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THE FOLKLORE AND FOLK MUSIC I

bIk Ins ullabies

I VOL. V, NO. 1 INDIANA UNIVERSITY BLOOMINGTON SPRING, 1962 THE VENEZUELAN INSTITUTE OF FOLKLORE

Isabel Aretz

The study of folklore in Venezuela is for the most museum and preserving them. He also makes sketches, part under the direction of the Institute of Folklore and besides serving as a teacher of handcrafts, he is (Instituto de Folklore), formerly called "The National curator of the archive of photographs and slides. Folklore Investigation Service" ("Servicio de Inves- tigaciones Folkl6ricas Nacionales"). Through the Professor Abilio Reyes, a choreographer, has efforts of Juan Liscano, its first Director, the latter specialized in studying and filming dances; he teaches organization was brought into being by decree no. 430, such dances to special teachers in various schools. dated October 30, 1946. In 1953 this Service was In addition, he supervises folk dance spectacles spon- elevated to the rank of Institute, and its directorship sored by the Department of Schools and Physical Edu- was entrusted to Luis Felipe ~am6ny Rivera. cation, and he is Professor of Folk Dance in the School of Artistic Training of the Ministry of Labor, The Institute of Folklore is small in size but where he directs a group of dancers who give public energetic and modern in its outlook. It gathers and performances of national dances. studies materials in order to be of service to contem- porary culture, not merely to inform coming genera- Dr. Gustavo Luis Carrera, Professor of Liter- tions about matters of the past. Consequently, the ature at the Central University, has specialized in the Institute does not conceal the results of its field trips study of the literary aspects of folklore. In collab- and investigations but instead publicizes them as widely oration with his wife, Pilar Almoina de Carrera, he as possible. And the investigators do not keep from investigates typical fiestas. each other the results of their studies, because all are aware that they are serving a common purpose, that His wife, Professor Almoina, who has a degree the State supports them not for their personal prestige in literature, studies Venezuelan fiestas and collab- but rather in the national interest. This In no way orates with Professor Cardona in the preservation of prevents each individual from developing his own field folklore materials. She is also in charge of the cor- of specialization; the individual work of each investi- respondence files . gator is clearly indicated by his signature. Finally, the present writer is Technical Adviser The investigators of the Institute of Folklore, all of the Institute and collaborates with its various trained personnel, are these: sections. In addition, she is Director of the School for Artistic Training of the Ministry of Labor, where The Director, Luis Felipe ~am6ny Rivera, is also several organized groups make use of folklore studies in charge of the Music Section, and, for reasons of which come out of the Institute of Folklore. methodology, shares with the present writer those tasks which have to do with both folk and indigenous music. Whenever possible, these six specialists work as a team on field trips. The Institute places at their The Vice-Director, Professor Miguel Cardona, is disposal a Jeep station wagon, and light, modern in charge of the sections of material and animistic equipment of all kinds: tape recorders which operate folklore. He is involved especially with cataloguing and on batteries or outside electrical sources, motion describing the objects of material folklore which come picture and still cameras for either black-and-white into the Institute, and with exhibiting them in the or color photography, folding aluminum cots, cooking equipment, and other equipment necessary for trips to The Section of Dances - The film library of this out-of-the-way places. section includes 10, 000 feet of film in black-and-white and in color. These motion pictures document fiestas, This kind of teamwork permits investigation in dances, and other interesting aspects of rural life. depth of different villages in short periods of time; and it makes possible exhaustive studies of fiestas, since The--- Archive of Photographs - This archive con- the investigators involved take turns day and night in tains 3000 negatives which document various aspects studying the fiestas from different angles. In such of Venezuela's folklore. cases each specialist describes what he sees. Upon his return, he works over his own materials: he files The---- Archive of Slides - Five hundred slides in them, classifies them, and studies them, the results color represent the beginning of this special archive, of the field trip being set down in reports which are which is of great documentary value. preserved in bound volumes. Later, then, the obser- vations of all the professors are gathered together The-- Library - The Institute has begun a special- and published in book or monograph form. ized library, which contains 1670 volumes and 5 117 newspaper clippings. It should be pointed out here that the Institute investigates fiestas for several days before they ac- The Folklore Calendar - The Institute keeps an tually take place, in order to record the preparations up-toTate folklore calendar which includes data that which precede them. It also observes a given fiesta are gradually being collected about typical fiestas of for several years in order to detect changes which take different Venezuelan villages. This calendar serves place in it. in a general way as a source of information, and, in- cidentally, is also of value to the Department of The archives of the Institute include the following Tourism. folklore items : Publications The Section of Musicology - This section possesses 2571 recorded and catalogued items. In so far as is The Institute has completed Volume I11 of the possible, these musical compositions are written down ~oletfn-- del Instituto de Folklore; each volume contains in integral form, since we believe that the study of eight numbers. This bulletin has been published since music should not be confined merely to its melodic September of 1953. aspects but rather should be extended to include at- tention to the accompaniment of stringed and percus sion Besides this official organ, ten booklets dedicated instruments, where such exists. to the study of different dances and parrandas have been published by the specialists of the Institute. They The--- Section of Literature - This section includes include musical arrangements for the piano, de- many thousands of verbal items. In prose there are scriptions of wearing apparel, and directions necessary tales, legends, casos, historical accounts, dramas, for the manufacture of devices used. and so forth. In verse there are romances, corridos, and ensaladillas; glosas and dgcimas; coplas and &- Also, each specialist is the author of numerous vinanzas. This material is preserved in original tape articles, monographs, and books. In a separate list recordings and in written form. we offer a complete bibliography of those works which deal with Venezuelan folklore. The--- Section of Material Folklore - This section has one thousand items, already catalogued and studied, Expositions of Folklore which represent the different aspects of material life in Venezuela. In addition, it possesses a special file Museum - The Institute plans the construction of a which includes cooking recipes and popular cures for museum of rural life in order to house its entire col- illnesses. lection of folklore objects. In the meantime, it presents exhibitions in its own quarters and organizes periodic 9 THE FOLKLORE AND FOLK MUSIC ARCHIVIST expositions in Caracas and in the interior. It possesses catalogs of all such expositions. In addition, the Vol. V, No. 1 Spring, 1962 Institute has sent samples of Venezuelan folklore to various countries which have requested them, such as A joint publication of the Folklore Archives and Argentina (Tucumsn), Russia, Rumania, the United the Archives of Folk and Primitive Music, Divisions States, Cuba, Brazil, and others. of the Research Center in Anthropology, Folklore, and Linguistics , Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, Exposition ---of popular art - The Institute possesses USA. THE FOLKLORE AND FOLK MUSIC ARCHIVIST numerous objects such as pictures, sculptures, pottery, is devoted to the collection, documentation, indexing, jewels, and objects of adornment made by untutored and cataloguing of folklore and folk music. artists. It possesses also a collection of old examples of the silversmith's art. These objects will make up George List Editor the Salon of Popular Art which is planned in the Richard M. Dorson Editorial Associate Institute's museum. Judith Mc Culloh Assistant to the Editor (continued on fourth page) THE VENEZUELAN INSTITUTE OF FOLKLORE Radio programs - Intended for listeners in the (cont. ) interiorf'the countby, talks by the Director of the Institute on different topics related to the national or Photographic exposition - The lnstitute has pre- Spanish American folklore are being broadcast cur- sented several expositions of photographs dealing with rently by the National Radio Service. folklore themes in Caracas, in the interior, and in foreign countries. Contributions to the publications UEducaci6n"and "Tricolor" - ~emGrrofthe Institute regularly con- Instructional Activities tribute informative articles about the national and Spanish American folklore to ~ducacih,a review for Short courses in folklore - The personnel of the teachers, and Tricolor, a magazine for children. Institute ~eriodicallvoffer short courses in folklore (folklore iheory, geheral folklore, and Venezuelan Artistic projection - The Institute of Folklore folklore) in the Central University of Venezuela. Such colla- with the School for Artistic Training of courses are designed to meet the needs of students in the Ministry of Labor in its effolts to create a Adern Caracas as well as those in the interior. Illustrated Venezuelan ballet. The Institute assists by making talks are also given in the normal schools and lyceums available autochthonous elements to musicians, of the country and in cultural centers, both in Caracas choreographers, scenographers, and designers of and in the interior. costumes and props.

The Technical Adviser is also charged with giving Inter- American Institute of Traditional Music instruction in folklore to the special music teachers of the country, who work under the Ministry of Education, The Inter- American Council of Music, an organi- and also to the members of the "Venezuelan Dance" zation dependent upon the Organization of American group of the Ministry of Labor. States, in its First General Assembly, held in Mexico, 1958, resolved to recommend the creation of an Inter- Instruction in folk dances - The Professor of Dance American Archive of Traditional Music. Since then of the Institute teaches folk dances to the special the members of the Inter-Amerkan Council of Music teachers of physical education and also supervises the have made efforts to bring about the establishment of presentations of numerous schools. He also directs this Archive in Caracas; at the third meeting of the a Folk Dance Group, which is dependent upon the Inter-American Cultural Council, held one year ago School for Artistic Training of the Office of Culture and in San Juan, Puerto Rico, a resolution was approved Social Welfare under the Ministry of Labor. calling for the creation of this Archive in collaboration with the Institute of Folklore. Recently the Inter- ---Short courses by foreign professors - The Institute American Council of Music held its Second General has arranged visits of foreign professors like Stith Assembly, and Luis Felipe ~am6ny Rivera, attending ~hom~son-of the United states -and Sefiora Delia ~illgn the meeting by special invitation, carried with him de Palavecino of Argentina. The former, as is well the proposed statutes that would govern the new known, is a specialist in the folktale; the latter, in Institute. fabric weaving. The Institute of Folklore of Caracas has in its Dis s emination of Information possession as a basis for this project collections of music made by its own specialists in various Latin The personnel of the Institute are further charged American countries, as well as copies of tapes ob- with the following tasks related to the general dis- tained through exchanges with colleagues in various s emination of information: Central American countries. It also possesses music from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, The program -Getting to Know Our Country" - The Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, purpose of this weekly program on the National Tele- Puerto Rico, Cuba, Honduras, and Mexico. vision Service is to inform the general public in an entertaining manner about different aspects of Vene- zuelan folklore.

Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE

Bloomington, Indiana Permit No. 2

VOL. V, NO. 1 INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON SPRING, 1962

A joint publication of the Folklore Archives and the Archives of Folk and Primi- tive Music, Divisions of the Research Center in Anthropology, Folklore and Lin- guiatics, Indiana University. Bloomington, Indiana. U. S. A. George List, Editor. Richard M. Dorson, Editorial Associate. Judith McCulloh. Assiatant to the Editor. THE FORT HAYS KANSAS STATE COLLEGE formation forms if these have been collected, and in- FOLKORE COLLECTION formant biography forms. These comprise a "tape sup- plement," which is kept in an envelope with the tapes. S. J. Sackett We hope that during the coming year all our tapes The choice of the word "collection" rather than will be re-processed and catalog cards made out for "archive" to describe the materials available at Fort them; these will then be filed with the cards for the Hays Kansas State College is a deliberate act of mo- manuscript materials, in the same alphabetical file. desty. The collection consists of perhaps fifteen We hope eventually also to analyze motifs in all oral hundred sheets of manuscript materials and about fif- narratives except reminiscences and to have a sepa- ty tape recordings, almost all of which deal with the rate motif file for these. folklore of western Kansas and have been collected by myself and students working under my direction. Considering the remoteness of Hays, we have had continually in mind the fact that our collection will be Although these materials have nearly all been used by mail, and so have tried to make such use easy. collected in western Kansas, they are remarkably di- A letter addressed to me or to Mr. Paul Friesner, versified in type and origin. We have manuscripts and our librarian, who has shared with me making the tape recordings of oral narratives, folksongs and decisions concerning the collection, will bring a reply ballads, dance music and calls, games, recipes, indicating whether we have the material inquired about customs, and so forth. And since the people of wes- and how much it would cost to reproduce it. We are tern Kansas represent both the North and the South prepared to photocopy any of the manuscript materials American traditions as well as many of the nations of in the collection at a cost of ten cents a sheet, to Europe (Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, for in- microfilm manuscripts at a nominal charge, and to stance), our collection embraces much that would be copy any of the tape recordings for a fee of fifty cents, found in any collection of American or European folk- if the person making the request will supply the tape. lore, including Child ballads and Marchen. A con- siderable amount of the material in Kansas Folklore, As for financial assistance, Fort Hays Kansas edited by William E. Koch and myself (Lincoln: State College offers two graduate fellowships which University of Nebraska Press, 1961), as well as a apply to the Folklore Collection. One is in the amount large number of the play-party games collected in the of $1800 for a year; the holder works for the English issue of Heritage of-- Kansas devoted to them, come department, and part of his time is spent working on from the Fort Hays Kansas State College Folklore the Collection. The other is in the amount of $500 for Collection. a year; the holder works only on the Collection. Nat- urally there is a substantial difference in the amount As manuscript material comes in, we assign it a of working time required from the holders of the two number in accordance with the Boggs classification fellowships, as well as a difference in the course load system, as given in the Standard Dictionary. We have each is permitted to take. The college offers a Master modified the Boggs system only slightly in accordance of Arts degree in English, and the holders of the with the nature of the material; for instance, since a fellowships work toward that degree. Other expenses substantial amount of what we collect is reminiscences, connected with the Collection are borne by the Forsyth we have invented a B500 category to accommodate Library and by the Department of English. these. Otherwise we have found the Boggs system en- tirely satisfactory. Compared with archives at other institutions, ours is, we realize, a small one. It is also a new Catalog cards are made out for each piece as it one, having been started only in 1955. But it is very comes in; these cards are filed alphabetically by type rapidly growing, and contains a considerable amount (folksong, folktale, recipe, and so on), by informant, of valuable and interesting material, of which we are and by collector. The type cards contain information proud. Austin Fife has used our collection and can, about the informant, collector, date of collection, I think, serve as reference that it is worth consult- number of pages, and so forth. Folksongs andverses ing and that we are anxious to make our materials are cross-indexed by first line. available for scholarly use. I hope that this brief notice of what we have will bring our collection to With as many items as possible we file informa- the attention of folklorists, and that they will not tion forms giving the informants' accounts of the back- forget us when looking for material of almost any kind. grounds of the songs or stories and any other relevant data which might be helpful in interpreting them. We also keep informant biography forms, but we file these alphabetically, separately from the items, since a CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE number of items may derive from the same informant. ISABEL ARETZ is Technical Adviser of the Institute of Venezuelan Folklore and Director of the School for Tape-recorded materials are at present handled Artistic Training of the Ministry of Labor. differently because of lack of help. With each tape - which may contain several interviews, for we econo- S. J. SACKETT is Associate Professor of English in mize by dubbing several items on one reel we file - the Division of Language, Literature, and Speech of an index of the items on that tape, song or story in- Fort Hays Kansas State College, at Hays, Kansas.