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From the album, "Nothin' to Prove" by Mac Arnold & Plate Full o' Blues.Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands and from rural crossroads to urban centers, the state boasts rich sources of traditional culture and folklore. Rooted in family and community activities, folklife involves expressive forms of many kinds that are communicated verbally and by observation or imitation. Folk artists can learn through apprenticeships, but most often are taught informally by family members or close friends. This sharing of information can occur in many different group settings - familial, occupational, religious, social, and educational. Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation.
Digital Traditions was developed to provide access to the Folklife Resource Center (FRC) at McKissick Museum. For thirty years, deeply rooted traditions like quilting, pottery, basketry, communal foodways, and folk music have been documented through audio, video, and photography. For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to taylors7@mailbox.sc.edu.
Audio
From the album, "Nothin' to Prove" by Mac Arnold & Plate Full o' Blues.Audio
The songs were recorded live, with no microphones in order to enhance a listener’s transportation by the old-style, traditional slave spirituals praising God even though times were dark.Video
Buford Mabry documented by Jack Doyle and his staff at the University of South Carolina Sumter's Center for Oral Narration.Audio
One of the services of a week-long tent revival in 1988 in McCormick, SC (McCormick County). The evangelist is Charles Booker Jr. of Johnston, SC (Edgefield County)Audio
Billy Hammond and his wife Mary offer some biographical information.Document
What is the Folklife Resource Center? Established in 1985, the Folklife Resource Center (FRC) at McKissick Museum focuses on documenting South Carolina traditional culture. The preservation and...Photo
West Africans brought to the South Carolina and Georgia coasts as slaves settled on geographically isolated plantations whose owners often were absent. Such conditions allowed lowcountry slaves to...Audio
Recorded in 2003 in Columbia, South Carolina.Photo
Wall began playing hillbilly and “old-time” music before it was dubbed bluegrass. He was one of eleven children in a family he described as not very musically oriented. As a teen, he cut his teeth...Document
Audio transcript for Albert and Nora Wood