FOLKLIFE IN FOCUS – What are Oral Traditions and Performing Arts 

Welcome to the Follow the Folklorist blog! Founded by Rebecca Snetlesaar and currently led by Nevada State Folklorist Brad McMullen, our blog is dedicated to exploring the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions, and celebrations that make Nevada such a vibrant state. Through our two main topics, Folklife in Focus and Notes from the Field, Brad will share his unique insights and experiences, providing a captivating glimpse into the diverse and fascinating world of Nevada folk traditions. Join us on this exciting journey as we delve into the stories, customs, and heritage that shape our state’s identity. Get ready to be inspired and amazed! 

What are Oral Traditions and Performing Arts?

Previously, I discussed the term material culture (read this if you missed it!), but that’s not the only umbrella term for categorizing artistic traditions. The other category you’ll see in our grants is called oral traditions or performing arts. As I said, you can select both categories, and many traditions incorporate both oral and material elements. However, it’s still useful to talk about what separates the two, especially when applying for funding to support your community’s traditions.  

On the most basic level, oral traditions are exactly what it says in the phrase — traditions where the art involves the spoken word. Art forms like oral storytelling, music, poetry, and so on. Similarly, performing arts are any art form where performance is central, such as dance or instrumental music. While these traditions frequently involve material culture (aspects like the clothes a dancer wears or the instrument a musician plays), the focus of the art form is on the intangible performance of what is done and heard, not the experience of interacting or viewing the produced object. A fiddler playing their fiddle at a community square dance is an example of performing arts (as are the dancers and the caller), while the luthier fixing the broken fiddle after a drunken square dancer knocks it out of their hands is an example of material culture.  

However, just like the concept of material culture, oral traditions and performing arts go deeper than the obvious examples. Every culture has its celebrations, rites, rituals, and observances. Things like seasonal celebrations, rites of passage into adulthood, and signs and superstitions to ward off bad luck. Some of these are simple practices like throwing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder to ward off bad luck, but others are much more complicated, involving precise steps, timing, and objects to be considered successful. While these practices frequently involve objects from material culture, the steps to go through the ritual are a performance. The practice of assembling an ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos or the Japanese tea ceremony are great examples of performing arts traditions dependent upon material culture. You need both aspects for the tradition to exist.  

There’s another broad category of traditions that would fit under the oral tradition and performing arts umbrella that might not immediately come to mind. Folk and traditional arts are rooted in community and relationships; people don’t just have relationships with other humans. There are a number of traditions involving our furry (and feathery and scaly) friends. Rodeo and charreria are traditions that have grown out of the realities of ranch work, and falconry and truffle hunting are both traditions that center on how humans have trained animals to gather food. While these traditions are not all necessarily artistic, many involve performance and artistic practice and may also involve many art forms belonging under the umbrella of material culture – saddles and rawhide braiding are two prominent examples here in Nevada.  

Speaking of the Silver State, we’ve got no end to the various oral traditions and performing arts practiced in our communities. Historically, Mark Twain was a master of the tall tale, sometimes considered the quintessential American folk art, writing down his own versions of oral stories that have been told for centuries. Festivals like the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and the National Basque Festival in Elko, the Father’s Day Powwow in Carson City, and Aki Matsuri in Henderson all feature a variety of performing arts specific to the different cultures celebrated at the events. County fairs and rodeos similarly embrace performing arts and material culture art forms.  

So that’s your two-parter covering different types of traditions. I’d love to hear about your oral and performing arts traditions and those in your communities. Feel free to reach out to me at bmcmullen@nevadaculture.org and share the traditions and arts you and your community engage in! And if you’re looking to support the traditions you practice, consider applying for the Nevada Arts Council’s Folklife Artist Grant and Folklife Community Grant.   

---

Visit the Nevada Folklife Archives on Flickr