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
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