown here- would tape the music.

In mid-August Dorothy Sara vation tape through the efforts of context. Lee, Director of the Center's Fed­ the Federal Cylinder Project, ini­ As Dorothy Lee's field-note eral Cylinder Project, and Carl tiated in 1979. Their visit also pro­ entry for August 12, her first day at Fleischhauer traveled to the vided an opportunity to observe, the pow-wow, attests, they are com­ Omaha Indian Reservation In photograph, and record a Native plicated presentations: Macy, Nebraska to attend the American pow-wow. 153rd Annual "Original" Omaha Joining them for presentation of This was my first reservation Tribal Pow-Wow. They were there the tapes and documentation ofthe pow-wow (I had attended to present to the Omaha Tribal pow-wow was Maria La Vigna, for­ urban events in Minneapolis) Council tape copies of cylinder re­ merly on the Federal Cylinder and there was a great deal to cordings of Omaha music made in Project staff, who has worked ex­ take in. Although many the early years of this century by tensively with the music of Native people sat and watched from Francis La Flesche, himself an American cultural groups in the the stands, this was not Omaha Indian, and Alice Cun­ West. She is currently preparing strictly a spectator event. ningham Fletcher (see Folklife Cen­ notes for the Center's LP and cas­ There were many layers of ter News, Vol. IV, No.1, January sette recording of Omaha cylin­ activity, many ways it seemed 1981, and Vol. VI, No.2, April­ ders. Her visit to the pow-wow gave of looking at the organization June 1983). The Omaha cylinder her an opportunity to collect mate­ of time and space within the recordings are among those that rial for the notes and put the histor­ event, many different ac- have been duplicated onto preser- ical recordings in contemporary Continued on overleaf

OCTOBER- DECEMBER 1983 7 Omaha Pow-Wow Contest Continuedfrom previous page tivities going on both within and outside the arena. Most of the attention was focused on the dancers; as I recall, there were no contest dances this evening but rather general dances or intertribals, specials (given in honor of a particular individual), a performance by the San Juan Indian Youth Dancers, and an Oklahoma two-step. But there were also several small intersecting universes of activity and interaction on the periphery of the dance ground: young boys hawking soda and candy; the faint but unmistakable sound of rock music coming from radios and cassette players; move­ ment to and from the concessions; parents dressing young dancers in contest cos­ tume. Their appreciation of the many different activities that took place over the next three days and eve­ nings of the pow-wow and their ef­ forts to record the event were greatly assisted by explanations, comments, and suggestions of­ fered by Tribal Chairman Elmer Blackbird; Joseph Harlan, Sr., Chairman of the Pow-Wow Com­ mittee; master of ceremonies Clif­ ford Wolfe, Sr.; Dennis Hastings, tribal archivist of the Omaha Tribe; and many others. In assessing the impression that the return of the cylinder record­ ings made, Dorothy Lee noted that the reactions after the presentation were gradual and subtle, often woven into conversations about the pow-wow's ongoing events. It seemed too that their importance to the Omaha lay not in the return of the recordings and the songs on the recordings, but in the fact that some songs were still part of the Omaha repertory after nearly a century. The singers seemed espe­ cially proud of this, and lead singer Rufus White said several times, "I know that song; we still sing that song."

8 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS Pow-wow competitions are for dancers, categorized by age and by gender, who perform 'lancy" and "traditional" dances. Fancy dances call for intricate steps and more elaborate attire. At many pow-wows fancy dancing is emphasized most, but at the Omaha Pow-wow traditional dancing was stressed, and the best adult male traditional dancer received the pow-wow's biggest cash prize: $1,000. Judges score contestants both on dancing and costume. Younger competitors rely on parents or older siblings for help in preparation. The photograph in the parking area depicts sister and brother Linda and Norman Robinson costuming young Jamie and Seth as Norman Jr. stands by. (Photos by Carl Fleischhauer)

Continued on overleaf

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1983 9 Native Amnican forms ofgennosity and hospitality wne displayed at the pow-wow. From time to time, dances­ often called "specials"-would be dedicated to a pnson or group. The photograph on the opposite page shows an honoring dance for john Turner, a respected tribal elder who died a few months before the event. An interview with Turner is described in the Dir·ector's Column of Folklife Center News, Vol. VI, No. 2, April-june 1983. The dance is led by Elmer Blackbird, Chairman of the Omaha Tribal Council, who is joined by other old friends and relatives of the deceased. During the dance pe-rsons in the crowd come fo-rwa-rd to honor Turner by placing contributions to the family into Blackbird's hat. A person thus hon01·ed may stage a giveaway, and present blankets,

10 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS Giveaway

shawls, and other gifts to family and friends as a means of reciprocating the tribute that has been paid by the honoring dance. Here, Pow-wow Princess Melanie Dawn Parker gives awa)! a shawl. The spirit of hospitality extends to meaL" and all visitors to the pow-wow are fed. The corn for one meal was shucked by Ida Anderson, Pow-wow Committee Treasurer, and her friends Delia Hallowell and Rosa Linda Wolfe. The pow-wow was also the occasion upon which Dorothy Sara Lee of the Center's Federal Cylinder Project formally gave copies of Omaha cylinder recordings to the lr"ibe. Lee is shown here with Dennis Hastings, tribal archivist fm· the Omahas. (Photo of dance honoring John Turner by Dorothy Sara Lee; remain­ ing photos by CaT! Fleischhauer)

OCTOBER- DECEMBER 1983 11 The Washington Meeting on Folk Art

The following is a preliminary program for the "Washington Meet­ ing on Folk Art," and is subject to change. The meeting, organized by the American Folklife Center with assistance from the Museum of American Folk Art, will be held at the Library of Congress on De­ cember 5-6, 1983. Morning sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. and after­ noon sessions at 2:00 p.m. Due to limited seating, pre-registration is required. There is no charge for attendance. For further information, contact Peter Bartis at the"American Folklife Center, Library of Con­ gress, Washington, D.C. 20540, (202) 287-6590.

Concrete pieces by Laura POpl' Forrester gathered on the verandah ofher Pelham, Ga. horne, an environmental folk art work known locally as "M /'S. Pope's MuseulIl." (South-Central Gemgia Folklife Pro;ect photograph)

Monday, December 5, 1983

Morning Afternoon

Welcome from the American Folklife Center Panel: FOLK ART AND CREATIVITY Director, Alan]abbour Moderator: Henry Glassie Participants: Welcome from the Board ofTrustees Henry Glassie, University ofPennsyl­ vama An overview ofFolklife Center perspectives Simon Bronner, Pennsylvania State Director, Alan]abbour University Charles Briggs, Vassar College Charles Bergengren, graduate student, Panel: FOLK ART TODAY: PERSPECTIVES University ofPennsylvania AND VIEWPOINTS 1. Sheldon Posen, graduate student, Moderator:]ohn Vlach University ofPennsylvania Participants: John Vlach, George Washington Uni­ versity Commentary and discussion Eugene Metcalf, Miami University Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Herald Jules Prown, Yale University Examiner Kenneth L. Ames, The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum Commentary and discussion Herbert W. Hemphill,]r., private collec­ tor and author MichaeiOwen]ones, U.C.L.A.

12 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS Tuesday, December 6, 1983

Morning

Panel: THE AFFECTS AND EFFECTS OF COLLECTING Moderator: Robert Bishop Participants: Robert Bishop, Museum ofAmerican Folk Art Louis C.Jones, Director Emeritus, New York State Historical Association SuziJones, Alaska State Council on the Arts

Commentary and discussion Jane Livingston, Corcoran Gallery ofArt Lonn Taylor, Museum ofNew Mexico Ralph Rinzler, Smithsonian Institution

Afternoon

Panel: FOLK ART IN THE LARGER CIVILI­ ZATION Moderator: Beatrix Rumford, The Colo­ nial Williamsburg Foundation Participants: Richard Brettell, The Art Institute of Chicago DavidJaffee, The National Museum of American History Rosemary O.Joyce, consultant in the humanities and traditional arts Jack Santino, Smithsonian Institution

Final commentary and discussion AlanJabbour Robert Bishop Michael Durham, Americana Magazine, Inc. Allhl' alillua/ ji'stim/ hl'/d bv Brooldyn's Italian col/l//lunity in IWlwr Dean Failey, Christie's International Ltd. (J/SI . PauliIlU.1o/No/a Lo CO//l//lI'IIIOI'C111' thl' arrival o/Pal/linus's ship fol/o wing his rl' /('(/st' jiml/ African s/m' I'I)'. A six-stort'} giglio, represent­ ing Iltl' IllOul/lain (ililil's llsl'd to wl'/corne Paulinus, and a boat are "dancl'd" tltrough tltl' strl'l'ts by 128 //len. I. She/don Posen recorded the festi'u ilil's ill 1981. (Photo by Ma rllw Coopel)

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1983 13 Pinelands Folklife The Pinelands Folklife Project Cries, Chants, Pitches, will emphasize living cultural re­ Project sources, which distinguishes it and Routines from cultural surveys already con­ The American Folklife Center's ducted in the Pinelands. The field Pinelands Folklife Project, a survey team will pay special attention to Now I'm makin' records for the of traditional culture in New Jer­ the interrelations of the region'S WPA sey's Pinelands National Reserve, cultural groups, natural resources, Now when you hear 'em don't got under way in September 1983. and landscapes. Such traditions as you swing and sway Conducted under the combined the ways to harvest and process Don't you fuss and don't you auspices ofan array of public agen­ muskrats and sphagnum moss, to fight cies and offices-the Pinelands serve snapping turtles and clams, Don't be right Commission and the National Park and to navigate woods and bogs will Cause these records gonna play Service, along with the New Jersey be investigated, as will the rich vein all night. State Council on the Arts, Histori­ of folklore about the region'S cal Commission, Department of people and places. Hey, hey, hey, I'm the fish man Environmental Protection, and De­ The project is a pilot study in sev­ And I sell 'em by the dish pan partment of Human Services-the eral ways. The Pinelands National I sell 'em to the rich project is evaluating a broad range Reserve constitutes a unique cate­ I sell 'em to the po' of folk technology, craft, and ex­ gory of public land. The National I sell 'em everywhere I go pression occurring within the Na­ Reserve concept provides for con­ I sell 'em up, and I sell 'em down tional Reserve. tinued development of the land in I sell 'em all around this town The project's research team will accordance with guidelines estab­ Whoa, ho, ho, ho, fish man. conduct two months of field re­ lished by a commission comprised search during the fall of 1983 to of federal, state, and local repre­ This impromptu fish cry by identify and document aspects of sentatives. The commission hopes Clyde "Kingfish" Smith was dedi­ the region's folklife. The initial to apply some of the study'S find­ cated to "Mr. Herbert Halpert and fieldwork will be followed by a ings in carrying out its mandate to Mr. Hatch," who recorded him in series of in-depth case studies manage and interpret the region'S New York City for the WPA's Fed­ based on the survey's findings in resources, cultural as well as natu­ eral Theater Project in 1939. The the spring of 1984. The field coor­ ral. Information gathered by the Archive has recordings of a dinator for the project is Susan study may prove helpful to number of Smith's cries. Many of Samuelson, a folklorist from the policymakers whose decisions can them, such as "Now come on folks, University of Pennsylvania. She is influence the vitality of traditional I got crabs," were sales pitches set joined by folklorist Christine life in the area. The project will also to his own or traditional tunes. In Cartwright from Memorial Uni­ demonstrate some of the recom­ other cases he borrowed popular versity of Newfoundland; Elaine mendations made by Cultuml Con­ tunes of the day and produced Thatcher, trained in American servation: The Protection of Cultuml cries like "Can't go home, till all my studies and folklore at Utah State Heritage in the United States, particu­ fish is gone, stormy weather," and University; folklorist J ens Lund larly that government agenciesjoin "Now folks, I'm gonna tell you from Indiana University; Nora forces to conserve living cultural 'bout thejumpin'jive, buy your fish Rubinstein, who holds a degree in resources that are often less tangi­ on the East Side." His cries are environmental psychology from ble, though no less real, than his­ listed in the Archive of Folk Cul­ New York University; and an­ toric artifacts and archaeological ture's recently available finding aid thropologist Eugene Hunn from sites. "Street Cries, Auction Chants, Car­ the University of California at The materials generated by the nival Pitches and Routines in the Berkeley. The field team will be project will be added to the collec­ Recorded Collections of the Ar­ augmented by three project as­ tions of the Library of Congress as chive of Folk Culture," compiled by sociates currently doing graduate a corpus from which copies, publi­ Amanda Dargan. work in folklore at the University cations, and future research can The finding aid also lists inter­ of Pennsylvania: Thomas Carroll, come. A reference archive will be views with Kingfish Smith in which Malachi O'Connor, and Bonnie housed in the state to facilitate fu­ he talks about a few of his sales Blair. Freelance photographer and ture interpretive programming in strategies. instructor Joseph Czarnecki, a the region. graduate of the Yale University For further information on the In the Spanish neighborhood, School of Graphic Design, will act Pinelands Folklife Project, contact I usually sing something as photographer for the project Mary Hufford, Folklife Specialist, Spanish. I get in a Jewish team. The survey is being coordi­ American Folklife Center, Library neighborhood, I sing some­ nated for the Center by Mary Huf­ of Congress, Washington, D.C. thing like "Bei mir bist du ford. 20540. schoen," or something that

14 FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS A ,Iidl's/ww ba rkn and pl'IIol'1nns atthl' south Louisiana state fair in Donaldsonville, November 1938. (Farm Security Administra­ tlOlI photograph by Russel! Ln' ; Prints and Photographs Division) rhymes fast and can be World War II. You hear the sig­ recording titled "How to Charit picked up easily. And I get nature sounds of calliope and Like a Professional Auctioneer," by in the colored neighborhood, motordrome and the barking for Col. George Beam. I s.ing something kind of individual sideshows. One barker One lasting impression made by sWll1gy. begins his buildup, "The James E. the Archive's recordings of street Strates Shows presents a real two­ cries and sales chants is of musical­ Another strategy was to make headed baby." He continues ity. The street cries from Charles­ people laugh and get to feeling through his entire pitch and ends ton, S.C. sound as though they good so they would buy some of his with the final "grind" to sell could well have been the inspira­ 'Jive." tickets-"Now is a very good time tion for parts of Porgy and Bess. In addition to street cries and in­ to go, no waiting or delay whatever. Auctioneer Bob Cage counter­ terviews with produce vendors re­ Come in now." points his own vocalizations to the corded in the late 1930s in New Moving inside the tent, you are background swishing rhythm of York City and Charleston, S.C., as treated to the less commonly the bundles of tobacco called well as Virginia and other southern recorded sounds of the inside lec­ "hands" being pulled from the bot­ states, the finding aid lists carnival ture-in this case the nurse who tom of stacks, examined by buyers, and auction recordings. The carni­ travels with the baby explaining the and dropped back on top. Gerald val recordings were made in 1941 details of its physiology, followed E. Parsons, Jr., who recorded him by Charles Harrell and the Library by a question-and-answer period. in 1976, says Cage is very aware of of Congress Radio Research Proj­ Interviews with the nurse, the the musical dimension of his work, ect when the James E. Strates baby's uncle, and other carnival an awareness that may well have Shows came to Washington. show people were also recorded, been shared by vendors like Amanda Dargan, whose work on along with a number of other Kingfish Smith, who consciously the finding aid grew out of several sideshow routines. set his fish cries to songs recorded years of research on carnival The auction recordings listed in by Ethel Waters and Cab Calloway. pitches and street cries, said re­ the finding aid are more recent. "Street Cries, Auction Chants, cently that she is particularly inter­ The earliest were made by Herbert and Carnival Pitches and Routines ested in the Archive's recordings of Halpert at Kentucky furniture, in the Recorded Collections of the the So-ates carnival because they livestock, and tobacco auctions in Archive of Folk Culture" invites are so complete. 1948. There are also recordings of you to explore "the oral poetry of Donning earphones and listen­ auctions of household furniture or the marketplace." It is available ing to the carnival recordings, you tobacco from the mid-1970s. free of charge from the Archive of are transported to a vacant lot Another item in the Archive's col­ Folk Culture, Library of Congress, covered in tents, just prior to lections is a ninety-minute cassette Washington, D.C. 20540.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1983 15 "It's Pow-Wow Time!"

Fancy dance contestants prepare for the competition in the parking lot prior to arena perfor'mances at the 1983 Omaha tribal pow-wow. A story about this Nebraska event will be found on pages 7-11.

Front cover: Frolll Cultural Conservation, Pine Barrens decoy lIlakerJohll Holloway (L) leaches a wood shop rla.ls al emlral Regional High School, Bayville, N.J. The class was part a/a Folli-Arlists-ill-Educa/ioll project supported by Ihe A 1'1.1' E IIdowlllelll's FolkArlsProgralll ill 1979.

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FIRST-CLASS MAIL AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER POSTAGE & FEES PAID WASHINGTON, D.C. 20540 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICIAL BUSINESS PERMIT No. G-103 PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

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