FOLKLIFE IN FOCUS – Who Does folklore

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! 

Who Does Folklore?

Back when I started, I laid out what folklore is in one of my first posts. I figured I should revisit the topic and talk a little bit more about who does folklore and some of the terminology there. The short answer to the titular question is everyone. Everyone does folklore since it’s things all around us – gossip, telling stories, holiday celebrations, getting dressed, etc. Everyone is born into multiple cultural contexts. As they grow up, they learn about the traditions and values of those cultures, as well as those that they become a part of along the way. One of the frequently used terms for people who do folklore is “tradition bearer” or “culture bearer,” but everyone has knowledge of different traditions. So, a more important distinction is to distinguish between an active and a passive tradition bearer. There’s a difference between actively engaging with a tradition while sharing it with others and someone who simply knows the tradition but doesn’t actively engage. People can (and do!) shift between being active and passive tradition bearers throughout their lives.

That begs the question of how you’d define an active tradition bearer. Our Nevada Heritage Grant defines a tradition bearer as actively perpetuating and disseminating their communities’ traditions and traditional artistic practices, learning their communities’ traditions through active engagement with it, and practicing their community traditions primarily within their community for other community members. Let’s dig into those points a little more, shall we?

1. Is actively engaged in perpetuating and disseminating community traditions. They share what they know about community traditions and practices with other members, making sure new members know what has come before and what values the community shares.
2. Learned through being actively engaged with their community. Their knowledge didn’t come from outside sources but rather from deep engagement with their community and others in it, particularly those who preceded them as the community’s active tradition bearers.
3. Practices the tradition for the benefit of the community. While different communities treat different traditions in different ways (some practices are OK to be shared with others, while others should only be practiced with and for others in the community or certain people in the community), tradition bearers typically practice their traditions for those within the community, helping to teach the next generation of active tradition bearers. While they certainly can include others not from the community and can innovate in their traditions, their focus for their practice is on their community.

There’s also one other detail that characterizes an active tradition bearer that’s not included in the definition of the fellowship. Typically, active tradition bearers engage in a variety of traditional practices, both artistic and non-artistic. They have a deep knowledge of a variety of traditions from their culture and frequently have responsibilities in their community to share that knowledge.

But sometimes, tradition bearer is not the word you want to use when talking about someone engaging with tradition. Given that I work at an art council, it’s usually more useful for me to talk about the people as artists and how they engage with artistic traditions in particular. That’s where terms like “folk artist” or “traditional artist” come in. These terms serve as a subset of active tradition bearers, referring to people who engage in their culture’s artistic traditions. They’re the people who are actively creating traditional styles of art, whether that art form is visual- or performance-based.

With all that in mind, a folk artist is someone who:

1. Is actively creating art. They are actively working at whatever art form(s) they practice and are actively engaged in perpetuating their art forms in their community.
2. Learned from other community members.* Folk arts are passed down in ways that make sense to the communities they are connected to, whether it’s through watching family members practice them growing up, through apprenticeships or other culturally specific educational forms, or spread through peer networks.
3. Creates art that engages with the community. The art created by a folk artist is just as connected to the community as the artists themselves. It expresses community values and tradition, even while innovating and updating the tradition to contemporary community standards. Folk art is frequently meant to be used, not just displayed, and the creative output of a folk artist is usually primarily created for use within the community.

You’ll notice that asterisk by that second point. There are some traditions, usually amongst Indigenous American communities that aren’t being practiced anymore, not through any lack of desire on the part of the community, but because of various historical factors. In cases such as those, someone from a community learning from outside sources – whether that’s archival resources, experts in related traditions, or some other resource – would still be a folk artist, at least by my standards. Such work is a necessary act of cultural reclamation, and just as bound in community and tradition as learning from a respected elder or peer.

That last bit is part of what makes the distinction important to me, at least at a bureaucratic level. Existing as I do in the context of the Nevada Arts Council, my work is often more focused on the artistic practices of the community, rather than the entirety of the traditions of a community. One way to understand the difference is to think about a dinner table during the holidays. There are specific foods cooked just for this day, certain decorations that have to be out on the table, or certain stories that have been passed down to be shared. All of those would be artistic practices practiced by the folk artists in the community.

Meanwhile, there’s also tracking when this meal is supposed to take place, certain etiquette points that must be observed, and other habits that are customary on the day. Those details would be managed by one of the active tradition bearers. That certainly could be a folk artist, but not necessarily. Then, everyone partaking in the day’s celebrations would be the passive tradition bearers. As things change – people age, members enter the community – who is in what role will shift, and people will change between roles, as well as the details of the art forms and traditions, but the communal nature will not.

There’s perhaps one more title that could be discussed – folklorist. A folklorist is someone who studies folklife and works to understand and preserve folk and traditional arts and customs. While there are people like me who are official, credentialed folklorists with degrees that provide an academic background in the history & theories of the field, I don’t think all of that is necessarily necessary for someone to call themselves a folklorist (although I don’t think it hurts either!). Anyone who is passionate about understanding culture (whether their own or others) and works to help the folk artists and tradition bearers in a community practice their traditions is someone who I would call a folklorist. One term frequently used to talk about members of that group is community scholar.

How do you define yourself? Given that you’re reading this, I’m assuming you could at least call yourself a folklorist. Is there a traditional art form that you practice? If so, I’d love to hear about it! Or even if there are just traditions you practice that aren’t necessarily artistic, I’d love to know more – feel free to reach out and let me know! 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!

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