Folk Culture

Definition:

• Folk culture: cultural traits such as dress, dwellings, traditions, and institutions of usually small, traditional communities

• Folk culture is usually passed person-to-person within the relatively small, close-knit community

Aspects of Folk Culture

• Folk culture comprises people (and objects, etc.) who represent or maintain a "traditional" mode of life – Live in an old-fashioned way– Or with a simpler life-style

which is not “modern"

• Folk culture is usually rural, tight-knit, conservative, and largely self-sufficient.

• There is often a strong family or clan structure and highly developed family, religious, or general community rituals.

• Tradition comes first— change comes infrequently and slowly

Folk culture may be either (or both) material and nonmaterial:

• Material culture includes all objects made by members of a particular cultural group

• Nonmaterial culture:– Folklore: folktales, folksongs, folkdance,

folk beliefs (superstitions and customs)– Dialects, religions, etc.

A legacy of tradition

African Folk Culture

African folk culture includes:

• Art• Religious Beliefs• Traditions• Dance• Music

…in hundreds of ethnic groups

Africa’s ancient tribal culture has been closely tied to their religious beliefs, known as

animism:the belief that inanimate objects

contain the spirit and consciousness of living things

Most early African art and rituals were heavily influenced by a belief in animism

Shamans are priests or priestesses that use magic to gain power over the supernatural

Music, dance, and art came together in animistic rituals– these customs were the origins of later African folk culture

Art

Primitive art tried to represent the human form in carvings

Folk Art

Modern folk art is often self-taught and unrefined

Dance

Highly stimulating and often emotional

MusicUses many variations of percussion

instruments, especially drums