WHAT IS FOLKLIFE?

Folklife includes cultural products and artistic expressions passed down through the generations by families, communities, and regions. It includes topics like food, music, dance, stories, remedies, hunting and fishing customs, occupational folklore, and traditional arts like pottery, quilting, woodworking, and basketry.

Folklife also constantly evolves, as new groups arrive, social and political environments change, natural materials and customs are altered, and individual personalities leave their mark.

FOLKLIFE IN ALABAMA

Alabama holds a rich array of folklife, including both rural and urban traditions and contributions from diverse cultures, regions, art forms, and religions. Alabama’s geography, ranging from the Gulf Coast to Appalachia to the Black Belt to the Wiregrass, yields traditions representing distinct environments and histories.

In Alabama, folklife includes practices as wide ranging as shrimp net building, Watch Night, old time fiddle, ofrendas, gospel singing, the Vietnamese lion dance, storytelling, Poarch Creek shell carving, pine needle basketry, duck decoys, layer cakes, and much more.