User:Folk Life/Topics

TOPICS - NOTES ON SUBJECTS - NOT IN DRAFT FORM

Traditional Games & Amusements
In the Dewey Decimal System for Non-Fiction:793

Indoor games & amusements (category at ISBNdb.com)

Topics Without "Complete" or Meaningful Entries on Wikipedia
The following can be associated with other articles that exist:
 * "The Bones" ACTION: Search Wikipedia again and use terms like percussion?
 * Lilting (AKA mouth music, chin music, etc.) ACTUALLY: A page exists, so might want to expand it?

Should soon create the pages for Lilting and Bones because have referred to them in Sean-nós dance in America. (See the paragraph below.)

More difficult to portray in a quick and useful manner:


 * Indoor games & amusements

Minimalist means of preserving Irish music and dance
The Irish people's practice of "Sean-nós dance, Sean-nós song, Lilting (AKA "mouth music") and "The Bones" (simple percussion instrument made of cow shin bones or wood) represents a minimalist means of preserving their heritage—despite concerted efforts by the English authorities to suppress Irish music, dance, modes of dress, language (see Irish Gaelic and Hiberno-English), Catholic religion , nationality, and history—or simply due to lack of resources when emigrating. Accordingly, the Irish in America have been able to promulgate the dance and muscial aspects of the Culture of Ireland—even after large waves of migration subsequent to highly disruptive events in Ireland, such as the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or the Irish Potato Famine (AKA theGreat Irish Famine).

Sean-nós dancing in the Irish Diaspora
This content was removed from the pages related to Sean Nós in general. As the Irish peoples migrated to other lands, they have taken Sean-nós dancing with them. This form of dance then has influenced various other forms of traditional solo dance extant in those other lands—such as American traditional informal freeform solo folk dancing. Sean-nós dance in America may differ from how it is practiced in Ireland, because it in turn has been influenced by other culture's dance styles there. Sean-nós dancing in America and Canada is most commonly seen at folk festivals, although dance workshops are beginning to introduce the style more widely.

Interesting Explications of Irish Culture

 * Hiberno-English describes how Irish grammar still "peeks through."

Preserve or Perish Conundrum
In more isolated corners of America, traditional folk life may be practiced as the norm. However, mainstream America's exposure to traditional folk life might be limited to the occasional documentary on public television or references in out-or-print publications. The conundrum is that without exposure, fewer will know that it can be practiced and it will become more and more obscure.

Sources of Additional Information
The Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is one prominent institution that preserves and promulgates information about this category. The Smithsonian's Folkways Recordsdivision has recordings of music, songs, and spoken word that has been gathered by folklorists and ethno-musicologists.