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South Carolina
The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress through Public Law 94-201 and charged to "preserve and present American folklife." The Center incorporates the Archive
of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library of Congress in 1928, and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world.
Collections
The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied
material from South Carolina that documents the state's folk traditions.
Among its recordings are Gullah dialect songs and tales from the Sea Islands;
African American spirituals, hymns, lullabies, and religious services performed
by choirs and soloists from around the state; and many hours of work songs,
spirituals, and prayers of African American convicts held at the state
work farms in Boykin and Columbia in the 1930s.
- South Carolina Field Recordings
in the Archive of Folk Culture [full text]
South Carolina participated in the Library's Bicentennial Local Legacies
project, which includes documentation of local traditions and celebrations
for the American Folklife Center's Archive of Folk Culture.
Publications
- "Bulrush is Silver, Sweetgrass is Gold: The Enduring Art of Seagrass
Basketry," Folklife Annual 1988-89. [catalog record]
Published Recordings
- Animal Tales Told in the Gullah Dialect, Volumes I-III, Library
of Congress AFS L44-46. [audiocassette]
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