Barbara Allen folk song ballad Itisket-Itaskit singing game Man-on-the-street interviews December 8, 1941 Charlie Smith former slave narrative West Virginia Rag fiddle tune with guitar Indian Funeral Song wax cylinder recording

What is Folklife?

The everyday and intimate creativity that all of us share and pass on to the next generation:

The traditional songs we sing, listen and dance to

Fairy tales, stories, ghost tales and personal histories

Riddles, proverbs, figures of speech, jokes and special ways of speaking

Our childhood games and rhymes

The youngest great-grandmother. Todd and Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection.

Paiute Indians move though serving line. Ranching Culture in Northern Nevada Collection.

Asbury cemetery on Montcoal Mountain. Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia Collection.

Bible Class at Protestant Church. Ranching Culture in Northern Nevada Collection.

Worker holds tray with 20 cooked pies. Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.

The way we celebrate life
    – from birthing our babies to honoring our dead

The entire range of our personal and collective beliefs
    – religious, medical, magical, and social

Our handed-down recipes and everyday mealtime traditions

The way we decorate our world
    - from patchwork patterns on our quilts to plastic flamingoes in our yards, to tattoos on our bodies

The weekly quilting bee in Brown's Hollow. Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia Collection.

1994 Arizona State winning quilt: Tumbling Blocks. Quilts and Quiltmaking in America: 1978-1996 Collection.

Plant manager examines fabric sample. Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.

Hethu'shka Dancer at Library of Congress Neptune Plaza Concert. Omaha Indian Music Collection.

Details of various graffiti murals. Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting.

The crafts we create by hand
    – crocheted afghans, wooden spoons, cane bottoms on chairs

Patterns and traditions of work
    – from factory to office cubicle

The many creative ways we express ourselves as members of our family, our community, our geographical region, our ethnic group, our religious congregation, or our occupational group

Folklife is part of everyone's life. It is as constant as a ballad, as changeable as fashion trends. It is as intimate as a lullaby, and as public as a parade.

In the end ... we are all folk.