Folklore Program UW-Madison

We’re excited to announce that Swedish musicians Maja Heurling, Ola Sandström, and Livet Nord will be visiting campus during the first week of October. Along with a few class visits, they’ll be performing Irrbloss: Songs from the Poetry of Signe Aurell on Tuesday, October 4, at 6:00pm at Tripp Commons in Memorial Union. The performance is free and open to the public: https://folklife.wisc.edu/event/signe-aurell-irrbloss/

Signe Aurell was a Swedish woman who came to the United States in 1913, worked as a laundress and seamstress, joined the Industrial Workers of the World, and wrote poetry and essays—including her self-published poetry collection, Irrbloss (Will-o’-the-Wisp)—during her seven years living in Minnesota.

Musicians Maja Heurling and Ola Sandström collaborated to set music to a selection of poems from Irrbloss, blending folk stylings and the Swedish visa tradition together to amplify the importance and continued relevance of Aurell’s words. In doing so, the group has employed the Swedish visa tradition to interpret not just Aurell’s poetry, but also the migration histories of the over one million Swedes who came to the United States.

The performances will feature songs based on the poetry of Aurell, as well as stories from her life in both Sweden and the United States.

Pejuta Ḣaka Wiŋ Red Eagle is the Science Museum’s newest anthropology fellow. She brings expertise in traditional beadwork and quillwork and collections stewardship, as well as meaningful connections to Dakota communities. Thanks to a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage grant, she is researching objects in our Dakota collection—beaded vests, moccasins, necklaces, clothing, cradleboards, parfleche containers, and more—and the material content around them.

“Museums have not been the most welcoming places for Native people because of the history of colonization. I hope to invite Dakota community members in to see the collection and share their knowledge so that our records are more complete. I will also go into those communities. I want to stress that the museum is a steward, not an owner of these objects. If there’s anything here that they can identify as belonging to their communities, then let’s return it.”

This Thursday at the Mills Music Library: French cultural historial and UW Folklore friend Dr. Camille Moreddu presents a talk on French folk music in the Upper Midwest. Get the details here and join us on April 21: https://www.library.wisc.edu/music/2022/04/14/talk-camille-moreddu-on-french-american-folklore-in-the-midwest/?fbclid=IwAR126A5lvij1A1HzAI1ypiFswt0GXPcPmh_d5mAi8t50yp0WH0H9MWyXIFE

Talk: Camille Moreddu on French-American Folklore in the Midwest Vestiges of a Vanquished Frontier: Approaches of French-American Folklore in the Midwest from 1847 to 1953 Free and Open to the Public Thursday, April 21, 2022 3:30-5:00pm Memorial Library, Room 126, 728 State St

Wishing everyone a Happy Ṥmigus-Dyngus Day!
Życzymy wszystkim Wesołego Śmingusa-Dyngusa!
Śmigus-Dyngus also known as Lany Poniedzialek (Wet Monday) is a fun polish holiday celebrated on Easter Monday. It is the day when boys tried to drench girls with buckets of water. The more a girl is sprayed with water, the higher her chances are that she will get married. Traditionally, girls get their chance for revenge the next day, however now Wet Monday is usually celebrated by everyone drenching or sprinkling each other with water and it is basically free-for-all good old fashioned water fight and no one is immune or dry. The origins of this celebration are uncertain, but it may date back to pagan times (before 1000 AD) when the pouring of water symbolized springtime to cleanse and purify. Others believe that Śmigus-Dyngus represents renewal of the sacrament of baptism after Christ had risen. And there are still some, who suggests that Śmigus-Dyngus is connected to baptism of Polish ruler Prince Mieszko the First who was baptized in 966 on Easter Monday.
Originally śmigus and dyngus were two separate events, with śmigus involving the act of throwing water, and dyngus, bribing people with Easter eggs (pisanki) to escape from śmigus. Later both traditions merged.
But no matter how you look at it, it is still a super fun holiday I enjoyed so much as a kid. I still have memories of me running with friends through our neighborhood with our little egg shape water sq**rt spraying everyone in our way….at this same time avoiding water bombs coming down from the windows :)

Today would be the 120th birthday of Alabama traditional singer Vera Hall, one of the greatest singers in the AFC archive, who was born April 6, 1902, and who died in 1964. Hall was recorded by several folklorists, including Alan Lomax, and she was the subject of Lomax's book "The Rainbow Sign." Her voice singing "Trouble So Hard" was the main element in the dance music hit "Natural Blues" by Moby in 1999.

At the first link find a biography from the Association for Cultural Equity:

http://www.culturalequity.org/alan-lomax/friends/hall

At the second link, find early recordings of her singing.

https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=contributor:hall,+vera&loclr=fbafc

At the third link, find her recordings from later years.

https://archive.culturalequity.org/person/hall-vera-ward

Happy Friday!

Folklorist interviews Alien!

The American Folklife Center is proud to announce that AFC folklorist Wynnette Willwood has conducted the first ethnographic interview with an extraterrestrial being! Through a special collaboration with NASA, AFC sent Folklife Specialist Wynnette Willwood to the moon last year. There she encountered a small community of extraterrestrials who observe the doings of humans on Earth for their own inscrutable purposes. Willwood convinced one of these aliens to sit for an ethnographic interview. "It turns out they are big fans of human TV, especially 'Baywatch,'" she reported to her surprised colleagues at the Library of Congress.

Wynnette Willwood is the daughter of folklorist Abbott Willwood, who gained fame through his oral history interviews with Bigfoot and Chupacabras. She is the granddaughter of folklorist and linguist Otto Willwood.

Find out more about the Willwood Expedition, and encounter the first-ever ethnographic interview with an alien, at the link:

https://go.usa.gov/xzJNs

New Orleans public schools lift century-long ban on jazz music and dancing The decision comes exactly 100 years to the date it was originally passed in 1922, school officials said.

In Bulgaria, 25 March is Blagovets. In the religious calendar it's the day when Archangel Gabriel revealed to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive the son of god. In Bulgarian folklore Blagovets marks the real beginning of spring. Bears awaken from their winter slumber and emerge from the forests to bathe in the rivers, endowing the waters with healing power. Samodivi, the nymphs of the waters and the woodlands, return to our world from their winter abodes. And today you can take off your martenitsa and hang it in a tree.

The warm spring sun brings snakes out of hibernation and people carry out various rituals to protect against their bite: chanting incantations, making loud noises, leaving a bowl of milk for them on the threshold and jumping over bonfires - the flame purifies all.

In folk belief the cuckoo, the swallow and the stork - the three birds that herald spring - appear on this day. Traditionally if you have a piece of bread and a coin in your pocket when you hear the first cuckoo call, you will have a plentiful year ahead. There are some wonderful Bulgarian folk tales about all three birds.

We wish you all a Happy Blagovets.

Image: Painting by Bulgarian artist, Valeri Tsenov
Artist’s website: tsenov-art.com

Local group 'lgbt milWALKee' looks to raise $33,000 to create history-filled walking tours in Milwaukee Project Director Brice Smith says the group aims to raise enough money to create a mobile app to showcase Milwaukee's LGBT history.

Madison musician connects with his heritage and father by archiving Ho-Chunk recordings - Wisconsin Life Clint Greendeer is a Madison-based musician and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. A few years ago, his family member found an old box of cassette tapes belonging to Greendeer’s late father, Conroy Greendeer, Sr. The content of the tapes ranged from powwow songs to ceremonial Ho-Chunk songs, as well a...

The American Folklore Society condemns the invasion of Ukraine and supports Ukrainian folklore and heritage scholars.

AFS Condemns the Invasion of Ukraine and Supports Ukrainian Folklore and Heritage Scholars - The American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society condemns the military aggression against Ukraine and stands with all who oppose this war. AFS supports folklore and heritage scholars, workers and institutions currently under siege in Ukraine.

The American Folklore Society Executive Board signs on to a statement by the American Historical Association historicizing and condemning the numerous bomb threats received by at least 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in early 2022.

AFS Board Co-Signs Statement Condemning Bombing Threats at HBCUs - The American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society Executive Board signed on to a statement by the American Historical Association historicizing and condemning the numerous bomb threats received by at least 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in early 2022.

Meet the Iowa Architect Documenting Every Slave House Still Standing Jobie Hill has visited 700 former residences. Many have been abandoned. Some have become storage space. Others are B&Bs.

Madison is home to a large Tibetan community. We wish our Tibetan neighbors a happy Losar!

Happy Losar! For Tibetans, Losar (ལོ་གསར་ or “new year”) is the biggest celebration of the year, with events lasting sixteen days, complete with gift-giving, smoke offerings to the mountain deities, song and dance, and feasting on traditional foods, including momos, pictured.

In honor of the new year, we want to share our new digital lecture series, Approaches to Culture Heritage Presentation, designed to aid Tibetan cultural heritage professionals. With rapid cultural transformation currently taking place across the Tibetan Plateau, nomadic ways of life are at risk of being lost. But through documentation and representation, individuals can help ensure the survival of their own traditions, cultures, and lifestyles. The videos and related resources are available in English, Mandarin, and Tibetan.

Learn more about the project and the virtual exchange that took place last fall: https://s.si.edu/3vz8ODB

Photo by Jixiancairang

Center Awarded American Women’s History Initiative Grant for African American Craft Documentation The grant will fund Black &: African American Women Crafting Our Own Narratives.

Wear your Kokum Scarf in solidarity with Ukraine 🇺🇦 💙💛





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The Kokum Scarf design that Indigenous Peoples wear was a gift from the Ukrainian people.

During the earlier parts of our developing relationship with the Eurpeans, the Ukrainian people would often trade with the Indigenous Peoples in the northern regions. They’d help each other out and created a lasting friendship with them. Many Ukrainian People still visit those areas today and still maintain those friendships.

Let us continue this friendship by sending prayers to our Ukrainian relations for strength, love, and protection. Let us also wear our Kokum Scarves in solidarity 🌼🌺🌸

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For more information on the Kokum Scarf and its meaning, please see Jayroy Makosis on TikTok () https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLkrxysY/

You can also read this beautiful article written by Mallory Yawnghwe: www.indigenousbox.ca/blogs/news/kokumscarf

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[Image Description:

A handprint a top a pink Kokum Scarf that has pink, yellow, and blue flowers. The hand print is the colour of the Ukraine flag with the shape of the country on the palm. On the right side there is cursive writing that says, “pray for Ukraine.”]

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Art by Mista Wasis

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(If you own an or know of an Indigenous or Ukrainian business that sells Kokum Scarves, please place the shop’s link in the comments👇)

Folklore Program UW-Madison updated their website address.

How the 1918 Pandemic Got Meme-ified in Jokes, Songs and Poems In newspapers across the country, the public dealt with the heartache of the moment by turning to humor

Navajo Nation Sees Farming Renaissance During Coronavirus Pandemic The Navajo Nation is having a farming renaissance in the era of COVID-19. More residents are turning to traditional agriculture as they're under strict travel limits due to the coronavirus.

Ola Mae Spinks, Who Helped Preserve a Slave Archive, Dies at 106 In 1972, she and another librarian went to the Library of Congress to bring order to a sprawling collection of interviews with former slaves.

Great online events this weekend from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival! Barbecue around the world, Latina DJs, and coffee culture! Check it out 👇

https://festival.si.edu/schedule

Schedule View a list of upcoming online events from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival