Observations on Lutsi oral tradition

This article examines Lutsi intangible culture in an attempt to clarify the origins of this language island. Historical stories about coming from “Sweden” refer to southern Estonia, but such stories are also widespread in areas that were never under Swedish rule. The Christian tradition is based on the church language and literature of Estonia. Lutsi laments or lament-like songs are unique, different from Seto laments, but also from the lament-like orphan songs of southern Estonia. Work songs and ritual songs (tavandilaul) as well as narrative songs are related to traditions found in both Võromaa and Setomaa. Oskar Kallas’s documentation contains an impressive number of children’s songs and readings, short verses, and other peripheral material. Their proportion only increases in later collections. The influence of Latvian songs is striking and can be seen from direct translations to texts where original and borrowed material intermingle. The Lutsi tradition was also probably influenced by their Slavic neighbours. Comparisons with the folklore of the other South Estonian language islands and that of the Tver Karelians shows both commonalities and differences. Kokkuvõte. Kristi Salve: Tähelepanekuid Lutsi maarahva suulisest pärimusest. Artiklis on vaadeldud Lutsi maarahva vaimset kultuuri, püüdes selgust tuua keelesaare kujunemisloosse. Ajaloolised jutud „Rootsi“ päritolust viitavad küll Lõuna-Eestile, kuid sellised jutud on levinud ka aladel, mis pole Rootsi võimu alla kuulunudki. Lutsi kristlik pärimus lähtub Eesti kirikukeelest ja -kirjandusest. Lutsi itkud või itkulaadsed laulud on omapärased, erinedes setu itkudest, aga ka Lõuna-Eesti itkulaadsetest vaeslapselauludest. Töö- ja tavandilaulud, samuti jutustavad laulud seostuvad nii Võrumaa kui ka Setumaa traditsiooniga. Juba Oskar Kallase kogus on silmapaistvalt palju lastele mõeldud laule ja lugemisi, lühikesi (pilke)salmikesi ja muud perifeerset rahvaluule ainest. Hilisemates kogudes nende osakaal suureneb. Silmapaistev on läti laulude mõju alates otsestest tõlgetest kuni tekstideni, milles genuiinne ja laenuline segunevad. Ilmselt on Lutsi traditsiooni mõjutanud ka naabruses elavad slaavi rahvad. Võrdluses teiste vanade eesti keelesaarte, aga ka Tveri karjalaste rahvaluulega hakkab silma mõndagi ühist, kuid samas ka erinevat.

Folk Elements in Sakkai Novel

Despite the advancement in the literacy knowledge of the human race, the truth and happeinings infered from the experiences of the ancestors is quite evident till today. The references of Folklore, devotional songs, work songs, Lullobies, Proverb, Quizzes, Medicinal hints in the literature till date proves the timelessness of the culture the way, the author expresses the rituals, traditions, Culture use of local languages, lifestyle of a particular region makes literature a tool to carry forward them to future. whenever the medical hints are mentioned in Literature. It is easier for the readers to understand the nature of the disease and the simple ways of cure in the literature by kalaiselvi, the objective of the article is to research the Pleasure and displeasure happenings in one life through folklore.

Music in Cabo Verde

The landscape of Cape Verdean music is diverse, and its musical genres, like the society from which they emanate, are mostly Creole. They stem from the interactions of the local population with other peoples, not only through colonization, but also from the emigration of Cape Verdeans to other countries. In addition, maritime traffic in the Atlantic, which has always traversed the archipelago, was a fruitful channel of contact with other cultures. These factors meant that Cabo Verde remained attuned to cultural trends and lifestyles circulating around the world. Morna, koladera, batuku, and funaná are the most prominent genres on any list of musical styles considered “genuinely” Cape Verdean, if it makes sense to use this adjective in a society marked so heavily by ethnic admixture. That list must also include: 19th-century European musical styles (mazurka, waltz, schottische, polka, gallop) that local musicians appropriated by playing them; the talaia baxu, from the island of Fogo; and a group of musical expressions related to the feasts of the Catholic calendar, with songs, dances, and drumming, such as the kola sanjon (commemorating St. John the Baptist), present on several islands; the activities of tabankas (mutual aid associations that, among other activities, celebrate the dates of Catholic saints) in Santiago and the flag festivals on the island of Fogo. Other religious traditions include the litanies inherited from the Portuguese tradition sung in Creole. There are also popular songs related to work and other activities like sowing, fishing, and labor with oxen in the artisanal production of rum (grogo, grogue, grogu). The oxen work songs (kola boi) are nearly extinct. Weddings songs are also part of traditional musical practices that are either nearly extinct or performed as folklore representations only. In terms of popular music with international circulation since the 1970s, Cape Verdean youth have enthusiastically embraced rap, reggae, zouk from the Antilles, and to a lesser extent rock, by producing Cape Verdean versions of these genres.

The Prehistory of Jazz

This chapter explores the cultural and musical context for the birth of jazz. It examines the styles of music that influenced the early evolution of the music, including ragtime, blues, spirituals, and work songs. It also includes thumbnail sketches of the leading performers in these idioms, including Scott Joplin, Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, and others. The chapter also describes the social context for early jazz, with special focus on African American culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

2 “Colored girls under the control of colored teachers”

Most modern research into the musical experiences of women of color has been confined to oral traditions: Black women in the South sang spirituals, work songs, and other genres not associated with reading music. That situation does not mean, however, that women of color did not learn to read music even if the evidence countering this narrative remains largely hidden....

Measuring the cultural evolution of music: Cross-cultural and cross-genre case studies

In this article I apply methods for measuring the cultural evolution of music to four diverse case studies for which the history of musical evolution has already been qualitatively documented: 1) the divergence of the Scottish 17th c. Lady Cassiles Lilt into nearly unrecognizable 20th c. American descendants, 2) the merging of work songs from distant prefectures into the Japanese folk song Esashi Oiwake, 3) the simultaneous performance of vestigial, inaudible 1,000-year-old Chinese melodies and their radically changed descendants in the Japanese gagaku piece Seigaiha, and 4) the legal cases finding George Harrison's My Sweet Lord (1970) and Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' Blurred Lines (2013) liable for copyright infringement. Although the precise mechanisms differ and absolute rates of evolution vary almost 400-fold within and between these case studies, several patterns are consistent with the predictions of previous research. These patterns include: 1) the relative ease of mutations to nearby pitches, 2) the relative predominance of insertions/deletions over substitutions, 3) the relative stability of functional notes (e.g., rhythmically stressed vs. unstressed), and 4) the relative stability of written over oral traditions. Both increases and decreases in complexity were observed, with no clear trend favouring one direction.